In this sermon, the speaker discusses the story of three individuals who willingly offered themselves for battle in a time when the enemy seemed to have the upper hand. The speaker references Judges 4 and 5, where it is revealed that the children of Israel had done evil in the sight of the Lord and were sold into the hands of their oppressors. Despite this, there were three unlikely individuals who made themselves willing for the battle. The sermon emphasizes the importance of standing firm in one's faith and declaring God's word, even in the face of opposition and mockery.

This message is one of the Times Square Church Pulpit Series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. You are welcome to make additional cassettes of this message for free distribution to friends. However, for all other forms of reproduction or electronic transmission, existing copyright laws apply. We're so blessed to have all our visiting ministry with us, our ministry brethren, and there's such an expectation tonight on the eve of our pastor's conference. And I know that the Lord has a word, especially for all those that have gathered tonight. And I believe he wants to set the tone of what he's going to do in the next three days. And every time we would pray, and so many of us that have been praying for this conference, we felt such a anticipation and then a breakthrough in prayer for this conference. Every time I lifted my hands to pray, I felt the Lord say to me so clearly, you start by praising me. You start by thanking me. You start by giving me the glory for what is in my heart to do and what I'm going to do. And so I just do that. And I just like to start tonight by saying, Lord Jesus, I praise you tonight. I give you the glory tonight. I thank you, O God, you have sent the Holy Spirit. And Lord, you are building your church. You are establishing your bride. Lord, we pray tonight that the Holy Spirit now would come and make this word a living word. Let it breathe into us the breath of God that we may be found an army on our feet, O God, empowered by the Holy Spirit and filled with the love of God to be able to reach those, O God, that your heart wants to reach. I thank you, Lord, for an open heart tonight. And I thank you that we will be filled with the word, O God, and a spirit making it real to us. Lord, we give you the praise and we give you the glory for it, for you alone are worthy of it. And we thank you for it tonight in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. My message tonight is called Willing for Battle. Willing for Battle. And you know, so much of scripture is written specifically, purposely by the Holy Spirit, but it's written in military language. And we understand when it says by Paul, fight the good fight, because when we get saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, we now have a desire for good and to do the right. That's evidence that God is in us. And we want now to fight the right fight, because so many times in our life we've been found fighting the wrong fight, on the wrong side, living in confusion and darkness. And now because God sent His Son and we learned His name, Jesus Christ, and we asked Him to come into our life, He washed us and cleansed us. And now we have a desire to do good. And beloved, you and I know it's amazing, but we felt no opposition when we tried to sin. We seem to do it without opposition. We seem to do it very well. But then when we've said, God, I give you my life and I, Lord, I want to live for what is right and what is good, we felt an opposition. We feel the opposition around us. We feel the opposition within us. We feel it in those around us. And that's why so much of the Bible is couched, I think, in military language and pictures, because truly, as we know, that we are in a fight, we are in a battle, we are in a war. And we are constantly reminded because of that, that that battle is not ours. That the battle does belong to the Lord. And we need to be repeatedly reminded that we're on the winning side if we stay in the army, because the battle is that tough, it is that fierce at times. You know, war is brutal. But not all battles are the same in this war. There are some very strategic battles. There are some very intense battles. Not all battles are equal. And I believe that tonight the Lord is stirring up this body to battle. Because there is a war ahead of us. There is a good fight to be fought in the next few days. And God is saying He wants to stir up a willing people. God is saying to us tonight, blessed are the people who are willing for battle. God is saying tonight, a people who willingly offer themselves for the avenging of Israel. A people that God can get a hold of who are saying, God, by your grace, your grace alone, Lord, I want to show up for the strategic battles. But tonight I want to see why, why are there some who will show up in those strategic battles, in those intense battles, when others won't? Why is it there are some that can recognize the hour and the time and begin to say, oh God, I have nothing to offer you but myself. But God, you've created me for a purpose. And you're putting in my hands weapons of war. And you'll give me a soldier's heart if I trust you. But God, let me show up at the battle you're summoning me to. And I believe that's what He's doing tonight. He's summoning us for battle. He's saying, who's going to be willing now for the battle I'm about to describe? Who is willing for the battle that I want to send you forth into tonight? And in Judges 4 and 5, you may turn there if you'd like to follow the few points out of those scriptures with me. But in Judges 4 and 5, God tells the story of three people who were willing for the battle. There were three people who willingly offered themselves in a day when there was, the scripture tells us, iron chariots rolling through the land of Israel. Who were willing to show up in a day when the enemy seemed to have the upper hand and seemed to have the field. And in Judges 4 and 5, God gives us a picture of three people, three unlikely people who made themselves willing in their stories. And if we read in Judges 4, in verses 1, 2, and 3, it says, And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud, that's a judge, was dead. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor, and the captain of whose host was Sisera. In verse 3, And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, for he, that's the enemy, had nine hundred chariots of iron, and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. And it's telling us in these scriptures that the children of the Lord did evil. And so God sold them or surrendered them into the hands of some cruel oppressors. And beloved, there were nine hundred chariots that had dominion in this land. And when God's people feel sold or surrendered to an enemy, there's a double defeat there. There is one where the enemy comes in because our guard is down. There is a place where the enemy can oppress us because we're surprised by sin. There's a time where we can be, the enemy can have sway in our lives because we've set out to do right. But it's an entirely different matter when we've been sold, when we've been surrendered into the hand of the Lord, and the rod of God is upon us. Because it's very hard then to begin to be summoned to a battle because somehow there's a feeling that we deserve it and this is just. And the scripture says that that's exactly what God did. His people had sold and had delivered them into the hands of an enemy. And now it was an enemy with nine hundred iron chariots before and Israel, but the scripture says that there was barely in all the land a sword or a shield found among forty thousand. And now we have a picture of the people of Israel who seemed defenseless before their enemies. They were intimidated and there was no feeling of authority in their prayers. Such was the sense of why they were experiencing what they were experiencing. And the prayers, there was no authority, there was no victory. There wasn't a spiritual realm, a sense that these iron chariots need to be there. And the scripture tells us that an overly underwhelmed people were reduced finally to a cry. No longer was there a prayer anymore, but all that could come out of these people was a cry. And the scripture tells us in verse four that God had a woman and Deborah prophetess, the wife of Lapidus. She judged Israel at that time. The scripture says, verse five, and she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel and Mount Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up or they were led up to her for judgment. And here is Deborah called and appointed by God and she dwelt under a palm tree. And beloved, she's ruling at a time where 900 chariots are ruling the land. And maybe at that time there was not a lot of vying for leadership. Maybe that was a time where Israel scattered his sheep without a shepherd. And now there is this one, a picture of a leader. And she's been called to separate herself. And she's been called and now she separates and she's under a palm tree. And she has been separated unto God in order to hear. And the scripture tells us that God gives her a word. And it tells us in verse six and seven that God begins to tell her that he says, go and I want you to take an army of 10,000 men. And I'm going to draw you in a place where I'm going to draw out all those 900 chariots and all those horses and all that oppressing army. And he says, I'm going to bring a defenseless, seemingly defenseless army of Israel to come against those 900 iron chariots, he tells her. And he tells her plainly, and I will deliver him into thine hands. Now beloved, this woman being able to hear something, that was incredible. Although there was defeat and discouragement all around her, I believe that in that separating of where God is saying, you've got to separate and leave and come under and hear me and hear the word, what I have to give you. Beloved, I believe she's finding relief in prayer alone. I believe in a time when 900 chariots oppress the land, that those are hearing the call of God are being called to separate themselves. And their only relief in the time of this kind of oppression is prayer. And she's finding relief in prayer. And she's finding true communication. And I believe she's beginning to pray the scripture because all around her is another voice. All around is another spirit. And she's being led to pray this scripture. She's being led to pray the word of God because that's all she's got. And she prays that word and it begins to answer her questions. The word of God begins to nourish her spirit. The word of God begins to make her a woman of faith. And the sign is that the wisdom that's upon her, the word that is in her mouth, and others are being led up for spiritual government to her. And they're finally hearing something. And the scripture tells us that what she's starting to hear is incredible. Because although there is no physical evidence of it, God has spoken to her and says the times have changed. God speaks to her and says I'm spiritually overthrowing everything. Although no one can see it with a naked eye. Although they see the chariots and they see the oppression, I say my time has come for deliverance. I say that I've moved my hand towards you. I have heard your cry. And in a moment it is all changed. And I have broken the spiritual oppression over you. But who