                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                          Not By the Sword of Man!

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By David Wilkerson
August 11, 1997
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     God's New Covenant with us can be summed up in one powerful
     statement: It is his irrevocable promise to deliver his people
     from the dominion of sin - through the power of the Holy Ghost!

     This New Covenant does away with all of our puny efforts to
     please God through our flesh. It is the end of all our striving
     to overcome sin, whether through determination, strength,
     reasoning or any other works of the flesh. In short, God's New
     Covenant takes the pressure off of us - and places it all on him!

     Through this covenant, the Lord says, "I will no longer ask you
     to bring me a godly heart. Instead, I will remove your heart of
     stone - and I'll put in you a new heart, one that has a desire
     for me. I will cause you both to will and to do my good pleasure,
     through the power of my Spirit!"

     In simple terms, the New Covenant is the end of the "can do" man.
     This is the man in us who says, "I can do it all, in my own power
     and strength. If I can just spend enough time in prayer and Bible
     study - if I can just think through my problems - I'll be able to
     make changes in my life."

     God's New Covenant says goodbye to this old, "can do" man - and
     it introduces the "new man," who says, "I can't do anything in my
     own strength. I don't have the power to effect any kind of godly
     change in my life. But I can do everything through the power of
     the Holy Spirit!"

     One of the most important things I've learned from my study of
     the New Covenant is that it is the secret to having an overcoming
     life in the last days. As the time of Christ's return draws near,
     the devil is going to open up the floodgates of hell against
     God's people. He will let loose wild, demonic powers such as the
     world has never seen.

     We see this happening already within the walls of the church.
     Satan has infiltrated God's house with subtle lies, false
     doctrines, demonic teachings - and undiscerning Christians are
     swallowing it all. At this moment, multitudes of deceptions and
     heresies are swirling through the church. I ask you - how will
     believers be able to stand in such times?

     The Lord answers us by promising to take on the problem himself.
     He assures us, "Don't be afraid. I'm going to take this matter
     into my own hands. I will empower you against every onslaught of
     the enemy. And I will do it through my New Covenant with you!"

     As soon as I began studying the New Covenant, I saw its glorious
     truths leaping out of God's Old Testament dealings with Israel.
     Paul states, "All these things happened unto them for ensamples:
     and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of
     the world have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). I sensed the Lord
     asking me, "David, do you want the keys to victory? Do you want
     to know how to overcome sin, flesh and the devil? Do you want to
     know how to do battle with the enemy? Then go to my Old
     Testament, and you will learn from the examples there. I have
     recorded them all for you, so you can learn the lessons of
     godliness!"

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                          The First Lesson We Draw
                         From the Old Testament Is
                        Just How Safe a Child of God
                      Is When He Trusts in the Blood!

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     On the night of Passover, not a single Israelite was in danger
     from the death angel who swept through Egypt. Every man, woman
     and child of God rested safely and securely under the blood
     covering that was spread on the doorposts of their homes. This
     picture of safety in the Old Testament represents the protective
     power of our Lord's blood over his children today. As Christians,
     we are to be a believing, trusting people who have the blood of
     Christ sprinkled on the doorposts of our hearts.

     Israel's trust in the blood of the slain lamb accomplished many
     things in their lives. It not only protected them from the death
     angel, but it also brought them out of Egypt and delivered them
     from the bondage of Pharaoh. Yet, there were other enemies from
     which Israel needed deliverance. And, likewise today, our trust
     in the blood of Christ is about much more than obtaining
     salvation for eternity. It also involves relying on God's power
     to deliver us from every stronghold of the enemy.

     Please don't mistake me here. If you are saved - living under the
     covering of Christ's blood, secured by faith in his work on the
     cross for you - that is absolutely wonderful. But what about your
     ongoing battle with the power of sin, which rages inside you?
     What about your besetting habit? What about the roaring lion who
     seeks to devour you? What power do you have to do battle with
     these enemies of your soul?

     The fact is, even if we have been saved and secured by Christ's
     blood, we are still engaged in a battle with overwhelming
     principalities, satanic powers, demonic strongholds. And we are
     to claim the power that is available to us through God's New
     Covenant. But that power comes only by faith!

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                         Isaiah Delivered a Strong
                        Message to the Blood-Secured
                            Children of Israel.

