Message shared at
Victory Praise Community church
Sunday 11th January 2015
Make Bright The Arrows
Jeremiah 51:11.
Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple."
Make bright the arrows which were covered with rust;
scour them clean
anoint them with oil
make them neat, clean and bright,
that they may pierce deep
This is why we read of a polished arrow, one made bright and pure!
Isaiah 49:2
He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver...
One of the old generals of the past made the comment
The battle is won the day before!
Why?
Because that is the day the archer makes bright his arrows. Or doesn't!
Arrows are to be made bright or sharp.
Picture an archer preparing for battle.
He checks his bow to be sure it will not fail him in battle, He examines the bowstring for soundness and strength, and then he closely inspects each arrow.
Is each shaft perfectly straight?
Are the feathers secure in their places?
Is the head tightly bound in place?
And is it sharp?
Just to be sure, he whets it on a stone so that its edges are bright. He feels the edges with his thumb and whets it again.
Make bright the arrows! The word is also translated "pure" and "polished”.
Here a command for every believer who would be an arrow for God.
• Sharpen your gifts!
• Study to show yourself approved!
• Clarify your calling.
• Neglect not, but stir up your gift!
• Draw nearer to God!
Rusty arrows are useless in battle, and there is no time to make bright the arrows once the battle begins!
Backstory:
The making of an arrow (A piece of history)
Every part of the arrow is necessary for it to be useable.
The shaft must be straight and strong.
The head or point must be shaped carefully and fitted wisely.
The fletches or feathers must be chosen carefully and attached firmly.
The nock must be shaped to fit the bowstring.
This design can not be bettered!
The oldest arrows ever discovered were found with the mummified body of Otzi, the Iceman.
His body was found in 1991 in a glacier on the border between Austria and Italy. The artefacts found with his body provided many clues about life in the Alps just after Noah's flood.
His arrows were made from a species of tree that grew from Britain to Asia.
Fourteen arrows were found in his quiver, including two that were ready to be used.
Birch tar was used to attach three feathers to each arrow and were bound into grooves on the shaft with very fine hair. A notch was cut to receive the string. Leaf shaped flint arrowheads were fitted using wood pitch and bound in place with a thin thread of animal sinew.
• The longbow was invented by the Celts in Wales around 1180
• In 1252 the ‘Assize of Arms’ ensured that all Englishmen were ordered, by law, that every man between the age of 15 to 60 years old should equip themselves with a bow and arrows
• King Edward III took this further and decreed the Archery Law in 1363 which commanded the obligatory practice of archery on Sundays and holidays! The Archery Law “forbade, on pain of death, all sport that took up time better spent on war training especially archery practice”.
• The longbow had a draw weight (the force needed to pull back to ear) of 200 pounds
• An experienced longbow-man could loose 20 shots per minute. In effect, the longbow was a medieval machine gun.
So where did the bow go?
Arrows and archers were only replaced by black powder and musket due to cost:
The archer was faster
The archer was more accurate & effective
But the archer needed commitment and discipline.
any man could load and fire a black powder weapon and shot was cheaper than quality arrows.
Don’t replace discipline in your life, with quick fixes….
Of all the passages in the Bible that speak of arrows, there aretwo that compare arrows to people, Psalm 127:4,5 and Isa. 49:2.
"As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." Psalm 127:4,5.
"And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;" Isaiah 49:2.
(Perfected & protected)
God has great plans for you.
Arrows are not meant to be kept safe in the quiver.
Arrows are not to be left on the string.
But an arrow can only be released when at FULL DRAW (most pressure applied).
He wants you to eventually release that arrow to make an impact on our world with the love of Christ. And now is the time to craft the arrows?
Any arrow to be useful must have
a shaft,
fletching (feathers),
a nock (the groove at the end of the arrow into which the bow string fits),
and a point.
If all of these four are made well, the result is an effective arrow, beautifully designed for impact.
These four qualities give us four clear goals to pursue as we craft our arrows.
Nearly every issue or trap we will encounter can be linked to a need in one of four areas.
1. The arrow's shaft: identity
The making of a fine arrow begins with the shaft. Obviously, since every other part of the arrow must attach to the shaft, this part of the arrow is a lot like our identity.
If our self concept is warped—not straight and strong—our flight in life will be wobbly.
(Whispers from the past! Doubt! Fear!)
The Scripture records the story of God giving man and woman an identity.
The nation of Israel was selected, adopted and set apart by God to be "His people." Every person is born with a unique, divinely-imprinted identity.
If we want to develop ourselves to a healthy self identity, we must acknowledge and support the Creator's design in three key areas:
• Spiritual identity (heirs to the kingdom)
• Emotional identity (forgiven)
• Physical identity (boldness)
Humanity has chased beauty ever since we lost it in the fall, Egyptians bathing in milk,
Victorian society powdering their face in toxins to cover sores and blemishes
to today's silicone and Botox!
All lies of the enemy having us believe we are less than what we are!
We must also acknowledge one of the most important messages we will ever receive
"You are made in the image of God. You are one of value."
