B-A-C
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- Dec 18, 2008
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I think some times any of us have the idea that God and Jesus are pacifists. Yet, I really don't see this in the Bible.
Yes God is love, yes God wants peace. But He is willing to fight for certain things.
Exod 15:3 "The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name.
Isa 42:13; The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.
Zep 3:17; "The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
It seems to me that a big part of the very character and nature of God is His willingness to fight for His people.
Often in scripture we see the Almighty, the Victorious Warrior, the All powerful God fighting for His people.
Rev 19:13; He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14; And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
Rev 19:15; From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
Rev 19:16; And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
Even Jesus when he was on the earth was willing to fight for what was right and Holy.
John 2:14; And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
John 2:15; And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
John 2:16; and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business."
This wasn't something just done in the heat of the moment, hHe had to take time to find the materials to make the scourge, and then He had to take more time to build the scourge, and finally He took the time to drive them all completely from the temple. He poured our their coins, He overturned their tables, this wasn't a quiet peaceful procession where they filed out in an orderly manner.
I think many times God calls us men to be warriors. If we are created in His image, and part of His image is a warrior, it seems there are certain things He wants us to fight for.
In 1 Kings 18, Elijah fought against the prophets of Baal. David fought against Goliath. Joshua fought the Caananites,
Sometmes God didn't use men to do the fighting, He did it Himself, a good example of this is the Red Sea crushing in on the Egyptian army who followed the Israelite's into the Red Sea.
But more often than not, He used men. Plain simple ordinary men. Often these men were outnumbered, out gunned,
and had less experience, yet time after tme God gave them victory. Why? Because they trusted Him to do so.
Can a man who isn't willing to take a risk for God say he really trusts God? Maybe part of the adventure of life, and the reason life is so hard sometimes is to see if we really trust God. It seems not trustng Him is the samething as Godlessness. I believe God called us to be men, not pacifists, Men of integrity who will stand up for what is right.
This doesn't mean we should go looking for trouble, but when trouble comes we should be willing to stand up for God and not run away or disappear into the crowd like Peter.
1 Tim 6:12; Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
In the parable of the talents in Matt 25, we see two of the men took a risk, they invested the money God gave them and brought back their returns, the master says "Well done my good an faithful servant".
The third man buried the money in the dirt. He gave the master back exactly what he received from the master.
The master called him wicked and had him thrown out into punishment. God loves those who are after His own heart. Men like David. Men who are willing to take a risk. Men who are willing to stand up and fight for what they believe in.
There will come a tme when Christians all over the world will be persecuted and beheaded for their beliefs. How will we stand up to that if we can't even stand up to the ridicule and persecution Christians receive now?
2 Tim 4:7; I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
2 Tim 4:8; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing
Yes God is love, yes God wants peace. But He is willing to fight for certain things.
Exod 15:3 "The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name.
Isa 42:13; The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.
Zep 3:17; "The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
It seems to me that a big part of the very character and nature of God is His willingness to fight for His people.
Often in scripture we see the Almighty, the Victorious Warrior, the All powerful God fighting for His people.
Rev 19:13; He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14; And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
Rev 19:15; From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
Rev 19:16; And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
Even Jesus when he was on the earth was willing to fight for what was right and Holy.
John 2:14; And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
John 2:15; And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
John 2:16; and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business."
This wasn't something just done in the heat of the moment, hHe had to take time to find the materials to make the scourge, and then He had to take more time to build the scourge, and finally He took the time to drive them all completely from the temple. He poured our their coins, He overturned their tables, this wasn't a quiet peaceful procession where they filed out in an orderly manner.
I think many times God calls us men to be warriors. If we are created in His image, and part of His image is a warrior, it seems there are certain things He wants us to fight for.
In 1 Kings 18, Elijah fought against the prophets of Baal. David fought against Goliath. Joshua fought the Caananites,
Sometmes God didn't use men to do the fighting, He did it Himself, a good example of this is the Red Sea crushing in on the Egyptian army who followed the Israelite's into the Red Sea.
But more often than not, He used men. Plain simple ordinary men. Often these men were outnumbered, out gunned,
and had less experience, yet time after tme God gave them victory. Why? Because they trusted Him to do so.
Can a man who isn't willing to take a risk for God say he really trusts God? Maybe part of the adventure of life, and the reason life is so hard sometimes is to see if we really trust God. It seems not trustng Him is the samething as Godlessness. I believe God called us to be men, not pacifists, Men of integrity who will stand up for what is right.
This doesn't mean we should go looking for trouble, but when trouble comes we should be willing to stand up for God and not run away or disappear into the crowd like Peter.
1 Tim 6:12; Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
In the parable of the talents in Matt 25, we see two of the men took a risk, they invested the money God gave them and brought back their returns, the master says "Well done my good an faithful servant".
The third man buried the money in the dirt. He gave the master back exactly what he received from the master.
The master called him wicked and had him thrown out into punishment. God loves those who are after His own heart. Men like David. Men who are willing to take a risk. Men who are willing to stand up and fight for what they believe in.
There will come a tme when Christians all over the world will be persecuted and beheaded for their beliefs. How will we stand up to that if we can't even stand up to the ridicule and persecution Christians receive now?
2 Tim 4:7; I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
2 Tim 4:8; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing