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     The prophet Isaiah warned Israel that there was no possibility of
     victory for them if they attempted to fight their adversary in
     their own strength. Isaiah 31 paints a perfect picture of the
     futility of trying to do battle with the enemy in our human
     ability. I believe this chapter is a type and shadow of the
     ineffectiveness of our attempts today to defeat lusts, habits and
     besetting sins by relying on human ideas and aids.

     At the time Isaiah wrote this message of warning, King
     Sennacherib and the Assyrian army had already marched through
     Judah. They had captured most of the cities in their path, and
     now they planned to besiege Jerusalem. In Hebrew, the word
     "Sennacherib" means "successful." And "Assyria" means "sin on the
     increase." Put together, these two words provide an image of an
     evil enemy who was having great success against God's people.

     Indeed, Assyria represents every sinful, demonic, lustful spirit
     that comes against us. And Sennacherib is the devil himself,
     convinced he will succeed in defeating us and bringing us into
     despair. I believe God wants to show us through this chapter how
     the devil and his demonic hordes are bringing waves of
     temptations against the church - with increasing intensity and
     much success!

     This chapter is also an example to us of how sin will increase in
     the last days. Scripture says society will wax worse and worse,
     and the church will be inundated with deceptions and doctrines of
     demons. I believe we're seeing that happen right now. Demonic
     hordes have infiltrated all media and every form of technology,
     flooding our culture with sensuality, nudity, perversions of all
     kinds. As prophesied in Revelation 12, Satan has "...cast out of
     his mouth water as a flood after the woman..." (Revelation
     12:15).

     Hezekiah was king in Israel at the time Sennacherib and the
     Assyrians approached. And as he looked down on the huge army
     surrounding the city, his old "can do" man kicked in. The king
     reasoned that with just a little time, thought and some outside
     help, the Israelites could deliver themselves from this awful
     circumstance. He said, "We're facing an overwhelming situation
     here. Assryia is a powerful enemy. But I think all we need is a
     little military aid. We can probably hold off their army while we
     scout around for someone to help us."

     So Hezekiah sent an envoy of ambassadors to Egypt, bearing gifts
     of silver and gold, in an attempt to hire their army for support.
     He thought that with the Egyptians' horses, chariots and
     infantry, Israel could push the Assyrians back.

     Now, you may think Israel simply lacked faith in the midst of
     this situation. But God called their actions outright rebellion!
     Isaiah writes: "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and
     stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and
     in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto
     the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!" (Isaiah 31:1).
     God was saying, "You have revolted against me! You know I am your
     only source for victory. Yet you have refused to turn to me!"

     Israel here represents the believer who puts his trust in the
     flesh. Isaiah writes: "Now the Egyptians are men, and not God;
     and their horses flesh, and not spirit...." (same verse). The
     prophet is saying, in essence, "You think you are able to deliver
     yourselves from this enemy by your own power. You think victory
     lies in your own strength, intellect and abilities. Yet you are
     trusting in mere flesh! Return now to the Lord. He is your only
     hope of deliverance!"

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                          The Church Today Has Its
                          Own Versions of Egyptian
                                 Chariots!

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     Like Israel, many Christians today quickly turn to manmade things
     in an attempt to achieve victory over the flesh. One glaring
     example is the vast number of self-help books found on the
     shelves of Christian bookstores. Literally thousands of books
     promise surefire ways of improving our flesh, appeasing our
     flesh, subduing our flesh. Indeed, everywhere we turn, we're
     offered fleshly options to all our needs. Churches promise
     anointed revival meetings where we can have all our spiritual
     needs fulfilled by a prayer or a touch. Evangelists offer instant
     deliverance, instant healing, instant words from God.

     The truth is, God gave Israel the option of choosing himself or
     the flesh in the midst of their situation. He said, "Go ahead and
     exercise your own will. Dig deeply into your inner man, and pull
     out all of your strengths and abilities. Study your books, plan
     your strategies, do everything you know how to do. But you'll
     still be leaning on the arm of the flesh! Nothing you try will
     work. None of your efforts will bring you one moment of victory!"

