A New Breed of Warriors

God disturbs the lives of the enemy as He prepares us to be more than conquerors. It is not in God’s plan that we should lose, but gain and possess His victories in our hearts, and in our lives. He gives strategies which when followed the outcome are triumphal. Therefore, we can celebrate Jesus, because he is good unto his people. Let us let Jehovah prepare us now for the victory set forth in our lives both personally and collectively as the Church. We are to become a “New Breed of Warriors” in the kingdom of God. Yet, we must note “the strategic plan of our God” that we might have faith in Him today.
“Fear was struck into the enemy”
What the enemy heard and knew that God did for you and concerning you effects them. In fact, the nations knew Israel because of her God not because Israel was a great army. In the community of this church there are lives - crossings only you can affect. Around you there are people only you can touch and minister too. Others came to the Jordan, but only Israel could cross on dry land. Note our text in verse one. God made the promise in yesterdays He would strike fear in their enemies (Exodus 23:27). The people of Jericho tormented themselves for this is what fear does to people (Joshua 2:9-11; 6:1). Because of God’s record, because of his exploits the enemy is struck with fear. So then, the people of God must take time to name what is an enemy to you. Is it your debt, your flesh, fear of giving, fear of witnessing? God struck fear in the enemy, but he builds us up in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 4:11-12). Jesus said, “In my name U.”

“God prepares His army”
Circumcision is God’s way of preparing us to fight and gain victory. This is that which bring us into covenant relationship (circumcision) with God. He cuts away the old, the old life and old way of thinking, and the old fleshly desires (9). Within the text God’s desire is to remove the reproach (shame-ness, ugliness, disdainment, disgrace). It was inevitable that this happen, the men of old were men of unbelief, doubt, men of fear and of no faith in the abilities and promises of God after witnessing His mighty acts (6). Jericho was effected by God’s act forty years earlier (Joshua 2:10). Israel’s thoughts of old were let us return to Egypt (sin). God is here to turn us away from old thoughts. Peter said, “I go a fishing” but while he was there Jesus came for his own. Jesus said to Peter, “Loveth thou these more than me.” God has come for his own now to prepare us for victory. It’s time for you to stop losing and going without. It is inevitable that saints must fight the good fight of faith.
Pain and difficulty are apart of God’s process to get us prepared. There is no circumcising without pain and discomfort. Yet, God will not allow us into combat until after we are whole (8). You can not fight the battles of God with reproach in your life. Wholeness and holiness must take place first. This is why there is that need for the church to remain together that we can encourage one another as we see the day approaching. The days of a coming battle . . . God will ensure that we have the strength to go on, for He is the strength of our lives. He will also ensure our protection in a vulnerable state. Hurts and pains of the pass put us in this type of condition. It leaves us with a distrustful spirit, but we can trust God’s protection. Note the prayer of our Lord for us (John 17:11-12). So then, this is the beginning of the new breed of Warriors.

