Here are my Bible teaching notes for tonight. Enjoy!

Imagine a young shepherd boy in the field taking care of his sheep in the fields of Israel. It seems so insignificant. He has no earthly claim to royalty. He is the youngest and considered the least important in his family. He is not rich. He has no possessions. He has no pedigree. He is a mere teenager. Under the starry sky he seems like a speck in the universe whose life means little or nothing? It seems like history has passed him by and deemed him inconsequential, trivial, irrelevant and without any importance in the pages of the nation of Israel or the history of the world. But that is not how God sees Him. God sees him as a mighty warrior. God sees Him as a great king. God sees him as the bearer of the Christ line, the genealogy where the Messiah would come, and King David as the great example and type of the future shepherd king of kings and lord of lords. God built him into the most important earthly king in the entire history of Israel. He was a man that God breathed His Word into as David penned by the spirit of God the great majority of the Psalms that have uplifted, inspired and given great joy to generation after generation. To the human eye this seemed impossible; in human reasoning this was impossible. But may our eyes be opened to the glory, power and magnificence that is manifested when God builds a man or woman. Nothing on earth compares to the God-built human being. Not the college built, corporate built, community built, family built, world built or self-built. But the GOD BUILT. The gates of hell shake when God builds a man or woman. Satan’s kingdom is disrupted and thrown into disarray when a God-built man or woman enters the stage of the world. God builds the heart of a man or woman and impregnates in his very being the spirit of God and from this new mighty, pure and powerful heart built after the image of Christ comes the thoughts, words and deeds of a super conqueror who always triumphs in Christ.

I Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Samuel the man of God was commissioned to do a renegade anointing in the midst of the enemy’s kingdom. Even Jesse, David’s father said he was the least in their household, the eighth son, a mere keeper of sheep, and Jesse refused at first to bring him out for Jesse knew in his human wisdom that there is no way David could be king. But God chose him and built him into a mighty man for God and a true spiritual hero for God. David must now defy King Saul and his legion of loyal soldiers for He is the true king of Israel, Even his brothers and father did not believe he was a king. This is pattern of the mighty built man or woman for God-outmanned, outgunned, outlawed, with every conceivable obstacle in the way-yet, nothing can stop God’s mighty ones form achieving the destiny the Spirit of God has birthed within their boyish believing souls.

I Corinthians 1:26-31 (ESV): For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

This teaching is a call to your soul, begging you to reconsider your entire vision for why you are here on this Earth and asking to you to recalibrate your version of Christianity to the Almighty standard. In our Western world we are demonstrating a pathetic show of what God intended Christianity to actually become. Great men and women of the Christian faith, built by God, are a rarity these days. Very few exist anymore as our Christianity has become a worldly show of weakness, impurity, strife and selfishness. God wants lives marked by the full purchase of the cross-power over sin, triumph in our souls, purity in our innermost parts, victory over the enemy and the flesh, and heavenly valor in our daily existences. The vision for God-constructed living is so vast, so endless and so far beyond the limited picture we have accepted in our modern Christian world.

I Corinthians 3:9 (Phillips): In this work, we work with God, and that means that you are a field under God’s cultivation, or, if you like, a house being built to his plan.

ESV: For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.

We are God’s building, a house built by God according to His wonderful plan.

God wants to build you into a heavenly recruit, an elite soldier, a fighting warrior to make us fit for battle so we can be equipped to go into the world and make a true difference for Jesus Christ. Are you ready to go through some basic training that will transform you from a babe in Christ into a super-conqueror for Christ on the spiritual battlefield? Are you ready to get in the war God’s way with God’s strength, God’s power, God’s confidence and God’s courage? This is not a physical war with traditional weapons of warfare like guns, tanks, missiles and bombs. This is a spiritual warfare that is being waged in every town, city, state, country and continent on earth for the heart of men, women and children. Eternal destiny is at stake. Eternal rewards are at stake. This is like no war that people have ever seen and it is as real as any battle waged throughout the pages of history. As soldiers our commitment must be unwavering and we should lay down all that we are, pour out all that we have, and give up all that hinders our heart from gaining more and more of God. As soldiers we should affirmatively proclaim in heart, in attitude, in word, in deed, and in body that the glory of God is your singular heart’s desire and to see him exalted, magnified and adored is your driving passion in life. As Eric Ludy has taught, the Code of the Cherubim should be our standard as a soldier: “The most powerful, beautiful and wise creatures created, the Cherubim, do only that which their God beckons-they never turn. They are bound to only do that which their Master is doing. Ezekiel 1:12: ‘And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went’” The soldier’s greatest honor is to do the will of God and glorify His name and from this noble duty, they never waver, turn or forsake. The soldier has a 100 per cent commitment of undying loyalty. The Christian soldier gains his identity, which he now is in the core of his being, in Jesus Christ. We live in our life as a soldier not in Adam, but in Jesus Christ.

