"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;
casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exhalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2nd Corinthians 10:3-5)
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I remember the first 4 months of my 1st grade experience... almost everyday at lunchtime I'd get beat-up and chased home by the same to boys in my class...
Not only did they beat me up, but they took my 25 cent bag of barbacue potato chips in the process.
Well, as life would have it, my mom was fed-up with me getting beat-up everyday and decided that it was time to put an end to this violence against her first born son...
A huge smile was on my face when I saw my mother's resolve to bring my suffering to an end; but to my amazement, upon our return to school that afternoon mom did something that I never suspected.
First: she made me point out the two boys who were terrorfying me daily and grabed them by the collar.
Second: she said to me; it's time for you to learn to fight back, and you're going to take on these two bullies one-at-a-time.
Third: she gave me that age old ultimatum - "if you don't beat them, I'm gonna beat you!"
That was the beginning of my fighting career. From that single ordeal I lost all fear of fighting, and with each looming battle I gained more experience while sharpening my pugilistic and survival skills.
Learning to parry left and right, how to duck, bob and weave. Knowing how and when to pop-out a stiff jab and how to throw a timely upper-cut or cross.
It wasn't too long before I became comfortable with taking on challenges and challengers alike...as we used to say in those day; "I had a lot of heart".
So it wasn't strange to many in my family when I made the decision to join the Marine Corps. The way I figured it, if I was going to fight for my country I needed to be apart of the best world renowned fighting unit. The Marines are known as;
"A Force In Readiness".
History tells of their wartime victories, exploits, and feirce fighting skills...
While I'm no longer in the Marines I do still face many challenges and challengers, only this time it's in a different arena.
In Ephesians 6:10 Paul writes: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places..."
How many times in our lives have we been caught off guard and caught up in situations that just seemed to occur from nowhere?
- Marital problems
- Financial woes
- Angry sons and daughters
- Disagreements with a supervisor
- Arguments with other saints
...and the list just goes on.
For the average human being, situations like those just mentioned would turn their worlds upside down... Average folk don't understand what it takes to get a prayer through, they can't fathom the real necessity for fasting or just laying before the Lord both day and night.
They become so taken by suprise and some never return mentally to the everyday process of just simply living.
The well prepared soldier in te Lord's army understands that there will be times when we all must suffer persecution, "but God" is more than able to deliver us out of them all.
We readily recognize the tricks and traits of the enemy, and our strategic responses to Satan's attacks are why Peter calls us "a peculiar people"...
What is it that drives our spirit-man to rejoice in the face of adversity?
First: We have the testimonies of the patriarchs.
In Psalm 271-2 David declared: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell..."
We understand all too well that eventhough we are caught in the midst of a battle, our battles belong to the Lord...scripture and even our own history has proven this fact time after time.
Second: Through-out our lives we've constantly heard others say; "prayer chenges things"...
Psalm 6:9 states: "The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer"...
Prayer has essentially been at the heart of every battle fought and victories won, which proves that God's eye is truly on the righteous and His ear attendeth to their cries...
Third: Our praise not only confuses the enemy, but it prompts God to take leave from His throne in Glory, and inhabit the praises of His people. Praise stirs up an unction in the Lord which cause Him to confound and destroy the enemy on our behalf.
In 2nd Chronicles 20:19-24 the children of Moab, Ammon, and Mount Seir set an ambush for the tribe of Judah; surrounding them with designed plans to destroy all. But Jehoshaphat led the assembly of Judah in prayer and sought instruction from the Lord..
As the entire tribe marched out to do battle, God instructed Jehoshaphat to order the fighting soldiers to the rear of the people, and bring the singers to the front. Once this was completed, they were ordered to sing praises unto the Lord in the beauty of holiness...what was their battle cry you ask?
"Praise The Lord; For His Mercy Endureth Forever!"
Then when their attackers witnessed their joy, and heard their expressions of praise unto the Lord; they forgot all about their initial purpose and began to attack and destroy each other....an do you know that all of Judah spent the next three days reaping the benefits of a battle that belonged to the Lord...
The moral of this message?
No matter how dark the night or how high the mountain we face in our daily walk, no matter the traps and snares the enemy sets in our way; "yea though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death" we walk not in fear, because our God is an awesome God who guides us over every mountain and through the valley low.
Our God equips us with weapons that no Devil in hell is able to overcome. We've been equiped with the "Whole Armor of God"....
Our experiences, and our super-natural weapons are what make us....
"Battle tested and Battle ready!"
Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power, (His Power) that worketh in us!
Do you remember those night's long ago when testimony services were held in the church? It seemed that almost everyone in the sanctuary had something to testify about. Didn't matter if all they could do was say "I thank the Lord for waking me up this morning" the fact of the matter is that everyone had something to share concerning the goodness of God....
Those testimonies were the fabric which kept many believer so excited about God and not too concerned about their circumstance because they lived and operated in the realm of "Great Expectation"...to put it more plainly, they acquired a strong faith and trust in the Lord.
