No Weapon Formed Will Prosper — Shane Idleman

Psalm 8, and the title of the message tonight is, ready for this? No weapon will prosper. No weapon will prosper. Many of you are familiar with the verse from Isaiah that says no weapon formed against you will prosper.

No tongue that will condemn you will prevail. And I wanna just tie that in with Psalm 8 tonight. And if we've learned anything at all over the last seven chapters going through Psalms, it's that no weapon formed will prosper.

Spiritual Attacks and the Believer's Response

Now, we have to remember that weapons are formed. Weapons are formed against us, they're against our nation and different things. And whether they prosper or not, a lot depends on us, correct? What do we do with the demonic attacks?

What do we do with obeying God's word or a lack of obedience? And it's interesting, at the beginning of Isaiah, actually, yeah, it's Isaiah 54. The Isaiah starts out, sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child, burst into song, shout for joy.

And that might seem funny because a barren woman is not going to sing for joy. Especially in the Old Testament there, it was a sign of not having God's favor. Obviously, we know that doesn't apply to us.

But O barren woman, burst into song, burst out, sing out for joy. And he goes on to say that no weapon formed against you will prosper. Nothing that the enemy is going to devise against you will prevail.

And a lot of people say, but Shane, it is prevailing. I'm losing. Well, be careful, because many times we're going through the battle, doesn't mean we've been defeated in the battle. Just because there's a battle, doesn't mean we are defeated.

God's Sovereignty Revealed in Psalm 8

So look at Psalm 8. O Lord, O Lord, our Lord. And last week he said, my Lord. So we see a transition. Now it's corporate prayer. O Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth, who have set your glory above the heavens.

Isn't that interesting? It's not in the heavens. It's above the heavens. Who can explain God or His greatness, as I said earlier? Who can explain the greatness of God or the goodness of God? That's actually where we get our word awesome from.

Awesome, incredibly overwhelming. You can't put really a term to it. How do you measure the width of His glory or the depth of His foundation? How do you measure the width of God's glory or the depth of His foundation?

Matthew Henry said this, how bright this glory shines even in the lower world. He is ours for He made us, He protects us, He takes special care of us. The birth, the life, the preaching, the miracles, the suffering, the death, the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus are known throughout the world.

No name is so universal, no power and influence so generally felt as those of the Savior of mankind. That's powerful. No other name. Even many people celebrated Halloween, the devil's holiday, they say, and that demonic type of activity, nothing that pales in comparison to the power of God, the unction of God, the authority of God.

Nothing can measure Him. Nothing can compete with Him. Did you know, and I'm often amazed talking to people, that they often think that God and the devil are equal. And they'll say, I know there's a battle and who's gonna win?

I don't know. And God and the devil are going back and forth. No, they're not. They're not equal. They're not fighting. That God is sovereign. He sits on His throne. The devil is a butler. He's a created being.

He is at God's beck and call. He does often what He does. God twists it and we sang earlier, what He intends for evil, God makes it for good. Now, it's a theological quandrum or a theological puzzle to understand completely how God uses the devil and was He created evil or was He always evil?

You know, all we know is that they are not equal. That God will use him for His purposes. And then out of the mouth, verse two, out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, you have ordained strength because of your enemies that you may silence the enemy and the avenger.

Strength Through Weakness and Dependence on God

So he's saying here, out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, we've heard other people in the Bible quote this. God has given them strength. What's the point of that, Shane? Well, it's this. God often uses the weakest instruments, those who are humble and teachable, those who are ready to listen.

That's why Paul said, I will glory in my weakness. I will get excited about my weakness. Did you know it's okay to get excited about your weakness? But Shane, that doesn't make sense. Well, don't get excited in your pride.

That'll take you down. Getting excited, look how weak I am and how God has built me up, how God has strengthened me. God, I note my weaknesses. I note my downfalls. I note that I can't do anything without you.

And in that weakness, then I am strong. And as I told you on Sunday, I appreciate all the emails. We get emails from all over the world now, believe it or not. People running into people, being transformed by the power of the gospel.

Shane, keep preaching the truth. Keep preaching the truth. The power of the Spirit is moving, but please don't for one second think I did any of this. Don't clout for me. Because it's in my utter weakness and dependence upon God that He decides to move through vessels that are submitted to Him.

So the more I look at my weaknesses, the more He elevates. The more you turn to Him and say, God, I'm weak in this area. I need your help. He will begin to help you in those areas. Because when a person can come up, and especially preaching, and say, Lord, I mean it.

