The Warrior's Battle Plan

14 Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

15 Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. 16 “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.

17 “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot. “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”

18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

20 Elisha died and was buried.

With the Strength of the Holy Spirit We Can’t Stop Fighting

Good morning everyone, it’s a joy to be able to share with you this morning. Good morning to all of you who are joining us via Facebook live as well. We’re glad you’re tuning in with us.

Have you ever wanted something so bad, that you would do anything to get it? You would fight, you would run, you would tear up and tear down, there is no price tag to expensive, no task too crazy, ain’t no mountain high enough, no valley low enough, if it means you can get this thing. Have you ever wanted something so bad, that you would do anything to get it.

Even now, some of you are wanting something. And I’m not even talking about something materialistic or even something selfish. You want your kids to have a relationship with Jesus. You want them to be in church. And you’ll do anything to see it happen. You want justice for the hurting and the broken in your families and your communities. You want to stop your hurtful habits and unhealthy addictions. We want things to change financially and emotionally. We just want to feel joy again. We just want to be at peace. We want things.

I think that all of those things that I just mentioned–these deep desires of our hearts–are not just things that we want, but I think that’s God’s desire for us as well. Freedom, joy, peace. He wants a relationship with your kids. He wants healing for the broken.

Many times, our deepest desires for freedom, joy, and peace mirror the heart of God.

He wants those things for you. And guess what he wants to use you get it! He wants to give you the strength to fight for what you believe, fight for freedom from sin, and fight for joy and peace. He wants to enable you to be a warrior of your heart.

The sermon this morning is entitled A Warrior’s Battle Plan.

We’re going to be talking about how God enables us to be warriors for what we believe in but before we begin I want to begin with a small caveat.

I think whenever you have a sermon entitled the Warrior’s Battle Plan, it sounds a little masculine, a little manly, and I’d hate for any women to tune me out because I’m talking about what it means to be a warrior. In fact, I think that women make some of the best warriors. In fact, I am married to a warrior of a woman. I’ve seen her fight, I’ve seen her pray, I’ve seen her go to bat for the people that she loves and she wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of reconciliation with people she cares about. I know that my wife is a warrior.

When I talk about being a warrior, I’m talking about being a person who will let nothing stand in the way of getting thirst for, letting nothing get in the way of your divine dreams and letting nothing stand in the way of reconciliation. You’re a fighter. You’re determined. You’re resolved. You’re a warrior.

This morning we are going to be looking at a passage found in 2 Kings 13, and I’d love for you to join us there.

In this passage we find a broken and divided people of God. Israel has been run by a series of kings, and just when you think that they are getting it right, that they are following God and are in right relationship with him, they mess it up. They invite idol worship back into their cities, they defile the temple and they forget about Yahweh. Evil and disobedience run rampant in the kingdom once more.

And things are no different when Joash becomes king. When he became king after his father he made no attempt to point Israel in the right direction. In fact, he knew about the idols, he knew they weren’t good, and yet he simply left them where they were.

It was during Joash’s time as Israel’s king that the Arameans, Isreal’s long time oppressor and enemy, rear their head again. They were marching towards Israel, ready to launch an attack and are poised to wipe Israel off the face of the map. And understandably, Joash is terrified. He sees that he is out manned. He sees that he’s unqualified. He knows that the Arameans would surely overtake them, and so he runs to the one man who he knows has God’s ear.

This man was an old man, who’d long been forgotten. He’d hadn’t been heard of for some time and word on the street is that this man was on his death bed. His name was Elisha. Once a great and powerful prophet, he was now deathly ill, soon to pass away.

Even though he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, when trouble came his way, Joash knew who to run to. He ran to the man of god, Elisha.

Read with me and look at what Joash asks of Elisha:

Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, King Joash of Israel went down to him, and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”

It’s such an unusual thing to say, and for us it’s almost non-sensical. What is Joash saying here? Well, he’s actually calling back to something that Elisha himself said. When Elisha’s mentor, Elijah, was taken up into a heaven in a flaming chariot, Elisha cried the same thing: My Father! My Father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel.– referring to the chariot that Elijah was being taken up in.

You see, Joash realizes that Elisha, just like Elijah, is soon to be taken into heaven. He knows that soon Elisha will die, so he runs to him and asks him for one last favor before he passes–to save Israel from their trouble with the Arameans.

And what we see is that Elisha answers Joashes cry for help. But he does it in a very unexpected and unusual way.

