Scripture
Read Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he [b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
Watch Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFOHIDggcLE
The Bible tells us that Christians are in a war. But it isn’t a political or cultural war. Those can be important battles to engage in, but they are only fronts in a broader war aimed at our souls and the souls of our family members. Consider the warlike language we see in the New
Testament:
- “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Eph. 6:12
- “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” 2 Cor. 10:3-4
- “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” 1 Pet. 2:11
- “… I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” Rom. 7:23
- “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim. 2:3
All of these verses point to three areas of battle: to our flesh, the system of the world, and Satan and his followers. Each area tries to distract us from God and get us to follow them. Our everyday worship establishes a boundary to the enemy that our worship and adoration belongs to God. God’s work of redemption that replaces the fake news of the world’s stories. Worship aligns us with God’s ways and purposes and it’s in worship that we are waging war. In this ongoing battle we have weapons to battle with, one of them being worship. In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat was faced with an impossible battle. We see him seek the Lord in prayer and confess his powerlessness to destroy his enemies. The Lord responds to him through Jahaziel the Prophet who says, “the battle is His, do not be afraid, stand firm, hold your position and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf.” Jehoshaphat and the people responded by only worshipping and praying at first.
The next morning Jehoshaphat said, “Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” (2 Chronicles 20: 21) Then, Jehoshaphat placed the choir and the band on the front lines! Imagine that today! But they faced their enemies with worship and praise, and just as the Lord had said, they witnessed a miraculous deliverance! Through their worship, the Lord confused their enemies, who turned in on each other, and were completely destroyed (vs 22-23). So much so that they spent days collecting all the spoils of war (vs 25). And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms when they heard that the Lord had fought the enemies of Israel (vs 29). In the New Testament, we see Paul in prison and instead of retaliating, it says they sang and worshipped God! It literally changed the atmosphere of the situation!
Questions
- Why should we worship as a weapon for warfare?
- What happens in us when we worship?
- What happens in the atmosphere or spiritual realm when we worship?
The Practice
This week, think of an area in life that you are battling in. Instead of battling it in the natural way, try worshiping as warfare. An area of battle I am in right now is ___________________________
- What modes/ways am I going to choose to do battle with? How often? How long?
- What happened in me throughout the week?
- What happened in the atmosphere when you worshiped? Was there any breakthrough? Share with your group next week!
