This is the last of our series of messages concerning Spiritual Warfare. Many of us are not aware that God never created us to stand alone in our war against the Devil. We need one another because He wants us to fight in close ranks. For this reason God has not provided any item of equipment for the protection of our back. All the six items of equipment - the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the preparation of the Gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, are for the protection of our front. If we put on and use the entire protective equipment that God has provided, we are totally protected from the crown of our head to the sole of our feet, except for one area. And the one area for which there is no protection is our back.
I believe there is a two-fold application of this fact. First, never turn your back on the Devil because if you do, you are giving him an opportunity to wound you in an unprotected area. In other words, never give up on doing the will of God or doing anything that God calls you to do, no matter how frustrating it may seem to be. Never turn around and say, "I've had enough. I can't stand this; I can't take anymore" and "throw in the towel". This is turning your unprotected back to the Devil, and you can be sure he will avail himself of the opportunity to to wound you.
Second, I believe God knows, in certain sense, that we are not always able to protect our own back. In Paul's days, the Roman foot soldiers fought in close ranks. The Greek word for such a close rank is a "phalanx". The soldiers were trained to fight this way and to never break ranks. Every soldier knew the soldier on his right and on his left so that if he is hard-pressed and could not protect his own back, there would be another soldier to do it for him. Those soldiers were trained to be loyal to one another.
I believe the same is true concerning Christians in Spiritual Warfare. We cannot, or at least are not wise to, go out as isolated individuals and take on the Devil's kingdom. We must come under discipline, find our place in the Body of Christ (the Army of Christ). We have to know who stands on our right and who stands on our left. We must be able able to trust our fellow soldiers. Then, when we are under pressure, we ought to know who will be there to protect our back when we cannot protect it.
For those who have been long enough in Christian ministry will realize that, the real tragedy of our Christian experience is that the very person who protects your back sometimes wounds you. How often we, as Christians, are wounded in the back by our fellow Christians. That is something that never ought to happen. Let us make up our minds to stand together, protect one another 's backs, and not wound one another.
One unique Spiritual Weapon
One unique Spiritual Weapon that is given by God to all believers is loyalty. I call loyalty a Spiritual Weapon because God is the Author of loyalty whereas Satan is the author of disloyalty. Satan hates loyalty and he cannot stand seeing Christians loyal to God and loyal to one another. We need loyalty when we encounter the situation that we need someone to protect our back.
Loyalty is akin to honesty and you cannot separate them if you are forced to choose. Neither of them (loyalty and honesty) can be betrayed, neglected, omitted or disregarded. They are the salt of the human personality. Without them corruption takes over. Loyalty calls for a commitment of one's total self and substance. It involves a decision of trust and faith unto the supreme sacrifice to a person or cause that is worthy of such. Loyalty calls for laying down our lives for our brethren.
John said, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16, NKJV).
Jesus made such a commitment to the Father and perishing souls. He never turned away from that commitment. He was faithful and loyal unto death. Jesus revealed that the very heart of Christianity is loyalty.
God is the Author of loyalty
Disloyalty started with Satan but God is the Author of loyalty. He never broke His covenant, even if Israel did.
Solomon blessed the assembly of Israeil: "Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses" (1 Kings 8:56, NKJV).
God keeps His covenants with those of all generations who love Him and keep His commandments.
"Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; ..." (Deut. 7:9).
The writer of Hebrews said, "Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us" (Heb. 6:17, 18, NKJV, emphasis added).
God is endowed with immutable counsel and confirmed it by an oath, it is impossible for God to lie. It is impossible, therefore, for God to be disloyal. This, then , is the basis of loyalty.
The importance of loyalty
Every one of us is, or should be, responsible to someone else. Those who are in authority over us, whether in the Church, government or working relationship, have a right to expect our loyalty.
Loyalty in the government
Paul said, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God" (Romans 13:1).
Peter said, "Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good" (1 Peter 2:13, 14).
Every leader of a nation wants loyalty. The president (or prime minister) is frustrated if he is surrounded by a cabinet that is not loyal. confidential leeks are evidence that there is disloyalty within. Disloyalty makes efficient work impossible.
Loyalty gives direction. We do not stumble when we are loyal. We know where we are going. It is like a compass to a ship. Loyalty provides a purpose and the drive to accomplish that purpose. A country knows that without loyalty it can never win a war. If there is no loyalty, there will be mass defection in time of battle and danger.
Loyalty in a marriage and family relationship
In the book of Deuteronomy, when the children of Israel were ready to enter into their promised inheritance in the land of Canaan, Moses reviewed for them the kind of lifestyle God has planned for them. If they would keep God's Law, they would be abundantly blessed in every area of their lives. In particular, their children would be blessed forever "like the days of the heavens above the earth" (Deut. 11:21).
God also pointed out through prophet Malachi that marriage is a covenant:
"It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord, made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth" (Malachi 2:14, 15, NIV, emphasis added).
There are two reasons why God wants loyalty in a marriage and family relationship: One, your marriage is a covenant which cannot be broken. It is a covenant of loyalty unto death (Romans 7:3). Once this covenant is forgotten and ignored, marriage inevitably loses its sanctity. With the loss of the sanctity of marriage, it also loses loyalty, strength and stability. Second, God is seeking godly and loyal children. Godly husband and wife bring up godly and loyal children.
Loyalty in the Body of Christ
The basis of loyalty comes from the covenant relationship between God and the children of Israel:
"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all the people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5, 6, emphasis added).
From then on, Israel was set apart unto God as a special people, not by any intrinsic righteousness of their own, but by the covenant God made with them. God made them holy by entering into a covenant with them. They became His chosen people and He became their God. God expected them to be loyal to Him, faithful to Him, obedient to Him, trust Him and love Him.
The same principles concerning covenant relationship established in the Old Testament are carried over, unchanged, into the New Testament. When Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples He brought them into a covenant relationship with them.
After He had handed them the cup and told them all to drink of it, He said, "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matt. 26:28).
Notice that they not merely shared the cup of the covenant with Him; they also shared it with one another. The same solemn act that brought each of them into covenant with Jesus, at the same time brought them all into covenant with one another.
This is borne out in 1 Corinthians, where Paul was explaining the significance of the Lord's Supper to the believers:
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the cmmunion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread" (1 Cor. 10:16, 17, NKJV).
Peter also declared that the new covenant in Christ has the same effect as God's previous covenant with the children of Israel. All believers were also called the special people of God:
"But you are chosen generation, a royal priest hood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who call you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
After Jesus had shared the bread and wine of the new covenant with His desciples He prayed to the Father - John 17, His High Priestly Prayer:
Jesus prayed, "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one" (John 17:22).
This shows that the end purpose of the covenant is a union of the same nature and quality as that exists between the Father and the Son. Until we, as believers, have come into this unity, we have not fulfilled our covenant obligations - either to Christ or to one another. At the same time, believers should excercise the same loyalty toward one another as the Son has toward the Father. This loyalty is our unique spiritual weapon against the Devil when we need someone loyal to us to protect our back in spiritual warfare!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Will He really find Faith on the Earth?
Jesus was with His disciples and He spoke a parable to them, telling them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. At the end of this parable Jesus said to them:
"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth" (Luke 18:8, NKJV)?
It is true that a believer needs faith when he prays, but Jesus was not talking about faith in praying only; He was talking about faith in general and that all believers need faith to live by.
The Importance of Faith
The importance of faith cannot be over emphasized because you can find it in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The need of faith and the lack of faith are all over the entire Bible:
The Lord said to Habakkuk, "Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4, emphasis added).
Paul said, "For it is the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'" (Rom. 1:17, emphasis added).
The writer of Hebrews said, "Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back My soul has no pleasure him" (Heb. 10:38, emphasis added).
The Bible mentioned 3 times - "The just shall live by faith". That also means, anyone who does not live by faith is not justified, not saved and not a believer. Therefore, in relation to the life lived before God, faith is not something that is optional, but something that is obligatory. It is not a matter of personal preference; it is a definite priority. Faith, in its primary sense, is the underlying principle which governs all Christian living - from start to finish. We live by faith, or we do not live at all!
The writer of Hebrews also said, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6, emphasis added).
You have faith means you believe in God; without faith means you do not believe in God and thus it is impossible for you to please God.
Israel's relationship with God
The Old Testament Scripture has much to say about the relationship of the children of Israel with God - Some have faith (they believe, trust and obey) and some failed to have faith:
"Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed" (Exodus 4:29, 30, NIV, emphasis added).
The psalmist said, "Then they (Israel) believed his promises and sang his praise" (Ps. 106:12, NIV, emphasis added).
Moses said, "In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go" (Deu. 1:32, 33, NIV, emphasis added).
Moses said, "And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, 'Go up and take possession of the land I have given you.' But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust him or obey him. You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you" (Deu. 9:23, 24, NIV, emphasis added).
The psalmist said, "When the Lord heard them, he was very angry; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, for they did not believe in God or trust in his delieverance" (Ps. 78:21, 22, NIV, emphasis added).
Benefit of having faith in God
Jehosaphat said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper" (2 Chron. 20:20, NKJV, emphasis added).
If Israel would have faith in the Lord and His prophets their faith would be established. And they would prosper (victorious).
The attitude and faith of His people toward Jesus
Isaiah painted a prophetic picture of the coming of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. The picture is one of rejection because His people would not have the faith to believe.
"Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed" (Isaiah 51:1)?
For this reason Jesus predicted when He returns He will not really find faith in His people (Jews and the Church) on earth!
A measure of faith
Paul said, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3, emphasis added).
Paul said to Timothy, "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Tim. 6:12, emphasis added).
When God calls a believer to accomplish a task He gives a measure of faith for him to accomplish this particular task for Him. This measure of faith is a gift of God and the believer should receive it in the spirit of humility. Like Timothy, we will face opposition as we fulfill our calling, and we need to "fight of the good fight of faith" and hold on the our faith in order to "lay hold on eternal life". The word "fight", in in Greek, is the same word "strive" used by our Lord in Luke 13:4.
Jesus does not want our faith to fail
Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Him and He said to Peter: "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; ..." (Luke 22:31, 32, emphasis added).
Notice that Jesus did not pray that Peter would not deny Him, but He prayed that Peter would hold on to his faith. Peter did deny the Lord 3 times and he did hold on to his faith.
What preciely is faith?
In my opinion, the subject of faith tends to cause more confusion and misunderstanding than any other subject in the Bible. I think it might be helpful if, before arriving at a definition of what faith is, we first condider what it is now. In this way we might be better able to understand the definition when we come to it.
Faith is not mere intellectual acceptance
A person can have an intellectual belief in everything the Church and the Bible teach or affirm, and not having faith. People come to Church and sit in the Church pews, week after week, make a "confession of faith", sing some worship songs, listen to an "anointed" sermon, partake of the Holy Communion, fellowship with other Christians and still not haveing faith. Faith is not merely the acceptance of certain truths about God and the Bible; faith goes beyond those truths to touch God Himself and to be changed by Him. Faith comes when we hear God through His Word (Romans 10:17), whether in preaching or in studying the Scripture. Faith comes when we worship God, not merely because through raising our hands, speaking or singing in tougues, but when we worship God in the way we live and have our being.
Faith is not blind credulity
A healing evangelist came to a Local church and prayed for a shortsighted person. He was advised to get rid of his spectacles before he walked out, in a step of faith, to proclaim his healing. He nearly met an accident and someone had to drive him home.
Someone once said, God is able and willing to do the impossible, but He is not willing to do the unreasonable. Faith is a reasoning trust and not just trust. Why? Because faith rests on the character of God, and since God is reasonable, then faith must be reasonable also.
Faith is not naive optimism
The right type of optimism, of course, can be a very desirable quality. Valid hope, based on the character of God is an ingredient of faith (Hebrews 11:1). There is a teaching in some section of the Church says that it is the nature of faith to ignore reality and focus only on the finality. It sounds plausible, but not correct. Faith never ignores reality.
When we are faced with a real problem, we must not ignore it. We look at the problem, but we must not focus on it. We glance at it, but we gaze at God. True faith looks difficulties in the face, recognizes their presence, then rises up to surmount and overcome them. Anything less than this will let you down.
Faith is not positive thinking
Positive thinking does work and millions are practicing it and get "good" result. A positive thinker once said, "A man is what he thinks about all the day long." It is true that when we think positively, we tend to act positively because our thought processes are extremely powerful.
The question we need to ask is: Is our positive thinking in line with God's thinking? Our thoughts may be positive, but are they the thought on which God wants us to focus? It is possible to achieve great things through the power of positive thinking, but the tragedy is that we can think ourselves into situations where God may not wish us to go.
Faith is not presumption
A diabetic woman heard a sermon in her church concerning divine healing. Then she found a verse in her Bible one day: "I am the Lord who heals you" (Ex. 15:26, NIV). By "faith" she instantly claimed this promise and stopped her insulin injections. Within three days she had died. Sadly, she acted in presumption and not in faith.
The verse in Exodus is a general statement that shows God to be a healer of His people. You can find many other similar statements in the Scripture. As a general principle, it is perfectly true that God delights to heal, but in some specific instances He may have good reasons for withholding healing. Or, He may want a person to continue to follow medical treatment.
There are two different Greek words for "God's Word" - logos and rhema. Logos is the written in the Bible; rhema is a direct specific "spoken" Word from God - His special Word for a special situation. Faith comes as a result of a rhema from God. However the rhema will not go beyond the logos.
Biblical definition of Faith
The only definition of Faith is: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).
Faith begins with hope, which means, in this context, a confident expectation. Hope is an unshakable confidence that the promises of God will be realized. Faith begins, not with the hope of realizing our self-centered interests, but with the hightest interest of God - ultimate victory of good over evil. Faith has to be cultivated in the certain knowledge that God's long-range purpose is to right all wrongs and usher in His triumphant Kingdom. The more that hope prevails in our hearts, the more certain will be our hope in God's ability to meet our personal and individual needs.
The second part of Hebrews 11:1 describes where faith operates. it is easy to believe in things we can see, but not so easy to believe in the things we cannot see. Yet this exactly where faith operates. We do not need faith to operate in the realm of things we can see. Otherwise, it is sight and not faith. But the Scripture says, "We walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7, NKJV).
Exercising Faith
We are living in the end-time hour. Our security is shaken; the country we live in, is shaken in all areas imaginable - Politically, socially, and economically. Our freedom, both in action ad speech, will be restricted; our faith will be tested. Time has come for us to begin to exercise our faith.
The faith to be saved is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8) and keeping you save is His job (2 Cor. 1:21, 22). But you can exercise your faith to make it stronger by studying your Bible daily, wait upon Him daily and hear from Him daily (Romans 10:17). Speak (pray) to God and trust Him and He will show you the way you should go (Pro. 3:6). Faith only gets stronger when it is accompanied by action (James 2:17). And above all, pray about everything, in evergthing, in every situation and circumstance, be fearful of nothing, and give thanks for anything. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).
"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth" (Luke 18:8, NKJV)?
It is true that a believer needs faith when he prays, but Jesus was not talking about faith in praying only; He was talking about faith in general and that all believers need faith to live by.
The Importance of Faith
The importance of faith cannot be over emphasized because you can find it in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The need of faith and the lack of faith are all over the entire Bible:
The Lord said to Habakkuk, "Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4, emphasis added).
Paul said, "For it is the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'" (Rom. 1:17, emphasis added).
The writer of Hebrews said, "Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back My soul has no pleasure him" (Heb. 10:38, emphasis added).
The Bible mentioned 3 times - "The just shall live by faith". That also means, anyone who does not live by faith is not justified, not saved and not a believer. Therefore, in relation to the life lived before God, faith is not something that is optional, but something that is obligatory. It is not a matter of personal preference; it is a definite priority. Faith, in its primary sense, is the underlying principle which governs all Christian living - from start to finish. We live by faith, or we do not live at all!
