Favour Follows the FightExemplo

OH HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN

God is wanting to help us today to bring our enemies to their knees, to begin to defeat once and for all the things which we’ve given hero status in our lives. In this part of David’s story in the Bible, David hears of the death of King Saul and his son Jonathan who is David’s closest friend, described as closer than a brother. He is devastated with grief and writes a song to express his emotions:

David had seen King Saul and Jonathan as heroes in his life, but had he forgotten for a moment that HE had been anointed to be king of Israel one day? So for him to reach his God-given destiny, those heroes would one day have to fall. For you to reach your God-given calling and pursue your purpose, some of the things you have seen as mighty in your life will have to fall. You will have to be willing to engage in the battle of overcoming the things you have given hero status to in your life. In the same way, David loved Saul and Jonathan as family, they still had to eventually die before David could continue into his God-given destiny.

RACHEL’S STORY: I have battled with insecurity for my whole life. I’ve allowed it to be on a pedestal that I could hide beneath because I wasn’t sure I was brave enough to face the destiny God had for me if that enemy, insecurity, was disarmed and brought to its knees. If I can’t eventually defeat insecurity, I will never reach the destiny God has for me. To disarm the enemy of insecurity in my life and KEEP defeating it, I need to learn these 3 rules for bringing the mighty to their knees:

1. THE RULE OF REST

Rest has been built in God’s rhythm for himself and humanity since the creation of the world and it's vital part of how you regain strength for your battles.

RACHEL’S STORY: During the 2020 pandemic, I started doing a lot of walking and running. It was one of the few reasons we were allowed to be outdoors and it was helping me keep my sanity. As I began to be able to walk and run further and faster, I started feeling anxious that if I took a day off, I would lose all the fitness gains I had been winning. I had to learn that when we take a day of REST, it RECHARGES us to be able to fight stronger. You can’t fight tired. It’s ineffective.

2. THE RULE OF RESPONSE

Do you ever leave a difficult or unexpected conversation and think of a great comeback or RESPONSE afterwards? In the kingdom of heaven (which those of us who know Jesus have become a part of) it’s usually opposite day to the kingdom of earth. Our INSTINCTIVE response when attacks are thrown at us or our enemies are tormenting us usually requires us to use a NEW RULE OF RESPONSE. The greatest weapon you can employ to DISARM the enemies in your life and bring them to their knees is with GENEROSITY, KINDNESS and REPAYING EVIL WITH GOOD.

3. The RULE OF RELATIONSHIP

The only way to truly disarm our enemy and bring the mighty thing in our lives to its knees is to say yes to Jesus and continue to build our friendship with him. Today can be the day to begin to disarm the enemy in your life and remove its power. One word of authority from God is all it takes to turn things completely around on your battleground and it begins by developing a relationship with Jesus.

Discussion Questions:

1. What have you raised onto a pedestal or given hero status to in your life, that should never have been a hero? Addiction? Unemployment? Anxiety? Cancer?

2. Recap Romans 12:11-21. Which of these opposite responses do you find the most difficult? What new strategy could you use to begin to alter your default response settings next time you’re facing a challenging situation?