Tuesday – January 19, 2016
It is time for our Tuesday God’s Word and time to be reminded to pray for the governments of these United States. Today we are featuring South Carolina. South Carolina was the 8th State admitted to the Union on May 23, 1788 when Cyrus Griffin was President of the Continental Congress. The building shown is the Governor’s Mansion, there is also a map locating South Carolina in the United States and finally the State of South Carolina flag. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) The following excerpt is taken from the Constitution of the State of South Carolina.
Preamble
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
We, the people of the State of South Carolina, in Convention assembled, grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the preservation and perpetuation of the same.
And people today have the audacity to say with a straight face and with real or contrived conviction that this is not and has been and never was a Christian nation. The devil is audacious. Now back to our study of Spiritual Warfare. Let’s refresh our foundational text.
Colossians 2:1 (KJV)
1 For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;
I developed the thought that the terminology here of “great conflict” was a military term and indicated that the Apostle Paul and those in his company were in spiritual warfare not only for the saints and faithful brethren at Colossae but also at Laodicea perhaps a sister Church. I then linked these Churches concerning what Jesus said to the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation. The points that Jesus raised with them through John were likely, at least in part, the spiritual warfare that Paul was engaged in on their behalf. Now let’s pick up where we left off yesterday.
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;
We have established that Spiritual Warfare is about faith and it is not conducted in the flesh or physical realm but in the spiritual realm. Our thoughts and our words are spirit which can work life or death in our lives and the lives of those around us. No matter the circumstances, Spiritual Warfare must be conducted concurrently with our God given mission. We are well able as we maintain an unwavering faith in God to pull down the strong holds the devil attempts to erect in our lives. These strong holds are ideas. These ideas at first may seem small and inconsequential but they are like a wedge. The leading edge of a wedge is very small but as pressure is exerted on the wedge it causes a widening of the split. The Devil’s purpose is to separate us from God, to entice us to put his (Devil’s) ideas above the ideas of our Heavenly Father. To the Devil’s chagrin our Scripture tells us that we are well able to recognize these ideas and remove them from our thinking. Verse five above tells us to cast down these ideas (imaginations) that the enemy introduces either through other peoples, media, or directly. Furthermore the Scripture tells us to cast down every high thing that tries to place itself higher than our knowledge of God. I think I have mentioned before that there are times when we see the word ‘thing’ we can substitute the word ‘word’ in its place to give us a clarity on what is being said. So that part of verse five could read ‘and every high word that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God’.
Words are the seeds and outflow of ideas and picture imaginations introduced which are contrary to the Word of God. It may seem quite minor but that is where it starts and our separation from God is tiny then a gapping chiasm because we are no longer saying what He is saying. We are easy prey if we have no knowledge of God. This is why it is so important to be in a Church that teaches the Bible, the Word of God, and not denominational doctrine. I want to again stress two things for which we are responsible. We must study and we must prove everything we hear or think about and if it does not conform to the Word of God get rid of it.
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Acts 17:11 (KJV)
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Finally, we are told to “bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV)
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;
We are to identify the thought or idea as not the Word of God, isolate it and remove it from our thinking by thinking on the Word of God, renewing our mind. Much like an anti-virus program on our computer.
Romans 12:2 (KJV)
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The phrase “to the obedience of Christ” is saying that this is initiated, started, and brought to fruition by listening attentively to our Savior the Christ and His Holy Spirit. So you see that we are to have faith (believe God with wavering), be obedient to the Word of God, function in the hope of the Word of God, and do the Word of God as led of the Spirit of God. We are sometimes all too quick to compromise the Word of God or accept a doctrinal view we have not proven ourselves. This is laziness and a lack of diligence which can be deadly. There can be criticism that we are legalistic or not open to other views. We must be open to only one view and that is the view of God.
By Pastor David R. Wood
