Getting To Know God - Part 7 – The LORD is a Warrior - for Veterans Day 2019
Please stand as we read our newest memory Scripture together …
Jude 1:24-25
“To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy –
“To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
And our memory refresher verse(s) for today is(are) …
Colossians 3:23-24 NIV
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Please open your Bibles to Exodus 15:1-11
Military Veteran - a person who has served and is no longer serving in armed forces
War Veteran - a person who has had direct exposure to acts of military conflict
Combat Veteran - a person who has engaged in combat with the enemy and may still be serving in the military
Recently we have been going through a series called Getting To Know God.
So far we have taken a look at:
- Who God is – What is His Name – Yahweh – I Am Who I Am
- The God Who Heals
- The God Who Provides
- The God of Encouragement
- The God of Forgiveness
- The God of Peace
And Today, we will be looking at an aspect of Yahweh/Jehovah found in Exodus 15, but, before we read the Scripture let’s take a look at some of the events immediately preceding what is known as The Song of Moses.
All of Israel has been in living in Egypt for 400 years; first in peace and then in slavery. Yahweh has raised up Moses to be His prophet who will lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the land promised to their forefather Abraham.
Egypt does NOT what to lose their slave labor but through a series of plagues upon the Egyptians they finally let Yahweh’s people go, so, they leave.
Egypt has a mighty army. Israel has none. The Egyptians have “loser’s regret” and decide to get their labor force back. Israel is caught with its back against the sea and no path of escape.
Yahweh delivers the Israelites by creating a path through the sea so that they could pass through on dry ground. But that’s not all. When the Egyptian army followed them through the sea there was a different ending to their story and that ending is found in Exodus 15 in “The Song of Moses”.
With that in mind let’s read Exodus 15:1-11
(prayer asking the Lord for help)
Wow! What an amazing delivery from certain destruction. Yahweh is INDEED a mighty Warrior!
But fast forward about 860 years to the time of Jeremiah. The nation has become so wicked that it resulted in a civil war shortly after the reign of King Solomon with 10 tribes of Israel in the north and 2 tribes in the south in a nation known as Judah.
At that time Israel has been taken into captivity and Judah is following in their footsteps. How do we see Yahweh the Mighty Warrior now? Is He still fighting? Yes, but not for Judah!
Jeremiah 20:3-7 says,
“But Jeremiah answered them, ‘Tell Zedekiah, (the king of Judah) “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside this city. I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in furious anger and in great wrath. I will strike down those who live in this city - both man and beast - and they will die of a terrible plague. After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will put them to the sword; he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’”
WOW! Yahweh the Warrior who delivered Israel from the armies of Egypt is now fighting against His chosen people! What has changed? The LORD has NOT changed! The people of Israel have changed. By their choices they have decided to forsake Yahweh the God of Israel to bow down to idols representing demons. They have joined the enemy against God!
In military terms they have become traitors! They have become spiritually treasonous!!
But even now, listen to the mercy of Yahweh the Warrior to His spiritually traitorous, treasonous people …
Jeremiah 20:8-10
“Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what Yahweh says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. [Is Yahweh ready to give them a full pardon? No … but listen …] Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives. I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares Yahweh. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’”
Wow! Even in the midst of a well-deserved punishment Yahweh is extending life to them.
There is a phrase that is found in the KJV 248 times, “LORD of Hosts”
In the NIV it is translated as “LORD Almighty” 249 times.
In the Youngs Literal Translation it is “Jehovah of Hosts” which means, Jehovah of that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
We even see that Yahweh, The LORD who is a Warrior, also holds back His armies at certain times. We see this when Jesus is being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion.
One of the disciples has pulled out his sword and cut off the ear of the servant to the high priest and Jesus rebukes him by saying in …
Matthew 26:22-24
“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
Wow. Can you even imagine 60,000 - 72,000 angels coming to Jesus’ rescue??? One would be enough! I can’t even imagine what the angels would be thinking while they were watching this!
Anyway, the army of Heaven is not the only army Yahweh the Warrior has!
Yahweh is supposed to have an entire army on earth!
We who belong to Jesus are that army!
I never served in the US Military. The draft ended in January 1973 when the Paris Peace Accords were signed and the US withdrew its armed forces. The military was winding down and even though I did register for the draft in May of 1973 I was never called to service.
