I want to speak to you a message entitled, "Grace for the Battle".
Isaiah 40:29 says, "He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might, he increases strength".
Lord, we thank you for all that you've done, for what we see in this church as young people are growing up and serving you and becoming solid in the Lord. We even watch the example of Wayne and Berniece, having been married 59 years and we thank you for the solid foundation that we see and for the great thing you're doing. Lord, as this word is brought this morning I pray that we would decrease and that you would increase. Amen.
Life is full of battles. Some are spaced far apart and some just seem to come right after the other. The truth is that you have been involved in some kind of a battle in your lifetime and if you are in a lull right now, there is another one coming. God gave us grace, not only to wage war but to do it well and come out of it in victory. Battles that are strong and fierce, we know that God's plan for us is to live in the power and might of God.
Psalms 18:34-35 says, "He teaches my hand to make war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of your salvation, your right hand has helped me up and your gentleness has made me great".
Even in the midst of battles you and I have experienced the comfort of God, the help of God and the gentleness of God. Even when things around us are swirling and life is difficult there is something about the Lord that brings out the greatness that he has put inside of us by his spirit. David said, "I didn't know how to go to battle or how to go through it but you taught me how to do it even to the point where I can bend a bow of bronze". Some bows when you feel the tension almost feels like it's going to break your arm. For those who have ever been in a spiritual battle there are times as you're fighting you feel like you don't know what you're doing but God begins to teach you how to have victory in life to the point where you become stronger than you ever thought you were. You can bend the strongest weapon and use it for his glory and come out in victory.
Many times we acquaint God's grace with our initial salvation but his grace never stops its activity in our life. How many are thankful that Jesus saved you and set you free, that he came in and changed your life and delivered you out of sin and shame? That grace sustains us and keeps us not only at the time of salvation but through everything. God's grace bridges the chasm between God and us. All of us have seen that picture of the cross where we are on one side and there's this big gulf and then there is the cross that came right in the middle and allowed us to cross over from sin and destruction into life and victory in Jesus. We usually think of it just in terms of salvation but that grace is a symbol of a war that has been won, the victory has already been secured. Jesus has already fought the battle and determined the outcome not only in your salvation but in any spiritual battle you will ever face. He is faithful today.
Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and against the rulers of the darkness of this age and against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places".
God wants to remind us this morning that the battle that we face is not against flesh and blood. We always understand this to mean that the battles that we have in life just aren't against other people. No matter how frustrated or angry you get as things are done to you, we know that the battle is not against people but against the enemy. How many have ever wrestled with your self as well? The battle is not against flesh and blood but it's against the rulers and the principalities and the powers in dark places. It's not our self and it is good to know this. But I want you to listen to me as to what I believe is the reason why God sent me here to speak to you this morning and that is this one thought, "The battle is the Lord's".
This has stirred in my heart for so many people that we need to realize although we battle and go through tribulations, we need to remember that the battle is the Lord's.
1st Samuel 17:47 says, "Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear for the battle is the Lord's". Deuteronomy 20:4 says, "The Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to save you in victory".
There will be those struggles that God has guaranteed that if you will let him fight you will win. 1st Peter 5:8-10 says, "Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Resist him steadfast in the faith knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered awhile, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you".
The battles that you and I face with temptation in life many times are necessary for the work of God. They do something inside of us when we have victory over them. The Bible says that it establishes us, makes us firm and grounded; it strengthens us and makes us stronger than we ever were before. How many have found that there were things that you used to be tempted by but you've been through the battle and you've overcome it with Jesus and they are now no longer an issue for you in your life? You are strong in the Lord, in the power of his might. Those things that the enemy used to hold over your head are now points where you can look and help other people because you're not having a problem anymore. It also says that it settles us and this is important. We love that part about being established and strengthened but I enjoy that part about being settled. There are so many people unsettled in warfare and in the temptation. God says that it's through this, after we have suffered awhile will settle us, calm us down and the issue is settled with no more hardship.
