The Commander and Chief of the Armies of Heaven
The Spirit of the Warrior
By: Carolyn Sissom 1992
Sunday Evening Service, August 30, 2009
Rev. 19: 11-16: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
This is the conquering Messiah, ‘the faithful and true witness’ of 3:14. The theme of the holy war of the end-time was announced in 16:14: “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God almighty.” This imagery portrays the gospel of Christ who triumphed by the shedding of His own blood. The armies of heaven are the called, chosen and faithful, dressed in fine linen, white and clean they share their Leader’s victory. The sword symbolizes the irresistible power of His Word of judgment and grace. The name King of Kings and Lord of lords is a name of universal dominion. Christ is given the name that is above every name and world dominion is His. “There is a Spirit which will not accept defeat, is not broken by disappointment or discouragement and never gives up.” (Source unknown)
Psalm 47: O clap your hands, all you people, shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the Excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah. God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praise unto our King, sing praise. For God is the King of all the earth, sing ye praises with understanding. God reigns over the heathen: God sits upon the throne of his holiness. The princes of the people are gathered together even the people of the God of Abraham; for the shields of the earth belong unto God. He is greatly exalted.”
This Psalm is a Messianic Psalm of the Kingdom of God. The Messianic Psalms portray the whole life story of the Lord Jesus Christ from His pre-existence to His eternal throne. Thirteen Psalms are quoted in the New Testament as referring to Jesus Christ -2, 8, 16, 22, 31, 40, 41, 45, 68, 69, 102, 110, 118. This is a prophetic Psalm of the Jesus christ as King of all the Earth. This is a song of the sovereignty of God. It opens with an appeal to the nations to unite in His adoration as the One Supreme Ruler. The trumpets announce the feast. The vision of God sitting upon his throne is prophetic of the ultimate recognition of the Throne of God as one throne, one world. The princes would be the nobles of the nations are gathered. There are many warriors in the Bible. It is a high calling. PAUL was a great warrior from the tribe of Benjamin (the son of the right hand company).
He exhorts all saints “in nothing be terrified by your adversaries;” and we are all to engage in the conflict. (Philippians 1:28:30) 2 Timothy 2:13: “Entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on service gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to satisfy the one who enlist him (Christ Jesus). The soldier is willing to endure battle and his ambition is to please his commander. Loyalty and devotion must be pre-eminently to the Person of Christ. Paul is calling for endurance and illustrates challenging standards for those engaged in Christian service. KING DAVID was chosen as a youth to be the warrior to defeat the enemies of God.
David said, “With God’s help I can run through a troop and leap over a wall”. Psalm 18:34-50:”It is God that girds me with strength, (might and valor) and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like hinds feet, (secure in the throne) and set me upon my high places. He teaches my hands to war, (on the harp) so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms. You have also given me the shield (the buckler of verse 2 –faith) of your salvation; and Your right hand has held me up, (power) and Your gentleness has made me great. You have enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. I have pursued my enemies, and overtaken them. Neither did I turn again till they were consumed. I have wounded them that they were not able to rise; they are fallen under my feet. For you have girded me with strength to the Battle; You have subdued under me those that rose up against me. You have also given me the necks of my enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. They cried, but there was none to save them; even to the Lord, but He answered them not. Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the dirt of the streets You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; and You have made me the head of the heathen; a people whom I have not known shall serve me. ….The Lord live; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avenges me… He delivers me from my enemies. You lift me up from those that rise up against me. You have delivered me from the violent man.”
THIS DESCRIBES THE VICTORY OF JESUS!!!!!!!
Jesus said, “I have all power over Heaven and earth.” The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (natural) weapons, but they are mighty weapons, mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. In 1 Chronicles 12, David’s mighty men were described as:
- Armed with bows
- They could use both the right hand and the left hand. (2 Corinthians 6:7)”By
The word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.”
- Hurling stones and shooting arrows
- Fit for battle
- Could handle shield and buckler
- faces were like the faces of lions.
- swift as deer.
- men of valor
- They had understanding of the times
- Men who could keep rank and were not of a double heart.
- Men with a perfect heart “All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart, and all the rest also were of one heart.” (1 Chron. 12:38)
Men with a united heart. “that you may stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27
We must love each other as brothers with the love Jonathan had for David. Our armor, garments, sword, bow and girdle belong to Jesus. Our garments are the garments of salvation. Our robe is of character, whose texture is sympathy, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. The girdle of our garments is to be love, truth and peace which hold the other garments together in perfect unity.
