Delighting in Battle

Psalm 84:1 How lovely is Your tabernacle (are Your dwellings), O Lord of Hosts.

Taking the Highway to Zion means loving war, loving battle. Now, that ruffles a few feathers. Where does that conclusion prove itself? In all of scripture.
Jehovah Tse-ba-wah - the Lord of Hosts
Psalm 24:7: Lift up your head, O you gates; and be you lift up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 8: Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9: Lift up your heads, O you gates; even lift them up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10: Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.

The Lord of Hosts is one of the most frequently used names for God in all of history. Isaiah, Zephaniah, and Zechariah used this name almost exclusive of other names for God. They lived in embattled times. They lived in times of war, where taking and holding were a daily regimen. The Lord of the armies encamped for war is what that name means. We are that army. We are that host.

"Austere perseverance, harsh and continuous, may be employed by the least of us and rarely fails of its purpose, for its silent power grows irresistibly greater with time." Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

In Pursuit of Canaan
Genesis 14:8: And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar); and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; 9: With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.
10: And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. 11: And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. 12: And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.13: And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eschol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
14: And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. 15: And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16: And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

To defeat the armies of four kings when five could not and to do it with 318 men, you have to love war. You have to know how to fight. You have to be skilled in fighting. When you follow God into His dwelling, you must love a good fight.

Possessing the Land
Joshua 1:9: Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be you dismayoud: for the LORD thy God is with you whithersoever you goest. 10: Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11: Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days you shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess it.

Nothing came easy for Joshua and the Israelites in taking the land given them by God. Joshua fought through 40 years of skirmishes in the desert and then 40 years of intense battle in Canaan. God's cloud went with him by day and God's fire by night. You must love war to move in God's presence.

Growling Generalities
His Friday night had been horrid. It seemed like every attempt to talk to someone had met with resistance. People were unfriendly. People were downright hostile when the gospel was mentioned. One man had begun cursing and throwing his arms about when Jerry asked him to leave at closing time. This was one tough night.

Even Eddie seemed down about the night. He had come in later that afternoon. This was the first time he came in the evening. He did not hold the door. He bought his own coffee. He bought coffee for two other folks that he brought with him. They sat quietly and somewhat sadly in the corner booth and watched the people come and go. None ever spoke. Sometimes they would poke each other and laugh a little. Never disrespectfully, just in observation.

Krons noticed an odd new member of the Friday night crowd. She sat in the corner and visited with many. Dark glasses conveniently covered her eyes. She smirked more than smiled and had some odd attraction to people. He had not been able to go over and greet her. In fact, every time he headed that direction some problem cropped up in the kitchen or with a table of people or some odd unsolveable question would come from Bear. By the last hour of the night, he began to wonder if those incidents were not purposed by some external agent of interference.

Then he saw. He saw the Tarot cards. He saw her taking upturned palms and plying her trade as she read history into innocent lives. This was real. She was not a circus fake. This lady was the real thing. Every person walked away either down or happy, but always more confused than they came.

In the back Maria and others began to pray. This was real. How do they handle this situation? She needs Jesus as much as anyone. What could they do? They could not allow her to stay and disrupt in this manner. Suddenly one of the women in the prayer circle began to pray for God to intervene in some significant way. Could He simply do something to convince her to leave and everyone else to stay?

In a few moments, the woman screwed up her face and complained of an odor. She moved to another table. In a few moments, she complained aloud again. Again and one more time she moved. This time as Krons approached, nothing interfered. As direct as possible, he bolding offered to pray with her. She rankled and spoke.

“You are full of demons just like me,” she declared.

“You are so holy you don’t know it. But it is true. Everybody has demons.”

This stuck Krons back but did not deter him. He pressed into the conversation and refuted her ridiculous accusation. At the same time, he offered to take her into the back room for prayer. She would have none of it. Storming out the door, she promised to never come back. The odor never was apparent to anyone else. Noone else ever smelled anything but coffee and nachos. No one ever remembered such an exhausting night. They were glad the battle was over for an evening.


Holding Ground
2Chronicles 32:8: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

War never stops. Hezekiah was known for his love for the temple of God. He cleaned up and restored the temple. He brought the people back into praise relationship with God. Hezekiah was unafraid to go into battle for those reasons.

Onward Christian Soldiers
Matthew 11:12: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

Our quest is not different. We must be forceful. Delighting in the fellowship home of God means delighting in fighting the enemy to regain land and keep what we have. In prayer, we battle. In praise, we battle. In standing in the promises, we battle. This kingdom is taken with zeal that consumes us.

Taking Inventory On Delighting in Battle
'Now they went on; and when they were come to By-path meadow--to the stile over which CHRISTIAN went with his fellow HOPEFUL, when they were taken by Giant DESPAIR and put into Doubting Castle--they sat down and consulted what was best to be done: to wit, now they were so strong, and had got such a man as Mr. GREAT-HEART for their conductor, whether they had not best to make an attempt upon the giant; demolish his castle; and if there were any pilgrims in it, to set them at liberty before they went any further. So one said one thing, and another said the contrary. One questioned if it was lawful to go upon unconsecrated ground; another said they might, provided their end was good: but Mr. GREAT-HEART said, "Though that assertion offered last cannot be universally true, yet I have a commandment to resist sin; to overcome evil; to fight the good fight of faith. And, I pray, with whom shall I fight this good fight, if not with Giant DESPAIR? I will therefore attempt the taking away of his life, and the demolishing of Doubting Castle." Then said he, "Who will go with me?"'- Pilgrims Progress

Taking Action on Delighting In Battle
Pick a battle of your soul today. With what do you contest? Anger? Despair? Defeat? Anxiety? Take up the shield of faith with Mr. Great-Heart, Abram, Jesus, Hezekiah, and Joshua and say, "NO”, to the giant. Take the scripture of promise in hand and fight.

Prayer on Delighting In Battle
Father, I would rather rest, but I know I need to fight. I know that loving Your fellowship home means defending my heart. I know I must wrestle my own giants to the ground that the gathering of the saints would be filled with goodness and peace and mercy. Righteousness, peace, and joy come in the kingdom, Father. They are hard won and hard kept. Stir in me the warring spirit to join the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of My Heart.