I mean, you can just say it and not mean it, right? God knows your heart. But Lord, you have to move tonight. Or Sunday mornings, you have to move Sunday mornings. I can't get through a sermon. I can't put something together.

This is not flowing. God, you need to speak to your people. I'm not qualified to do this. I haven't graduated from the upper echelons of a university. I don't have a PhD in systematic theology. But God, I need you.

And in that weakness, it becomes a strength. Well, how? Because the strength becomes God's strength. It is what propels us and pushes us up. And we also see here the innocence of a child reflects the truest worship.

Children, Innocence, and True Worship

How often do we see this? They would say, get the children away. Jesus would say, no, let them come to me. The children would cry out, Hosanna, Hosanna. Here he comes, here comes our King. And the children would cry out.

And it was a pure form. It was the truest worship. When a child worships, you know it's genuine. And he's reflecting here on the innocence of a child. And that's why I get really upset at our culture today.

Because they are destroying the innocence of children. They are perverting the children. Things that should make a teenager blush, now they're showing five and six-year-olds. We've lost that innocence.

And there's something about children in the Bible that has the heart of God. I'm going to quote here a little bit extensively from Spurgeon, from his Treasuries of David. He talks about Fox's Book of Martyrs.

Have you heard of that book? Read it if you would like, but beware. It's not only convicting, but it's very graphic. It's hard sometimes to read how people were killed because of their belief in Jesus.

So he talks about a man, Mr. Lawrence, and he was burned at the stake in Gloucester. He was carried to the fire in a chair because the cruelty of the papistry, he could not stand upright. Whether you know it or not, there's a long story, a long history there of friction with Roman Catholicism and Protestants because they would burn people at the stake.

They would kill many of the reformers. And that's hard to get over. And so there's been a strong division there. But he said, several young children came about the fire and they cried as well as they could speak.

Lord, strengthen thy servant and keep thy promise. Can you imagine these kids around this fire as this martyr is going to his death, praying, Lord, strengthen thy servant and keep thy promise. Strengthen him in the midst of this adversity.

And God answered their prayer. For Mr. Lawrence died as firmly and calmly as anyone could wish to breathe their last breath. Another incident is when one of the poppish, it's for the papacy is what they would say in the 1800s.

When one of the papacy chaplains told Mr. Wishart, the great Scottish martyr who was also killed, that he had a devil in him, a child stood by and cried out, a devil cannot speak such words as yonder man speaketh.

And these kids would stand up for the faith. And one last incident here, in a postscript, I've read this before in one of George Whitfield's letters. He said this, I cannot help adding that several little boys and girls who were fond of sitting around me by the pulpit while I preached and handed me people's notes, though they were often pelted with eggs and dirt thrown at me, never once did they give away.

But on the contrary, every time I was struck, they turned up their little weeping eyes and they seemed to wish they could receive the blows for me. Children throughout church history, children, the cry of our children.

Spurgeon said, how often will children tell us of a God whom we have forgotten? It's often the calling of the children, the cry of the children. And that call still goes out today. Children calling out, oh, hear me, daddy, point me to God, stand in the gap for truth.

Isn't that, doesn't that get you passionate today? The children are wanting us to stand in the gap of truth. What's going on in our nation? What's going on the road that we're on? We are leaving that to the next generation.

So you can almost hear the children, even though they don't even know it, your little seven or eight or nine or 10 year olds, mommy, daddy, do something, leave me something worth living. Oh, if I could cry out to God again like children, hear the cries of our children.

And again, they were the ones in the temple crying, Hosanna to the son of David, Hosanna to the son of David. And then he switches here, when I consider your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, what is man that you're mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him?

Humanity's Glory, Worth, and Dominion

And if I'm not mistaken, I believe that is cross referenced three times in the New Testament. What is man that you're mindful of him? Have you ever thought about that? I ask God that often, God, why me?

Why me? Why do you care for us so much? Why would you die on the cross? When you consider the heavens, look at the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, what is man that you're mindful of him and the son of man that you should visit him?

Now it's interesting, we know a lot more than they knew back then, correct? They would look up, I think the first estimate was about a thousand stars, is what they estimated. I don't know about a thousand years ago.

And you know, I just wanna put this up if we have it on the screen. I wanna show first our galaxy, just to give you an idea. There you are, can you see yourself smile? There's your galaxy. Now the next picture is actually of the universe.

