Worship is My Weapon - Lesson 2: Victories Through Godly Worship

Last week we discussed the importance of worship, and how the Bible commands us to do so. This week we will talk about some of the biblical narratives dealing with spiritual warfare.

Text:

Acts 2:47 “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

Notice that praising God became a normal practice within the formation of the early church.

- Also, see how they had favor with all men. When we glorify God - it makes us attractive to other people. Not physically attractive, but spiritually attractive.

If worship was a precedent set by the early church, it is should still be a precedent for today’s worship service and gatherings. If praise and worship brought about numeric and spiritual growth within the church, it still does the same today.

I want you to notice something: when the people of God worshipped, they took territory spiritually. The souls that Satan thought he had were lost and gained into the Kingdom because the people of God chose to worship.

Did you know the same thing happens today? When you worship, spiritual territory is taken. You gain ground! You can couple your worship with prayer and begin to praise God for the victory, as we will see in several biblical narratives throughout this lesson.

Let’s also go ahead and turn to Joshua 6:1-17

While you remain standing… JUST KIDDING - YOU MAY BE SEATED

The Walls of Jericho: A Bridge to Victory

Joshua 6:1–6 “Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.”

Joshua 6:7–12 “And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord. And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the Lord, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.”

Joshua 6:13–17 “And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the Lord, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city. And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.”

Joshua - Joshua was a strong militant leader that is identified as Moses’ assistant. He wasn’t called to pastor at first, but He was called to serve. Serving is what brought the anointing of Moses onto his life over anything else.

Joshua had served as spy for Israel

He was a leader of Israel’s warrior according to Exodus 17:9 “And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.”

This is the same battle that Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses. Moses needed Armor Bearers and he needed those who would lead the charge against the Amelekites. The Lord uses various positions throughout the church to bring about victory in worship.

Consider talking about how intercessors can began to pray while the worshippers move. As these two ministries work together, spiritual warfare takes place. There is worship, praise, and warfare going on all at the same time in any given service.

Joshua was commissioned by Moses to lead God’s people into the promise land. He was commissioned to go and fight, but notice how God begins there conquest: with worship.

The Priests -

The priests had two jobs

To bear the ark of the covenant

To pronounce the time of worship

Today, we have a pastor, where the worship director has been delighted the authority to direct when/how to worship. Worship is guided much like an ocean wave in the direction it is to go.

Worship is not chaotic - there is order

There is a difference between being free to praise and causing disorder

It’s okay to dance, shout, clap, do what Pentecostals do

It’s not okay to violate the direction given by our spiritual Joshuas

Talk to Unauthorized instruments

No practice = no play - they’re not in sync with everyone else

Joshua told the priest what God had told him, that is there would be a time to sound the horns with a long blow - at that time it would direct the warriors of God to shout

The people - the people are referred to as “men of war” here in the passage. Regardless of your gender in this house, you should consider yourself a spiritual warrior.

If you have repented of your sins, been baptized in Jesus name, and have been filled with the Gift of the Holy Ghost - you are old enough to fight!

Psalm 47:1 “O clap your hands, all ye people; Shout unto God with the voice of triumph.”

Joshua - the priests - the people

Now came the time for all the church to sound off with praise and see the walls of Jericho come down

In other words, the Church got unified and began to praise in one direction. The enemy fears when we get unified and begin to praise in one direction with the head of the Church being Christ versus a human being. When Christ’s Spirit is directing worship and His people are endowed with His Spirit - watch out!

Jericho (the territory)

Scholars identify that the walls fell down in such a way that they made a bridge into God’s promised land

Today, we have walls, our church has walls - but they are just bridges to God’s promises within our lives

Your worship and praise is the bridge between your wilderness and your promise

This is why the enemy goes after worship so hard - if he can get your worship - he can get your victory!

This is why we worship when we don’t feel like it

This is why we pray when we don’t feel like it

This is why we serve when we don’t feel like it

This is why we give when we don’t feel like it

This is why we come to church when we don’t feel like it

Jehoshaphat: When We Humble Ourselves the Battle Belongs to God

Jehoshaphat is identified as the King of Judah in the time when Ahab reigned over the tribes of Northern Israel. Jehoshaphat is known for removing the groves and high places in Judah; however, certain passages contradict that or do they? We will get to that shortly.

Jehoshaphat was about to be ambushed by the armies of Moab and Ammon. It was at that time that he cried out to God for help. As a result to his humility to the Lord, God spoke through a prophet. Here is what he said:

2 Chronicles 20:14–18 “Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation; And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.”

Notice, the battle was no longer Israel’s it was God. When we humble ourselves in prayer and worship, God takes the wall we are facing and makes it His problem. No longer is it our problem to deal with alone.

Notice what happened when they got to the battle:

2 Chronicles 20:20–23 “And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.”

2 Chronicles 20:24 “And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.”

When they turned the battle over to God, there only responsibility was to praise and worship. When you turn your wall over to God, you need to worship Him like the battle has already been one.

This is where we can step from general praise to God into a realm of Prophetic praise. Praising God for the things that are about to happen.

You can only step into this dimension of praise through His Spirit

You’ve got to get drunk on what God is doing during the service. Your mind can’t be absent from here and now!

Conclusion

What you give to God will be what He returns to you. If you praise Him with fervor - He’s going to storm heaven and earth with His victories and glory. We must also remember that the battle belongs to Him - our job is then to worship Him after we give it to Him.

What you give is what you’ll get back: the principle of evaporation.

Job 36:26–28 “Behold, God is great, and we know him not, Neither can the number of his years be searched out. For he maketh small the drops of water: They pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: Which the clouds do drop And distil upon man abundantly.”

Praise and worship follow the principle of vapor - there has to be something that has gone up before the Lord before His glory can come down.