can hear that? Beloved, there is a day that a leadership has to separate itself to know the times they're living in. There has to be a leadership that will separate itself because God does have an appointed time. God does not glory in the oppression of his people. But that's to produce a cry in them. That's to get a people that are willing to say, oh God, I must look and see. I must hear. And when the people get to that point, God gives them a leadership over them that have his heart and have his ear. And she knew that something had broken in the spirit realm. And beloved, she was living in oppressive times. And so because relief only came in prayer, in that hard time when she could pour out her soul in that communication and God began to speak life into her because prayer was her relief. Prayer was her life. Prayer was her direction. Then what is heard in prayer became her strategy. A year and a half ago, my husband and I in a team, we went to Manila, the Philippines for a crusade. And my husband felt very clearly he was directed by God that when he went to do that crusade that he was not to prepare specific messages before he went. That he was to go and that God had prepared him and had deposited the word in his heart and the word in his spirit and that he was not to go with prepared messages because when he got there, God would reveal to him the hearts of the ministers and what he was to say. He would reveal to him the times. He would reveal to him what that specific situation was. The Holy Spirit wanted to say something and he needed an open-hearted heart. And so he went with no specific messages. And as I began to see that form in him, then I, who was just doing two sessions, I too felt that quickening. More from his spirit, the Lord speaking to me, a direct word to him, and I following. I did the same thing. But the first night we got in Manila, oh my, that first night we checked into Manila. The devil checked in with us. And there was such an oppression in that room. It was so heavy in that hotel room. And all of a sudden, every doubt, everything that he had had and heard from God was able to seem to rise up and want to take the strategy out of his heart. The Holy Ghost giving strategy. And all of a sudden, that briefcase that he had taken, that heavy briefcase with every message he'd ever preached, in that suitcase, you would bring it too. You're willing to obey God, but there is some weight, some baggage we seem to always take with us. And as the night wore on, the oppression and the darkness, the fear and all of a sudden the doubt, what am I doing? What have I done? There's ministers from all over this country coming to hear. There's going to be mass crusades. And I have prepared nothing. I don't know what to say. And all of a sudden, you can see going through all these messages and all of a sudden, not one of them makes sense. Not one of them says anything to you. And I remember tossing all night in the weight, the weight of it. What have we done? What have we done? And I remember getting out of bed in the middle of the night and just beginning to pray. Oh, God. Oh, God. If we've missed it, forgive us. God, come now, speak. What do you say? What do you say? And the more that I prayed, the more that I began to, God began to remind me. He began to say what he'd been saying all along. He was saying, this is my conference. These are my people. These are my ministers. This is my church. And what I have to say to them, the gates of hell will not prevail. But in the spirit, in the inner man, that's what will be nourished. That's what will be built up. It is not you building the church. It's not your ideas. It's not your strategies. It's not your plan. It is the Holy Ghost. And that's how my church goes forth. That's how my body is built. I feed my men and women and I feed my children. And they feed my church. And so, God gave great assurance to my husband in prayer. And when he opened his mouth, God was faithful to fill it. And the Holy Spirit ministered. And this woman under a palm tree, determined, God, I will seek you. And the word of the Lord comes to her. And she now understands that she's living in a new dimension, a new understanding, because God spoke it to her. And the oppression is broken, but beloved, she and every leader in this generation needs courage to proclaim it. You know, when she summons Barak to her and she says, Hath not God commanded? That began to sound to me like she has said the word of the Lord more than once. Has not God commanded? That's a spirit of the God was on her and God is revealing something, but it's so radical, who can believe it? You know, I could hear them say, You know, we don't have that witness, sister. I could hear them saying, What you're asking us to do to lay our lives on the line, to face 900 iron shards. You better be hearing right. And this woman says to this man, Barak, Has not God commanded? Maybe no one heard it the first time. Maybe no one believed it the first time. Maybe she had to keep repeating it. Standing alone. Standing alone. But she had learned to do that because she had to meet alone with him. She had to separate. And beloved, many don't want to hear about a battle against iron chariots. No, we'd rather compromise. Tell us about a seminar we can have with these people that, you know, they will leave the whips at home. No, we laugh, but this is true. This is how, when we don't really want to face, we don't really want to hear what he's saying for our times. When we're afraid of what that living word would mean. And who wants to face almost unarmed 900 iron chariots? And maybe for a season, she knew what it was to be mocked or decried against. Beloved, when fear rises up in the