Thousands and thousands and thousands of galaxies that you just saw. We're in there somewhere, the Hubble telescope. How great is our God? You might sing that song a little differently now. How great is our God?

What is God that he should be mindful of us? And it's interesting, I was reading this week that they say that the Big Bang started at a certain point. Did you know that? Those who believe in the Big Bang theory?

And I kinda do, don't get me wrong here. Let me explain. God said, let there be light and there was a bang. It was very big. It created the universe. When God spoke it into existence, you bet it made a noise.

But they get ridiculous. They said it could fit on the size of a pinhead. What started the universe? Most astronomers believe the universe began in a Big Bang about 14 billion years ago and at that time, the entire universe was inside of a bubble that was 1 ,000 times smaller than a pinhead.

It was hotter and denser than anything we can imagine. That's on a scientific website. So all of that was in a tiny little thing that just exploded and here it comes. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.

When you begin to reject God, you will embrace all kinds of crazy things. Maybe aliens put us here. That's the next belief out there. Well, where'd the aliens come from? I mean, you got to think this stuff through.

But that's the intellectual and the PhDs and all astronomers believe this way. No, they don't. I can show you a list of 1 ,000 astronomers that have rejected Darwin's theory of evolution, have rejected this concept that it all just happened.

People, when they use common sense, common sense, it will see that our God is a great God. Verse five, for you have what? Made him a little lower than the angels and you have crowned him with glory and honor.

You have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands and you have put all things under his feet. I would love that just for a whole sermon, but let's stop here for a minute. Oh, this is actually the context.

This scripture is what is mentioned three times in the New Testament. For you have made him a little lower than the angels and you have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands and you have put all things under his feet.

So you are created a little lower than the angels. But we have to remember, he is a redeemer of fallen men, but not fallen angels. Angels are at a greater distance at the throne, even when John has that vision in Revelation.

So we see, although we are, what it says here, a little lower than the angels, we're actually might, according to scripture, judge angels. We are, the redeemer died for us, not fallen angels. And you see this value that he puts on us.

Now let me switch gears for a minute since we're talking about angels, because I've been told a lot lately by people who come to my door that Jesus was a created being. He's an angel, but that's impossible because an angel cannot die for the sins of the world.

Jesus cannot be an angel, as they say, because it's forbidden to worship angels. Yet New Testament saints worship and adore Jesus because he was truly God. And I'm gonna quote, gotquestions .org here, the most important reason that Jesus must be God is that if he is not God, his death would not have been sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the world.

A created being, which Jesus would be if he were not God, could not pay the infinite penalty required for sin against an infinite God. Only God could pay such an infinite penalty. Only God could take on the sins of the world and die and be resurrected, proving his victory over sin and death.

So that's why this is important, for we have been made a little lower than the angels, and God has crowned us with glory and with honor. He has made us to have dominion over the works of God's hands, and God has put all things under our feet.

Stewardship, Family Leadership, and God's Workmanship

And it goes back to the garden that he told Adam, I will give you dominion, give you authority over all things. Now, it's interesting because for some reason, people think that Christians are not concerned about the environment.

And the environment's a big deal nowadays, right? Polarized caps are melting, global warming, even though there's a lot of challenges to that. Just be careful on who you listen to. But we have been given the responsibility.

Things are, the animal kingdom, the atmosphere, or the earth, I should say, we have been given that role, that responsibility, to not only have dominion over it, which means to lead it, but to love it and to take care of it.

So I'm not a tree hugger, don't get me wrong. If you are, that's good. But we should be concerned. I think Christians should be just as concerned about the environment as anyone else. But we put it in proper perspective.

It's not Mother Earth, it's Father God. The trees are not God. More concerned about a spotted owl than an aborted child. We have a problem. There's little turtle eggs you have to be careful of, but not babies.

I mean, it's just amazing how hypocritical we have become. So just remember that, maybe if you're needing value or worth, that you have been made a little lower than the angels and you have been crowned with glory and honor.

You have made Him to have dominion over the works of your hands. So what is God calling you to? Is there any area of your life where you've been maybe failing to have dominion over something? Men, this might be a good nudge.

Wife, nudge you here. No, no, just kidding, don't do it. But what have you been given responsibility? Maybe in your home, in your business, to take that rightful ground again as a man and take leadership over what God has entrusted to us.

