War Horse

WAR HORSE

Zechariah 10:3”My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the LORD of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.”

Above is the anchor scripture and theme for the seminar - WAR HORSE!

Extract of my sermons preached at the LEADERSHIP SEMINAR – AIC(Abide in Christ) FIRE CAMP- hosted by us on zoom from May 6-8, 2020 during lockdown period - COVID 19, I give it neatly broken into points and sub- headings so that it would be easy to follow, here we go….

Introduction: While my whole family were on 40 days fasting in February, 2020 for the upcoming events of the year, God’s voice was crystal clear when He gave me the theme and the title of the AIC camp. I spoke on all the three days and 4 other preachers shared the Word too; however, I share my points below.

This is no kinder garden stuff, brace yourself up for power, we have been listening and watching too much of juicy sermons dripping with honey and candy that we have forgotten to train our hands for war; therefore when the enemy approaches, you stumble and fall at the very first instance. Listen up! Life is just not hunky-dory all the times, if somebody told you that, then he is a liar, there are times of intense pressure which is unavoidable and inescapable hence it is wise to expect sudden dangers and be prepared on your knees.

Today there is a dearth for good mentors and coaches who would daringly lead the people to become strong, independent and confident. We need people like Apostle Paul who said, ‘Imitate me!’ Sadly when I scan few sermons, there is plagiarism among the preachers who cut and paste, no wonder our churches are closed ( I write this during the COVID-19 quarantine period) Rev John Piper said, that he starts preparing for his sermons right from Friday for his Sunday morning message, drafts are made over and over again until he finally gets the complete sermon, such was his hard work. Not many do this though, people want ‘fast food’ sermons , when the shepherds themselves do this, that’s exactly why the Lord said,” My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats..” When the Leader is weak then we cannot expect strong followers. However, the Lord was not going to leave His flock to wander and scatter, He said, “I would visit them myself and make them as majestic war horses.” Wow! Now we are going to find how!

WAR HORSE: I would like to give the characteristics of a war horse, not just ordinary horse but a war horse. Amen. The legs of horses are not heavy but they are sturdy and strong which enables them to be swift and superfast. They don’t run but gallop, the necks are very strong to carry the armored knight as well as the weapons and armor pertaining to the battle. Besides all this the Lord tells us some amazing stuff about horses, read: Job 39:

19 "Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane?

20 "Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrible.

21 "He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; He goes out to meet the weapons.

22 "He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; And he does not turn back from the sword.

23 "The quiver rattles against him, The flashing spear and javelin.

24 "With shaking and rage he races over the ground, And he does not stand still at the voice of the trumpet.

25 "As often as the trumpet sounds he says, 'Aha!' And he scents the battle from afar, And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.”

Now listen, God was going to transform His flock who are weak , fearful and timid into WAR HORSES! Boy! That’s something! Watch!

IMPORTANT POINTS:

1) THERE ARE BATTLES IN LIFE

2) WE HAVE TO BE TRAINED

3) WE HAVE TO BE PROACTIVE & READY

4) PREPARE

5) SKILLED FOR IMPROMPTU ATTACK

6) DETERMINATION

1)THERE ARE BATTLES IN LIFE!

Life is not going to be hunky-dory all the time! There are series of battles that you have to fight on the way, yep series of battles – not one - so we need to get this into our system. If we fail to understand this, then we sure are naïve, stupid and senseless, are you listening? In one of his interviews, Vivian Richards by his own admission said, he would not mind dying while playing cricket. In fact, for him, nothing would have been better than dying on the 22 yards. (April 10, 2020, Indian Express) West Indies legend Viv Richards was an attacking batsman, he said that he would take on fast bowlers of any stature without wearing a helmet. That is careless over confidence; however, we don’t fight like the world nor live like the world, are you listening? Apostle Paul talks about putting on the armor of God in this world: The Armor of God