hearts of men and women or wounded pride, are you alone wise, Deborah? But she had a word from God. And even though those caught in fear or those caught in pride, we want to lead a charge against her. And maybe in her own quiet moments, understanding that God, if I stand and declare this word, this is going to affect so many lives and there'll be a no turnaround point. But beloved, God must have asked her, as he's asking leaders in every generation, will you back away from what you see? Will you back away from what you know? Will you back away from what you've been shown? And I believe in those alone hours. When she would pour out her supplication to God and God began to reveal to her the time she lived in and what he was going to do and what he purposed to do. She had a choice to make. And beloved, I believe she began to show us the real price of authority. And that is the offering of oneself for the sake of others. You know, she could have said, I know God, I have this relationship with him as a leader. And you guys live the way you want, but I've got an understanding of things. And she began to live in victory because she began to understand the heart of God. And there would become a blessedness in her soul. She had a relationship with him and God would see her through. But God was saying, no, if I have called you as a leader, you stand and declare my word. And when those mock you and decry you, and when the full consequence of what I'm telling you begins to sink in, then you will not run from your place. Because it's a people without a shepherd. It's a people that live under the dominion of a cruel oppressor. When I have said it's finished, it's over. It's a people that have not heard from me. And for the sake of others, she was offering herself. She stood in a lonely place. She stood in a hard place. She stood in a misunderstood place. But she stood. And she began to show the heart of servant leadership. Said that Christ led that way. He lived that way. He said he gave his life for us. For our sakes only. For our sakes only. And he came and he lived and he died. And he had that kind of ministry. He had that kind of spiritual authority because he came to give his life. And beloved, today we've got to remember that's what the gospel is. It's about giving ourselves. So often we've been going to the seminars to find out how we get fixed. To find out how we deal with our depression and our despair. But this leadership, this kind of leadership and the leadership that Jesus Christ showed when he walked among us was I've come to give myself. And I've come to give myself willingly because the gospel gives me the power to do so. When a man or woman stands up and says I'm going to give myself for the sake of others, that means they've been given to. That means they've received something in order to give it back. And the gospel will always be Lord, I've come to give myself. And for the sake of others, she led the way she did. Beloved, there are no shortcuts to what only God can tell you. And if we are going to give ourselves as God is calling us to, we've got to hear what he has to say. Because it creates life and it creates hope. And there was a cry in Deborah. I believe when she cried, make this painful place a hiding place in you. She was motivated by love. And she stayed in her appointed place. Now, beloved, that kind of leadership, so divinely infused, divine life infused into that kind of leadership because it has the mind of God. It speaks the word of God. It begins to disciple after its own kind. It creates fruit that looks like itself. And the scripture tells us that there was a second person here who in a day of 900 chariots willingly offered themselves. And the scripture tells us about Barak. And he is a mighty man of God. He is a warrior. He's a fighter. And the scripture tells us that Deborah sent and called for him. And he came up to her. And she begins to tell him what the Lord is saying to her. And he's given a direct word. And he is told through Deborah in verse 6 that hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded saying, go and draw towards Mount Tabor and take with thee 10,000 men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun. And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army with his chariots and with his multitude. And I will deliver him unto thine hand. And here is Barak now. And he's a picture of a mighty man. He's a picture of a trained man. He's a picture of a man that is called and summoned to the battle. And I believe under this leadership and hearing the word, there's a faith created in him because the word of God always creates faith. And he comes. But he tells Deborah, he says, yes, I'll go to this battle. I'll answer this call. He says, but I won't go unless you come. And Deborah tells him plainly in verse 9. Yes, I will go with you. But the battle will not be for your honor. Now, beloved, here's the people who need... These are people who can offer themselves willingly. Is that sifting, separating word when God calls us to the battle. He says, not for your honor. You may be a trained man. You may be a skilled man. You may be a fighter. And so often that's the glory in the battlefield. That fighter goes to win that glory and that honor on the battlefield. When she tells him plainly, this time, this war, 900 chariots, it's not for your glory. And what a sifting word, what a separating that word is. When that kind of word goes right to our heart motive. Why have I showed up for this battle? You know, I am needed in this battle, but I'm not promised the glory. What a sifting word. What a penetrating word. The Lord is saying, I have called you and I need you. And I know that you're trained and I