He has not called us to work all day, go home, prop our feet up on the couch and watch TV and fall asleep and repeat it. And then go play golf on Saturday and then maybe get to church if it doesn't interfere with anything.

He's called us to lead our families, our homes in these different areas, having dominion over the works of God's hands. And then the New Testament also says that we are God's workmanship. I think that word was poiema.

It means His masterpiece. There's a workmanship. So you are God's workmanship. You are God's masterpiece to do good works while we're here. See, and that will really make you excited. That will have you get out of bed with a little bit of motivation, understanding that God has called you not just to exist, but to actually do something for the kingdom, to do something for Him.

And that's where joy and fulfillment and peace come from. Could it be that many of you are lacking joy and fulfillment and peace because you're not doing what God's called you to do? Let me answer that for you.

Yes, yes. One of the most miserable times of my life was when I was running from God. And once you get lined up with what God has called you to do, whether it's being a mom or a dad or a business partner, whatever it is, you're glorifying God in everything you do.

Biblical Truth and the Reliability of God's Word

You have put all things under His feet. And then verse seven, all sheep and oxen, even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the sea. Isn't that interesting?

This was probably written, don't quote me on it, 2 ,700 years ago. The paths of the sea. And it's interesting. I'm going to read a quick thing here. At one time when Commodore Murray was very sick, he asked one of his daughters to get the Bible and read to him.

She chose Psalm 8, right where we are at. The eighth verse of which speaks, of whatsoever walketh through the paths of the sea. And he repeated, the paths of the sea. The paths of the sea. If God says paths of the sea, there must be paths in the sea.

And I will get out of bed, as soon as I get out of bed, I will find them. And he did begin his deep sea soundings as soon as he was strong enough and found the two ridges extended from New York coast to England.

So he made charts for ships to sail over one path to England and return over the other. Now they know that there are paths in the sea, which means currents underneath the sea. And if you get on that current, you can get to your location quicker.

And if you follow the current back, all from the Bible, see God's word is not an error. Times change, truth does not. That's where we get our little slogan from. Everything from, you've heard me talk about circumcision on the eighth day, that's why they do it.

They also confirms with the Bible. Also, there's so many incidents in the medical industry where why do they wash their hands now? Did you know they used to not wash and scrub? They would go from dead body to a pregnant woman to a dead body to a pregnant woman and people were dying at alarming rate.

And they happened to read the Bible. Wash your, look at all this, don't take my word for it, look it up. And somebody started to read where to wash your hands and that getting off of that filth and that the bacteria.

And there's so many things where we have learned just studying from the Bible, from archeological discoveries and history, even though it's not a history book. Is that interesting? It's not a history book, but it talks about history.

It's really not a book to explain God and all these things. It just says in the beginning, God. It doesn't take, well, really try to believe, guys. Come on. You know, it's just all the facts. We don't even have a lot of information about Satan.

Do we? Well, the Bible talks about, first he's talking about the king of Tyre and it's an actual king. And then it goes into, you fell from heaven, you wanted God's glory and all these things. And we say that applies to Satan and it could.

You know, but we don't have a lot. How was he, was he created evil? Did he choose evil? A lot of things we have questions on. That might make an interesting series someday. But we do know that times change, but truth does not.

This is why we must preach all of God's truth that I've told you before to set people free. All of it is what sets them free. I like one of the songs we do, the lyrics is, should I ever need reminding of what power set me free?

There is a grave that holds no body. Now that power lives with me. So when we think about the things coming against you, no weapon formed will come against you, no weapon will prosper. Because when we seek God and we look to his awesome power, that's what sustains us, that's what holds us.

Worship, Prayer, and Confidence in God's Victory

And I did the three weeks of prayer and getting that on our hearts again. And that's just been my desire even for tonight is not do a lot of preaching, a lot of teaching, but get back to that heart of worship and a heart of prayer.

That's what's gonna turn our nation around. That's what's gonna revive families. And then verse nine, oh Lord, oh Lord, he cries out again. What about if we could cry out to God again? Oh Lord, do you know it's okay to do that?

I'm gonna give you permission to cry out to God sometime. You don't have to do it today, but you can cry out in your own way, cry out to God, oh Lord, oh Lord. Do you know Jesus cried out? He would go into the temple and it says, and he cried out.

He said, you know me, you know where I come from. Why are you stiff necked? Why are you rejecting Messiah? You know me, he cried out. And on that great last day of the feast, the Bible says he cried out.

