Practical Warfare (Prepare for Harvest - Pt. 3)
Watchmen on the Wall: Protecting the Harvest
In ancient Israel, watchmen played a crucial role in guarding both the harvest and the well-being of the city. These appointed guards stood on city walls or watchtowers, keeping watch for threats such as animals, thieves, or enemies. When danger approached, they sounded an alarm to protect the people and their crops.
Physical Protection of the Harvest: During the harvest season, watchmen were stationed in watchtowers or on city walls to safeguard crops from animals, thieves, or potential invasions. They used their elevated vantage points to monitor the fields and city, ensuring the safety of the harvest and the people. If a threat was detected, they would blow horns or sound an alarm to alert the community.
Spiritual Guidance of the People: In a spiritual sense, God appointed prophets as watchmen, who were tasked with delivering alerts of messages of warning and judgment to God’s people. These watchmen urged people to live faithfully and warned them of the consequences of sin and disobedience. Prophets were held accountable for the people's sins if they failed to deliver the warning message.
In summary, the role of the watchmen boiled down to two main purposes:
Community Protection: Watchmen were essential for the safety and survival of the community.
Spiritual Guidance: As prophets, they kept people mindful of their relationship with God and the importance of obedience.
We are stewarding a Word of the Lord about being PREPARED FOR HARVEST. This is Week 3 of a teaching season that I hope will fulfill a similar purpose to the watchmen on the wall: community protection and spiritual guidance that keeps us alert and therefore prepared to receive all of what God wants to do in the coming months.
Jesus Warns Us About the Thief
Jesus often spoke about threats to our fruitfulness. In John 10:1-15 (ESV), He contrasts Himself—the Good Shepherd—with thieves and robbers who come to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus said:
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (vv. 9-10)
Don’t let the thief steal your harvest.
If you knew when and how a thief was coming, you would prepare in advance. In the same way, Jesus has given us advance notice of how our enemy—the devil—tries to attack our fruitfulness. When we understand the enemy’s schemes, we can engage in what we’ll call practical warfare.
Don’t Let the Thief Steal Your Harvest
Jesus often spoke of thieves, threats, and enemies in His teachings.
John 10:1–15 (ESV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Don’t let the thief steal your harvest.
If you knew a thief was coming to rob you—if you knew the exact time and the exact entry point he had planned—you would make plans to stop the thief and have him apprehended.
This message continues exposing some of the ways in which our shared enemy attacks our fruitfulness. If we as Christians can be informed of our Adversary's schemes, then we can engage in what can be called practical warfare. Know your enemy so you can defeat him.
Again, Jesus gave us advance notice of several threats that would come against us.
Mark 4:13–20 (ESV) “And he said to them, 'Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it (hold it fast) and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.'”
Who wants to be the fourth soil? We all desire to look back on our lives and see that we heard God’s word, we held on to it for dear life, and we bore much fruit for God. Jesus Himself said, “My Father is glorified in this, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” He desires our fruitfulness more than we do—so He warns us about what will kill the harvest.
Don’t let the thief steal your harvest.
“The thief comes…”
“Satan immediately comes…”
“Your adversary, the devil, prowls…”
What is Practical Warfare?
Practical warfare is understanding that the Bible has given us Satan’s playbook. By knowing the playbook, you stay one step ahead of your opponent and maintain the strategic advantage. Jesus won this advantage for us when He disarmed the devil at the cross. “It is finished.” But the Bible exhorts us not to give it back.
2 Corinthians 2:10–11 (ESV) “Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.”
Designs = “thoughts, purposes, mind”
Outwitted = “to give the advantage to”
Positionally, we have been given the victory in Christ. But practically, we can easily and—most of the time—unknowingly surrender our advantage. We get outwitted, lose our strategic advantage, and end up on our heels scrambling to find a way to regain control of the game.
Through God’s Word, we can preserve or reclaim the tactical advantage (momentum) by learning how to consistently apply God’s wisdom against Satan’s playbook.
Examples:
When God’s word is taught, the enemy comes to snatch that seed so it won’t take root. So maybe having a journal and taking notes is practical warfare.
As you become fruitful, you know that riches and covetousness are going to try and choke you out. So maybe setting up a recurring tithe is practical warfare.
We know that unforgiveness gives Satan the upper hand. So maybe choosing to forgive that person who hurt you isn’t just obedience—maybe it’s practical warfare.
Practical Warfare for Rocky Soil
For now, let’s focus on the rocky soil. Go back to Mark 4:
Mark 4:16–17 (ESV) “And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.”
No root in themselves.
Maybe we endure the hard seasons by finding fellowship with others. Perhaps that’s the way we endure the scorching heat.
Think of ground covering versus a single flower…
Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 (ESV) “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Tribulation and trial will come on account of the Word. You will be tested. The question is—will you be linked up with others so they can lift you up?
If isolation is the device (purpose), then true community is practical warfare.
Lifegroups
Discipleship
Guarding Community with Our Words
One of the greatest threats to community: the tongue.
In harvest time… fires burn fields.
We’re made in the image of a God who creates with His words.
Proverbs 18:21 (ESV) “Death and life are in the power of the tongue!”
James 3:1–5 (ESV) “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!”
Ephesians 4:29–31 (ESV) “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”
“Only you can prevent forest fires.”
Learning to bridle our tongues is practical warfare.
There is also a place for accountability here. If you hear others stepping out of love by violating the Word of God, lovingly help them see that they are out of line.
We will miss it from time to time. When we do, let’s pursue reconciliation quickly.
Matthew 5:21–26 (ESV) “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”
Two ways to look at this:
Our conflicts with others impact our ability to offer gifts of worship to the Lord.
The Lord cares so much about our unity and love for one another that He tells us to wait to bring our gifts of worship until we have reconciled with each other. Trying to love on Him while being in conflict with His body is not something He is okay with.
Response
“Be doers of the word, not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”
Very simply, this is a call to apply the practical wisdom of God’s word on a daily basis.
Don’t be outwitted!