HOW TO KEEP HOLINESS

Do you ask, 'How can I keep the blessing?'
1. Do not let your poor heart be burdened with the thought that you have to do it all yourself. In this, as in all else, you are only a worker together with God. He loves you more than a mother loves her little child, and He is going to help you to keep the blessing. Remember that the blessing is simply the result of His indwelling in your heart' and you are not to think so much about keeping the blessing as about keeping Him.
It will not be a hard matter to keep Him in your heart if you are in earnest, for He wanted to get there when you were a sinner, and He certainly desires to stay there as long as you will let Him; and if you will let Him, He will keep you.
One of our leading Officers, who is a personal friend of mine, once told me that when he first heard the doctrine of holiness, he felt that he could not be holy while engaged in worldly business. But one day he read the prayer of Jesus: 'I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from the evil.' He saw at that moment that God could keep him, and he sought and found the blessing, and has been rejoicing ever since.
Oh, how it rested me and comforted my heart one day, when, sore tempted by the devil, I read these words, 'Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.' I saw that He was able to keep me, and I knew that He was willing, and my heart rested on the promise; and, bless Him, He does keep me.
'Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.' (Isa_41:10.)
Paul got fairly jubilant over the keeping power of God, -- it was his boast when he wrote, 'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels' (fallen angels, or devils), 'nor principalities, nor powers' (no combination of devils or men), 'nor things present, nor things to come, nor height' (of prosperity), 'nor depth' (of adversity), 'nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord' (Rom_8:35-39)
Paul trusted God to keep him, and so must we. We should surely fall if God withheld His help for a moment.
But James tells us that 'faith without works is dead;' and so we must not only trust God, but must work together with God if we would keep the blessing.
2. To keep the blessing, you must keep all upon the altar. What you have given to the Lord you must not take back. You gave all to get the blessing, and you must continue to give all to keep it.
My all is on the altar.
I'll take it back no more,
must be your motto and your song, The devil will try to get you to come down from the cross; the world will allure you; the flesh will cry out against you; your friends may weep over you, or frown upon you, or tease and torment, or threaten you; some of your comrades will criticize you and doubt you, but you must stick to Jesus, and take nothing back that you have given to Him. There is usefulness, and peace, and God's smile, and a crown, and a kingdom before you, but only condemnation, and ruin, and hell behind.
A little heathen boy in Africa heard a sermon about Jesus, and His tender dying love and saving power, and he gave himself fully to the Lord, and Jesus came into his heart. This so enraged his heathen father that he said, 'I'll get this Jesus out of him; I'll beat Him out.' And he beat the little fellow most cruelly.
But the boy was still true. Then the father said, 'I'll smoke this Jesus out of him.' So he put the boy into a hut, shut up the opening in the roof, and nearly smothered him with smoke. That failed also, and then he tried starvation, and he gave the boy nothing to eat for several days. All persecution failed, however, and the little fellow remained true. He had given all to Jesus, and he would have nothing back. When asked how he had endured all the terrible trials he had passed through, he quietly said, 'I just stuck to Jesus.'
3. If you would keep the blessing, you must be quick to obey God. I do not mean by this that you are to get into such haste that you will not take time to think and pray about all that you do. God wants you to use your head and your heart and all the good sense He has given you. He wants you to take time to speak to Him, and consider, and find out His will; but once you have found it out, if you would have His smile and favor, and keep the blessing, you must not delay, but obey at once. Oh, the losses of peace and power and joy and sweet communion with God that people suffer through hesitation at this point! Like Felix, they wait for 'a convenient season,' which never comes! and, like Felix. they lose all. 'Strike while the iron is hot' 'Make hay while the sun shines.' 'Put out to sea while the tide is in.' Do as Abraham did. God told him to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering -- Isaac, the joy of his house, the light of his eyes, the hope of his old age, the treasure of his heart! He did not parley and delay, but rose up early in the morning ..... took Isaac, his son ..... and went unto the place of which God had told him.'
A Salvation Soldier who was greatly used of God told me that he was one day reading a half-religious novel. He had reached a most thrilling point in the story when the Holy Spirit seemed to say to him, 'Stop reading this at once, and you shall never regret it.' He said that he closed the book at once, put it down and never opened it again, and such a blessing came into his soul as he was hardly able to contain. Years after, when he told me this, he was still rejoicing that he had promptly obeyed the voice of the Lord, and left that sort of thing for ever.
If you have lost the blessing through a failure to promptly obey, do not be utterly discouraged, but begin over again, and the Lord will restore you. But do not trifle with God again; pray and believe for His help to obey, lest a worse thing come upon you.
4. If you would keep the blessing, you must not depend upon your feelings, but as a friend of mine used to say, 'Stand by your facts' Young Christians are very likely to be betrayed into mistakes by their feelings -- by their happy feelings as well as their unhappy ones.
When they are happy, they are in danger of thinking themselves better than they are, and of not watching and praying as they should; and when they are not happy, they are likely to get discouraged, cast away their confidence in the Lord, and conclude that it is useless for them to try to be holy. The safest way is to pay attention to your facts, and let your feelings take care of themselves.
If people are kind to you, and your digestion is good, and your sleep sound, you will probably feel well. But if people are unkind. and the east wind blows, and you eat something that lies heavy in your stomach, and your sleep is broken by horrid dreams, you will probably not feel well; but in neither case is your relation to God changed. Your facts are just the same. If you have given yourself to God, and have taken nothing back, but can look up into His dear face and say, 'My all is on the altar, and I trust in Thee,' then you are His, and your business is to stand by that fact, and trust that the Blood keeps you clean.
When you are happy, sing songs, and when you are heavy-hearted pray, and try to sing a little too, and never cast away your confidence, for there is a great reward before you, if you hold fast.
5. One of the greatest helps to keeping the blessing is for two or three young people who have it to meet together as often as possible to read the Bible, and pray with and encourage each other. This can usually be done just before or between the meetings on Sunday. This practice helped me more than anything else, I think, when I first got the blessing. Put a burning coal or sack by itself, and the fire will go out, and it will be cold and black; but put several sticks or coals together, and they will burn brightly. And so it is with hearts full of holy fire.
At such little meetings it is well to unite in prayer for others whom you are eager to see converted, or to enter into the blessing, and as you see them getting saved and sanctified, this will add mightily to your own faith and love.
Finally, wholehearted and continued consecration and self-denial, earnest prayer, joyful and diligent study of God's Word, deep humility before the Lord, aggressive work for others, and humble definite testimony to the blessing, will surely establish us in holiness, and keep us from falling.
How blest are they who still abide
Close sheltered in Thy bleeding side:
Who life and strength from Thee derive,
And for Thee fight, and in Thee live.

