Introduction
Arise and contend in battle is not a suggestion, an advice or a plea. It is an order. An order that can only come from a Commander-in-Chief or head of an army. Indeed God is our Commander in Chief who based on Deuteronomy 2:24, has issued an order to us to arise and contend in battle. That verse says ‘Rise, take your journey, and cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and engage him in battle.’
In Exodus 15:4, God is called a Man of War. Psalm 24:7 says He is the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord Mighty in Battle. Several Bible verses also refer to Him as the Lord of Hosts (Isaiah 3:1, 1 Samuel 1:11, Isaiah 44:6, Malachi 3:17, Haggai 2:4). Hosts means armies, it means a great number and multitude. God is the Commander in Chief of the heavenly host (Luke 2:13). He is also the Commander in Chief of His army here on earth made up of a great number, a great multitude of believers who are soldiers for Christ.
From the time the devil rebelled against God and took one third of the angels in heaven (Revelation 12:7-9), there has been strong satanic opposition and resistance to the will, counsel and plan of God. When God saves us, He recruits us, He enlists us into His army so that together with Him, we can stand against every satanic opposition to the will of God for individuals, families, the church of God and nations of the world. We are not saved to live carefree lives, to frolic around, party and play all day long. The Christian life is not a jamboree. Romans 14:17 says the kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking…We are saved to serve as soldiers of the cross who contend in battle against everything contrary to the plan and purposes of our God. This is why 2 Timothy 2:3 tells us to endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 6:11-14 tells us to put on the armour of God, the military uniform of soldiers in God’s army. Jeremiah 51:20 tells us that we are God’s battle axe and weapons of war. God wants to use us to shatter the plans, meetings, arrangements of the kingdom of darkness. God wants to use us to root out, pull down, destroy and throw down everything He has not planted in our lives, families, church and nation (Jeremiah 1:10).
In 1 Samuel 1:11, when Hannah prayed to God for a child she said ‘O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head’. Why did Hannah address God as the Lord of hosts when praying for a child? Hannah realised that what was happening to her wasn’t something ordinary. She was engaged in a battle that needed the intervention of the Captain of Captains, the Commander in Chief of the heavenly army and the army of believers here on earth. Hannah’s praise and prayers to God after He answered her prayers, are truly reflective of someone who indeed had been in a serious battle and God had given victory. In 1 Samuel 2:9-10 she said ‘He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; from heaven He will thunder against them…
I pray every adversary against God’s plan for your life, God’s blessings manifesting in your life will be broken in pieces as you arise and contend in battle.
There are some battle God fights with His heavenly host; His heavenly army without our involvement. For example, when we are fast asleep at night, He who watches over Israel that neither sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:4) is awake doing everything possible alongside His angel of protection that encamps around us (Psalm 34:7), to ensure no evil befalls us at night, to ensure our lives are not cut short and terminated by the evil arrows flying about or by the terrible things being planned for us and our families at meetings of darkness.
Then there are battles that we need to arise and fight, and as we do this Jehovah, the Man of war and His heavenly army will stand by us, back us up, fight for us like He did for Hannah. One of such battles is the one mentioned in Deuteronomy 2:24. We see from this verse who needs to arise and contend in battle.
Who Needs To Arise and Contend in battle?
1. The first category of people that need to arise and contend in battle are those that are experiencing stagnation.
God said ‘Rise, take your journey’. This was an order to get moving! Get up, move out of here, move from here, don’t remain here. If we read Deuteronomy 2:2-3, we will understand why God said rise and take your journey, rise up and move. It was because the Israelites had dwelled on this mountain, had been on this spot, on this level for way too long. The charge to arise and contend in battle means arise and contend against all forms of stagnation in your life, family, church and nation.
Stagnation is a situation where there is little or no progress, no growth, no development, no increase. Stagnation could be financial. Deuteronomy 28:23 talks about people that the heavens over their lives are closed. In such circumstances, it will be extremely difficult to make any headway financially. Leviticus 26:20 talks of people exerting their strength and energy to work, yet all their efforts and labours are fruitless. Peter found himself in a similar situation in Luke 5:5 where he had worked all night, worked very hard, yet there was nothing to show for all his labours.