know you have talent. But I need you to be willing for my sake. I need you willing. Because you're hearing a call. And now it's a time of 900 iron chariots and all your skill in the world and all your training is going to be defenseless before them. Now it's a time of 900 iron chariots. And I need men. I need those that I have trained that are willing to say I'm going to have to forsake this training. I'm on to a new ground. I'm on to a new understanding and that's not going to take me to victory. Because beloved, the word says very clearly to Barak, you only take the tribe of Naphtali. You only take the tribe of Zebulun. Because the scripture tells us in Judges 5 that they were a people that jeopardized their lives unto death in the high places of the field. Out of all the tribes of Israel, out of the ten of them, there were two that had that kind of heart. He was saying, Barak, I want you to go into this fight but it's not for your glory. And if you can hear that, if it satisfies you enough that I need you and that you're strong enough to be weak in my cause that I may be strong through you, I'll give you light-spirited men. I'll give you two companies of men and believe me, less will be more. I will give you men with that same kind of heart that are willing to lay it all down. That don't count their selves, their reputation and what they're doing and their agenda and their ability is the supreme thing. Because this is a time of 900 iron chariots and I'm going to take two of you. Two tribes of you that have a willing heart that will love their lives not unto death. And beloved, that's who God is using. That's the sign of a willing heart. It's not about my glory, Lord. If I have to be sifted by that word, if you'll take that right to the heart of why I do, why I do, then let it be so. But Lord, put your hand upon me that I'll rise to my feet saying, I will be willing, Lord, for your glory. And then God puts you in like-minded company. Then you start joining forces with those that say, I don't want this to be my battle. I don't want this to be about my glory. But God, you promised to give us an incredible victory in the face of a huge oppressor. And God, it's time for you to be seen. It's time for you to be shown. It is time for the peoples of the world to know there is a God in the strong to be made weak. There is a time for the talent to go and the show to go and say, God, what only you can do through a with surrendered vessel. Hallelujah. God says, I'm not looking for your skill. I'm looking for your surrender. Hallelujah. And then when God gets those company of men. There are only so many weapons in Israel. God says, put them into the hands of those that will use it. Those that will not run in the day of the battle. Those that will not be intimidated by what is going to face them at the battlefront. Those, there are only so many weapons, but there's only a handful of men who know how to use them skillfully. God says, that's who I'm giving the weapons to. And the scripture says, in verse 20, in chapter 4, sorry, in chapter 5, God begins to describe this battle. That barrack now with these two company of like-spirited men, they come into battle. And the scripture tells us that they fought from heaven. They fought from heaven. Beloved, when we're not concerned anymore about getting the glory, then the glory of heaven can come down and fight in us and fight through us. They fought from heaven. And verse 21 says the river Kishon, the very place that God had appointed for the battle, the place where God said through his word, do it my way, get my heart, get my mind. And when I draw you into the battle, I draw you into the battlefield of victory. And the scripture tells us he brought them down to the river Kishon. And the river overflowed its banks. And it says in verse 22, then were the horses broken by the means of the prancing. That means when that deluge, that flood came, that the mud all of a sudden became the worst enemy of those chariots and those horses, and they were rendered useless by the prancing of the horses, the trampling and the plunging of those hooves down into the ground. The scripture says that the horses were broken by the means of their prancing. And those chariots, those iron chariots began to sink in the mud. But beloved, did they go into that battle? Those like-hearted men full of faith because the leadership over them was hearing the word of God and speaking to them the word of God and knew that the spiritual strongholds were broken over them. Were they able to go into that battle singing Psalm 20? Some trust in chariots and some in horses. But we will remember the name of Eloi for the sake of others. And everyone gets that heart. I'm fighting the battle for your glory, Lord, and for the liberation of others. And the scripture says that Barak pursued after the chariots, after the host, till not a man was left of King Jabin's army except one. And the scripture tells us that the general of the army, Sisera, escaped on foot. He had to escape on foot. The chariot and the horses wouldn't take them anywhere. They were rendered useless. And he gets out of there by the only means he can, his feet. And the scripture begins to tell us about a third person that God could use who has a willing heart, who has been sitting under godly leadership and is now beginning to see strong men and women who are laying down their own glory, their own agenda, beginning to take up the cause of God. And now there's a woman. And the scripture tells us that this woman, I agree with you, brother. The scripture says there's a woman, the wife of Heber, and her name is Jael. And the scripture tells us her story in chapter four and chapter five talks about a