Temptation is not sin; it is the battle. You need to understand that if you are being tempted there is not something wrong with you. If you are resisting then God will give you the grace to resist because you can't do it on your own. His same favor that set you free from sin in the beginning is the same favor that God is going to keep you from sinning as a Christian. How many are thankful for the grace of God? God says to resist the devil, openly oppose him, withstand him and God will give you the ability to handle it.
1st Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you except such as been commanded to man but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able but with the temptation will also make a way of escape that you will be able to bear it".
In our battle with sin, it's covered by the grace of God and the favor to win. Potipher's wife came to Joseph ,looked at him seductively, made sure she was significantly undressed and said, "I want you". Joseph had Potifer's wife in front of him but he had an open door behind him and he took the open door. That's the grace of God and that door is there for everyone. God will give you a way of escape.
The grace of God keeps us growing and going when we're tired from the battle. The enemy loves to wear us out and exploit us when we're tired. I have found that when I am tired and at my weakest then that's when I can expect an attack from the enemy. It doesn't catch me by surprise anymore because my battle is not against flesh and blood. He doesn't just come with temptation or sin but with sickness or a frustrating day with your spouse, or your kids will do something that will just mess you up.
Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not grow weary while doing good for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart".
The difference in battle, in winning and victory, is by the grace of God to have the heart to win the battle. You've got to have the heart. I played football when I was in High School and I remember when we were playing the regional champions from the year before. They were North Hills against our school, Bethel Park. I don't know what they feed these people up in North Hills but I think they put Miracle Grow in their Wheaties. I weighed 155 lbs when I was in High School and the guys that we were lining up against were at least 250 lbs and he was the kicker.
I remember at halftime we were losing by 3 touchdowns and a lot of the guys were ready to give up at that point and we were in pain. How many know when you've been in the battle it hurts? Now here's the difference. We got back into that locker room and some of the other guys started saying, "Don't give up, don't quit. You came here to win this and I don't care how big they are and how small we are, we're going to be able to take them. You can do this and we're going to have the victory. There's only 30 more minutes to go. You can do anything for about 30 more minutes. I know I already hurt but I can take just 30 more minutes because we can go to McDonalds and relax afterwards. So we went back out there and we won the game by a field goal in the last 5 seconds but we won. The difference was the heart. You won't give up if you don't lose heart.
You have to keep in mind that there is a due season. There is always a due season. Just like a baby has a due date, the promises of God for your life and the work of your life is going to come due. Just don't lose heart, keep your eye on what God is doing. You might be in the battle but there will be a time when the battle ends. There will be a time for rest. Sometimes that baby has to grow inside of you. It has to mature and develop and all of a sudden here it comes. There's a time for delivery.
Tiredness and weariness can cause us to be discouraged and to lose vision, to lose sight that God always rewards faithfulness and things come due. So don't lose heart. That grace is there to help us because many times it's harder to do the right thing than it is the easy thing and that can be the battle. How many have ever said something that deserved to be said but it wasn't the right thing to be said and it ruined everything? The grace of God will give you the strength to keep your mouth shut, to give you the wisdom to know what to say and when to say it and will give you the ability to accomplish what needs to be done without quitting or giving in.
Grace helps us to have peace and stand firm and overcome when it's hard. Grace helps us to discover that when we are at our weakest is really when we are at our strongest.
2nd Corinthians 12:9-10 says, "And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you and my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I would rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches, in needs and persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake for when I am weak then I am strong".
Paul said he takes pleasure in these things because it's at that point when he quits trying to do it on his own and he knows that the battle is the Lord's. He knows that God's strength will do it and he will begin to focus and understand that this is a spiritual thing and not a physical thing. It is the grace of God that helps us to realize that we get stronger and those things push us beyond ourselves and into the hand of God which many times are necessary for all that God has for us. He gives us grace for the battle.
