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Have you ever watched movies or have imagined about ancient battles or war epics involving thousands of warriors with leather and bronze armors, swords, long spears, shields, bows and arrows, chariots… all lined-up, waiting for the trumpet… for the battle cry from their commanding officer, general or king. Charging without hesitation, without thinking, without fear… all carried away by the bawl of thousands of fellow fierce warriors charging to collide with another army of fierce warriors having the same courage, determination, extremely motivated to fight… ready to kill and be killed. A fight to the death, where no one was allowed to live. A fight for victory… for the king… for the kingdom, though mostly for their own lives. All commanded to fight.
Visualize their battles upon impact… sword fights, spears piercing, thousands of arrows flying, shields banging, blood spurting, bodies mutilated, heads flying and skull cracking… very gruesome and bloody. Sometimes the battle does not end upon the defeat of one army. The victorious warriors would marched in the defeated kingdoms and burned their cities or towns, enslave remaining remnants or sometimes annihilating everything that breaths… men, women and even children… plundering the kingdom of all its riches, food resources, anything they can use… the spoils of war.
“Believe it or not” these are accurate events that happened in ancient times, particularly to God’s chosen nation, -the Israelites; the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob whom Mosses led away from Egypt to the promised land; the land promised by God to their forefathers; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These Israelites experienced God’s awesome power and love as He delivered them out of slavery and guided them to the promised land with great signs and wonders. All the lands and kings heard of this traveling nation and the great power and might of their God which gave these land fear and terror (Deu. 2: 25) that some tried to curse them with their sorcerers and gods, some tried to attack them but failed. –Why? Because the only God was with them, continuously guiding them though sometimes punishing them because of their disobedience and their grumblings and complaints. Still God showed them the long way to the promised land, keeping His promise to Abraham (Ge. 12: 1-3).
As it was written in Deuteronomy chapters 7 and 20, Israel was commanded by God to annihilate nations in the promised land… to kill without pity everything that breathes (De. 7: 16; 20: 16-17), nations greater and mightier than them, -the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
You may ask… WHY?
Why would a loving, compassionate and forgiving God command the annihilation of children, women and men?
The understanding of God’s divine act towards these nations can be clearly ascertained by God’s judgment towards the wicked world in Noah’s time. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He made man on earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said; “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them”. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord “(Ge. 7: 5-8). Understanding that God abhors the wickedness of men; like the wicked people in Noah’s time, the nations that God is handing over to the Israelites have grown to the fullness of their sins. They have a thoroughly debased society, hostile to all God’s ways. The gruesome list of their sins as seen in Leviticus 18 giving some details like sexual immorality, incest, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality and other idolatrous practices including human sacrifices of infants and children (Le. 18: 21; 20: 1-5). Every level of their society was contaminated by evil, thoroughly degenerated and beyond repentance. Thus, judgment was inevitable and in consonance with God’s covenant with Abraham. The Israelites nation was God’s instruments of judgment on these people’s sins. Where no one was left alive, all to be annihilated and destroyed. Another reason as shown by Deuteronomy 7 and 20 was that if any of these people was left alive, their wicked ways would easily snare the hearts of Israel away from the Lord and towards their false gods and pagan worships (De. 20: 18). Sadly, this happened due to the disobedience and non-completion of their conquest of Canaan. Which is another face of their story.
The Israelites armies when directed and led by God were uniformly victorious but when they refuse to listen to God, defeat and death followed. These warriors on condition of obedience (De. 28: 1-7) could have become the paramount power on the earth, but when they have gone into hopeless apostasy, God began to raise up universal world powers (Da. 2) against her. As seen through their history of succession by military powers: the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans.
However, the encouraging face of their warfare was that they where all highly motivated by the presence of God giving them courage, determination, discipline and victory. They knew that God was with them since the very beginning talking to their leaders, priest, prophets and kings, showing great signs and wonders. They knew they were a blessed nation for God fought with them and directed their path. Although they being disobedient or stiff-necked people, still God brought up for them great warriors, leaders, judges and kings generation to generations until the fulfillment of God’s covenant or promise to Abraham and the final redemption and victory for their sins through Jesus of Nazareth a descendant of David, David a descendant of Judah, Judah one of the 12 sons of Jacob, Jacob the son of Isaac, Isaac the son of Abraham. God promised Abraham that through his descendants He will make him a great nation, which partly happened during David and Solomon’s reign. More significantly, God promised Abraham that “… in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Ge. 12:2). The promised was fulfilled through the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a direct descendant of Abraham, God’s only begotten Son, who was born a man according to the scriptures and prophesized to redeem the Israelites and the whole world from sin.