man she married who severed himself from his people. He was descended from the people who were Moses' father-in-law who had joined themselves to the tribe of Judah. But now this man Heber decides to separate himself from Judah. He separates himself and he moves away from his people. And Jael is such a picture of a woman that finds herself many times with a compromising husband, find herself in a household where many have made allegiance with Israel's enemies. And they can call themselves Israelites still. They can give themselves many titles. But he moves away, he's not committed to the cause. And she's under his authority and so she moves to an isolated place far from the battlefield. And she's left alone in the desert. And you can hear the thoughts that now begin to rise in her heart when word comes that Israel is being roused to fight. When the word comes that the Spirit of the Lord is beginning to visit His people and there's something new happening. There is a sense of God's presence. There is a sense now of God with us, God for us. And there is a sense what leadership at beginning who are hearing from God had begin to speak over the people, they begin to sense it in their hearts. But here she is left alone, outside, away from the battlefield. And here's this woman now longing, wanting finally the stirring, it seems like the liberation of her people, the liberation of herself is at hand. And where am I? God, how can you use me? What am I doing for God? I've heard that, if I've heard that five times in the last week and a half, where people with this deep sense, Lord, I see this conference coming, I see people preparing, I see people doing and deep down and starting to cause and to condemn them almost, God, what am I doing for you? And they're feeling alone and isolated. But I believe that this woman is stirred by the words of Deborah. And stirred, she begins to say, God, I am willing. How can I fight for you here in my tent? And beloved, those that are stirred do what people who are stirred always do. She began to pray. She began to pray. I find that so touching. I find that so powerful. Say, what is a woman away from the battlefield, away from it all, out of touch with everything? What she got to pray about. But yet the spirit of God could begin to stir her. And she began because the leadership now is beginning not to live for themselves, but to live for others. And that spirit, God is speaking that. And she's been, there's a criming birth in her. And oh, God, she begins to pray for those armies. She begins to pray for her family. She begins to pray. And all the while, the enemy is mocking her. You're alone. You're not seen. You're not heard. Who are you? You've got an unsaved husband. Look where you dwell. Where is the victory in your own home? And yet the scripture tells us clearly that one day the enemy came walking down her road. Verse 18, it says, JL went out to meet Cicera. Beloved, because she had been a woman who could be stirred to prayer. A woman who could say, Lord, make me willing in this battle. Lord, it doesn't have to mean it. Lord, you want to engage me in this. There's a purpose for my life. And no matter what the enemy tries to tell me, that I know no victory in my own home. And who am I? And I'm alone and deserted. I keep having to refuse that because God, when I pray, I hear something else. I hear that you are with me and you are for me. And Lord, there's a purpose for where I am. And God, I'm going to keep pressing in. My strength is weak. But God, when I press in, I feel your strength. I feel your glory. And she's a picture of a woman who will not be bowed by her circumstances. She's not looking in the natural. She's not looking of where she doesn't have the victory. But she's saying, God, you are my victory. I press into you. I press into you. Because they that wait on the Lord, they that wait on Him, they begin to hear God saying, something's coming. Something's coming. You put your trust in me. What you can't see now, I'm going to give you a vision of it. What I promise you in the Word, I'm going to give you a vision of it. And I believe that God began to give her a vision of her overcoming her enemy. And one day, she looks down the road and her enemy is walking straight to her. And because she's a praying woman, she recognizes him. She knows who she's dealing with. And she goes out to her ten, and she says, come in. Turn in, my Lord. And I love that. Because the deceiver is being deceived at this moment. He who tried to deceive her with his lies, he who tried to bring up all her past sins, he who tried to tell her that she was weak and defenseless and a nobody and out of it, she recognizes him. And he turns in and follows her because he thinks he's in the house of a traitor. And he doesn't know whose presence he's in. And the Scripture tells us that she put him, she offered him everything he wanted. He wanted something to drink. She gave it to him. And she encourages him to lie down. And then you know the story. She took what was familiar. She took that peg, that nail, that tent peg. And the Scripture says when he was asleep, that she took that nail and hammer and plunged that nail into his temples and fastened him to the ground. And I believe what a picture, what a satisfaction that was. That you who have been trying to nail and hammer into my temple the lies and the discouragement and everything you've ever spoken against me. You've tried to take my mind and you've tried to tell me something other than what my God is telling me. And God gives her the supreme satisfaction. That woman out in the wilderness, that woman who thought she could do so little for God to take the champion head of the enemy's army and drag