DON’T FIND YOURSELF IN A SITUATION WHERE GOD IS FIGHTING AGAINST YOU
YOUR FLESH IS FORMED FROM THE EARTH AND IF GOD CHOOSES TO FIGHT YOU BY LAND, YOUR FLESH WILL RESPOND RAPIDLY TO HIS COMMAND
GOD CAN FIGHT WITH ANYTHING BECAUSE HE IS THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF ALL HOSTS: ANGELS, demons, FLIES, LICE, FROGS, WORMS
TO MAKE SURE THAT GOD WILL NEVER FIGHT AGAINST YOU, BEWARE OF PRIDE; GOD FIGHTS THE PROUD
NO MATTER HOW SUCCESSFUL YOU ARE NEVER FORGET THAT WITHOUT GOD, YOU CAN DO NOTHING. WEAR HUMILITY LIKE A DRESS!
GOD CAN FIGHT YOU IN THE AIR BECAUSE THE BREATH YOU BREATHE IS UNDER HIS CONTROL
GOD CAN FIGHT THROUGH THE LIQUID IN A MAN’S BODY
GOD’S METHOD OF FIGHTING IS PECULIAR. HE DOES NOT COME FROM THE ANGLE YOU EXPECT OR USE THE WEAPONS YOU EXPECT
WHEN GOD IS GOING TO FIGHT FOR YOU, HE WILL USE METHODS THAT YOUR ENEMIES CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND
– Pastor E. A. Adeboye on “FOR WHOM THE HEAVENS OPEN (Part 17)” || RCCG Online Sunday Service || 11th June, 2023
We go on with our study on “FOR WHOM THE HEAVENS OPEN” using Joshua as another example and this time we are looking at Part 17. Our text remains Joshua 5:13-15. Church Gist. We’ve looked at this passage for a couple of weeks now and we have learnt from this passage that: angels are in categories, we have Seraphims, Cherubims, Archangels. We’ve learnt that Joshua saw a man with a sword drawn in his hand and he approached him to ask him, are you for us or against us? That as Christians we are not supposed to run from our enemies, we are to move forward and challenge them. That we have no protection for our back in the whole armour of God because the Almighty God does not expect us to turn our backs to our enemies.
We have learnt that our God is the original General that when he is fighting by land he doesn’t just destroy his enemies, he does the burying at the same time. That he is the original Full Admiral by sea that when’s he decides to drown his enemies, he will make sure that there will be enough fish to finish them up. Church Gist. That when he fights by air, that as a matter of fact, he is the original one to throw bombs. If he is fighting with you, you can’t lose. If he fighting for you, you win without a fight. He makes you more than a conqueror. We have learnt that when God is on your side, you win physical, financial, marital, emotional, spiritual battles, etc.
But we have to tell you the whole story: we must present to you the complete picture. What happens if he fights against you? Because he can fight by land, sea, air, you need to know what happens if he fights against you so that you will make sure you do everything possible that you don’t find yourself in a situation where God is fighting against you. Church Gist. That you will remember that you are the dust of the Earth – Genesis 2:7. Remember he can fight by land that means he has control over the dust of the land. That your flesh is formed from the Earth and if he chooses to fight you by land as it were, your flesh that comes from the Earth will respond rapidly to his command.
For example 2 Kings 5:20-27. When he chose to fight against Gehazi for lying against the Holy Ghost carrier, when the man of God cursed him, very rapidly he left the presence of the man of God covered with leprosy. The body responded because God can fight by land. In Acts 12:20-23, when he decided to fight against a king, one moment the King was sitting on his throne, the next moment his entire flesh became food for worms. Church Gist. By the time he hit the ground from his throne, only bones remained. May be we should have added that when we call him the Lord of Hosts, it’s not only the host of the Angels in Heaven, host of all soldiers on Earth, he is also the Commander of the host of demons, Commander of the host of worms, Commander of the host of flies, Commander of the host of frogs, Commander of the host of lice. You don’t believe me? Ask Pharaoh. He will tell you that when he was against God and God decided to fight, he fought with frogs, flies, lice. Church Gist. He can fight with anything because he is the Commander in chief of all hosts. So you don’t want God to fight against you because he can speak a word to your flesh, that flesh made from the dust and the flesh will respond.