“CHILDREN OF GOD THROUGH CHRIST”
Brothers and sisters we may not be descendants of Israel; God’s chosen children, nor being part of the old covenant of God and man but are Christ’s, then are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. (Ga. 3: 29)… we are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that we may proclaim the praises of Him who called us 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…” (1Pe. 2: 9-10). We are now a part of God’s new covenant through Jesus Christ and have been given the right to be called children of God through the adoption as sons by Jesus Christ (Ep. 1: 5). Through our Lord Jesus we have obtained an inheritance (Ep. 1:11)… as heirs of the grace of life. In Him we also trusted after we heard the Word of truth, the gospel of our salvation; in whom also, having believed and sealed through baptism with the Holy Spirit of promise; who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession (Ep. 1:13), -the Church, where all baptized believers are added by the Lord daily those who are being saved (Acts 2:47). That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. He is the New Covenant, for the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory (John 1:14). Jesus came to His own and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believed in His name (John 1: 12). To believe is to obey and to obey is to follow and to follow is to pattern our lives in the WAYS OF CHRIST, according to the only pattern being preached to the first christians by the Apostles and early disciples of Christ.
“THE BATTLE”
Brothers and sisters we are those who receive Christ in our lives according to the APOSTOLIC PATTERN (2Ti. 1: 13-14, 2Ti. 3:16, Tit. 2: 1-15, Col. 1:28) made known by the Word of God and this gave us the right to become children of God. As children of God; like the ancients Israelites, we are to engage in battle… A SPIRITUAL BATTLE… a battle of LIFE and DEATH; everlasting life (John 3:16) or spiritual death (John 8: 24, Ja. 1: 15, Ro. 6:23).
WHY? Because we are not of this world (John 17: 14, 16). This is satan’s world (John 12:31)… a world of sin. We have been in bondage in this world and became slaves of sin (John 8: 34). But by receiving Christ in our lives according to the only pattern taught to us by God’s Word, abiding in His Word and understanding His truth… for this TRUTH shall set us free (John 8: 31-32)… free from bondage or slavery of sin and having become servants of God (Ro. 6:22, kjv)… disciples of Jesus Christ (John 8: 31). Thus with this gracious regeneration, we have become enemies of this world (1John 2: 15-17)… enemies of our old self (Ga. 5: 19-21)… and enemies of satan (1Pe. 5: 8). All these WARRING against our soul… trying to revitalize our sinful nature bringing us back to the slavery of sin.
The apostle Paul cautioned us in Ephesians 6: 12 that; “… 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…”
We must remember and be very cautious that our real battle is not with men… nor with man- made dogmas or creeds, the occults, the atheists, the revolutionist, the heretics, the anti’s or other religion or denominations… not flesh and blood but with satan and his resources trying to claim back what was his in this world. The warfare must be directed against God’s enemies in a spiritual level. Though we know we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God (2Co. 10:3-4).Satan’s works may be visible through these men through their evil ways, in the way they dispute the truth, in a way they disfigure the gospel, in the way they create false doctrines and wayward the pattern of salvation. To war against them in a fleshly manner is futile and a stumbling block for christians. Like entering into passionate arguments or useless and unending disputes. This was never the way of Christ. We cannot dispute a man to his salvation. It is God who converts not us (John 6: 44, 15: 16). Sometimes we have to remember that our arguments towards these non-believers are ineffective and hopeless, as it is written; “… they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will sent them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2Th. 2: 14). Seemingly hopeless, we still have our prayers and petitions as children of God to try to influence and please our Father most especially when these stiff-neck people are our love ones, families, relatives and friends. And for our weaker brothers and sisters who had their understanding misguided, we must be careful in casting down arguments, in exaltation, according to our knowledge of God, in bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ and rebuking all disobedience within the body of Christ (2Co. 10: 5-6). Like the apostle Paul in his defense against his critics in Corinth… we must plead with the MEEKNESS and GENTLENESS of Christ (2Co. 10: 1), to never forget the basic teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ; to do all things guided by LOVE.
