Excerpt from the Book More than Conquerors
Conquerors is an excellent and uplifting book focusing Christian lives.
Look at the two of them standing there. Few similarities, many differences. One the son of the mighty king; one quite probably the son of a mere shepherd. One armed with the finest sword the royal treasury could provide; the other armed with a home-made sling and whatever stones the local creek bed might possibly yield. One clothed in the finest armor available and emblazoned with the king’s crest; the other covered in only the humble attire of a lowly, smelly shepherd. One whose father commanded thousands of valiant warriors; and one whose father was advanced in years to the point that his youngest son had to oversee his flock of sheep if the family were to survive. What could these two possibly have in common? What had brought these two men, so completely different, so completely together, in this place this day? “…The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself” (1 Samuel 18:1b).
It was an uncommon, uncompromising, indivisible and self-sacrificing respect and love for one another that had brought them together. It was that simple. And what exactly did such love cause them to ultimately do? “Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, including his sword and his bow and his belt” (1 Samuel 18:3-4).
The king’s heir and son, in a deep and abiding love for this lowly peasant shepherd boy, made a covenant, or agreement, with him. It undeniably cost the king’s son much of his own identity as the two boys’ beings were symbolically merged into one and lovingly knit together forever. According to this sacrificial covenant, the lowly shepherd boy David would wear the royal robe and victorious armor of the king’s household. It would be a sign to any and all who would oppose and/or gaze upon him in battle that he had the full and complete backing of the king’s entire household, power, and authority. To confront him, or to strike a blow upon this breastplate, as all knew, was to, in effect, attack all Israel; and to subsequently, supposedly, expect an immediate and deadly response from the very king himself.
David would now fight with the sword, of the son, of the king. To cross swords with him was to invoke the wrath of the king’s son and to ask for an armed conflict with both him and his father. You might as well attack Jonathan. And valiant warrior that he was – sometimes accepting 10-1 odds and more and still emerging victorious (1 Samuel 14:13-14) – that was probably not a very wise idea in those days if one wanted to live very long. To attack David, clothed as he was in the king’s son’s armor would be to invoke the full response of all of Israel as well. It would be as devastating and deadly as if one had personally sought to kill the king’s own son himself. Please consider that, as you prayerfully consider this…
This is the story of another twosome. One, The Invincible Son of The Immortal King; He who obediently and powerfully took His battle straight into the heart of enemy earthly territory (John 1:14-18). The sword which He wielded with perfect precision and unparalleled might, like none other ever had, rose, ripped, and relentlessly fell upon the enemy. Cut, thrust, parry and counterstrike it went, weaving its impenetrable web as seen in so many places in Scripture and particularly in places like Matthew 4:1-10. This “…sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” in the expertly trained hand of the King’s own Son proved absolutely invincible against Satan and his schemes. Outcome: “…then the devil left Him…” (Matthew 4:11). The devil could not prevail against that sword. News flash Christian: he still can’t.
Despite weapon after vile weapon, legion after evil legion, as the enemy entirely empties his vast arsenal, never once does this Son of the King in His resilient and impenetrable royal armor ever taste defeat… not once, not ever. Not at the hands of the Pharisees. Not at the hands of the Sadducees. Not even at blood-soaked Golgotha at the hands of the hypocritical Jewish leadership and the evil Roman Empire. Not once, not ever. (Note: The cross was not a loss, but just a victory in the making.) There are instances where the armor may have been nicked or possibly scratched, as after all, the battle was very real and very intense. His shield of faith was put to the ultimate test in the garden just prior to the battle of Golgotha (Matthew 26:36-56). Certainly every single second and every sacrificial step of that awful bloody night was a battle in its own right… And yet… the armor held… the armor healed… and the Christ conquered. For that night was the battle He had come to ultimately win; to overwhelmingly and once and for all conquer (John 12:23-28). And He would not be denied by any measure of self-sacrifice, personal pain, satanic temptation, or even the hordes of hell themselves. Everything prior to this had merely been the warm-ups, the preliminaries, the practices. It was the exhibition season versus the playoffs. Tonight it was all on the line, winner-take-all, with your eternal soul as the ultimate prize and exclusive trophy. The King’s Son in the Royal Armor was headed for the showdown at Golgotha – and He, and it, was far, far more than up to the task of taking the prize – your eternal soul – home with Him.
Wouldn’t you just love to have armor like that to wear in your war? Wouldn’t you like to face Satan’s legions just once with that kind of imperial power and invincible protection? Wouldn’t you love to look Satan square in the face and put that sword to his scrawny little throat and say “Be gone Satan!” and have him have absolutely no choice whatsoever but to leave you alone? You can you know. And you can right now. That’s the thing you must understand from Romans 8. In fact, God intended for it to be exactly that way for you as well. That’s the message of Romans 8 that God so deeply wants for you to understand. You see, you are the David in the previous story. If you are in Christ, you are the one that The King’s Son made a covenant with. You are the one that He loved as Himself, and indeed more than Himself (Philippians 2:3-8). You are the one to whom He gave His royal, invincible, unbeatable armor (Ephesians 6:13-17)! To face you is to face Him. To attack you is to attack Him. And Satan cannot – hear me now Christian – Satan simply cannot get through that armor! He couldn’t then and he can’t now.
So keep your divine armor on Christian! Keep your sword sharp and your shield shined! And be and become, both in the image of God and the armor of God, More Than Conqueror in Christ!
(Please note: The preceding excerpts are taken from a new book, written by this author and published late last fall, entitled “More Than Conquerors.” Please see www.createspace.com/5838095 for further details!)