How to fight the good fight (Deuteronomy 20)
For God’s children, to fight a war is to work for the Lord. Salvation has finished by Jesus Christ. But He has works for us to do with Him. First of all, Jesus Christ wants us to snatch the dying souls from the power of darkness, sins and evil. He wants us to tell them the Good News. Our Lord wants us to lead them into the glorious kingdom of God. Secondly, our Lord expects us to bring back every lost sheep. Some of the believers have fallen like the prodigal son because they love the world. Some have gone astray because they are deceived by other gospel, wrong teaching or cult. Quite a few have become proud or turned to do the wrong things when they are blessed by the Lord. Some of them are discouraged and stumbled in hardship. Some lose heart and backslide because they are persecuted for the sake of Jesus. Moreover, some have fallen into deep sleep in the spirit because their lives are too easy. How Jesus desires us to follow His footsteps to be a good shepherd. We should follow Father’s heart to preach gospel and save the souls. God desires everyone to be saved, not one to be perished. Jesus Christ has instructed us the Great Commission before he was taken up, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28/19-20)
Jesus used a parable in teaching that we must care for the lost one, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (Luke 15/4) Nowadays, many churches do not pay attention to the ministry of missionary. We do not preach gospel to the non-believers. We would rather enjoy ourselves with the ninety-nine than reach out to the lost souls. Our churches are full of programs for the ninety-nine to enjoy, singing hymns or dancing. We are busy with all kinds of meetings or agendas for the ninety-nine. But we have lost the love for the souls. We have not prayed earnestly in following God’s heart. We are not willing to pay a price in looking for the lost sheep. Usually we just want some entertainment for ourselves under the name of “fellowship” at church. Many churches have lost the real power of faith, hope and love. We only keep the outward form of religion. This is a main reason that many churches are in desolation now. It is also the very reason that God cannot shower down His blessings on us.
But how do we work for the Lord? How do we fight a war of soul winning for the Lord? The secret is in Deuteronomy chapter 20.
V.1-9: Before we go out to fight.
1. Proclaim the faith, “Fear not. For the Lord our God is with us.”
Do not be afraid of the enemies. Though they are as many as the sands on the seashore, we do not have to fear them. Do not think we are as little as grasshoppers in front of the enemies of great size. God has promised to give us this land. We have almighty God to go with us and fight for us. We are sure to defeat the enemies.
If there are sins in our heart such as, filth, pride, jealousy, rival, hatred, or greed, we must confess it all to the Lord by faith. If we have committed sins, we must stop doing it and repent. All of our sins will be wiped out by the blood of the Lamb. If we have offended others, we must also make restitutions and apologize to them. God cannot be with us unless we are holy. Therefore, let us not get involved with the ways of the world. Turn our eyes from unclean things. The Bible said, “When you are encamped against your enemies, keep away from everything impure.” (Deut. 23/9)
However, our past experience has taught us one thing: Satan always wants to make us sin against God whenever we set out to work for the Lord. Sometimes, it makes us angry with someone or even argue with people. Sometimes, we are so discouraged and upset because of illness or pain. For example, last Sunday morning I was so painful that I could hardly read one sentence of the Bible. When I prayed, I fell into sleep so many times. I was very discouraged. I thought, “How am I going to read this 12-page-long message tonight?” (Our meeting in Poland uses English and Polish. First we have to prepare our messages in Chinese. Have it translated into English. Then, ask someone to translate it into Polish before the meeting. Usually I read my message in English, and has it translated into Polish at the meeting.) I could only pray to the Lord to carry my worry and burden. Many brothers and sisters also prayed for me. Hallelujah! When I read the message that night, I had no pain. I was not tired at all. God had shown His mercy and grace to me. In fact, I had a good appetite after the meeting.
I would like to give you another example of it. Once when I worked in another State, I stayed with a sister. She put me upstairs in her daughter’s room. There were so many beautiful pictured story books in English on the bookshelf. This was my favorite. I enjoyed reading them so much that I could hardly bare to put them down. When the car was ready to leave for the meeting, I was still upstairs trying to finish one story in a book. It really did great harm to that meeting.
Once God’s servant John Sung spoke in a meeting, he noticed that the congregation was not paying attention to his message. They were chatting to one another. At once, he asked them to pray for him because he quarreled with his wife the night before.