11 Samuel 22:30 is David’s praise for victory: “For by you I run through a troop; by my God I leap over a wall.” All of our devotion and loyalty must be pre-eminent to the person of Jesus Christ.As ministers and musicians our gifts accompany the Holy Spirit as He brings that which is Jesus’ to us. There is no defeat in Jesus. We can’t go under for going over. Submission is our attitude.Obedience is our conduct.Hope is the anchor for our soul.Faith is what is necessary to please the Lord.Love is our only agenda.Dependence and Expectancy is our approach to Jesus.Enjoyment of Life is a responsibility (Ecl. 11: 9-1). Liberty is the courage to risk, the endurance to lose and learn to accept rejection. Ethics expresses our gratitude to God for His Grace...Courage is best described as” the rash man acts without fear, the brave man in spite of it.”
Prayer moves the hands of God. Worry is the opposite of prayer. Prayer appropriates the finished work of the Cross. Prayer brings us to God’s perfect will. Prayer is the pathway to Heaven but Praise is already there. Conduct is having the character of God. Our Security and Sufficiency must be in Jesus Christ.Faithfulness. God did not call us to be popular. He called us to be faithful. Joy is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Jesus in the midst of trouble. Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding should be the furnishings of our spiritual house.
Ephesians 6:13 describes the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Jesus’ indwelling presence is a resource. However, we must teach our hands to fight and our fingers to war. It is because of His presence that we dare to fight. We have been cleansed by the Blood of Jesus, called by the name of Christ. We have been covered by the robe of His righteousness. Our clothing is the garment of Praise. We have the Christian armor for our protection. The Word of God is our sword. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are our weapons of warfare. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the preserving ability that makes us the salt of the earth and the evidence of Christ revealed through us. Like GIDEON, we could all say, “How can I be a warrior, I am the weakest and the least?” But we hear the commission “GO IN THE STRENGTH YOU HAVE AND I WILL BE WITH YOU.”
For the ladies, we have Deborah as a role model in Judges 4. She was the judge of Israel and a prophetess. She was the wife of Lapideth, or business man, who according to one commentary was a camel driver. She mobilized the army of Israel and defeated Sisera. She gave the orders and directed the war by prophecy. Then God put it into the hearts of 10,000 men to have faith without arms to overcome a greater company who were well armed. In Gideon’s First Fruits Company, there were only 300 with this kind of Faith. So faith is one of our weapons. The one we must have to even be chosen for battles. It is the shield of Ephesians 6:16. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Some will never enter the battle because of fear. “The battle is mine saith the Lord, It is not by might or by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.” “The Lord has opened his armory and has brought forth the weapons of his indignation for this is the work of the Lord God of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.” (Jeremiah 50:25).
Assertive prayer or spiritual warfare is to be carried on under Christ as our Captain and by the leading of the Holy Spirit in agreement with the Word of God. “You are a mighty warrior dressed in the armor of light, crushing the deeds of darkness; lead us on in that fight. Through the blood of Jesus victorious we stand, we place you at the highest place, Above all else in this land”.
Judges 4:23;3:1-4; “Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof.Namely: Five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites that dwelled in Mount Lebanon from Mount Baalhermon to the entering in of Hamath And they were to prove Israel by them to know whether they would hearken to the commandments of the Lord, which He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof.."
The skills of war-making although not always valued by Christian ethicists are a necessary part of existence in a hostile environment. It still is. Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Barak, Gideon and all of the Heroes of Faith in the Book of Hebrews were warriors of Faith. Uzziah is an example to us of a man whom God marvelously helped until He was strong (11 Chron. 11-16). But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction. When he became strong, successful, victorious, and rich, His pride led to his downfall. The mighty conquests of Uzziah demanded a well organized and strong standing army. The king provided the equipment for the entire army (that translates for us into anointing and supernatural power.) In other words the troops no longer had to supply their own weapons, but were armed by the King.
Verse 15 emphasizes the supernatural assistance of God for his faithfulness. “He was marvelously helped until he was strong.” But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction; for he transgressed against the Lord his God. Paul warns us of this same problem in Galatians 6: 1-6. We will study those specifics of spiritual warfare next Sunday morning coming.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church, www.eastgteminsitries.com
Scripture from K.J.V. I have no idea about the bibliography except there are a few quotes from F. F. Bruce Bible Commentary and Kelly Varner, Principles of Present Truth of the Psalms. There is no intent to plagiarize anyone, but to present a teaching. This has evolved over many years and I no longer remember the sources.