From that point on the US Military has been a volunteer force.
Now the Army of the Lord here on earth is always volunteer; no one is drafted.
Roughly 70% of Americans identify as being Christian. That would make the Army of Jesus to be around 231,000,000 strong. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine if that were true??? Can you imagine 231,000,000 people in one country living their lives in full obedience to the Lord and His Word?
On the other hand, can you imagine an army where the soldiers never speak to their commander? An army where the soldiers never read the orders for the day? An army where the vast majority of the soldiers don’t know their orders or they just choose to disobey them if they don’t like them?
Is that what US Christianity like? The local church in army of Jesus can be compared to a small military unit,
- Are there churches where people report each week but who have never truly been “sworn in” and committed themselves to the service of the LORD Who is a Warrior?
- Are there churches where the enemy and his effects on people’s lives are never mentioned because it would be “too negative”?
- Are there churches where people are never encouraged to “talk” to the head of the Army, the LORD of Hosts in prayer?
- Are there churches where the written orders (the Bible) is not trusted or considered to be any better than any other philosophy or religion?
- Are there churches where the Commander in Chief, the LORD of all Creation is almost an embarrassment?
What kind of soldiers for the Lord would be produced in churches like that?
Would they be genuine soldiers for Yahweh the Warrior or would they be like those who claim to have served but never did?
Would they be guilty of stolen valor???
What about you? What about me? Can you make these claims?
- Can you say that I have been “sworn in” to the Army of the Lord. I have placed my faith and my trust in Yahweh Who is a Warrior who is my salvation.
- John 3:36
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
- Do I believe that there is an enemy that wants to destroy my soul and the soul of every person who has ever lived? Do I recognize that his objective is accomplished through slavery to sin? Do I realize that speaking such truths as these are not “negative” but a statement of reality? Am I depending on the strength of Yahweh who is a Warrior to bring the victory?
- Ephesians 6:12 TLB
“For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies - the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.”
- Can you say that you communicate with the Lord of Heaven’s Army continually through prayer so that you can know His commands and so that you have the strength to obey them?
- Matthew 26:41 NLT
“Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
- Can you say that you read the Word of God as if your very soul depends on knowing it? Do you believe that the Word of God will teach you the heart of Yahweh who is a Warrior?
- Psalm 119:15-16
“I will study Your commandments and reflect on Your ways. I will delight in Your decrees and not forget Your Word.”
- Can you say that the greatest joy in your life is knowing Yahweh who is a Warrior and living in His salvation? Can you say that making the name of Jesus known is your greatest desire?
- Philippians 2:9-11
“Therefore God exalted (Jesus) to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Is that your life or are you a Christian in name alone?
There may be the “stolen valor” of a person who claims to be a Christian but is not here on earth but when we stand before the Judge all will be known.
When we think of veterans we think of heroes. And when we think of the most heroic we often think of the soldier who threw his body on a grenade in order to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. He gave life to those who would have been injured or killed.
Now imagine all of the most wicked people who have ever lived. Imagine that Hitler and Stalin and Mao were there. Imagine that the Supreme Court Justices who declared that abortion was to be legalized were there and the lawyers who pled the case were there, too. Imagine that all of the murderers and rapists and child molesters and sex slave traffickers were there. And imagine that those who use the Gospel for personal profit with no care for the souls of the lost were there?
Just imagine that group on its way to eternal destruction. Now, imagine that One who is perfect and pure and holy stands between them and the gaping jaws of hell and takes all of their wretched sin upon Himself for them just like the man who threw his body on the grenade.
That is what Yahweh who is a Warrior did for them and for you.
Through that sacrifice all of them could have eternal life instead of eternal damnation.
Through that sacrifice I can have eternal life instead of eternal damnation.
Through that sacrifice you can have eternal life instead of eternal damnation.
Doesn’t that make you want to tell EVERYONE about the great name of Jesus????
What a God!!!
(Recite the 3rd verse of How Great Thou Art – “And when I think …”
(Recite the 3rd verse of It is Well – “My sin, o the bliss …”
(Recite the chorus of Shout to the Lord …”
Don’t you want to be a real soldier in the Army of Yahweh the Warrior?
Final comments
Invitation to communion
Benediction
