DANGEROUS … AND ALIVE! Have you ever thought of yourself as
dangerous? Well, hopefully not in the
normal context of the word, since the meaning usually is pointed towards a
victim. And that kind of behavior is not
Christ-like in any way, shape, or form.
Perhaps we’ve never thought about a spiritual scenario, though, where it
is totally permissible to be dangerous – and there is one victim that should
be our target. We DO have an enemy, you
know. Any military person will tell you
that both skill and strategy must be present and activated when encountering
the enemy in the quest to overcome, capture, and ultimately destroy them. If this sounds a bit over-the-top, remember
the enemy I am referring to needs no easing up on when it comes to battlefield
tactics. We must be aware, armed, alive
… and yes, dangerous! I am referring to
the enemy of our souls, and like I’ve said before, he doesn’t go easy on
us. He plans and deceives, and prowls
around watching for our moment of greatest weakness – and then he attacks and
goes in for the kill. While all of this
is going on, what are WE doing, may I ask?
Are we running scared? Are we in
hiding? Are we cowering and shivering
and shaking, waiting for our end? I hope
not! I pray that we are poised and ready
for the good fight of faith. I pray that
we are prepared and positioned with shield and sword, actively pursuing our
ultimate win against Satan. If we are
NOT ready for such battles that we find ourselves in … just how do we get
prepared? Who trains us? And who teaches us the battle cry? A few weeks ago, I sat glued to every word of
the message that Lisa Bevere gave at Women of Faith. She offered some answers from God’s Word …
and some powerful challenges to each of us women who were present in that
arena. Wanna listen in to what she had
to say? Let me try to summarize. I remind you of my opening statement (Lisa’s
phrase!) in last week’s message: “God’s
dream for you is the enemy’s nightmare!”
And just what is God’s dream for us when it comes to fighting Kingdom
battles for Him? I invite you to read
the scripture verse that God showed to Lisa – one that became a burning message
within her as God opened her eyes to His dream for her. “The people rise like a lioness; they rouse
themselves like a lion that does not rest till he devours his prey and drinks
the blood of his victims.” (Numbers
23:24) Your first response might be,
“that sounds awful, how graphic!” Yet
that is exactly how God described the people of Israel to Balak through the
pagan prophet, Balaam, and their ensuing victories as they would arise and
devour their foes. For too long, as
women – and men, we have cowered in the background. As children of the living God, we have
forgotten WHO we are. We have lost our
identity in Christ. We perhaps we have
not ever heard the call for us to “rise like a lioness, to rouse like a lion –
not resting until we devour our prey.” We
have far too long been passive and non-committal. The enemy has walked all over us, tried
ripping us apart, throwing us asunder, leaving us for dead. He really thinks he has won! Where’s our fight, dear brothers and sisters
in Christ? If we are soldiers in the
army of the Lord God of Israel, how come we are so wimpy? Lisa said after God came to her in a night
vision with this powerful image of a lioness arising from a stretched out,
resting position, she plunged herself into a study of lionesses and lions. What she gleaned from that was nothing short
of amazing! In the natural, in the
animal kingdom, the lionesses are frequently the ones who do the hunting,
pursuing the prey. They are female, but
fierce. With their prowess they honor
their mate on many occasions by bringing the kill to him, the male lion. Together they are formidable. Each one complements the other. Later Balaam, in chapter 24 and verse 9a ,
utters these words about the tribes of Israel as the Spirit of God came upon
him: “Like a lion they crouch and lie
down, like a lioness – who dares to rouse them?” Balaam adds these powerful words, “May those
who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!” When we finally “see” who we are and live out
the empowered identity that God has placed in our DNA, women and men all over
this world will begin to ARISE from their slumbering stupor on stony slabs and
begin turning the tables on our enemy, the devil, whose trick is to “prowl
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8)
That same verse tells us to “be self-controlled and alert.” The next verse tells us to “resist him,
standing firm in the faith …”. Men and women,
let’s join forces as allies honoring each other’s strengths as we combat the
enemy in the Name of Jesus, arising as a mighty force of destruction against
evil. Silent and weak – no more! Dangerous
and fully alive – forevermore! May
THAT be US!
WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK . . .
SUN, NOV 3:
10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP
10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE
WED/THU "BIBLE DOING" / NOV 6 & 7 / 7:00 P.M.
WED - Hebrews at the church
THU - I Peter at 905 El Dorado St SE
SAT, NOV 9:
9:00 A.M. - LADIES PRAISE & PRAYER at the church
9:00 A.M. - BARNABAS TEAM MEETING at the church
ELEVATION NORTH SPOTLIGHT!
Fellowship is
encouraged in our church
family! So we want to invite ALL of you
to our upcoming Thanksgiving Luncheon here at church following the morning
worship on Sunday, November 24th.
We want you to come with your favorite autumn foods as we celebrate with
gratitude the gift of God’s faithfulness, abundance, and provision to us as a
church – and as individual families!
Take a moment to sign-up at the Welcome Center and let us know how many
are attending – and what you will bring to share!
REMEMBER . .
. “If I could give you one thing in life, I would give you the
ability to see yourself through God’s eyes.
Only then would you realize how special and valuable you are to Him!” ~
unknown
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