He cried out again. If you come to me all are weak and heavy laden, I will give you rest. And the cry was actually, if you believe on me, if you believe on me, as the scripture say, out of your what? Inner most being.

Out of your belly will flow rivers of living water. And that's why I often ask this question, where are the living water? Where is the living water that Christ spoke of? In the lives of so many Christians, they don't have that living water.

What do they have that dead water? The sludge. They're not running on all eight cylinders, they're running on one cylinder. They're not experiencing all that God has for them. And the only way that I know to get that is what it says here.

Oh Lord, my God, cry out to God. Cry out to God for your children. If you need salvation, call out to God for your salvation. If you need, stop complaining about your family and start crying out to God for your family.

Start crying out to God for your spouse. And God hears that prayer of a child crying out to a father. The Bible gives us that same exact imagery. A child of God crying out to God. And another song we sing here, the weapon may be formed, but it won't prosper.

When the darkness falls, it won't prevail because the God I serve knows only how to triumph. My God will never fail. Oh my God will never fail. We sang that here. Could you truly believe that? See, the weapon may be formed.

The weapon is formed. I came to serve notice on you tonight. The weapon is formed. The enemy has you in his sights. The arrow is pulled back. He's just waiting for that open door. The weapon is formed.

It's ready, but it shall not prosper. If we get back to the old truths of holiness and righteousness and seeking God with all of our hearts and crying out to God, he says, I will honor that prayer. I will guard you if you seek me with all of your heart.

You will find me. Amen. I'm gonna wake Wednesday night service up and have you guys all get up and do jumping jacks. Oh goodness gracious. Because the God I serve knows only how to triumph. That's all God knows.

Has God ever failed in battle? No weapon formed, no army built, no deficiency, no weakness, nothing will thwart the plans of God. You need to get back to that belief that the old Christians used to have of fully trusting God, fully relying on God.

Nothing can stop him. No weapon, no army, no deficiency, no weakness. He doesn't answer to anyone. He doesn't sleep. He does not slumber. He does not take a rain check. He's not concerned about what's going on.

He's not confused. He's not caught off guard. He's the God that holds the universe together, and that's why we need to get our hearts and our minds back to that again. Listen, I could preach my heart out, but if we're not getting back to God, it's pointless.

Praise in the Storm and Hunger for God

And just like I started the message with the same verse, sing, sing, O barren Christian. Sing, O barren Christian, as you're waiting on God. Burst into song. Shout for joy, but Shane, you don't know what I'm going through right now.

Hey, I've been through hell and back. I know life is not easy, but you begin to praise him in this storm. Has that sound familiar? I'm gonna praise him in this storm. I'm gonna raise a hallelujah. This is how I fight my battles.

Here's how I fight my battles, complaining and bickering and getting upset and doing all kinds of things I shouldn't be doing. No, that will actually fuel your battle. How you fight your battle is on your knees before God.

I want to stir a hunger in you so intense that you get up tomorrow morning and you want more of God. You go to bed tonight and you want more of God. Actually, I'm gonna pray that right now, so watch out.

God, I pray that you would give people in this congregation a hunger for your word tonight. God, that they would wake up wanting more prayer time, more of your word, just being humble before you. God, begin to work in our homes.

Turn marriages back to you. Turn prodigal sons back to you. God, I pray that that hunger will never be satisfied on this side of Calvary, that you would give us a hunger so intense that we devour the word.

We need more of you. We stay hungry and focused on you and who you are. And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen, amen. So I was actually gonna go into the next psalm as well, but I just want to stay camped out here because I want to think on this theme of how great is our God and just going into a time of worship and prayer.

So Brant and Eric and Jim, you guys can come back up. And we're just gonna go into a time of worship, not be in a hurry and not be, you know, looking at the clock necessarily, but really taking our request to God.

The altar is gonna be open. I don't know, are you dealing with anything? Are you, any health issues, marriage issues, finances, maybe not trusting God? Do you know that slips in? I've been there. I've been wanting to be healed of certain things, but it didn't happen.

I've been wanting to certain God to answer and he doesn't seem like he has, but regardless, I will praise you in this storm. So you have to get back to, I will praise you in this storm. God, I will lift up a hallelujah even though I'm going through hell.

I will look to your word even though I don't understand what I'm going through. While I'm waiting, I will rejoice in who you are.