Those are Fightin Words

We still don’t get this.  If you do not know what the fight is or misidentify the objective you either won’t fight or will misuse the implements of warfare.

Analysis:  The Jews under the leadership of Moses were given the Promised Land.  The spies went out and two believed and said, that in spite of the odds and obstacles they should take the Land as commanded and receive their inheritance.  The majority denied the faith and shrank back to destruction.  Hebrews describes this explicitly and relates it to our battle of faith and our subsequent inheritance of the Promised Land.   Why do we ignore this?

The battle is for your soul.  Apply the protection he has given and win.  This is why he gives us the armaments of Eph 6.  We will win only if we stand.  Only if we heed the warnings and use the implements of war can we win.  He guarantees victory but we must fight the Adversary.  I’m not going to belabor this.  If you get it, great.

The Lord’s Prayer is protection, the Prayer of the Spirit as mentioned in Eph. 6.  By the implementation of this in prayer and the personal adherence to these principles He causes us to overcome and we are divinely protected.  Do it or die.  Let’s look at it in its components.  "This, then, is how you should pray:”

Living a Sacrificial Life

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,”

Relationship, nature and proper honor are contained in this section.  We are His children which gives us security to fight.  We know who He is and how He works with us.  We know He is chastening us and are not dismayed at trials but stand in understanding.  We know what He is up to.  We honor Him and worship Him and Long for Him.

 “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

We are not praying for a Theocracy.  We are agreeing with the Spirit of God in prayer.  This is a transformation of heart, the heart of love.  I want Him to be my King and I want to operate under His rule and follow His ways.  We pray this would occur in the lives of others.  This is a grass roots movement not a governmental mandate from Congress.  But we do thank God for the Bill of Rights and Constitution that recognize Him as the giver of unalienable rights and a guardian of this freedom of religion.

“Give us today our daily bread.”

Seek first His Kingdom and Righteousness and this provision is promised.  We call on Him in humility knowing He is the provider of our needs.  The rest is provision for the masses.  It isn’t what you give but what you keep.  This is what I call the Schindler Principle.  If you have watched Schindler’s List it is in the last scene.  He mourns his waste and selfishness.  He saw what he could have done, that he didn’t.  This is love.  He didn’t look at the 1,100 Jews he saved: This is only show: Just religion.  Use only what you need.

“Forgive us our debts,”

We need forgiveness.  We need freedom from guilt and shame to operate effectively for His Kingdom.  Separation is dangerous for us.  We wonder into a demonic grasp without it.

“as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Forgiveness for forgiveness, one for another, that is his principle.  In unforgiveness we become bitter and useless.  We can do nothing in His kingdom with this ball and chain.

 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” 

We have a formidable enemy.  He brings judgment and despair.  In the Valley of the Shadow of Death is where He resides and beacons us to a Judas, self-condemned hanging.  Christians that live in false security rarely make it.

The Devil is scheming, waiting, and devising to destroy the faith in Jesus the produces a sacrificial life of love He meant to be manifest in us.  Most who have claimed this adherence to Christ have merely mouthed it and bought a cross and pew.  Some have started and left His way of selfless living.  Others do not realize the fight and perish.  Here is a quote from my blog “Aenology.”

“If we are in the light and obey, if His word remains in us, we give to those in need, acknowledge Jesus, and if we love our brother, we do not love the world, hold to the courage and the hope, firm to the end, and continue in faith then the truth is in us, we know Him, His love is made complete, the Son and Father remain in us, His love is in us, God lives in us, we truly love God, we are His house, we share in Christ, and are saved.”

“If we remain in faith in Jesus that results in love for one another until we die then we truly have fellowship with God and eternal life.”

1 John 2:5-6 “But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” NIV

“Bullseye!  This is the target ‘Walk as Jesus walked and be saved.’” 

Please do not bother with the assurance passages if you are not in this faith.  How can you have security when you do not heed the warning and do not bother to protect yourselves with His Divine implements of war.  These promises are for those who believe, obey and live.  They will inherit the Land.  Do it or die.

War for Your Soul

The Devil got a boot on your neck?

When an enemy cannot beat you fighting overtly he must resort to guerrilla type warfare of subversion; destruction from the inside.  We battle as Christians.  Who is the enemy and what is at stake?

It is clear to us who the enemy is.  I think most of us are aware that our Enemy is scheming against us looking to devour us.  We know Satan is formidable.  We are warned sufficiently in the scriptures.  

But what does he want?  What is he contending for?  We often think of the lost.  Satan has blinded them, he is the ruler of this age and of the world: But only for a little while longer.  We contend through prayer and Word to awaken the lost, but what about us? 

Are our souls at risk? Do we have something to lose?  The tares say no.  The tares are those planted amongst us; the “useful idiots” referring to one used as a pawn in this celestial chess game.  They are used as religious fall-guys for Lucifer.  They use our terms and twist our theology.  This comes from theologians, pastors, elders, ministry leaders; Christian writers, magazines, radio, and TV.  The tares are listened to and given and equal voice amongst us Christians which is absurd.  Can’t we see?  Could you imagine setting up a debate between Satan and Jesus.  Why would we elevate the Devil to the height and glory of Christ?  Similarly we have permitted this subversive influence in the Church.  And as RC Sproll would state, it is the dominant voice in the Church today.  

The tares say “Do not worry.”  “Relax it was all done on the cross.”  “You are forgiven, you can’t earn it so you can’t lose it Brother.” They proudly expound.  “The Devil can do nothing to you.” they say.  With the poise of an actor they council “God wants you to be happy, comfortable, prosperous, and above all, never question your salvation.”

Can you see the danger?  Would Satan have in interest in telling you the same things?  Of course he would.  Everything mentioned has a lie tied to the truth.  Their words have a purposeful negligence of the whole truth.  Neglecting other important ideas leads you down the wrong path.  I’ve been mislead before.  My wife would give me information about one of my kids.  I would get on to them, and a few times I found out additional information which would have changed how I responded to my child.  How many times have you made choices that later on you regretted in light of newly found information?  Do you see what I mean?     

These are subversive internal battles.  They go unnoticed.  The tares work amongst us.  It is the ideas they give and perpetuate.  The unwitting and unaware are devoured.  They are misled to their destruction.

Look at how God warns us.  He teaches us that we battle with spiritual forces and there are plans being devised against us.  These enemies are waiting for the right moment to pounce.  He tells us to be strong and brave and awake.  He tells us to fight.  Remember He gave the Land to Isreal, then He said “fight;” “go get it and if you don’t you won’t get it!”  I could use an enormous amount of scriptures admonishing us to finish the race in faith and warnings to those who do not persevere.  Here are a few scriptures to put in our pipe and smoke.  

Heb 2:1-3  We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? NIV

Heb 3:6  And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. NIV

Heb 3:12-15 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. NIV

These are just the first three of many scriptures that warn us in the book of Hebrews.  We must employ the armaments of war as admonished by the scriptures.  This is our victory.  No one can take it from us.  So let us fight our battle and preserve our souls for the resurrection of the dead.  Employ Ephesian 6 warfare.