Stagnation could also be physical. There are people that have been battling with a health challenge for so long. They have tried everything possible, yet there’s no change, no remedy, no improvement, no progress in that area of their lives. This describes the situation of the woman with the issue of blood Mark 5:25-26. ‘Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse’. The crippled man at the pool of Bethesda who had been in this condition of ill health for thirty eight years, also experienced physical stagnation until he had an encounter with Jesus Christ (John 5:1-9). I pray that today everyone who has been battling with a health challenge for so long will have an encounter with the power of God today.
Stagnation could also be spiritual. There are people experiencing stunted and stagnant spiritual growth. They are still feeding on milk instead of eating the meat and bones of God’s Word (1 Corinthians 3:2). It is not a normal condition for someone of 25 years or 50 years to be drinking milk from a feeding bottle, but that’s the state of the spiritual life of many believers. When they should be teaching, training, impacting and developing others, they are still being taught the same thing over and over again (Hebrews 5:12).
If this is the situation you find yourself today, you are experiencing stagnation in your life, it could be financial, physical, educational, physical, marital or spiritual, you need to arise and contend in battle so the King of Glory, the Lord strong and mighty in battle, can come into your situation, and the head of every gate the enemy has used to lock you up in a particular level in life is lifted up (Psalm 24:7-10, Isaiah 45:2). You need to arise and contend in battle so every spiritual chain the enemy has used to chain you down to a particular level in life is shattered to pieces by the power of God (Psalm 107:14, Jeremiah 30:8).
2. The second category of people that need to arise and contend in battle are those that God has given a divine instruction.
The divine instruction the Israelites were given in Deuteronomy 2:24 was ‘cross over the River Arnon’. When you have a divine instruction, you have received from God something that can turn your life around, something that can give you a major and massive breakthrough, something that places you right in the centre of God’s will for your life.
It was a divine instruction Abraham received in Genesis 12:1 ‘Leave your country, your family and your father’s house. This instruction led to Abraham becoming an extremely wealthy man (Genesis 13:2). It made him a father of nations, a father from whom we are blessed, from whom we are able through Christ Jesus to tap into and enjoy the same covenant blessings God gave Abraham (Galatians 3:8-14). May we receive divine instructions that will make us richly blessed in every area of our lives.
It was a divine instruction David received in 1 Samuel 30:8 ‘Pursue them’ that led to David recovering back all the Amalekites had taken from him and from his men. I pray God gives you a divine instruction that will lead to your recovering back every virtue, opportunity, blessing and testimony the enemy has taken from you.
It was a divine instruction Peter received in Luke 5:4 ‘launch out into the deep and let down your net’. This instruction put an end to fruitless labours in Peter’s life and gave him a major breakthrough in his fishing career.
Some people may say I am not someone that God usually gives instructions in dreams and visions like some of these Bible characters. I don’t operate in the prophetic or have the gift of word of wisdom or word of knowledge. I rarely receive divine instructions. But what about all the divine instructions you have received from the Word of God. Every time you read the Bible, God has an instruction for you. For example, ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thessalonians 5:17) is a divine instruction. ‘Give thanks in every circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18) is a divine instruction. These are simple instructions that if followed, can bring great blessings our way.
The Devil Is Against Our Obeying Divine Instructions
When you have received a divine instruction whether by way of a dream, vision, word of knowledge word of wisdom, or your instruction came as you read the Bible, you need to arise and contend in battle as the devil will do everything possible to see you don’t obey that divine instruction and receive the blessings that will come from your obedience.
God gave Saul a divine instruction in 1 Samuel 15:3. ‘Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey’. But what did Saul and his men do? ‘But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed’ (1 Samuel 15:9). This act of disobedience on Saul’s part made God regret making Saul king (1 Samuel 15:11) and led to God replacing him (1 Samuel 15:27-28). May we not be replaced; may another person not take the position, the opportunity, the blessing God originally intended for us.
