The Lord Will Fight For You

Is it OK with everyone tonight, if we go through several passages in the Bible and read them together, and then at the end of reading the passages, I will ask you a question about them?

Turn with me in your Bibles please, to the book of , and we will start reading there. I will also be having you turn to some other passages that I will ask some of you to read aloud tonight.

Exodus 14:10–14 NLT

10 As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, 11 and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? 12 Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’ ” 13 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

OK, now lets turn to , , ,

Deuteronomy 7:17–18 NLT

17 Perhaps you will think to yourselves, ‘How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?’ 18 But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 7:21 NLT

21 “No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God.

Deuteronomy 7:23 NLT

23 But the Lord your God will hand them over to you. He will throw them into complete confusion until they are destroyed.

Deuteronomy 7:25–26 NLT

25 “You must burn their idols in fire, and you must not covet the silver or gold that covers them. You must not take it or it will become a trap to you, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. 26 Do not bring any detestable objects into your home, for then you will be destroyed, just like them. You must utterly detest such things, for they are set apart for destruction.

Same book, ,

Deuteronomy 20:1–4 NLT

1 “When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you! 2 When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops. 3 He will say to them, ‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. 4 For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’

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Judges 7:9–18 NLT

9 That night the Lord said, “Get up! Go down into the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them! 10 But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah. 11 Listen to what the Midianites are saying, and you will be greatly encouraged. Then you will be eager to attack.” So Gideon took Purah and went down to the edge of the enemy camp. 12 The armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts. Their camels were like grains of sand on the seashore—too many to count! 13 Gideon crept up just as a man was telling his companion about a dream. The man said, “I had this dream, and in my dream a loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent, turned it over, and knocked it flat!” 14 His companion answered, “Your dream can mean only one thing—God has given Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite, victory over Midian and all its allies!” 15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord. Then he returned to the Israelite camp and shouted, “Get up! For the Lord has given you victory over the Midianite hordes!” 16 He divided the 300 men into three groups and gave each man a ram’s horn and a clay jar with a torch in it. 17 Then he said to them, “Keep your eyes on me. When I come to the edge of the camp, do just as I do. 18 As soon as I and those with me blow the rams’ horns, blow your horns, too, all around the entire camp, and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’ ”

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2 Chronicles 20:15–17 NLT

15 He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!”

2 Chronicles 20:20–25 NLT

20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.” 21 After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!” 22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. 25 King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables—more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all!

And then Proverbs 12:31,

OK, does everyone see the recurring them that God is making in these passages?

And then Proverbs 12:31,

OK, does everyone see the recurring them that God is making in these passages?

We are NOT to be afraid and avoid confrontation with the enemy, regardless of the size of his army or the conditions with which we are facing.

God is ALWAYS (everyone say, “ALWAYS”), He is ALWAYS the source of our victories in this life!

I don’t care if we are talking about physical or spiritual wars, the victory belongs to the Lord God almighty.

tells us,

Proverbs 21:31 NLT

31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.

Now people may say, “Well now wait a minute Pastor, that’s not altogether true. What about these nations who have attacked and seized other peoples and nations and the attacking nations are godless heathens? When they become victorious in battle, they didn’t do it through God did they?”

Well, remember this, all authority exists, because God allows it to exist, as tells us. Even when a group or a nation rises to power that does acknowledge or fear the one true God, they are only there, because God allows them to be there and in reality, He is using them for some purpose.

The evil nations of Babylon and Persia that rose to power and conquered Israel and Judah, were pagan, heathen, nations, but God was using them as a source of correction and punishment for His people.

And then when they had served their purpose, God destroyed those nations who were full of pride and rebellion against Him.

says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

A nation that sows rebellion against God, may seemingly prosper for a day and a time, but they will most definitely reap what they have sown!

When we read of these passages in the Old Testament of how God produced confusion and fear in the hearts of the enemy and thus brought victory to His people, we say something like, “That’s so awesome” and then we move on. It is almost like hearing Bible stories that we grew up on in Sunday School when we were small children!