a nail right through his head as a symbol. As a symbol of what God will do through those who are willing, who feel so outside of the battle, who say, God, what can I do for you? God says, you pray to me and I'll give you a vision. You press into me and I'll show you things you couldn't even begin to imagine on your own. And she symbolically threw the thought life because it went through his temples. She was saying, I am a temple. This is the temple of the Holy Ghost. These thoughts will stay clean. They will be in the word. It will be this word that rules my thought life. And when the enemy comes, it is our privilege to drive that pen, those nails right through the enemy's temples and say, your thoughts will be fastened to the ground under my feet in this world. I know it's a woman who said, God, I'm alone. I'm one. What can I do out here? God says, I'll bring the enemy to your door. I'll bring the enemy to you. I will bring the enemy to you. You are praying. You are pressing in. You feel so outside of the battle. Renounce that lie. Press into me and I'll show you what you can do. Will you stand with me? Love of my altar callers for those that you know, God has been calling you to the battle. You know, God has been calling you to the war and you've been feeling a pressure against you. You've been afraid of the cost and what it all means. Beloved God has spoken to us tonight. He's saying, who will offer themselves willingly? Who will say, Lord, I renounce every, every scenario that has been painted in my mind and spirit, including my laziness and my not wanting to, including my resisting of laying down my life and taking up your gospel. Those the Lord is speaking to tonight. You say, God, I've come to this altar to lay down all the pressures and all that keeps me back. The Lord tonight, I come and offer myself willingly. Will you come? In judges. And it says, talking to the people of God, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. He says that there is a curse on a people who will not do that. Beloved, because God humbles himself at one point to say there is a time that I'm calling you. That I've prepared a place for you in the back seat. And I'm calling you to that place. And those that will refuse to see in me a worthy enough battle, a worthy enough God to be able to respond to that. He says there's a curse upon a people that will live so inward, that will live so rebellious, that will live all the time naming his name, but will never fight his battles. And God is saying there's a time and I can barely fathom it that the God of heaven and earth says I need you. I've prepared a place for you in this battle. And I'm going to give you the grace. I'm going to give you the strength to offer yourself willingly. Offer it all. Offer it in glad surrender. And those that will accept that will go forth and do exploits. But love, we've got to fight the spirit of the age that thinks that we can set our own agenda. That we can choose the battles, not the 900 iron chariots. I'll choose one where I can go to the negotiating table. Where I don't have to lay down my life. Where I don't have to say God I come out of my comfort zone to live for others. Where I don't have to hear a word from you. God is saying that he's prepared a place for everyone that is his in the battlefield. And he's saying I'm going to give you the grace to respond with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength. And you will know my glory when you respond. Beloved, it's going to go so against the spirit of the age we live in. But there's going to be a people who are going to willingly offer themselves. Because they've heard a word of victory first. Because they know that God has broken the spiritual bondage over their lives. And over their family's lives. And they're starting to live in tune with him. And they're beginning to hear things that people around them can't. And it doesn't matter what they face tonight going home. There's a people who are saying God count me in your battle because I know you're winning my battle. There's a people who are saying God I'm tired of living in such spiritual poverty. Miserable and mean in my spirit. But Lord there's a time I'm going to give myself fully to you. And you're going to find me a place in your battle. And I'm going to look at 900 chariots. And I am going to know that they are defeated foe. Because you've spoken it to me first in my spirit. Because we showed up at his battle. Beloved if we back up from the battles we miss more than we'll ever know. Those that want to just offer themselves now. And say God I would be willing. I would be willing. All of it Lord. All of it. Now Lord now those that want to just that's the cry of your heart. It is a cry that God begins to hear to break the spiritual oppression off our lives and off our family's lives. We come to willingly give ourselves. We've heard that the gospel is we've come to give. Because you've satisfied me. You've given me salvation. You give me Jesus. And he satisfies me. And it's not a religion that scares me. I come and give myself. Now those that want to just lift your voices now. Just begin to tell him. Tell him. Tell him that you're going to give him all by his grace. That you're going to give him what he's asking. You're to fear. For we hear how so the enemy tried to paint. We're not able to come against them in any way. They were rendered useless. Over in ways that delight. To give a testimony. That we're not going to be a people found trusting. And needing a chariot to go against a chariot. But we are going to trust God. And when he leads us to our own personal battlefield. We're going to show up. And the glory of God is going to win it for us. Hallelujah.