By REV. TIMOTHY L. MELTON, PASTOR
CHEROKEE PENTECOSTAL HOLINESS CHURCH
“And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
“And the LORD said unto Joshua, ‘Be not afraid because of them: for tomorrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough (hamstring) their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.’
“So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.
“And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote, until they left them none remaining.
“And Joshua did unto them as the LORD bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.”
Joshua 11:5-9 (KJV)
“Thank You, Lord, for the inerrant, inerrable Word of God. We acknowledge You as the God of all,” prayed Pastor Melton, “Put some fire into us.”
“May we recognize that our fight is not with people, but against the powers and principalities in heavenly places. We are to fight the ‘good fight of Faith’ against our spiritual enemy—not those of flesh and blood. The LORD is calling us, His Church, to rise up in our calling and anointing to fight this Covid-19 pandemic plague—not attacking each other. We are to become strong in our faith in the Lord. We shall not fail—we shall be victorious. Our God has never lost a battle. We should not be surprised that our enemy has risen up to try and break the Church. For then as now, Jesus has said that the whole battle in heaven must have taken about a second, for Jesus said, “I saw satan fall like lightning,” added Pastor Melton.
“Again, Moses, the deliverer, was able to deliver the Israelites to the Promised Land even though Pharoah and all his army tried at first to stop them. God Himself, put an end to them in the Red Sea. Joshua certainly had ‘big shoes to fill after Moses.’ Anytime there can be a great enemy who will fight, and he will fight as hard as he can unless he can stop you by getting into your minds first. Now is not the time to let the enemy get inside your thinking. As the Israelites, led by Joshua fought 31 battles with various enemy forces inside the Promised Land, spurred on by the enemy satan, they only lost one battle, and that one Joshua went back to take the new territory later on and won it.
“Read what happened to the opposition (‘they heard) the purpose in Joshua 5:1 when God was on their side. Then, again in Joshua 9, 10 and 11 they were not to be successful because of the Lord’s help.”
“The enemy is never willing to give up without a fight, hoping to at least discourage and destroy those who are weak. His main goal is to steal, kill or destroy. He sees the anointing is there on God’s people. He does know that he cannot win unless he can take out at least those who are afraid. Why is it that there is always the drama? Until we can begin to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ Until we have had all we can take, wanting no more of their mess, will we begin to stop their fighting. We are the Family of God. We must fight as God’s Kingdom enforces by their fight of Faith. When we pray, people are healed—healed of cancers, kidneys were healed—what has stopped your fight of faith?”
Pastor Melton stated, “It has never been an easy fight to fight the ‘fight of Faith’. We must ask ourselves, “Is it worth fighting—for our marriages? for our children? For those around us who may be unable or can’t fight for themselves? (Isaiah 58:6). Adding, “Yes, the devil hates us, but he knows he is really fighting God. The Lord has said, we can do the battle of Faith, because our God is always on the side of the underdogs, the ‘should haves,’ the ‘could have beens.’ God gets all the Glory—He did it—but He also promises, ‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper…’ Isaiah 54:17. Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
