Spiritual Warfare VI

Gods Weapons Against Nations

Reading and meditating on this subject sends shivers down our spine. This thought process triggers our reasoning into action, causing us to process this truth into our theology of the “Ways of GOD”. So after much soul searching , we realize and come to accept that Almighty God actually has Destroyers of Nations as part of His Arsenal to execute His righteous judgement against the rebellious nations. They defied God and His ways. Then they were judged and the VERDICT decreed. We have heard, “it is a terror to be under the verdict of Gods Judgements”. Remember these are people who defiantly rejected all of whom GOD is. This spiritual principle is simple, yet terrifying, working even today. This judgement can only be satisfied by enforcement, or by MERCY through Christ Jesus redemptive work on the cross; emphasizing acceptance of the Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They must submit to Gods plan of MERCY or the spiritual principle of Gods Justice will not be stayed. Judgment will be rendered. The spiritual principle of MERCY is enforced when Gods Justice is satisfied by a man or nation repenting of this evil and turning their hearts to GOD. Then walk in and through Gods door of Mercy. That door of Mercy is Gods Son and Messiah, Jesus. To be clear, embracing and walking in Jesus, is embracing and walking in Gods MERCY. Let us dive into the Old Testament to examine these spiritual principles: GOD Judgement and GODS Mercy. Let us start in book of the Prophet Jeremiah.

(Sermon Note: Judgement is the message for part 1 of 2. Part two is Mercy in detail.)

Jeremiah 22:4–14 (JPS 1917)

For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by Myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. For thus saith the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah: Thou art Gilead unto Me, the head of Lebanon; yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, cities which are not inhabited. And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour: ‘Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city?’ Then they shall answer: ‘Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.’

Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him; but weep sore for him that goeth away, for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. For thus saith the Lord touching Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and who went forth out of this place: He shall not return thither any more; but in the place whither they have led him captive, there shall he die, and he shall see this land no more. Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him not his hire; That saith: ‘I will build me a wide house and spacious chambers’, and cutteth him out windows, and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.

It is to invite disaster to those who intentionally do evil and reject the Ways of God in matters of worship, living and justice. Let us consider doing all these things the way our Holy God has directed us, through the inner inner workings of the Holy Word and promptings of the Holy Spirit! “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. This is so applicable in that this Terror of Gods Judgement against the wicked, keeps us in remembrance of how wonderful it is to be under His Mercy through Christ Jesus! This is quite a catalyst to righteous living under the help of the Holy Ghost! Yes Lord Jesus, send Holy Spirit to help us walk the strait and narrow path to you. Let us not value a sinful life style that would cause us to want to hide from you. Therefore, let's consider this passage Jeremiah 23:23-24 before finishing our thoughts into understanding .

Jeremiah 23:23–24 (LEB)

Am I a God from near,” declares Yahweh, “and not a God from far? Or can a person hide himself in secret places and I cannot see him?” declares Yahweh. “Do I not fill up the heaven and the earth?” declares Yahweh.

Can an evil man hide himself from GOD? I think not . If an evil man will confess his sin, trespass or injustice to God, then confess Jesus Gods Son as Lord and savior, will God not forgive this man of his evil? Yes, and God will partner with this man to assist him to turn from his sinful lifestyle, embrace Jesus and teach him to live as a disciple of Jesus. A transformation in the making before our God! A loving example of Gods Justice satisfied by Christ Jesus ultimate work at the Cross releasing to the repentant man Gods Mercy! How could Israel or anybody, not repent knowing this Judgement is their wages for their iniquity. no wonder Jeremiah was filled with tears for his people and nation. Let us consider the following Scripture in Ezekiel. Ezekiel 14 1- 23

Ezekiel 14:1–23 (ESV)

Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I the Lord will answer him myself. And I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a byword and cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the Lord. And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear their punishment—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike— that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord God.”

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.

“If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it be made desolate, so that no one may pass through because of the beasts, even if these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.

“Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast, though these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be delivered.

“Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.

“For thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! But behold, some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord God.”

Again, rebellion of a nation against GOD, (that is Yahweh, Jesus and Holy Spirit,) will find that the Judgement of God against the “ Rebellion of the directions of God, rejection of Yahwehs’ Son Jesus as Messiah, will be administered to that nation as GODS JUSTICE, with the penalty of these judgements as well as eternal damnation. All this could be adverted with a humble cry for MERCY and a heart change back to God. Jeremiah backs up Ezekiel with a Word of THE LORD in this scripture in Jeremiah; Jeremiah 24: 10

Jeremiah 24:10 (ESV)

And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.”

What then can we surmise from all this? How did Israel or even the United States get to this place. They both had a nation full of idols and rebellious people who lovingly worshipped these idols. They openly rejected Gods way of Mercy through Jesus, while defying God with all their might and being. The genesis is a gradual falling away from God and His Presence. This pulling away from God and His presence leads us open to the leanness of our soul. Let us examine these scriptures and get an insight how this gradual condition begins. Amos8: 11-14

Amos 8:11–14 (LEB)

Look, the days are coming,” declares my Lord Yahweh, “when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine for bread and not a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Yahweh! And they will wander from sea to sea and from the north and to the east. They will roam about to seek the word of Yahweh, but they will not find it! In that day the beautiful young women and the young men will faint because of thirst. These are those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘By the life of your gods, O Dan,’ and ‘By the life of the way of Beersheba,’ they will fall and they will not rise again.”

