Be A Rod

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that rejects fear and champions faith. The story of Judah being attacked is used as an example of seeking God, praising Him, and obeying His instructions in times of assault. The importance of the blood of Jesus and standing on His victory is emphasized. We are called to stand on the assignment given by God and trust Him for protection. The importance of praise and worship is highlighted, along with the reminder that God does everything and calls us to stand in obedience. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of his word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to his perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org 2 Chronicles 20.17 You will not need to fight this battle. Set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Don't be afraid, nor be dismayed. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you. Judah was being attacked. The people all gathered together. The king, Jehoshaphat, went to God and prayed, standing before the house of God. He pointed out the Lord God was almighty above all things. He pointed out that God had given the land to the Israelites forever. He pointed out they had built a house to the Lord to worship Him and seek Him. He pointed out that the enemies coming against them were enemies the Lord had the Israelites spare when they came into the Promised Land, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir. That these nations were repaying what the Lord had the Israelites do very poorly. And then in verse 12 to 13, Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us. We don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. All Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, their wives, their children. They spoke to the Lord. They saw His face. And then they waited on Him. The Lord responded. He told them not to fear. Twice, verses 15 and 17. He told them what to do, verse 16. And He assured them that this battle wasn't theirs, but the Lord's. Also, verses 15 and 17. Now, what was their response? Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. The Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with an exceedingly loud voice. Verses 18 to 19. They praised the Lord, and they obeyed. Verse 20. They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Listen to me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God so you will be established. Believe His prophets so you will prosper. Now, right here is the model for all our interactions with the Lord in times of assault. Whenever something is coming against us, no matter what that thing is, whether it is a single foe or three nations, we come before the Lord. We praise and pray to the Lord about it. We wait on the Lord. We praise His answer. We do what He says. Isn't that simple? Doesn't that sound like something anyone can do? That we all can do? And we are in an even better position than Jehoshaphat because Holy Spirit dwells in us, Jesus is in us, and we can go before the Father Himself. We have fellowship with the Lord and can speak to Him in intimate conversation. No middleman, no calling out and then waiting for a prophet to bring us His word. Not that He doesn't use prophets. He does, mightily. But they are speaking things that confirm to us what our spirits have already heard. Now, we might not know what that is, but our spirit has heard it from His spirit. And then a prophet speaks it and their words will resonate within us as truth because our spirit has already been told truth. Now, the people of Judah said that they had no strength. The Lord said not to worry. They said the land had been given to them by promise, by Him. The Lord said they were right. And as long as they were looking to Him with trust, that He would deliver. The responsibility to deliver was His. And therefore, the war was His and not theirs. He named the place of their victory. He reiterated that He would hand them the victory. They would not reach for it themselves. He would deliver their deliverance. He would preserve His gifts to them in their hands. If they believed, He would wage war. Look and see the salvation of the Lord with you. As long as they were looking to Him, seeking Him, believing Him, trusting Him, and waiting on Him, the responsibility was His. Their task was to obey. They were empowered to receive their deliverance within their obedience. That empowerment hung on their belief and trust in Him. Nothing has changed. Don't let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in Me. John 14.1 Watch. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. 1 Corinthians 16.13 We don't always like where we are. Where we have been sent isn't always pleasant in the natural, in what is facing us. But that doesn't matter. Galatians 1.3-5 says, Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. If we are delivered from our circumstances, then we have nothing to dislike. We might get dusty or dirty, but once that settles, we will have victory. We need to keep our eyes on the Lord, to focus on Him, His Word, and what He has said to us. Not to think about what our flesh and the natural circumstances are telling us, not to focus on the incoming sensations and information, but to inform our mind and flesh what is really going on, what is going to come to be, and who to trust. Don't think what you feel. Feel what you think. Stand on the victory He has proclaimed. Remember how it worked for the Israelites. As long as they were looking to Him, seeking Him, believing Him, trusting Him, and waiting on Him, the responsibility was His. Their task was to obey. They were empowered to receive their deliverance within their obedience, and that empowerment hung on their belief and trust in Him. We are to seek, believe, trust, wait, and stand. The anointing is the carrier oil which brings the blood from the body of the Lord Jesus the Christ to us. We're paid for by the blood. The blood wraps us in the protection of the Holy Spirit. The blood spilt on Calvary was the victory for all things. It is the power of the Father unleashed. It is the single medium through which the Holy Spirit works, moves, and interacts with us. Without the blood, we could not be filled. Without the blood, we would not have His authority to stand on. Without the blood, we would not have the word as a sword on our tongue to wield. Without the blood, we would not have a covenant for the Lord to enforce. Without the blood, we would have nothing to stand on. Praise the Lord, He shed the blood and gave us the most holy rock to stand on, the strongest fortress to stand in, and the salvation which is both our victory and our refuge. We all have our assignments and places in this world, sometimes active, sometimes passive, but all given to us by Yahweh God. When the Lord gives us something, He enables us through the blood of Jesus to have it, to inhabit the land which He has given us. When we obey and stand on that ground, we release Him to protect it, to protect our anointing, to protect our standing, to preserve the assignment that He has given us, which we are obediently standing in. We're not leaving the assignment. We're not taking a break. We're not dropping it because it's too hard. We may have our Gethsemane moments of struggle, of looking to a task and wanting it lifted from us, but we can also have our Gethsemane moments of triumph, to inhabit the blinding light of His glory and His victory as we proclaim not our will, but His. When we proclaim our obedience to His will and assignment on our lives, when we walk out with the Lord into our victory that He has proclaimed and procured, without fear, without trembling, with praise and expected confidence in Him. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens. Praise Him in the heights. Praise Him all His angels. Praise Him all His army. Praise Him, sun and moon. Praise Him, all you shining stars. Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, you waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the Lord's name, for He commanded and they were created. He has also established them forever and ever. He has made a decree which will not pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all depth, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy wind, fulfilling His word, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all livestock, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth, both young men and maidens, old men and children. Let them praise the Lord's name, for His name alone is exalted. His glory is above the earth and the heavens. He has lifted up the horn of His people, the praise of all His saints, even of the children of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the Lord. Psalm 148 Other religions and philosophies call on us to do, to travail, to work, to purify. Yahweh God doesn't call us to do. The Lord calls on us to stand. He does everything else. He calls on us to go where He says so that we can stand where He says. We are to be the lightning rod that attracts and lets the lightning be funneled to a specific point. Lightning rods don't actually attract lightning though. They provide a low resistance path for the lightning to get to the ground. A bolt of lightning has an enormous amount of energy and it is drawn to the ground. It will take the path of least resistance even if it means jumping from object to object to complete that path. We are to be spiritual lightning rods to stand obedient at a specific place so that the Lord can conduct His enormous power to the place where He wants it to be. Not a low resistance path but a no resistance path. Obedient, equipped to succeed and standing firm where He placed us. Our obedience, faith and praise lets Him work through us. When He works through us there is literally no limit to what He can accomplish. Luke 1.37 We will not need to fight the battle. Jesus has already overcome everything coming at us. John 16.33 We need to set ourselves apart and holy to Him. Romans 12.2 We are to stand still focused on staying where He has placed us without fidgeting or wandering over there just for a moment or two. Ephesians 6.13 We are to keep our eyes physical, mental and spiritual eyes on Him and what He is doing so that we will enjoy seeing His salvation revealed. Luke 3.4-6 We will not be afraid and will be far from terror for it will not come near us. Isaiah 54.14 We will choose to not be dismayed not to be anxious not to be depressed not to be manic not to be mentally anything but what He has called us to be because in Jesus we have the ability to choose what we feel. John 14.27 and Deuteronomy 31.8 We need not be any of those negatives because we know that the Lord God Almighty goes with us. Matthew 28.20 The Holy Spirit has come upon us to dwell in us. 1 Corinthians 6.19 Jesus lives inside us. Galatians 2.20 And the path to the throne of the Father is open to us always. Hebrews 4.16 So stand and when all else is done stand, stand, stand, stand and stand some more. If you are where He placed you standing as He called you resting on Him as you should and praising Him as you stand then be confident with all boldness because the power of the Lord God Almighty is heading your way. It will pass through you because it is He in us that does the work. John 14.10 God will use you as He planned according to His will. He will do the thing. You will not need to fight the battle for the battle belongs to the Lord. 2 Chronicles 20.15 The Lord Jesus the Anointed One is with you. Hebrews 13.5-6 He is with you now and forever even to the end of the age. Believe it, receive it, stand in it right where He has you. Stand and do not be afraid. Afraid Our daily affirmation of God's love is 2 Samuel 22.2-4 The Lord is a rock, a fortress, a refuge. He tells us to stand. Galatians 5.1 He gives us something to stand on. He gives us something to stand in. He shields us within Himself so as to give us defense and relief within that place on top of a solid foundation. In fact, He does so much for us, those who call on Him, praise Him, and seek Him, that all there is left for us to do is stand. Not stand idle. Not stand quaking. Not stand anxious. Not stand confused. Not stand depressed. Not stand weak. Not stand sick. Satisfied, expectant, faithful, confident, victorious, praiseful, to stand equipped by Him, in Him, and on Him, Father, Son, and Spirit. This is not passive standing, but praisey standing, prayerful standing, watchful standing. We walk the walls of His fortress. We seek His face. We seek His will. We walk on His word, in His will. We're armored in and by Him, Ephesians 6.11. After a victory, after, not before or during, after a victory, bulls raise their horns in triumph. They exult in what they have done. We are called to exult in what He has done, Psalm 92.10. We are to raise the horn of His salvation and exult in what He has done and the victory He has wrought. Psalm 148. 13-14. We pray in the Spirit to activate the power of the blood which we are anointed with, to stand in His victory, in the tall tower of His might, knowing that we are saved, not will be, are. Right now, in Him, we are saved from all enemies. We are victorious because He is glorious. He lifts us up because He loves us. He loves who we are. He seeks to save us if we'll let Him. And when we do, we can stand and stand and stand some more in His protection, on His might, and in His grace. Amen. As we close, remember that you have birth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I... Now you fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love, and no end to the things about you that He loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you, just because you're you. First John 4, 9 to 10, tells us by this, God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent His only-born Son into the world, that we might live through Him. And this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin, and it casts out our fear too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because He first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.