I think that Joash expected Elisha to help in a big and practical way. I mean this was the prophet who healed Naaman of leprosy, he multiplied the widows oil, he made an axe head float. Joash knew of the power that God could work through Elisha. And yet that’s not what happens.

Instead, Elisha presents Joash with Israel’s last great prophecy. And he does this by walking Joash through a series of sign-acts. A prophecy in three parts, with the main role being played by Joash, and the script dictated by Elisha.

We find the first part of this prophecy in verses 15-16. Look with me.

15 Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows”; so he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow”; and he drew it. Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands.

For us today, and I’m sure for Joash, Elisha’s direction may have seemed pointless and confusing. I imagine that Joash is thinking, Elisha, the army is literally walking on our doorstep, I don’t have time for your games! And yet Elisha has the word of the Lord for the people of God and he will spare no expense in sharing it.

He tells Joash, go and get your bow and a quiver of arrows and come back here. Joash does what he says, and Elisha then says, “Okay now hold the bow”. And so Joash takes hold of the bow, and Elisha, leans up in his bed, feverish and weak, and he leans over and places his hands on the kings hands that are holding the bow.

Now, how is this supposed to help Joash in defeating the enemy army that is marching towards his kingdom? Get to the point Elisha!

But it’s important to stop and realize what Elisha is doing here. Because he’s making a point–a very important point to the king of Israel.

This is it Elisha was saying: Whatever you do today Joash, however you lead, however you battle, None of it is done from your own strength. You cannot do it on your own. You cannot defeat the Arameans on your own. But instead, as I place my hands upon you, I’m reminding you Joash, you need the power of the LORD!

And that’s the first step in our battle plan this morning. As warriors, as fighters, as people of God who will stop at nothing to see his grace and life and truth touch every facet of our lives, we have to Seek the Power.

Everybody look at the person next to you and say “Seek the power”. We have to seek the power.

When Joash encountered an unsurmountable problem. An approaching army. A deadly situation. He sought out the place where power was found.

There were a lot of idols in Israel at the time of Joash, a lot of different god’s and statues, a lot of different places to worship. And yet Scripture tells us that Joash “went down to see Elisha”. He knew where true power was found.

This morning, you are a warrior. There are things you thirst for, things you desire, things you want to see happen in your family and in relationships, things that you are fighting for. And you’re growing weak. You’re growing weary. But, as warriors today, we, like Joash, need power to fight. We need the energy to keep going, to keep praying, to keep searching, to keep working. We need the power not to give up on ourselves or give up on the people we love. Where do we get that kind of power?

Here’s the bottom line:

Power will not come if you do not seek it.

In order to find the power we need to keep fighting and keep pursuing, as warriors, we have to seek it out!

There are too many people in the world, and too many people in the church, who are warriors, who are trying to fight their battles of their own power. And what happens? They fall short. They grow tired. They lose hope. They give up. Why? They don’t see the untapped power that is made available to them if they would just seek it out!

Where did Joash seek the power? Scripture tells us that he went down to see Elisha. If you look up the ancient Hebrew word for that verb “Went down” you’ll see that it is the same verb that is used to describe falling prostrate in prayer. Falling down on your face and calling upon the name of the Lord.

And that’s what we must do as well! We have to be a people who will readily admit that we do not have the power necessary. You do not have the power necessary to fight your battles. You don’t have the power you need to reconcile that broken relationship, you don’t have the power that is required to repair your broken family, you don’t have the power necessary to save your lost children, you don’t have the power necessary to overcome that addiction. Of our own power we are destined to fail. We are sure to be overcome. But the good news is, when we seek out God on behalf of our battles, we receive His power in the midst of our battles.

When we say God, here’s the battle that lies before me, and we readily admit, God, I can’t fight it alone, I have no power left, that’s when God is able to do what Elisha did for Joash. We’re still holding the bow, we’re doing the fighting, sometimes we’re getting dirty, and we’re getting bloody, but God’s hands are covering ours and giving us the power to keep moving, to keep fighting, for purity, fighting for what’s right, fighting for our families, fighting for justice.

But it can’t come from our power, but instead, from the power of God.

It was when I was a junior in college that I realized I had a problem. Most college kids gain that freshman 15. And that’s normal. Totally natural. The problem with me, was that I gained a freshmen 15, and a sophomore 20, and a junior 25. I came to my junior year, and I was about to propose to Annie and I knew marriage was on the horizon and so I knew I had to get in shape.