The young will be thirsty for GODS WORD and long for it to fill their ears and hearts with the knowledge of the Holy LORD God. Also let’s consider Amos 4:6-13

Amos 4:6–13 (LEB)

“And I in turn gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you did not return to me,” is the declaration of Yahweh. “And I also withheld the rain from you when there were still three months to the harvest. And I would send rain on one city and send no rain on another city. One tract of land will be rained on, and the tract of land on which it does not rain will dry up. So two or three cities wandered to one city to drink water and they were not satisfied, yet you did not return to me,” is the declaration of Yahweh. “I struck you with blight and with mildew. Frequently the cutting locust devoured your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees, yet you did not return to me,” is the declaration of Yahweh. “I sent among you a plague in the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, along with the captivity of your horses. And I made the stench of your camps go up into your nostrils, yet you did not return to me,” is the declaration of Yahweh. “I overthrew some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a stick snatched from the fire, and yet you did not return to me,” is the declaration of Yahweh. “Therefore, thus I will do to you, O Israel. Because I will do this to you, O Israel, prepare to meet your God! Yes, here is the one who forms the mountains, and the one who creates the wind, and the one who reveals to humankind what his thoughts are, the one who turns dawn into darkness, and the one who treads on the heights of the earth; Yahweh, the God of hosts, is his name!”

Let us continue our inquiry into this thought. Amos5: 8-9

Amos 5:8–9 (LEB)

The one who made the Pleiades and Orion and who turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens day into night, the one who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name! The one who makes destruction flash upon the fierce, so that destruction comes upon the fortification.

No evil person can save himself from the judgement of God. No place is safe or hidden when the weapons of God are released. Where can he hide or flee to to avoid Gods Justice and their due wages for their iniquity. The answer is obvious. NOWHERE!!!

Sermon Conclusion:

We have seen what Gods answer is to the insistently rebellious men on earth who reject Gods life of mercy and the work of Messiah for remission of these sins. However this scripture in Zechariah gives us insight into the Mercy of GOD. Oh that Israel would have harkened to Gods Word. May the United States who still has a chance to repent and walk in the way of The God of Abraham, Issac, Jacob and the Church Of Jesus Christ! Let us read Zechariah’s written account of the third vision he saw in Zechariah 3.

Zechariah 3 (AMP)

THEN [the guiding angel] showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at Joshua’s right hand to be his adversary and to accuse him.

And the Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! Even the Lord, Who [now and habitually] chooses Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this [returned captive Joshua] a brand plucked out of the fire?

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the Angel [of the Lord].

And He spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And He said to [Joshua], Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel.

And I [Zechariah] said, Let them put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with [rich] garments. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.

And the Angel of the Lord [solemnly and earnestly] protested and affirmed to Joshua, saying,

Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in My ways and keep My charge, then also you shall rule My house and have charge of My courts, and I will give you access [to My presence] and places to walk among these who stand here.

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your colleagues who [usually] sit before you—for they are men who are a sign or omen [types of what is to come]—for behold, I will bring forth My servant the Branch.

For behold, upon the stone which I have set before Joshua, upon that one stone are seven eyes or facets [the all-embracing providence of God and the sevenfold radiations of the Spirit of God]. Behold, I will carve upon it its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity and guilt of this land in a single day.

In that day, says the Lord of hosts, you shall invite each man his neighbor under his own vine and his own fig tree.

After much contemplation with all this information, thoughts, and conclusions , I hope we, as a praying church, can see that God brings either Gods Judgement or Gods Mercy through Jesus work on the cross. Mercy for the repentant man. Enforcement of Gods Justice on those who rebel against Jesus; the provided open door to the MERCY of GOD. Can a nation habitually rebel against God and still expect to be blessed as a nation that shows reverence and worships GOD? Can they worship other gods and idols and not be punished? The HOLY Scriptures say NO! They must turn from their wicked ways, and confess their sin! This is the way of God and His spiritual principle of repentance or judgement. I am reminded of the prophetic warning by Jesus to his disciples, “ BEWARE of the leaven of the Pharisees”. Beware of the traditions of man. Avoid the traditions of the Pharisees. We must stay in the Holy Scriptures and stay true to our great and Awesome God in our heart and in all our ways. Let us examine how to apply these truths in our prayer life as well as our daily living. Let us take a closer look at applying this scripture and spiritual principles to our time in spiritual warfare.

Application in Spiritual Warfare:

Pray before any spiritual warfare is attempted. Pray for Holy Spirit to give strategy as well as discernment on how to pray in line with what the will of Father God is. NOT against what Father God is doing. Discernment and Father Gods will is the first consideration. Is the subject of our prayer in the stage of Mercy or under Gods verdict of Judgement.

What is or our mission in prayer, intercession, warfare, or prophetic declaration, utterance or decree. Are we in Agreement with GODs Judgement or GODs Great MERCY given to HIS children and nations.

Peace in our submission to Gods will in this prayer assignment, as well as Peace in our agreement with Gods Will as we pray and leave our prayer or supplication at the Throne Room and Court of our Sovereign GOD.

Watching for the answers to manifest as Holy Spirit said it would.

Meditate on his word as you watch, keeping alive the message of the prayer and petition rendered to an our AWESOME LOVING GOD!

LOOK for opportunities to pray for Repentance and Mercy for our Nation!

Remember You are Gods own and His MERCY is great. Praying and coming into agreement with Gods will is rewarding. It brings a feeling of well being and great PEACE in HIS ability to be OUR GREAT and MERCIFUL GOD! GOD can do all He has promised to us His children and answer those prayers we prayed in the INTIMACY of HIS PRESENCE. So stay living in the PEACE of our God . Let Holy Spirit transform us into all GOD wants us to be. Blessed be the Name of Jesus.

Let it be so Lord Jesus.