Deuteronomy 20;1

Deuteronomy 20:1 says, When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.  Moses said that when the people of Israel went into battle against a larger, more powerful army that they weren't to be afraid,  because God Who had brought them out of Egypt was with them.  They had already seen His power, and we as followers of Christ today should not be afraid of those who stand against us because we know 5he power of the God we serve.  Verse two adds, And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,  Moses said that when they were close to the battle that the priest would speak to the people.  We have One greater than a priest, the Holy Spirit, to speak to us as we battle the forces of the world today.  Verse three continues, And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;  The priest was to tell them to not be afraid nor let their hearts fail.  Too often, we as Christians become fearful and fainthearted when we see all those aligned against us, but we shouldn't.  They will never be more powerful than God.  Verse four concludes, For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.  Just as Moses told the people of Israel that they were not to be afraid because the LORD their God went before them, we today as followers of Christ certainly shouldn't be, because He has already defeated the power of sin and death in the world.  Verse five states, And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.  Moses said that the officers of the army were to exempt some people from going into battle, beginning with anyone who had built a house and had not dedicated it.  We today do not all go into battle for God at the same time nor in the same way.  Verse six adds, And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it.  Next, those who had planted a vineyard and had not yet gotten a harvest from it were exempted.  Verse seven  continues, And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.  Then those who were betrothed but hadn't yet married were exempted.  All of these people were not permanently exempted, but only from certain battles.  We as Christians should not expect to be permanently exempt from the battle against the forces of evil in the world today, even if we may be exempt from certain battles.  We are all a part of the army of God as followers of Christ.  Verse eight says, And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.  Moses then said that the officers were to tell those who were fearful and faint hearted were to be exempted and sent home, lest they cause others to be as well.  We need to pray that we will never allow our fear of the world today to cause other Christians to be afraid as well.  Verse nine adds, And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.  Moses said that once the officers were through speaking and exempting these people, then they were to make captains to lead the armies.  We should pray that we would be one of those leading the army of God into battle today instead of one of those sent home, especially if we are sent home because of our fear of the battle.  Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we have already won, so there is no reason to be afraid.