     Marshall Applewhite, the leader of the Heaven's Gate cult that
     committed mass suicide in March of 1997, had expected to be taken
     on a space ship to a "higher level" of existence. I ask you - why
     would anyone ever believe such a fantasy? I believe there was a
     very tragic reason behind it all.

     This man grew up the son of a Presbyterian minister. As an adult,
     he became active in the church himself, serving as a choir
     director. He got married, had two children and was considered a
     wonderful family man by all who knew him. But Applewhite had a
     problem that wouldn't go away - a strong homosexual drive.

     He lived with guilt, fear and condemnation, all raging inside
     him. He consulted doctors and psychiatrists, saying his urge was
     a "beast" that had total control over him. He even checked
     himself into a hospital once, in the hope of being "cured." This
     man tried everything he could to rid himself of his desires. But
     nothing ever brought him deliverance.

     Years later, after Applewhite had left his family, he started a
     group called "The Overcomers." This group taught sexual
     abstinence, and Applewhite hoped that the kind of lifestyle they
     preached would free him. But it never did. One news account said
     he eventually castrated himself in order to "evict" his demon. Of
     the thirty-eight others who died in the Heaven's Gate suicide,
     one-third had submitted to castration in a desperate attempt to
     find freedom from the dominion of "sin."

     We may be repulsed by Applewhite's cultic practices and the mass
     suicide he orchestrated. But, sadly, multitudes of Christians
     today also fight losing battles against life-controlling habits
     and lusts. Sin has taken dominion over many in the church, even
     those who weep and plead for deliverance. Their cry is loud and
     clear: "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the
     body of this death?" (Romans 7:24). "...what I hate, that I do"
     (verse 15).

     The more I study God's word, the clearer it becomes to me: All
     human striving for deliverance from sin is doomed to fail. And
     God will let us go through the wringer time after time, until
     we're totally convinced we must die to all efforts of the flesh.

     When Israel attempted to defeat their powerful enemy through
     human power, God immediately denounced the effort: "...both he
     that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down,
     and they all shall fail together" (Isaiah 31:3). God's word
     declares in very clear language that all victory depends on him
     alone. Only he has the power to deliver us from our enemies.

     You may have a godly will, a solid moral background, an
     unpolluted mind. In fact, you may be one of the cleanest people
     walking this earth. But none of these things is an effective
     weapon when it comes to battling the powers of hell. The Bible
     says none of your human gifts or abilities will ever work against
     the devil. You will always fail by your own efforts!

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                        Isaiah Makes It Clear - Our
                       Enemies Will Never Be Defeated
                            By the Sword of Man!

                    ------------------------------------

     If you are in the midst of an overwhelming struggle, you must
     learn the word God gave to Zechariah: "...Not by might, nor by
     power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord" (Zechariah 4:6). Your
     victory will never come through the sword of man-not even your
     own sword!

     Isaiah writes: "Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not
     of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour
     him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be
     discomfited" (Isaiah 31:8). The prophet is saying a sword will
     indeed defeat the Assyrians. But what kind of sword will this be,
     if not Israel's?

     In the book of Revelation, the apostle John mentions a holy sword
     of the Lord: "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with
     it he should smite the nations..." (Revelation 19:15). John is
     speaking of Christ here, saying, "A piercing, victorious sword
     will come out of our Lord's mouth!"

     By associating this sword with Christ's mouth, John is saying our
     that our effective weapon in battle against all our enemies will
     be the voice of the Lord. Indeed, this is the very image Isaiah
     uses to describe how God will overthrow the Assyrians: "For
     through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down,
     which smote with a rod" (Isaiah 30:31).

     Isaiah is saying, "Your Lord promises to fight for you. He will
     make his voice known, and it will put all your enemies to chase!"
     "The Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall
     shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his
     anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering,
     and tempest, and hailstones" (verse 30).

     Next, Isaiah uses the image of birds to illustrate God's
     protective power over his people: "As birds flying, so will the
     Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver
     it; and passing over he will preserve it" (31:5). The Hebrew
     meaning of this verse is, "As the hen-birds flutter over their
     young, so shall Jehovah, God of hosts, spread out his wings over
     Jerusalem."

     God was telling Israel, "If you want to be protected from the
     onslaught of the enemy, then hide under my wings. I will secure
     you, covering you the way a mother hen covers her chicks. You
     don't have to live in fear of your enemies any longer!"

