Posted by James Porter on Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Does anyone get the analogy?
“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
It really doesn’t take that much. At the very least, stand up, speak truth to power, and express your righteous indignation.
So why are we not resisting when the enemy has our nation in a death grip, like this snake had this young deer in?
Fear, perhaps?
Well, what happened to “Have courage, fear not, for I am with thee”? But you really don’t believe His Word, do you? For if you actually believed it, you’d act on it.
Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
I keep getting these private messages from simpering cowardly christians (small “c” used on purpose) who tell me, “Steve, God does all of my fighting for me.”
No. He doesn’t. He doesn’t fight for cowards at all. In fact, cowards piss Him off, because they partake of His daily benefits, but when it comes time to act on His behalf, they won’t do it. Instead, they misconstrue Scripture, scrambling it all out of proportion, in order to justify their inaction and personal cowardice. They’d rather lose their entire country — including the right to freedom of worship — than risk even a scintilla for the Lord.
Read the story of Gideon. God sent the sniveling cowards home before the battle against the oppressive Midianites. Their cowardice had made them unfit.
Judges 7:2-3 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many people for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Now, therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people: ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ So twenty-two thousand of them turned back, but ten thousand remained.
On the other hand, read the story of Deborah and Barak. They courageously went into battle on behalf of the Lord. And the Lord and his angels responded from heaven by fighting alongside them. And they made short work of the enemy. But those who refused to fight were cursed by the Lord Himself. As it’s written:
Judges 5:18 Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.
Judges 5: 19 The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.
Judges 5: 20 They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
Judges 5:21 The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
Judges 5: 22 Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
Judges 5:23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.
God aided His people in the battle by sending His angels (“the stars in their courses”) into the fight alongside the brave ones of Israel. And God used nature itself (“the river of Kishon swept them away”) to help His people defeat the enemy.
We’re here on this earth to help put His enemies under His feet. We’re here to take ground, not to lose it. And if we’ll have the courage to act in defense of Him and His great Christian nation, then He’ll bless it. If we don’t, He simply won’t. It’s that simple. And it’s all up to us.
Regards in Christ,
Steve Barwick
Sign up here to receive notifications of Steve’s News & Current Events Commentaries, as well as notifications when new in-depth Bible studies are posted. You’ll also receive a free copy of Steve’ in-depth Bible study, The Four Parts of God’s Plan, when you sign up.
I have wondered many many times if christians (little c on purpose) even think about why we’re told to put on the whole armor of God. Hint: It’s not a fashion statement! Armor is worn to aid an attacking soldier in his task–all his equipment is anchored in one way or another to his armor. Don’t believe me? Ask any US Army or Marine troop–these troops aren’t armored so they can sit down somewhere and ride out an event. They’re dressed with everything they need to take an enemy down and stay safe in battle. Christians are armored in the same way and for the same reason. CHURCH! We are not left on this Earth to gather prosperity, hang out with other grinners and sing kumbaya–we are left here to take back the territory lost to satan through the working of iniquity. And how do we do that? Declare the Word of God as preeminent in the situations that reveal the work of satan in the hearts of people and nations. In warring prayer pull down the strongholds with the weapons He gave us by opening our mouths and declaring His truths–and keep declaring them, binding up the spiritual enemies fighting to hold or claim more territory and loosing the righteous Truth that is mightier than evil. Every day is a day of defeat that a christian allows to pass without speaking Truth into the satanically engineered or controlled situations affecting that christian’s life circle. The righteous angels of the Lord of Hosts must grieve mightily when we just go through our day without speaking one single word of Truth regarding the devils’ attack on some aspect of life. Their swords must hang unused from their hands as they watch their enemies and ours advance unopposed into our lives, our nation, our children’s lives. It is not an option to avoid the warfare in the spirit realm that finally manifests in the physical realm. It is our duty as Blood-bought children of God to strap on His armor and go forth in prayer to stop evil wherever we see it, feel it, know about it. Duty. Not option.
Bingo, Judith. You’re right on target.
Amein Judith! I have been a disciple of Yahusha for just over 20 years and find nearly all “churchians” to be the wimpiest people around. They’d rather stand in iniquity bowing to false kings and gods then in equity like we are intended. The Torah writen on our hearts must be the guiding light to be acted out in all aspects of life. Instead, churchians turn to man-made legal systems that are totally arbitrary which limits and abridges their Yah-given right to be sovereigns under their Sovereign ruling the world (but not people) with Love and hope and obedience.
And now if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me above all the nations; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom (Reign) of priests and a holy nation (Commonwealth of Yashar’el). These are the words which you shall speak to the sons of Israel. Exodus 19:5-6 MKJV
Wow, girl! YOU SAID IT! And THE WAY you said it, here, is just totally inspiring & encouraging to me! Thanks for speaking out, here!
Our Father has made it so simple for us. All we have to do is “resist the devil and he will flee from you”. That’s a promise not just words to fill in the empty spots of our minds; and believe me I see more and more christians with empty spots in their minds where the Word of God should be. His Word is our Strength, our Shield, our High Tower and our Fortress. We should all be saying “Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight” (Ps 144). David doesn’t say, that teaches me to lay down and take shit from the enemy.