What prevented Saul from obeying the divine instruction he received? Samuel explained it to him in 1 Samuel 15:23 ‘For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft; and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry…’ Saul did not arise and contend against the spirt of rebellion which is a manifestation of the spirit of witchcraft in operation. Saul did not bother to arise and contend against the spirit of stubbornness and anything that will want to take the place of God in his life. Hence when they struck, he fell prey to them. May this not be our portion in Jesus mighty name. Amen! The other thing that affected Saul and made him disobey God was that he was so caught up in pleasing people and trying to impress people (1 Samuel 15: 24-31). Saul was more concerned about pleasing the people rather than God. The opinion and feelings of the people mattered more to him than that of God. If you are concerned with what people think and say of you, you will miss it! You will end up pleasing people but dishonouring and displeasing God.
3. The third category of people that need to arise and contend in battle are those that God has handed over or entrusted certain things to them.
In Deuteronomy 2:24 God told the Israelites ‘look I have given into your hand Sihon, the Amorite, king of Hesbon and his land.’ What is our own Sihon, the Amorite, King of Hesbon and his land God has handed over to us, God has entrusted to us?
James 1:17 says every good and perfect gift comes from above. There are some good gifts God has handed over to us. If you have a wife, you have a good gift because Proverbs 18:22 says he who finds a wife, finds a good thing. If you have a child or children, you have a good gift from God. Psalm 127:3 says children are the heritage of God, they are a gift, a blessing from God. If you have a family you have a good gift God has handed over to you. And what does Nehemiah 4:14 say we should do if we have a family? ‘Fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.’ The devil will want to take them away from you, make you sorrow over them, do things in your family that will cause you pain, heartache and stress. This is why we must arise and contend in battle for our family.
One of the most tragic and painful experience a parent can go through is to have to bury your own child. In one day, Job buried his seven sons and three daughters (Job 1:2, 18-19). David buried three of his sons (2 Samuel 12:15-19, 2 Samuel 13:28, 2 Samuel 18:33). Naomi buried her two sons (Ruth 1:5). As it happened in Biblical times, it is happening today. The enemy is attacking families and making parents be the ones to bury their children. Some people will say you can die young and be fulfilled, after all Jesus died at 33 years and accomplished great things. Yes, it’s true, but if we look at some of the young people that have gone in recent times, even the ones in scripture mentioned above, it wasn’t a case of them fulfilling their purpose and God called them home. Many are actually attacks on families. I pray God will give us grace to arise and fight for our families so we don’t bury our young; we don’t bury our children, that they live to fulfil the length of their days (Exodus 23:26).
Apart from untimely death in families, there are families the devil attacks with serious health challenges both physical and mental. Can you imagine the emotional turmoil the family of the man that had legions of demons in him went through? This man used to walk around town naked and live comfortably in the cemetery with dead bodies. This would have been a major source of heartache for his family. He did have a family as after Jesus set him free, Jesus told him to go back to his family (Luke 8:21-39). Or can you imagine what the family of the boy in Matthew 17:14-21 went through. The emotional and physical strain and stress of having a son who had epilepsy and would have convulsions that often made him throw himself in water or fire.
The devil has been against families from the very beginning when he slyly and subtly attacked Eve (Genesis 3:1-6). He is still going to and fro the earth looking for which family to devour. This is why we must arise and fight for our families, we must arise and contend in battle for our families.
God has also handed over to us gifts, talents, ministries, divine abilities and special grace for certain assignments (Ephesians 4:8, Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11). The devil doesn’t send us a congratulatory card for receiving these gifts, no he tries everything possible to see that we don’t use and maximise them. This is why we need to arise and contend in battle. Clearly the man who got one talent and buried it didn’t realise the spiritual battle he was facing (Matthew 25: 14-30). He didn’t arise and contend in battle against distraction, against the spirit of laziness, the spirit that makes people lukewarm when given important assignments. He didn’t arise and contend against every form of fear and discouragement. This was why all the man that received one talent had to hand back to the Lord was a buried, dried up and abandoned ministry, an unused talent and gift, untapped and undeveloped potentials. May this not be the story of our lives in Jesus mighty name. Amen!
God has also entrusted to the church which is not the building, but you and I, the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18); the work of reconciling, bringing lost souls back to God. An assignment the devil hates with passion because he doesn’t want people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. So he goes around blinding the eyes of unbelievers so they can’t see God’s love and truth (2 Corinthians 4:4). This is why we need to arise and contend in battle so every veil of deception covering the unsaved is torn away. We need to arise and contend for the faith (Jude 1:3) so every strategy the devil has employed to make Christianity and the church look unappealing, look like nothing but a scam especially to young people is frustrated.
4. The final set of people that need to arise and contend in battle are those God has given possessions but they are yet to take ownership of these possessions.
In Deuteronomy 2:24 God said I have given you Sihon, the Amorite, king of Hesbon and his land, begin to possess your possessions. In other words, it’s already yours, the king and his land, you just need to go and take ownership of what is rightfully yours.
If there are promises, prophecies and blessings God has said are rightfully yours, but you are yet to see the manifestation in your life, you need to arise and contend in battle.
On the cross when Jesus died for you and I, He gave us some possessions to possess. These possessions are rightfully ours and we need to take ownership of them. Jesus gave us healing. By His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 5:24). But if you keep moving from one health affliction to the other, you need to arise and contend in battle so you can possess your healing.
On the cross, Jesus gave us victory over principalities and powers. He triumphed over them and made a public spectacle of them (Colossians 2:14). But if you are always pressed down and oppressed by demons and wicked spirits in your sleep, you always get sexually contaminated and polluted in your dreams, you need to arise and contend in battle so the devil is put under your feet, where he belongs.
Jesus died that we may enjoy all round peace. In John 14:27 He said ‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ But if you are always troubled, anxious and fretting all over the place, if you toss and turn all through the night worrying about an issue, if you frequently have pounding headaches from thinking about a problem you are going through, you need to arise and contend in battle so you can receive the peace of God into your heart.
Jesus died to bring us into a life of abundance (John 10:10). He was made poor so that we would be rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). But if your life is a life of lack, begging, continuous financial suffering, struggling, shame and reproach, you need to arise and contend in battle to lay hold of the financial blessings and prosperity that is rightfully yours through Christ Jesus.
How Do We Contend in Battle?
I’m sure we must have identified areas in our lives where there is a need to arise and contend in battle. The question then is how do we arise and contend in battle? In Romans 15:30-32, we see Paul appealing to the believers to contend with him in prayer so that he could be delivered from those opposing him, so that he could go to the places God would have him go to and impact those God wants him to reach out to. Paul knew the great victories God gives when believers arise to pray that’s why he made this passionate appeal to them to arise and pray.
The weapon of prayer is not a carnal, ordinary weapon. It is mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). God is calling on us soldiers of Christ to arise and use this weapon, to rise up and contend in the place of prayer so we, our families, the church of God and our nation can be delivered from every evil work.
When we arise to pray, God takes over the battles of our lives and contends with everything and everyone contending against, He takes up our case and fights for us (Psalm 35:1-2).
Are You In a Position to Arise and Contend in Battle?
For you to arise and contend in battle, for you to arise and pray and heaven will back you up, you must be on the Lord’s side and have the Lord on your side. Our greatest armoury and arsenal when we go to battle is the presence of God, which comes from an intimate relationship with God. When the presence of God is with you, no matter the size and strategy of the enemy, they can’t defeat and overcome you (Deuteronomy 20: 1-4). Surely, the devil and his cohorts will gather against you because you are not one of them, but when God is with you, they will fall for your sake (Isaiah 54:17). God will frustrate, render weak and powerless all their devices and evil schemes for your life (Isaiah 8:10, Job 5:12). But when the presence of God is not with you, you are not on the Lord’s side, you are not born again, you haven’t surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus and you want to arise and contend in battle against powers and forces of darkness, they will attack you, pounce on you and defeat you. This was what happened to the sons of Sceva in Acts 19:11-26 who ended up being beaten up by the demons they were trying to cast out.
So, if you are not born again, you haven’t opened the door of your heart to receive Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour. Or you have backslidden from the faith, you have drifted away from God even though you still put up a font of showing up in church regularly, this is the time to surrender, consecrate and completely yield your life to the Lord. As you take this important step, you will be well equipped and empowered to arise and contend in battle, you will begin to enjoy great victories from the presence of God.
