Basic Training
Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Every soldier must go through basic training. In basic training the soldier learns how to use his equipment and weapons and the soldier undergoes physical training in order to gain endurance. Without endurance, no matter how good the soldier is with his weapon and equipment, the soldier will fail in the mission. This endurance is built up through testing.
1Co 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
As we go through testing we gain endurance and build our faith in God. And we learn to use our weapons and armor. As we learn to trust God more and more then we are better able to stand. Finally we reach a point where we realize that it is not us doing the work or the fighting, but instead it is God. When we are able to realize that and apply it then we are full able to utilize our armor and weapon.
Eph 6:11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
As we begin our Christian walk we are not able to effectively wear the full armor of God or to use our weapon to its fullest extent. This takes practice. In the earthly realm when a soldier first starts wearing his body armor and using his rifle, he gets tired easily and sometimes misses the target that he is aiming for, so it is with our spiritual armor and weapon. As the days go by and endurance is built up the soldier is better able to stand and fight, so it is with the Christian. So do not become discouraged when you fall, but instead get up and try again.
Eph 6:12-13 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Remember who the enemy is. The enemy is not the person who you are dealing with in the physical realm. The enemy is the forces behind that person. The person or people that you are dealing with are the ones you are supposed to be imaging Christ to. Understand that they are not the enemy; they are the enemy’s tools.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Why We Fight
In the army, before a battle every soldier is made to understand what the mission is and what their specific task and purpose is. Just as important though, each soldier is told what the commander’s intent is. If one understands the commander’s intent then even if everything goes wrong and the plan falls apart the soldier can still accomplish the mission.
Commander’s Intent
John 17:1-5 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, (2) even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. (3) "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (4) "I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. (5) "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
The commander’s intent can best be summed up in this way: Glorify the Son.
As long as we understand God the Fathers intent then no matter what is happening in our lives we will have a guide. If we seek to glorify Christ in everything that we do and say then we will meet the objectives that God gives us. And the first thing that we must realize is that it is not about us. We are not the center of the universe, Jesus Christ is! Once we understand this then we will truly begin to grow.
Task and Purpose
Ok so now we know what the commander’s intent is, what is our task and purpose?
Our specific task and purpose can only be known after we understand our general task and purpose. And our general task and purpose is “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 peter 3:18).
Ok, how do we do that?
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2Tim. 2:15)
We grow by a consistent, daily intake of bible doctrine. As we study Gods word we will “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. (Romans 12:2) And as our mind is renewed we will “become conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). And as this takes place God will give us our specific task, but the purpose will always be the same and that is to glorify the Son.
Commander’s Intent
John 17:1-5 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, (2) even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. (3) "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (4) "I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. (5) "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
The commander’s intent can best be summed up in this way: Glorify the Son.
As long as we understand God the Fathers intent then no matter what is happening in our lives we will have a guide. If we seek to glorify Christ in everything that we do and say then we will meet the objectives that God gives us. And the first thing that we must realize is that it is not about us. We are not the center of the universe, Jesus Christ is! Once we understand this then we will truly begin to grow.
Task and Purpose
Ok so now we know what the commander’s intent is, what is our task and purpose?
Our specific task and purpose can only be known after we understand our general task and purpose. And our general task and purpose is “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 peter 3:18).
Ok, how do we do that?
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2Tim. 2:15)
We grow by a consistent, daily intake of bible doctrine. As we study Gods word we will “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. (Romans 12:2) And as our mind is renewed we will “become conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). And as this takes place God will give us our specific task, but the purpose will always be the same and that is to glorify the Son.
Monday, June 29, 2009
How the War Started
So what happened? Verse 6 tells us that he sinned, but not what he did. In order to see that we must look to Isaiah 14:12-15.
Isa 14:12-15 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! (13) "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. (14) 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' (15) "Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.
Here we see the five I wills of Satan. Here we see Satan make statements of what he will do using the language of God when He makes an unconditional covenant. (See Genesis 12:2) Put simply this was the sin of pride; he had a desire for a place and a position that was not for him. In the Isaiah passage we get the what in order to get the why we must return to the Ezekiel passage.
In Ezekiel 28:16-18 we can get a since of why Satan sinned. "By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence”, here we can infer that he lusted after wealth and power and was willing to do anything to acquire them. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty” We know by the description of him from earlier that Satan was a beautiful creature and from this we see that he knew it and became vain. “You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor” because he was wise he substituted his wisdom for God’s wisdom.
In Romans 12:3 we read “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
The Romans passage sheds light on Satan’s problem. He became unsatisfied with his position and thought that he was something that he was not; he thought that he was God. Because of this he sought to take a place that was not his to occupy.
Isa 14:12-15 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! (13) "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. (14) 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' (15) "Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.
Here we see the five I wills of Satan. Here we see Satan make statements of what he will do using the language of God when He makes an unconditional covenant. (See Genesis 12:2) Put simply this was the sin of pride; he had a desire for a place and a position that was not for him. In the Isaiah passage we get the what in order to get the why we must return to the Ezekiel passage.
In Ezekiel 28:16-18 we can get a since of why Satan sinned. "By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence”, here we can infer that he lusted after wealth and power and was willing to do anything to acquire them. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty” We know by the description of him from earlier that Satan was a beautiful creature and from this we see that he knew it and became vain. “You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor” because he was wise he substituted his wisdom for God’s wisdom.
In Romans 12:3 we read “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
The Romans passage sheds light on Satan’s problem. He became unsatisfied with his position and thought that he was something that he was not; he thought that he was God. Because of this he sought to take a place that was not his to occupy.
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