Topic: Deadly Assumptions
Text: Judges 4:1- 24
Key verses: I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”
Culture is so powerful in shaping belief systems, so many things people believe and hold on to are actually not backed by truth but simply assumptions that have been implied by information not well communicated. These erroneous assumptions exist even in the Christian faith and they have affected our perspectives about spiritual warfare. Let’s deal with one of them today, and expose and dismantle the enemy’s mental machinery in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God promised the children of Israel freedom in a land flowing with milk and honey, but the land already had occupants; they were going to take over the land as long as they were willing to do these three things, believe God’s word, walk on that land and fight to possess it.
Many people start to lose the battle from the first stage because they are unable to act in faith.
One of the assumptions that affect our victory is when we walk by sight instead of by faith, and we prefer to believe what our senses tell us rather than the truth of the word of God.
In our text, King Jabin had oppressed the people of Israel for so long that they could no longer fight back; they had become intimidated by the size of his army and chariots.
Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.
Why did it take twenty years before they cried out? I want to think they were able to cope with the harsh conditions for a while until it became unbearable. Secondly, they may have assumed that the weapons the enemy had were too great to overcome, … nine hundred chariots fitted with iron
These kinds of assumptions weaken our faith in God and the ability to confront the adversaries facing us.
Deborah was a woman who heard God and believed his word literally. Whatever God said to her as possible. Do you believe that too? If not, what are the fears that have built a stronghold in your mind about what is possible and what God cannot do? Pull down those assumptions and lies in Jesus\’ name. Amen.
Deborah sent a word to Barack from the Lord, he believed it conditionally. Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
When we make dangerous assumptions that except a particular Pastor prays over an issue we don\’t think it will work, we make the man the source of our faith and not God. Every man God uses is as best a channel, it is the power of God that finds expression in that man, the moment the Spirit departs that man is unable to perform. Remember, the moment Samson\’s hair was cut, he became empty.
Barak put his faith in Deborah\’s physical presence in the Battle, so God gave the victory to another woman. It is dangerous to put your trust in any man, God can use anybody anytime to accomplish his purpose and take the glory. He wants to use you to stop looking up to anybody.
I want to give credit to Barak for his willingness to act in faith and march out to Mount Tabor; he obediently summoned the ten thousand men as instructed and he went ahead to the place God had spoken of. Assumptions we make that limit our victory in warfare includes taking too many people along in battle who God did not approve of. There were twelve tribes in Israel but God asked that only two tribes should provide the soldiers for this battle.
There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.
Why not more? Why not other tribes that had more valiant men? God\’s ways are higher than our ways, we must believe and trust in his ways without doubt or human reasoning.
These truths am sharing are not easy to practice, l have not attained to them myself, but this is the way things are done in the kingdom of God, any other way is not God\’s way even if it works!
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:5
The key to success is to live a dependent life on the Holy Spirit. We must learn how to be led by the Spirit, he is the one who will give us the correct perspective about the events we are facing.
Ask in prayer for who God wants you to go to battle with so that your faith will rest on him alone.
As soon as Barak did his part by showing up at the place commanded, he did not allow the size of his enemy to intimidate him, God showed up for Israel.
Another assumption we make wrongly is to expect God to give us a sign before we obey him. The moment you receive a word act on it, God sees your heart, work with what has been provided first. Sometimes we want God to show us the blueprint to victory before we take the very first step. No. That is the heart of unbelief. You must show up first and then let God take over.
When Barak attacked, the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a panic. Sisera leaped down from his chariot and escaped on foot.
God is faithful to his word, all his promises are true in Christ Jesus, but you must check to see that you meet the conditions of obedience.
Finally, the last issue we will deal with is the assumption that because God has given a promise, there will be no fight or effort required of you. You must be ready to fight to take what is yours, fight to maintain what is in your territory, and fight to recover what was stolen from you. Barak fought, his soldiers fought and God helped them. Barak did not stop when the enemies fled, he pursued Sisera till he saw him dead. Have you stopped pursuing your enemies? Are you weary of dealing with the same issues in your marriage and with your children? Don’t give up just yet. Maybe someone told you that once you get born again everything will happen exactly as you decree it, or your interpretation of abundant life in John 10:10 is a stress or sorrow free life, well that is part of the truth, not all. God did not give us the armor for fashion or just to put it on as ceremonial wear, it was designed for war. Satan is alive on planet earth using his agents to prevent God’s righteous rule in our lives, you must understand that the day you pledged allegiance to Jesus, you declared war on the enemy and his cohorts. Don’t relax, don’t get complacent, fight for your freedom and God will give you rest.
And from that time on Israel became stronger and stronger against King Jabin until they finally destroyed him.
Every battle you fight makes you stronger, gives you more courage, and gives you experience until that situation is settled. Whether it is in your health or marriage, as you keep walking in faith speaking the word over that situation, the enemy falls, and you gain ground until one day, you will look for the symptoms and suddenly you realize they are gone.
There was a time l had issues with my hearing, it was a tough one for me because hearing problems were hereditary, l overcame that. Then l started to have arthritis as early as my forties, l couldn\’t wear heels anymore, it was also a health challenge my mother had before she passed. Then after my husband survived a partial stroke and recovered, l started noticing the symptoms too, did l seek medical assessment? Yes, l did. There was no reason for those symptoms other than that the ministry of the devil must continue. As l got the victory over each one, l gathered the experience to believe God’s word for other battles.
Give no room to erroneous assumptions, no two battles are the same, God who sees the visible and invisible is on your side with a drawn sword already.
Rise, draw your sword, find the promises for healing if you have a health challenge, find promises for marriage if that’s the battle you are facing, and wait on God for a battle plan.
The man of war will fight for you! The one who helped the men of David become mighty will give you victory in Jesus’ name! You will testify of God’s faithfulness in Jesus’ name, amen!
Prayer: Open my eyes oh Lord to see the wrong assumptions l have made that have denied me my victory, give me the courage to take action, and obey your word in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Roses&Thorns
