Earlier we were singing the chorus “He is Lord!” He is Lord! He is Lord! He is risen from the dead and He is Lord (from the deadness of our flesh). Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That chorus is taken from Philippians 2:10-11: At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
That passage of Scripture is usually thought of as an event in the future; that the day will come when the judgments of God are in the earth so intensely that everyone will bow to His Lordship and confess Him as Lord. But have you ever thought of it in terms of yourself? No doubt you have expressed yourself in many different ways – happy, angry, moody, jealous, greedy, envious, selfish, etc. All the works of the flesh have been expressed through you in one way or another, and at that particular time that is what you were. Then that particular person would fall back inside, cover himself up, and some other person would be expressed. You know what I am talking about. In a sense there are many different people in you. Well, God is going to come forth in you as a Mighty Warrior and cause every knee to bow and every tongue to confess, bringing every aspect of your life in submission to His Lordship. Every aspect of your nature will bow to Him, and every expression of your life will confess that He is Lord.
One very important thing that God is speaking now is for us to become more dedicated. We must have a greater commitment to His will. It is now time to enter into conflict and to declare war on self. I remember a female country singer (Connie Smith?) who recorded a song called “Plenty of Time.” It was about how often she had heard the preacher ministering messages on giving her heart to the Lord, but she was young and had plenty of time. The day came, though, when time had run out and she had not responded to the call. Do you think you have plenty of time? Well, I’m telling you it is time to declare war on anything in yourself that is opposed to the will of God. Don’t put it off! Don’t wait until your flesh nature has destroyed you and your walk with God.
Do you remember the story of Samuel, Saul, and Agag in I Samuel chapter fifteen? God had told Saul to destroy the Amalekites and their herds of cattle, camels, etc. Saul did not do it; he saved Agag their king and the very best of the cattle. When Samuel got there and saw what Saul had done, he said, “Bring Agag to me.” Agag thought the danger was past and his life would be spared. But Samuel took a sword and chopped him to pieces. That’s rather intense, isn’t it? Yes, that is intense, very intense; and it will take that kind of intensity to chop your carnal flesh nature to pieces – the very thing that is keeping you out of the will of God.
Elisha was on his death-bed when Joash king of Israel came to him for help because the Syrians were coming against them (II Kings 13). Elisha told him to take his bow and arrows and shoot them out the window. Joash shot three times, and Elisha said he would have three victories. Then Elisha told him to hit the ground with his arrows. Joash hit the ground three times and stopped. Elisha was furious. Joash should have beat the ground until there wasn’t a feather left in those arrows. Joash did not have the intensity needed to be victorious.
Jesus kept trying to teach us when He said, “If your right hand offends you, cut it off; and if your right eye offends you, pluck it out” (Matthew 5:29-30). He is not talking about your literal hand and eye, but the intensity to cast off those things in your life that are keeping you out of the will of God. When are we going to wake up and realize how important is God’s will and our subjection to it? But what do we do? We hide certain aspects of our lives – this is mine; I’m in control of this. Maybe it is just a little aspect, but it’s an Agag. Chop it to pieces! If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me, for whosoever will save his life will lose it. Matthew 16:24-25. Are you saving some part of your life from God? That self-preservation instinct is built into our human nature, and sometimes we are saving our lives from God and don’t realize we are doing it.
We can get so spiritual and say, “All right, God come forth in my life and take care of these problems.” That is not what He is saying. If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself! Let him take up his cross! That is, let him take up the sword and chop it to pieces! There is a responsibility we have, but we want to put it on God, “Lord, You do it.” The Lord will do it, but He will do it through you; it will be you and Him together. It is when you take up the sword to kill the thing of self that is keeping you out of the will of God that He moves in and becomes your sword. We cannot forsake our responsibility. If you sit back and wait for God to do it apart from you, you will wait forever. “But God, You promised You would do it.” It will be there forever. You rise up against it! You be the channel for God to bring deliverance. It’s an Agag! Chop it to pieces! That must be in your heart.
Copyright © 2006 by Henry DuBose