The writer of Hebrews also said, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6, emphasis added).
You have faith means you believe in God; without faith means you do not believe in God and thus it is impossible for you to please God.
Israel's relationship with God
The Old Testament Scripture has much to say about the relationship of the children of Israel with God - Some have faith (they believe, trust and obey) and some failed to have faith:
"Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed" (Exodus 4:29, 30, NIV, emphasis added).
The psalmist said, "Then they (Israel) believed his promises and sang his praise" (Ps. 106:12, NIV, emphasis added).
Moses said, "In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go" (Deu. 1:32, 33, NIV, emphasis added).
Moses said, "And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, 'Go up and take possession of the land I have given you.' But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust him or obey him. You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you" (Deu. 9:23, 24, NIV, emphasis added).
The psalmist said, "When the Lord heard them, he was very angry; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, for they did not believe in God or trust in his delieverance" (Ps. 78:21, 22, NIV, emphasis added).
Benefit of having faith in God
Jehosaphat said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper" (2 Chron. 20:20, NKJV, emphasis added).
If Israel would have faith in the Lord and His prophets their faith would be established. And they would prosper (victorious).
The attitude and faith of His people toward Jesus
Isaiah painted a prophetic picture of the coming of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. The picture is one of rejection because His people would not have the faith to believe.
"Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed" (Isaiah 51:1)?
For this reason Jesus predicted when He returns He will not really find faith in His people (Jews and the Church) on earth!
A measure of faith
Paul said, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3, emphasis added).
Paul said to Timothy, "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Tim. 6:12, emphasis added).
When God calls a believer to accomplish a task He gives a measure of faith for him to accomplish this particular task for Him. This measure of faith is a gift of God and the believer should receive it in the spirit of humility. Like Timothy, we will face opposition as we fulfill our calling, and we need to "fight of the good fight of faith" and hold on the our faith in order to "lay hold on eternal life". The word "fight", in in Greek, is the same word "strive" used by our Lord in Luke 13:4.
Jesus does not want our faith to fail
Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Him and He said to Peter: "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; ..." (Luke 22:31, 32, emphasis added).
Notice that Jesus did not pray that Peter would not deny Him, but He prayed that Peter would hold on to his faith. Peter did deny the Lord 3 times and he did hold on to his faith.
What preciely is faith?
In my opinion, the subject of faith tends to cause more confusion and misunderstanding than any other subject in the Bible. I think it might be helpful if, before arriving at a definition of what faith is, we first condider what it is now. In this way we might be better able to understand the definition when we come to it.
Faith is not mere intellectual acceptance
A person can have an intellectual belief in everything the Church and the Bible teach or affirm, and not having faith. People come to Church and sit in the Church pews, week after week, make a "confession of faith", sing some worship songs, listen to an "anointed" sermon, partake of the Holy Communion, fellowship with other Christians and still not haveing faith. Faith is not merely the acceptance of certain truths about God and the Bible; faith goes beyond those truths to touch God Himself and to be changed by Him. Faith comes when we hear God through His Word (Romans 10:17), whether in preaching or in studying the Scripture. Faith comes when we worship God, not merely because through raising our hands, speaking or singing in tougues, but when we worship God in the way we live and have our being.
Faith is not blind credulity
A healing evangelist came to a Local church and prayed for a shortsighted person. He was advised to get rid of his spectacles before he walked out, in a step of faith, to proclaim his healing. He nearly met an accident and someone had to drive him home.
Someone once said, God is able and willing to do the impossible, but He is not willing to do the unreasonable. Faith is a reasoning trust and not just trust. Why? Because faith rests on the character of God, and since God is reasonable, then faith must be reasonable also.
Faith is not naive optimism
The right type of optimism, of course, can be a very desirable quality. Valid hope, based on the character of God is an ingredient of faith (Hebrews 11:1). There is a teaching in some section of the Church says that it is the nature of faith to ignore reality and focus only on the finality. It sounds plausible, but not correct. Faith never ignores reality.
When we are faced with a real problem, we must not ignore it. We look at the problem, but we must not focus on it. We glance at it, but we gaze at God. True faith looks difficulties in the face, recognizes their presence, then rises up to surmount and overcome them. Anything less than this will let you down.
Faith is not positive thinking
Positive thinking does work and millions are practicing it and get "good" result. A positive thinker once said, "A man is what he thinks about all the day long." It is true that when we think positively, we tend to act positively because our thought processes are extremely powerful.
The question we need to ask is: Is our positive thinking in line with God's thinking? Our thoughts may be positive, but are they the thought on which God wants us to focus? It is possible to achieve great things through the power of positive thinking, but the tragedy is that we can think ourselves into situations where God may not wish us to go.
Faith is not presumption
A diabetic woman heard a sermon in her church concerning divine healing. Then she found a verse in her Bible one day: "I am the Lord who heals you" (Ex. 15:26, NIV). By "faith" she instantly claimed this promise and stopped her insulin injections. Within three days she had died. Sadly, she acted in presumption and not in faith.
The verse in Exodus is a general statement that shows God to be a healer of His people. You can find many other similar statements in the Scripture. As a general principle, it is perfectly true that God delights to heal, but in some specific instances He may have good reasons for withholding healing. Or, He may want a person to continue to follow medical treatment.
There are two different Greek words for "God's Word" - logos and rhema. Logos is the written in the Bible; rhema is a direct specific "spoken" Word from God - His special Word for a special situation. Faith comes as a result of a rhema from God. However the rhema will not go beyond the logos.
Biblical definition of Faith
The only definition of Faith is: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).
Faith begins with hope, which means, in this context, a confident expectation. Hope is an unshakable confidence that the promises of God will be realized. Faith begins, not with the hope of realizing our self-centered interests, but with the hightest interest of God - ultimate victory of good over evil. Faith has to be cultivated in the certain knowledge that God's long-range purpose is to right all wrongs and usher in His triumphant Kingdom. The more that hope prevails in our hearts, the more certain will be our hope in God's ability to meet our personal and individual needs.
The second part of Hebrews 11:1 describes where faith operates. it is easy to believe in things we can see, but not so easy to believe in the things we cannot see. Yet this exactly where faith operates. We do not need faith to operate in the realm of things we can see. Otherwise, it is sight and not faith. But the Scripture says, "We walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7, NKJV).
Exercising Faith
We are living in the end-time hour. Our security is shaken; the country we live in, is shaken in all areas imaginable - Politically, socially, and economically. Our freedom, both in action ad speech, will be restricted; our faith will be tested. Time has come for us to begin to exercise our faith.
The faith to be saved is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8) and keeping you save is His job (2 Cor. 1:21, 22). But you can exercise your faith to make it stronger by studying your Bible daily, wait upon Him daily and hear from Him daily (Romans 10:17). Speak (pray) to God and trust Him and He will show you the way you should go (Pro. 3:6). Faith only gets stronger when it is accompanied by action (James 2:17). And above all, pray about everything, in evergthing, in every situation and circumstance, be fearful of nothing, and give thanks for anything. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Weapons of Attack
Last week we dealt with the six items of defensive armor of God listed by Paul in Ephesians 6:14 - 17. With the exception of the Sword of the Spirit, all these items are essentially for our protection in our ongoing Spiritual Warfare.
Many Bible teachers think there is only one weapon of attack made available to us - the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. But this is not as simple as this. Paul pointed out in 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5 our obligation, as a believer in this warfare, is to pull or cast down Satan's strongholds which is in the minds of humanity. Notice that even the sword can reach no further than the length of the arm of the person who wields it. In other words, there is nothing in the list of defensive equipment that will enable us to deal with Satan's strongholds.
We must now move from the defensive to the offensive. In this message we want to deal with weapons of attack that will enable us to cast down Satan's strongholds. It is a historical fact that no army, no matter how great, ever won a war on the defensive. We will never win a war by retreating or even by merely holding our ground. As long as Satan keeps the Church on the defensive, his kingdom will never be overthrown.
Jesus' Plan for His Church
When Jesus first unveiled His plan for His Church, He envisioned it being on the offensive and attacking Satan's strongholds.
Jesus said to Peter, "... and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hates will not overcome it"(Matthew 16:18, NIV).
The Living Bible reads, "All the powers of Hell shall not prevail against it".
The word for "hell", in Greek, is the word "Hades". The root meaning of which is "invisible, unseen". So Hades or hell is the unseen world of Satan's kingdom.
Jesus planed and pictured His Church as having two primary activities: Building and Battling. These must always go together. It is no good doing battle if we do not build. On the other hand, we cannot build if we do not battle. Therefore, we must think always in terms of building the Church and battling the forces of Satan.
Jesus promised Peter and all believers that Satan's gates will not hold out against the Church and that Satan will not be able to keep the Church out. Unfortunately some sections of the Christianity still believe that the Church is besieged by Satan's forces. Contrary to their belief it is not the Church trying to keep Satan out; it is Satan failing to keep the Church out. The true Church of Jesus Christ is born of God, and "Whatever is born of God overcomes the world" (1 John 5:4). If we obey Him as our Commander-in-Chief, we will be able to move out, storm Satan's citadels, break through his gates, released his captives and carry away his spoil. That is the Church's assignment, and it is essentially offensive, not defensive.
The word "gate" has a great deal of meaning in Scripture. For instance, in Proverbs 31:23, it says of the husband of the virtuous wife:
"Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land" (NKJV).
In those days, the city gate was the place where the ruling council of elders sat and ruled and administered the city. So when the Scripture says that the gates of Satan will not prevail against the Church, it means that Satan's councils will not prevail against the Church but will be frustrated and brought to naught.
Satan is a defeated foe. God, through the cross, disarmed Satan's kingdom; He made a public display of the representatives of Satan's kingdom, and He triumphed over them in the cross:
Paul said, "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it" (Col. 2:15, emphasis added).
Notice that a triumph is not so much winning a victory as it is the celebration of a victory that has already been won. On the cross, Jesus did not win the victory for Himself. As our representative, He won the victory on our behalf. Thus, His victory becomes our victory (2 Cor. 2:14).
Notice also that in the final commission (the Great Commission) of Jesus (Matthew 28:18, 19), we are commissioned to exercise the authority and victory that Jesus had already won on the cross. In other words, our assignment, as the Church and individual believers, is to administer the victory, demonstrate the triumph, and exercise the authority that Jesus has won on our behalf. But this can only be done when we move from the defensive to the offensive.
Spiritual Weapons of Attack
The Scripture reveals four main spiritual weapons of attack - Prayer, praise, preaching and testimony. Notice that the mouth of God's people is the primary channel for releasing our spiritual weapons of attack against Satan's kingdom.
The Weapon of Prayer
I believe prayer is the most powerful spiritual weapons that God has committed to us. After Paul listed the six items of defensive armor he said, "... praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, ..." (Eph. 6:18).
As I have mentioned in one of my previous messages that prayer is used to put on our defensive armor of God. And because Jesus is our armor of God we put on Jesus with our prayer on a daily basis. But it is important to understand that prayer is also the most powerful weapon of attack. After Paul said the above, he moved from defensive to the offensive.
In my opinion prayer is a more powerful and more effective than an intercontinental ballistic missile in destroying an assigned target. There is no limitation of time or distance in prayer. With it, we can destroy Satan's strongholds anywhere, even in the heavenlies.
The deliverance and rescue of Peter
A good example of prayer as a weapon of attack is related in Acts 12:1 - 10. The Church had come under persecution by King Herod. After Herod executed James, he wanted Peter dead also. Peter was arrested and was scheduled for execution after the Passover. Peter was in the maximum security jail with four squads of four soldiers each watching him night and day. There was no way of escape for Peter except with divine intervention.
Constant (day and night) prayer was offered to God for Peter by the Church (Acts 12:5). God answered the prayer of the Church by sending an angel to deliver Peter (Vs. 8 -10). However the deliverance and rescue of Peter by an angel was the first part of the result of their prayer. An angel was also sent to bring judgment to Harod, the percecutor (Vs. 19 - 23)!
The prayer of the Church releases the intervention of angels on our behalf. Our prayer breaks through Satan's kingdom in the heavenlies and releases divine angelic intervention.
The Weapon of Praise
In a sense, you could consider praise as one type of prayer. In Scripture, praise is frequently related to God's awesomeness or fearfulness. Praise is the appropriate response by God's people to His awesomeness, to His fearful acts of war and vengeance on their behalf.
Moses and the children of Israel sang a song of praise to the Lord after their deliverance from Egypt and after Pharaoh's army had been destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1 - 18).
"Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders" (Ex. 15:11)?
The psalmist said, "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger" (Ps. 8:2, NKJV, emphasis added).
Now, compare what the psalmist said with what Jesus said:
"Yes. Have you never read, 'out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'" (Matthew 21:16, NKJV, emphasis added).
So, the above comparison reveals that the strength of God's people is praise. Praise is our great source of strenth and power.
Praise accompanied by God's Word
Another example of the power of praise is revealed by the psalmist:
"May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the people, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written agaist them. This is the glory of all his saints" (Ps. 149:6 - 9, NIV, emphasis added).
When praise is combined with God's Word (double-edged sword) in our mouth, praise becomes an instrument of judgment on kings, nobles and nations! The kings and nobles referred to are Satan's angelic princes and kings of the unseen world.
The Weapon of Preaching
Preaching is a weapon of attack related even more directly and specifically to God's Word. What many preachers and believers failed to realize is that this weapon of attack is solely and exclusively applies to the preaching of the pure Word of God. It in no way applies to the preaching of other things, such as human philosophy, political ideologies, Christian literature or even elaborate theology. All these are not double-edged swords and they are not even as powerful or as effective as a peashooter!
Paul gave a solemn charge to Timothy: "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his Kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction" (2 Tim. 4:1, 2, NIV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. Note the solemnity of the charge. It is given in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, in the light of the fact that Christ will judge those who are handling the Word deceitfully (2 Cor. 4:2).
2. The charge is to preach the Word with the intention to "correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction" and nothing else. This is in line with Hebrews 4:12. The preacher will answer to the Lord for the messages he preaches.
In my opinion, it is extremely difficult to find a preacher or a Pastor, in the contemporary Church, who ever heed God's solemn charge to Timothy. I have heard both a senior Pastor and an elder said there are four ways of interpreting the Scripture. How could this be when there is only one Holy Spirit? To me, by saying this, it is an insult to the Holy Spirit and Christ. To me there are only two ways of interpreting the Scripture - the biblical way and the non-biblical way; the right way and the wrong way. There is no grey area nor compromised teaching in the entire Bible.
Jesus Himself declared that there are two ways a person can choose: The narrow way to life and the broad way to destruction (Mattew 7:13, 14).
The effectiveness of God's Word
There is tremendous power in the preached Word of God. Its results are guaranteed. It will not return empty. It will accomplish God's pleasure (Isaiah 55:11). It is a hammer that will break in pieces every rock that opposes the purposes of God (Jeremiah 23:29). It is like a sharp sword that pierces to the innermost recesses of the human personality and lays bare the secrets of men's hearts and minds (Hebrews 4:12).
The Weapon of Testimony
Testimony is speaking from personal experience about incidents that relate to the Word of God and confirm the truth of God's Word. To give testimony is to bear witness to the outworking of the Gospel message. Testimony is basic to Jesus' strategy of reaching the whole world with the Gospel. Jesus unveiled this strategy as He stood on the Mount of Olive with His disciples. His strategy is baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).
To be effective witnesses for Jesus, we need supernatural power. Our testimony is supernatural. It needs to to be backed and enforced by spernatural power, the power of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus did not permit His disciples to go out and begin testifying until they had been endued with that power on the Day of Pentecost, why the Church sends believers out without the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Prophetic preview of the testimony of God's people
The Bible gives a prophetic preview of how the weapon of testimony will ultimately cast down Satan's kingdom in the heavenly realm. Revelation 12:7 - 11 describes a great conflict between angels and men that will span both heaven and earth at the close of this age. The "accuser of our brethren" is Satan. He will be hurled down from his kingdom in the heavenly realm. The interesting thing is, the believers will overcome Satan.
"They (the believers) overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Rev. 12:11, NIV).
The main weapon is in the word "testimony". It is their testimony that will ultimately shake down the whole kingdom of Satan. Their testimoy centers in two things - the Word of God and the Blood of Jesus. Notice that by giving their testimny they will not worry so much even to the point as losing their lives.
I believe we can do the same now to overcome Satan as we bear personal testimony to what the Word of God says the Blood of Jesus does for us. One appointed way is the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:26). We know the cup represents the Blood of the Lord, so in taking the Lord's Supper, we are continually testifying, proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In order to testify effectively to what the Word of God says about the Blood of Jesus, we must be familiar with what the Word of God actually tells us about the Blood. The following are four important provisions of the Blood of Jesus revealed by the Word of God:
1. We are redeemed and forgiven - Eph. 1:7
2. We are cleansed - 1 John 1:7
3. We are justified (made righteous) - Romans 5:9
4. We are sanctified (made holy) - Hebrews 13:12
Notice that we must say the above verses in order to make our weapon of testimony effective - "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, ..." (Ps. 107:2).
Many Bible teachers think there is only one weapon of attack made available to us - the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. But this is not as simple as this. Paul pointed out in 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5 our obligation, as a believer in this warfare, is to pull or cast down Satan's strongholds which is in the minds of humanity. Notice that even the sword can reach no further than the length of the arm of the person who wields it. In other words, there is nothing in the list of defensive equipment that will enable us to deal with Satan's strongholds.
We must now move from the defensive to the offensive. In this message we want to deal with weapons of attack that will enable us to cast down Satan's strongholds. It is a historical fact that no army, no matter how great, ever won a war on the defensive. We will never win a war by retreating or even by merely holding our ground. As long as Satan keeps the Church on the defensive, his kingdom will never be overthrown.
Jesus' Plan for His Church
When Jesus first unveiled His plan for His Church, He envisioned it being on the offensive and attacking Satan's strongholds.
Jesus said to Peter, "... and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hates will not overcome it"(Matthew 16:18, NIV).
The Living Bible reads, "All the powers of Hell shall not prevail against it".
The word for "hell", in Greek, is the word "Hades". The root meaning of which is "invisible, unseen". So Hades or hell is the unseen world of Satan's kingdom.
Jesus planed and pictured His Church as having two primary activities: Building and Battling. These must always go together. It is no good doing battle if we do not build. On the other hand, we cannot build if we do not battle. Therefore, we must think always in terms of building the Church and battling the forces of Satan.
Jesus promised Peter and all believers that Satan's gates will not hold out against the Church and that Satan will not be able to keep the Church out. Unfortunately some sections of the Christianity still believe that the Church is besieged by Satan's forces. Contrary to their belief it is not the Church trying to keep Satan out; it is Satan failing to keep the Church out. The true Church of Jesus Christ is born of God, and "Whatever is born of God overcomes the world" (1 John 5:4). If we obey Him as our Commander-in-Chief, we will be able to move out, storm Satan's citadels, break through his gates, released his captives and carry away his spoil. That is the Church's assignment, and it is essentially offensive, not defensive.
The word "gate" has a great deal of meaning in Scripture. For instance, in Proverbs 31:23, it says of the husband of the virtuous wife:
"Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land" (NKJV).
In those days, the city gate was the place where the ruling council of elders sat and ruled and administered the city. So when the Scripture says that the gates of Satan will not prevail against the Church, it means that Satan's councils will not prevail against the Church but will be frustrated and brought to naught.
Satan is a defeated foe. God, through the cross, disarmed Satan's kingdom; He made a public display of the representatives of Satan's kingdom, and He triumphed over them in the cross:
Paul said, "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it" (Col. 2:15, emphasis added).
Notice that a triumph is not so much winning a victory as it is the celebration of a victory that has already been won. On the cross, Jesus did not win the victory for Himself. As our representative, He won the victory on our behalf. Thus, His victory becomes our victory (2 Cor. 2:14).
Notice also that in the final commission (the Great Commission) of Jesus (Matthew 28:18, 19), we are commissioned to exercise the authority and victory that Jesus had already won on the cross. In other words, our assignment, as the Church and individual believers, is to administer the victory, demonstrate the triumph, and exercise the authority that Jesus has won on our behalf. But this can only be done when we move from the defensive to the offensive.
Spiritual Weapons of Attack
The Scripture reveals four main spiritual weapons of attack - Prayer, praise, preaching and testimony. Notice that the mouth of God's people is the primary channel for releasing our spiritual weapons of attack against Satan's kingdom.
The Weapon of Prayer
I believe prayer is the most powerful spiritual weapons that God has committed to us. After Paul listed the six items of defensive armor he said, "... praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, ..." (Eph. 6:18).
As I have mentioned in one of my previous messages that prayer is used to put on our defensive armor of God. And because Jesus is our armor of God we put on Jesus with our prayer on a daily basis. But it is important to understand that prayer is also the most powerful weapon of attack. After Paul said the above, he moved from defensive to the offensive.
In my opinion prayer is a more powerful and more effective than an intercontinental ballistic missile in destroying an assigned target. There is no limitation of time or distance in prayer. With it, we can destroy Satan's strongholds anywhere, even in the heavenlies.
The deliverance and rescue of Peter
A good example of prayer as a weapon of attack is related in Acts 12:1 - 10. The Church had come under persecution by King Herod. After Herod executed James, he wanted Peter dead also. Peter was arrested and was scheduled for execution after the Passover. Peter was in the maximum security jail with four squads of four soldiers each watching him night and day. There was no way of escape for Peter except with divine intervention.
Constant (day and night) prayer was offered to God for Peter by the Church (Acts 12:5). God answered the prayer of the Church by sending an angel to deliver Peter (Vs. 8 -10). However the deliverance and rescue of Peter by an angel was the first part of the result of their prayer. An angel was also sent to bring judgment to Harod, the percecutor (Vs. 19 - 23)!
The prayer of the Church releases the intervention of angels on our behalf. Our prayer breaks through Satan's kingdom in the heavenlies and releases divine angelic intervention.
The Weapon of Praise
In a sense, you could consider praise as one type of prayer. In Scripture, praise is frequently related to God's awesomeness or fearfulness. Praise is the appropriate response by God's people to His awesomeness, to His fearful acts of war and vengeance on their behalf.
Moses and the children of Israel sang a song of praise to the Lord after their deliverance from Egypt and after Pharaoh's army had been destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1 - 18).
"Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders" (Ex. 15:11)?
The psalmist said, "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger" (Ps. 8:2, NKJV, emphasis added).
Now, compare what the psalmist said with what Jesus said:
"Yes. Have you never read, 'out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'" (Matthew 21:16, NKJV, emphasis added).
So, the above comparison reveals that the strength of God's people is praise. Praise is our great source of strenth and power.
Praise accompanied by God's Word
Another example of the power of praise is revealed by the psalmist:
"May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the people, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written agaist them. This is the glory of all his saints" (Ps. 149:6 - 9, NIV, emphasis added).
When praise is combined with God's Word (double-edged sword) in our mouth, praise becomes an instrument of judgment on kings, nobles and nations! The kings and nobles referred to are Satan's angelic princes and kings of the unseen world.
The Weapon of Preaching
Preaching is a weapon of attack related even more directly and specifically to God's Word. What many preachers and believers failed to realize is that this weapon of attack is solely and exclusively applies to the preaching of the pure Word of God. It in no way applies to the preaching of other things, such as human philosophy, political ideologies, Christian literature or even elaborate theology. All these are not double-edged swords and they are not even as powerful or as effective as a peashooter!
Paul gave a solemn charge to Timothy: "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his Kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction" (2 Tim. 4:1, 2, NIV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. Note the solemnity of the charge. It is given in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, in the light of the fact that Christ will judge those who are handling the Word deceitfully (2 Cor. 4:2).
2. The charge is to preach the Word with the intention to "correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction" and nothing else. This is in line with Hebrews 4:12. The preacher will answer to the Lord for the messages he preaches.
In my opinion, it is extremely difficult to find a preacher or a Pastor, in the contemporary Church, who ever heed God's solemn charge to Timothy. I have heard both a senior Pastor and an elder said there are four ways of interpreting the Scripture. How could this be when there is only one Holy Spirit? To me, by saying this, it is an insult to the Holy Spirit and Christ. To me there are only two ways of interpreting the Scripture - the biblical way and the non-biblical way; the right way and the wrong way. There is no grey area nor compromised teaching in the entire Bible.
Jesus Himself declared that there are two ways a person can choose: The narrow way to life and the broad way to destruction (Mattew 7:13, 14).
The effectiveness of God's Word
There is tremendous power in the preached Word of God. Its results are guaranteed. It will not return empty. It will accomplish God's pleasure (Isaiah 55:11). It is a hammer that will break in pieces every rock that opposes the purposes of God (Jeremiah 23:29). It is like a sharp sword that pierces to the innermost recesses of the human personality and lays bare the secrets of men's hearts and minds (Hebrews 4:12).
The Weapon of Testimony
Testimony is speaking from personal experience about incidents that relate to the Word of God and confirm the truth of God's Word. To give testimony is to bear witness to the outworking of the Gospel message. Testimony is basic to Jesus' strategy of reaching the whole world with the Gospel. Jesus unveiled this strategy as He stood on the Mount of Olive with His disciples. His strategy is baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).
To be effective witnesses for Jesus, we need supernatural power. Our testimony is supernatural. It needs to to be backed and enforced by spernatural power, the power of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus did not permit His disciples to go out and begin testifying until they had been endued with that power on the Day of Pentecost, why the Church sends believers out without the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Prophetic preview of the testimony of God's people
The Bible gives a prophetic preview of how the weapon of testimony will ultimately cast down Satan's kingdom in the heavenly realm. Revelation 12:7 - 11 describes a great conflict between angels and men that will span both heaven and earth at the close of this age. The "accuser of our brethren" is Satan. He will be hurled down from his kingdom in the heavenly realm. The interesting thing is, the believers will overcome Satan.
"They (the believers) overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Rev. 12:11, NIV).
The main weapon is in the word "testimony". It is their testimony that will ultimately shake down the whole kingdom of Satan. Their testimoy centers in two things - the Word of God and the Blood of Jesus. Notice that by giving their testimny they will not worry so much even to the point as losing their lives.
I believe we can do the same now to overcome Satan as we bear personal testimony to what the Word of God says the Blood of Jesus does for us. One appointed way is the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:26). We know the cup represents the Blood of the Lord, so in taking the Lord's Supper, we are continually testifying, proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In order to testify effectively to what the Word of God says about the Blood of Jesus, we must be familiar with what the Word of God actually tells us about the Blood. The following are four important provisions of the Blood of Jesus revealed by the Word of God:
1. We are redeemed and forgiven - Eph. 1:7
2. We are cleansed - 1 John 1:7
3. We are justified (made righteous) - Romans 5:9
4. We are sanctified (made holy) - Hebrews 13:12
Notice that we must say the above verses in order to make our weapon of testimony effective - "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, ..." (Ps. 107:2).
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Defensive Armor of God
As we have seen in last week's message, "Understanding the Whole Armor of God", that the main reason we, as the army of God, need to put on the whole armor of God is to enable us to face the "evil day". We have also seen that to put on the armor of God is also mean to put on our Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 59:16, 17; Romans 13, 14) in our daily living.
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave a parable concerning the two men who built houses (Matthew 7:24 - 27). The foolish man's house collapsed, but the wise man's house stood. The difference between those two houses was not the tests to which they were subjected, because each house was subjected to the same test: the wind, the rain, the storm, and the flood. The difference was the foundation on which they were built. If we make Jesus as our foundation, by putting on Jesus who is our whole armor of God, we shall be protected from the crown of our head to the soles of our feet.
We shall now look at these six pieces of equipment that God has provided for us, not only for our protection but also enable us to walk in victory. Notice that the last piece of equipment (the Sword of the Spirit) is both a defensive and a weapon of attack.
The Girdle of Truth
The first item of equipment is the girdle of truth. A Roman legionary (or soldier) would need a girdle (or belt) as part of his equipment because in those days, men's clothing (as well as women's) was usually a loose garment that came at least to the knees. It the case of the Roman legionary, it was a kind of tunic. When a Roman legionary was required to do something active, such as fight or use his weapons, he would need to take care of that loose garment. If he did not, its flaps and folds would hinder his movements and prevent him from using the rest of his equipment effectively.
Notice that the Bible speaks about "gird up the loin" (1 Peter 1:13). Paul said the girdle for us is truth. I believe that does not mean abstract, theological Biblical truth, but truth in daily living. It means honesty, sincerity, openness and frankness.
As religious people, we are often encumbered with much sham and hypocrisy. Many things we say and do are not really what we meant, but we say them only because they sound good. We are full of religious cliches and insincerities. These are things we do, not to please God or because we really want to do that, but to please other people. We even pray in an artificial kind of voice in the Church! Or our prayer may sound good but it is not real. It is but a religious act! We can fool people but we can't fool God!
Jesus called religious people, like the Pharisees, hypocrites. The Greek word for a "hypocrite" is an "actor". In those days an actor put on a mask to cover his face so as to make him looked like the part he was called ot play. Basically, what religious people do is to put on the appropriate mask (according to their denomination) and cover up what they really are. Every Christian denomination has its own type of mask - they have the Baptist mask, Pentecostal mask, and Methodist mask and so on. They behave differently in Church and each person puts on his mask, but outside th Church they are all the same.
I believe religious hypocrisy like what has been described above, is a loose hanging garment for the Christian "soldier". It gets in our way; it prevents us from doing the kind of things that God wants us to do. It prevents us from being effective Christians. It also prevents us from using the other five items of equipment. Therefore, first of all we have to put on the girdle of truth.
The Breastplate of Righteousness
The breastplate of the Roman soldier protects, above all else, one absolutely vital organ of the human body - the heart. The Bible indicates that the heart is of supreme importance in our lives:
"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of lives" (Proverbs 4:23, NKJV).
The breastplate of righteousness is for the protection of the heart. But, what is meant by righteousness?
Paul said, "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation" (1 Thess. 5:8, emphasis added).
It is interesting to notice that Paul described the breastplate from another point of view which he called: "The breastplate of faith and love".
Put the above passage together with "The breastplate of righteousness" (Eph. 6:14) we understand the kind of righteousness that Paul had in mind. It is not the righteousness of works, or religious law, but it is the righteousness that comes only by faith. He made it clear in his epistle to the Philippians:
"... that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Phil. 3:9, emphasis added).
It is clear that the breastplate only protects the righteousness that come only by faith in Christ. In other words, we must put on a breastplate that is not our own righteousness but the righteousness of Christ.
Paul said, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteouness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).
All true Christians, by faith, have become the righteousness of God. That is the only kind of breastplate that can adequately protect our hearts and our lives. This kind of righteousness, Paul emphasized, comes only through faith. Therefore, it is a breastplate of faith and love. There is no other way to achieve this kind of righteousness.
Faith working through love
When we talk about the breastplate of faith and love we also need to understand that faith is the essential element for this breastplate.
Paul said, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6).
I believe what Paul essentially saying was: "No kind of outward ceremony or ritual, in itself, would help us in our Christian walk. The one essential thing, without which we cannot succed in the Christian life, is faith - the kind of faith that works through love. It is not a passive or theoretical faith. It is an active faith that works only through love".
