Joel Osteen - The Battle Cry of Faith
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I want to talk to you today about the Battle Cry of Faith. We all have times when things come against us: the medical report is not good, a child is in trouble, our business had a setback. It's easy to talk about the problem, "Why did this happen? I'll never get well. This relationship is not going to make it". What we're saying in the battle will determine whether we come out or whether we get stuck there. We all have a battle cry, we're all saying something about the challenge. The problem with some people is their battle cry is negative. It's creating a sound of defeat, "I can't do it". A sound of doubt, "It's never going to happen". A sound of weakness, "This is too much for me". Their battle cry is what's limiting their life.
In difficult times more than ever you need to have a battle cry of faith. Create a sound of victory, "Yes, this problem is big, but I know my God is bigger". A sound of healing, "This sickness didn't come to stay, it came to pass. I am God's property, it cannot live in my body". A sound of praise, "Lord, thank you that you're making ways where I don't see a way". Or you had a financial setback, how about a sound of abundance, not "I'll never get ahead, this has done me in". No, "Father, thank you that blessings are chasing me down. Surely goodness and mercy is following me".
It's tempting to talk about how big the problem is, but you need to turn it around and talk about how big your God is. God responds to faith. When he hears you speaking victory in the midst of the trouble, bragging on his greatness when you're surrounded by enemies, praising him despite obstacles that look permanent, that's when he'll step in and you'll see supernatural healing, the problems suddenly turn around, the right people show up. When you have this battle cry of faith, God will show himself strong in your life.
This is what happened with king Abijah and the people of Judah. 2 Chronicles chapter 13, king Jeroboam and his army had surrounded Judah. Judah was outnumbered and trapped on every side, they were quickly closing in. King Abijah saw them in the front, then he realized they had sent thousands of troops to ambush them from the rear, looked hopeless like there was no way out. The people of Judah were good people, they had honored God, others in that area had compromised and gone astray, but verse 13 says they had not forsaken God, they had kept him first place, but now they're facing this huge army.
Just because you do the right thing doesn't mean you're not going to have some big battles. The reason you face big challenges is because you have a big destiny. The enemy doesn't bring big adversity to small people. He knows you're a difference maker, you're a giant killer, you are destined to leave your mark. So don't be surprised if at times you find yourself outnumbered, surrounded by trouble, surrounded by sickness, surrounded by lack. That's a critical time. What you're saying in the difficulty, your battle cry is going to make you or break you.
King Abijah could have complained, "God, why did this happen? We don't have a chance, we'll never defeat them". He could have created a sound of doubt, sound of defeat, a sound of self-pity. But the word "Judah" means "Praise". The reason they were in that city is they were all praisers, they were known as people that declared the greatness of God, went around thanking him for his goodness, talking about his promises and singing about his mercies. The commander of the enemy army gave the signal to attack. They all started running toward Judah. The scripture (2 Chronicles 13:14-15) says, "The priests blew the trumpets and the men of Judah be to shout. At the sound of their battle cry, God defeated Jeroboam and routed the enemy".
They didn't have to fight, God fought the battle for them. But notice what activated God's power, what brought the favor, what caused the supernatural breakthrough, "At the sound of their battle cry". They had a battle cry of faith, "God, this enemy is no match for you". A battle cry of victory, "You haven't brought us this far to leave us". A battle cry of praise, "You're the most high God, all power and might is in your hand". When you have the right battle cry, all of heaven goes to work. When you create that sound of victory, the sound of faith, the sound of abundance, supernatural things will happen.
But if the people of Judah had complained, talked about how big the army was and how it wasn't fair, we wouldn't be reading about them, would have been a different ending. What kind of battle cry do you have? What sound are you creating when you're surrounded by trouble? The medical report wasn't good, that coworker took your contract. It's tempting to talk about the problem, "God, I don't understand, I'm a good person. The experts say that I'm not going to get well. When am I going to meet someone? I've been single so long". Zip that up. That's the wrong battle cry. If you want the Creator of the universe to show up, you need to have a battle cry of faith.
If you're struggling in your finances, don't go around talking lack, and not enough, and "I can't get ahead", and "I'll never live in a nice neighborhood", that's a defeated battle cry, that doesn't get God's attention. Try a new approach, "I will lend and not borrow. What I touch prospers and succeeds. I live under the open windows of heaven. No good thing will God withhold because I walk uprightly". There's nothing more powerful than declaring what God says about you. Find the promises in the scripture, let that be your battle cry. Not talking about how you feel, how impossible it looks, what the experts say, what's happened in your family in the past. This is a new day, your battle cry needs to be a sound of victory, a sound of abundance, a sound of healing.
