Wednesday – January 20, 2016
Praise the Lord, it is hump day, another day to give thanks, to praise our Lord, and to worship Him and Him alone. Oh, God is so good!
I have been teaching about Spiritual Warfare which at its core is a battle of ideas, a battle of words. God, our Heavenly Father, has given us His ideas, His Word, and those are the ones on which to meditate (contemplate, ponder, think, consider, deliberate, reflect, ruminate, and muse). The Word of God, Scripture, Holy Bible, are God’s ideas, His Words and those are to be our ideas and our words. After all in the Garden of Eden those were the only ideas to consider, speak, and act upon but then came the Serpent introducing new ideas and words that contradicted the Words of God. I understand that none of us know all of the Word of God, sorry, and that is why we are to be sensitive to the voice of Jesus, His Holy Spirit. Even the most ignorant new Christian can avoid the entrapments of the enemy by listening for the voice of the Shepherd. Sometimes we call it intuition or conscience. Sometimes it seems that the unsaved person actively practicing sin has a better handle on sin than Christian in name only (CINO) born again believers. They just plain enjoy the sin and don’t want to change. They are coupled to the sin emotionally with their will and knowledge out the window. It is unlikely that a day will go by when we will not be at some level of combat to maintain the purity of our life, thought, and words. Let’s now review our main Scriptures to this point.
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;
The Apostle Paul was in “great conflict” for the saints and faithful brethren at Colossae and Laodicea. We may be called upon by the Holy Spirit of God to intercede for another, saved or unsaved. There are times when an intercessor may be all that stands between us and great calamity, Heaven, or Hell. Let me show you an example in Scripture to demonstrate this point. Turn to Luke chapter thirteen.
Luke 13:1-5 (KJV)
1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
In this passage the folks apparently are wondering about these two tragedies and like many of us jump to the conclusion that somehow they were worse sinners then the people around them or ourselves. The general topic that Jesus is talking about is intercession and the importance of not practicing sin i.e. being a sinner. Being a sinner does not mean you are not saved, thank God, it means you are sinning and on purpose, and no you do not have to sin. Since the cross of Calvary I am not sure there are sins of ignorance anymore, it seems to me that one would have to reject the voice of Jesus (Holy Spirit) before entering into the temptation, the sin. Jesus is telling these folks and us to repent. The Greek word translated repent here means: to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (moral feel compunction):- repent. (Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary). Bawling at the alter is not repentance, a change of mind or thought (heart) agreeing with God is repentance. Watch this next passage carefully. Jesus has not changed topics but is still talking about why bad things happen to people even to seemingly good people.
Luke 13:6-9 (KJV)
6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.
7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
Thank God for obedient intercessors. Sin in our lives opens the door to Satan and removes the protection of God in our lives. We must constantly be examining ourselves and staying pure before the Throne of God. The “certain man” in the preceding Scripture represents God, “the dresser” represents a Christian intercessor. The “fig tree” is a Christian who is unproductive in the Kingdom of God which does not mean they are not busy, they just are not doing the will of God which results in no fruit. Not doing the will of God is sin. How many of the persons reading this teaching have asked God what His will was for them and genuinely listened and were ready to change or did we just assume it was what we were doing and turned off our spiritual ears? The intercessor (the dresser of his vineyard) when he/she had knowledge from God (a certain man) prayed for the sinful, unproductive Christian (unproductive fig tree) and God granted the unproductive Christian a space of time to repent and become productive. As I close for today reflect on the following Words of Jesus.
John 10:1-5 (KJV)
1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
The thief and robber is the enemy, the Devil. The door is our physical senses (eyes and ears) and our spiritual eyes and ears. The Shepherd is Jesus by His Holy Spirit. The porter is you and I the ones who decide what sights and words we will receive and which we will not. When we make the decision to hear the voice of our Shepard (verse three) we will hear His voice (Holy Spirit), He knows and will call our name, and He will give direction. When he gives us direction, He goes before us, He has already been there, and we follow Him into the situation, and we do this because we know His voice. This is done by faith, powered by love, in hope, and in obedience to the Word, leadership of the Holy Spirit. It is a faith fight. What do we believe, Him, the Devil, yourself, or someone else?
1 Timothy 6:12 (KJV)
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
By Pastor David R. Wood
