2023-01-20
Good Morning Dear Ones,
After the Lord Jesus had healed two blind men, he told the on-lookers not to say anything about this. But his words were not obeyed. The people passed the word to many others about what Jesus had done. This would set off a series of events not anticipated. The Lord Jesus was going around a region speaking in the synagogues. After one such visit, a nosy crowd and some people playing pipes surrounded a motionless girl. “She’s dead.” One of them said. Christ responded, “Go away. The girl is not dead; she’s asleep.” The people laughed at Him. After the crowd went outside, the Lord put His hand on her, and she got up. News of what happened spread around the region [MT 9: 23-26]. During the time that word was spreading of Christ’s actions, a man was brought to him who couldn’t speak or see because he was possessed by demons. When Christ successfully exorcised these demons, the man could both talk and see. Our Lord told the on-lookers to not to say anything about what they had seen. But again, His request was not obeyed, and word spread about what had happened. The Pharisees attributed Christ’s actions to His being led by the evil one [MT 9: 27-34].
The Lord Jesus sent out his disciples to heal the sick and spread His word among the people. As the Lord put it, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.” He told them to be on guard, i.e. “be shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” The Holy Spirit would work through them, so they would know what to say. Jesus told them to stand firm despite being hated because of Him [MT 10: 13-23]. Later, Christ told them, in MT 10: 32-33, “Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My Father. But whoever disowns Me, I will disown before My Father in heaven.” These were the series of events as they were happening at this time---which Christ knew was preparation for some difficult home truths to come, which had to be learned.
The Lord Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth but a sword” [MT 10: 34]. Family members may turn against people, a person’s enemy may be living in his own household. Anyone who places his own relatives above the Lord Jesus is not worthy of Him. Anyone who welcomes His disciples or a prophet, welcomes Him. A righteous person will be rewarded [MT 10: 32-42]. This rather unexpected advice from the Lord was His way of being truthful and realistic, teaching His disciples to have insight and be prepared.
The Lord’s use of the word “sword,” in MT 10: 34, is no accident. It has Strong’s number 3162 and in the Greek it is “machairan” [pronounced: “makh-ahee-rah.”] This means a “sword or dagger of the Spirit,” part of God’s full armor. Please read EPH 6: 10-18 for a complete view of God’s full armor. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God, but there are other parts of God’s armor that we don’t want to miss. Germaine to what is being said is EPH 6: 12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We need to put on the full armor of God, so that we can stand firm against those who would try to destroy our faith in the Lord. Everything mentioned in this all-important armor of God is necessary if we as followers of Jesus Christ will succeed.
PRAYER: O Lord, a part of any success when tempted by the evil one to turn from our faith or even gain faith in the first place, You involve being strengthened by truth, righteousness, knowledge of Your Gospel and the wisdom it brings, understanding of Your word, readiness to share this blessing, and deeply abiding faith in You. A person who has Your full armor has salvation and will gain eternal life, justification, and eternal forgiveness of sin. This description shows us a commitment to what you teach us about Yourself and how to be fully equipped to be successful in spiritual warfare. We need not be afraid because You love us and will stand firm with us against shared spiritual enemies. You are our Kinsman-Redeemer and Covenant Partner. Even those whose physical lives may be taken by the enemy will be saved [REV 6: 9-11], We acknowledge You and offer You praise and thanks for loving us enough to stand firm beside us against our shared enemies. In Your holy/mighty name, Jesus Christ, Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit directs me to write about why believers who have engaged in spiritual warfare using God’s full armor can expect eventual peace. It helps to be reminded of the gifts of the Holy Spirit: love, peace, joy, forbearance [patience], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control [GA 5: 22-23]. Our Lord shows favor to the humble, but has no use for the arrogant, jealous, envying, immoral, dishonest, temperamental people. When people deny God’s existence or are hateful toward others, they are demonstrating lack of wisdom. COL 1: 15 tells us that the Lord Jesus is “the visible likeness of the invisible God and the Firstborn of all creation.” This means that He appeared like an ordinary man but was the First being to be created, who did the work of creation at the Father’s command. When the long-held mystery was finally disclosed to the Gentiles, it was that the hope, due to Christ within us, was that of the resurrection. Our Lord Jesus opened the way for us to gain wisdom from the Father’s storehouse. It was our hope that we will be eventually glorified and gain eternal life with the Father because of Christ’s Atonement is powerful motivation for us to endure in our faith in Him [see 1 PET 3: 13-17]. Spiritual warfare isn’t easy, but our loving Lord has prepared those with faith in Him to succeed! Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always;
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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