The shoes of the preparation of the Gospel of Peace
Shoes speak of providing mobility or availability to your Commander, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is said that Roman soldiers slept with their boots on so that they were, at all times, ready to be called for action. The shoes are called the preparation of the Gospel of peace because believers are expected to share the Gospel of peace at all times,
As Christians, we are obligated to have an intelligent understanding of the Gospel message. Many Christians claim to be saved and born again, but they cannot give an intelligent account of how they were saved or how someone else can be saved. I believe "preparation" includes study the Scripture, memorization of Scripture, and the ability to communicate intelligently the Gospel message.
Why did Paul call the Gospel as the Gospel of peace? I believe it is a Gospel that produces peace of heart and mind in those who believe it and obey it. There is one thing very certain about peace. we can only transmit peace to others if we have peace ourselves. We cannot transmit something that we do not experience. We can talk about it, we can theorize it, but we cannot transmit it. In other words, we need to live the Gospel and let people see our lives in the Gospel! We, ourselves must become the Gospel message! People may not be interested to read the Bible but very often you and I are the only "Bible" they ever read. Therefore, our lives must be the mirror of God's Word so that we can communicate the Gospel message to the world effectively.
The Shield of Faith
It is said the Roman soldiers used a long rectangular type of shield. When a soldier held it in front of him, no part of his body could be reached or touched by the enemy. The shield protected him completely. That is the kind of faith that Paul was talking about when he referred it as shield. When we go out against Satan and if we begin to cause him any trouble you can be sure that he will counter attack. First and foremost he may counter attack us, ourselves. We need to have a shield large enough to cover up our minds, our bodies, our finances, our jobs and any other areas within his reach. And if he can't attack us, he will attack those closest to us. The first thing he will do is to attack our wives and our children. Our shield must be big enough to protect everything that God has made us responsible - our own persons, our families and everything that God has committed to us.
Notice that faith is mentioned twice in this list of defensive armor. The breastplate is faith and love; the shield is the shield of faith. We must understand that faith can be used in different areas of need. The breastplate is faith for our own personal righteousness which comes from the righteousness of Christ. But the shield of faith is for the protection of ourselves and of all those whom God has committed to us. It is a shield that covers everything. We have to hold out that shield of faith for full protection.
The Helmet of Salvation
The word "salvation" in Ephesians 6:17 is "soterion" in Greek which means rescue, deliverance and protection. The helmet in this sense, is a means of protection for the head where the mind is. We are talking now about a helmet that protects our mind. Because the mind is the battle field, it is obvious that we need to be particularly careful to protect our own mind. If we are wounded in the head there is no way we can use the rest of the equipment!
Let us consider again what Paul said to the Thessalonians: "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation" (1 Thess. 5:8, emphasis added).
So we see, in one verse of Scripture, Paul told us that the protection for the mind is hope, but the protection for the heart is faith.
Connection between faith and hope
Notice that there is a connection between faith and hope.
The writer of Hebrews said, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, ..." (Heb. 11:1).
Faith is the underlying basic reality on which hope is built. When we have valid faith, then we have valid hope. When we do not have valid faith, we may not have valid hope, either. Hope may be mere wishful thinking. But when we have a real foundation of faith, we can build a valid hope, which is the protection of our minds.
What is hope then? I believe hope is a consistent expectation of good based on the promises of God's Word. In a sense, it is a continuous trust on God's provisions and promises. In other words, we have to cultivate an optimistic attitude towards the Word of God and live by it. Our mind is protected when we have this optimistic attitude that always see the best from God and with this attitude we are unlikely to give in to depression, doubt and self-pity. We become more rational in our thinking.
Optimism is the helmet and while we keep it on, our mind is protected against Satan's subtle attack, against fear, doubt, discouragement, mistrust and so on.
Relation between hope and salvation
Paul said, "We are saved by hope: ....." (Romans 8:24)
What Paul said was essentially: No hope, no salvation. Therefore hope is an essential part of our salvation experience. But it does not mean that when you don't have this type of hope you are a lost soul. In Greek, the word "saved" is "sozo" - meaning being preserved, delivered and protected.
I believe the real mystery and secret of the Gospel is: "... Christ in you, the hope of glory" (1 Col. 1:27).
If Christ is in you, you have hope. If you do not have hope, it is just as if Christ is not in you. You are not a lost soul, but you are not living in the full experience of salvation.
The writer of Hebrews said, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful" (Heb. 10:23).
Keep on hoping. Do not give up hope for it is the protection of your mind.
The Sword of the Spirit
One thing that distinguishes the sword from the other five items of equipment we have looked at is that, the sword is the only item that is not purely defensive. the sword is also a weapon of attack, which we are going to look at it in my next message. Without the sword we have no way to drive the Devil off. If we put on all the other items of equipment, we may be able to prevent the Devil from actually wounding us, but we cannot drive him from our presence. The only thing that can do that is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17).
The Bible compares God's Word to the sword because God's Word is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces and penetrates the inner most area of the human personality (Heb. 4:12).
John had a vision of Jesus in His Glory as the Lord of the Church. One of the things that he saw was a sword coming out of the mouth of Jesus:
"He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength" (Rev. 1:16).
The sharp double-edged sword is the Word of God coming out of the mouth of Jesus.
When Jesus was tempted three times by Satan in the wilderness, the only weapon He used against Him was the Sword of the Spirit, or the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11).
Jesus did not answer the Devil with theology or religious affiliation; He went straight to the Word of God. He said, "It is written ... It is written ... It is written ..." After the third thrust of that sharp double-edged sword, Satan backed off; he had had enough. You and I are given the privilege of using the same weapon.
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave a parable concerning the two men who built houses (Matthew 7:24 - 27). The foolish man's house collapsed, but the wise man's house stood. The difference between those two houses was not the tests to which they were subjected, because each house was subjected to the same test: the wind, the rain, the storm, and the flood. The difference was the foundation on which they were built. If we make Jesus as our foundation, by putting on Jesus who is our whole armor of God, we shall be protected from the crown of our head to the soles of our feet.
We shall now look at these six pieces of equipment that God has provided for us, not only for our protection but also enable us to walk in victory. Notice that the last piece of equipment (the Sword of the Spirit) is both a defensive and a weapon of attack.
The Girdle of Truth
The first item of equipment is the girdle of truth. A Roman legionary (or soldier) would need a girdle (or belt) as part of his equipment because in those days, men's clothing (as well as women's) was usually a loose garment that came at least to the knees. It the case of the Roman legionary, it was a kind of tunic. When a Roman legionary was required to do something active, such as fight or use his weapons, he would need to take care of that loose garment. If he did not, its flaps and folds would hinder his movements and prevent him from using the rest of his equipment effectively.
Notice that the Bible speaks about "gird up the loin" (1 Peter 1:13). Paul said the girdle for us is truth. I believe that does not mean abstract, theological Biblical truth, but truth in daily living. It means honesty, sincerity, openness and frankness.
As religious people, we are often encumbered with much sham and hypocrisy. Many things we say and do are not really what we meant, but we say them only because they sound good. We are full of religious cliches and insincerities. These are things we do, not to please God or because we really want to do that, but to please other people. We even pray in an artificial kind of voice in the Church! Or our prayer may sound good but it is not real. It is but a religious act! We can fool people but we can't fool God!
Jesus called religious people, like the Pharisees, hypocrites. The Greek word for a "hypocrite" is an "actor". In those days an actor put on a mask to cover his face so as to make him looked like the part he was called ot play. Basically, what religious people do is to put on the appropriate mask (according to their denomination) and cover up what they really are. Every Christian denomination has its own type of mask - they have the Baptist mask, Pentecostal mask, and Methodist mask and so on. They behave differently in Church and each person puts on his mask, but outside th Church they are all the same.
I believe religious hypocrisy like what has been described above, is a loose hanging garment for the Christian "soldier". It gets in our way; it prevents us from doing the kind of things that God wants us to do. It prevents us from being effective Christians. It also prevents us from using the other five items of equipment. Therefore, first of all we have to put on the girdle of truth.
The Breastplate of Righteousness
The breastplate of the Roman soldier protects, above all else, one absolutely vital organ of the human body - the heart. The Bible indicates that the heart is of supreme importance in our lives:
"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of lives" (Proverbs 4:23, NKJV).
The breastplate of righteousness is for the protection of the heart. But, what is meant by righteousness?
Paul said, "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation" (1 Thess. 5:8, emphasis added).
It is interesting to notice that Paul described the breastplate from another point of view which he called: "The breastplate of faith and love".
Put the above passage together with "The breastplate of righteousness" (Eph. 6:14) we understand the kind of righteousness that Paul had in mind. It is not the righteousness of works, or religious law, but it is the righteousness that comes only by faith. He made it clear in his epistle to the Philippians:
"... that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Phil. 3:9, emphasis added).
It is clear that the breastplate only protects the righteousness that come only by faith in Christ. In other words, we must put on a breastplate that is not our own righteousness but the righteousness of Christ.
Paul said, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteouness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).
All true Christians, by faith, have become the righteousness of God. That is the only kind of breastplate that can adequately protect our hearts and our lives. This kind of righteousness, Paul emphasized, comes only through faith. Therefore, it is a breastplate of faith and love. There is no other way to achieve this kind of righteousness.
Faith working through love
When we talk about the breastplate of faith and love we also need to understand that faith is the essential element for this breastplate.
Paul said, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6).
I believe what Paul essentially saying was: "No kind of outward ceremony or ritual, in itself, would help us in our Christian walk. The one essential thing, without which we cannot succed in the Christian life, is faith - the kind of faith that works through love. It is not a passive or theoretical faith. It is an active faith that works only through love".
The shoes of the preparation of the Gospel of Peace
Shoes speak of providing mobility or availability to your Commander, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is said that Roman soldiers slept with their boots on so that they were, at all times, ready to be called for action. The shoes are called the preparation of the Gospel of peace because believers are expected to share the Gospel of peace at all times,
As Christians, we are obligated to have an intelligent understanding of the Gospel message. Many Christians claim to be saved and born again, but they cannot give an intelligent account of how they were saved or how someone else can be saved. I believe "preparation" includes study the Scripture, memorization of Scripture, and the ability to communicate intelligently the Gospel message.
Why did Paul call the Gospel as the Gospel of peace? I believe it is a Gospel that produces peace of heart and mind in those who believe it and obey it. There is one thing very certain about peace. we can only transmit peace to others if we have peace ourselves. We cannot transmit something that we do not experience. We can talk about it, we can theorize it, but we cannot transmit it. In other words, we need to live the Gospel and let people see our lives in the Gospel! We, ourselves must become the Gospel message! People may not be interested to read the Bible but very often you and I are the only "Bible" they ever read. Therefore, our lives must be the mirror of God's Word so that we can communicate the Gospel message to the world effectively.
The Shield of Faith
It is said the Roman soldiers used a long rectangular type of shield. When a soldier held it in front of him, no part of his body could be reached or touched by the enemy. The shield protected him completely. That is the kind of faith that Paul was talking about when he referred it as shield. When we go out against Satan and if we begin to cause him any trouble you can be sure that he will counter attack. First and foremost he may counter attack us, ourselves. We need to have a shield large enough to cover up our minds, our bodies, our finances, our jobs and any other areas within his reach. And if he can't attack us, he will attack those closest to us. The first thing he will do is to attack our wives and our children. Our shield must be big enough to protect everything that God has made us responsible - our own persons, our families and everything that God has committed to us.
Notice that faith is mentioned twice in this list of defensive armor. The breastplate is faith and love; the shield is the shield of faith. We must understand that faith can be used in different areas of need. The breastplate is faith for our own personal righteousness which comes from the righteousness of Christ. But the shield of faith is for the protection of ourselves and of all those whom God has committed to us. It is a shield that covers everything. We have to hold out that shield of faith for full protection.
The Helmet of Salvation
The word "salvation" in Ephesians 6:17 is "soterion" in Greek which means rescue, deliverance and protection. The helmet in this sense, is a means of protection for the head where the mind is. We are talking now about a helmet that protects our mind. Because the mind is the battle field, it is obvious that we need to be particularly careful to protect our own mind. If we are wounded in the head there is no way we can use the rest of the equipment!
Let us consider again what Paul said to the Thessalonians: "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation" (1 Thess. 5:8, emphasis added).
So we see, in one verse of Scripture, Paul told us that the protection for the mind is hope, but the protection for the heart is faith.
Connection between faith and hope
Notice that there is a connection between faith and hope.
The writer of Hebrews said, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, ..." (Heb. 11:1).
Faith is the underlying basic reality on which hope is built. When we have valid faith, then we have valid hope. When we do not have valid faith, we may not have valid hope, either. Hope may be mere wishful thinking. But when we have a real foundation of faith, we can build a valid hope, which is the protection of our minds.
What is hope then? I believe hope is a consistent expectation of good based on the promises of God's Word. In a sense, it is a continuous trust on God's provisions and promises. In other words, we have to cultivate an optimistic attitude towards the Word of God and live by it. Our mind is protected when we have this optimistic attitude that always see the best from God and with this attitude we are unlikely to give in to depression, doubt and self-pity. We become more rational in our thinking.
Optimism is the helmet and while we keep it on, our mind is protected against Satan's subtle attack, against fear, doubt, discouragement, mistrust and so on.
Relation between hope and salvation
Paul said, "We are saved by hope: ....." (Romans 8:24)
What Paul said was essentially: No hope, no salvation. Therefore hope is an essential part of our salvation experience. But it does not mean that when you don't have this type of hope you are a lost soul. In Greek, the word "saved" is "sozo" - meaning being preserved, delivered and protected.
I believe the real mystery and secret of the Gospel is: "... Christ in you, the hope of glory" (1 Col. 1:27).
If Christ is in you, you have hope. If you do not have hope, it is just as if Christ is not in you. You are not a lost soul, but you are not living in the full experience of salvation.
The writer of Hebrews said, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful" (Heb. 10:23).
Keep on hoping. Do not give up hope for it is the protection of your mind.
The Sword of the Spirit
One thing that distinguishes the sword from the other five items of equipment we have looked at is that, the sword is the only item that is not purely defensive. the sword is also a weapon of attack, which we are going to look at it in my next message. Without the sword we have no way to drive the Devil off. If we put on all the other items of equipment, we may be able to prevent the Devil from actually wounding us, but we cannot drive him from our presence. The only thing that can do that is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17).
The Bible compares God's Word to the sword because God's Word is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces and penetrates the inner most area of the human personality (Heb. 4:12).
John had a vision of Jesus in His Glory as the Lord of the Church. One of the things that he saw was a sword coming out of the mouth of Jesus:
"He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength" (Rev. 1:16).
The sharp double-edged sword is the Word of God coming out of the mouth of Jesus.
When Jesus was tempted three times by Satan in the wilderness, the only weapon He used against Him was the Sword of the Spirit, or the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11).
Jesus did not answer the Devil with theology or religious affiliation; He went straight to the Word of God. He said, "It is written ... It is written ... It is written ..." After the third thrust of that sharp double-edged sword, Satan backed off; he had had enough. You and I are given the privilege of using the same weapon.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Understanding the Whole Armor of God
Let us recapitulate what we have discussed in our introductory messages concerning Spiritual Warfare (Satan's Dwelling Place; The Authority of Satan; The Army and the Bride). As representatives of God's Kingdom here on earth, all believers are involved in an all-out war with a highly organized opposing kingdom ruled by Satan. This is a kingdom of evil spirit beings (persons without bodies) whose headquarters (dwelling place) are in the heavenlies.