“WARRING AGAINST OUR MEMBERS”
The Bible also cautions us of another enemy or adversary which is warring against our members… our mind and soul… and that is our old self… our sinful nature (Ro. 7: 23, Ja. 4: 1, 1Pe. 2: 11). This adversary is within us and though satan cannot come near us, he makes use of this dark shadow of our lives… revitalizing it when our defenses are low… diligently waiting to devour us in our weakness… like a lion eyeing on his prey patiently.
The apostle Paul said to the Ephesian christians to: “… put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and BE RENEWED WITH THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ep. 4: 22-24) “And not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ep. 4: 30).
I believe that the most difficult part of being a christian is in the “renewing of the mind” which wars against our soul, most especially for those who had been called in the midst of life where our old self still shadows our thoughts and minds warring against the Spirit of God within us. This is a great struggle for us, still young in the faith not fully matured to face this adversary. Sometimes this shadow overcomes our minds to the extent of having a delusion of defeat and surrender. This is how strong this adversary is coupled with satans tactics. This is also how important our prayers, fellowships and bond of love with each other are. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must all be sensitive to the spiritual wellbeing of each other… to feel the lowliness of each one and immediately encourage… before it is too late. It is very important to pray in the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us. To pray for comfort and guidance. To pray to overfill our hearts with God’s righteousness and love. And finally, we must hear His Voice with all understanding and be conscious of His presence within us with all reverence. It may be hard brothers and sisters, but we must keep on fighting… do not give up the flag; carry it no matter how low. As long as you carry the flag of victory in your hands till the last strength of your body is consumed as you fight the battle of life.
“DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD”
Another adversary the apostle John was cautioning us against is the world (1John 2: 15-17), for in here are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which are all not of the father. And for those who love the world, the love of the father is not in him. The world is characterized by these three lusts, which can also be paralleled to the three different ways Adam and Eve were tempted in the garden (Ge. 3: 6) or to the three temptations of Jesus in the dessert (Luke 4: 1-12), all showing the allure and temptations of the world… satan’s world. We could see a similarity between Christ and the first man, as both were tempted by satan saying: to the first man: “the tree was good for food” (Ge. 3: 6); to Christ: “command this stone to become bread” (Luke 4: 1-13)… THE LUST OF THE FLESH, again satan said: to the first man: “it was pleasant to the eyes”; to Christ: “the devil… showed Him all the kingdoms of the world”… THE LUST OF THE EYES, and lastly satan said: to the first man: “a tree desirable to make one wise”; to Christ: “if You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here”… THE PRIDE OF LIFE.
“DEATH IN ADAM, LIFE IN CHRIST”
The great difference, Adam yielded to satan’s temptation bringing upon this world sin and death. Christ resisted, resulting in forgiveness and life. In consonance with the apostle Paul’s teachings to the Roman christians saying: “… for if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” (Ro. 5: 17).
Significantly, as shown by Christ resistance to temptation (Luke 4: 1-13), He made use of a weapon… the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ep. 6: 17) to counter act satan’s fiery arrows. Christ showed us that the sword is powerful and should always be carried by christians as their defensive weapon against satan’s attacks. Use your sword regularly… train in them. Carry them with you wherever you go. Read and understand them. Use them in this world.
“ENLISTED AS A SOLDIER”
Like Timothy and any other servants of God, we are soldiers of Jesus Christ, enlisted by Him to be part of His army here on this world (2Ti. 2: 3-4). Like a true warrior we should respond to the orders of our commanding officer, our Lord Jesus with unquestioning obedience and be prepared for warfare to achieve our God given purpose in this sinful world.
“OUR MISSION”
Our Lord Jesus commanded us: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of age.” (Matthew 28: 19-20).
Brothers and sisters, we should never forget that we were called by our Father and instructed by our commanding officer to fulfill our mission here in this sinful world. The mission is likened to a retrieval mission. A mission to find the lost; like us, for those whom God has called into His marvelous light away from darkness… to have fellowship with them… in God’s camp; the Church, being protected and continuously being sanctified by the blood of our Lord Jesus and being trained to become brave warriors of Christ here in this sinful world.
”OUR BASE CAMP HERE ON EARTH”
Like true warriors in a foreign land out for battle, we must have a stronghold, a base camp where warriors replenish their strength, train their knowledge with the sword, gain confidence and encouragement from their fellow warriors and regroup to plan strategies against the enemies. Sounds familiar? Haven’t you experienced it? It is where we replenish our spiritual strength and wisdom through our Bible studies and hearing the sermon to continue another week of battle. It is where we bring our problems in life for solutions through the Word of God. It is where we equipped ourselves with the knowledge of God and the truthfulness of the Gospel and training to become like Christ. It is where we remember Christ’s sufferings for us, His death, burial and resurrection the cost of our salvation symbolized by the partaking of the unleavened bread. It is where we affirmed that our sins are being washed away by Christ blood symbolized by the partaking of the cup of the fruit of the vine. It is where we gloriously thank our Father for His sacrificial love through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, His mercy and His grace. It is where we contribute and share to the financial needs of our warfare and expansion of God’s Kingdom on earth. It is where we edify one another… to give encouragement and confidence to our brethren who was wounded during the battle. It is where we regroup and find comfort away from the world and plan evangelistic campaigns, Bible studies or on how to spread the Gospel or help other congregation in need. IT IS OUR CONGREGATION; the Midtown church of Christ, like:“…the churches of God which is at Corinth (1 Co. 1: 2), …the church which was at Jerusalem (Acts 8: 1), …the churches of Galatia (Ga. 1: 2), …the church in Philemon’s house (Phm. 1: 2), …the church which is in Aquila and Priscilla’s house (Ro. 16: 5; 1 Co. 16: 19)…one of the blessed congregation that strictly adheres to the Word of God and follow the same APOSTOLIC PATTERN as revealed in the New Testament. The church where Christians live a SPIRITUALLY CONSERVATIVE LIFE OF NO COMPROMISE in the interpretations of our Father’s instructions. That where the Bible speaks, they speak and when the Bible is silent, they are silent, respecting God’s sovereign and wisdom knowing that the Bible is sufficient. The Body of Christ…His Church…the Church that Christ built (Matt. 16:18), where all baptized believers are added by the Lord daily those who are being saved (Acts 2:47). Our Lord planned for it from the beginning as revealed in EPHESIANS 1: 3-14, having predestined the church according to the good pleasure of His will; THAT we are made holy and without blame, THAT we are adopted as son’s through Jesus Christ and be worthy to be called children of God, THAT we may proclaim the praise of the glory of His grace by which He made us accepted in Christ, THAT we have forgiveness of our sins through Christ blood according to the riches of His grace, THAT we may know the mystery of His will in all wisdom and understanding, THAT we may obtain an inheritance as Heirs of the Grace of Life, THAT we may hear the Word of Truth, the Gospel of our Salvation and THAT we may be sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise, who will guarantee our inheritance until the redemption of the PURCHASED POSSESSION. The scriptures say that Christ Blood was shed to purchase the church (Acts 20:28) and for the remission of sins ( Matt. 26:28 ). To harmonize these principles, the scriptures reveals to us how important the church is in our salvation, for through the Blood of Christ, we are being saved and to benefit from His Blood is by being in His Church…THE PURCHASED POSSESSION. This is our CAMP HERE ON EARTH away from the world.
“THE BATTLE ARMOR”
In Ephesians 6: 10-18, the apostle Paul presented us a BATTLE ARMOR… THE ARMOR OF GOD, to use as we fulfill our mission here in this world, that we may able to withstand in the evil day and to stand our ground against the wiles of the devil. Let us use this full body armor, all dressed up like a true warrior, as we stand firm and face the battle that lies ahead of us…
Let us buckle ourselves with the “BELT OF TRUTH”. Satan fights with lies, deceits and false teachings or doctrines. The belt holds the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The truthfulness of the God’s Word must always be buckled to ourselves to protect us from satan’s lies, deceits and false doctrines. We must not go beyond the pattern of sound doctrines… the truthfulness of God’s Word. We must be careful in understanding and interpretation; to speak when the Bibles speaks, to be silent when the Bible is silent, always knowing that the Bible is sufficient in all doctrines pertaining our faith in our Father.
Let us put on the “BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS”. The breastplate is an armor that protects our upper body most especially our Heart. Sometimes satan attacks our hearts… the seat of our emotions and feelings. Our hearts is where we open up and invite Christ to dwell that we may show His teachings in our lives. The breastplate of righteousness… of God’s righteousness should be put on to protect our hearts. To learn about God’s righteousness is in studying and understanding God’s Word.
