Keith Battle - This Is How I fight My Battles - Part 2

So today I’m going to do part two of this series; this is how I fight my battles. Yes, turn in your Bibles, if you have one, to Deuteronomy chapter 20. I want you to see this. If you have a Bible app or something with the Bible on it, turn to Deuteronomy chapter 20. It’s going to come on the screen too, I think. In Deuteronomy 20, I’m going to read from the New Living Translation the first nine verses. Deuteronomy chapter 20, are you all alright? Hmm.

Beginning at verse 1, it says, «When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you. When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops. He will say to them, 'Listen to me, all you men of Israel, and do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today. Do not lose heart, panic, or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is going with you, and he will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory.'» Hmm.

Then the officers of the army must address the troops and say, «Has anyone here just built a new house but not yet dedicated it? If so, you may go home; you might be killed in the battle, and someone else would dedicate your house.» In verse 6, «Has anyone here just planted a vineyard but not yet eaten any of its fruit? If so, you may go home; you might die in battle, and someone else would eat the first fruit.» Verse 7: «Has anyone here just become engaged to a woman but not yet married her? If so, you may go home and get married; you might die in battle, and someone else would marry her.» Then the officers will also say, «Is anyone here afraid or worried? If you are, you may go home before you frighten anyone else.» When the officers have finished speaking to their troops, they will appoint unit commanders.

I want to use a subject today: a fight plan. I’m going to give you some things to throw against that thing you’re fighting. I’m not saying that the way you’re fighting it is bad; I just want to give you something else to fight with, some tools to fight with from this passage. Some of them may be supplementary to what you’re already doing. The points are not going to come on the screen; I want you to write down what is important to you.

Now, what jumped out at me in this passage is the very first word. The first word in verse 1 is called an adverb of time. The first word in the passage, no matter what translation you’re reading, is the word «when.» «When you go out to fight your enemies.» Summarizing: «When» is an adverb of time, and whenever God would speak to Israel about war, conflict, and battles, He never spoke to them as if it were something that might happen. You’ve got that already. I need y’all to come out here; you already look… it is not a possibility; it’s not something that perhaps may happen. When you fight—when God talked to Israel about conflict and war—He spoke to them as if it were normal. You’re going to fight.

It’s very important that we understand that. When you talk about the word «when,» which is an adverb of time, it has to do with the past, like, «Back in the day when we were young.» That’s an adverb of time, and it’s also used in the future as an inevitable occurrence. Like my mother used to call from 134th Street in DC at the Calvin Beauty Salon when I had been misbehaving in school. She would call home to the house, and I would answer the phone, and she said, «I’m going to beat you when I get home.» That’s an inevitable occurrence. There’s some other word when… the troubles of me even to this day are going to happen.

I’m telling you something we’ve all got to get our arms around very quickly: we all better get our arms around the fact that in this life, you’re going to have to fight. That warfare is going to be a part of your life. It’s not if you’re going to fight something; it’s not just in case you get into a fight. When you fight, it’s very important to understand that because a lot of people who are fighting something think they’re alone. The devil is lying to you; you’re not alone. All you’ve got to do is elbow the person to your left and your right, and they can say, «I’m fighting something too.» Everybody’s fighting something. You may not be fighting the same thing, but each one of us is fighting something, and the fact that you’re in a fight doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. It’s part of the plan of God. He causes all things to work together for His good, and He chooses our battles. We don’t even pick the battle; He picks the battle. You’re not weird; you’re normal. You’re not strange; you’re human. As part of this life, you’re going to have to fight like this. Am I saying you have to fight? Yes, ma’am. Yeah, get your little self together, ‘cause you’re going to have to fight in this life. You don’t have to like it, but you’re going to be in a fight. I don’t care how big your Bible is or how long your testimony is; it’s about to get longer in this world.