Banquet on the Battlefield
By Sue Maakestad
The people who know their God shall be strong and do exploits. – Daniel 11:32
It has come to my attention that a whole lot of God’s children have been bamboozled.
Hoodwinked. Scammed. Conned. Swindled.
They don’t even know their rights – let alone exercise them – and this makes the devil supremely happy. Let me acquaint you with a bit of what he doesn’t want you to realize.
Your bill of rights begins in John 1:12: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God; to those who believe in His name.”
This verse says, in no uncertain terms, that when you made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, you were forgiven of your sins and you became God’s beloved child.
That gives you full rights as God’s son/daughter, and His love gives your life the ultimate in value.
You have passed from death unto life (John 5:24) and from the power of darkness to the Kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13).
That gives you full rights as royalty. You are a child of the King.
Do you realize that from the moment Jesus rose from the dead, He no longer referred to God as His Father only anymore, but as ours, too – and that He began to call us His brothers and sisters?
On that resurrection morning, He tells Mary, “Go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God” (John 20:17).
Same Father. Same God. Same family. Oh, and His Father and yours is nobody less than the King of the Universe – and He made you more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37).
So, Supreme Royalty. Home Sweet Heavenly Palace. Victorious Princes and Princesses.
Now, in John 17:20-23, Jesus prayed that the Father would love us with the same love with which He loved Jesus. (That still blows my mind!)
Yes, I know: you get that He loves you because He’s God, so He’s supposed to love everybody.
No. Get your head around this: God loves you – you, personally and individually – just as much as He loves Jesus. Or, maybe you don’t think Jesus’ prayers get answered?!
God doesn’t play favorites: you have as much right to be loved by Him as Jesus does.
Here’s another mind blower: you are now a joint heir with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:15), who is the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29), a.k.a., your older brother. That’s why Romans 8:32 says that along with the gift of His Son Jesus, God freely gives you all things.
Romans 8:15 says He also gave you the spirit of adoption, by which you cry out to Him, Abba! That doesn’t just mean Father. It is a term of endearment. It means Daddy.
That means you are God’s very spoiled and hand-picked prince/princess. He adopted you. He chose you to be His. That means you have the right to come into the throne room at any time with any need, and you will always have your Daddy's ear.
How spoiled are you? King David understood this special closeness with his Dad the King. In Psalm 40:5 he tells the Lord, "Your thoughts toward me are more than can be numbered." He knows he is always on God’s heart; his Daddy in heaven is always thinking about him.
Really? What about when you’re getting gut-punched from all sides, and it feels like God is busy with concerns on the other side of the universe and He isn’t taking your calls?
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Those clouds are simply blocking the sun, but the sun is still there, waiting to shine down on you again.
Art by Cathy Martin
Jesus told Peter to come out and walk on the water with Him. How come He waited to calm the storm till after they were back in the boat (Matthew 14:24-32)? How come God allowed the three Hebrew children in Daniel 3:13-30 to be thrown into the fiery furnace before they could see the fourth man "like the Son of God" in the fire with them (v. 25)? How come Jesus waited another two days when Lazarus was on his death bed “because He loved him” (John 11:5-6)?
This is a test. This is only a test. Please notice, God was right there for each of them and carried them through to the other side – and He’s right there for you, too.
David understands this. He knows it’s not all roses. Here he is, running for his life through the wilderness from Saul’s army when he should be back in the palace eating grapes on his throne as the rightful king of Israel. But, no worries. David trusts his God because He knows his God.
He knows God will bring the throne and the grapes and the victory to him on the battlefield. David knows he isn’t beaten: God will show up for him and together they will triumph.
That’s why he tells his soul to calm down; relax! “Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him who is the help of my countenance and my God” (Psalm 42:5).
My favorite picture of David’s relationship with God is Psalm 23. He is God’s sheep, doted on and cared for by his loving Shepherd. All is right with the world, he lacks nothing, all the waters are still and calm, all the grass is green… and his enemies? Let ’em eat their hearts out:
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.” Enemies? So what? Who cares? They can’t bust in here in the middle of my banquet with Dad. He didn’t come set up His royal pavilion with the satin cushions and all these delights just so I could stress out over these upstarts. Who do they think they are? A threat? Don’t make me laugh! Let ’em sit there and gape. After dessert we’ll ride out together and destroy them.
David knew his God, so David knew his rights. He had the right perspective and declared it time and again. “The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life: of whom shall I be afraid? He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense: I shall not be moved” (Psalm 27:1; 62:6).
David also realized what makes God upset. In Psalm 78 he says, “Yet again and again [Israel] tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel… saying ‘Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?’ …yet God gave them bread from heaven; men ate angel’s food” (v. 19, 22, 25, 41).
Here’s where the devil pulls the wool over our eyes. Why do we limit God? Because we forget His love and care and His mighty power – worse, we forget that He gave that power to us and sent us to stomp Satan’s face in!
The devil lives in fear that you will finally stand up for your rights and be unleashed on him.
In Matthew 28:18 Jesus says, “All power [authority] is given to Me in heaven and on earth – Go ye therefore and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Sounds like He just gave all that power to us, doesn’t it?
When he sent the twelve out to preach in Matthew 10:8 he said: “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Very matter of fact. You think all these goodies are just for you? Get out there and share!
When we preach God’s Word, we should expect Him to show up and do miracles to confirm it. He’s just waiting for us to believe that He will, because we know it’s our right to ask in the name (authority) of Jesus. "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (2 Chronicles 16:9).
God wants His children to cry out to Him with their needs – and He doesn’t expect it in King James English. You would be shocked if your child came to you with a written request for breakfast, right? Family communications were never meant to be so formal. He repeatedly tells His people, If only you would ask Me, but you don't! (Psalm 81:11,16; Isaiah 30:15; 48:8; 57:16; Matthew 23:37).
We're like the toddler that can't tie her shoes but won't let you help. No! I do it myself! I've been guilty of that so many times. But then I found out it really disappoints my Daddy. So, now I just ask Him for everything – from little things like a parking space to wow things like a miracle healing – and He loves doing it for me, just because I believe He will.
Not because I’m special... Oh, wait! My bad: it is because I’m special. I’m His spoiled princess.
Proverbs 15:15 says, “He who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.” What’s not to be merry about? I’m God’s spoiled child and I get to tell people that my Dad the King of Everything loves them, too.
Try it. You’ll like it.
“Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance. In Your name they rejoice all day long, and in Your righteousness they are exalted. For You are the glory of their strength and in Your favor our horn is exalted” (Psalm 89:15-17).