Eric Ludy: God does not hesitate to take short, skinny, frail, uneducated, weak and poor men and make them His point men (generals) in the battle of the ages. In fact, he prefers it, because when such men become mighty, the credit clearly goes straight to God Himself. There is no confusion over who built this man into such a picture of grandeur.

God spoke to Jeremiah when he was but a child and told him he would build him into a mighty prophet, God’s mouthpiece, who would speak boldly the words of God to a rebellious people and nation. Jeremiah was a child who could not speak eloquently, just the son of Hilkiah, a seemly insignificant priest in the days of Judah. But God told him in Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee and before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you a prophet unto the nations” Even the name Jeremiah means “whom Yahweh raises up or launches forth.” God built Jeremiah into one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament with two books of the Bible focusing on his life and heart as a prophet. Look how God build him as revealed in Jeremiah 1.

Jeremiah 1;18,19 (Voice): Remember, Jeremiah, this very day I have made you as a fortress, a column as strong as iron, a wall of bronze able to withstand the attacks of the entire nation of Judah—from her kings and leaders to the priests and people. 19 Eventually, they will all give you trouble, but you will be safe. They will fight you, but they will not win. Remember, I am with you. I promise I will always deliver you.

God built Jeremiah into a mighty fortress, a strong column, a wall of bronze and an unstoppable prophet and no matter how the kings, leaders, priests and people fought against him, they would not win for God was with him and this was a God built man. God promises to build us into the same mighty man or woman, a fortress for God in our times, speaking forth His Word with great signs, miracle and wonders confirming our testimony in the demonstration of the spirit of God and power. God is at work within us right now to build us for His good purpose.

Philippians 2:13 (NIV): For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Phillips: For it is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve his purpose.

God is at work IN YOU! Yes you! Not your next door neighbor, your pastor, your parents, your spouse but IN YOU! The effectiveness of God working in you is determined by the condition of your heart. God could build Himself in David because David was a man after God’s own heart. God works in a humble, trusting, meek heart the best. God is working in you to build you according to His will to achieve His purposes not your own.

Eric Ludy: God’s purposes for your life are grander than where you currently ply your hand. Your true trade is to rule and reign with Jesus your King. No matter how lowly or how highly you think about your current position in this life, you must recognize that you haven’t even yet begun to come into your true career position.

Work (energeo from energes = active, operative, at work in turn from en = in + érgon = work) refers to active, efficient, effectual fervent work. To put forth energy. To be at work. To produce results. Energeo in the NT virtually always describes supernatural activity, principally God’s energizing.

William Barclay commenting on the meaning of energeo notes that…
There are two significant things about (energeo); it is always used of the action of God, and it is always used of effective action. God’s action cannot be frustrated, nor can it remain half-finished; it must be fully effective.

God’s mighty energy is at work within us to produce results. We have Christ in us and this powerful gift of holy spirit received at the new birth is our energy source, the power plant of God active within us. Romans 12:1,2 tells us when we present our bodies a living sacrifice to God without reservation and do not conform our thoughts and actions the according to the pattern of the world but renew our minds to promises of His Word with believing faith, we unleash power like the world has never seen. God builds men and women into the image of Christ who are continually in His Word, in His presence, in prayer and who walk in the Spirit. Men and women of humility, who are not bound by pride and selfishness, who are not overcome by fear, anxiety or worry but trust their Heavenly Father to build them into a mighty oak of righteousness.

Ravenhill: People consumed with the inner fire of the Spirit are the counterpart in human life of the smashed atom which releases cosmic forces.