     Let me ask you: Are in a great warfare right now? Are you facing
     an enemy that is too powerful for you? If so, how do you expect
     to remain pure, faithful, Christlike, while others around you are
     falling left and right? How will you gain victory over your lusts
     and temptations, when Satan comes against you like a roaring
     lion?

     God asks simply that you lay down your sword - and that you trust
     him to take up his sword on your behalf. He wants you to come to
     the point where you say, "Lord, I know the battle is not mine
     anymore. I've failed so many times. Now I come to you in simple
     faith. Help me, God. Deliver me from these overwhelming foes!"

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                       God Let Israel Do Things Their
                         Own Way - and They Failed!

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     Egypt never responded to Israel's request for help. That
     once-mighty nation had become a broken reed. Meanwhile,
     Sennacherib and the Assyrian army had surrounded Jerusalem. And
     at that point, Hezekiah decided, "We're not going to lean on the
     arm of the flesh this time. We're going to do it all God's way!"

     The king immediately humbled himself and sought God in prayer:
     "And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent
     his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into
     the house of the Lord" (Isaiah 37:1). Hezekiah confessed, "Lord,
     I know I have nothing of myself to give you, except my faith. I
     can't fight Sennacherib. I'm helpless in my own strength. It all
     has to come from you, Lord. So, what should we do now? We're
     surrounded by our enemies. Please, give us your direction!"

     Hezekiah knew that Isaiah would have God's word of guidance. So
     this time he sent his envoy to the prophet. These men said to
     Isaiah, "...the children are come to the birth, and there is not
     strength to bring forth" (verse 3). In other words: "This time we
     want to do everything God's way. But you've got to know, we're
     totally weak. Our defenses are depleted, with no strength left.
     What should we do?"

     Isaiah did have God's word for them. The prophet said, "...Be not
     afraid of the words that thou hast heard...I will cause
     (Sennacherib) to fall by the sword..." (verses 6-7). God was
     saying, "Any enemy of yours is an enemy of mine now - because you
     have turned the battle over to me! If anyone talks against you,
     hurts you or abuses you, it is an attack against me. And I will
     take care of that enemy, whether human or demonic!"

     "...He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there,
     nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it"
     (verse 33). God says, "Others may be falling all around you, but
     that doesn't mean a thing. You are walking in covenant with me.
     And I have promised to do battle against every enemy that assails
     you!"

     I think God must have an incredible sense of humor - because he
     sent just one angel to put the entire Assyrian army to flight.
     Scripture says, "Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote
     in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five
     thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they
     were all dead corpses"(verse 36).

     What an amazing sight that must have been. That morning, the
     Assyrians awoke to find 185,000 of their fellow soldiers slain -
     yet not a mark was found on any of them. And it all happened
     because the Israelites merely humbled themselves and sought God!

     The Bible tells us the Assyrians quickly hightailed it out of
     Judah: "So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed..." (verse 37).
     Yet, not only were Israel's enemies scattered, but God made sure
     they were destroyed as well. Scripture tells us that soon
     afterward, Sennacherib was slain by his own two sons while
     worshiping in his pagan temple (see verse 38).

     What a wonderful picture God has given us of his power to deliver
     us from our enemies in our flesh. The enemy may shoot fiery
     arrows at us, but they will not strike. Satan may noisily attack
     us with a huge army of lusts and temptations, but in the end he
     will turn and run. God has declared, "I will defend every child
     of mine who believes in me enough to lay down his own sword!"

     Dear saint, the Lord is urging you: "Cling to me in the midst of
     your battle. Your victory is all a matter of faith in God's power
     and willingness to deliver you. When the enemy has overwhelmed
     you, come to me and pour out your soul. Seek me with all your
     heart, and I will do battle for you. I'll protect you as you walk
     in covenant with me. Your part is simply to humble yourself,
     truly believe in my covenant promises and seek my face. Then you
     will receive my word of direction. And you will see all your
     enemies put to flight. Your only way to full and complete victory
     is to faith your way out of your crisis!"

     The battle is never ours. It is always the Lord's. Faith and
     faith alone-faith in God's promise to keep you from falling, to
     put in you a will to want to do right - this is the way to
     glorious freedom.

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