The Battle Is the Lord’s
**This podcast is taken from our Global Video Report: EMPOWER CONNECT December 2025 Edition**
No Glory to Us
Scripture: 2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21, John 3:16
JOY:
Welcome to The Unshakable Church, the podcast series that unpacks spiritual truths and lessons that Ron has learned from over 30 years of working with national church planters in spiritual hotspots around the world.
RON:
Hello friends.
I want to share something with you today that has been speaking to me very strongly.
It comes in two parts.
Part One: A Lesson from David
Recently, I was in Israel. I stood on the Mount of Olives, looking down over the city, and my attention was drawn to a very specific place. It was the site where David purchased the threshing floor — the place where the temple would later be built. As I stood there, I thought about a passage I had been studying in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21. This is the account of when David counted the army. At first glance, it may not seem significant. But something deeper was happening. David was beginning to rely on his own strength. Instead of trusting that the battle belongs to the Lord, he wanted to measure Israel’s power. “How strong are we?” That was the shift. Even his generals pushed back and said, “We shouldn’t do this.” But David insisted. And after the count was complete, he realized something was wrong. He had taken his eyes off God. A plague followed, and many lives were lost. It was a serious correction. As I reflected on this, one truth became very clear: We must never take credit for what God is building. God built Israel. God built the army. And today, God is building His Church around the world.
Watching God Build
We are living in a time where we are seeing incredible growth. Lives being transformed. The Church expanding in powerful ways. And we have to be careful. We do not step in and take ownership. We do not begin to measure or take credit. We stand back and say: “The battle is the Lord’s.”
Part Two: A Simple Gift
Let me share the second part. The other night, back home in Ontario, it was snowing. My grandson wasn’t feeling well, and he asked for some chocolate milk. So I went out into the snow, drove to the store, and brought it back to him.
When I gave it to him, you should have seen his face. Pure joy. Gratitude. And I realized something. I love giving gifts. There is something deeply satisfying about blessing someone else. On the way there and back, I felt the Lord speak to me. He said: This is what Empower Ministries is all about. We give gifts. When I travel overseas, I meet pastors who have spent the entire day working in fields and sharing the Gospel. They come home tired. They sit down with their families. And there is food on the table. And I know: We helped put that food there. And my mind goes to John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave…” God gave the greatest gift. His Son. And now, we follow that example.
Every Day Is Christmas
At Empower, every day is like Christmas. We are giving:
Bibles
Food
Resources
Support for outreach
We are simply placing gifts into the hands of those who are serving the Lord.
The Joy of It
I remember one pastor asking for 5,000 Bibles. I asked him, “How many do you really need?” He said, “50,000.” So we said yes.
You should have seen his face. It was like a child on Christmas morning. But we must always remember this: None of this belongs to us. We do not take credit. We do not seek recognition. We remain hidden. Because this is not our work. This is God’s Church. We are simply participating. We are giving what He has given us. And for that, we are grateful. So I want to say thank you. Thank you for being part of this. Thank you for helping us bless the Church around the world.
No glory to us. All glory to God.