Then there were the street evangelist's...those patriot warriors of the Kingdom who stood at busy intersections some weekly and some daily, all for the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to the masses. I remember this one woman of God who frequented the subway and El trains; she wore a twosided billboard and boldly shouted to everyone within the sound of her voice the joys of heaven and the horrors o hell...I vividly recall one Friday afternoon when she walked up and down the Broad Street subway train shouting; "IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE DEVIL JUST LOOK IN THE MIRROR!" Then she proceded to share the good news of the Gospel whereby mankind can be saved.
Not long ago I stumbled upon an article which pointed out that churches today have lost their zeal for evangelism...not many congregations are knocking on doors, or passing out tracks. There aren't too many "seed sowing" teams making an effort to affect the lives of those who are lost.
So the questions that roll around in my mind is these:
1st - "HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT VACATED THE PEOPLE OF GOD?"
My reason for asking is based mainly on scripture; Jesus said in Acts 1:8 - "you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses unto me in both Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world..."
When we as body of believers willingly neglect to share the Gospel; many who would surrender their life to Christ are denied an opportunity to have eternal life. In 2nd Corinthians 4:3 the apostle Paul writes - "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost..."
With that said; the lost soul is then without refuge from eternal death & damnation, leaving their blood on the hands of the believer who neglects to share the promise of salvation. (Ref. Ezekiel 3:18 & 33:8). Now is not the time for us to become ashamed of the gospel, it is much too late in the day for the church to sit on it's laurals while our communities go about as zombies; living, but not alive with the Spirit of Christ residing in their hearts...
2nd - "HAS GOD NOT BEEN GOOD TO YOU?"
There used to be a time when it was common to hear the saints expressing shear joy concerning the great things that God was doing in their life. Testifying to the goodness and mercies of God is a way of gaining spiritual strength which enables the believer to overcome the attacks of the enemy, even when we are going through hardships and tribulations. Revelation 12:11 states - "And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death."
When you are bold enough to share what God has done for you with others, Christ is glorified and people are drawn to Him. Your testimony renders Satan as weak and useless against the power and word of God. How can you; "a Christian"; remain silent when each morning God shows us brand new mercies?
After all that He's done for you there is no room for sitting on your testimony... Go on and tell somebody; and if you can't tell it..... "LET ME TELL IT!!!"
Let’s briefly examine a few of the latest news headlines:
1. RFID Chip Implants" Mandatory for All by March 23, 2013
2. Reaffirming the humanity of gay Americans, the Obama administration has signaled its strongest support yet for same-sex marriages, stepping into a controversial legal case and recommending that the Supreme Court strike down a California ban denying gay and lesbian couples the same rights to marry as heterosexuals.
3. Pope Benedict XVI, the leader of some 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide, resigned Feb. 28.
4.Twenty-six people -- 20 students and six adults -- were shot and killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14. Details continue to emerge about what precisely happened.
5. AMMAN, Sept 3 - A car bomb exploded on Monday in a religiously mixed district on the edge of the Syrian capital Damascus, causing casualties including women and children, state media and opposition campaigners said.
6. Jose’ Louis de Jes’us Miranda: He claims to be both Jesus Christ returned and the Antichrist, and exhibits a “666” tattoo on his forearm. Followers have shown their support by getting “666” tattoos on their bodies
In the 24th chapter of Matthew; Jesus begins to tell His disciples of the events which will occur before the end comes. He points out that many will come claiming to be the Christ, there would be wars and rumors of wars, that people would offend, betray, and hate one another. Jesus also spoke of nations and kingdoms rising against one another…and that’s only the beginning of sorrows. He reminds the disciples that false prophets shall arise and deceive many…
Iniquity shall abound causing the hearts of many to wax cold, however: those who are able to endure till the end shall be saved… But this message doesn’t end there.
In Romans the 1st chapter the Apostle Paul speaks to the sinful nature of mankind. He points out how mans belief in God has basically turned into the worship of false idols and that their total view of Him has been corrupted. Paul states that humankind has begun to commit gross acts of unrighteousness from fornication to altering the normal use and lifestyle of gender relationships…These and other sinful acts have caused God to turn them over to live as reprobates.
It’s no secret that we are living in a time when all of the above Biblical prophecies are unfolding daily, right before our eyes. One would think that with all of the evidence laid before us; the world would change course and begin to worship the Living God in Spirit and in truth.
What’s very clear is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is sweeping across the globe like a consuming fire; and at some point very soon all the world will have heard the message of salvation. Once this is complete, we can look up and know that our redemption is drawing nearer than we think…
The time is vastly approaching when the antichrist will be allowed to reign over the entire world; and all will be forced to take the mark of the beast (RFID Chip) in order to buy food and other goods.
I ask you; how much more proof do you need before you finally surrender your all to Christ?
Some time ago my pastor delivered a message titled “11:59:59”….that represents the time we have left on the clock before Christ returns for His church.
OH WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY THAT WILL BE!
On that day we will rejoin those who’ve gone on before us, and see our Savior face-to-face.
Paul says it this way in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4:13-17;
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
These words weren’t written to scare you, but that you would be comforted with the hope of His glory…
So there you have it; time is winding up, the saints of God will soon fly away….
And That’s A Rap- - - - - - -ture…