"So to walk even as he walked."

1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Why should Christians imitate Christ? They should do it for their own sakes. If they desire to be in a healthy state of soul-if they would escape the sickness of sin, and enjoy the vigour of growing grace, let Jesus be their model. For their own happiness’ sake, if they would drink wine on the lees, well refined; if they would enjoy holy and happy communion with Jesus; if they would be lifted up above the cares and troubles of this world, let them walk even as he walked. There is nothing which can so assist you to walk towards heaven with good speed, as wearing the image of Jesus on your heart to rule all its motions. It is when, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you are enabled to walk with Jesus in his very footsteps, that you are most happy, and most known to be the sons of God. Peter afar off is both unsafe and uneasy. Next, for religion’s sake, strive to be like Jesus. Ah! poor religion, thou hast been sorely shot at by cruel foes, but thou hast not been wounded one-half so dangerously by thy foes as by thy friends. Who made those wounds in the fair hand of Godliness? The professor who used the dagger of hypocrisy. The man who with pretences, enters the fold, being nought but a wolf in sheep’s clothing, worries the flock more than the lion outside. There is no weapon half so deadly as a Judas-kiss. Inconsistent professors injure the gospel more than the sneering critic or the infidel. But, especially for Christ’s own sake, imitate his example. Christian, lovest thou thy Saviour? Is his name precious to thee? Is his cause dear to thee? Wouldst thou see the kingdoms of the world become his? Is it thy desire that he should be glorified? Art thou longing that souls should be won to him? If so, imitate Jesus; be an "epistle of Christ, known and read of all men."

