Characteristics Of The Armies Of God

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ARMIES OF GOD

1 Chron. 12:1-2,8,18,23,32-33

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: Regular Feeding --

1. Susan Ward and her daughter caught only one perch on their fishing trip— too small for even a modest lunch. So they decided to feed it to her two cats. She put our catch in their dish and watched as the two pampered pets sniffed at the fish but refused to eat it.

2. Thinking quickly, her daughter then picked up the dish, walked over to the electric can opener, ran it for a few seconds, then put the fish back down. The cats dug right in!

B. TEXT

1 Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, helpers in the war, 2 armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren. 8 Some Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as gazelles on the mountains: 18 Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said: “We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.”So David received them, and made them captains of the troop. 23 Now these were the numbers of the divisions that were equipped for war, and came to David at Hebron to turn over the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the Word of the LORD. 32 of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command; 33 of Zebulun there were fifty thousand who went out to battle, expert in war with all weapons of war, stouthearted men who could keep ranks.

C. “GOD’S GOT AN ARMY”

1. The Song of Solomon 6:10, describes the church as a great army arrayed with banners. The Lord Jesus in Matthew 16:18 indicated that the church was in a conflict with hell and would batter down its Gates. In this conflict, every believer is a soldier. To that purpose, we're going to look at the armies who supported David to get clues of how we should be arrayed to battle alongside our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Paul said, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” Eph. 6:12. The whole of God's angels and children are involved in this struggle to save humanity and men's souls.

3. Paul pictures the completion of our warfare in First Corinthians; 24After that comes the end (the completion), when He delivers over the kingdom to God the Father after rendering inoperative and abolishing every [other] rule and every authority and power. 25For [Christ] must be King and reign until He has put all [His] enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy to be subdued and abolished is death. 1 Cor. 15:24-28, Amplified.

4. It has been predetermined by God that every opposing force to the kingdom of God will be destroyed. We need to be on his side. As soldiers in the Army of God, what characteristics should we nurture in our lives? What kind of man is looking to turn the kingdom over to God’s Son?

I. THEY’RE DEVOTED TO DAVID/ CHRIST

A. DAVID A TYPE OF CHRIST

1. David is a prophetic type of Christ in the Old Testament. David was God's Champion, a man after God's own heart, who defeated the enemy’s giant by a blow to the head and led God's people to victory.

2. He was a man after God's own heart who restored the worship and presence of God to God's people. He was Israel's King who meted out righteousness and justice, and his reign was crowned with peace.

3. Since David is a type of Christ, this draws a parallel between David's followers and us as believers.

B. SEPARATED THEMSELVES TO THAT PURPOSE

1. David’s army “separated themselves to David” (vs.8, 19). They left all their other pursuits and dedicated themselves exclusively to uplifting David and ushering in his kingdom.

2. Our devotion to Christ and ushering in his kingdom should be the single and most important thing in our lives as well. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you as well" Mt. 6:33.