Posted by rfathers on March 8, 2010
The New Generation of Fighting Army will fight only God’s Anointed Battles which means two primary things: (1) the men in the army will be Godly men, serving God and obedient to His call, and (2) God is with them.
We cite three examples to demonstrate what is meant by God’s Anointed Battles:
First, as discussed previously, the Old Generation of Fighting Men were disobedient and lacked faith in God. God told them that the Promised Land was theirs. But, because they were in disbelief, they preferred to go back to slavery in Egypt.
After God pronounced that they were condemned to die in the desert, they decided to fight those who occupied the Promised Land. Moses told them not to go:
Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies … Because you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword. (Numbers 14:42-43 NIV)
Well, as we know the men were overwhelmingly defeated – because God was not with them. But, if they had obeyed God and followed in the footsteps of Moses, Joshua and Caleb, then the Lord would have made a way for them to possess the land. They would not have been condemned and they would not have been defeated.
Second, 38 years later, after all the old generation had died out and the Lord was ready for the Israelites to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land, He started them out with the defeat of the Sihon King at Keshbon:
Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle. This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you. (Deuteronomy 2: 24-25 NIV)
Notice that God said all the nations under heaven … will tremble … because of you. The reality is that they trembled because of God’s anointing on Israel’s army. They could not be defeated with God’s anointing on them.
Third, here is an example of where God withheld His anointing on a battle and then, because of a change in Israel, He gave His anointing. At the first Battle of Ai Israel was resoundingly defeated. The roots of that defeat were sown when Israel defeated the town of Jericho.
The Lord had specifically instructed Israel about what to do with the plunder that they got from Jericho. But, one man, Achan disobeyed and kept some sacred things for himself. Thus, the Lord’s anger burned against Israel and he withheld His anointing on the first Battle of Ai (Joshua 6 &7).
Once Joshua and the Elders of Israel prayed before the Lord, Joshua received instructions to consecrate all the people. Joshua was able to discover the sin of Achan – and to root it out (Joshua 7). Next, the Lord told Joshua to prepare for the Second Battle of Ai:
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king … (Joshua 8:1-2 NIV)
These two attempts to take Ai show clearly that it is not the enemy that determines whether the army of God wins or not, it is God’s anointing on the army which is the determining factor. Stay with God, eliminate sin from within your ranks and the army of God is insured of success in its battles.
In our next post we will discuss how God Goes Before the New Fighting Army.
Please tell others about this important series on God Is Calling for a New Generation of Fighting Men.
Posted by rfathers on February 27, 2010
The New Fighting Army must be an Army of Valiant Men. Throughout the Old Testament Valiant Men or Men of Valour are described with such terms as men who were able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war (1 Chronicles 5:18).
However, we find that it is not enough to have the ability to fight. The Old Generation of Fighting Men had the ability to fight – but they did not have the will to fight. Fighting men must be courageous.
Valiant men have also been described in the Old Testament as having the heart of a lion (2 Samuel 17:10). However, that also is not enough. Valiant men today must have the knowledge of God that gives them the conviction to fight for the right things. They need to be like the valiant men who where with Saul when he first became king. They were men whose hearts God had touched (1 Samuel 10:26).
Our example is the fighting men who most notable distinguished themselves in the Bible, known as the Men of Issachar. These were brave men whose actions helped to propel the Nation of Israel into a time of unity and peace in one of its most crucial times in history after the death of King Saul.
There had been many years of intense division and fighting in Israel between the house of Saul and the house of David. Once David had established himself in Hebron, many of the fighting men of the Nation came to honor David and pledge their allegiance to him. The Men of Issachar were in that number:
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. (1 Chronicles 12:32 KJV)
These men who came to honor David were distinguished by seven points – that are also relevant for today:
- they understood the challenges that Israel was experiencing,
- they knew what needed to be done,
- they had the courage to act on their convictions,
- they were leaders who brought others with them,
- they acted in faith and purpose,
- they were mighty men of war, and
- they put their personal agendas aside.
Today, my brothers, the Fighting Army for the 21st century follows in the footsteps of the Men of Issachar.
As we said earlier, it is not enough to be able to fight or even to have the will to fight. The New Generation of Fighting Men must know why we fight – and this conviction must come from within. The New Generation of Fighting Army is an Army of God, a spiritual army that is prepared to fight and is prepared to win.
In our next post we will discuss how the New Fighting Army will only Fight God’s Anointed Battles.
Please tell others about this important series on God Is Calling for a New Generation of Fighting Men.
Posted by rfathers on January 27, 2010
One of Moses’ last acts was to assign land east of the Jordan River to the Reubenites, Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 34:14-15). This was their portion of the inheritance of the Promised Land.
However, the Israelites had not yet taken possession of the entire land. Moses commanded that the men who had already received their allotment to help the rest of the tribes seize and occupy the land west of the Jordan River. In fact, Moses said they must go first:
The LORD your God has given you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of your brother Israelites.
However, your wives, your children and your livestock (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you, until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the LORD your God is giving them, across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you. (Deuteronomy 18-20 NIV)
God intends that the men who have not yet gotten settled in their lives – be helped by those men who are settled and more mature in the Lord.
This is am important principle for the army because it should be the responsibility of the New Generation of Fighting Army to oversee this process for the fighting men.
This is consistent with at least two other references in the Bible that we list here:
Iron Sharpens Iron
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 NIV)
This well-known scripture speaks to the need for men to help each other by helping and challenging each other to be better men.
