A Generation Must Arise To Subdue The Earth

A Generation Must Arise To Subdue The Earth
Ephesians 4:7-14.

I.D. Lawon

Christ, when he ascended to heaven, obtained certain gifts for men, and that those gifts are bestowed upon his people in accordance with leading captivity captive .The scriptures well illustrates this in 1 Sam 30:-

1Sa 30:1 ¶ And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

2 And had taken the women captives that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.

3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.

 

This story shows how the Amalekites had invaded the Ziklag and smitten Ziklag and carried away captive: women; children and burnt down the city. When David returned to find the devastation there was weeping and lamentation and the people spoke of stoning David.

However, David demonstrated what it takes to be a “son of God” as he encouraged himself in the Lord. The devil has invaded millions of lives and has led many captive, even Governments and nations. The Lord was with David as he pursued the enemy.

1Sa 30:8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.

9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.

10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.

Even In The Process Of Subduing Nations David Had Compassion

1Sa 30:11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;

12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.

13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.

14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.

 15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.

 16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.

 

We can see a lot from here about the different strategies of war. Sometimes you use the artillery, air force, navy’s battering rams etc but at other times you feed the enemy. David showed mercy on this servant and reached an agreement with him and the servant brought him on the trail, showing David the way to capture the enemy.

 

1Sa 30:17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.  18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.

The \”ascending on high,\” in Ephesians therefore, refers, to the ascent of David with the Divine Presence to go to war, and capturing those that captured the women, children and burnt a whole city. This is evidence of triumph over all the foes of God.

It is remarkable to take notice of all that God did and what David did immediately afterwards.

 

1Sa 30:21 ¶ And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.

22 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.

23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.

24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.

 

David came to the camp of those who were faint and could not go to war. The soldiers who went to war said, “we will not receive or share the spoil with those who were not able to go to war” but David had an utterance that became a lasting principle into the New Testament as expressed in Ephesians 4:8:13-

Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. {captivity…: or, a multitude of captives}

 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

 

When David came back from where he led captivity captive he began to distribute the gifts to people in faraway places who did not even know about the battle. In the same manner Jesus was willing to give gifts to people who were not even born when he led captivity captive.

 

1Sa 30:26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD; {present: Heb. blessing}

27 To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir,

28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,

29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites, 30 And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chorashan, and to them which were in Athach, 31 And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.

 

In regard to the principle on which Paul quotes this Psalm 68:18 and applies it to the ascension of the Redeemer.

Ps 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

The Psalm must have been composed on the occasion of leading captivity captive in 1Sa 30:1-30. It is a song of triumph, celebrating the victories of JEHOVAH and particularly the victories which had been achieved when David and his men won a resounding victory and established the kingdom of God over the heathen.

It has a relation to the Messiah and occurs to us, that it refers to God is then introduced as ascending that hill, encompassed with thousands of angels, as in Mount Sinai; and that, in doing it, he had triumphed over his enemies, and had led captivity captive. The fact is that, David and his men (with the presence of God) ascended on high, to the battle field and defeated the enemy forever.

They had led everything captive; they had subdued every foe; and its ascent there would be the means of obtaining invaluable gifts for men. Mercy and truth would go forth from that mountain of victory; and the true faith would spread abroad, even to the rebellious, as the results of the triumph of God. He led captivity captive. The meaning of this in the Psalm is that he triumphed over his foes. It is a language derived from a conqueror, who not only makes captives, but who makes captives of those who were then prisoners, and who conducts them as a part of his triumphal procession. He not only subdues his enemy, but he leads his captives in triumph. The allusion is to the public triumphs of conquerors, especially as celebrated among the Romans, in which captives were led in chains, (Tacitus, Ann. xii. 38,) and to the custom in such triumphs of distributing presents among the soldiers. Compare also Judges 5:30, where it appears that this was also an early custom in other nations.

When Christ ascended to heaven, he triumphed over all his foes. It was a complete victory over the malice of the great enemy of God, and over those who had sought his life. But he did more. He rescued those who were the captives of Satan, and led them in triumph. Man was held by Satan as a prisoner. His chains were around him. Christ rescued the captive prisoner, and designed to make him a part of his triumphal procession into heaven, that thus the victory might be complete–triumphing not only over the great foe himself, but swelling his procession with the attending hosts of those who had been the captives of Satan, now rescued and redeemed. Amen.

 

Jesus thus shows the way in the last days that the sons of God will rise and take the challenge of possessing the nations as their inheritance.

 

People still ask me about church and I tell them we are doing fine. I realize that many Christians do not understand how God counts.  Did God count the thousands that died in the wilderness or he counted only Joshua and Caleb? How many of them were part of the congregation of God? How many did heaven count on the day of Pentecost, the multitudes that ate bread by the side of the mountains or the 120 that stayed and prayed until the power came down. How many did heaven count at the ascension of our Lord, the multitudes or the “above 500” that saw Him ascend to heaven? While we are trying to push as many as join our ranks in the fellowship to recognize their ministries and show heavenly class and dominion at the place of their placement some are still counting how many they able to count on Sunday.

 

Where are you being challenged in the place God placed you to subdue? Is it in Governance, Education; IT, Economy Finance; Family; Faith; Arts and Culture? Are only working for only a salary or you are representing the Kingdom of God where you work?

 

May the Lord grant you understanding of this prayer journal as you pray, consequent upon which there will be changes in your life or your prayer group or family, church, nation and continent.

You may wish to pray in two ways:-

1. You can pray using the whole journal to pray into the womb of February according to the authority level granted to you by your appointment in the Lord. Expect the prophetic germination [as you saturate the ground and the sphere of the life of February with God’s ordination] to happen. In any case ensure your seed remains in the ground of February and as investment for this new month.2
2. You can also use this daily for your prayers to prevail at the gate of each day, especially on critical days of intense warfare in the heavens. Remember that the day starts from 6pm for the next 24 hours. If you are in Britain for instance the time will be early hours of the next day in Hong Kong @ your 6pm.

 

Pray that your prophetic faculties will be on the rise and be enlarged and sharp… …visions; dreams; interpreting symbols; applying parables; riddles; revelation and predictions; accurate delivery of words of wisdom and words of knowledge; intercession, divine decree to cause the future and many other such faculties.

 

 

 

 

 

The Unbroken Covenants God Gives Us Unflinching Confidence

Ge 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. {While…: Heb. As yet all the days of the earth}

 

Jer 31:35 ¶ Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: V. 36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.

                                                                        

Jer 33:20 Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season;

Jer 33:25 Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;

 

Ps 89:36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. Ps 89:37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

 

Adam Clark’s Commentary

Psalms 89:37

 “As the moon and as a faithful witness in heaven.”- That is, as long as the sun and moon shall endure, as long as time shall last, his kingdom shall last among men. The moon appears to be termed a faithful witness here, because by her particularly time is measured. Her decrease and increase are especially observed by every nation, and by these, time is generally estimated especially among the eastern nations. So many moons is a man old; so many moons since such an event happened; and even their years are reckoned by lunation.

Or the rainbow may be intended; that sign which God has established in the cloud; that faithful witness of his that the earth shall no more be destroyed by water. As long therefore as the sun, the moon, and the rainbow appear in the heavens, so long shall the spiritual David reign, and his seed prosper and increase.

Selah means- It is confirmed; it shall not fail.”

The church must not miss the understanding of the things that heaven has tied to the ordinances in the earth. One main area where we have to touch each month is the fact that our “month” is determined by the movement of the sun, the moon and the stars. This is the way God ordained it.

Gen 1:14-15 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

Psalms 89:37

 

 

EXPOSITION

Ver. 37. It shall be established for ever as the moon. The kingdom may wax and wane to mortal eyes, but it shall still abide as long as the moon walks in her silver beauty.

 

And as a faithful witness in the heavens, the most stable part of the universe is selected as a type of Messiah\’s kingdom, and both sun and moon are made to be symbols of its long endurance. Whatever else there is in the sky which faithfully witnesses to the unbending course of nature is also called upon to be a sign of the Lord\’s truth. When heaven and earth witness and the Lord himself swear, there remains no excuse for doubting, and faith joyfully reposes in confident expectation.

 

Matthew Henry’s Commentary’s on Ps 19.

The constant and regular succession of day and night (Ps 19:2): Day unto day, and night unto night, speak the glory of that God who first divided between the light and the darkness, and has, from the beginning to this day, preserved that established order without variation, according to God\’s covenant with Noah (Ge 8:22), that, while the earth remains, day and night shall not cease, to which covenant of providence the covenant of grace is compared for its stability, Jer 33:20; 31:35. The counter changing of day and night, in so exact a method, is a great instance of the power of God, and calls us to observe that, as in the kingdom of nature, so in that of providence, he forms the light and creates the darkness (Isa 45:7), and sets the one over against the other.

Ps 121:6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

 

The children of Satan have found out that the heavenly bodies can cooperate with them to hurt the many lives that are lost and our continent, Africa has suffered the most, some nations being padlocked and multitude destroyed.

 

The church must wake up and respond by prayer and understand the times.