Let us “SHOD OUR FEET WITH THE READINESS TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL”. Our footgear as a warrior protects our feet from any attacks. If our feet are injured or dismembered we will loose our capacity to walk, run, jump or move towards our destination. Satan also attacks our feet. He attacks us in ways that we get discourage to fulfill our mission here in this sinful world and that is to spread the Gospel. He makes us feel lazy, contented, idled and ineffective, through the worldly activities obligations and influences overshadowing our time… our precious time to fulfill our mission. He even attacks our hearers giving them doubt and hesitation consuming their time with worldly affairs. We must be very sensitive to our hearers and run readily to their aid when satan attacks them. God’s footgear makes us ready to spread the Gospel, for it is the only purpose why He called us in this modern age. In this sinful world, a world not our own, satan is working double time trying to hasten the spread of the Gospel and delaying the final victory. Jesus said: “…this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations… and THEN THE END WILL COME” (Matt. 24: 14).Our Heavenly Father desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1Ti. 2: 4) and knowing our Merciful Father, He still gives men chances to accept the Gospel and continues to call them to His Church. You may ask… until when will our Father end all calling in this sinful world and render judgment? No one knows the day or the hour (Mt. 24: 36-44, Ma. 13: 32-37, Lu. 17: 26, 27, 34,35; 21: 34-36) not even the angels of heaven, but only the Father (Mt. 24: 36). As christians, all we know is that God is giving us another day to praise Him, to glorify Him, to serve Him, to show our worth as Heirs of the Grace of Life and worthy to be called Children of God that we may live with Him in a beautiful and wonderful place… our true Home eternally. Brothers and sisters aren’t we all excited to go Home where our Father waits? If yes, then SHOD YOUR FEET WITH THE READINESS TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL…
Let us use the “SHIELD OF FAITH to protect us from all the fiery darts of the wicked one”. Warriors use shields to protect them from the enemy’s flying arrows, spears and swords. The shield must be strong enough to withstand these piercing weapons to protect the one using it. The same is applied to a christian’s shield of faith, to protect us from satan’s attacks. A christian’s faith is exemplified by his belief in the truthfulness of the whole Bible, from Genesis to revelation. We believe that God created the whole universe literary in 6 days. We believe in all the ordinary and most especially those extraordinary occurrences and events, even beyond any explanation. We believe in all the signs and wonders attributed to God the Father, Jesus Christ His only begotten Son and the Holy Spirit. We believe in the power and might of our Father, in FEAR and TREMBLING, and how He abhors idolatry or any physical representation of His form. We believe in His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, who was conceived by an angel and born of a blessed virgin to save humanity from sin. We believe that there is no name under haven that can save us from eternal condemnation but only through the powerful Name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We believe that Jesus, the Son of God was crucified, died and was buried… and on the third day, He rose again and brought to this world a pattern of salvation… the resurrection of a new life for those who are baptized into Christ and accepting God’s grace, love and mercy. We believe in the comforting power of the Holy Spirit and His indwelling within us after we received Christ in baptism. We believe in our baptism, immersion in water… being united with Christ in the likeness of His DEATH and RESURRECTION, our old self being crucified with Him, thus no longer slaves of sin… but slaves of God… children of God… raised from the dead walking in the newness of life… being born again. We believe in the protection and guidance promised by our Father to those called Children of God. We believe in the pattern shown by Christ’s apostles and disciples as seen in the New Testament… a pattern of sound words and doctrines to guide our faith and in the truthfulness of the Gospel of Christ. We believe in His Church… the Church that Christ built… the Church were all the baptized believers will be added to and be continuously washed of their sins as they walk in the narrow way to eternal life. We believe, as a Church of Christ, that the Bible is sufficient and complete in doctrines… to speak where the Bible speaks and to be silent when the Bible is silent. We believe in the end of days, where all the living and the dead will be judge by Christ according to His Word and for those who have not done His word… all will be thrown together with satan and the whole universe into the lake of fire.
Our faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (He. 11: 1). Brothers and sisters we should strengthen our faith daily through knowledge and understanding about our unseen God… our Loving and Merciful Father, through constant Bile Studies, Fellowships, Wednesday devotionals, Worship Assemblies and other Church Ministries and mature in the truthfulness of the Gospel.