So I went to my college roommate, his name was Brady, and he’s really fit guy, he’s like this tall but his arms are like this big o’ round. And I said hey man can you train me and help me get into shape. Because I didn’t know what I was doing.

He agreed and so he planned this workout regimen for me. We went to planet fitness where he had a member ship and he showed me the ropes of weightlifting and stuff like that, and they wasn’t too bad. I felt the burn but it was nothing I couldn’t handle.

But then he brought me to the running track that we have a Trevecca. And keep in mind, the last time I had run up to this point was probably back in high school when I was a freshmen and was late for class. I just didn’t do a whole lot of cardio.

So we lined up at the starting line, and he said, okay we are going to be running 3 miles so that’ll be about 6 laps. I said okay, no problem, 3 miles. A marathon is like 26, so how hard can 3 miles be.

So we started running, and the first quarter mile wasn’t so bad, but the longer we ran, I was breathing harder and harder, and by the end of the first mile, I was falling behind and Brady was running ahead of me.

We’d only run one mile and I was ready to give up! There was no way I could do two more. But Brady didn’t stop. He kept going. Soon, into the 2nd mile I began to slow down. My strength was fleeting. I was losing power. And Brady saw that, so here’s what he did.

Brady stopped, he pulled back, let me jog ahead of him and then he got behind me, put his arms into my back and began to push me forward. And we must have looked ridiculous, me a 6’ 5” big dude, being pushed by a guy who comes up to my shoulders. And everything in me wanted to stop. I wanted to lay down and die, but I couldn’t because I had Brady’s arms in my back pushing me forward. And he kept saying “keep going” “keep going” Pushing me and pushing me.

And somehow, I still don’t know how, I finished all three miles. Or maybe I do know how. It was that arm in my back, giving me the power I needed for one more step, one more step, one more step, propelling me forward, it was the shout from behind me, keep going. It was the encouragement that I found in my friend who wanted to see me win the battle of that 3 mile run.

As humans, and as Christians, we run a lot of races, we fight a lot of battles. And too often we run them and fight them alone. And what happens? When we reach mile 2, we’re tired. We’re weary. We’re broken. We’re ready to give up.

But that’s because we are warriors working out of our own power. And your own power will always always always fail you.

But that’s when we need to seek the power of our God. We need God’s power at work in the midst of the battles we are facing. We need his arm in our back propelling us forward, his strength holding us up. We need his encouragement shouted from behind, “I’m with you! Keep fighting! Keep going! Lean on me!”

We can’t continue to fight from our own strength, but instead, as warriors, part of our battle plan must be to seek the power of God.

Declare the Victory

Part of our Warrior’s Battle Plan is not only to Seek the Power, but also to Proclaim the Victory.

The second act of the prophecy play that Elisha walks Joash through goes like this:

17 Then Elijah said, “Open the window eastward”; and he opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. Then he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram! For you shall fight the Arameans in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”

So Joash takes his bow and arrow, after being touched by Elisha, and is told to open the east window and shoot an arrow out of it. Presumably the enemy army was approaching from the east, which is why Elisha had Joash shoot out of that specific window. But the purpose of that arrow was not to hit anybody, instead that arrow was a sign, a prophecy. That arrow represented the victory that would soon come for Joash and the Israelites.

Elisha, on behalf of the Lord, declared the victory of the Isrealite army, before they had even walked on the battlefield!

And what hope must have swelled in Joash’s chest! What relief he’d must have found in those words, “victory over aram”. He’d come to Elisha a bundle of anxiety and worry, and it all is dissolved at the proclamation of victory.

The same is true for us today, as warriors in the midst of our own battle, as it was for Joash, we must see, believe, and proclaim the victory before we ever ride into battle.

Because of what God has done for you through Christ, you have victory and freedom in midst of the battles that you face, if you believe that say amen. We no longer have to be bound by sin. We don’t have to be lost in unrighteousness. We don’t have to be enslaved by addiction. We don’t have to give up on our relationships or forget the lost. But instead, we have victory over the trials of life!

1 John 5 says this:

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

You see, the only reason that we can be warrior’s who can proclaim victory over sin and over the battle of life before they ar fought is because someone was a warrior for us and won the victory for you and for me!

Because of what Christ did on the Christ, we can overcome the problems of this world.

So what do we have to do in the midst of the battles we face? Why is Proclaiming the Victory part of our battle plan.

