Running With The Horses, Part 7
We have been looking at God’s response to Jeremiah as he asks, why do the wicked prosper?” Jeremiah 12 1-5 “You are always righteous, Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. Yet you know me, Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter! How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happens to us. If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses.” In part 6 we were looking at the Armor of God. We want to continue looking at how we guard ourselves. After putting on the gospel we are to take up the Shield of Faith. We must pick up faith and use it to guard ourselves. We see with the armor that much of it is used to protect ourselves. Faith shields us from the attack of the devil and his fiery darts. The devil is the tempter and he wants us to fall into the ways of the world. 1 Timothy 6:11-12 tells us “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” But faith is also important when the wicked come against us, as we saw in the beginning of this series Jeremiah crying out to the Lord. 2 Timothy 10-13 tells us, “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Next we see that we must put on the Helmet of Salvation. Yeshua’s (not Jesus) very name means salvation. The evil one wants to knock us out of the race. He wants to give us a head wound. Beware, when the evil one comes and whispers in your ear and tells you that you are not in Messiah. You are not really saved. We begin reasoning in our heads, and then when we are convinced, and it goes into our hearts. We begin believing in that which we reasoned out and now believe. Guarding our heads protects us against wrong thoughts which lead to wrong attitudes which leads to wrong actions. Philippians 4:4-9 tells us, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Messiah Yeshua Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Prayer is a big part if not the biggest part of fighting the battle.When we pray then God joins in on the battle. He gives us His sword, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. As we see, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God can not be separated. That is because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Yeshua who is the Word of God. Romans 8:9 tells us this, “ However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, he does not belong to Him.” And again in Philippians 1:19, “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Messiah Yeshua.” Without the Spirit you can not be born again. When we are in the fight, we tend to not see our way, but God has made the way where there seems to be no way and that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26-27 tells us: “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Prayer gives us the victory and victory makes us overcomers.
Psalm 20: 6-9, “Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God. They have bowed down and fallen, but we have risen and stood upright. Save, O Lord; May the King answer us in the day we call.” Let’s look at Psalm 18 as our last example and we will see from God’s perspective what results from prayer. “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him, into His ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because He was angry. Smoke rose from His nostrils; consuming fire came from His mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under His feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness His covering, His canopy around Him—the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of His Presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot His arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning He routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare, He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.” Our God is a mighty warrior dressed for battle. Are you?
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