We say that we understand and believe that God did these things for His people and that through God, we, just like those in the Bible, are victorious as well, but there is sometimes like a disconnect between what we read and how we really receive and believe it.

Or maybe I should, what we read and how much FAITH we have to act upon it!

When you hear preachers and teachers talk about these Biblical accounts and others like them, that involve the supernatural involvement of God, like , where Israel is fighting against the Amalekites and Moses goes up on the hill holding the staff of God in his hands, along with Aaron and Hur.

And as long as Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but when his arm became tired and started to lower, then the men of Amalek prevailed.

So, Aaron and Hur sat Moses on a rock and stood on either side of him and held up his hands and Israel fought until the sun set and defeated the Amalekites!

That is supernatural! I have stood in Neyland Stadium throughout years and held up my hands screaming and yelling and nothing changed, except it would go from bad to worse!

Or what about the account of Joshua fighting against the Amorites in and of where God sent large hailstones from heaven and killed more men from the stones than that of the sword by Joshua and his warriors?

And in this same passage, if the large hailstones killing the enemies of God was not supernatural enough, add in the fact that Joshua spoke out in faith and said, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon and the moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”

And the Bible says that the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on their enemies!

I mean, these are amazing accounts and most definitely, supernatural victories from the hand of God, but when we hear them, there can be a disconnect, like, “that was then, but it doesn’t really apply to modern times”, right?

Let me ask you about something, to prove a point this evening. How many of you remember a historical account, a war, that took place, involving the nations, Israel, Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, in 1967, called the Six-Day War?

Have you ever read some of the details that were involved in that particular war?

I am going to read you some exerts and pieces of all that took place in that 6 day war.

“On May 15, 1967, as the people of Israel celebrated Independence Day (Yom Atzmaut), the Israeli government received some bad news. It had been exactly nineteen years since the declaration of the Jewish state and the beginning of the War for Independence. That same day in 1967, it seemed that the unfinished war had resumed as the Israeli government learned of Egyptian forces massing in the Sinai under the command of Gamal Abdel Nasser. Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, along with Iraq, went on alert and placed their forces on a war footing, ready for invasion and war against Israel. The next day, the Egyptians told United Nations peacekeepers in the Sinai to leave. The UN withdrew without raising an objection. A week later, the Egyptians closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli vessels. Meanwhile, in the north, Syria had already begun lobbing shells into Israel from their high perches on the Golan Heights.”

Israel declared the closing of the straits to be an act of war, but the nation cowered at the thought of facing the combined forces of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. The allied Arab forces could boast nearly half a million troops, almost twice what Israel could muster, even with its reserves. Backed by the Soviet Union, the Arabs possessed more than twice the number of tanks and four times the number of aircraft Israel had. Israel turned to the United States for help, but the United States—fearful of the Arab states’ Soviet allies—refused to intervene.

The Arab nations gleefully anticipated the coming massacre. The president of Iraq declared, “The existence of Israel is an error which must be rectified. This is our opportunity to wipe out the ignominy which has been with us since 1948. Our goal is clear—to wipe Israel off the map.”

The Israelis solemnly prepared for a massive slaughter. They readied hospitals and designated whole national parks as cemeteries for the anticipated casualties.

People spoke pessimistically of a looming second Holocaust, but a few rabbis and holy men predicted a miraculous salvation.”

Now listen to some of these events that unfolded during this Six-Day war:

DAY ONE: Before the Arab nations could strike, Israel launched preemptive airstrikes against Egyptian airfields. As the Israeli Air Force took to the sky, the first miracle of the war occurred. Jordanian radar detected the planes and tried to warn Egypt, but the Egyptians had changed their coding frequencies the previous day and had not yet updated the Jordanians with the new codes. The message never went through, giving Israel the element of surprise. The Egyptians had no time to react. The Israeli Air Force destroyed six Egyptian airfields and hundreds of Egyptians planes. In a single day, Israel destroyed the Egyptian and Syrian Air Forces. The Egyptian Air Force never even had a chance to leave the ground.

The night before the attacks, Egypts commander in chief, Abid Ameer, held a party for his high command at an airbase far away from the front lines. So, even when the message of the Israeli attack came in, the men were too far away to go air born and hold off the attack.

