Are we practicing His presence daily? How familiar are we with the weapon that He made available? Eleazar had a stubborn grip on his sword. The Bible says that his hand clave unto the sword even though the situation seemed hopeless. He was facing the Philistine army, yet his hand remained on the sword. The rest of the Israelites had turned away. And yet, here is Eleazar facing the Philistines alone.
How tight is your grip on your Sword, the Word? Have you allowed the Word to get a grip on your heart? What's coming out of your mouth when the enemy is coming in like a flood? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. How many of you have ever been in a situation where there was nothing for you to do but cling to the Word of God? To cling to it means to pursue it. It's like holding onto it for dear life. His hand was welded to his sword. It was like it was welded, or soldered. He wouldn't let go of it, and he couldn't let go of it. His hand and his sword became one. I believe that is an illustration of what our lives should look like. The Word of God is to be an extension, something that is welded into our hearts and employed in every conflict in which we find ourselves.
We talk a lot about what kind of church we want to be and about signs, wonders, miracles, revival, and all these outpourings. I'm telling you this: the key is faith. The question is: what are we putting our faith in? We won't have signs and wonders if we don't have faith in the Word of God. It's not just faith in some abstract thing. We see it done in the Word, and then we do it! Our faith is in the truth of God's Word, not in our own ability, not in our own limited capacity. But if it happened in the Word of God, it can happen in our lives today.
Eleazar was acquainted with his weapon; he had confidence in it which allowed him to take on the entire Philistine militia and take them down. Of course, his name does mean, "God is my helper." Eleazar knew that the Lord was his Helper, and that in Him, he would find the victory.
We need to be diligent in the Word of God and practice. Let me just encourage you. Some of you have been doing this for years, and maybe you're still doing it. I used to practice getting the Word in my heart and coming out of my mouth. I used to ready myself. I would get little 3 x 5 index cards and post or paste them, and I knew, "These are healing Scriptures . . . financial Scriptures . . . Scriptures for my marriage . . . Scriptures for my children. And I would actually write them down. Then I would tape them inside of my Bible, book, or wherever. I still have some that are over twenty years old, and the paper is discolored, but I won't throw them away. I could show you on the leaf or pages of old Bibles, "Healing Scriptures." When I needed healing, and I couldn't recall the Scripture, I'd simply look at what was written. If you don't know how to do war with the devil, open your Bible, open your mouth, and declare the written words!
Maybe you don't have it memorized; the only way you're going to get it memorized is to use it and to do it! So open your Bible and declare! I'd open my Bible and see, "By His stripes we were healed." If we were, then I am! Too many people are relying on too many things, and therefore their confidence is not solidly based on the Word of God. We get a headache, let's run to the doctor. Kid gets a fever, run to the ER. I'm not saying you shouldn't take care of and love your kids. I'm NOT saying don't take care of them. What I am saying is, "Who and what are you putting your confidence in?" That one always gets the same kind of response. I'm not anti-medicine, but my goodness, if the Church knew the truth about modern medicine, some of it, and how many people are dying from it, maybe they would think twice about what they are putting in their mouths.
Don't get mad. Don't worry. Be happy. If you don't know what to say, find out! We have the full advantage. We don't have to guess at what God would say. Do you know how many people have given their lives so that we could have a Bible in our hands? Ponder how God has moved throughout the history of the world so that today we can have easy access to the Bible. We have it so available. We think that since we have it in our hands, we don't have to get it in our hearts. Get it in your heart and let it be welded to you; let it be one with you.
The enemy, he's not going to stop. His time is coming, but it's not here yet. He's not yet been thrown into the Lake of Fire. It's like the old Hal Lindsey book, "Satan Is Alive And Well On Planet Earth," and he's not going anywhere for some time. You'll know when his time is up, but it's not yet, so this is your opportunity to rise up as the Army of the Lord, the glorious Church, the victorious Church. But we'll never be victorious unless we know how to use, with skill, the weapon. I challenge you to go back and look at all that armor in Ephesians. Put on the whole armor. There's only one weapon, and it's the Sword of the Spirit.
Eleazar knew how to use his sword and when to use it. It had become part of him. He was one with his sword; it was one with him. That's how God wants His Word to be rooted in our lives. So much so that it's automatic. It comes out of our mouths. I have a strong sense that the enemy is going to try and take us back to an old battlefield. ON GUARD! Take the Sword of the Spirit and go forth in victory!
~ PG
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