Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, . . .
2 Corinthians 6:17
There is a spiritual war going on in the spiritual
realm that is being manifested in the natural world. Right before our eyes, we see a dying world;
dying from sin and degradation, we see the ravages of war, we see and hear of
the senseless, tragic killings and deaths, the suicides of children and adults,
epic economic decline and a seemingly unrelenting plague, and, if we have any
spiritual discernment at all, we see the loss of hope in this world today.
The body
of Christ is to be advancing the Kingdom of God. Instead, there has never
been so many downcast, depressed, angry and bitter children of God!
It can only be concluded that there are some things missing in the
spiritual armor – we have not completely sold out to God. We
have not braced ourselves for impact. Instead,
we are just as caught up in the things of the world as the world. We
think like the world and we react like the world. What happened to the
joy of the Lord being our strength? What happened to knowing that He that
is within us is greater than he that is in the world? Here’s
the problem: We know that we serve a God who is in full control, who can
do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or even think:
If we want to be battle ready; braced for the
onslaught of the enemy, at some point, we make up our mind, like Joshua:
. . . choose you this day whom ye
will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other
side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as
for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:15
If you haven’t chosen, do as Joshua said – this
day, chose whom you will serve in other words, which side will you be on. In chapter 24 Joshua lays out God’s resume – how God:
√ took Abraham and led him throughout all
the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
√ brought the Israelites out of Egypt
√ And when they cried unto the Lord, he
put darkness between them and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and
covered them;
√ And how he brought them into the land
of the Amorites, and gave them into their hand, so that they could possess the
land; and he destroyed them the Amorites.
√ How he would not allow Balaam to curse
them; but rather bless them
√ And how God gave them the strategy to
defeat Jericho and a host of others
√ And He gave them a land for which they
did not labour,
God’s resume is impeccable. God demonstrates a solid resume.
When we give our life to God, we have to Brace our self for
impact against the war that the enemy through the world is waging
against us!
Peter tells us to arm ourselves for suffering even as Jesus
suffered.
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves
likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased
from sin; 1 Peter 4:1
Look at the resume that God presents of Himself:
|
lifter
of our heads,
|
a keeper,
|
|
You are a sustainer,
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a mind regulator,
|
|
a comforter,
|
a bringer of peace
|
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a supplier of our every need,
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the lover of our souls
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| prince of peace, |
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
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| the great ‘I AM’ | the one true living God |
| the creator, |
Burden-barer,
|
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the author and finisher of our faith,
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beginning and the end, alpha
and omega,
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| fortress, our strong tower, |
mighty savior, our counselor,
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wonderful, awesome and
magnificent one,
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There is none like Him; not above or beside
Him,
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Rock and shield,
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There is none like Him; not above or beside Him,
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Incomparable
|
|
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|
That’s God’s Resume! Our desire should be that no matter what it
looks like that we come out on the winning side.
Here’s the blessing of being aligned with God; it
automatically puts you on the winning side.
One truth that we should know is that God is unchanging and that His
will, His ways are trustworthy, flawless, unfailing,
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and
today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
As long as we are in His will, we are guaranteed
the promises God has made to those who belong to Him; His elect!
God is not a respecter of persons as Apostle Paul
points out to us:
But glory, honour, and peace, to
every man that worketh good; first to the Jew and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. Romans 2:10-11
Earth has no situation that we can go through that God cannot
fix. It takes faith to know that God is able. One way we increase our faith is through the
hearing and reading of the word.
There is such a wealth of knowledge found in the word of God – inspired
by God and written by true soldiers who they themselves went through horrific
times! Peter tells us:
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal
glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect,
stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10
Those are truths that we need to acknowledge! We can’t
become downcast and discouraged as we fight this battle. Even
if our troubles seem to have no spiritual connection, we still look to God
knowing that no matter what our circumstance; He’s with us. Apostle Paul got to a point in his journey
where he was able to say:
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in
whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased,
and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to
be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:11-13
Our testing, trials and sufferings should bring us into a closer
relationship with God as we trust Him in His sovereignty! Apostle Paul
experienced God so much in his life that he was further able to say:
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Job, in spite of all he went through; was able to say:
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: . . . Job 13:15
We should never back away from our commitment to God because of
our circumstances or the pocket of resistance we encounter. There should always
be a praise in our hearts and on our lips for God's goodness, His mercy and His
grace toward us. Considering that our life could have gone in a totally
different direction; on our way to a devil's hell. We could have been on the
'left' path instead of the right path.
I believe there are promises of God in store for you and me;
promises designed to allow us to be victorious in this war!
God speaks to us and lets us know that He does not
change.
For I am the Lord, I change not;
therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Malachi 3:6
He lets us know that He is not a man that He
should lie:
And also the Strength of Israel will
not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. 1 Samuel 15:29
We all know people who have reneged on their word,
but it’s a wonderful thing to know that we have a God who does not go back on
His word. If He said it, that’s it and
that settles it. God’s word is already
settled in heaven.
Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled
in heaven. Psalms 119:89
When we renege on our promise to God, it
automatically puts us back into enemy territory where it is all too easy to get
caught up again with the cares of the world.