When thoughts are telling you that "You've seen your best day, you've been through so much, it's all downhill from here", don't go around repeating that, speaking defeat into your future. You may have gone through some bad breaks, things that weren't fair, looks like you're stuck. You know what can change it? The right battle cry. "God, I thank you that you're taking me from glory to glory. That I haven't seen heard or imagine what you have in store. That my latter days will be better than my former days".
A man told me last week about how old he was getting, and how wrinkled he was, and how he was having trouble sleeping, and he couldn't see as well, and his back was hurting, and his hearing was going down. The more he told me, the worse he looked, he started convincing me. What he was saying may all be true, but in a battle if you just say what you feel, and describe the situation, talk about the problem, you're going to get stuck. If you want to activate God's power, you have to have a battle cry of faith, "Lord, I thank you that you're renewing my youth like the eagles. That I will run and not be weary. That I'm getting stronger, healthier, better looking. That I'm full of energy, vitality. That with long life you will satisfy me".
And I realize: we're all going to get old, we're all eventually going to die, but I've made up my mind: I'm going to die in faith, I'm going to die believing, praising, smiling, expecting, thanking God that I can still see and hear and run and play sports, minister, have plenty of hair, that I'm still tall, goodlooking, a sound mind, full of purpose and destiny.
Moses was 120 years old, the scripture says "His eye was not dim, and his strength was not abated". He was as strong at 120 as he was at a younger man. But you're not going to stay energetic and sharp if you're speaking defeat over your life. Pay attention to the sound that you're creating in difficult times, when life's not fair. Like Judah, when there's an unexpected challenge, and suddenly you're surrounded. That's when you have to be on guard, "I'm not going to speak defeat, I'm not going to complain, I'm not going to talk about how impossible it is. I know God is still on the throne. He's a way maker, a promise keeper, a miracle worker. Him being for me is greater than what's trying to stop me". At the sound of that battle cry Almighty God goes to work.
The scripture says the spirit of faith is in our words. Makes a difference what you're saying in the battle. When David saw Goliath, he could have complained, "Man, he's too big. I don't have the training". Listen to his battle cry (1 Samuel 17:45-46), "Goliath, this day I will defeat you and feed your head to the birds of the air. For you come against me with a sword and a shield, but I come against you in the name of the Lord God of Israel". When God heard that battle cry, favor came on David and his slingshot, he brought down the giant.
I talked to a man that was in town at the medical center for treatment, he has incurable cancer. And the doctors told him that he had 3 to 5 years to live. And he had accepted it, and thought that he'd make the most of these last years, and just do his best. But I encouraged him that our God is a healer, that he has the final say, and when we believe all things are possible. I challenged him to start speaking victory over his life, and start declaring God's promises. He changed his battle cry from being passive, "This is okay, I can deal with it" to "God, I believe that healing is flowing through me, that you can do what medicine cannot do. Thank you for a supernatural breakthrough".
He created a new sound, a sound of victory, a sound of faith, a sound of healing. He would come every 3 months to Houston for a checkup. About two years later he stopped by after the service, he had a big smile. He said, "Joel, I just got my report from my doctors. The leading expert said: in all his years of practice he never seen this, but I don't have cancer anymore". They couldn't explain it, he showed me his paperwork. The main doctor had written "Possibly divine intervention". Medically speaking there was no way, but when you have a battle cry of faith, God will do supernatural things: supernatural healing. Supernatural doors open: business takes off. Supernatural restoration: your child turns around, your family's brought back together.
That's what happened for Judah. At the sound of their battle cry God defeated the enemy. It's the same way today, at the sound of your battle cry God goes to work. You may not see anything happening, but miracles are set into motion. Behind the scenes things are taking place. Keep speaking faith, keep declaring his promises, keep bragging on his greatness.
King Abijah eventually died, and his son Asa took the throne. Asa and the people of Judah had many years of peace and favor. He had an army of 500,000 men, everything was going great, then this army from another country came to attack, they had 1 million men. Asa was outnumbered 2 to one. He could have been depressed and complained, but Asa learned from his father what to do in difficult times. Verse 11 says, "Asa cried out to the Lord his God". Here comes his battle cry, "Oh Lord, no one but you can save the powerless from the mighty. You are our God. Our trust is in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast people".