The Battle ground on which this war is being fought is the minds of humanity. Satan has built up strongholds of prejudice and unbelief in the minds of the members of the human race to keep them from receiving the truth of the Gospel. Our God-given task is to break down these mental strongholds, thus releasing men and women from Satan's deception, and then bring them into submission and obedience to Christ.
Our ability to achieve this God-given task depends mainly upon two factors. First, that we see clearly from Scripture that on the cross Jesus totally defeated Satan on our behalf and that it is now our responsibility to demonstrate and administer the victory that Jesus has already won. Second, that we make proper use of the necessary spiritual weapons which God has provided us. These spiritual weapons fall into two main categories: Weapons of defense and weapons of attack.
Weapons of Defense and weapons of Attack
Paul said, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ..." (Eph. 6:10 - 17, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The reason why we must put on the whole armor of God is to enable us to stand against the wiles of the devil.
2. The whole armor of God is a spiritual armor because our enemies are not flesh and blood, but are spiritual enemies - Principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of this age and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
3. Paul emphasized the importance of the "whole armor of God". He mentioned it twice.
4. Another reason why we must put on the whole armor of God is to enable us to withstand the "evil day".
5. In the context, I believe the "evil day" does not mean the Great Tribulation or some prophetic disaster that is going to come on the world (although I do believe there may be such disasters). It refers to something that every Christian will go through. A time will come when the Christian has to confront the forces of evil when his faith is going to be challenged, when every kind of opposition and problem will be let loose against him. Paul did not question that we would have to face the evil day - it is not an option and it is a certainty. Some of us facing the evil day now! Because we will not escape the evil day, we have to be prepared to go through it. It the light of what Paul said, we have to put on the whole armor of God.
6. Paul took his picture from a Roman legionary of his day and listed six pieces of equipment that a legionary would normally wear:
The Battle ground on which this war is being fought is the minds of humanity. Satan has built up strongholds of prejudice and unbelief in the minds of the members of the human race to keep them from receiving the truth of the Gospel. Our God-given task is to break down these mental strongholds, thus releasing men and women from Satan's deception, and then bring them into submission and obedience to Christ.
Our ability to achieve this God-given task depends mainly upon two factors. First, that we see clearly from Scripture that on the cross Jesus totally defeated Satan on our behalf and that it is now our responsibility to demonstrate and administer the victory that Jesus has already won. Second, that we make proper use of the necessary spiritual weapons which God has provided us. These spiritual weapons fall into two main categories: Weapons of defense and weapons of attack.
Weapons of Defense and weapons of Attack
Paul said, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ..." (Eph. 6:10 - 17, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The reason why we must put on the whole armor of God is to enable us to stand against the wiles of the devil.
2. The whole armor of God is a spiritual armor because our enemies are not flesh and blood, but are spiritual enemies - Principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of this age and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
3. Paul emphasized the importance of the "whole armor of God". He mentioned it twice.
4. Another reason why we must put on the whole armor of God is to enable us to withstand the "evil day".
5. In the context, I believe the "evil day" does not mean the Great Tribulation or some prophetic disaster that is going to come on the world (although I do believe there may be such disasters). It refers to something that every Christian will go through. A time will come when the Christian has to confront the forces of evil when his faith is going to be challenged, when every kind of opposition and problem will be let loose against him. Paul did not question that we would have to face the evil day - it is not an option and it is a certainty. Some of us facing the evil day now! Because we will not escape the evil day, we have to be prepared to go through it. It the light of what Paul said, we have to put on the whole armor of God.
6. Paul took his picture from a Roman legionary of his day and listed six pieces of equipment that a legionary would normally wear:
- The girdle (or belt) of truth
- The breastplate of righteousness
- The shoes of the preparation of the Gospel
- The shield of faith
- The helmet of salvation
- The sword of the Spirit
If we put on all these six pieces of equipment, we will be fully protected from the crown of our head to the soles of our feet with one exception - there is no protection for the back.
My next message, the Lord willing, will discuss in some details, each of these pieces of equipment. In the meantime let us look at what the Scripture says about the first Person who wore the armor of God and became the Whole Armor of God!
A Prophetic Word from Isaiah about Jesus
There is a prophetic word from Isaiah about Jesus. He was the first one to wear the "armor of God" described by Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians.
"He (the Lord) saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therfore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak" (Isaiah 59:16, 17, emphasis added).
I believe Jesus needed the armor of God because He had divested Himself of His heavenly privileges and was living out His life on the earth in human, bodily form, encountering the same type of circumstnces and situations that you and I are facing today. As a man, Jesus chose to be clothed with the armor of God in order to live out His life in obedience and victory on the earth. How much more so, then, do you and I need this same armor?
Jesus is the Whole Armor of God
Not only Jesus wore the armor of God, He was (and is) also the Whole Armor of God!
Paul said, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" (Romans 13:14).
In my opinion, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ means to take Him as a pattern and guide, to imitate his example, to obey His precepts and to be like Him.
Jesus is our truth (The belt of truth)
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No oe comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).
Jesus is our righteousness (The breastplate of righteousness)
The Lord said, "In His (Jesus') days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:6).
Jesus is our peace (The Gospel of peace)
Paul said, "For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, ..."(Eph. 2:14).
Jesus is the author of our faith (The shield of faith)
The writer of Hebrews said, "... looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).
Jesus is the Rock of our salvation (The helmet of salvation)
The psalmist said, "Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation" (Ps. 95:1).
Jesus is the Word of God (The sword of the Spirit)
John, talking about Jesus, said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God" (John 1:1, 2).
Putting on the "whole armor of God", then, is in reality putting on the "whole of Jesus". It is appropriating who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us. We need to put on Jesus so that He can work, in and through our lives. We have Jesus in us, Jesus works through us, because Jesus is for us.
Therefore, when we are born again we have our armor on. Conversely, when we are not born again we are not equipped to do any Spiritual battle. Although we are born again believers in Christ and Christ is our whole armor of God, we still have to make our armor effective as weapons of defense. This is how we do it:
By praying always
The final word in this passage from Ephesians following "the sword of the Spirit" is:
"Praying always with all prayer and suppliction in the Spirit, ..." (Eph. 6:18).
The above suggests we put on the whole armor of God by "all prayer and supplication in the Spirit". Basically, "prayer" means asking and entreating God, while "supplication" simply means desperately calling out to God for mercy.
We are to pray with all types of prayer in understanding (in English ory any known language) and of the Spirit (in an unknown tongue). Since we are to "pray always", which also means we have to put on the whole armor of God always - or at least on a daily basis.
This will enable us and empower us to walk in victory every day. I believe the devil is laughing because many Christians are walking without their spiritual clothes on. Can you imagine a young soldier going off to war wearing his pajamas; or a marine storming the enemy's beach in his swimsuit?
As the Lord's army we dare not be that casual or foolish either, as we prepare for battle in the spiritual realm.
Peter said, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, ..." (1 Peter 5:8, 9).
We are to be sober, be vigilant, be watchful and be on guard. We resist the devil by standing steadfastly on our faith. Never allow ourselves to be moved from our position of strength in the Lord's might. Be fully dressed for battle. Have our shield in the "ready" position. Have your hands firmly clasped on the sword and be prepared to march into battle!
Receiving God's Kingdom by force
Jesus said, "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).
Jesus also said, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matthew 11:12).
There is an apparent paradox here - God wants to give us the Kingdom and yet, at the same time, the Kingdom can only be taken (by us) by force. I believe there is only one way to receive what God wants to give, and that is by force - not force over men, not force over religious institutions, not force over denomination affiliation. Why? God expects us to take the Kingdom He has for us by using an all-out force over our enemy - evil spiritual power, principalities and rulers of darkness of this age (Eph. 6:12). Someone is trying to keep you from receiving the Kingdom that God wants you to receive, and force is required to overcome that enemy! That is the reason of Spiritual Warfare!
Walking in Victory
The days are over for complacent Christians, living some nice little life, going to Church on Sunday morning (or any time and day of the week), listening to a "good" sermon, giving a good testimoy on how the Lord has blessed him, but not having any apparent struggles with forces of darkness. I wonder why you don't encounter much Warfare praying in prayer meetings in the Local Church today. But one thing I know is that the devil has a plan for your life and it is a lousy one! It is one that is meant for your despair, sickness, death and destruction. He has a terrible plan for breakdowns in you life - your family, your finance, your job, your ministry and your Church.
Jesus said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Therefore you will either walk in victory or you will have demons hanging all over you and your family. You will either be an overcomer or you will be overcome. You will either be in the winner's circle or you will be utterly wiped out. So the time has come to stand tall, clothed with the whole armor of God, and move forward and to be committed to fighting the good fight, to the end!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Understanding the Blood Covenant
The Bible is made up of two covenants called the Old Testament and the New Testament. "Testament" means "covenant". All of God's dealings with men have revolved around these two covenants. The entire redemptive plan of God hinges upon them. God established the first with Abraham, and the second covenant He established with Jesus. The word "covenant" comes from the Hebrew word "bawraw" which means "to cut". This suggests there is a flow of blood. Therefore both covenants were established with blood.
The Significance of the Blood Covenant
History tells us that primitive people from the beginning of time have practiced blood covenants in some form. They were common among the Indian tribes of America, and the custom is still practiced in many parts of the world today.
There are many reasons for a blood covenant. To those who practice it, there is no covenant more sacred. In a partnership, it is used to make sure that neither partner will take advantage of the other. Between friends, it is a symbol of love, devotion, and loyalty.
The covenant between Stanley and the chieftain
Henry Stanley, and explorer, went to search for David Livingstone, the first missionary to Africa, who overstayed his time in the jungles. Stanley's interpreter told him he need to cut a covenant with those hostile tribes for the sake of their own safety.
The chieftain of the tribe chose a substitute to represent him and Stanley chose his interpreter to be his substitute. These two substitutes came together before a priest who cut the wrist of each one just enough to drip a few drops of their blood into a glass of wine. The wine was stirred and the bloods mixed and both of them drank part of it, thereby both parties were sealed in a blood covenant. Stanley and the chieftain became blood brothers. The main significance was that what belongs to Stanley belongs to the chieftain and vice versa. It was a perpetual covenant that could not be broken.
God's Covenant with Adam and Eve
When God created Adam, he was a perfect being. He had a magnificent mind that enabled him to name every animal and also to remember their names. Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with God. He walked with them in the cool of the day. They had perfect fellowship, and they knew God intimately.
But the serpent was lurking in the garden and he deceived Eve and she ate the fruit of the tree (of "knowing good and evil") in the midst of the garden and she also gave some to Adam (Gen. 3:1 - 6).
When Adam and his wife yielded to the snare of Satan, the Scripture says, "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings" (Gen. 3:7, NKJV, emphasis added).
The fact that they even tried to make clothes for themselves showed that they realized their need of a covering.
I believe the instant they yielded to temptation they lost God's consciousness and gained self-consciousness. In other words, their spirits were "dead" and they were unable to relate to God and know Him intimately. They were led by their soul life - intellect, will and emotion (Refer to my earlier message, "The Spirit, Soul, and Body of Man"). They had run from the presence of God and had lost His glory. They were naked and ashamed, attempting to cover themselves with leaves.
Then God did something marvelous. He initiated the first blood sacrifice.
"Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them" (Gen. 3:21).
I believe the animal had just been slain and that the skins were still bloody when God used them to cover Adam and Eve. This was the first Blood Covenant, initiated by God, between Himself and man. Notice that God's first sacrifice covered Adam and Eve's sin with the blood of animanls. It did not take away their sin; but merely covered it up. As we will see, His final sacrifice takes away the sins of you and me with the blood of His only begotten Son.
God said, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul" (Lev. 17:11).
The word "atonement" is Hebrew is "kaphar" which means "to cover". When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost their close communion with God. But through the blood covenant, God was declaring that their sins were atone for. The blood one day (in the New Covenant) would bring back the fellowship and joy.
God's Covenant with Abraham
When God wanted to establish His covenant with man, He had to have a sacrifice to represent Him. God was (and is) a spirit being and so He needed somebody with two physical hands to take Him a sacrifice to be a substitute in His place.
He said to Abraham, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, ...." (Gen. 15:9).
Abraham did as God asked. Then God explained to Abraham how he was to enter into the blood covenant relationship with Him:
"This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of covenant between Me and you" (Gen. 17:10, 11).
The sign of the Abrahamic covenant was circumcision. Notice that God honored the covenant so that, even at his advanced age, Abraham was able to father a child named Isaac.
Abraham's Supreme Test
After the covenant was cut, God decided to test Abraham's allegiance to their covenant relationship.
God said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you" (Gen. 22:1, 2).
God was giving Abraham the supreme test - Whom did he love more, Isaac or God? The next verse said, "So Abraham arose early in the morning ..." - indicating that Abraham never batted an eye but immediately did what God told him to do. I believe when the blood covenant is in effect in your life, and when God tells you to do something, you don't hesitate. You do it immediately!
Abraham had total faith in God for God said, "For in Isaac your seed shall be called" (Gen. 21:12). He believed that "God was able to raise him up, even from the dead" (Heb. 11:19).
In the end, a ram was provided by God for the sacrifice instead of Isaac. God did not require Abraham to sacrifice his son, but He wanted Abraham to be willing to give Him his best.
Abraham was called the friend of God (James 2:23) because God had found a man who kept his Blood Covenant!
God's New Covenant with Jesus
When God cut the Old Covenant He told Abraham to take Him a sacrifice. Later when God was ready to cut the New Covenant, and again He needed a sacrifice - a lamb. John the Baptist said, "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
The Old Covenant was sealed by the blood of Abraham and the sacrificial animal. The New Covenant is sealed "with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:19).
The first Covenant was imperfect. It did not take away sin; it merely covered it up. It did not give new life; it only gave the promise of it. The Old Covenant was like a promissory note which Christ cashed in on the cross of Calvary!
Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant
God spoke of the promises the New Covenant as taking the place of the Old Covenant (Heb. 8:8 - 12).
".... then He (Jesus) said, 'Behold, I have come to do You will, O God.' He takes away the first that He may establish the second" (Heb. 10:9).
Hebrew 9 clearly says that Christ entered into Heaven to appear before God for us as our Friend. he did not have to offer Himself again and again as the Old Testament high priests did here on earth when they offered animal blood each year. Christ died once and for all, to put away the power of sin forever by dying for us.
Christ was God's Lamb, and through Him God cut an eternal covenant with the human race. Hanging on the cross, suspended between Heaven and earth, Jesus took on Himself all the sins of the world, all the sicknesses, all the diseases, all the sufferings and all the heartbreaks. He experienced the curse and the horror of all these dreadful things for us.
Paul said, "... God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:19).
The good news is not that God will reconcile us, but that He has already reconciled us unto Himself. This is the wonderful message God has given us through the Blood Covenant. When they stabbed Jesus in the side like a heifer, and the blood gushed out, God Himself was cutting an everlasting Covenant with the human race.
The New Covenant is in Jesus
The Old Covenant was in Abraham; the New Covenant is in Jesus. When Abraham was circumcised, he "mingled" his blood with the blood of God's representive - a heifer. Jesus shed His blood on the cross, "mingled" the human and the divine. What God did in the Old Covenant was for the sake of Abraham. What He does for us today, He does it for the sake of His Son Jesus.
It is important to understand that the New Covenant is not in us. It is in Jesus. You see, God did not cut the Covenant with you and me. He cut it with His Son Jesus. All we need to do is, by faith, enter into the Covenant that God cut with His Son! I entered into the Covenant by the circumcision of the heart. I was a lost man. I loved the world because I had an old man living inside me. When I accepted Jesus, I was circumcised in my heart and the old man was cut away!
