"Giving Shade To The Enemy"

Joshua 17:15 (NKJV) “So Joshua answered them, "If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you."

Have you ever thought about how you might be giving ‘shade to the enemy’, making him comfortable around you, giving him a place to rest and relax close to you?

As the children of Israel are inheriting the land, the half tribe of Manasseh get their allotment of land, but are very unhappy with it. They want something else. They want more. They don’t like what they have been given at all.

But rather than cave into their moaning, Joshua tells them to go up and clear up what they have. One of the instructions was to clear out the high places, to go up to the mountaintop and clear out the dead wood.

Mountaintops in the Bible often speak of devotion and sacrifice to God. They represent those areas in our lives that are filled with sweet worship and deep devotion. Yet we can allow ‘dead wood’ to grow in our devotions, essentially giving ‘shade to the enemy’ in our lives. One of the first steps in giving ‘shade to the enemy’ is our discontentment with what God has given us.

We don’t want the enemy anywhere near our devotional life. We don’t want to create an environment where he’s comfortable near us at all. Consider your mountaintop life today, and allow the Spirit to minister to you heart in those areas of shade. The only shade that should be there is the covering of the Lord in our lives!

In Love -- Pastor Ed

RESPONSES: - Pastor Ed - I have never attended your church, as I live 1.5 hours away, but a dear friend of mine shared some CD's of yours with me. And now, I check your website regularly and love listening online to your sermons! You are such an encouragement, and speak on my level with relevance in every sermon! I'm writing you today to say thank you for posting the letter from Russ. It is so amazing to me to hear a man be so excited about the Lord, so desiring Him. That isn't something I see often. It really touched my heart to read about this man coming to Christ. What an awesome story! Thank you for your work - I pray you get the rest you need in order to continue His work.