Instead of complaining, "We're outnumbered, we don't know what to do", he's declaring the greatness of our God. "No one can stand against you. Our trust is not in our weapons, not in our strategy. God, you alone can bring down the mighty". Verse 12 says, "So the Lord defeated the enemy in the presence of Judah". Same thing that happened for his father. They not only won, but it says "Asa and the people of Judah carried off vast amounts of spoils". God will make the enemy pay for bringing the trouble. You won't come out the same, you'll come out better.
You may be in a battle now and things are coming against you in your health, your finances or a relationship. You feel outnumbered, it's tempting to start complaining, living discouraged, talking about how nothing is changing. Don't fall into that trap. Now more than ever you need to have a battle cry of faith. Don't magnify the problems, magnify your God. Talk about his greatness. That's what Asa did: he could have talked about the enemy, how big they were, how impossible it looked, but he said, "God, there's no one like you".
A great battle cry in times of trouble is to remind yourself who God is. "Lord, I want to thank you that you're the all powerful Creator of the universe. You're the God who stopped the sun for Joshua. The God who parted the red sea for Moses. The God who defeated a giant with a slingshot. The God who protected teenagers in a fiery furnace. The God who made Elisha invisible to the enemy. The God who rescued Jonah with a whale. The God who raised Lazarus from the dead. The God who calmed the storm with your words. The God who healed my mother of cancer. The God who gave us the compaq center. You are the great I am. Our trust is in you alone".
Who can stand against our God? No one can stop what his purpose for your life. No bad break, no sickness, no addiction, no environment. You may be outnumbered today, in the natural the odds are against you, but when you have this battle cry of faith, the supernatural God goes to work. One touch of his favor and enemies are defeated, healing comes, addictions are broken, trouble turns around, the right people track you down. God will do things that you can't explain.
And yes, we're all going to have challenges, things come against us. It's easy to get discouraged, but God is looking for people like Asa, people like Judah, people that don't fall apart when they're outnumbered, that don't get sour and give up on their dreams, but people that have a battle cry of victory, people that speak faith in the midst of doubt, people that praise when they could be complaining, people that declare favor in a famine. That's how you're going to reach your full potential. You have to go through the battles to become who you were created to be. God is not going to eliminate every challenge. He'll keep you from certain things, but there are battles that are necessary for your destiny. You have to go through the betrayal, through the difficulty, through being outnumbered to see the new levels that God has for you.
This is what happened to the Israelites. God had brought them out of slavery, they wandered in the desert for many years. And the parents had died, but now their grown children had finally made it to the place God promised them, the land flowing with milk and honey, where they'd have houses that they didn't build and eat from vineyard that they didn't plant. The problem was, the city of Jericho stood between them and the promised land. They couldn't go around it, they couldn't take a back way, they had to pass through it to get to their destiny.
There will always be a Jericho before you get to your promised land. You may have an obstacle in your path today, a sickness, trouble at work, a challenge in your family. Thoughts will tell you, "It's never going to change. You've been dealing with this a long time". What you can't see is you're at Jericho, you are closer than you think. This is not the time to get discouraged and give up on the promises. This is the time to stir your faith. God didn't bring you all the way to Jericho to let that last obstacle defeat you. He didn't take you through all that you've been through to have this trouble or this sickness cause you to get stuck and settle there.
Jericho was no ordinary city though had a huge wall around it. It was fortified not with a little fence that they threw up in a few days, this wall was made out of stone and mortar, was 15ft thick at the top. So wide that soldiers on horses rode around watching over the city on the lookout for invaders. Significant that the Israelites had to conquer other cities, and get past to other areas to get to where they were, but nothing they faced was as strong and fortified as Jericho. When you come to your biggest challenge, that's a sign you're close to what you've been believing for. Don't get discouraged by Jericho, you're just one victory away from seeing blessing and favor like you've never seen.
God told Joshua to have the people march around the walls for six days, once a day. On the seventh day they were to march around seven times. They were instructed to not say a word, no talking, no whispering, no complaining. God knew: if he didn't tell them not to speak, they would have talked themselves out of it. "What are we doing out here, walking around the wall? We look like fools, this isn't doing any good. I'm hot, I'm thirsty, it's dusty, let's go back home". Sometimes God asks you to do things that don't make sense: to forgive the person that did you wrong, to volunteer in the kids area. "God, I want to be on the platform". To teach that class when you don't feel qualified. Don't talk yourself out of it, pass the test, do what you know you're supposed to do. That's leading you to something greater.