God's grace helps me to keep balanced when I'm troubled. John 16:33 says, "In this world you will have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world". God says, "The battle is mine and I've already won it". In this world you are going to have trouble and you will have battles.
There are 3 kinds of trouble in life. Number one there is trouble that blows in on you. It is unplanned, it us unrelenting problems that you never saw coming. The 2nd type of trouble is trouble that weighs you down and the reason it weighs you down is because they are problems that we create ourselves: in relationships and doubt and mistakes. How many have ever brought some of your own trouble on yourself? That's why it weighs you down so much because now you're not fighting the problem you're fighting yourself because you knew better and you knew you should have done better and you didn't need to have this. Then you start to think you deserve this so you're just going to stay in it. How many are glad that Grace means we don't always get what we deserve? God already made sure we could have salvation when we didn't deserve it, that's the wonderful thing about God. The 3rd type of trouble is when the rug is pulled out from under you. It's unfair and undeserved. People are doing ugly things or life is bringing on things you could never have imagined.
Isaiah 41:10 says, "Fear not, be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you by my righteous right hand". God's hand is so strong. You have a big God and he holds you in the palm of his hand. He's got you covered.
The battle is the Lord's and he's your protection in the midst of the battle. Many times trouble has a way of leaving us unbalanced. Even in battle life must be lived. I found that even in my hardest times I almost wished life would stop so I could just focus on the battle. But you still need to have a well rounded life; kids still need you, your spouse still needs you, life still has to go on and work still has to be done. Even in the battle God keeps you balanced. It's easy to become unbalanced, unhinged. It is the grace of God that keeps us straight, gives us strength and keeps us from feeling out of sorts. God helps us to live the grace filled life gracefully. There used to be a time when all your battles kind of left you off kilter but after you've been through a few you start to look like Errol Flynn. The battle is still raging but you're going to look good doing it.
The same grace of God that helps us through the battle is the same grace that keeps us after the battle. Many Christians suffer today from SPTSD: Spiritual Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's true, spiritual shell shock. So many times after we have fought the battle we can't imagine life any other way and we have trouble adjusting to normal. If you have ever been through a battle in your life then you know what I'm talking about. You fought it for a long time. Our soldiers who are so faithful on the field who have fought for America have come back home and the battle is not over for them. They saw some things they didn't think they'd ever see and they had to do some things they never thought they'd have to do. I'm here to tell you that God will not only give you the grace for the fight but the grace to live afterwards.
I want to speak to every wounded soldier that God is faithful. Sometimes when you come back from battle you're still afraid, you still hurt and you're still fighting even though the battle has been won. God's grace is there to help us to heal and to love and to make us whole again. The truth is that many of us in battle are going to come out hurt. Somehow we're taught that just because God is with you in your spiritual battles then you're not going to come out wounded. God will protect you but this is the thing that confuses many Christians because after the battle they still hurt. You've been pushed beyond what you ever thought you could do. In battle you're betrayed and it hurts. Some have been abused and neglected in the battle. Others have been disappointed or just worn out so we come back from battle and come to church and many of us feel that if we just had enough faith or had a better attitude, if we would just pray more or focus on other things then it would all just go away. You're trying to do peace time like you do war time but the battle is over and you have to heal. Healing takes time and this battle is also the Lord's. Some of you here have been through battles that none of us could ever imagine. We've all been through certain things and we've been wounded. Sometimes you're confused and wonder that if God was with you then why did you get hurt. Battles are hard, God protected you and you came out victorious.
Zachariah 4:6 says, "Not by might nor by power but by my spirit says the Lord". So many times preachers use this scripture as a battle cry but God also says, "Not my might will you be healed, nor by power but you're going to be healed by my spirit". The spirit of God can heal our brokenness, our wounds and our heart and renew our mind. Only God can do that.
