The Battle

Everyone who accepts Christ and is reborn spiritually becomes part of  the Body of Christ the Kingdom of God which will be an eternal Kingdom in heaven. When this happens a person is rescued from the Kingdom of darkness, Colossians 1:13-14 “For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” The commander of the kingdom of darkness is satan, Ephesians 2:2 “You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.” It explains in God’s Word who satan is in Ezekiel 28:12-19 and why he was cast out from the mountain of God. This is what happened that day Revelation 12:7-12 “Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”  Satan was cast down to earth and is angry with God and wants to destroy any work of God and His church the Body of Christ. When a person becomes a son of God they are an enemy of satan and become part of this battle.

 

God created everything we see and cannot see. Heaven, earth and every living being, God created satan. The Lord has many names in the bible and one of them is Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts or God of Armies. This name is mentioned around 290 times in the bible and our Lord is referred  to as a warrior. Exodus 15:3 The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is his name! Isaiah 42:13 “The LORD will march forth like a mighty hero; he will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout his battle cry and crush all his enemies.” The commander of the Lord’s army the Body of Christ and the church is Jesus. Jesus came to earth as God in the flesh and came not only to save, redeem and restore but also to destroy the works of the devil.  Hebrews 2:14-15 “Because God's children are human beings--made of flesh and blood--the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.” Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.” Jesus came as the lamb of God and he will come back as the Lion of Judah.  Jesus is God and He is meek and humble and He is also a mighty Warrior the commander of heavens armies.

 

There are three scriptures that come to mind. Joshua 5:13-15 “When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?” “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.” Joshua was getting ready to enter the promise land and would have to fight many battles of the enemy. Jesus was waiting with His sword drawn ready to fight for His people. Joshua showed Him deep reverence and Jesus told him to take off his sandals because it is Holy ground.  We have to have deep fear and reverence for our Lord and understand that when we become part of this kingdom and battle that the Lord is Holy and pure. We have to protect our mind, heart and body from sin to fight in this battle against the enemy and be effective.

 

Matthew 10:32-40 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.” Jesus came to bring a peace that comes from knowing Him to all who accept Him.  Jesus died for us and loves us and we have eternal life from Him but there is no middle ground. You have to choose if you deny Him He says He will deny you before God in heaven. Jesus demands our complete loyalty to Him over everyone and everything in this world.

 

Revelation 19:11-21 “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”  Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army.  And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies.”

Satan is evil and dwells in darkness God is light and is true, holy, and pure and because of what Jesus did for us we can be part of His kingdom. John 1:4-5 “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” Jesus came to bring this light to the world and defeated satan so we can be free from this darkness and know the Lord and have eternal life. There is a battle for souls and we have free will and must all make this choice. The two forces will be at work against each other, Genesis 3:15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel."  until Jesus comes back for His church and completely destroy satan forever. Revelation 20:10 “Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. “

Jesus is not a passive warrior and He pursued the enemy with authority. We who believe have Jesus inside us and we take on all His characteristics. Jesus gave us His authority over the enemy and we must not be passive when it comes to this enemy the deceiver. Luke 10:17-20 “When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.” When we become a son of God we are given much and many promises and armor from God to protect us in this battle. The greatest weapon we have to protect us is Jesus and it is our faith in Him that allows us to overcome and be victorious. 1 John 5:4-5 “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.  And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”  John 14:30 “I don't have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me.” 1 John 4:4 “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matthew 13:45-46 part 3 The Kingdom

John 3:3 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God." When a person accepts Jesus as their Lord and savior they are reborn spiritually and become a child of God. They become part of a kingdom that will last forever. Hebrews 12:26-29 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.”  This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire. Anyone who has been reborn especially those that come later in life are able to see and know this huge difference between the world and God’s kingdom. Hebrews 13:12-14 So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood.  So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. We are to follow Jesus and His examples and become more like Him. We are in the world not of this world. John 17:16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

The Kingdom is about God’s rule and learning His ways. It offers freedom and eternal life through Christ. It is about God’s love and servanthood not power and mans hierarchy. The kingdom is mentioned 121 times in the gospels. Jesus came and died on a cross for our sins so we can be part of his kingdom. Jesus came to set up an eternal kingdom that would last forever. Daniel 2:44 "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.

We who believe in Christ are part of this Kingdom and long for that day to be with the Lord because as believers that is our home. Until then we have been given the Holy Spirit and God’s word and the body of Christ.  We have been set free to walk with the Lord and this freedom allows us to have a relationship with the Lord and experience His grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness.  This freedom allows us to continue to grow more like Him and helps understand God’s heart, His kingdom, and why Jesus came.

Jesus came here to save the lost. All who are separated from God.  All through the gospels during his ministry for three years he spent the majority of His time with sinners and the lost. Jesus called twelve disciples to follow Him and He taught them and trained them. By following Jesus for three years they were taught about this kingdom and able to know and understand the heart of God and His love from Jesus. Matthew 9:9-13 ‘As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?  When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Jesus came to save the lost and restore their relationship with the Lord!

“We don’t want to settle just for conversion we need transformation.” Eric Swanson. God saves us and sets us free which allows us to experience his grace, love, mercy and forgiveness. This will allow us to grow and transform to become more like Christ. I have a long way to go and I have not meet a perfect person yet but this transformation in each individual will help reach the lost and restore the church the body of Christ. I have learned through the bible, the mentoring ministry I’m in and by my own mistakes in this area and from others. The key to restoration is forgiveness. Jesus is all about forgiveness, how can we grow to become more like Christ and restore the church if we don’t forgive. We have all been forgiven to experience God’s freedom, love, mercy and grace so how can we not forgive others. Matthew 18:21-35 is a great scripture about the unforgiving debtor. I think we will all have to deal with this. Enslaving someone in a past sin is a waste of time and will not restore the body of Christ. What someone has done is not important it is what they are becoming in Christ. A great example is when Peter disowned Jesus three times and in John 21:15-17 after he repented Jesus doesn’t condemn Peter. He looked forward to what Peter was going to become. Jesus is about a person becoming and restoring those who come to Him. This is great news and a gift from the Lord for every believer when they are saved and during their walk with the Lord.

