Arming The Spiritual Warrior -- Trust Your Commander

 1 Thessalonians 5:24

He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.

Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 4103

Faithful: reliable, trustworthy, can be relied on

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 982

Trust: (you, we, I) put trust in; have confidence in, rely

A faithful people must be called by a faithful God, a God who can be trusted, a God who cannot lie, a God who leads the way.

GOD IS FAITHFUL 

Deuteronomy 7:9

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.

1 Corinthians 1:9

God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

2 Timothy 2:13

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

TRUST IN GOD

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.

Isaiah 50:10

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.

God Doesn't Lie

Numbers 23:19

God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

Hebrews 6:18

Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.

God Keeps His Promises

Genesis 17:7

And I will establish My covenant between  Me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto you, and to your seed after you.

Galatians 3:16

The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, "and to seeds," meaning many, but "and to your seed," meaning One, who is Christ.

God Knows Where He Leads Us

Proverbs 3:6

In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

John 14:6

Jesus says to him, "I am The Way and The Truth and The Life. No one comes to the Father, but by Me."

Hebrews 11:16

Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

John 14:2

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

MUSTARD SEED FAITH

All we need is a tiny bit of faith, faith the size of a mustard seed, to believe and to follow God. And we need to act on that faith. 

Luke 17:6

And the Lord answered, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you."

Matthew 17:20

“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Mustard seed faith uproots trees and moves mountains. We just have to speak out our faith in God to see that He uproots the trees in our path, He moves the mountains that block our way. 

Mustard seed faith accomplishes in the spiritual realm what the heart believes and the faithful speak aloud. 

We pray for the impossible and God answers our prayers. We pray for the improbable to happen and God answers our prayers. We seek out God's Word to know our Leader better and see Him more clearly and hear His voice more softly. 

Mustard seed faith is strong faith. It may look tiny on the outside, but great things happen when we plant it in our spirits. It takes root. It grows. It buds, sprouts and rises above the dark places to spread its branches in the Sonlight, in the Day. Mustard seed faith multiplies a thousandfold. 

Matthew 13:31, 32

He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

Mustard seed faith sees souls saved, diseases shrivel up, bones healed, minds delivered and more. 

 

Faith, Trust, requires us to believe what we cannot see ahead of us. It is as if we walk blindfolded, but not blindly. For we know Whom we have believed and where He leads us we will follow. Faith requires us to be faithful to God. 

Let us place our trust in God that what He has promised He will do. Let us pray for His kingdom to increase. And let us answer the call He has placed on each of our lives to be saved, be filled and be of service in His kingdom. 

 

Color of Worship-Orange-Yellow

JACINTH

1 Chronicles 12:8, 14

And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains...These were the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand.

Deuteronomy 33:20

And of Gad he (Moses) said,

Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: He dwelleth as a lion,

And teareth the arm with the crown of the head.

Depending on which author you read, the precious stone used to symbolize the tribe of Gad is either Sardonyx/Sardine or Jasper. But if the stones were set in the ephod in order of birth, that would make Gad's stone a Ligure. Ligure has been translated as being Amber, Opal, Jacinth and Onyx. 

AMBER

ONYX

Still, while type of stone may seem to be obscure, color variations stay the same. Ligure, Gad's stone, is a bold orange-yellow, which is what we were seeking. 

His name means "A troop overcomes", troop here means 'good fortune' (Genesis 30:11). But the way it is phrased "a troop overcomes" also means 'an overcoming army, a victorious army'. 

In 1 Chronicles 12:14 we read that the least one of the sons of Gad had the ability to overcome one hundred enemy soldiers, while the greatest, or strongest, had the ability to take down 1,000 enemy fighters. A troop overcomes, indeed.

1 Chronicles 12:8 says that these men of Gad separated themselves unto David. What does that mean? They defected, switched sides, to enjoin themselves to David, who was on the run from King Saul. These were "men of might and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler (lance or spear), whose faces were like the faces of lions (fierce), and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains." 

Matthew Henry's Commentary shows us that these men of Gad who joined themselves to David believed that God was with him and came to support him in battle, not like the others who had previously joined him: men who wanted or needed to hide out with David. These men of Gad were strong, efficient warriors and they left their lands to help David fight his battles. I would imagine that just their decision alone encouraged David and strengthened him emotionally, as well. 

And so we come full circle to this Color of Worship: Orange (-Yellow). A bold color that SHOUTS! to the enemy that their Conqueror has arrived. A troop overcomes, indeed. We raise our Banner high, our Banner being JEHOVAH-NISSI THE LORD MY BANNER. We are overcomers when our faith and trust is fully resting on what God can do and not on ourselves. For we know that our only part in any battle is to have faith, and not very much faith either. 

 

Mustard Seed

 

Matthew 17:20 "Faith as small as a mustard seed". The smallest seed in the garden is the one that produces an abundance. The littlest amount of faith in God can move mountains, put enemies to flight, uproot trees, tear down walls and overcome temptations. 

Ephesians 6:10-12 "Finally, my brethren (brothers and sisters in Christ), be strong in The LORD, and in the power of His might. 

Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

A little bit of faith is being 'strong in The LORD and in the power of His might.

•  JEHOVAH-CHATSAHI THE LORD MY STRENGTH. (Psalm 27:1)
• JEHOVAH-GANAN THE LORD OUR DEFENSE and
• JEHOVAH-MAGEN THE LORD MY SHIELD (Psalm 89:18 for both)
• JEHOVAH-NAHEH THE LORD WHO SMITES (Ezekiel 7:9)
• JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH THE LORD IS PRESENT                   (Hebrews 13:5)
•  THE LORD IS MY HELPER  (Hebrews 13:6)
• JEHOVAH-'IZOA HAKABOTH THE LORD STRONG AND MIGHTY IN BATTLE (Psalm 24:8)

We are overcomers in every battle because The LORD fights our battles for us, when we let Him. The men of Gad knew that The LORD GOD was with David, so they left Saul's side of the battle and joined forces with David. We have got to stop fighting against God and join forces with Him! We must overcome the temptations that rise against us by THE WORD OF GOD spoken forth from our faith. Speaking Bible verses without backing them up with faith, is useless. Even the devil knows Scripture but it does him no good because he refuses to accept that GOD IS GOD. 

We overcome with THE WORD OF GOD and with The Power of The Holy Spirit of GOD. Both must be evident in our lives that we might truly be the people of God. Our might is pitiful; His might is powerful. Our strength is weak; His strength is magnified. 

Let us walk in victory every step of this journey we are walking with our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST! Let us walk by faith and not by sight. Let us walk in our integrity, in His light, in His WORD.