GIG259 The Wearing Down of the Saints

Growing In God Podcast

 

Web Description: The spiritual battle we face today, as Daniel described, attempts to wear us down. But according to the Word of God, we can hide in a secret place under the shadow of His wing. He has seated us with Him in the heavenly places. Let us live in that place and move from that place in everything we do. This is our strength that the Lord has sent us in this generation to proclaim deliverance for Israel and the gathering of the nations into His Kingdom.

 

Show Notes: The people of Israel have had to live under continual missile attacks. This lifestyle of warfare that drags on and on is satan's tactic to wear down the saints, and it is not in alignment with God's promises. We must be able to see an end to the warfare and see a time of peace emerge. As we read in Daniel 7, satan tries to wear us down but his dominion will be taken away, annihilated, and destroyed forever.

 

This reality already exists in the heavenly realm where satan no longer exists because he was cast down to the earth, which is where his wrath is focused. If our focus is down here on this natural level, we should not be surprised that we are running into problems. We need to move into the heavenly places where we dwell with Christ at the right hand of the Father. We are to dwell with Him there and move with Him from there in all that we do.

 

We need to stay where God is positioning us and not waver. We need to continue our walk in the Spirit and exercise His Word, as it is already finished. Israel had lost everything—like a land that was consumed by swarming locusts—but God is restoring Israel just as He promised. And you can feel like you are being overwhelmed by a cloud of locusts that are trying to devour you until there is nothing left of your strength, your hope, or your faith. Do not buy into that feeling. We live in the moment of the restoration. We live in the moment of all things being finished and completed and handed over to the saints.

 

Key Verses:

 

•       Psalm 31:20. "You hide them in the secret place of Your presence."

•       Psalm 91:1–4. "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty."

•       Judges 6:1–6. "Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried to the Lord."

•       Matthew 6:6. "When you pray, go into your inner room, close your door."

•       Isaiah 26:20. "Enter into your rooms and close your doors behind you."

•       Joel 2:25–27. "I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten."

•       Judges 6:14. "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel."

•       Daniel 7:24–26. "His dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever."

•       Revelation 12:7–12. "Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth."

•       Ephesians 6:18. "Be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints."

•       Ephesians 2:4–6. "God … raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

•       Colossians 3:3. "You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

 

Quotes:

 

•       "Where we place our awareness and our focus is extremely important. So we need to be aware of the battle, but we need our spiritual focus and awareness to be on where He is, where we are with Him, and what has already been done in the promises."

•       "Has He not sent you in this hour? He could have had you born in any generation. And God chose not to do that. He brought you forth in this generation for this moment so that we would be the proclaimers of now. It is now that the Lord will move to bring forth the fulfillment of every Word that He has spoken. And that is our strength."

•       "Delivering Israel is the first step to delivering the nations and bringing all nations into the Kingdom that God is setting up and establishing."

 

Takeaways:

 

1.    After making a strong stand in support of Israel and against anti-Semitism, we have seen an increase in spiritual warfare. This spiritual battle against Israel and against us seeks to wear us down.

2.    We need to walk and move in the Spirit to exercise God's Word and His promises as being already fulfilled, rather than praying in hope for fulfillment while dwelling in what seems to be an endless battle.

3.    The Lord has brought us to a new dwelling place, and we intercede from an awareness of where we are seated with Him in the heavenly places. We apply to Israel the fact that God hides them in the secret place of His presence. They are to dwell there, and we are to dwell with them in the protection of the Lord under the shadow of His wings.

4.    The Lord said to Gideon, "Go in this your strength to deliver Israel. … Have I not sent you?" Where does our strength come from? Our strength comes from the fact that He has sent us to be part of delivering Israel; we are to be those who stand up and proclaim to Israel what the Lord has said.