The first step to healing is release. Forgive those who hurt you, forgive all the misunderstanding and the words that were said, let go of the process of healing and let this personal battle just be God's. "Lord, whatever it is, I'll allow you to do it in me". The second step is to rest, to just stop and be still, renew and refresh. So many times the battle leaves you so restless that you just think you've got to do more. There was a time when I went through one of the hardest battles in my life and I thought if I just read more or prayed more and God said to me, "Stop praying about that" and I did. I didn't stop communicating with God, I didn't stop going to church, I just stopped trying to battle. God said, "Rest, be still". Rest is not just sleep; it's trust. Sometimes when you've been in the battle the only people you trust are those you've been shoulder to shoulder with, you won't trust anyone else. You've got to learn to trust again. You've been trusting God but you've got to learn to allow God to just calm you because there will be times where the battle is so intense that you think normal life will always be that intense and that its normal. That isn't normal. You will find when you've been in the battle for a long time that you can't sit still. You will find yourself pacing and irritated, angry and frustrated because you think you should be doing something else. God says, "Just rest and trust. In that rest I will renew. You don't have to sleep or be lazy, just rest".
The third step is to reset. Isaiah 50:7 says, "For the Lord God will help me, therefore I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like a flint and I know that I will not be ashamed".
Sometimes when you come out of the battle you almost feel ashamed that you were hurt so you need to be reset. A bone that is broken has to be set back in place and sometimes that process hurts a little bit. That's why you also have to rest because if you keep getting up on that leg then it's never going to heal right. You will always have that limp or pain and there will always be something that doesn't fit or aggravates it. To heal you have to be reset. Although you're not going to remember what happened you will be stronger because of what happened. Before you can resume the original purpose that God had planned for your life, he's going to put it in place.
God has you on track and then the enemy comes in and you fight the battle and get off track and then you think you're just going to get right back on track again. God says, "First, I'm resetting some things then when you get back on track you'll be stronger than you ever were". Some of you, God has made strong and in some others God is resetting some things. That resetting helps us to see things differently. What we used to see as rough and hard we now realize has become a strength and we're able to handle those things. The truth is if you've already been through battle and you know God saw you through it but now that you've been healed you're battle trained and you're ready to go again. You're better for what you did and smarter and when you get back in the battle again you're going to come out not wounded and hurt but you're going to come out victorious. If for some reason it still hurts you'll be able to go through the process again, a warrior of God, trusting God and healed by the grace of God. God gives us grace for the battle but he also gives us grace after the battle to heal so that we can go on in life. How many of you are thankful for the grace of the Lord? I want to encourage you soldier that after you've gone through, have you ever noticed that those who have gone through become the drill sergeants? They're the ones that help start training the others so that before they get in they're ready. Sometimes you didn't believe the drill sergeant that the battle was really going to be that way but he was smarter than you thought and he made sure you were ready. How many believe God is preparing you today for victory?
Father, I thank you for your goodness. I thank you, Lord, that it is through you that we are victorious. Jesus, thank you for your presence here and for those that are in the middle of the battle right now you would reveal that this battle is not against any person but it's a spiritual thing. I pray Lord that you would begin to give strength and that they would find that as they stopped depending on themselves and they depend on you that they will know. I pray that they would have the grace to know that it's going to be ok.
I pray for those Lord Jesus who are on the other side of the battle and that you would finish the work. We yield ourselves to you, we're done struggling, we're done trying to make it happen and we rely on you completely. We thank you Lord that you take our brokenness and you make us whole again and make us stronger than ever before. I pray that we would see differently, walk more confidently and run with greater energy. I pray right now Lord for those in the midst of the battle that they would not lose heart and that they would see that there's a due time. Let them hang on until they see it, let them hang on to you not just on their own strength and that they would just trust you Lord. Father, we give you the glory this morning for victories in this place and I pray your blessing on each one as we go about our week. Lead us to people to be saved, help us to be a witness. I pray Lord that every ministry that will take place through this church, through each of our families, will touch hearts and lives and we'll give you the glory for it in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