All of these little things, such as discouraging, depress, upset, reading story book, or quarreling, are the very impurities that we must keep ourselves far away from. They hinder us from a close union with the Lord. If we want to have victory, we must keep firmly the teaching of Joshua chapter 1/8, “Do not let this Book of Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.” Surely God is with us if we prepare ourselves for His war in this way. That is why the Lord’s servant John Sung was so powerful in his ministry. He kept himself from every impurity all the time. He had never stopped repenting to God and asking forgiveness of people.
2. Get rid of every kind of entanglement.
If we want to work or fight for the Lord, we must get rid of all kinds of entanglements. We cannot go with God for His war if we concern for our houses and our works, including “vineyard” (ministry). Here is an example of it. There was one couple. Both of them were co-workers of Home of Grace. The Lord clearly instructed them not to leave this ministry. They should go and preach gospel to the ends of the world; and set up Home of Grace for fellow workers all over the world. But they only preached gospel in the place where they lived. They bought a house in their hometown and set it up as a church. In fact, they had ignored God’s calling for Great Commission that is to march toward the whole world. The church at home, “a vineyard”, was their main concern. Their own ministry hindered them from following God wholeheartedly.
The more serious entanglement is love between the husband and wife in this world. Who would like to set up his/her mind like Uriah? He told David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open field. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife?” (2 Sam. 11/11) Who is willing to leave behind a sweet home and carry the cross to follow the suffering path for the Lord? If we do not love the Lord more than anything, we cannot follow the Lord. If we love the world and everything in the world, the love of the Father is not in us. It is said about the Levites who served God, “He said of his father and mother, ‘I have not regard for them.’ He did not recognize his brothers or acknowledge his own children, but he watched over your word and guarded your covenant. He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel.” (Deut. 33/9-10) God’s teaching differs greatly from today’s practice at the western church. Nowadays, pastors would cancel a scheduled “Revival Meeting” because that day was their wedding anniversary. They would rather go fishing with their sons than leading the meeting at church.
3. Repeatedly tell the people, “Be strong and take courage!”
God repeatedly told Joshua, “Be strong and take courage!”(Joshua 1/7) Once I was moved to work with sister Zhang who was ten years older than I. We went to Seattle to visit a minister from China who had been imprisoned for the sake of Jesus. We called her “Aunty Wang”. At that time she was a minister in Church of Lin Lian. She asked us to visit a little girl that suffered from a fatal illness. Her parents loved her very much. But the doctors told them that there was nothing they could do for her. She ought to be discharged from the hospital. When we arrived at the patient’s room, we saw that little girl lying on the bed. She was dying. Her mother sadly stood beside her bad. Her father was not there. I had no faith at all. I simply wanted to pray a few words for her and leave soon. But sister Zhang, who was in her 70s, knelt down right on the floor. She had never attended any school. She had only learned to read the whole book of Bible since she came to Home of Grace. I had no choice but to follow her and kneel down. I followed her to sing hymns. She was full of faith. She prayed and asked God to heal this little girl. I also regained my faith because of sister Zhang. I asked her mother whether she was willing to dedicate her daughter to the Lord and serve God if the Lord healed her. Her mother answered, “I am willing.” I then asked this little girl, she was about eight or nine, “Are you willing to give yourself to the Lord if you are healed?” She nodded her head and said, “I am willing.” After that we gave them in the Lord’s hand and left.
Next day, there was a big prayer meeting at Church of Lin Lian. Most of the attendees were famous pastors, missionaries, elders and deacons. The church asked us to share in this prayer meeting. Before the meeting, two of us stayed in a reception room. Sister Zhang saw from the glass window that many high class men dressed formally were coming to the meeting. She said to me, “Yi Xin (one heart), I am very sacred. My heart is melted like water.” At once I understood it was because that she was looking at herself. That was why she thought they were so high as if touching the sky; and she was as little as a grasshopper. We had heard that most of the elders and deacons were highly educated and very rich. Quite a few were engineers who made aircrafts. I encouraged her, “Do not be afraid! God is with us!” We also joined together in prayer for it. Then we went into the meeting room. We would like to share with them about the Lord’s grace. How God led us to learn first of all to intercede for everyone when we went to Home of Grace on the mountain. Unexpectedly, before we started the testimony, a deacon walked up to us excitingly. He held our hands gratefully. He introduced himself. He was the father of that dying girl. He said that she was healed miraculously yesterday after we had prayed for her in the hospital. Let all the glory be given to the name of the Lord! The entire prayer meeting was filled with the Lord’s glory and presence because of this testimony! How important it is to have co-workers to work together and help each other.