I think another huge part in restoration is how we see others. I will explain, do we see others that are saved as they are now are what they can become in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! Two great examples is Gideon in Judges 6:11-12 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!” Gideon was a weak and broken man but God seen his heart and what he would do in him and who he would become and called him a mighty warrior. Do we see other men who are saved this way in the church as mighty warriors and who they will become in Christ. What about the twelve disciples who were just common men who were overlooked and despised with no training. They started the church, Ephesians 2:20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. Every believer and child of God has His perfect love and resurrection power of the Holy Spirit in them. I have to ask myself do I have this same faith and believe and do I understand how God sees this from His word.

Our next devotional will be on the battle. Revelation 12:10-12. Every believer in Christ and part of His kingdom will be part of this battle.

Matthew 13:45-46 part 2

For me, I really want to desire to see people through the eyes of Jesus and how he made them and what he is doing in their life.  Seeing people through my eyes and from my flesh, will and motives are not what God desires. Even though I struggle with this, I know it is all found in Jesus. A great example of this in the bible is the apostle Paul; he was very knowledgeable in God’s word and trained but didn’t know Jesus or understand God’s heart.

 After Paul’s conversion and having a relationship with Jesus he became a completely different person. It’s not just that he was saved and didn’t persecute the church it’s how he became one with Jesus and loved the church. It’s not that he became a better person and wrote most of the New Testament in the bible and the amount of great works he did. It’s the way he understood God’s heart and how he loved others and laid down his life for the church.  This all happened in Paul’s life because of his relationship with Jesus. Paul quoted a scripture in 1 Corinthians 10:33-11:1 ‘I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.’  Some think this is a very arrogant statement from Paul, but I don’t think so.   He was able to quote this because he became one with Jesus and understood who he was in Christ and his mission. After Paul’s conversion he received a calling from the Lord to take the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles and Jews and he went to spend time with Jesus to understand this mission and calling. Acts 9:15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 1 Corinthians 15:8, ‘Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.’ Galatians 1:15-17, ‘But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.’

Paul was like Jesus because he knew the truth, God’s word, God’s heart, God’s love and laid down his life for others like Jesus. Paul was able to say imitate me as I imitate Christ not because he was Jesus all powerful and creator of the universe but because he took on the same characteristics of Jesus and understood his mission and God’s heart. Another great verse from Paul I think that shows the heart of God for the lost and His church is a part of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.

2 Corinthians 12:14-15, ‘Here for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?’  Paul was making a trip to the church of Corinth and had needs and expenses but he obeyed God and went with the right motives and with the Heart of God. Paul says, I’m coming for you not what you have and even if you don’t love me I love you and will lay my life down for you. That sounds a lot like Jesus to me. Paul was a pretty humble, intense, and passionate dude about his calling and Jesus.

I think what made Paul and some other people in the bible great examples for us was they all struggled with life and things just like we do. But they understood God’s heart and were able to see others from his perspective. I think we can easily fall into a snare or trap. We can take our needs, our calling or mission from Jesus and put it before Jesus. It’s hard, but I have to keep this perspective of how God sees us, try to understand His heart, and how he sees others. I think people, the church, the Body of Christ is so precious and valuable to God it is hard for us to understand completely. We the church or Body of Christ may have different gifting, callings or purpose in the kingdom but it is all for the Lord the one true God. We the church are all united by the same Holy Spirit and we need to understand God’s heart and purpose for His church (Ephesians 4:1-16).  It is never about how wise or strong or successful we are, it is always about God and His heart and what he wants. God saved us, set us free and filled us with his perfect love and resurrection power of the Holy Spirit.  He equipped us to serve Him, build up His church the body of Christ and glorify Him.  We are to deny ourselves and He lives through us. Galatians 2:20, ‘My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.’ For all of us when this happens in our life God can do some pretty special and wonderful things.

God touches all of us in a different way and we all have a special story and testimony from God. This is a beautiful thing that happens only through our relationship with Jesus. I read a book called, The Place of Immunity, that had this quote and thought was pretty interesting. ‘Perhaps Elijah's greatest virtue was his zeal. Indeed, we shall see that twice in his communication with God, Elijah speaks of having been "very zealous" for the Lord. But zeal, unattended eventually becomes its own God; it compels us toward expectations, which are unrealistic, and outside the timing and anointing of God. To remain balanced, zeal must be reined in and harnessed by strategic encounters with the living God. We otherwise become frustrated with people and discouraged with delays. We step outside our place of strength and spiritual protection. Many of us become so consumed with our battles that we are no longer aware of the presence of Jesus. We have been traveling in our own strength. Pray that Jesus will teach us that intimacy with Him is the greatest measure of success. Lord, guide us to the mountain of Your presence.’ [Francis Frangipane, Place of Immunity (Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Arrow Publications, 1994), 5.] I think this is a scary place for the church, if we are not in the presence of Jesus and clothed with Him I think we can become clothed in self righteousness and a good works mentality and a competitive spirit. Paul writes in Galatians 5:1&15 ‘For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.’ Philippians 1:10-11, ‘For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation--the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ--for this will bring much glory and praise to God.’