This is the day.

II Samuel 23:9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:
10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.

This is in the list of "David's Mighty Men." What a challenge, though, that we can take from it! Eleazar fought, Eleazar faught hard, Eleazar fought until he was tired, Eleazar fought until he could not drop his weapon, and Eleazar fought until a great victory had been won. We are told to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. So often, however, we seem prone to drop the weapon. We must learn to put everything we have into the fight, and to give it all we've got! God will then bring victory to our lives.

Fighting spiritual battles. (I believe we already have a good outline)
I. Fight
II. Fight hard.
III. Fight until you are tired.
IV. Fight until you and your weapon [God's Word] become inseperable.
V. Fight until God brings the victory.


The Fight is On

The fight is on, the trumpet sound is ringing out,
The cry “To arms!” is heard afar and near;
The Lord of hosts is marching on to victory,
The triumph of the Christ will soon appear.
Refrain

The fight is on, O Christian soldier,
And face to face in stern array,
With armor gleaming, and colors streaming,
The right and wrong engage today!
The fight is on, but be not weary;
Be strong, and in His might hold fast;
If God be for us, His banner o’er us,
We’ll sing the victor’s song at last!

The fight is on, arouse, ye soldiers brave and true!
Jehovah leads, and victory will assure;
Go buckle on the armor God has given you,
And in His strength unto the end endure.

Refrain

The Lord is leading on to certain victory;
The bow of promise spans the eastern sky;
His glorious Name in every land shall honored be;
The morn will break, the dawn of peace is nigh.

Refrain

This is the day.

Zechariah 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

I think most of us would say that it is true, that often it is the "small" things that get us in the most trouble. When we let something slip that seems insignificant, we often allow that to get us into a position to let something else slip, and then something else, and so on until we are far away from where we need to be. We need to realize that there are really not any "small" things with God, He considers sin to be sin, whether or not we think it is just 'small.' We all need to strive in our daily lives to fortify our lives in the area of dealing with the "small" problems, before they overwhelm us.

What small problems can lead to.
I. Discouragement. How often we let "little" things discourage us.
II. Destruction. Song of Solomon 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
III. Death. Amos 5:19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. The big things did not destroy him, but the little one got him.

He Broke the Chains.

Once I was down in sin’s dark prison,
No one around could take my place,
I had no joy, no hope for living,
Then Jesus came, He broke the chains.

chorus
He broke the chains of sin and sorrow,
He broke the chains of fear and shame,
He wrote my name, way up in glory,
Since Jesus came, He broke the chains.

In the tomb he laid what a cold, dark prison,
And to all the world, death seemed to reign,
But Mary cried, “My Lord is risen.”
From Death He came, He broke the chains.

This is the day.

II Chronicles 13:8 And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with your golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.
9 Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.
10 But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business:
11 And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him.
12 And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper

The golden calves in verse eight represent a half-hearted attempt to make Israel think they were serving God. Really, Jeroboam was leading these Israelites away from God and into complete idol worship. Every aspect of his 'worship' had taken away from God's prescribed plan for Israel's true worship. Verse ten gives a great statement, "the LORD is our God," never forsake Him, let the right men of God have the leadership. Give God a wholsome sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2), and keep your worship pure. God will then be your captain, and the battles will be won, not by your might but by the Power of God. Let us worship God in SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH!!

Worship needs to be:
I. In line with God's Word.
II. Out of a pure heart.
III. In a spirit of sacrifice.

This is the day.

Proverbs 5:21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

Do you think you have gotten by with something? Think again! It is a humbling thought to know that everything you have ever done has been seen by God, and has either been approved or disapproved by Him. Our ways: our thoughts, our actions, everything we do, are before the Lord. Even more HE PONDERS our ways. He takes the time to think about what we are doing, and, being ALL-KNOWING, even considers our motives. What a Great God!! This knowledge of Him should make us want to submit our ways to Him, and let Him lead us in the right direction.

The ways of the wicked are not known.
I. The wicked do not know why they have wicked ways. Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
II. The wicked do not know the way of salvation. Jon 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (emphasis added)
III. The wicked don't know the way to heaven. Ecclesiastes 10:15 The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. (emphasis added) Psalm 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. (emphasis added)