Salvation actually means entering the New blood Covenant that God the Father made with His Son Jesus Christ. As with all Blood Covenants, this New Covenant demands two-way commitment. If I am a convenant man, God has the right to ask me for anything. And I have the equal right to ask God for anything in prayer. The only condition is that I have to pray according to His will. Under the Old Covenant Abraham was called the friend of God; under the New Covenant all true Christians are called children of God. God demanded the best from Abraham - his son Isaac; He is likely to demand the best from us! That is the price we all have to pay for we are His covenant people.
Understanding the Holy Communion
The Holy Communion is a reminder to the Lord's Covenant people the ultimate sacrifice of our Lord Jesus when God the Father cut the New Blood Covenant with Him. To understand this is of supreme impartance.
Paul said to the Church in Corinth, "For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep" (1 Cor. 11:29, 30).
The writer of Hebrews said, "Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:29, NKJV, emphasis added).
Therefore, I believe only those who have been circumcised in the heart and those who are able to discern what Jesus had done for us through the Blood Covenant, should partake of the sacrament of the Holy Communion.
A Covenant of love
The Communion also emphasizes our covenant relationship with all of God's covenant people. When you take the communion, not only are you in loving covenant relationship with God but also you are in a loving covenant relationship with all your brothers and sisters in Christ who partake with you.
Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples (My covenant people), if you have love for one another" (John 13:34, 35, emphasis added).
Love is what the Blood Covenant is all about!
The Significance of the Blood Covenant
History tells us that primitive people from the beginning of time have practiced blood covenants in some form. They were common among the Indian tribes of America, and the custom is still practiced in many parts of the world today.
There are many reasons for a blood covenant. To those who practice it, there is no covenant more sacred. In a partnership, it is used to make sure that neither partner will take advantage of the other. Between friends, it is a symbol of love, devotion, and loyalty.
The covenant between Stanley and the chieftain
Henry Stanley, and explorer, went to search for David Livingstone, the first missionary to Africa, who overstayed his time in the jungles. Stanley's interpreter told him he need to cut a covenant with those hostile tribes for the sake of their own safety.
The chieftain of the tribe chose a substitute to represent him and Stanley chose his interpreter to be his substitute. These two substitutes came together before a priest who cut the wrist of each one just enough to drip a few drops of their blood into a glass of wine. The wine was stirred and the bloods mixed and both of them drank part of it, thereby both parties were sealed in a blood covenant. Stanley and the chieftain became blood brothers. The main significance was that what belongs to Stanley belongs to the chieftain and vice versa. It was a perpetual covenant that could not be broken.
God's Covenant with Adam and Eve
When God created Adam, he was a perfect being. He had a magnificent mind that enabled him to name every animal and also to remember their names. Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with God. He walked with them in the cool of the day. They had perfect fellowship, and they knew God intimately.
But the serpent was lurking in the garden and he deceived Eve and she ate the fruit of the tree (of "knowing good and evil") in the midst of the garden and she also gave some to Adam (Gen. 3:1 - 6).
When Adam and his wife yielded to the snare of Satan, the Scripture says, "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings" (Gen. 3:7, NKJV, emphasis added).
The fact that they even tried to make clothes for themselves showed that they realized their need of a covering.
I believe the instant they yielded to temptation they lost God's consciousness and gained self-consciousness. In other words, their spirits were "dead" and they were unable to relate to God and know Him intimately. They were led by their soul life - intellect, will and emotion (Refer to my earlier message, "The Spirit, Soul, and Body of Man"). They had run from the presence of God and had lost His glory. They were naked and ashamed, attempting to cover themselves with leaves.
Then God did something marvelous. He initiated the first blood sacrifice.
"Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them" (Gen. 3:21).
I believe the animal had just been slain and that the skins were still bloody when God used them to cover Adam and Eve. This was the first Blood Covenant, initiated by God, between Himself and man. Notice that God's first sacrifice covered Adam and Eve's sin with the blood of animanls. It did not take away their sin; but merely covered it up. As we will see, His final sacrifice takes away the sins of you and me with the blood of His only begotten Son.
God said, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul" (Lev. 17:11).
The word "atonement" is Hebrew is "kaphar" which means "to cover". When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost their close communion with God. But through the blood covenant, God was declaring that their sins were atone for. The blood one day (in the New Covenant) would bring back the fellowship and joy.
God's Covenant with Abraham
When God wanted to establish His covenant with man, He had to have a sacrifice to represent Him. God was (and is) a spirit being and so He needed somebody with two physical hands to take Him a sacrifice to be a substitute in His place.
He said to Abraham, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, ...." (Gen. 15:9).
Abraham did as God asked. Then God explained to Abraham how he was to enter into the blood covenant relationship with Him:
"This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of covenant between Me and you" (Gen. 17:10, 11).
The sign of the Abrahamic covenant was circumcision. Notice that God honored the covenant so that, even at his advanced age, Abraham was able to father a child named Isaac.
Abraham's Supreme Test
After the covenant was cut, God decided to test Abraham's allegiance to their covenant relationship.
God said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you" (Gen. 22:1, 2).
God was giving Abraham the supreme test - Whom did he love more, Isaac or God? The next verse said, "So Abraham arose early in the morning ..." - indicating that Abraham never batted an eye but immediately did what God told him to do. I believe when the blood covenant is in effect in your life, and when God tells you to do something, you don't hesitate. You do it immediately!
Abraham had total faith in God for God said, "For in Isaac your seed shall be called" (Gen. 21:12). He believed that "God was able to raise him up, even from the dead" (Heb. 11:19).
In the end, a ram was provided by God for the sacrifice instead of Isaac. God did not require Abraham to sacrifice his son, but He wanted Abraham to be willing to give Him his best.
Abraham was called the friend of God (James 2:23) because God had found a man who kept his Blood Covenant!
God's New Covenant with Jesus
When God cut the Old Covenant He told Abraham to take Him a sacrifice. Later when God was ready to cut the New Covenant, and again He needed a sacrifice - a lamb. John the Baptist said, "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
The Old Covenant was sealed by the blood of Abraham and the sacrificial animal. The New Covenant is sealed "with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:19).
The first Covenant was imperfect. It did not take away sin; it merely covered it up. It did not give new life; it only gave the promise of it. The Old Covenant was like a promissory note which Christ cashed in on the cross of Calvary!
Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant
God spoke of the promises the New Covenant as taking the place of the Old Covenant (Heb. 8:8 - 12).
".... then He (Jesus) said, 'Behold, I have come to do You will, O God.' He takes away the first that He may establish the second" (Heb. 10:9).
Hebrew 9 clearly says that Christ entered into Heaven to appear before God for us as our Friend. he did not have to offer Himself again and again as the Old Testament high priests did here on earth when they offered animal blood each year. Christ died once and for all, to put away the power of sin forever by dying for us.
Christ was God's Lamb, and through Him God cut an eternal covenant with the human race. Hanging on the cross, suspended between Heaven and earth, Jesus took on Himself all the sins of the world, all the sicknesses, all the diseases, all the sufferings and all the heartbreaks. He experienced the curse and the horror of all these dreadful things for us.
Paul said, "... God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:19).
The good news is not that God will reconcile us, but that He has already reconciled us unto Himself. This is the wonderful message God has given us through the Blood Covenant. When they stabbed Jesus in the side like a heifer, and the blood gushed out, God Himself was cutting an everlasting Covenant with the human race.
The New Covenant is in Jesus
The Old Covenant was in Abraham; the New Covenant is in Jesus. When Abraham was circumcised, he "mingled" his blood with the blood of God's representive - a heifer. Jesus shed His blood on the cross, "mingled" the human and the divine. What God did in the Old Covenant was for the sake of Abraham. What He does for us today, He does it for the sake of His Son Jesus.
It is important to understand that the New Covenant is not in us. It is in Jesus. You see, God did not cut the Covenant with you and me. He cut it with His Son Jesus. All we need to do is, by faith, enter into the Covenant that God cut with His Son! I entered into the Covenant by the circumcision of the heart. I was a lost man. I loved the world because I had an old man living inside me. When I accepted Jesus, I was circumcised in my heart and the old man was cut away!
Salvation actually means entering the New blood Covenant that God the Father made with His Son Jesus Christ. As with all Blood Covenants, this New Covenant demands two-way commitment. If I am a convenant man, God has the right to ask me for anything. And I have the equal right to ask God for anything in prayer. The only condition is that I have to pray according to His will. Under the Old Covenant Abraham was called the friend of God; under the New Covenant all true Christians are called children of God. God demanded the best from Abraham - his son Isaac; He is likely to demand the best from us! That is the price we all have to pay for we are His covenant people.
Understanding the Holy Communion
The Holy Communion is a reminder to the Lord's Covenant people the ultimate sacrifice of our Lord Jesus when God the Father cut the New Blood Covenant with Him. To understand this is of supreme impartance.
Paul said to the Church in Corinth, "For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep" (1 Cor. 11:29, 30).
The writer of Hebrews said, "Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:29, NKJV, emphasis added).
Therefore, I believe only those who have been circumcised in the heart and those who are able to discern what Jesus had done for us through the Blood Covenant, should partake of the sacrament of the Holy Communion.
A Covenant of love
The Communion also emphasizes our covenant relationship with all of God's covenant people. When you take the communion, not only are you in loving covenant relationship with God but also you are in a loving covenant relationship with all your brothers and sisters in Christ who partake with you.
Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples (My covenant people), if you have love for one another" (John 13:34, 35, emphasis added).
Love is what the Blood Covenant is all about!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Spirit, Soul, and Body of Man
Before we begin our series of discussion on Spiritual Warfare it is important for us to have a good understanding of how the devil can send his evil spirit to oppress, obsess, and if possible, to possess mankind. And in order to understand how demons and evil spirits can affect mankind, we need to understand the difference between the spirit, soul and body of man. We also need to understand that if you are born again by the Spirit of God (regeneration), your spirit is quickened and made alive by God's Spirit so that demons and evil spirits cannot affect you spirit. They can only trouble your soul and your body, but your spirit will not be touched by the devil because God's Spirit is in you.
Rightly dividing Man
The Bible clearly indicates that God distinguishes the difference between the spirit, soul, and body of man. And yet you do not hear much sound preaching in the Local Church concerning this very importand subject.
Paul said, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23, NKJV, emphasis added).
Paul was writing to Christians in the Church at Thessalonica. This is of great significance because for the born-again Christian his spirit is born again or recreated by the Spirit of God. And so Paul hoped that these Christians would be found blameless at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ if they are able to divide the whole man.
The writer of Hebrews said, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12, emphasis added).
It is easy to distinguish between the body and soul of man because that difference is obvious - the body is visible but the soul is invisible. It is difficult to distinguish between a man's soul and his spirit because both are invisible. But the writer of Hebrews tells us only the Word of God can divide between the soul and spirit of man just as it divides joints and marrow of our body.
As you read on you will discover that man is a spirit being; he has a soul and he lives in a body. Very briefly, these are the functions of the spirit, soul and body of man.
1. The spirit of man relates man to the spiritual realm. It give man the ability to know and relate to God (1 Cor. 2:11, 12). Someone said the spirit of man is God conscious. The function of the spirit of the regenerated man is threefold - intuitive knowledge, conscience and communion with God. These three terms will be explained later on.
2. The soul of man relates man to the intellectual and emotional realm. Someone said the soul of man is self conscious. The role of the soul in man is to relate his inner, spiritual being to his body - his outer flesh and blood being. In other words, the soul incarnates man's spiritual life in bodily (material) form and expression. The soul also has a thressfold function - the mind, will and emotions.
3. The body of man relates man to the physical realm. It relates to the world with the five senses. Someone said the body of man is world conscious. It is also the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The Soul of Man
James said, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21, emphasis added).
James wrote his epistle to Christians - to people whose spirits had already been recreated when they were born again. But here James told these born-again believers that their souls were not born again yet; their souls would only be saved after they have the Word of God implanted (rooted or engrafted) in their souls. In other words, the Word of God engrated into the soul of man has the ability and power to change or "save" man's soul.
The saving of the Soul
According to James the implanted Word takes time to be rooted in the soul of man and therefore the saving of man's soul is an ongoing process throughout a person's walk with God.
The word "save" in James 1:21 comes from the Greek word "sozo" which also means to deliver, protect, heal, preserve and make whole. That means as you actively feed on God's Word, it saves, delivers, protects, heals, preserves, and makes whole your soul, which is one of your greatest defenses against Satan. That also means believers themselves have to do something about the saving of their own souls. This is confirmed by both Peter and Paul:
1. Peter wrote to Christians: "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, ..." (1 Peter 1:22, 23, emphasis added).
Notice that after having been born again, the soul (mind, will and emotion) of the Christian needs to be purified (saved, renewed, protected, healed, preserved, made well and made whole) through (by receiving and by doing) the Word of God. That is the responsibility of the Christian if he wants to stop Satan from making an inroad to him through his own unsaved soul. As he undergirds his soul with the Word, Satan won't have an open door of access to him.
The major way a believer closes the door to the devil is to get his mind renewed with the Word and by practising the Word.
2. Paul wrote to the Roman Christians: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:1, 2, emphasis added).
The mind is a function of a man's soul. The Christian mind needs to be renewed, renovated or to restored. The only way to have the mind renewed is to "present the body as a living sacrifice" to God. God wants submitted bodies and transformed minds. And it is our duty to do that. when our mind is renewed by the Word, our thinking is transformed. When our thinking is transformed, our decision and action are transformed. When our action is transformed we (our entire life) are transformed. The result is the revelation of the perfect will of God. No one knows the perfect will of God without the renewal of the mind. If our mind is not renewed then we are likely to be conformed to the world and as a result we open the door of access to Satan.
The Spirit of Man
The role for the human spirit, restored by the new birth and empowered by the Holy Spirit, is to exercise rule and direction over the soul and, through the soul, over the body. The spirit and soul are immaterial aspects of man: that is, we do not see either of them. We know them only as we experience their functioning. I know my soul, not because I can see it or touch it, but because I am aware of its functioning as mind, emotion and will, In other words, when I put these in action - I think, I feel and I decide, then I am living out of my soul.
God wants us to live out of our regenerated spirit because He wants us to be led by His Spirit as His sons (Romans 8:14). Our spirit, like the soul, also has three different distinct functions:
1. Intuitive knowledge
The first function of the human spirit is knowledge, but it is knowledge of a particular kind. It is direct knowledge that comes intuitively - not as the result of rational, deductive mental process. It is important that we do not confuse this intuitive knowledge with the product of the mind. The apostle Paul puts it clearly:
"For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? even so no one knows the things of God except the spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God" (1 Cor. 2:11, 12, NKJV, emphasis added).
The spiritual truth is, we understand with our mind (soul) but we know with our spirit. It is important to realize that our intuitive knowledge is not infallible because it is the human spirit that receive knowledge. Because we are finite and damaged by sin, we perceive knowledge imperfectly and often misinterpret what we perceived. The accuracy of our knowledge depends on how much we know God! Only Jesus knows God the Father perfectly.
2. Conscience
The second function of the human spirit is conscience. We are all familiar with its operation although we may not have recognized that it is not to be equated with the mind.
Paul said, "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled" (Titus 1:15, emphasis added).
Notice that conscience is not a product of the mind. Conscience also is not the voice of God, although the voice of God speaks to our conscience. Conscience has been created with the ability to "see" general moral truths such as honesty and faithfulness. Most people are willing to pay the price of keeping our promise even it is inconvenient to do so because of their conscience.
Understanding conscience
To understand how conscience functions, we must distinguish its form and its content:
1. Form of conscience
This is the same for everybody, regardless of race, sex, age, background or culture. It tells us when we are doing right and when we are doing wrong.
Paul said, "... who (Gentiles) show the work of the law written their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them ..." (Romans 2:15, emphasis added).
Notice that Paul spoke about people (Gentiles) who are not born again.