Eric Ludy: God’s chosen ones aren’t the ones packed with muscle and brawn, and the ones, like Saul, who stand head and shoulders above all Israel. Our God does not build His mightiest warriors out of the stuff of the flesh, but out of the stuff of willingness and desire. God chooses David’s-the overlooked, the ones of lowly birth, the young men and women of a single heart for God. David had the right heart. It was the kind of heart that could be bent to God’s agenda, that could learn to love as God loves, serve as God serves, feel compassion as God feels compassion…David may not have been the strongest, the tallest or the most esteemed of his brothers-but he was the one with the mightiest heart. David had the raw materials God looks for in His heroes-humility and childlike trust in God.
Do you still have your childlike believing soul? Or did you lose that treasure in this doubting, seriously faith-impaired world? Do you still possess that rare jewel of spirit that refuses to turn its back on the promise and holds the cynical voice of man in derision, or are you swimming in the morass of unbelief. You may be the eighth son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, a boy of lowly birth. But do you believe that the God of the universe can usher you forth into His presence and has called you to a high and holy destiny. Will you allow Him to pour out His oil on your head and say,” You are my chosen one!” Do you believe that the Almighty Ancient of Days can raise you up as a great and formidable believer, even though the odds seem to defy the very idea, and even though you are currently nothing more than an overlooked shepherding kid.

Do you have breathless anticipation of living with God every day? Is it exciting for you to think where is God going to take me today? How is He going to mold me? What is He going to teach me? What is He going to tell me? How is He going to build me? What adventures does God have for me to today? If He really is the Creator of the heavens and earth, could anything be more exciting than a day by day intimate vibrant, breathing relationship with him? Oh how we have been misled that God is boring! Oh how we have been deceived that God is mundane or that God is second-rate. We think we are so enlightened with all our knowledge and technology that God is a thing of the past. We do not think that God is interested in EVERY details of our lives (remember He has counted the hairs on your head). God breathed life into you at birth. God knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb. God wants to be a part of every breath you take. Walking with him should be as effortless as breathing and when we walk with Him day after day we begin to grow up in Him and He builds us as the great sculptor or potter into a beautiful masterpiece built for His glory.

Most of us have no idea why we were born. We spend our lives in search of purpose. We are on the race track of life; the course of the world and all we do is spin our wheels going around in a circle having the same fears, doing the same routine things, having the same worries and living in a rut of existence. God wants us to enter each day with anticipation which can only be done when you begin to know the heart of God. Each day is a gift from God and contains a moment God has been planning to express his purpose for creating you; a moment that he has planned since before time began to express his grace and mercy through you. Entering your day with the same trusting anticipation as a child asking a parent, “Where are we going today and what are we going to do?” will let God be the Lord of your day and your work.

What is your mission statement for life? What is your purpose for life? What were born to do in God’s kingdom? God wants us to be perfect (telios) which does not mean without flaw or defect, but means to reach the goal of God’s intended purpose for your life and be all that God wants you to be; to be just like Him as I fulfill my mission in life given by my commander-in-chief, the Lord of Hosts. God wants me to become the destiny that He purposes for me to be. Philippians 1:6: being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. This is not done by doing nothing; living like everyone else, wasting your life away with trivialities that matter little in His kingdom. God wants me to be everything he designed me to be. Only with God is this possible. It cannot be done by human grit, human achievement, human effort and human knowledge because YOU WILL ALWAYS FALL SHORT. God is the designer, the architect, the master-builder, the sculptor, and the artist and without Him the true design for your life falls flat and fails miserably. Such a waste of God’s potential; such a waste of God’s impact in the world through your life. Grow up and become His destiny for you. Be completely what He wants you to be. To do so you must surrender to His will, His purposes, His design. You must serve Him above all else. A servant of God must see the opportunities in life to display God’s glory.
II Corinthians 3:18 (Voice): Now all of us, with our faces unveiled, reflect the glory of the Lord as if we are mirrors; and so we are being transformed, metamorphosed, into His same image from one radiance of glory to another, just as the Spirit of the Lord accomplishes it.

God builds us to reflect the glory of the Lord and we are mirrors to the world for the purpose of showing the greatness and wonders of a God built men or woman. We are transformed by God each day as we radiate more and more and more His glory until the day of His glorious return.