Here’s why:

When we Proclaim victory over the future, we find peace in the present. When we look out at the battlefields of our life, the difficult situations, the troubles we face, and we declare victory over them, that at the end of the battle, we and Christ will have the victory, suddenly a glimmer of hope pops up into the present.

God I know that you are faithful. I know that you will come through. I know that you care about my situation. God I know you’ve given me freedom and so I trust in you for the victory of the battles that I’m facing and pray for peace in the present.

And to some of you, that may sound like giving up. To say, well God will take care of it and give me victory so why try so hard. Or it may sound like denial. Like we are writing off the difficulty of the present by declaring the victory of the future.

But I’m not saying that at all. You have to keep in mind, Joash still had to go to battle. Even though he shot the arrow of victory over the Aremeans, he still had to fight. He still had to be a warrior! It didn’t make that task any less daunting or scary.

But with Elisha’s declaration of victory, even though Joash still had to fight the battle, he could fight it with the assurance and the hope that one day the battle will come to an end, and he will be victorious.

When we are in the midst of the battlefield, as warriors, the battle can seem endless, like we’ll never reach the other side. Reconciliation will never happen. Happiness will never fill my heart again. I’ll never overcome this addiction. But because of Christ, you will have victory over the battles you’re facing! Does it mean today is any less difficult, NO! What you’re going through is tough, some of you are facing battles! It doesn’t feel like victory now. But Christ has won the victory over sin and death and evil. And proclaiming that victory that has been won in Christ, will give you hope for the future. That God’s not finished with you! He wants to fill you and enable you. He wants to give you the power to fight you’re battles. God’s present in the battles you’re facing and he will see you through to the end. Proclaim victory of the future and find the hope and peace of God in the present.

It was last fall I think that I had to get my wisdom teeth removed. One of my back wisdom teeth was broken almost completely in half and when I went into the dentist they told me that it would be best if I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed.

It was about a week between when I found out I needed them all removed and when I got them removed. And throughout that week, as I began to tell people about my wisdom teeth, that’s when the horror stories began. Oh it’s going to hurt! You won’t be able to go to work for a week! You won’t be able to eat anything! It’s going to be so bad!

And so of course I wasn’t looking forward to getting them removed. When I went and laid in the chair they numbed me up and got work. And to say the least, it wasn’t pleasant. And it seemed like it took forever. Like it was never going to end. It felt like was going to die in that chair with the dentist tugging around inside my mouth. But you know what I thought while I was sitting in that dentist chair. You know what got me through it? He’s going to finish. I’m going to be able to get up and walk out to my car and go home and lay in my own bed. There will be an end. And thinking those thoughts helped me through that dental visit.

But shortly after the visit, then began the discomfort, the sleepless nights, the pain of my missing teeth. Never being able to eat what I want. It wasn’t fun! And it seemed like it was never going to end! Week after week after week of pain and my gums never seeming to heal. But you know what got me through it? One day my gums will be healed. They won’t be like this forever. One day I’ll be able to eat what I want. I’ll be able to sleep with out pain.

And maybe that’s what we need.

We need that reminder that Elisha gave Joash. For the tough days. For the painful days. For the difficult seasons. There will be an end.

Just a few weeks ago, I was going through a really difficult situation that seemed insurmountable! Like it would never end. It was all I could think about. It was tough. And someone, a great mentor to me, in the face of the big circumstance I was facing, looked into my eyes and said the words, “This too shall pass”. And with that suddenly peace flooded my soul. Why? Because I realized that one day I will have victory through Christ in my situation. It may not be today or tomorrow or next week. But one day this will pass. One day I will have victory.

Some of you are in the midst of really painful and difficult battles that have been going on a really long time! I know that things may seem dark. It may seem never ending. Like you will never overcome. That you’ll never find success.

But maybe all it takes is a little hope, a little faith this morning, to declare the victory of Christ over your situation.

Because if we can find that small bit of faith, what hope and peace that can bring into the present day. When we are in pain, and we’re fighting and struggling, when we can’t overcome our addictions, we can say “One Day”

I’ll no longer be addicted, I’ll be free My children will be in church and know and love God I won’t be struggling financially I will be reconciled with that person I will have joy I will have peace

because I believe God’s promises are true, I will have victory, and the Lord will supply me with the peace and hope I need for today. I can fight today because God has the victory over tomorrow.