Although Egypt’s commanders had been warned of an imminent air attack by Israel and they simply dismissed it as non-credible!

Two weeks before the air strike, Egypt replaced all of its commanders at Sinai with officers completely unfamiliar with the terrain!

DAY TWO: In the book of Exodus, we read were the Lord says, “I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.”

This is exactly what we find happening on the second day of the war. Because of the prior days victories, the Egyptian leaders were making panicked and fearful decisions.

Orders from Egyptian commanders contradicted good sense, calling for unnecessary retreats and withdrawals.

The Israeli army expected to face a serious battle at the heavily defended Kusseima outpost in the Sinai, but as they drew near, they heard explosions. When they arrived, they discovered that the Egyptians had destroyed their own equipment and abandoned the base. At other bases, the Egyptians had not even bothered to scuttle their equipment before fleeing.

In the passage of II Chronicles that we looked at earlier with Jehoshaphat and Israel supernaturally seeing the defeat of the nations that gathered against them, the people of Israel walked in and gathered all of the clothes and goods and precious gifts for themselves, until they could carry no more! The same thing happened on day 2 of this war.

Israeli soldiers walked in and found that the Egyptian army had fled in fear and left their tanks and heavy equipment behind.

Israel had enough heavy equipment to fortify five new brigades when all was said and done.

THE WEALTH OF THE WICKED IS STORED UP FOR THE RIGHTEOUS!

DAY THREE: Political pressure mounts as leading nations call upon Israel to accept a ceasefire proposed by King Hussein of Jordan. At the last moment, this ceasefire was nixed by the unwillingness of King Hussein to comply with the terms of the ceasefire he himself initiated! Indeed, the hearts of kings and rulers are in the hand of God. This allowed the IDF to finish the task of completely annihilating the enemy s military infrastructure, and to bring the Old City of Jerusalem under Israeli control.

The Old City had been under Jordanian control since 1948. For nineteen years Jews had been banned from visiting its holy sites, including the Western Wall, where Jews had prayed for thousands of years. On this day Jerusalem was reunited, and once again a united Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish people.

DAY FOUR: The IDF entering Hebron found white sheets hanging from the windows, and an Arab population surrendering peacefully. The war in the West Bank was concluded. Israel now had full control over the entire region.

As the IDF entered into the city, they were welcomed with the people cheering and celebrating and welcoming them in. None of the guards ever raised a gun and not a shot was fired.

The IDF were very confused, as they just walked in and took over the town.

After the fact, they found out that the Arab people and military forces in the town, thought that the IDF were the Iraqis coming in, as their allies, to assist them!

By the time that the people and the Arab military realized who these soldiers were, it was too late!

DAY FIVE: Israel seizes the Straits of Tiran. Israel breaks through the Golan plateau.

After suffering significant casualties in the offensive to overtake the Golan Heights, Commander Musa Klein s platoon had only twenty-five men at his disposal. But they continued upwards. When they reached Tel Fakhr, Klein ordered his men to charge the position, unaware that it was one of the most heavily fortified Syrian positions. It had bunkers, trenches and a double row of wire, along with an arsenal of antitank guns, machine guns and 82mm mortars. The handful of IDF soldiers were worse off than sitting ducks...

Syrian Captain Ahmad Ibrahim Khalili gave his men instructions not to fire until the Israelis reached the wire. In no time at all, however, it was too late. In the Syrians own words: The Jews are already inside, and we ve taken heavy casualties. Commander Klein and his men were victorious, and continued up the Heights.

DAY SIX: The Israelis were originally reluctant to invade the Golan Heights. It would be an uphill battle against a well-entrenched and fortified position, protected by an army of 75,000 Syrian troops. The Syrian troops and munitions were entrenched in deep bunkers which were immune to air attack. One noted Israeli general estimated that such a battle would cost the Israelis 30,000 lives. Incredibly, though, after only seven hours of heavy fighting on June 9th, IDF commanders established strongholds in the northern and central sectors of the Golan.

