Monday – January 11, 2016
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ who took the punishment of sin for all and brought the Blessing back for the benefit of those who will but receive.
Galatians 3:13-14 (KJV)
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Let us all prepare to receive God’s Word and make it our own words therefore getting the same results He got. I will now continue with the study of spiritual warfare. Before we pick up with 1 Timothy 6:9-13 the Lord has instructed me to make a couple of salient points. The whole Bible is about spiritual warfare. I am sure that many of you who have studied Scripture for a period of time especially in the context of teaching others have come to realize that the whole Bible is about whatever topic you are studying. For example we are going to look at the temptation of Adam which was spiritual warfare but it is also all about love which is obedience to the Word of God, and it is all about faith which is to believe God and not another. Think about the temptation of King Saul. He was told in very clear language what to do concerning Amalek.
1 Samuel 15:3 (KJV)
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
King Saul lies to the Prophet Samuel at first than when he sees that Samuel has him dead to rights, he confesses, sort of.
1 Samuel 15:24 (KJV)
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
Just prior to this confession but not repentance, this is what the Prophet Samuel had to say, from the LORD, about disobedience or rebellion.
1 Samuel 15:22-23 (KJV)
22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Let’s go back and take yet another look at Adam in the Garden of Eden. God gave them His Word.
Genesis 2:16-17 (KJV)
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Is there anyone reading this who thinks that the Word of the LORD God to Adam was in any way ambiguous? This was Gods idea but here comes the Serpent with another idea.
Genesis 3:1-6 (KJV)
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Does the woman seem confused at the onset of the temptation, the spiritual warfare? She seems quite clear and we know from verse six that the man is right there with her listening to this and watching it unfold and then participating. The bottom line is that in the end they accepted and acted on the word of the Serpent and placed the Word of God in a lesser space. The Scripture is clear, that we are to be on guard, and cast down any ideas that lift themselves above Gods ideas.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (KJV)
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;
Sun Tzu was a sixth century BCE Chinese General who described the art of war and his insights are very apropos to this discussion of spiritual warfare which is temptation. Sun Tzu said that if you know your enemy and you know yourself you will win every battle. On the other hand if you know the enemy but do not know yourself or know yourself but not your enemy you will win some and lose some. Finally, if you do not know yourself or your enemy you will lose every battle. Each of us would be wise to ask ourselves which one explains our life?
By Pastor David R. Wood
