John Dyslin: His Mercy is More – A Love Letter of Restoration to Our Wounded Warriors, PART TWO

This is part two of a guest article by John Dyslin. For part one, please click here. Learn more at johndyslin.com, and use discount code Scout1 to save 10%.

5. God has a special heart for warriors. Repeatedly in Scripture the Lord singles out warriors for salvation who undoubtedly walked blood-stained roads.  In Luke 7:1-10 a Roman centurion characterized by faith, compassion, and humility sought the Lord Jesus to heal a dying servant; Jesus “…marvelled…at his great faith (Luke 7:9),” and the servant was healed that very day.  In fact, that centurion – a Gentile at that! – was one of only two individuals in all of the New Testament noted by Jesus for having great faith.

At Jesus’ crucifixion, (likely) another centurion and other guards witnessing his death, the subsequent earthquake, and other natural signs, exclaimed, “Truly this was the Son of God (Matthew 27:54)!”  As was the case with Peter’s understanding of Jesus’ divinity earlier (Matthew 16:16-17), surely the Lord gave them this understanding so they might also have eyes to see and be saved.

In Acts 10 the Lord sent angels and visions to both Cornelius, a righteous, God-fearing Roman centurion, and to Peter, and orchestrated a divine appointment between the men, that Cornelius might know the Gospel of Jesus as the risen Messiah.  Cornelius’s entire household was filled with the Holy Spirit and baptized by Peter himself that very day.  That’s how far the Lord will go to rescue a warrior!

Without belaboring the point, I would be remiss not to mention Joshua, Caleb, King David and his mighty men, Samson, etc.  All knew transgression; all knew war, and had spilt blood; and yet all were saved, often miraculously by the Lord’s generous hand, straining forward into their lives to bring salvation, healing, and restoration.

6. The Lord is Himself a warrior. Jesus, Yeshua in Hebrew, means ‘he who brings salvation.’  Yet, it was Joshua of the Old Testament – also Yeshua in Hebrew! – who led the mighty Israelite army into bloody battle after battle after entering the Promised Land against the demonic hordes of giants (a whole other story).  Later, when Joshua was about to destroy the city of Jericho, Jesus declared Himself to be “the commander of the armies of the Lord (Joshua 5:13-15).”  So, Jesus’ own archetype in the Old Testament was the commander of the Israelite armies – as Jesus was the same in Heaven!

And yet there’s more.  When Jesus came the first time – to pay the price we could never pay for our sins so that we might live – He declared that “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34-36).”  When He returns at Armageddon, He will come to “judge and make war (Revelation 19:11).”  He will “consume [his enemies] with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8).”  In the Day of the Lord, when wicked Babylon is judged by Jesus, the destruction of the wicked will produce a river of blood to the depth of a horse’s bridle running 1600 furlongs (Rev. 14:20).

Finally, consider this – by the Lord’s own Word, we know that “The Lord is a man of war (Jehovah ‘ı̂ysh Milchâmâh): Jehovah is his name (Exodus 15:3).”  And, “Who is this King of Glory? The Lord Strong and Mighty (Jehovah ‛Izzûz Gibbôr), the Lord Mighty in Battle (Jehovah Gibbôr Milchâmâh) (Psalm 24:8).”  Therefore don’t be surprised at His astounding, longsuffering, striving desire to redeem His warrior children!

Your warrior instincts are a type of your Father, in Whose image you were created – including His righteous warrior spirit against evil and the unrepentant wicked.

So…whenever you begin to think that the Lord wouldn’t understand the heart or deeds of a warrior, think again.  He truly is the Lord of (righteous!) War.

7. The Lord needs warrior-hearted men to storm the gates of Hell. He who is forgiven much, loves much (Luke 7:36-50).  God bless those righteous believers who have been saved since their youth!  What a blessing!  But, truly the Lord needs in His earthly armies those others of us who like Paul will journey to the ends of the earth for His glory, fueled by our gratitude for the mountain of iniquity for which we’ve been forgiven.

God needs heavily forgiven, adopted children-warriors such as you, who will truly go ‘above and beyond’ to reach the truly lost, and to storm the gates of Hell.

Those who have been saved from their youth either won’t or can’t carry the load you’ll carry, or go to the lengths you’ll go, or brave the fortified camp of the enemy as you will, to complete those missions of the Lord reserved for the lion-hearted among His earthly host.  Perhaps because you so much more richly appreciate the weight of the burden Christ carried for you, and the awful, astounding price He paid so you could be set free, it is believers like you who the Lord assigns the boldest, most fearsome, most audacious missions to further His kingdom and bring Him glory.

I think it no coincidence that Jesus selected Paul – of all people! – to be His apostle to the world beyond Israel.  He knew – both because of Paul’s zeal but also of the heavy burden of iniquity He freed Paul from – how far Paul would go in delivering the Gospel, because they both knew how much he had been forgiven of.  The Lord can use that in your life too – if you’ll accept His free gift, and bend a knee to and serve Him who “came to set the captives free (Isaiah 42:7).”

8. The Lord delights in saving those most lost and beyond salvation! Read (and reread!) the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).  The younger son – that’s you.  When he asked his father for his inheritance, he was essentially saying, “You’re dead to me.  Let me live as I wish.”  The father – a type of the Lord, of course – believing in free will gave him what he wished.  The son proceeded to wander far away in his debauchery, literally and figuratively, until he found himself where all sin leads, standing in the mire, utterly ruined.