Good morning everyone, it’s a joy to be able to share with you this morning. Good morning to all of you who are joining us via Facebook live as well. We’re glad you’re tuning in with us.

Have you ever wanted something so bad, that you would do anything to get it? You would fight, you would run, you would tear up and tear down, there is no price tag to expensive, no task too crazy, ain’t no mountain high enough, no valley low enough, no river wide enough if it means you can get this thing. Have you ever wanted something so bad, that you would do anything to get it.

Even now, some of you are wanting something. And I’m not even talking about something materialistic or even something selfish. You want your kids to have a relationship with Jesus. You want them to be in church. You want justice for the hurting and the broken in your families and your communities. You want to stop your hurtful habits and unhealthy addictions. We want things to change financially and emotionally. We just want to feel joy again. We just want to be at peace. We want things.

I think that all of those things are not just things that we want, but I think that’s God’s desire for you as well. Freedom, joy, peace. He wants a relationship with your kids. He wants healing for the broken. And guess what he wants to use you. And he wants to give you the strength to fight for what you believe, fight for freedom from sin, and fight for joy and peace. He wants to enable you to be a warrior.

The sermon this morning is entitled A Warrior’s Battle Plan.

We’re going to be talking about how God enables us to be warriors for what we believe in but before we begin I want to begin with a small caveat.

I think whenever you have a sermon entitled the Warrior’s Battle Plan, it sounds a little masculine a little manly, and I’d hate for any women to tune me out because I’m talking about what it means to be a warrior. In fact, I think that women make some of the best warrior. I am married to a warrior of a woman. I’ve seen her fight, I’ve seen her pray, I’ve seen her go to bat for the people that she loves and she wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of reconciliation. I know that my wife is a warrior.

Men if you’re married to or dating a woman warrior would you say amen?

When I talk about being a warrior, I’m talking about being a person who will let nothing stand in the way of getting thirst for, letting nothing get in the way of your divine dreams and letting nothing stand in the way of reconciliation. You’re a fighter. You’re determined. You’re resolved. You’re a warrior.

You see, the only reason that we can be warrior’s today for a sinless life and for our loved ones, is because someone was a warrior for us.

Christ, because he loved you so much, stopped at nothing to die for you. He could have quit. He had the opportunity. Betrayed, beaten, flogged, and mocked, he let nothing stop him from reaching his goal. And dying for you. And even death itself couldn’t stop him. Christ was a warrior, he fought for the salvation of you and of me.

Not only do we need to Seek the Power, and Proclaim the victory, but the final part of our battle plan is to Never Stop Fighting!

Let’s take a look at the final act of Elisha’s prophecy play. He has Joash grab the bow and arrow and he places his hands over Joash’s hands, then he has Joash shoot an arrow out the window to declare victory over the battle that hasn’t even begun and then this happens:

18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

20 Elisha died and was buried.

This is probably one of the most unusual parts of this passage. Elisha tells Joash to take his bow and strike the ground with the arrows. And Joash follows Elisha’s instruction, but he only strikes the ground three times.

And Elisha, for some reason, is unhappy with that! He says how dare you only hit the ground 3 times! Now if you would of hit it 5 or even 6 times you would have had victory over Aram. A complete victory. You would have wiped them off the face of the planet. But now you will only defeat the Aremeans three times. After that, well…it’s not going to be good.

What happened! First Elisha was talking about the arrow of victory over Aram, and then after having Joash perform the pointless task of striking the ground with arrows, suddenly he won’t find complete victory. He’s not going to wipe them out. Why?

Because he only hits the ground three times.

And we don’t get a whole lot of explanation on why this is a big deal.

Scripture just goes on to say that Elisha then died. And the story ends there.

So we have to look at this Scripture and attempt to evaluate why Elisha and also God were unsatisfied with Joash only striking the ground 3 times.

I think that Joash’s actions reflected his character. You see, this is who he was. He wasn’t a fighter. He wasn’t determined. He wasn’t really a warrior. He was a quitter. That’s why there were still idols in Israel even though he knew that Yahweh reigned supreme. That’s why there were others temples and the nation was filled with sin. He was a quitter not a fighter. And even now, he stopped striking and was satisfied with only three arrows. And it’s clear God wanted more.

You see, the fact of the matter is that God is active and working in our lives and situations. When we bring something to God in prayer, we believe he cares and he hear us. But sometimes, Even though God is actively working, sometimes He’s waiting on us to Act! He’s waiting on us to move. For us to fight.