The Shafts God Uses -
We are unaware at first that God, the Master Fletcher, is shaping us to be arrows for His quiver.
When a branch is cut it doesn't know it purpose...
Carved into a spoon to feed the weary....
A piece of kindling to warm those who are cold...
Or a battle winning arrow...
As ancient fletchers chose their shafts from a common wayside shrub, just so the Lord takes His arrows from the commonest of men and women.
(friction… proverbs as iron sharpens iron)
"For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence."
1 Corinthians 1:26-29.
2. The arrow's feathers: character
Why do arrows have the feathers at the back end?
The feathers or fletching create drag when the arrow is in flight,
which keeps the back end of the arrow behind the front end—a pretty important function!
It also stabilizes the arrow as it flies to its target.
An arrow without good fletching is undependable and dangerous.
If an arrow has the right kind of feathers, properly installed, it will fly straight.
Character has the same effect on a follower of Christ.
From Genesis to Revelation, character development is a major theme of God's work in people. And it's one of the major assignments God gives us as believers.
Yes God loves you, who you are right now but as our pastor teaches he loves you so much he want to change YOU!
Progressional change.... Strive towards
Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Luke 13:24
I press toward the mark for the prize (good character) of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14
Character is how you respond to life's circumstances.
It is "response-ability,"
and comes as a result of training ourselves to submit to Yahweh and His Word.
The Feathers We Need -
And then God fletches us with feathers of His choosing.
Fletchers tell us that they use (for many fletchers this differs but all have a favourite) feathers from the left wing of a particular type of goose.
No other feather will guide their arrows as well.
Just so, God provides the very best of guides for His arrows (us).
He gives us His Holy Spirit to guide us into truth, and to call to our remembrance the things He has taught us.
He gives us the Bible, His Holy Word, to guide us daily.
He brings into our lives other influences, fellowship, and our own family.
How urgently we need God to attach us permanently His chosen feathers so we can fly straight!
How many times have I said in my impatience, "No worries, Lord. I'll be right this time without any guidance from you?
3. The arrow's nock: submission
What about the nock;
That little notch at the tail of the arrow?
That simple saw cut (originally or bone/antler) fits the arrow to the bowstring so the power of the bow can be applied to the arrow and send it afar to do its work.
If you have ever tried to shoot an arrow that had no nock for the bowstring you know how hard it is to do anything with a Christian who is not under submission to God.
God's power can only be applied to a Christian if he is in right relationship with God. We must be under the authority of the archer and in his place of service.
Without submission we can not be released into ministry.
Paul and Barnabas were two of God's arrows.
When God loosed them to carry the gospel to the Gentiles in Acts 13, they were arrows in His hand, His quiver, and His bow. But it never would have happened without the nock to bring the arrow into right relationship with the bow and the archer.
All of the pent-up power in a bow is of no value if it cannot be effectively transferred.
A bow released without an arrow can be damaged beyond repair....
The nock (submission) keeps the arrow (us) in place on the string until the power is released.
4. The arrow's point: mission
What does the Arrow-point represent?
What significance for the believer?
The arrowhead is the most important part of the arrow.
It is the piercing/cutting edge, it is the business end of the arrow.
It is why the archer has a bow.
Why the arrow has a shaft and feathers and a nock.
They all do their lesser work so it can do its greater work.
The arrowhead is a picture the believers calling, their gifts, and their ultimate lifework.
They are made for battle, for fighting the Lord's enemies.
You don't think so?
Psa. 127:5
"...they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."
"to speak;" means
that they would "speak" to their foes in the place of conflict.
The meaning is that they would honour the family, by their boldness defending their city and home.
These are the arrowheads doing their work, unashamedly speaking with the enemies in the gate.
This is no friendly or casual conversation.
This is a confrontational, head on clash, it is verbal, and is done by the arrows of the Lord.
Every person needs a reason to live
(The meaning of life? A life with meaning!)
This is a person's mission.
Every person should know that life's plan & purpose is to have a dynamic relationship with God!
Everything else, as good as it may be, it’s only a prop to facilitating this mission.
In summary:
The making of an arrow for God
Every part of the Christian's life must be shaped by God for him to be useable.
There really are not any people anywhere who are straight enough to be God's arrows,
so He straightens them.
He saves the least likely people, the ones with the most twisted lives and regenerates and sanctifies them by His Spirit and His Word and the result is lives that are made righteous and straight by the power of God to His own glory.
God MUST have straight arrows for His quiver but only God can make them straight!
Much more could be written about the quiver being the Christian family and the Archer being the Lord who owns the quiver, the arrows, and the bow and does battle with them.
Every believer should strive to be a sharp arrow in God's quiver, in His hand and upon His bowstring!
If I would be an arrow that fulfils his purpose, then I must be prepared for battle, willing to defend the gospel and not wait until the battle has started before I make bright the arrows!
Remember, many great battles have been won by well aimed arrows.
Bright arrows.
Pure arrows.
Polished arrows.
God's arrows.