The next morning dawned with the Israeli forces apprehensively awaiting another day of fierce fighting. The Syrians, however, had other plans. In a sudden panic, before the Israelis even approached their positions, they pulled out of the Golan and fled in total chaos, leaving most of their weaponry behind. The mountaintops that were strategically utilized to murder Jews in the Holy Land were now in the hands of the Israelis.

At 6:30 pm that day, a cease fire goes into affect!

So, in six days, the Jewish people defended themselves, destroyed their enemies, tripled their land, recaptured control of Jersualem for the first time on 2,000 years and then on the 7th day, THEY RESTED!

This was looked upon by the ENTIRE WORLD, religious and secular alike, as a MIRACLE from GOD!

This was supposed to have been a massacre and in just 6 days, it was over and Israel was not only still around, but was victorious and had grown in strength from the whole ordeal!

And there are many of stories that the IDF soldiers talked about during this war. Stories like 2 IDF soldiers walking down the road and being met by a half-track troop carrier, with mounted guns and full of 18 soldiers. The 2 soldiers knew that they were about to die and so they pointed their guns to make a stand!

All of a sudden, the half-track just stopped and nothing ever happened.

When the 2 IDF soldiers approached, they found all 18 of the Arab soldiers in the truck huddled down, stricken in complete panic and unable to move!

When asked what happened after being captured, they said that they didn’t understand what had happened, they were ready to open up fire on the 2 Israeli soldiers, when all of a sudden, they felt completely paralyzed with a fear so strong that they dropped into the floor of the carrier, unable to move!

Now, this one of many such stories that have happened over the last several decades, especially involving Israel and its soldiers! Their is a video that I watched from about a year ago, where the Israeli soldiers are videoing a large sand, wind and water storm, that formed like a wall, on the Syrian border, separating the Syrian soldiers from the Israeli soldiers, but it never crossed the border line and stayed, just like a wall, keeping the Syrian soldiers at bay!

Last year, at this same time frame in April, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasemi told reporters in a weekly meeting in Tehran that Israel was doomed.

“The Zionist entity will sooner or later receive the necessary response and will regret its misdeeds,” Qasemi said.

Iran was going to supposedly attack Israel.

On the same day that the foreign ministry predicted Israel’s ultimate demise, a huge sandstorm engulfed an entire province in the center of Iran, battering the region with 60 mph sand-laden winds. There were no injuries or major damages reported as a result of the storm, but even the Iranian media recognized the exceptional nature of the event with headlines calling the storm, “apocalyptic.”

SHOW VIDEO FOOTAGE.

In God directs us to take up our weapons and the full armor of God to fight the enemy. One of the things that we are directed to pick up is a shield of faith.

There are two Greek names for shields used by soldiers at that time. One is a small round shield called an “aspis.” The second is called a “thureos” which is a full-length shield of leather-covered wood that protected the whole body. Guess which Greek shield is used to describe our shield of faith .. that’s right the “thureos.” This shield of faith covers our entire person. And we can use this shield to defend our faith against the attacks thrown at us by the enemy.

In C.S. Lewis’ masterful book, The Screwtape Letters, the demon, Screwtape, makes this remark to his nephew and understudy, Wormwood, he says, “Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”

There are two Greek names for shields used by soldiers at that time. One is a small round shield called an “aspis.” The second is called a “thureos” which is a full-length shield of leather-covered wood that protected the whole body. Guess which Greek shield is used to describe our shield of faith .. that’s right the “thureos.” This shield of faith covers our entire person. And we can use this shield to defend our faith against the attacks thrown at us by the enemy.

In other words, the enemy of our souls is dumbfounded when everything has been stripped from us and our lives and our hearts are broken and the zeal and desire inside of us seems gone, to the point of our asking why God has forsaken us, and yet our intent and resolve is to keep doing the will of God and obeying His word!

That is when the enemy has no hold on you, when everything of this world has been lost and abandoned and yet you say, “Never the less, not my will be done God, but your will be done!”

Read ,

Psalm 33:16–22 NLT

16 The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. 17 Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory— for all its strength, it cannot save you. 18 But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. 19 He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine. 20 We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.