And yet…note the father’s response as the son returned, destitute as all we who wander far from Him, planning to be a hireling in his house… “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him (v. 20).”  All these years, while the son reveled and squandered his father’s blessings, the father was scanning the horizon, unceasingly, longing for his wicked son’s repentance and return.  And too, he had stored up for him not a hireling’s position, devoid of station, love, or relationship.  He felt compassion for him; he ran! to him; he embraced him; he kissed him.  That’s what your Heavenly Father has in store for you!  Though he was dead to you in your heart; though you (like me) wandered far from Him; though you squandered gifts and years wallowing in the mire – He searches the horizon for you as you read this, longing for you to choose to return to Him, that He might honor you greatly (v. 22-24).  “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found (v.24).”  That is the desire of God’s heart for your life; He’s not deterred by what you’ve done.

9. Once redeemed, the Lord has a mission for you. Given what you’ve learned; given where you’ve been; given how much you know that you’ve been redeemed from…boy, will God have a mission for you, once you’re ‘mission qualified!’

It’s my conviction that the Lord will have a special, front line or deep-behind-enemy-lines mission for born-again warriors like you.  Only His adopted sons who have been tempered in the fire of salvation from the edge of the abyss have the mettle to execute His boldest, most audacious assignments!  He knows He can count on redeemed warriors such as you to serve as astoundingly devastating ‘Spec Ops warriors’ under His command – storming the gates of Hell itself with the Gospel and in His righteousness, that even “the gates of Hell (Matthew 16:18)” will not withstand your assault!

Perhaps that mission will even pertain to your fellow wounded warriors who like you struggle with the guilt and horror from their service – wounds that only someone like yourself has the testimony to credibly speak to, and minister, and heal in Jesus’ name and power.

I am utterly convinced that satan himself is terrified of the very thought of warrior-hearted men like you coming to faith.  He understands the devastating price you’ll make him pay on the spiritual battlefield, once you’ve aligned your spirit with Jehovah Sabaoth – the Lord of Hosts – both Heavenly and Earthly.  There will, literally, be Hell to pay – and you, in the Lord’s strength, will see to it that that debt is paid in full, on every mission you execute as you put your boot on the neck of His enemies (Joshua 1,10; Romans 16:20).

Abba, Father, the Lord and the Author of your salvation, scans the horizon still, after all these years, for you.  Where is he, He thinks to Himself.  When will he return!?!  Is that him?  Will he come back today?  Day after day, He longs for your return.

The relief, the lightness of your unburdened spirit, the incomprehensible liberty of redemption; all this and more, awaits you.  The next move is yours.  You can turn this story of brokenness, hopelessness, sadness and pain into redemption and victory today, right now.  God is not only the God of second chances, but of miraculous rescues – rescues of desperately lost souls like yours.  The Lord – Who has already paid the price and won the victory on the cross – longs to “remove (your) sin from (you) as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).”

Like the father in the parable, if you’ll step toward Him, He’ll come running toward you!  If you’ll be faithful to come humbly to Him, he’ll be faithful and wash your sins white as snow in the blood of His Son, our Risen Savior!

Jesus Himself said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).”  Don’t let the enemy deceive you with self-condemnation and lies another day.  Jesus already won the victory; accept His gift that’s free to you, but cost Him everything!  Receive His gift, His only Son, so you can spend the rest of your life living in obedience to Him – laying your life down to win souls and storm the gates of Hell!

He’s standing over you, as you lay battered and broken on the battlefield of this spiritual war, His nail-scarred hand outstretched.

“Scout!  Scout!!!  Take my hand!  TAKE MY HAND!!!”

He laid down His life for you, so you could live.  Will you allow His perfect sacrifice to be in vain!?!  It all hangs in the balance, based on how you respond.

Let today be the day of salvation for you!  Don’t pass up this opportunity!  Simply fall to your knees; let the pain flow out of you.  Let go of the hurt, and the self-condemnation, and the guilt.

Confess out loud your sins to your Father, Abba, Daddy, your Righteous and Holy Lord.  Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, that He is the Messiah, the Risen Lord.  Testify that you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-13).  Ask Jesus to save you, and declare Him to be the Lord of your life.

Then hold on!  Get ready to live life – and fight as a warrior of the King – like you never have before.

No eye hath seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.

                                                             – 1 Corinthians 2:9

And the God of Peace will crush satan under your feet shortly.

                                                             – Romans 16:20

John Dyslin is the author of Nehemiah Strong: Life-Sustaining Essentials for a Season of Trial, a 480-page field manual equipping believers to stand, occupy, and overcome as the enemy comes in like a flood.  Learn more at johndyslin.com, and use discount code Scout1 to save 10%.

Recent articles:

World Net Daily:  “Dark forces are gaining – will you stand and ‘do exploits’?”  Published 11 August 2022.

Wisconsin Christian News:  “The Call – and Our Response.”  Published August 2022.

Other information:

Web site – johndyslin.com

Summary of the book, Nehemiah Strong

Praise for Nehemiah Strong

Selected reviews for Nehemiah Strong

Interview segments (links to full interviews) with John Dyslin

About John Dyslin