Engaged and Newly-Wed Men Do Not Serve in the Army
Has anyone here just become engaged to a woman but not yet married her? Well, you may go home and get married! You might die in the battle, and someone else would marry her. (Deuteronomy 20:7 NLT)
This principle serves the needs of family more so than just the individual man. But that is the role of men, husbands and fathers – to serve the needs of the entire family. When the Army also recognizes the needs of families and then seeks to address them – we have an Army that expects to win.
Keep in mind that this Army fights a different kind of battle to defeat a spiritual enemy (primarily) not a physical enemy. Thus, the building of the Army is concerned chiefly with making its members strong in the Lord. Thus, special attention should go to those who are young in the spirit and are in the process of establishing themselves.
Seasoned Christians will thus sow into the lives of younger Christians with the purpose of helping them to become stronger and more mature. This converts to spiritual help, Biblical lessons, economic help, educational and training help, mentoring, relationship counseling, fatherhood training, prayer support and so on.
Can you see yourself being helped in this way? Can you see yourself giving support to younger Christian men?
Let us know how this post impacts you. Please give us your comments below.
In our next post in this Characteristics of the Fighting Army series we will continue with #3 – Men of Valour.
Please tell others about this important series on God Is Calling for a New Generation of Fighting Men.
Posted by rfathers on January 22, 2010
Now that we have finished the series of seven entries on The New Generation of Fight Men, we move on to the Characteristics of the Fight Army. The series on the Fighting Men dealt with the characteristics that each individual man should strive for while the Characteristics of the Fighting Army deals with the institution of the Army and how it helps to prepare each man and the nation.
The first in this new series is New Godly Leadership. The Fighting Army needs New Leadership. That does not necessarily mean that current leadership of men needs to change, but it does mean that some of the approaches and standards can be improved.
Biblical history shows that Israel had at least three changes in leadership that are important to note in relationship to the new generation of fighting men.
The First Change in Leadership
In the early posts on the old generation of fighting men we showed that this generation had its origin and initial development in the post-Joseph era, after he and his brothers had died.
The Second Change in Leadership
Moses assumed the leadership of Israel after 40 years of preparation in the dessert of Midian under the tutelage of his father-in-law, the Midian priest Jethro, and the Holy Spirit.
Moses leadership was first of all spiritual leadership. His role was to oversee the exodus from slavery in Egypt and the transitional phase in the dessert that prepared Israel to enter the Promised Land.
The Second Change in Leadership
Joshua succeeded Moses as the spiritual leader of Israel. Joshua studied for forty years under Moses in the dessert. His role was to lead the people into the Promised Land and then to guide them as they established the nation of Israel in the Promised Land.
New Godly Leadership Today
We want to highlight seven points of necessity for new leadership today. But, first off, new leadership does not mean that today’s leaders need to be replaced. On the contrary, new leadership means new (or improved) approaches – where applicable. It means being led by God in all things.
- The Leader Follows God (Deuteronomy 34:9) – The Leader is chosen by God, receives the vision from God and is empowered by God. The Leader is submitted to God and makes sure that where he leads the people is where God intends for them to go (Habakkuk 2:1-3). His strength comes from God and not from himself (Joshua 3:7-8).
- The Leader Is A Godly Man In Public and In Private (Joshua 24:15) – The Godly leader does not have a double-standard, one for himself and one for the people – or one for his public life and one for his private life. If the leader has anything un-Godly hidden in his private life, it must be rooted out (Proverbs 6:27-28).
- The Leader Goes Before the People (Deuteronomy 3:28) – The Leader leads the people to accomplish what God has said. The Leader does not follow the people. He leads even when what God has said is unpopular with the people (Judges 6:22-34).
- A Good Leader Motivates and Teaches the People (Joshua 3:9-13) – A leader must teach and motivate, not just lead. In fact, teaching and motivating is part of leading. A leader should not just tell the people what to do, he must explain the vision he received from God and demonstrate to them so that their understanding is constantly improving. It is much easier to lead a knowledgeable people than to drag along a reluctant and uninformed people.
- The Leader Challenges the People to Be Holy (Joshua 7:16-20) – A Godly leader can not stand by and allow sin to corrupt the people. He must work to root it out by challenging the people to identify corruption amongst themselves and eliminate it.
- The Godly Leader Bounces Back From Defeat (Joshua 7:11-12; 8:1-2) – Even the best of leaders will fail (or have setbacks) from time-to-time because they are human and imperfect. However, the question is not whether one fails or not – but rather how one deals with defeat. A good leader will bounce back from defeat – not wallow in it.
- A Leader Has Faith and Conviction (Numbers 14:6-9) – A leader cannot effectively lead unless they believe what the Lord has said and they are steadfast in their attempt to get it done. Halfway measures will not suffice in the face of stiff opposition like what Joshua and Caleb faced when they returned from spying on the Promised Land.
Are you a Godly leader of people or even just in your home or of yourself?
Let us know how this post impacts you. Please give us your comments below.
This is the first of seven post in the series: The Characteristics of the Fighting Army
In our next post in this Characteristics of the Fighting Army series we will continue with #2 – Those Settled Help Those Not Settled.
Please tell others about this important series on God Is Calling for a New Generation of Fighting Men.
Reconciled Fathers Network
Akili Kumasi, Founder
