2003-02-03
Good Morning Dear Ones,
God’s word is one of the most important topics we can take up. It matters because our reading it gives God the opportunity to reveal Himself to us, and because He means for us to be able to use it as an effective weapon in spiritual warfare. By no means are those the only reasons for spending daily time with it, but they are two very important ones. I must also add that my daily time with God’s word has blessed every aspect of my life enormously, and I’m not the only one who feels this way. God has so much to teach us through the writers of the Scriptures, that we do ourselves a great disservice if we don’t spend daily time with Him in this manner. Today, we are going to look at how God gives us the authority to wage spiritual warfare in His name to victory.
Our Kinsman-Redeemer’s great sacrifice on the cross fulfilled many purposes of the Father’s. It defeated the forces of evil [1 JN 2: 13]. It gave us a chance to see that the Son might have lost His physical life, but that through His resurrection, we see that He gained His spiritual life for eternity. We also had more evidence that the Father really does keep His promises. Because of RO 8: 17, we see that the Father has promised us that we too will be resurrected to eternal life with Him if we endure in our obedience and faithfulness. I don’t apologize for repeating the EPH 1: 18-20 reveals that the Father grants us the same power He used to resurrect Christ from death to life to use against Satan. That’s huge! Thus, we can say that Christ, through His Atonement, has given us the power we need to battle evil. Would Christ give us this power without the authority to use it? I think not.
Let’s look at some examples in the Scriptures. DT 2: 30-31 is a good example. Moses tells about the authority to defeat King Sihon of the Amorites at Heshbon. “But King Sihon would not let us pass through his country. The Lord your God had made him stubborn and rebellious, so that we could defeat him and take his territory, which we still occupy. Then the Lord said to me [Moses], ‘Look, I have made King Sihon and his land helpless before you; take his land and occupy it.’” This whole situation had arisen when the Jews were trying to cross from east to west into what was then Canaan and is now Israel. Another example takes place in JS 1: 1-9 in which God commands Joshua and his men to conquer Canaan. A particular example of granting authority occurs in JS 6: 17-18 with regard to the taking of the city of Jericho. “The city and everything in it must be totally destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only the prostitute Rehab and her household will be spared, because she hid our spies. But you are not to take anything that is to be destroyed; if you do, you will bring trouble and destruction on the Israelite camp.” The authority to do this came from God, but there were limitations on that authority to prevent blocks to the carrying out of God’s will. Out of context, this order could be seen as downright blood-thirsty. However, the will of God was to get rid of all vestiges of idolatry, and that goes to the very heart of the reason Israel was to be established in the first place. It shouldn’t be lost on us that Rehab is a part of Christ’s genealogical line either. We know that the story of the Jewish soldier, Achan’s, disobedience to that order follows in JS 7, which allows us to understand the importance of obeying God exactly as He commands.
Now, let’s look at some examples from the NT. Apollos was a Jew born in Alexandria who came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker, but only understood the baptism of John (water baptism, but not spirit baptism). When Paul’s friends, Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak, they took him home with them afterward and explained the to him more correctly the Way of the Lord. Now, we can see how the Lord then granted Apollos the authority to do His work of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Achaia (today’s southern Greece). AC 18: 27-28, “Apollos then decided to go to Achaia, so the believers in Ephesus helped him by writing to the believers in Achaia, urging them to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who through God’s grace had become believers. For with his strong arguments he defeated the [traditional] Jews in public debates by proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.” This last example gives us great insight into the power and authority that using God’s word against non-belief really is effective when it’s done accurately and genuine, loving faith.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have given us blessed encouragement and direction in dealing with the work of Satan against You. Our encouragement comes from such citations as 1 JN 2: 6, 8, “Whoever says that he remains in union with God should live just as Jesus Christ did…However, the command I now write you is new, because its truth is seen in Christ and also in you. For the darkness is passing away, and the real light is already shining.” In other words, Your word should come alive in us. When it does, it can be perceived by others and can strengthen their faith in You too. This provides an effective way to bring Your light where darkness has been. You have taught us that when Apollos used Your word with accuracy, it was effective in bringing others to faith. That lesson is crucial to us, because it applies to us too. We know that the only way for us to use Your word accurately is to spend daily time studying it. O Lord, in Your infinite wisdom, You have placed a powerful weapon against evil in our hands. Not only that, but You have, through Christ, given us both the power and authority to use it under His direction. We accept this weapon with utmost respect and reverence for You. We pledge to use it only in the way He directs and which is pleasing to You. As 2 COR 10: 4-5 reveals, “The weapons we use in our fight are not the world’s weapons but God’s powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.” You have told us in DT 4: 2 not to alter Your word in any way, and our promise to You is to obey that command. In 1 SAM 3: 21, You have shown us that You reveal Yourself through Your word. Knowing You better blesses our lives beyond measure. We pay careful attention to David’s words in PS 18: 16-19, 22 because of the encouragement it gives us. “The Lord reached down from above and took hold of me; He pulled me out of the deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies and from all those who hate me-they were too strong for me. When I was in trouble, they attacked me, but the Lord protected me. He helped me out of danger; He saved me because He was pleased with me…I have observed all His laws; I have not disobeyed His commands.” We stand before You today, Dearest Abba, so humble and thankful for the way You equip us for battle, lead us through it, and rescue us from waters too deep for us. We offer You rich praise by repeating David’s words in PS 9: 1-2, which reveals what is in our hearts. “I will thank You, Lord, with all my heart. I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done. I will be filled with joy because of You. I will sing praises to Your name, O Most High.” In humility, we confess our sins and offer Your our worship, adoration loyalty, diligence, glory, honor, trust, obedience, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s holy name, we pray. Amen.
The subject of the authority that God gives us through Christ to wage spiritual warfare is too important to give short shrift. Therefore, I will continue writing tomorrow about that, giving Scripture that will further illuminate God’s will for His loyal and faithful foot soldiers. Yes, that’s us, and we are truly blessed to be His own! Just as the sun rises and sets each day, we can be confident that our loving Abba is there to keep His covenant promises made to us. Even the humans that we love the most can’t mimic God’s consistency in doing this. I’m stating categorically that our God is awesome! His love for us knows no bounds, as long as we continue in enduring faith. The most amazing thing about this living “in Christ” is that no other lifestyle or belief system grants happiness and peace they way this one does. The truth of that is in the experiencing, and it’s a truth God wants each of us to know well. Each day, He demonstrates His love to us, even at times when we have a hard time seeing it. We need to bear this in mind as we strive to learn His lessons from the Scriptures and from the circumstances of our lives. After all, our God loved us enough to send His Son to suffer and die on the cross for us! Peter and I send each of you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn