The Heart Of A Warrior

The Heart of a Warrior

Introduction: The heart is the true seat of everything that you and I really are. Where your heart is - is where you really are. We have not been called out to be weak, feeble followers of Christ, rather we have been called out as intercessors, gap-standers, warriors, conquerors, defenders of the truth, heavenly patriots. Paul constantly related our daily Christian walk to an ongoing struggle and battleground.

We need to arrive at the place in our lives where we begin to understand that as believers in Jesus Christ, the enemy will be constantly attempting to wage war against us. He desires to bring us down, to destroy our faith and confidence, to shatter our hopes and dreams; ultimately, he desires to defeat us completely. This is where the heart of a warrior comes into play. If your innermost man, your heart, is set on being a warrior, if you are a warrior at heart, you will be prepared for whatever may come your way. You will live everyday saying, "Bring it on, devil!"

King David was a veteran of many foreign wars. He was a conqueror, a defender, a true patriot. This man was also a veteran of many spiritual wars and was thus primed in the art of engaging the enemy with the sole purpose of victory. Let’s look at this Psalm he wrote together.

Text: Psalm 27:1-14

Having himself been involved in such a vast number of physical and spiritual struggles and battles, David is more than qualified to instruct us in waging successful spiritual warfare and in the process, developing the heart of a warrior.

Developing the heart of a warrior begins by placing our:

1. Focus on God, Not on Fear - (vv. 1-3)

A. David begins with a strong declaration: "The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom should I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom should I be afraid?"

Illustration: Max Lucado shares the story of a parakeet named Chippie who had a very bad day. It began when the bird’s owner decided to clean his cage with a vacuum cleaner. She was almost finished when the phone rang, so she turned around to answer it. Before she knew it, Chippie was gone.

In a panic she ripped open the vacuum bag. There was Chippie, covered in dirt and gasping for air. She carried him to the bathroom and rinsed him off under the faucet. Then, realizing that Chippie was cold and wet, she reached for the hair dryer! Chippie never knew what hit him.

His owner was asked a few days later how he was recovering. "Well", she replied, "Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore. He just sits and stares."

Have you ever felt like that? One minute you’re whistling through life, and the next you’re caught up in a whirlwind of stress. Life sucks you up into its vortex and just when you think you’ve recovered from one trouble another wind of adversity blows in your direction.

Application: Don’t be like Chippie the parakeet. Don’t let the song go out of your life. David did not let fear take the song out of his life and neither should we. But how is this possible? It is possible only when we focus on who God is, how great He is, and what He means to us. He is our light. He is our salvation. Because of Him, we are no longer living in the darkness of sin. No enemy can take God’s salvation from us!

B. Continuing in verse 2 & 3, David says: "When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh, my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell. Though an army deploy against me, my heart is not afraid; though war break out against me, still I am confident."

-Spiritual warfare requires confidence. Confidence not in our own strength and abilities but in God and His strength and abilities and His power.

-The enemy uses psychological warfare against us. He knows that if he and his demons can get believers to fear, they have gone a long way in winning a spiritual battle.

C. David, the veteran warrior for God, knew the secret to winning the fear game - focus completely on God.

A warrior’s heart is refined as we learn to:

2. Practice Consistent Fellowship with God - (vv. 4-10)

A. Verse 4: "I have asked one thing from the LORD; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the LORD and seeking Him in His temple."

-When David says "all the days of my life" he is talking about constant communion with God. He is not talking about coming to God only when he’s in trouble!