But now is Christ risen from the dead

But now is Christ risen from the dead." 1Corinthians 15:20
The whole system of Christianity rests upon the fact that "Christ is risen from the dead;" for, "If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain: ye are yet in your sins." The divinity of Christ finds its surest proof in His resurrection, since He was "Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." It would not be unreasonable to doubt His Deity if He had not risen. Moreover, Christ's sovereignty depends upon His resurrection, "For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living." Again, our justification, that choice blessing of the covenant, is linked with Christ's triumphant victory over death and the grave; for "He was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." Nay, more, our very regeneration is connected with His resurrection, for we are "Begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." And most certainly our ultimate resurrection rests here, for, "If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." If Christ be not risen, then shall we not rise; but if He be risen then they who are asleep in Christ have not perished, but in their flesh shall surely behold their God. Thus, the silver thread of resurrection runs through all the believer's blessings, from his regeneration onwards to his eternal glory, and binds them together. How important then will this glorious fact be in his estimation, and how will he rejoice that beyond a doubt it is established, that "now is Christ risen from the dead."
"The promise is fulfill'd,
Redemption's work is done,
Justice with mercy's reconciled,
For God has raised His Son."
"The only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
Believer, YOU can bear your testimony that Christ is the only begotten of the Father, as well as the first begotten from the dead. You can say, "He is divine to me, if He be human to all the world beside. He has done that for me which none but a God could do. He has subdued my stubborn will, melted a heart of adamant, opened gates of brass, and snapped bars of iron. He hath turned for me my mourning into laughter, and my desolation into joy; He hath led my captivity captive, and made my heart rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Let others think as they will of Him, to me He must be the only begotten of the Father: blessed be His name. And He is full of grace. Ah! had He not been I should never have been saved. He drew me when I struggled to escape from His grace; and when at last I came all trembling like a condemned culprit to His mercy-seat He said, 'Thy sins which are many are all forgiven thee: be of good cheer.' And He is full of truth. True have His promises been, not one has failed. I bear witness that never servant had such a master as I have; never brother such a kinsman as He has been to me; never spouse such a husband as Christ has been to my soul; never sinner a better Saviour; never mourner a better comforter than Christ hath been to my spirit. I want none beside Him. In life He is my life, and in death He shall be the death of death; in poverty Christ is my riches; in sickness He makes my bed; in darkness He is my star, and in brightness He is my sun; He is the manna of the camp in the wilderness, and He shall be the new corn of the host when they come to Canaan. Jesus is to me all grace and no wrath, all truth and no falsehood: and of truth and grace He is full, infinitely full. My soul, this night, bless with all thy might 'the only Begotten.'"—Morning and Evening

HONOURING GOD

"Hallowed be Thy Name"

GOD'S NAME is His Nature---His attributes, the various qualities that go to make Him what He is. When we ask for it to be hallowed, we ask that all which obscures it should be swept away as mists before the dawn. We thank God for all that is known of His wonderful Being, for the message of Nature, for revelation given to seers and prophets, for the Word who came from Him, and for the Holy Spirit who reveals Him. But there are still vast unexplored tracks in God's Being of which we know nothing, and there are myriads that know still less than we do. By their sinful ignorance and superstition, men have misunderstood and misrepresented the character of God; therefore we need to pray that in this world, and in all other worlds, His glorious personality should be understood, appreciated, and loved.
When we pray "Hallowed be thy Name" it is to remind ourselves of the greatness and glory of God our Father. Before you utter petitions for yourself, be still! Compel the intruding crowd of daily needs and desires to remain outside the fence which surrounds the mountain foot. Go up to meet with God, desiring to look at the needs of the world and of your own little life, as subordinate to your own great desire that God should be loved, honoured, and obeyed. Put God's interests above your own. Enthrone Him in thought and petition.
In a world that neither knew nor hallowed God's Name, Jesus set Himself to reveal and unfold all its wonderful depths. Let us try every day to know more of that Name, and to make it known. It is through ignorance of God that men turn from Him. They have distorted views, obtained from the lives and words of professedly religious people which are often a sad travesty and misrepresentation of God. If only men really knew God, surely the love with which He has loved them would enter and fill their hearts.
It is said that the passion of the French soldiers for Napoleon was so great, that even when mortally wounded they would raise themselves as he came riding past on his charger, and cry: "Long live the Emperor!" It is when we have become wholly absorbed in bringing glory to God in the highest, that we shall know peace in our hearts, and become the channels of goodwill to men, as men of good-will, i.e., the doers of God's Will.