V. 10-12: In the war.
1. Peach the gospel of peace.
An ambassador of gospel is to preach full salvation to everyone. We are to tell everyone that we are saved by faith. It is a grace of God. By faith we enter the glory kingdom of God’s beloved Son. By faith we are delivered from perishing in the hell. If people open their heart and accept God’s grace, they become God’s people. They will keep God’s words and serve the Lord. If they refuse to accept it and make war against us, we must “surround them with army”. “Surround” means to pray. When we pray for them, we will see that God will do it all by Himself. That is why we intercede for churches, countries and people we know, one by one. Do not look at the city of Jericho by sight when they closed their door tightly. Grasp God’s promise and pray by faith everyday until the wall collapses.
I myself was like the city of Jericho, refused to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. I loved the world so much. I also worshipped the false god and was very devoted to it. I closed my heart completely to the Lord Jesus. When Mrs. Wu preached gospel to me, I was so against it. I even called her an “old fox”. I thought she wanted to deceive my family to follow her. I abused the Lord. I was against Jesus. But she kept on praying for my salvation. In addition to it, God has never stopped working in me. God will do that until I am willing to die for gospel preaching out of gratitude.
V. 13-18: After the war
1. How to treat those who live far from you.
Put to the sword all the men who live far from you. “Men” represent those who have strength to fight back against you. As for “the women and the children” mean those who are humble and obedient. You can leave them alive. And you can take the livestock and everything in the city as the plunder for yourselves.
2. Totally destroy the seven tribes of Canaanites.
Completely destroy them. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do. And you will sin against God.
How do we apply these two instructions to our services? Let’s see the example of Jesus. When he saw the poor, the humble and the bounded, he had mercy on them. He delivered them and healed them. He forgave and used those tax collectors and prostitutes when they repented humbly. But to the Pharisees and hypocrite who were against the truth, Jesus rebuked them harshly. This is an application of “killing the men” in preaching the gospel.
As to the Canaanites, they want to kill and harm us. They plan to make us to follow their detestable ways so that we sin against our Lord. They want us be cursed by God. How can we leave any of them alive? Keep in mind the case of King Saul. He destroyed everything that was despised and weak of the Amalekites. But he spared the king of Amalekites and the best of everything. Saul did not obey God’s instructions to destroy everything that belonged to them. Therefore, God had rejected him as king.
Be sure to keep far away from the things that should be destroyed after we finish a war. Achan loved the world. He took some of the things from Jericho that ought to be destroyed. He brought trouble and curse to the whole camp of Israel. Keep away from those who belong to the lust or those who devote to the cult. They want to enslave us to follow their detestable ways. They add to what God has commanded us and subtract from it. Some mix the truth with other teaching. For example, the Seventh Day Advent, Fa-Lun Gong, and the Eastern Lightening are all cults. We must destroy everything from the cults. Keep far away from any medium, witchcraft, or sorcery. Do not involve with the common customs of the world. Otherwise, we may sin against God.
V. 19-20: When you fight for a long time
1. Do not act in flesh
Follow the example of Jesus. When he knew that Judas would betray him, Jesus remained patient to him. Jesus was not upset or angry at all. Jesus just kept on reminding him that the one sold Jesus would end up in disaster. How Jesus wanted to save him from this curse. Our Lord washed his feet. Jesus even gave bread to Judas at the last dinner.
Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. There was only once that he was so disturbed in the spirit that he could not obey God’s instruction. He struck the rock instead of speaking to it. God did not allow him to enter into the Promised Land because he did not honor God as holy before the people.
2.strengthen your siege by cutting down the trees that are not fruit trees.
When we work, we should never cut down trees randomly. Otherwise, we may destroy the good with the bad. Cut down only those trees are not fruit trees. They have leaves but no fruit for food. It means we must remove all the outward form of religion. We must clearly preach against those who are zealous outside, but ignore God’s words inside. Rebuke those who honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from God. When we do this, we are also building our siege works. For example, Paul pointed out how those false apostles misled the church by disguising themselves as angels of light. He had to “cut them down” so that others would return to the truth and the true God.
We must continue to fight until the gospel is preached to the ends of the world. The Bible said, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10/4-5)