And yet we, like Joash, give up. We expect God to do all the work. We take a step back and say, okay God, whenever you’ve finished working in this situation, let me know. Many times we grow so upset because we feel like our situation isn’t improving, we work and we pray and we don’t see change. And so we give up.

But the fact of the matter is that sometimes the reason we don’t find victory in our circumstances is not because God has given up, it’s because we have.

We’ve given up in the midst of our battles, and who can blame us. We’ve been wounded time and time again. Wounded by disappointment and failure and unanswered prayer, and betrayal, and relapses. Another wound another wound another wound. Until we finally throw up our hands and say I’m done! It’s not worth the fight. Sometimes we don’t find victory, not because God’s given up, but because we have.

You see, God wants to enable us and help us to be warriors in the battles we face. He’s working behind the scenes. He’s preparing our circumstances, and working in the hearts of others, but he wants us to pick up our bow and arrow, and begin striking! And striking and striking and not let up until we find complete victory in Him!

One way to look at it is this: the size of your fight directly correlates the size of your faith. If you have a big faith that God is going to breakthrough the impossibility of your situation, you will fight day after day after day. Because you know God’s going to come through. So I’m just going to keep fighting. Keep pushing. Keep believing. And God honors your faith. And God honors your fight.

We have someone in our church who is battling a physical problem. And she’s been battling it for years and years. And I know that she has big big faith that God is going to come through and heal her. And guess what. That big faith correlates to a big fight. Because I know that not one day goes by that she doesn’t lift that request up in prayer. She is a warrior and she is in the midst of battle and she is fighting alongside God. The size of her fight equals the size of her faith.

I’m afraid that we, like Joash, have given up on our battles. We’ve encountered difficult or even impossible situations, and whether our faith is just too small, or we’re discouraged, or we’re weary, whatever the reason is, we’ve given up. We’ve stopped fighting. We’ve grown content with hitting the ground three times. And we’re just too burnt out to keep trying.

Parents we’ve quit fighting for our children. We have teenage or adult children who are not walking with God. They are going the wrong way. They don’t know him and we’re ready to give up. We’re ready to throw in the towel. Let them do their own thing. Let them make their own decisions.

To you I say: Your children are never too old for you to fight for them! We need to keep fighting! Fight for your families! Fight for your children! Don’t give up!

There are some of you here today who are in relationships that seem too far gone. DOn’t stop fighting! Just keep going! Just keep fighting! Just have faith! Fight for your relationships!

There are some of you here today who are struggling with addiction. Men, there is one particular addiction that we are more susceptible to. I’m trying to be careful because I know we have kids in the room. But you know what I’m talking about. Statistics say that 79% of men between 18-30 look at that junk monthly. Men! We’ve stopped fighting! We’ve stopped the battle against lust! We’ve given in. We have to begin fighting again!

Married couples! You have to fight for your marriage. And I’m young and haven’t been married very long, but I know that sometimes and some seasons it is a battle! You have to fight to stay married. It takes work and dedication and tears and long conversations. But we are warriors and we are up the challenge and we are ready for the fight to remain committed to one another.

When we are in the middle of difficult and seemingly impossible battles we grow weary and worn and so the easiest thing we can do, is just give up. It’s easier to just stop fighting.

If that sounds like you, if you’re sitting in the middle of your battlefield broken and discourage, and you’ve given up, this morning I want to say to you, never stop fighting! It’s time to pick yourself back up and shoot another arrow. Another prayer. Another conversation. And with God alongside you. Giving you power. And looking forward to the future to find hope in present. Shoot another prayer and keep fighting your battles until you see victory.

As I thought about this, I thought about one of my favorite movies Hacksaw Ridge.

If you haven’t seen it, it’s a movie that takes place in World War II. It’s a true story that follows a man named Desmond Doss, a combat medic who was a devout Christian and a contentious objector. He refused to carry a gun, or kill. But he wanted to enlist to help people and take care of the wounded on the battle field.

The climax of the movie takes place on Hacksaw Ridge. An integral portion of land for the war that needed to be won by the allies. The problem was that it was positioned a top this cliff that was hundreds of feet tall.

After Desmond and his until scale the cliff and enter into this No Man’d Land, they are ambushed by the Japanese army that was hidden in underground tunnels.

