We need a hero
“But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field.
He defended it and struck the Philistines down,
and the LORD brought about a great victory.” (2Sam.23:12)
“Where have all the good men gone, and where are all the gods? Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?” These are the opening lyrics to an 80’s song by Bonny Tyler called Holding out for a Hero. The chorus begins, “I need a hero...” Well that pretty much sums up our world. We are in desperate need of a hero who will come in and save the day, freeing the world from the certain onslaught of hate and violence that is increasing at an alarming rate, even amongst our children. But where will that hero come from? In a recently released twitter tweet, a Kitchener school board trustee said, “The most dangerous creature on the planet is the white Christian male. They're a threat to anyone that is not them." There have been many articles published about the dangers of the “white Christian male” since the storming of the United States capitol in January of 2021. The world has never been so divided! Race, gender, religion and ideologies seem to be the continual sources of division. Instead of finding our commonalities, we continue to make our differences the focus. The world is filled with bullying, division, and hatred from both sides of whatever the argument is. Can’t we just all get along? Apparently not!
Who will come in and save the day? Well, being a white Christian male, I believe what the Bible teaches, that there will be no peace till the Prince of Peace, even Jesus comes to restore peace on earth. Jesus is coming back and will straighten this whole thing out by establishing His literal Kingdom here on earth. The Bible also speaks of a day when an antichrist figure will arise to establish a false peace in the middle of a very chaotic world. Many Christians believe that day is fast approaching since the world is in such chaos and is ripe for someone to come and promise a solution of peace. But what do we as followers of Jesus do in the meantime?
If we were living 3,000 years ago we would just pick up a sword and slay our opponents. While reading the book of Judges, the story of Samson struck me. He was raised up by God to deliver the people of God – the Israelites from enemy oppression. In Chapter 15 of Judges, after setting the Philistine wheat fields on fire, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, Samson single-handedly killed 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. Likewise, we have the account of David’s three mighty men, Josheb-basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammar, who were fearless and single-handedly defeated 100’s of the Philistine opponents. When you read their account in 2Samuel 23:8-12, you discover that the Lord gave them the victory. They were men, chosen by God to serve the King, mighty men of valor, fearless, steadfast, strong in the Lord and confident in their God. Even when their countrymen had abandoned them, they stood their ground alone, took their stand and defended what was theirs.
Now David is a picture of the Son of David, Jesus the King who comes to establish and defend His kingdom. Even Jesus has His three mighty men, Peter, James and John. Remember Peter, the one who pulls out his sword, ready to fight the huge crowd that comes to arrest Jesus (John 18). Remember James and John, the “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17) who want to call down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans who would not welcome Jesus into their midst (Luke 9:53-54). These three were ready to stand with Jesus and defend Him – that’s who Jesus chose as His mighty men of valor, impetuous and courageous. They were of the same caliber as David’s mighty three. But Jesus did not want them to kill people to defend His kingdom. He brought Peter James and John into Gethsemane to pray with Him (Matthew 26:36-45). This is a huge shift! Jesus does not want us to fight with swords and physically kill people. “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2Cor. 10:3-5).
We Christians, no matter what the color of our skin, fight on our knees, doing spiritual warfare for our families, cities, nations and world. Today’s hero is not the one who goes and slays the enemy, but is strong in the Lord and the power of His might, ready to put on the full armor of God; ready to defend the truth with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God; is firm and steadfast on his feet shod with the gospel of peace; walking in righteousness and obedience to King Jesus; full of faith, believing for what cannot be seen and certain of receiving that for which they are praying. The heroes our world needs right now are christian men of all colors, standing in prayer with holy hands lifted up to the Deliverer of our souls and our world, who will not give up till the battle is won. Men, with one focus, not easily distracted, but focussed on the mission at hand – to establish the kingdom of God wherever we are – a kingdom of righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. How is a hero made? By spending time with his Commander in Chief, led by Holy Spirit, fully surrendered to his God. “Where have all the good men gone?” They are rising up a mighty army in the Lord, steadfast, true, fixed on the prize, defeating the enemy by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony, and not loving their lives even unto death. The whole earth is waiting for the sons of God to be revealed!!! Watch out world, the Christian heroes are on the march, storming the gates of hell, pushing back the darkness. Arise men of God…let us fight on our knees. And may it be said of us, "Christian men are the most dangerous people on the planet....they are turning the whole world upside down with their prayers!"
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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