But, the bible tells us:
Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father,
but is of the world. 1 John 2:15-16
The world is puffed up; proud and overcome with
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life! Just think about all the scamming that’s
going on, the cheating, stealing, grifting, embezzling, etc. that’s going on right in the
midst of this pandemic! Believers must contend with these forces every day! And if you’re not braced for it, you will be
negatively impacted by it. It seems that
sometimes we are bombarded by a host of enemies when in reality, there is only
one enemy. But he works with and through a mighty force of demons. Satan not only uses demons but he also works
through the evil forces of the flesh and the world to the detriment of our
soul!
We are physically standing on hostile grounds and
surrounded by evil influences. The world and the flesh are enemy territory and
we are at war with them both.
The word ‘world’ in this context is used to refer to
the present condition of human affairs in opposition to God. It is this system that runs the inhabited
earth, a system that is opposed to God; our Lord Jesus Christ. The 'world' is the corporate group of
flesh-centered individuals who make up the human race. Flesh, in this context, is not referring to
the actual flesh of your body. It is a term which describes the basic evil
human nature of man which is in willful disagreement or rebellion against God;
the nature that overtook mankind when Eve allowed herself to be deceived by the
enemy which led mankind to forsake the image of God.
As your enemy, the world is the whole organized
system of social, economic, materialistic, and religious philosophies which
have their expression through organizations, personalities, and governments. It
is not a specific government, organization, or person, but the worldly
system upon which these are based.
The world system is an extension and a result of man's departure from
the likeness of God. It
surrounds man with that which appeals to his fleshly desires. Guess who’s over it! Satan, the "prince" or ruler of this
world:
Now is the judgment of this world:
now shall the prince of this world be cast out. John 12:31
All the kingdoms and systems of the world are
influenced by Satan. They are guided by Satanic philosophy and principles. They
are flesh-centered and flesh-governed, that’s how Satan could tempt Jesus with
it:
Again, the Devil taketh him up into
an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and
the glory of them; And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if
thou wilt fall down and worship me. Matthew 4:8-9
We have to brace our self until Jesus takes
control of this world:
And the seventh angel sounded: and
there were great voices in heaven saying, The kingdoms of this world are become
the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and
ever. Revelation 11:15
Although Jesus reclaimed the world from the power
of the enemy.
And having spoiled principalities
and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:15)
Satan does not yet acknowledge that claim. Satan still is at work in the world with his evil powers. Satan will not acknowledge the claims of Jesus over the kingdoms of the world until the final conflict.
The present situation is similar to military
conditions that often occur in the natural world. A political or military power
will take control of a nation but their claims will not be acknowledged by
rebel troops within that nation. The rebel troops continue to war throughout
the country. They try to take possession of territory not rightfully theirs and
overpower the citizens. They often use tactics of terror to accomplish these
purposes.
The situation in the spirit world is similar.
Jesus reclaimed dominion over the world, the enemy, and his evil forces. But
Satan and his rebel troops still war throughout the world. They try to take
possession of territory not rightfully theirs and influence men and women for
evil. This battle, which is our "spiritual warfare," will continue
until the final conflict. But
God, in His infinite wisdom, lets us now about the world so that we can brace
ourselves against its ungodly influence over us. The world structure is in direct opposition
to God, His plan, purposes, and people:
® The present world system is evil:
Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from
this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father. (Galatians 1:4)
® The present world system is without God:
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope,
and without God in the world: (Ephesians 2:12)
® There is much deception in the world to ensnare believers to
become part of the world system:
For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2 John 1:7)
® The world is already judged and under condemnation by God:
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we
should not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:32)
The "elements of the world" refer to the elementary
principles that govern the world and that lead to bondage:
Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the
elements of the world. (Galatians 4:3)
The principles of the world are the regulations on which the world
structure rests. They are different from the principles upon which God
structures His Kingdom:
Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the
world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances. (Colossians 2:8,20)
® The spirit of the world is in direct opposition to the Holy
Spirit:
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the
spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to
us of God. (1 Corinthians 2:12)
Philosophies are principles of knowledge. The bible tells us to be
weary of worldly philosophies because they are not based on Christ:
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain
deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ. (Colossians 2:8)
® Worldly wisdom is not God's wisdom:
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. (1 Corinthians 3:19)
The "course" of the world is the cycle of the present
world, its routine, the way in which it operates:
Wherefore in times past ye walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that
now worketh in the children of disobedience. (Ephesians 2:2)
® The many "voices" in the world are contrary to the voice
of God:
There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and
none of them is without signification. (1 Corinthians 14:10)
There are many voices in the world and they all
mean something to someone. Some to pull, lure and attract. You have to know the difference.
® The peace of the world is temporary, fragile, & sometimes
deceptive:
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the
world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid. (John 14:27)
® Godly sorrow differs from that of the world:
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be
repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)
® The world hates God:
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship
of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the
world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)
® The world hates believers:
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated
you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are
not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world
hateth you. (John 15:18-19)
Think about the ways, the actions, the thoughts and ideas of the
world. They are under the influence of the enemy. The world is not
in the image nor the likeness of God and neither are we if we align our self
with the principles and standards of the world. Is there any
wonder that God says to come out from among them?
Knowing all of these things, you can effectively brace yourself for the impact of the satanic influence of this world and wage a defensive and
offensive warfare against the enemy based on the strategies of God.
Biblical Studies
02/21/22