2. Content of conscience
This is the basis on which conscience makes its judgment. It tells us what is right and what is wrong. But this varies with culture, age, background and learning, so that one man's conscience may condemn him for something that another man's conscience is neutral about, or even approves.
The work of the Holy Spirit
Any troubled or defiled conscience will be dealt with when the Holy Spirit awakens (or quickens) the human spirit which brings conviction of sin that leads to repentance (Hebrews 10:19 - 22).
The conscience of the born-again Christian begins to bear witness, in the Holy Spirit, to the truth of God's Word.
Paul said, "I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, ..." (Romans 9:1, emphasis added).
3. Communion with the Lord
The third function of the human spirit is communion (communication) with Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).
Worship is only effective if we communicate with the Lord in the Spirit because the Lord is Spirit - and we are also spirit being.
Not only do we communicate with God only with our spirit, but we communicate with one another in the same way. If I do not reach out in my spirit and somehow touch the other person's spirit, there is no real communication between us. I may transmit words and information, that may be understood, but in actual fact there is no real communication between us as persons.
A couple might have been married for years, but don't know how to communicate. It is not that they don't speak to each other. They might have said millions of words, but they failed to communicate; they failed to reach out to each other and touch each other in their spirits!
In our prayer and intercession, if we do not reach out to the people we are praying for in our spirit, there is no real communication and we are just "saying our prayer". And we failed to touch lives. On the other hand, if we reach out to others in our spirit there can be genuine communication even without words at all (Romans 8:26)!
The Body of Man
When you are born again by the Spirit of God, only your spirit is regenerated and redeemed. The new birth is a spiritual rebirth and not a "soulish" rebirth or a physical rebirth. There is no change in your soul or your body. If you were baldheaded before you were born again, you are still baldheaded now. You still sin sometimes when you are tempted. But, the difference is, after rebirth, you have the right spiritual man inside you to control your soul and your body. In other words, you still have your outward man (soul and body) to deal with. You have the power to suppress the desires of your fleshly carnal nature and the power to control your unredeemed soul throughout your Christian walk.
Paul said, "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest, when I have preached to others I myself should become disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27, emphasis added).
That means Paul didn't let his body do everything it wanted to do, but kept his body under the control and dominion of his recreated spirit. We should do likewise, because this is our major defense against Satan.
James said, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).
When you submit your body to God and don't allow it to do things that are wrong, it's going to be a lot easier for you to resist the devil.
Rightly dividing Man
The Bible clearly indicates that God distinguishes the difference between the spirit, soul, and body of man. And yet you do not hear much sound preaching in the Local Church concerning this very importand subject.
Paul said, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23, NKJV, emphasis added).
Paul was writing to Christians in the Church at Thessalonica. This is of great significance because for the born-again Christian his spirit is born again or recreated by the Spirit of God. And so Paul hoped that these Christians would be found blameless at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ if they are able to divide the whole man.
The writer of Hebrews said, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12, emphasis added).
It is easy to distinguish between the body and soul of man because that difference is obvious - the body is visible but the soul is invisible. It is difficult to distinguish between a man's soul and his spirit because both are invisible. But the writer of Hebrews tells us only the Word of God can divide between the soul and spirit of man just as it divides joints and marrow of our body.
As you read on you will discover that man is a spirit being; he has a soul and he lives in a body. Very briefly, these are the functions of the spirit, soul and body of man.
1. The spirit of man relates man to the spiritual realm. It give man the ability to know and relate to God (1 Cor. 2:11, 12). Someone said the spirit of man is God conscious. The function of the spirit of the regenerated man is threefold - intuitive knowledge, conscience and communion with God. These three terms will be explained later on.
2. The soul of man relates man to the intellectual and emotional realm. Someone said the soul of man is self conscious. The role of the soul in man is to relate his inner, spiritual being to his body - his outer flesh and blood being. In other words, the soul incarnates man's spiritual life in bodily (material) form and expression. The soul also has a thressfold function - the mind, will and emotions.
3. The body of man relates man to the physical realm. It relates to the world with the five senses. Someone said the body of man is world conscious. It is also the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The Soul of Man
James said, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21, emphasis added).
James wrote his epistle to Christians - to people whose spirits had already been recreated when they were born again. But here James told these born-again believers that their souls were not born again yet; their souls would only be saved after they have the Word of God implanted (rooted or engrafted) in their souls. In other words, the Word of God engrated into the soul of man has the ability and power to change or "save" man's soul.
The saving of the Soul
According to James the implanted Word takes time to be rooted in the soul of man and therefore the saving of man's soul is an ongoing process throughout a person's walk with God.
The word "save" in James 1:21 comes from the Greek word "sozo" which also means to deliver, protect, heal, preserve and make whole. That means as you actively feed on God's Word, it saves, delivers, protects, heals, preserves, and makes whole your soul, which is one of your greatest defenses against Satan. That also means believers themselves have to do something about the saving of their own souls. This is confirmed by both Peter and Paul:
1. Peter wrote to Christians: "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, ..." (1 Peter 1:22, 23, emphasis added).
Notice that after having been born again, the soul (mind, will and emotion) of the Christian needs to be purified (saved, renewed, protected, healed, preserved, made well and made whole) through (by receiving and by doing) the Word of God. That is the responsibility of the Christian if he wants to stop Satan from making an inroad to him through his own unsaved soul. As he undergirds his soul with the Word, Satan won't have an open door of access to him.
The major way a believer closes the door to the devil is to get his mind renewed with the Word and by practising the Word.
2. Paul wrote to the Roman Christians: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:1, 2, emphasis added).
The mind is a function of a man's soul. The Christian mind needs to be renewed, renovated or to restored. The only way to have the mind renewed is to "present the body as a living sacrifice" to God. God wants submitted bodies and transformed minds. And it is our duty to do that. when our mind is renewed by the Word, our thinking is transformed. When our thinking is transformed, our decision and action are transformed. When our action is transformed we (our entire life) are transformed. The result is the revelation of the perfect will of God. No one knows the perfect will of God without the renewal of the mind. If our mind is not renewed then we are likely to be conformed to the world and as a result we open the door of access to Satan.
The Spirit of Man
The role for the human spirit, restored by the new birth and empowered by the Holy Spirit, is to exercise rule and direction over the soul and, through the soul, over the body. The spirit and soul are immaterial aspects of man: that is, we do not see either of them. We know them only as we experience their functioning. I know my soul, not because I can see it or touch it, but because I am aware of its functioning as mind, emotion and will, In other words, when I put these in action - I think, I feel and I decide, then I am living out of my soul.
God wants us to live out of our regenerated spirit because He wants us to be led by His Spirit as His sons (Romans 8:14). Our spirit, like the soul, also has three different distinct functions:
1. Intuitive knowledge
The first function of the human spirit is knowledge, but it is knowledge of a particular kind. It is direct knowledge that comes intuitively - not as the result of rational, deductive mental process. It is important that we do not confuse this intuitive knowledge with the product of the mind. The apostle Paul puts it clearly:
"For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? even so no one knows the things of God except the spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God" (1 Cor. 2:11, 12, NKJV, emphasis added).
The spiritual truth is, we understand with our mind (soul) but we know with our spirit. It is important to realize that our intuitive knowledge is not infallible because it is the human spirit that receive knowledge. Because we are finite and damaged by sin, we perceive knowledge imperfectly and often misinterpret what we perceived. The accuracy of our knowledge depends on how much we know God! Only Jesus knows God the Father perfectly.
2. Conscience
The second function of the human spirit is conscience. We are all familiar with its operation although we may not have recognized that it is not to be equated with the mind.
Paul said, "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled" (Titus 1:15, emphasis added).
Notice that conscience is not a product of the mind. Conscience also is not the voice of God, although the voice of God speaks to our conscience. Conscience has been created with the ability to "see" general moral truths such as honesty and faithfulness. Most people are willing to pay the price of keeping our promise even it is inconvenient to do so because of their conscience.
Understanding conscience
To understand how conscience functions, we must distinguish its form and its content:
1. Form of conscience
This is the same for everybody, regardless of race, sex, age, background or culture. It tells us when we are doing right and when we are doing wrong.
Paul said, "... who (Gentiles) show the work of the law written their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them ..." (Romans 2:15, emphasis added).
Notice that Paul spoke about people (Gentiles) who are not born again.
2. Content of conscience
This is the basis on which conscience makes its judgment. It tells us what is right and what is wrong. But this varies with culture, age, background and learning, so that one man's conscience may condemn him for something that another man's conscience is neutral about, or even approves.
The work of the Holy Spirit
Any troubled or defiled conscience will be dealt with when the Holy Spirit awakens (or quickens) the human spirit which brings conviction of sin that leads to repentance (Hebrews 10:19 - 22).
The conscience of the born-again Christian begins to bear witness, in the Holy Spirit, to the truth of God's Word.
Paul said, "I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, ..." (Romans 9:1, emphasis added).
3. Communion with the Lord
The third function of the human spirit is communion (communication) with Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).
Worship is only effective if we communicate with the Lord in the Spirit because the Lord is Spirit - and we are also spirit being.
Not only do we communicate with God only with our spirit, but we communicate with one another in the same way. If I do not reach out in my spirit and somehow touch the other person's spirit, there is no real communication between us. I may transmit words and information, that may be understood, but in actual fact there is no real communication between us as persons.
A couple might have been married for years, but don't know how to communicate. It is not that they don't speak to each other. They might have said millions of words, but they failed to communicate; they failed to reach out to each other and touch each other in their spirits!
In our prayer and intercession, if we do not reach out to the people we are praying for in our spirit, there is no real communication and we are just "saying our prayer". And we failed to touch lives. On the other hand, if we reach out to others in our spirit there can be genuine communication even without words at all (Romans 8:26)!
The Body of Man
When you are born again by the Spirit of God, only your spirit is regenerated and redeemed. The new birth is a spiritual rebirth and not a "soulish" rebirth or a physical rebirth. There is no change in your soul or your body. If you were baldheaded before you were born again, you are still baldheaded now. You still sin sometimes when you are tempted. But, the difference is, after rebirth, you have the right spiritual man inside you to control your soul and your body. In other words, you still have your outward man (soul and body) to deal with. You have the power to suppress the desires of your fleshly carnal nature and the power to control your unredeemed soul throughout your Christian walk.
Paul said, "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest, when I have preached to others I myself should become disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27, emphasis added).
That means Paul didn't let his body do everything it wanted to do, but kept his body under the control and dominion of his recreated spirit. We should do likewise, because this is our major defense against Satan.
James said, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).
When you submit your body to God and don't allow it to do things that are wrong, it's going to be a lot easier for you to resist the devil.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Understanding Revival
Revival is such a vast topic that our discussion needs to be in points form. We shall not discuss anything concerning those great "revivalists" in Church history. Books have been written about the ministries of Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney and many others. Neither shall we discuss about the the "great" contemporary revivals (20th Century) - The Welsh Revival (Evan Roberts), Azusa Street (Charles Parham), the Church Renewal Movement, the Healing Revival, the Third Wave, the Charismatic and Pentecostal Movements and many others. We confine our discussion on the characteristics of revivals, the essence of revivals and the lessons learned from past revivals.
Revival is the Work of God
The psalmist said, "Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You" (Ps. 85:6, NKJV)?
The word "revive" means "to cause to live". The psalmist cried out to God to recover His people from the condition as a state of death.
Prophet Habakkuk cried out to the Lord, "O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy" (Hab. 3:2).
Men can pray for a revival but we cannot cause a revival. Revival is the work of the Godhead - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. it is His prerogative and He sets the time, period and place!
The Move of the Holy Spirit
There is a great difference between preaching from a source of knowledge and preaching from a well of living water that flows from the throne of God.
That the Lord has chosen men to be His habitation must be one of the great marvels of the creation. But God has also chosen men to do His work, and He often uses just a single individual to ignite a new move of His Holy Spirit.
You don't advertise a fire
A true move of God is not fueled by money, organization or advertising. True revival only comes when the pillar of fire, that is the presence of God Himself, picks up and moves. To try to organize, promote or sell a move of God is profanity in its lowest form!
You can't plan a revival
Broken plans seem to be the hallmark of revivals. Revival is the plan of the Holy Spirit. This does not imply that leadership and organization are not needed in the Church. But when the Spirit is doing something new and fresh, the greatest gift is not knowing how to lead, but knowing how to follow.
Seek the wine, not the wineskin
There does not seem to be a single example in Church history where a wineskin of Church organization was built before the new wine of revival was given. Those who have tried to build the wineskin first have often found themselves out of step and unable to receive the new wine when it came. The Lord has never restricted Himself to move by any predetermined formula. There is one quality common to those who have been mightily used by the Holy Spirit - they were able to hear the sound of the Holy Spirit moving and were willing to move the way that He wanted them to move in a particular time and in a particular place.
The power and the desire of prayer
The first sign of revival is when Christians become aware of the power of prayer. Prayer meeting that had been drudgery before becomes the main attractions not only in the Local Church, but even for entire cities. Meetings swelled until overflowing, both with people and with the anointing. Meetings that are expected to be regular services, quickly become prayer meetings.
Saving of souls
The main focus of prayer for any revival is always for the lost. There can be no revival without soul-winning. Every Christian has a burning agony for the lost. There is no set pattern of strategy for the witnessing; it is simply born out of an overflowing joy and faith that can't be contained in those who know the Savior.
Learn how to carry the Ark
The Ark of the Covenant represented God's presence to the ancient nation of Israel. There are many great lessons in the Old Testament stories of the Ark concerning how we should, and should not, treat the presence of the Lord. When the Ark was treated as holy and was carried before them into battle, great and miraculous victories were won (Josh. 6:4 - 11). When the Ark was not treated as holy, but was used as a good luck charm, they lost the Ark and the battle and it was captured by their enemies (1 Sam. 4:1 - 11).
Pastors and Church leaders must know how to carry the "Ark" of God's presence. They must learn how to remain open and submitted to the Lord's leading and learn how not to offend the Spirit. Those who are used mightily in a revival must not say or do anything that might draw attention to themselves and draw people away from the Lord.
Essential conditions for revival
1. All sin must be confessed to God and repented of. If possible make restitution. The Church has to be cleansed - the Lord's bride must be without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:22 - 27), so there would be no room for compromise with sin. If there is anything in our lives about which there is even doubt as to whether it is good or evil - then cast it off!
2. There must be no "cloud" between the believer and God. Have you forgiven everyone? If not, don't expect forgiveness for your own sins. The Scripture is clear, we cannot be forgiven until we have forgiven others (Luke 6:37; 11:4). Unforgiveness separates us from God.
3. We must obey the Holy Spirit. Do what the Spirit prompts you to do. Prompt, implicit, unquestioning obedience to the Holy Spirit is required if we are going to be used by Him.
4. There must be public confessions of Christ as Savior. This is not just a one time incident after our salvation experience of water baptism. For the Christians it is a way of life. There is a difference between confession and profession. Do not be a professing Christian only!
Be sensitive to receive God's messengers
History tells us that many revivals failed to get started because men, overreacting to the selfishly ambitious men, rejected the messengers the Lord sent to them. It is right that we desire to see God receives all the glory, but this does not mean that men should not get any attention or recognition. One of the great ironies of Church history is that those who are the most zealous for seeing that men do not steal God's glory almost never experience a true move of God because they reject the messengers He sends to them. Paul was bold to defend his recognition as an apostle because he could not rightly minister to the Churches unless they recognized the purpose for which he had come to them (1 Cor. 9:1, 2; 2 Cor. 12:12, 13).