On the seventh day, the seventh time around, God told them that they were to let out a great shout. I can see them going around once, and twice, and five times, six times. On that seventh time, verse 16 says, "Joshua commanded the people, 'Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!'" This wasn't just people being loud and emotional, this was a battle cry of victory, "God, we believe these walls are coming down. What you promised us is on the way. Nothing can stand against you". They were declaring the greatness of our God. Verse 20 says, "Suddenly the walls collapsed, and the Israelites went in and captured the city".
Those six days they walked around the walls they were being obedient, showing God that they trusted him, but without the shout the walls wouldn't have come down. That battle cry of faith is what activated God's power. There may be some walls up in your life, things you're believing to change. And it's important to pray, to believe, to trust, but what brings the walls down is that shout of praise, that shout of faith, when you declare the greatness of our God. All through the day, down in your spirit, "Father, thank you that you are bigger than this cancer. That I will live and not die. Thank you that as for me in my house we will serve the Lord. Thank you that the enemies I see today I will see no more". That's the sound that causes angels to go to work, doors to open, problems to turn around.
It says, "When they shouted, suddenly the walls came down". When you have this battle cry of faith, you'll have some suddenlies. Suddenly your health improves, suddenly you meet the right person, suddenly your business takes off. "I don't know, Joel, you should see my medical report. My business is slow. All my family, we struggle with this same addiction". The enemy would love to deceive us into talking about the problem, declaring defeat and mediocrity, lack. You have to change your battle cry. How about a sound of victory, "Father, thank you that this is a new day, that freedom is coming to my house". A sound of faith, "Lord, I thank you that this trouble is only temporary, that things things are changing in my favor". A sound of praise, "God, you are good. Your mercy endures forever. There is no one like you". That's the battle cry that God is looking for.
Years ago Victoria and I were in a situation where someone had done us wrong, and said some things that weren't true, and now it was a big legal ordeal. And we were having to meet with attorneys, and go through all the process, and it was a waste of time and energy. It had gone on for months and months. And we did our best to stay on the high road, knowing that God was still in control, but there were times we were tempted to talk about the problem, "This is not right, why did it happen? What if it doesn't work out"? We had to do what I'm asking you to do: we zipped that up, and switched over into faith, "Father, thank you that no weapon formed against us will prosper. Lord, you said the trap the enemy set for us they will fall in themselfs".
After a couple of years of this long drawn out process, it was coming down to the final day where a decision would be made, and we had to be downtown at 8:00 in the morning. And we decided to meet our team beforehand at 7:00. We drove there quietly, and we pulled into the parking lot. We' already prayed that morning, but Victoria said, "Joel, we need to do something before we go in. We should put on some praise music, and thank God for the victory". That sounded good. And we had the Lakewood CD, there was a song back then called "We Have Overcome" real upbeat from a live recording.
And at the end the worship leader came on, I think it was Steve, and he said, "Come on, shout the victory like you've already won". I was just listening, enjoying the music, when Victoria let out a shout like she's at a ball game, I nearly jumped out of my seat. She looked at me and said, "Come on, Joel, you have to shout for it". It's like 6:30 in the morning, I was barely awake. She was over there shouting, "Hallelujah! Lord, I thank you that it's already done".
It's good to pray, it's good to believe, but the shout is what brings walls down. We went in that day, and before the proceeding started, their side came out and said "We dropped everything, it's all clear, the case is closed". When you have a battle cry of faith, the Creator of the universe goes to work. Nothing can stand against our God. What kind of sound are you creating? Sound of defeat, sound of lack, a sound of "It's never going to happen"? That's going to limit your life. What you're up against may look bigger, you're outnumbered, surrounded. What you can't see is the most high God is right there with you. He's surrounding everything that's surrounding you. It looks like a setback, but really it's a setup for him to show out in your life.
Now, do your part: no more talking about the problem, how impossible it is. Have a battle cry of faith, declaring the greatness of our God. If you'll do this, I believe and declare: like Joshua, you're about to see some walls come down. You're coming into your seventh day, where impossible situations suddenly turn in your favor. Like Asa, when you're outnumbered, God's going to step in and bring supernatural healing, supernatural breakthroughs, supernatural abundance, in Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you say amen? Amen!