Preparing for War - #5 Maneuver

Preparing for War – WEEK 5

We begin with the fifth week of our 9 week basic training course on “Preparing for War”.  No Halftime festivities are planned!

ONE - OBJECTIVE: utter destruction of enemy forces… and the will to take  every thought captive to Christ.

TWO – Offense/Defense: Sometimes a good offense is a Stronger defense. The strength is our confession that Christ is the son of God.

THREE – Mass: Concentrate our forces to overwhelm our enemy. Open our eyes to see the Lord’s army around us. We cannot do it on our own.

FOUR – Economy of Force – ‘The sword of the LORD and me!’ we do that with wisdom.

Maneuver – place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power.

I think it is pretty explanatory about worldly war references to maneuvers. Every branch in the military go on “maneuvers”. So I don’t plan on looking in depth at any examples today. You have to look carefully to find “maneuvers” in the Bible, but there are some that I believe realte quite well.  There are three types of “maneuvers” that we need to be alert to:

1.       Our maneuvers

2.       Their maneuvers

3.       Watching maneuvers

Joab Murders Abner - 2 Samuel 3

Joab was the commander of David’s Army. Abner was the commander of Saul’s army.  After the death of Saul, David’s household was getting stronger and stronger while the household of Sal was getting weaker and weaker.  David had already been anointed the king.  The houses were still at conflict with one another but Abner was trying to gain further strength over the house of Saul.  Saul’s son who was called king (but nobody recognized it) was scared of Abner.

Joab never liked Abner because he killed his brother. Abner had professed loyalty to Saul but in the very next moment was trying to make a deal with David to deliver the household to David. He was a double agent! He came and met with David and made a plan  Whenever Joab returned to Hebron with troops….

2 Samuel 3:22-25 ²² At that moment the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. ²³ When Joab and all the troops that were with him had come, they told Joab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he sent him away, and he has gone in peace.” ²⁴ Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you; why is it that you sent him away, and he has already gone? ²⁵ Surely you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you, to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.”
²⁶ And when Joab had gone from David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it. ²⁷ Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there stabbed him in the stomach, so that he died for the blood of Asahel his brother.

The enemy is watching our maneuvers…..our coming and our goings….to find out what? To know all that we are doing!  If Satan can watch our activities and can find out where we struggle…..he will find a chink in our armor. That is what he had planned for Job.

Job 1:6 ⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan^[b] also came among them. ⁷ And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?”
So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

What was Satan doing? He was going on maneuvers. He was going back and forth seeking those that he could get in his grasps. God gave permission, however, we will use a term that we discussed a few weeks ago, “Job’s best offense was a stronger defense.”

                                                               i.      Football - The bloody bucket

                                                             ii.      There are several ways to win a football game and one way is to place the other team at a disadvantage. If you have a powerful team, that is obviously one way.  More talent, more experience, bigger players…etc.  But if you are equally matched it takes a bit more creative solutions……Strategy (from last week).

1 Peter 5:6-11 ⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because^[c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰ But may^[d] the God of all grace, who called us^[e] to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ¹¹ To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Isaiah 37:28-29 ²⁸ “ But I know your dwelling place,
      Your going out and your coming in,
      And your rage against Me.
       ²⁹ Because your rage against Me and your tumult
      Have come up to My ears,
      Therefore I will put My hook in your nose
      And My bridle in your lips,
      And I will turn you back
      By the way which you came.”’

Blessings on Obedience  In the opposite side of the spectrum God rewards us for OUR maneuvers. Our maneuvers or our actions that are preformed with obedience.

Deuteronomy 28:1-7 ¹ “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. ² And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
³ “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
⁴ “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
⁵ “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
⁶ “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
⁷ “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

Psalm 121

 ¹ I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
         From whence comes my help?
 ² My help comes from the LORD,
         Who made heaven and earth.
       
 ³ He will not allow your foot to be moved;
         He who keeps you will not slumber.
 ⁴ Behold, He who keeps Israel
         Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
       
 ⁵ The LORD is your keeper;
         The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
 ⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
         Nor the moon by night.
       
 ⁷ The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
         He shall preserve your soul.
 ⁸ The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in
         From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Have you ever thought about your maneuvers? About your movements? Your actions? Do you think about the fact that not only is God watching your comings and your goings but so is Satan. God is watching our every move. But so is our enemy. He is ready to find that chink in the armor so that he may devour us.

Lets go back to our roaring Lion scripture to discover 6 ways to avoid the tracking and trapping.

1 Peter 5:6-11 ⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because^[c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰ But may^[d] the God of all grace, who called us^[e] to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ¹¹ To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1. humble yourselves
2. casting all your care upon Him,
3. Be sober
4. be vigilant
5. Resist him
6. steadfast in the faith, ……..SUFFER >perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

1 Timothy 6:12 pick game

¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 1:17-20 ¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise,^[a]be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. ¹⁸ This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, ¹⁹ having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, ²⁰ of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. Fight the Good Fight

INVITATION