We must receive a prophet in the name of a prophet if we are going to receive a prophet's reward (Matt. 10:41). If we receive a prophet as just a brother, we will miss what God could have given us. The same is true of every ministry. We must receive a pastor as a pastor if we are going to receive the reward of his ministry. The same is true true of an apostle, an evangelist or a teacher. We must recognize the gift of God in the messenger to receive the gift that God is sending to us.
To receive the gift of God in another is to recognize the work and purpose of God in them. It takes humility to receive the message of God from another men, especially one that we have known for awhile. It is this humility that God is looking for so that He can trust us with His grace (James 4:6).
It is a natural tendency for the leadership to police the Local Church in order to ensure that others are not exalting themselves. In the eyes of the Lord this is a terribel form of spiritual pride and this often causes us to miss the grace of God by rejecting those that He has sent to us as His divine provision. The apostle Paul commended the Galations for reciving him "as an angel from God" even though his flesh was a trial to them (Gal 4:14).
There is a difference between properly honoring someone and worshipping him.
God uses men
Almost every great revival or move of God, in both Scripture and history, was ignited by a single individual. But none of the revivals were sustained by just one individual believer. There were many others that were used by God to prepare the nation for it, and others who fanned the flames throughout the nation. Notice that it was never the presence of a single individual which brought revival, but the presence of God!
The greatest vessel that the Lord uses is still an "earthen vessel". Once we behold the glory of the Lord the vessel losses our attention. Compared to the Lord Jesus, even the great apostle Paul was a mere man, an empty earthen vessel.
Revival affects the entire Body of Christ
The most significant result of a past revival was that all Church prejudices and denominational barriers completely collapsed as Pastors and believers of all demonminations worshipped the Lord together. The quarrels of local Christians were either forgotten or instantly healed.
One outstanding characteristic of a past revival was the confession of sin, and it swelled over from the unsaved to the saved, who were broken and humbled by the revelation of the cross of Christ. Bitterness and resentment became unthinkable, as they all were compelled to gaze upon the Lord's great mercy and love. This unity was not caused by persecution, but by the glory and presence of the Lord. This became a profound historic example of how all of our individual crowns will be cast to the feet of the Lamb when He enters His Church!
On the negative side, many Pastors and Church leaders quickly burned out by trying to do too much. Consequently, multitudes who were touched by the revival and had a genuine encounter with the Lord were lost again to the world because there were not enough workers to care for them, to help to raise them spiritually. It is hard to take the time to equip other workers and ministries in the heat of a revival. God needs workers who takes time to rest - to enter His rest.
Desperate prayer, supplication and intercession
Deep spiritual awakening or revival, whether in the Local Church or in the whole country, begins with desperate people. Hannah, the prophet Samuel's mother, is a good example of those whom God uses to give birth to His purposes. Hannah became so desperate for a son that she was willing to give that son back to the Lord after she received him. This kind of devotion never fails to move the Lord to respond to His people, and it is what He must see in His people before He can trust them with true revival. When we are willing to give everything that is born back to Him, for His glory, releasing control of it for Him to raise it as He sees fit, we are then ready for revival.
The Scripture has proven over and over that the Lord will answer the prayers of desperate Christians - Christians who are sick of the tired, weary, cold and mechanical and liveless Church "services"; Christians who are heartbroken over the deadness of the Church, over sinners who are eternally lost, and who are desperate about their own spiritual condition.
Prayer brings Brokenness
God cannot use a person who is not broken and completely surrendered to Him. When Jesus met Peter in his fishing boat, Peter had one reaction: He was convinced in his heart, he felt as if he was too sinful for Jesus to be in his boat with him. Having denied Jesus three times, he was broken by the grace and forgiveness of Christ in giving him the opportunity to preach the first sermon in the history of the Church. As a result of Peter's ministry, three thousand came to Christ at the Day of Pentecost. Peter was also used by Christ to open the spiritual door to the Gentile world. God was able to use Peter once he had been broken.
I realize that a lack of brokenness causes a person who is used by God to become proud and arrogant. However, when a man is broken, his heart resists pride. Therefore, he can be used by God to a great degree.
How does brokenness begin? When you come in contact with God in your time of prayer, the first thing you feel in your heart, as you enter into His divine presence, is a realization of your sin. No one can sense pride in the presence of the Holy God. Once you sense your lack of natural qualifications to be in His Holy Presence, you will begin to confess your sin and humble yourself before God. Your immediately reaction is one of brokenness. Brokenness and pride cannot coexist!
Amazingly, as you enter into the Presence, you will be made aware of reactions, attitudes and actions that you may have forgotten. Just as Peter could not bear to have Christ in his boat because of the recognition of his sins, so also, you become aware of your great need before His Holy Presence. The next natural reaction to the Presence is the desire to be forgiven of your sin and to be set free with confession.
Keeping our First Love
Our first love must be for the Lord Himself, and then for His purpose. People can want revival for many different reasons, some of them selfish. Parents who love each other more than they love their children will love their children more than other parents do. If we will love the Lord more than we love His purposes, we will then be able to love His purposes properly without making them idols.
I believe true evangelism and true revival is born out of deep love for the Lord, not just a love for the lost, though that is of course important. Similarly, true prayer and intercession is likewise founded upon a desire to be united with the Lord, not just an effort to get Him to do something for us!
The Lord sees only one Church
Scripture tells us that before the end of this age comes, the Church will be unified. The Lord is returning for a Bride, not a harem! The prayers of Jesus will be answered (John 17).
When the Lord looks down upon the earth He sees only one Church. The many divisions perpetrated upon the Church were divised in hell, not in heaven, and they will be overthrown before the end comes. We must have unity if we are going to be prepared for the great harvest that will mark the end of this age (Mark 13:39).
It is a basic Biblical and historic truth that God does not anoint division. No great revival or move of God has ever emerged from a divided Church!
Revival is the Work of God
The psalmist said, "Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You" (Ps. 85:6, NKJV)?
The word "revive" means "to cause to live". The psalmist cried out to God to recover His people from the condition as a state of death.
Prophet Habakkuk cried out to the Lord, "O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy" (Hab. 3:2).
Men can pray for a revival but we cannot cause a revival. Revival is the work of the Godhead - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. it is His prerogative and He sets the time, period and place!
The Move of the Holy Spirit
There is a great difference between preaching from a source of knowledge and preaching from a well of living water that flows from the throne of God.
That the Lord has chosen men to be His habitation must be one of the great marvels of the creation. But God has also chosen men to do His work, and He often uses just a single individual to ignite a new move of His Holy Spirit.
You don't advertise a fire
A true move of God is not fueled by money, organization or advertising. True revival only comes when the pillar of fire, that is the presence of God Himself, picks up and moves. To try to organize, promote or sell a move of God is profanity in its lowest form!
You can't plan a revival
Broken plans seem to be the hallmark of revivals. Revival is the plan of the Holy Spirit. This does not imply that leadership and organization are not needed in the Church. But when the Spirit is doing something new and fresh, the greatest gift is not knowing how to lead, but knowing how to follow.
Seek the wine, not the wineskin
There does not seem to be a single example in Church history where a wineskin of Church organization was built before the new wine of revival was given. Those who have tried to build the wineskin first have often found themselves out of step and unable to receive the new wine when it came. The Lord has never restricted Himself to move by any predetermined formula. There is one quality common to those who have been mightily used by the Holy Spirit - they were able to hear the sound of the Holy Spirit moving and were willing to move the way that He wanted them to move in a particular time and in a particular place.
The power and the desire of prayer
The first sign of revival is when Christians become aware of the power of prayer. Prayer meeting that had been drudgery before becomes the main attractions not only in the Local Church, but even for entire cities. Meetings swelled until overflowing, both with people and with the anointing. Meetings that are expected to be regular services, quickly become prayer meetings.
Saving of souls
The main focus of prayer for any revival is always for the lost. There can be no revival without soul-winning. Every Christian has a burning agony for the lost. There is no set pattern of strategy for the witnessing; it is simply born out of an overflowing joy and faith that can't be contained in those who know the Savior.
Learn how to carry the Ark
The Ark of the Covenant represented God's presence to the ancient nation of Israel. There are many great lessons in the Old Testament stories of the Ark concerning how we should, and should not, treat the presence of the Lord. When the Ark was treated as holy and was carried before them into battle, great and miraculous victories were won (Josh. 6:4 - 11). When the Ark was not treated as holy, but was used as a good luck charm, they lost the Ark and the battle and it was captured by their enemies (1 Sam. 4:1 - 11).
Pastors and Church leaders must know how to carry the "Ark" of God's presence. They must learn how to remain open and submitted to the Lord's leading and learn how not to offend the Spirit. Those who are used mightily in a revival must not say or do anything that might draw attention to themselves and draw people away from the Lord.
Essential conditions for revival
1. All sin must be confessed to God and repented of. If possible make restitution. The Church has to be cleansed - the Lord's bride must be without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:22 - 27), so there would be no room for compromise with sin. If there is anything in our lives about which there is even doubt as to whether it is good or evil - then cast it off!
2. There must be no "cloud" between the believer and God. Have you forgiven everyone? If not, don't expect forgiveness for your own sins. The Scripture is clear, we cannot be forgiven until we have forgiven others (Luke 6:37; 11:4). Unforgiveness separates us from God.
3. We must obey the Holy Spirit. Do what the Spirit prompts you to do. Prompt, implicit, unquestioning obedience to the Holy Spirit is required if we are going to be used by Him.
4. There must be public confessions of Christ as Savior. This is not just a one time incident after our salvation experience of water baptism. For the Christians it is a way of life. There is a difference between confession and profession. Do not be a professing Christian only!
Be sensitive to receive God's messengers
History tells us that many revivals failed to get started because men, overreacting to the selfishly ambitious men, rejected the messengers the Lord sent to them. It is right that we desire to see God receives all the glory, but this does not mean that men should not get any attention or recognition. One of the great ironies of Church history is that those who are the most zealous for seeing that men do not steal God's glory almost never experience a true move of God because they reject the messengers He sends to them. Paul was bold to defend his recognition as an apostle because he could not rightly minister to the Churches unless they recognized the purpose for which he had come to them (1 Cor. 9:1, 2; 2 Cor. 12:12, 13).
We must receive a prophet in the name of a prophet if we are going to receive a prophet's reward (Matt. 10:41). If we receive a prophet as just a brother, we will miss what God could have given us. The same is true of every ministry. We must receive a pastor as a pastor if we are going to receive the reward of his ministry. The same is true true of an apostle, an evangelist or a teacher. We must recognize the gift of God in the messenger to receive the gift that God is sending to us.
To receive the gift of God in another is to recognize the work and purpose of God in them. It takes humility to receive the message of God from another men, especially one that we have known for awhile. It is this humility that God is looking for so that He can trust us with His grace (James 4:6).
It is a natural tendency for the leadership to police the Local Church in order to ensure that others are not exalting themselves. In the eyes of the Lord this is a terribel form of spiritual pride and this often causes us to miss the grace of God by rejecting those that He has sent to us as His divine provision. The apostle Paul commended the Galations for reciving him "as an angel from God" even though his flesh was a trial to them (Gal 4:14).
There is a difference between properly honoring someone and worshipping him.
God uses men
Almost every great revival or move of God, in both Scripture and history, was ignited by a single individual. But none of the revivals were sustained by just one individual believer. There were many others that were used by God to prepare the nation for it, and others who fanned the flames throughout the nation. Notice that it was never the presence of a single individual which brought revival, but the presence of God!
The greatest vessel that the Lord uses is still an "earthen vessel". Once we behold the glory of the Lord the vessel losses our attention. Compared to the Lord Jesus, even the great apostle Paul was a mere man, an empty earthen vessel.
Revival affects the entire Body of Christ
The most significant result of a past revival was that all Church prejudices and denominational barriers completely collapsed as Pastors and believers of all demonminations worshipped the Lord together. The quarrels of local Christians were either forgotten or instantly healed.
One outstanding characteristic of a past revival was the confession of sin, and it swelled over from the unsaved to the saved, who were broken and humbled by the revelation of the cross of Christ. Bitterness and resentment became unthinkable, as they all were compelled to gaze upon the Lord's great mercy and love. This unity was not caused by persecution, but by the glory and presence of the Lord. This became a profound historic example of how all of our individual crowns will be cast to the feet of the Lamb when He enters His Church!
On the negative side, many Pastors and Church leaders quickly burned out by trying to do too much. Consequently, multitudes who were touched by the revival and had a genuine encounter with the Lord were lost again to the world because there were not enough workers to care for them, to help to raise them spiritually. It is hard to take the time to equip other workers and ministries in the heat of a revival. God needs workers who takes time to rest - to enter His rest.
Desperate prayer, supplication and intercession
Deep spiritual awakening or revival, whether in the Local Church or in the whole country, begins with desperate people. Hannah, the prophet Samuel's mother, is a good example of those whom God uses to give birth to His purposes. Hannah became so desperate for a son that she was willing to give that son back to the Lord after she received him. This kind of devotion never fails to move the Lord to respond to His people, and it is what He must see in His people before He can trust them with true revival. When we are willing to give everything that is born back to Him, for His glory, releasing control of it for Him to raise it as He sees fit, we are then ready for revival.
The Scripture has proven over and over that the Lord will answer the prayers of desperate Christians - Christians who are sick of the tired, weary, cold and mechanical and liveless Church "services"; Christians who are heartbroken over the deadness of the Church, over sinners who are eternally lost, and who are desperate about their own spiritual condition.
Prayer brings Brokenness
God cannot use a person who is not broken and completely surrendered to Him. When Jesus met Peter in his fishing boat, Peter had one reaction: He was convinced in his heart, he felt as if he was too sinful for Jesus to be in his boat with him. Having denied Jesus three times, he was broken by the grace and forgiveness of Christ in giving him the opportunity to preach the first sermon in the history of the Church. As a result of Peter's ministry, three thousand came to Christ at the Day of Pentecost. Peter was also used by Christ to open the spiritual door to the Gentile world. God was able to use Peter once he had been broken.
I realize that a lack of brokenness causes a person who is used by God to become proud and arrogant. However, when a man is broken, his heart resists pride. Therefore, he can be used by God to a great degree.
How does brokenness begin? When you come in contact with God in your time of prayer, the first thing you feel in your heart, as you enter into His divine presence, is a realization of your sin. No one can sense pride in the presence of the Holy God. Once you sense your lack of natural qualifications to be in His Holy Presence, you will begin to confess your sin and humble yourself before God. Your immediately reaction is one of brokenness. Brokenness and pride cannot coexist!
Amazingly, as you enter into the Presence, you will be made aware of reactions, attitudes and actions that you may have forgotten. Just as Peter could not bear to have Christ in his boat because of the recognition of his sins, so also, you become aware of your great need before His Holy Presence. The next natural reaction to the Presence is the desire to be forgiven of your sin and to be set free with confession.
Keeping our First Love
Our first love must be for the Lord Himself, and then for His purpose. People can want revival for many different reasons, some of them selfish. Parents who love each other more than they love their children will love their children more than other parents do. If we will love the Lord more than we love His purposes, we will then be able to love His purposes properly without making them idols.
I believe true evangelism and true revival is born out of deep love for the Lord, not just a love for the lost, though that is of course important. Similarly, true prayer and intercession is likewise founded upon a desire to be united with the Lord, not just an effort to get Him to do something for us!
The Lord sees only one Church
Scripture tells us that before the end of this age comes, the Church will be unified. The Lord is returning for a Bride, not a harem! The prayers of Jesus will be answered (John 17).
When the Lord looks down upon the earth He sees only one Church. The many divisions perpetrated upon the Church were divised in hell, not in heaven, and they will be overthrown before the end comes. We must have unity if we are going to be prepared for the great harvest that will mark the end of this age (Mark 13:39).
It is a basic Biblical and historic truth that God does not anoint division. No great revival or move of God has ever emerged from a divided Church!
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