God is not a duplicator. Of the seven billion people on the planet earth not one has the same fingerprint. God is not a duplicator, a copycat, and a counterfeiter, but God is a Creator; God is an originator: God is a visionary. God only has one you. No one can ever be you. God only designed one you. He only has one blueprint that he masterfully used to make a masterpiece called you. God has designed you wonderfully unique and awesomely made as a true original. God has the most spectacular design for your life that is absolutely breathtaking and specific down to the littlest detail. The gift of holy spirit, the Christ in you, that carries the flame of God in your soul is uniquely and specially designed for your body, your soul and your heart. No one has the same flame of God. No one exactly the same gift of holy spirit for God has tailored made this wonderful gift for your life and your purposes. Are you ready for a God original life? Are you ready to surrender to His purposes? Are you ready to give everything to Him? Are you ready to serve Him with all your heart and be totally dependent upon Him? Are you ready to be built by God?

Your spiritual birth certificate says that God is your Father. He birthed you in Christ; He bought and paid for you with the blood of His only begotten son, you have the heavenly seal on your birth certificate, impressed in the blood of Jesus Christ, that gives it heavenly legal authentication. Did you know you have a spiritual birth certificate when you confess Jesus as your Lord believed that God raised him from the dead and get saved? It is legally binding and recognized in the court of heaven. It has been stamped as valid on the throne of God. Nothing you can do will ever change who your father is? Reflect on this, God is your father. You are his child. Nothing on your part can undo the heavenly bloodline you received at the time of your new birth (your heavenly conception). Wrapped up in that new birth is everything you will ever need to walk in your God-given destiny. I am who I am by the direct result of the generating act of my Father. This is a new beginning initiated by an act of God. We are here for a purpose. You were not born in this generation by coincidence or happenstance.

God embroidered everything about you like a beautiful tapestry when he formed you in the womb. He knit you together with magnificent detail and in all the vibrant colors of His glory. He formed your heart, your eyes, your abilities, your personality, your hands, your DNA and every minute detail about you. Your book, your story of all the days of your life, was written by God before you ever took shape. God’s thoughts about you are so immense, so numerous, so vast that they cannot even be numbered. They are more than all the grains of sand on every beach on earth. Oh how special you are to God!!! How wonderful must your purpose be!! How much you mean to God!! Oh how we have missed this truth.

What is the most tragic thing that could ever happen in the history of the world? What is the greatest catastrophe throughout the ages? The greatest tragedy in life is when we turn our backs on God’s design and purpose for our lives. This tragedy hurts the heart of God for He knows what could have been. The story that never came to pass; the beautiful masterpiece that was left in the box. The awesome calling that faded away. He has written a beautiful story for our life, but when we pick up the pen and try to write the book ourselves, everything falls apart and crumbles before our eyes. Pray to God. Talk to God. Ask God to show you day by day His design and function and purpose for you on this earth. Pray to God that you fulfill every jot and tittle of it. It is glorious. It is immense. It is adventurous. It is the best. This purpose always has at its fabric that you have a heart of service to God and others. It begins with salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ and the new birth. No one can accomplish their destiny without the Lord Jesus Christ. God is with you every step of the way and He will help you, strengthen you and guide you into fulfilling His purpose He has for you in your generation. Don’t ever waste your potential, your purpose and your design on things, paths, ways that God never intended for you. Be all that you can be for God. Every cell in your body was designed for you to fulfill your purpose that God knew about before time began. Let God make your life count and ring as a gem of God’s glory throughout the halls of eternity forever. Every moment counts; every day counts; every week counts; every year counts, but we live with God one day at a time.

Ephesians 3:20 (NIV): Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us

KJV: Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

Phillips: Now to him who by his power within us is able to do far more than we ever dare to ask or imagine –

This verse is in the NOW. Not tomorrow. Not when you graduate from Bible school. Not when you become a missionary. Not when you’re Christian for ten years. But RIGHT NOW. Our God is able beyond our wildest imaginations to build us for His kingdom and to go forth into a dying world in the power of God Almighty. God is a builder and we unleash the exceeding greatness of His power to work within us when we believe (Ephesians 1:19).