I saw a video on Facebook that really brought that verse home the other day. A little cheerleader looking gal was approached by a 3-times her size goliath of gal and a fight ensued. That little gal jumped up and kept moving forward on her enemy. She never stopped moving forward. It is the same in any battle, you can’t win one by retreating. And believe me they are all “goliath looking”, but like Brandon Wards recent post on the film clip from “A Bugs Life”, there are more of us than there are of them. Just like in Elisha’s time when he and his servant were surrounded by the enemy Elisha’s words should be ringing in all our ears right now: “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them”. (2 Kings 6:16). God and His mighty angels have our back too!
Thank you, Steve, for your time and words of wisdom in all this.
Amen, girl! How SWEET it IS to find a group of peoples who think/believe/act/speak like ya’ll are here! Thanks for your awesome encouragement & reminders!
How did you get my email address?
The only way for you to receive emails from me is if you signed up to receive them, here: http://www.HaveYeNotRead.com
You can unsubscribe at the bottom of the email, if you’d like.
Oh wow. You are so right on – not just with this article but the few that I’ve read so far. People say all the time “God is in control” or ask “what can I/we do” and the response is “nothing, just pray” …. NO NO NO! Do people even read the book of James? (my all time favorite book bar none). God tells us many times
James 1:
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
James 2:
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
We are to be doers. We have faith. We show our faith by doing and we do because of our faith. They work hand in hand. They are nothing without the other. This drives me absolutely bonkers. Believers forget this very important concept and want to say, It’s okay, God in in control and they do nothing. No, no, no. That isn’t how it works at all. We show God our faith by doing. It feels like this is an idle people. Teachings and doctrine that all you gotta be is a good person and believe. Once you’re saved you’re always saved (and yet forget the very important detail of free will and yes we can loose our salvation, God even tells us this several times … )
Not so. Not true at all. There is so much more to it than that. Yes, Christ died for us. It is because of him that we have a fighting chance. Absolutely. But we are doers of the word and not hearers only. Well, supposed to be anyway.
Idleness is Satan’s way, I believe to entice us and lead us into a path that isn’t God’s. I love how you say that cowards piss God off. When I read that, I was like whoa! Someone else gets it. A loving God tells us point blank who he is, what he is, etc. He shows us a piece of himself and he’s not mysterious at all. He’s up front and direct. Even a little child can understand him. It’s us that make him mysterious and reject or pick and choose what we wanna believe or not believe.
We can be doers and reject evil or we can be hearers only and invite evil. That is the beauty and curse of free will. It’s up to us. Follow and do — or do nothing.
He tells us time and time again if ye love me, keep my commandments. Being a believer is a verb. It’s a matter of doing – not just being a hearer only. Be a verb. Start doing.
Yes, & amen! SO REFRESHING to HEAR (read) other people that BELIEVE like I’ve been convicted! Loved your comments!
Greetings, Steve –
I just discovered you today, and have been deeply edified by your article on the COVID symbology, and your response to the churchian, which is all I’ve read so far. I do take exception to your statement above about God’s “great Christian nation.” While we may have been at one time, we are no longer, and are coming under judgement after much patience and grace on God’s part. We turned abruptly and sharply away from Him numerous times: when we installed the Federal Reserve (false weights and measures); when we legalized child murder in Roe vs. Wade; when we legalized the abomination of homosexual “marriage”; as we’ve replaced Bible Study with entertainment, in the churches and out; when the mainstream churched began to use counterfeit “bibles” and preach the falsehoods of “once-save-always-saved and eternal life without Christ (eternal torture of the unbelievers)… One can go on and on. We are NOT a Christian nation any longer.
I’d also like to commend Krystle for not embracing the OSAS lie, which is, I think, the root of modern-day apostasy. It’s a result of Satan’s co-opting of the language and blocking acknowledgement of the word “if,” as in 1 Corinthians 15:2. We are saved from this world when we’re born again, but we are only saved eternally when we have abided in Lord Jesus until death. An unpopular message, so understandable not embraced by easy-believers.
Thank you so much for being here, armed with the sword of the Spirit!
Wendy, I agree with you. And if you read further on this site, I think you’ll see we’re on pretty much the same page.
For example, see:
A Christian State-of-the-Union Message
https://haveyenotread.com/a-christian-state-of-the-union-address/
Western Christian Moral Order Disintegrating Around Us
https://haveyenotread.com/western-christian-moral-order-disintegrating-around-us/
What Went Wrong With Western Christianity?
https://haveyenotread.com/what-went-wrong-with-western-christianity/
Debauching the Bride of Christ; Transgenders Encouraged To Become Priests in Church Diversity Drive
https://haveyenotread.com/debauching-the-bride-of-christ-transgenders-encouraged-to-become-priests-in-church-diversity-drive/
Can a Christian Lose Their Salvation?
https://haveyenotread.com/bible-qa/can-a-christian-lose-salvation/
Regards in Christ,
Steve
Amen, amen!