Welcome to the GMAF Newsletter! We pray it will encourage you in your Martial Arts and Outreach for Christ.
"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Jesus Christ
"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"
The Apostle Paul
"The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them."
Proverbs
I have long been fascinated by the way ancient Israel waged war against its enemies. God's people were always successful when they obeyed God's Word about what to do and how to do it.
One of the most successful warriors of God was David. He was successful in battle long before he became King of Israel. God told the teenager David to face the heavily armored giant Goliath without wearing armor and armed with only a a slingshot and stones. David obeyed God and killed Goliath with a single strike.
We know from previous studies of ancient Israel that David is an example of the power of God's Spirit in spiritual warfare when Christ is the King of our lives. Saul is an example of the lack of power of man's flesh in spiritual warfare when we are our own king. Christ wins spiritual battles, not our flesh.
David was a mighty man of war. He killed many in hand-to-hand combat. He led Israel's troops into tough military campaigns. Some of David's top army chiefs were also mighty men of war. Jashobeam, a Hacmonite, was an expert in the spear and killed three hundred men in one encounter. Abishai was also an expert with the spear and killed three hundred men in one encounter. Benaiah was a great fighter from Kabzeel. He killed two of Moab's best men, a lion in a pit and a seven-and-a-half-foot Egyptian who was expert with a heavy spear. Benaiah went against the giant using a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian and killed the giant with his own spear. Benaiah was a highly-skilled martial artist.
Thousands of talented soldiers joined David's army after King Saul was killed and Israel made David King at Hebron. They marched against the Jebusites in Jerusalem and defeated them. They could have looked upon their great strength and training and believed themselves invincible against any enemy, but that would have been a great mistake. They were powerful because David obeyed God. "So David waxed greater and greater: for the Lord of hosts was with him." (1 Chronicles 11:9)
One of my favorite passages about Israel's battles is in 1 Chronicles 14. "And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David. And David heard of it, and went out against them. And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And David enquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? And wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand." King David defeated the Philistines and gave the glory to God. "God hath broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters." David then gave orders to his army to burn the gods of the Philistines.
The Philistines weren't finished fighting David. They spread themselves abroad in the valley. David asked God what he should do. "God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. David therefore did as God commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gazer. And the fame of David went out into all the lands; and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations."
What a powerful lesson for us! Wait for God to go before us to fight our battles. I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to want to fight my own battles. That's the flesh walking. We don't have to think back too far for examples in our own lives of when walking in the flesh has made a mess in our lives and the lives of people we love. The flesh takes us in one direction: failure.
God told King David to hold back his troops from fighting until they heard the sound of going in the treetops. That meant God had gone before them to strike the Philistine Army. What was that sound? The Hebrew word for "going" is "s'adahl" and translates as "marching." Who would be "marching" in treetops? "... for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines." The sound of marching was God's Army going forth before the army of Israel.
Imagine for a moment that you are a member of the Army of Israel. You know that an enemy is coming against you with a great hatred in their hearts and a desire to wipe you and your fellow soldiers and your wife and mother and father and children from the face of the earth. You are waiting for orders from your superior officers to go up against the Philistines. The orders come and they are to turn away from the Philistines, go over against some mulberry trees and wait for the sound of marching in the treetops. You are a good soldier, well-trained and skilled in the art of war, so you don't ask questions. You trust that your superior officers know what they're doing. You wait near the mulberry trees, then hear the sound of an army marching in the treetops. You look up but see nothing. You hear the sound, but do not see. Within moments of the sound of marching in the treetops, your superior officers give the battle sound and you rush forward with all your strength to engage the enemy. You look into their eyes and see a great fear which seems unnatural for seasoned warriors. You pull your sword, raise your club or thrust your spear in front of you and find the battle to be an easy one. Philistines drop quickly as you strike them down with powerful blows of your weapon. Your shield staves off every attack of the enemy and the battle is yours. You look around at the dying and dead and watch the living Philistines flee for their lives. The word goes around the battlefield quickly that God won the battle. You smile, thank God and resheath your weapon, ready for the next opportunity to obey God's Word and experience great success.
The battles Israel's Army fought against the Philistines and scores of other armies of ancient times are no different than the spiritual battles Christians fight today. The Apostle Paul wrote: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." How do we succeed in spiritual battles? The same way God told David to win. "Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that they thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee..." We succeed in battle even as David did. We wait upon the Lord and listen for the marching of His Army going before us to smite our enemies. "David therefore did as God commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gazer." We will also succeed in spiritual battle as we do what God commands us, wait on the sound of God going before us, and following through using the spiritual weapons of warfare.
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Ephesians 6:13)
What is your spiritual battle? Are you fighting it in your own strength? Have you gone up against the enemy alone? Are you tired and bruised? Are you frustrated and angry? Then go not up after them; turn away from them. Go over to the mulberry trees and wait upon the Lord. When you hear the sound of marching in the treetops, you will know that God has gone before you to smite your enemy. Your battle will be easy, your victory sure.
May God bless you richly this month, my friend and warrior of Almighty God.
You'll find every newsletter at http://www.gmaf.org/gmaf_newsletters.html . These newsletters are a gold mine of information about Christianity and the Martial Arts.
Many GMAF members have told us their favorite part of the monthly newsletter is Fellowship News. It's wonderful to see Christian martial artists praying for each other across the United States and around the world. No distance is too far for Christians. The instant we pray, God hears. We can impact the lives of our brothers and sisters through our prayers. God answers prayer. It is pleasing to Him. Thank you for caring so much for each other!