Let us wear the “HELMET OF SALVATION”. A warrior’s helmet protects his head from attacks. Satan also attacks our minds, deceiving us from the truth, confusing us with false doctrines making us doubt our faith… our salvation. For christian warriors, the helmet of salvation protects our minds from doubt. We christians know that we are saved, we know we are assured of our salvation, the very moment we were baptized into Christ. We know we are in the true Church. We know that the teachings being taught are of the same pattern as that of the first Churches… the pattern of sound words (2Ti. 1: 13-14)… sound doctrines (Tit.2: 1-5)… sound instructions (2Ti. 3:16) and sound teachings (Col. 1: 28).
Let us use the “SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD” attached to the “belt of truth” buckled in our waist. Amongst the Armor of God, the sword is the only offensive weapon. “For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper that any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrows, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart…” (He. 4: 12). A visible characteristic of a true christian in this modern day is seen by the availability of our Bible wherever we go. Like a true warrior carrying a sword, so must a christian warrior carry his/her Bible. More importantly, like a disciplined warrior, who trains daily with a sword that they may master their skills in sword fights and achieved victory against their enemies. A christian warrior should also be trained in the truthfulness of the Word of God as taught by the apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ to the first churches. However beware, as seen during the “Temptation of Jesus in the dessert” (Luke 4: 1-13, Mt. 4: 1-11), where Jesus made use of the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God to battle temptation which was shown as very effective. We can observed in the last temptation of Christ that satan also knew the Word of God and used God’s word in a deceiving manner twisting the truthfulness of the scriptures but obviously failed. This shows the cunningness of satan making use of words in the Bible… causing false teachings, wrong interpretations, misleading contradictions, errors of doctrines resulting from man-made creeds or uninspired writings and commentaries, extreme legalism, liberalism, compromising doctrines and other heresies causing divisions and destruction of a congregation leading to condemnation. Be careful brothers and sisters and be guided by the apostle Paul’s advice: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Preserve in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1Ti. 4: 16, niv). Thus it is very important for all of us to be trained with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, to have a mastery of the basic doctrines we have learned from our seekers lessons , our ambassadors class and Bible studies, if unclear to review and restudy this basic teachings again and again. All of us should learn to fight with the Sword… like Christ, to achieve victory in the “Battle of Life”.
“OUR PRAYERS”
Finally, the effectiveness of the Whole Armor of God is blessed through prayers… without prayers; the armor would be rendered useless and vain. So,“…pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…” (Ep. 6: 18). Asking for petitions, requests, guidance, protection, wisdom, comfort, healing… anything under the sun and always in accordance with His sovereign will. In Ephesians 6: 19-20, the apostle Paul requested the Ephesian Christians to pray for him that he may fearlessly declare and make known the mystery of the Gospel. You may ask, how can that be? Can’t he pray for himself? Paul, was an apostle, a man specially chosen by Jesus Christ for a special mission, he performed miracles, sings and wonders. God directed his life. He was in constant communication with God; in fact, God spoke to him personally while ministering at Corinth (Acts 18: 9-10). He was seen nearer to God… yet he still requested christians to pray for him. His humble request means that we all need prayers in this sinful world… a world not ours. We need each other in prayers to bond us in a heavenly communication with our Father… who would be well pleased seeing His children pray together in a union of love and praying for each other, a way of showing to our Father our sincere love for our brothers and sisters. The power of a christian prayer is in the knowledge that our Father is hearing us, being obedient children of God… following His instructions and pattern of faith. He hears our prayers and I believe each of us has His own testimonies regarding this, which attest to the power of our prayers. Brothers and sisters, heed Paul’s request to use this great privilege… let us pray for each other in our battle in this sinful world.
“WARRIORS OF CHRIST”
Brethren in Christ, we are in a SPIRITUAL WARFARE, we are WARRIORS OF CHRIST in this sinful world… we may be losing the fight against satan (1Pe. 5: 8), against the world (1John 2: 15-17) and against our old self (Ga. 5: 19-21) but we should never forget that the battle is not yet over… for we all know that our Lord Jesus Christ shall come and bring forth the ultimate victory and end all fights.
Although, we christians are being wounded and weakened during battle, we must not forget… our soul is being strengthened by the Holy Spirit, our body is being cleansed by the blood of Christ and our courage is being reinforced by the Word of God.
So Keep On Fighting! Let us FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH, lay hold on eternal life to which we were called (1Ti. 6: 12), STAND OUR GROUND, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power (Ep. 6: 10) and ENDURE HARDSHIP as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2Ti. 2:3). Let us make our Heavenly Father proud of us! Let us be WARRIORS OF CHRIST in this sinful world!
Glory to God.
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