The Devil’s main attack is always on your destiny with God, on God’s purpose for your life, and on God’s calling on your life. He wants to destroy it. He wants to crush and defeat it. He will lie, deceive and tempt you to turn your back on your calling. He will do everything and use all the resources of his kingdom to thwart God’s true design for your life.

A.W. Tozer: God is not honored by our arrested development. The New Testament teaches that we should go on to full maturity, that mediocrity is not the highest that Jesus offers…The word “mediocre” comes from two Latin words with mean “halfway to the peak” You can’t be a baby all your life!

A.W. Tozer: The devil makes it his business to keep Christians in bondage, bound and gagged, actually imprisoned by their own grave clothes.

Christianity is an endless frontier so never pitch your tent. Take that step into the endless frontier and never stop moving forward with God. Pursue God more and more; pant after God; seek God with your whole heart. Go far more than what is normal for most Christians. Go more than average. Go more than mediocre. God expects us to grow up into full maturity of God in us. God gives us a choice to be in the intimate center of God, and to be his mighty men and heroes or to wallow aimlessly in our grave clothes. Never be satisfied to simply pitch your tent. It is an absolute endless frontier with God. Press on into God. Today is an opportunity to grow. Who has ever explored the end of what is possible in knowing Jesus Christ? What could a person really be like if he or she was orchestrated by the living God that their life decreased every day for an increase of God Almighty in them? Our mentality should be based on the bounds of God rather than the bounds of man. God I am yours! You do with me as you see fit! I have no agenda! Suddenly the world is turned upside down because God now has His man or woman and He can work thru them and they can become Him in their words, works and actions in the world. There is no limit to where God can take you, but you must take off your grave clothes. Grave clothes keep us entrenched in mediocrity in our Christian lives.

There is a limitless potential as a Christian in the new birth. God can take you to heights you never thought possible or dreamed of but you first must take off those grave clothes. Unfortunately most modern Christians never take off their grave clothes and live their entire lives in these rotting, smelly clothes that represent the deadness and corruption of our old sin nature. Jesus Christ has provided through his finished work on the cross and his resurrection a new set of clothes with the label “righteousness” and “holiness” that are glorious, pure, and beautiful and reflect the very heart of God. Which clothes are you going to put on today?

The Bible tells us that every person born in this world is spiritually dead because of sin.

Romans 5:12 (Amplified);
Therefore, as sin came into the world through
one man, and death as the result of sin, so
death spread to all men, [no one being able
to stop it or to escape its power] because all
men sinned.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin poured into their nature, causing them to miss the purpose and goal that God had designed for their lives. Their entire relationship with God was defiled and disturbed as bitterness, hostility, separation, and enmity against God flowed into their nature like raw sewage or muddy contaminated waters. Adam and Eve now had a sin nature that was against God and His will having the dominant characteristic of continuously missing the standard of God, like a reckless archer who can never hit the target. The affections, desires, motives, reasoning, and thoughts coming from the sin nature were in rebellion against God and His authority. The sin nature is inherently grounded in hostility against walking with God, trusting God and relying on God as its only sufficiency.
Ephesians 2:1-6: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

At one time we were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins and conducted our lives according to the pattern of the world, following Satan the great broadcaster (prince of the power of the air) and lived in our grave clothes serving the passions of our flesh and the desires of our minds and bodies because by nature we were dead to God and alive to our grave clothes-our sin nature. God came along and made us alive in Christ and seated us in the heavenlies right beside Jesus Christ. No longer do we have to live according to the energy of the sin nature. God has set us free where sin does not have dominion over us and we must reckon its power dead and unemployed in our hearts. We now have a new nature that allows God to build us into His image. Romans 8:12: “So, my brothers and sisters, you owe the flesh nothing! You do not need to live according to is ways, so abandon its oppressive regime.”

God has chosen us to be molded and built into the image of Jesus Christ. God wants us to have the thoughts of Christ, the words of Christ, the motives of Christ and the heart of Christ so that when people see us they see Jesus.

We must also develop a spiritual swagger as a soldier in the absolute confidence and trust of our God that with a holy certainty when we stand up for His holy purpose and cause, He will stand up and fight for us. We are unstoppable, we are unconquerable, and we are untouchable for He is unstoppable, unconquerable, and untouchable. We have grown up with a version of Christianity that cowers before giants of fear, anxiety, worry, sin, circumstance and worldly pressures. We need the swagger of David who proclaimed:

Psalm 3:6 (NKJV): I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about.