God is also the controller that he can fight in the air. It follows that because the very breath you breathe is under his control (Job 12:10), he can speak a word and a man will stop breathing. Church Gist. You know when somebody dies they say, he breathed his last. 1 Kings 17:17. God can withdraw the breath in a man.
When we talk about him fighting by water, I am sure that even if you don’t agree with scientists that 75 per cent of your body is water, at least you know that you have blood, water, saliva, liquid in your body. Church Gist. He can fight through the liquid in a man’s body. You don’t want God to fight you.
Now, there’s something else we need to note about him: his method of fighting is peculiar. Isaiah 55:8-9. When he wants to fight, he does not come from the angle you expect. He doesn’t use the weapons that you might expect. Church Gist. 1 Samuel 17:39-51. When God wants to fight, he at times doesn’t use methods that medicine can understand. When God is the one fighting a man and doctors are talking of this scan, that scan, this method, that method, he sits on his throne and laughs. I am sure by now we have learnt that demons don’t appear on X-ray because they don’t have bones like we know it.
– My prayer for every one of you listening to me today is that God will never fight you!
His method of fighting is not our own kind of method. If he is fighting you with methods you know then you can defend yourself with methods that are known which of course is good news on the other side when you are doing his will. When he is going to fight for you, he will use methods that your enemies can never understand. Church Gist. 2 Chronicles 20:1-25. When God wanted to lift the siege on Samaria, the enemy heard a sound from Heaven whereas all that was happening was the shuffling of 4 lepers because they were lepers they couldn’t walk as smartly as normal people would walk. So as they were shuffling on their way to the enemy camp, God turned the shuffling of the feet of lepers to the sound of a mighty army approaching. How wonderful it is when God is on your side! How terrible if he is against you!
Which is why I want you to learn some very crucial lessons this day in order to make sure that God will never fight against you:
1. Beware of pride: James 4:6. God fights the proud. So any time you are tempted to feel proud, quickly remind yourself not to be a fool because it is only a fool who will say, God come, let’s fight and see who will win. Only a fool will say to someone who touches mountains and they begin to smoke, come let’s fight, because if he touches your head in anger, there will be nothing left there. Church Gist. Only a fool will want to challenge the one who can turn a king to an animal for 7 years and still said, see how great I am. Only a fool will forget that it is written, 1 Samuel 2:7, that he can raise up and bring down. My beloved children, beware of pride. Wear humility like a dress. No matter how successful you are never forget that without him, you can do nothing.
2. Trust him and live by faith: we said that if God is fighting for you, it doesn’t matter how tough the battles may be, you will laugh last. Learn to trust him in all the battles of life. Live by faith. God is not a talkative; he speaks once and it is done. When he repeats himself it is because he is discussing something serious. Church Gist. When he says the same thing 3 times it means the matter is very very serious. He said 4 times in the Bible, “the just shall live by faith.” Habakkuk 2:4. So trust him, rely on him, let him fight your battles for you. Take your burdens to him and leave it there. Someone said, ‘report your battles to God and go to sleep; by the time you wake up, the battle will be over’ – that is if he is on your side.
If you learn humility, then trust him and you can be sure your tomorrow will be alright.
3. Finally, learn to say, “Thank you” each time he gives you a victory. That’s one major point I can never hammer too often because one of the major problems with us Christians is that, we are never thankful enough. Gratitude should be as close to us as breathing. Why must you be grateful particularly after a victory? Church Gist. It is because you are going to need him again. You’ve just fought a battle and gotten the victory, you forget to say thank you? What are you going to do when the next battle begins? Judges 15:14-20. Samson had just won a big victory and instead of saying thank you to the Almighty God he was boasting. Out of the same jaw bone came water and he was revived.
For those of us who have won victories and have not thanked God enough, please keep that in mind, after every victory, give him glory because you can be sure there is likely to be another battle soon. Ask Moses, after the victory at the Red Sea and the children of Israel danced and praised God in Exodus 15, almost as soon as they stopped praising God, they came to Marah and they were thirsty and the water was bitter. Church Gist. It wasn’t long before the bitter water became sweet. It was because they had shown gratitude for a previous victory, another one came.
So, take time particularly today in showing gratitude for all the battles you had fought that God had given you victory over. Church Gist. Remember he said in His Word, “It is of his mercy that we are not consumed.” It is because his mercy is renewed every day that’s why you are still alive today.
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