Much of Desmonds unit is wounded or killed and a small portion of them make it back down off the cliff face to safety. Even though Desmond was one of the lucky ones to make it back to the cliff, he refuses to go back down. Instead, he dives back into the heavy battle that was taking place, and in the midst of bullets and artillery shells, Desmond finds a wounded man, and carries him on his back back to the cliff face, and using a rope, lowers him down to safety.

It’s an admiral things to do, but Desmond doesn’t stop there. Instead, he says a prayer. Lord, help me get one more. And once again Desmond goes into the heavy fighting and finds another wounded man, some how safely brings him back to the cliff and lowers him to safety. Again, Desmond prayed the same prayer: Lord, help me get one more. And again and again Desmond ran into thee fighting to save just one more. Just one more. Just one more.

Altogether, Desmond Doss saved 75 wounded soldiers off of Hacksaw Ridge. That’s a true story. And that was Desmond’s true prayer.

Lord, help me get one more.

I think Desmond’s story perfectly illustrates for us how we, as warriors, have to begin fighting our battles.

The fightings going to get tough. You’re going to get discouraged. You’re going to fail, be let down, and want to give up.

But we have to be warriors who pray, Lord. Just one more. God help me just do one more.

God I’m battling this addiction against lust! I’m addicted to junk on the internet. Help me be free for today God. Help me battle today. Help me fight today. And then God help me fight one more day. One more day. One more day. One day at a time fighting for what’s right! Fighting for purity. Fighting for our families. We have to keep fighting and never stop fighting.

God help me fight for my family. I have kids that don’t know Jesus, I have prodigal sons who’ve run away. Lord help me fight for my children. Help me give one more peice of wise advice that they may not listen to. Help me have one more difficult conversation that may not end well. But God don’t let me give up on my family. One more text. One more phone call. One more prayer. We don’t stop fighting for our families. We don’t stop fighting for purity because we are warriors and we have the power of God behind us and faith in God for the future.

God help me fight my depression and anxiety. God help me find wise counsel and good christian mentors. Lord, I’m asking for one more day of peace. Give me one more day of joy. God I’m fighting for a day when I can be freed from the bondage, and whether you are giving doctors the wisdom they need to help me or therapists the wisdom they need to speak to me. Whether it’s spending time in your word or being filled with your spirit. Whatever it may be God I’m going to fight for joy and peace in my life.

God help me fight the battles against my past because my past failures and sins are thrown in my face again and again. I’m ready to give up and give in to who I once was. People from my past keep pulling me back. Sitautions from my past keep pulling me in. But God I’m going to fight for a new future. A renewed future. A free future. A Spirit led future. One more day God. One more day.

Whatever battle you’re facing, it’s time to pick up our bows and arrows and keep fighting for what’s right. Fighting for what’s true. Fighting for what’s pure. One more day. One more hour. One more prayer. One more hard conversation. One more step of faith.

Why?

Because we’re warriors. We are warriors who fight big because we have big faith. We are warriors who find power not in ourselves but in a God who has all the power and the glory. We are warriors who have a hope for the future that gives us peace in the present. And we are warriors who never stop fighting.

I can think of no better way to end a sermon on A Warrior’s Battle Plan, then to remember and be changed by the sacrifice of one of the greatest warrior’s of all by receiving Holy Communion together.

Will you take your communion cup with me?

On the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Likewise, when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.”

This Jesus was not a warrior like we think of. He didn’t fight with a sword or a bow. But instead he fought with truth and love. He fought for peace and forgiveness. And he fought for me and He fought for you.

This warrior loved you so much that He stopped at nothing to die for you. He could have quit. He had the opportunity. Just like us, he could have given up. He was betrayed, beaten, flogged, and mocked. And yet, with you and I on his mind, he never stopped fighting. He let nothing stop him from reaching his goal. That goal was the cross and it was there that he died for you.

And yet this man, was such a miraculous warrior that even death itself couldn’t stop him. He rose again and because of His sacrifice and resurrection, because he fought the battle against sin and evil, and was victorious, you and I can also have victory against sin and evil.

Because of Jesus Christ we can find power by His Spirit, find hope in our future, and fight life’s toughest battles.

The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

You see, the only reason that we can be warrior’s today for a sinless life and for our loved ones, is because someone was a warrior for us.

Christ, because he loved you so much, stopped at nothing to die for you. He could have quit. He had the opportunity. Betrayed, beaten, flogged, and mocked, he let nothing stop him from reaching his goal. And dying for you. And even death itself couldn’t stop him. Christ was a warrior, he fought for the salvation of you and of me.