Psalm 91
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you. 9 If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.
11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.
16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
But where are the women, where are the men, where are the heroes. Where is the Company of the Mighty? We need a greater cause, a greater purpose, a greater battle to fill our lives and capture our hearts.
In David’s mighty warriors, elite soldiers built by God to protect their king, we see the nature of a Christian built by God for mighty acts of a true spiritual hero.

II Samuel 23:8,20-23 (NLT): 8 These are the names of David’s mighty warriors:20 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. 21 And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. 23 He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

Benaiah (Hebrew means built by God) was considered one of the most glorious soldiers ever in history of the nation of Israel. He served as the captain of King David’s own bodyguard and was personally responsible for protecting the king’s body from harm. He had to watch everyone and everything. He had to scrutinize every act, every word, every gift and examine every motive for his king had a million enemies in a hostile world. Benaiah had to prove loyal with every thought, and every action for possibly no one else in the kingdom of David had a job more dependent on absolute and unwavering loyalty and purity of allegiance. Benaiah was a man built by God for such a sacred position within the king’s government. Is it possible that such a man or woman could be raised up today in the Body of Christ with such unwavering commitment to their Lord? Is it possible that such a man or woman with rigorous loyalty and meticulous purity again stride unto the stage of life whose heart God can fully trust?

If you came in for interview to become the captain, the soldier of all soldiers, whom our God as a warrior can trust in the great spiritual battle that is warring in every street, every city, every state, every country and every continent on earth would you pass the Benaiah test of a great brave-hearted soldier? These questions would resound in this intense interview: “Where do your loyalties lie? Do you serve God for money or what He can give you or for love? Do you have a price tag? Is there a price where your allegiance might be purchased?”

“Do you allow ungoverned thoughts to roam free inside your mind? Do you entertain anything in your thought life that violates the nature of your God? Are you cowardly in your loyalties to your God when popularity with the world is in question? Or are you willing to be the only one standing with him if everyone else on the planet Earth turns against them?”

“Are you willing to endure the heat of standing up for Jesus Christ in the midst of a world that hates him intensely?”

“Do you realize the standards of purity and holiness that the royal bodyguard are held to are higher and more stringent than the common man? Would you present everything you have to God without hesitation? Would you do what He tells you do and go where He tells you to go?”

Do you pass the test? Would God hire you to be a royal bodyguard in the Body of Christ?

God builds His loyalists, His soldiers after the pattern of Benaiah. He trains them to have an inscrutable eye-to watch everyone and everything. To monitor every thought that knocks upon the human mind, to scrutinize every emotion that clangs on the door of the human heart. Every act, every word, every thought, and every motive is observed. For our hearts, like Christ, have a billion enemies in this hostile world and it is our job as a bodyguard of Christ to sniff out these enemies long before they ever reach he inner sanctum of our hearts, our families hearts, our friends hearts and the sacred confidences of the church.

Imagine if the believers of today were willing to be stretched into such a mold? Imagine such a mighty Christianity once again upon the earth!
This is the song in every God-built warrior’s heart: Exodus 15:2,3,6.7 (NIV):
2 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him—my father’s God, and I will exalt him!
3 The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh] is his name! 6 “Your right hand, O LORD, is glorious in power. Your right hand, O LORD, smashes the enemy.
7 In the greatness of your majesty, you overthrow those who rise against you.11 “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord—glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders? 12 You raised your right hand, and the earth swallowed our enemies. 13 “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home.

O Christians let God build into heroic champions of truth that demonstrate Jesus with every word, every thought and every action. The Spirit of God that built Benaiah, David and Jeremiah wants to build you in the same pattern. What a glorious honor to be built by God for His purposes. This is what life is all about. Never let the devil or the world build you in its mold but let God build you into a mighty warrior and rescuer for God, doing His good works on this earth from this day forward. Let God do His work and be amazed at His handiwork!

My prayer for you: Ephesians 1:17-23 (Voice): God of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, Father of Glory: I call out to You on behalf of Your people. Give them minds ready to receive wisdom and revelation so they will truly know You. 18 Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance. 19 Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power.