Here is a note from our dear friend Vasile Filat:
"I am so thankful to the
Lord for giving me to have in the last 2 weeks a so wonderful
time with my family in a winter camp not so far from Chisinau.
It was so nice for me and my wife Anastasia to spend this time
together teaching our children the Word and to play with them
a lot. We thank the Lord for protecting Daniel from problems with
his hernia and hope that he will have the surgery as soon as possible.
In the same
time being here I was teaching two seminars to teachers who use
English for missions and to Taekwon-Do instructors studying with
them 2 Thessalonians and Revelation inductively and planing activities
and
ministry for this 2001 year which include starting more than 20
groups with more than 500 student and summer camps. On 31 of December
we evangelized the location where we where staying and people
were open to the Gospel and even a Jehovah's witness wanted to
come after to our Revelation Bible study and was so sorry for
listening to the false teachings she was taught and for not studying
the Bible. We have found many obstacles in our ministry at this
moment, some of the instructors don't have any support from their
students because their parents do not have the salary for more
than year. It is so hard for them to go and we are so thankful
to all of you who helped us to purchase bicycles and they help
us so much all the year to go to short distance as 20-45 km, but
it is so difficult to go to other places which are more far and
where we started and because the students can't afford to pay
we are praying to have support for transportation and support
for instructors to continue that groups and to start other where
we are asked to go. We are praying that God will make longer the
freedom He gave us to preach the Gospel and will not accept the
communists to win the Parliamentary and Presidential election
we are going to have in February, but, in the same tame we have
a so big joy and exhortation knowing that even the communists
will win He will give us power and boldness to preach the Gospel
through the Holly Spirit.
Thank you for praying for my family and for the ministry we are involved and may our Lord bless you!
With love in Christ,
Vasile"
Here is a note from our dear friend Jeff McLaughlin of the International Network of Christian Martial Artists.
"Greetings in the name of the Lord:
I just wanted to ask my Christian
Martial Arts family to pray for our family. We were in a car accident
this past Tuesday night. We were stopped and were waiting to turn
left with 2 cars stopped in front of us. My wife
was driving, I was on the passenger side and 2 of my children
were in the back seat. My wife looked in the rear-view mirror
and screamed real loud just before a vehicle slammed into the
back of us and knocked us into the car in front of us. It shook
all of us up pretty bad, but it hurt my wife the most. The ambulance
took my wife to the hospital, but nothing was broken. She has
ever since had a problem with nausea and migrane headaches and
is pretty bruised up. Then a real bomb fell on us. We found out
that the 16 year old girl that hit us has no insurance. Thank
God we had full coverage, but only one small vehicle until we
can get everything settled.
Anyway, it has been a pretty tough week and we need your prayers. Also pray for the girl that ran into us. She was also hurt and will probably be without a vehicle for a while.
Thanks and God bless you,
Jeff McLaughlin"
This note is from our friends at Faith Fighters For Christ.
"Dear Friends,
We are hosting the Koininia Fellowship of Martial Artists Ohio Conference. This conference is promising to be excellent with Dr. Daryl Covington as our guest instructor. The conference will be held in the Massillon, OH YMCA. Massillon is located close to Canton and is about an hour drive from Cleveland. For additional information check our Announcements Page www.ff4christ.faithpages.com/kfma.html which includes information on Dr. Covington and a printable registration form.
---
In Christ's Service,
Don & Char Engelhardt"
Here is a question from our friends at the Cross Training Academy.
"I was just searching through some Christian martial arts sites and I cannot find a Christian Martial Artist Prayer anywhere do you know where I may be able to find one?
Bryan Baldwin
Cross Training Academy:
http://www.geocities.com/crosstrainingacademy/
Here's a question from a new member of GMAF, Rhett Keiser. Please send him your answers to his question.
"Is it true that in the typical martial arts school only 1 out of 10 usually stick it out and earn their black belt? Is that percentage higher in schools that honor Christ?
In Christ,
Rhett Keiser "
(I know you will join us in praying for each of these Christian martial artists and their ministries.)
We welcome Sensei Chuck Zivkovic to GMAF. He is a lifelong practioner of martial arts and Shihan in Shorin Ryu Karate.
We welcome Sensei Tim Keckler to GMAF. Tim has been a Christian most of his life. He began his martial arts training in 1970 while in the Marine Corp. He holds the rank of 5th Dan in Hykado, a blend of traditional Shotokan Karate and Tomiki Aikido. He also has a 2nd Dan in Tong Show Kung Fu. Tim is a long-time friend and training partner of GMAF co-founder Pastor Robert Xavier and is a residence instructor at Otis Ridge Martial Arts Camp each summer. Tim lives in Bradenton, Florida.
Please let us know if you have moved, changed jobs, received a belt promotion, started studying a new martial art, started a Christian martial arts ministry, etc. We want to be sure your listing in the GMAF Internet Directory is all you want it to be.
We appreciate your Fellowship in the Gospel of the Grace of God. We are praying for you and your opportunities to serve Christ. Please let us know about ways GMAF can help you in your service. If you know of anyone who might be interested in receiving this monthly newsletter, please ask them to e-mail Mark McGee. We'll be glad to put them on our monthly mailing list.
You are invited to read previous GMAF Newsletters.
If you would like to join Grace Martial Arts Fellowship ©, contact Mark McGee.
Grace Martial Arts Fellowship is a service of GraceLife Ministries.
Taking God's Grace to the World!