So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. (Isaiah 59:19, KJV)
The word "standard" in this verse is the Hebrew word nus (noose), one of the Old Testament names for our word "flag." It means “to flee, put to flight, lift a standard.” It’s an action! God is saying to the enemy “No more! You are banished from this situation! My deliverance is here!”
Another meaning of nus is “be displayed.” In this verse, God is making a display of His power and might. After all, He is El Shaddai, Almighty God! He could do no less.
As flag bearers, we take the symbolism of Isaiah 59:19 literally when we use our flags, because we know they disturb the enemy’s realm. Read Ephesians 2:2! It describes the enemy as the “prince of the power of the air”, and flags stir the air! Very often before a service or conference, flag ministers will go back and forth throughout the room to welcome God’s presence. When He shows up, the enemy gets the boot!
In addition, not only are flags used in praise and worship, you can also use them in prayer. I recall the first time I used flags during a prayer. It was while I was suffering with a type of vertigo, and as I prayed out loud, I whipped those flags back and forth like so many exclamation points to emphasize my words! And you know what? I’d never felt so sure my prayer had been heard and so sure it would be answered. All I had to do was wait for the manifestation! Sure enough, when I saw the doctor a couple days later to receive treatment for the vertigo, there was no need for him do the procedure, because my vertigo was totally gone! That’s a literal example of raising a standard against the enemy.
So we can do warfare, praise, worship, pray and even prophecy with flags. But, there can also be a different way to look at the word “standard.” It’s not only a synonym for flag. The Merriam-Webster dictionary also defines standard as “something established by authority, custom or general consent as a model or example; criterion. A sample sentence might be: "The old computer was quite slow by today’s standards."
Therefore, we can view the phrase “raise a standard” as upholding the standards, or the nature, of God. So what are some of the standards of God? What attributes display His nature? How about:
Love
Holiness
Righteousness
Justice
Mercy
Grace
Forgiveness
And we could go on.
As a child of God, to “raise a standard” means to live by the example set by our Lord. We must love one another. We must “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8) We must forgive others as our Father has forgiven us. Because "It is written (1 Peter 1:16 says) be holy, for I am holy!" You might think, “Maybe I can do some of the other things, but how can I be holy?" You can’t within yourself because we are all fallible and imperfect, but in and through Christ Jesus, you are because He is.
To live by the standards of God though, we must first know Him. Through the Word, through prayer, through spending time with Him, through study, through our life with Him day by day.
So when the enemy comes in like a flood, I encourage you to “raise a standard” against him. Literally! Join forces with Jehovah Nissi and go pick up a flag to do battle!
But more importantly, uphold the standards of our Father in Heaven, both in the way you live your life and interact with one another. For just like you, every other person is a dearly loved creation of God!
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