Monday – January 18, 2016
Monday again already, time waits for no man, but we are blessed (empowered) with another day to build the Kingdom of our God and the family name (Jesus). We are hungry even ravenous for God’s Word and His Word burns within us, it creates a fire in our belly to accomplish all we have been assigned of God. So prepare and decide right now that His Word is our Word and there is no word that supersedes the Word of God in our lives. God is so good.
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Martin Luther King Jr. did a monumental work in this country to change ideas about black persons. He was not a perfect man, like most of us he had imperfections. I said “most of us” just in case you were an exception to the rule. Of course, that is true of many persons who are considered great persons in the history of nations. This is equally true in Scripture as well, look at persons like Sampson, King David, or the Apostle Peter. It is so easy to look at the flaws in the personality or character of a person and discount or throw out all together the work of the person. Using that yardstick we would have to throw out the work of every person who has ever lived on the earth with the exception of Jesus the Christ. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr had a dream that he and many others, black and white, fought for peacefully and great strides were made through what at times seemed to be chaotic and even wrong.
The Church and many outside the Church have a dream for America to return to the founding principles. We are a Christian nation, founded upon the Holy Scriptures and the vast majority of persons I have contact with know that and thirst for that to be the reality again. We are a nation in Covenant with God, He has kept his part of the Covenant but we as a nation and as a Church have strayed little by little in darkness away from righteousness. I have a dream that this nation will again honor life and from the least to the greatest there will be no question that abortion is murder. I have a dream that once again everyone will know that marriage is between a man and woman. I have a dream that America and individual American’s will bless Israel taking ourselves out from under the curse and placing ourselves in the blessing of God. I have a dream that the right of self-defense will be honored understanding that it is an inalienable right from God and guaranteed in our second and fourth amendments. I have a dream of the day when the speech of the righteous and the unrighteous will be protected without question. I have a dream that the day is coming when the freedom of religion will not be questioned and the idea of freedom from religion and the idea that the Christian religion does not belong in the public square will be scoffed at. What are your dreams, what are the ideas that prevent your dream, and what are the ideas that will defeat those ideas of darkness?
SPIRITUAL WARFARE – PART VII CONTINUED
For a few moments lets return to Spiritual Warfare, after all that is what Martin Luther King Jr. waged and we must continue unfortunately with some of the same issues and many others as darkness has been allowed by the Church in America.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (KJV)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
The Apostle Paul is telling the people at the Church in Corinth (located in southern Greece) that their warfare and our warfare is not carnal or with physical weapons but with spiritual weapons. Our spiritual weapons include the words of our mouth expressing God’s ideas about any given subject. As I pointed out the word ‘weapons’ in our text has a primary meaning of ‘being busy about’ in this case the assignment of God for our lives. It is also a spiritual not physical weapon or instrument such as the shield of faith. One of our major weapons in this spiritual warfare, warfare concerning words and ideas, is to not let the enemy distract us from our mission but remain busy about our God given mission in spite of the circumstances that are about us. If Peter had not looked at the wind and waves could he have walked all the way to Jesus and back to the boat or even to shore with Jesus? The answer is a resounding yes and so can you and I.
Matthew 14:29-31 (KJV)
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
We will dive right back into our topic of Spiritual Warfare tomorrow. Until then may God bless you richly as you seek His face.
By Pastor David R. Wood
