Friend, if you look at the cross sincerely, it’s going to break your heart. It’s going to cut you deeply (Acts 5:33) and make you weep over your sin (Luke 22:62). It’s going to bring you to your knees and bring you to your senses, and it’s going to hurt! But it’s also going to heal! Brace yourself, soldier, for the cross is more powerful than any diet, more thorough than a fitness boot camp, and it is liberating! “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!” (John 8:36).
Today, I want to show you the need to fight under the shadow of the cross. What do I mean by that? I mean to fight, knowing your victory is secure, to fight, knowing you are forgiven and accepted by God because of the cross, to fight knowing your General is a conquering King who has already fought death for you and won!
You still need to develop your battle plans, as you are learning warfare, and you still need to fight hard! But you need to fight in the shadow of the cross, always remembering the price paid for you, the blood shed for you, and the love poured out for you.
To fight under the shadow of the cross means to receive grace for the sins you've committed, to accept the love God has for you, and to rejoice in forgiveness and reconciliation. It means remembering at all times that God gives us the victory "through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57), indicating our success is a gift purchased through Jesus' death and resurrection. Our victory is through Christ, not by ourselves. As Martin Luther said, "were not the right man on our side, our striving would be losing."
And it also means taking sin as seriously as God did when He beat it and crucified it on a tree! We learn what to think of sin and how to fight sin properly by looking at the cross.
Question 3. What differences do you see between fighting under the shadow of the cross and fighting in your own strength?
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Please look with me at a biblical battle, and let’s see how to fight under the shadow of the cross.
“The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Exodus 17:8-13 (NIV)
Question 4. When the Amalekites attacked Israel what did Moses do to ensure victory for the Israelites?