Wednesday, December 14, 2011

In the beginning

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Love Others, Love God

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Thursday, December 08, 2011

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field Be the field.

Thursday, December 01, 2011

do something


Mobile Blogging from here.

do something for someone. something that has no benefit for yourself. why?

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Hollow een

Halloween
As an American I do not celebrate many holidays of other nations, mostly because they mean nothing to me; to American national heritage. Just as I would guess independence day isn't so well celebrated in England, the day the cardinals won the world series by the many teams they have beaten or the conquering of ethopia to musalinni by the ethopians.

Hypothetically...
Let's say you are a jew in hitlers Germany. The Nazis have sworn to destroy you and your kind. Let's say each year they celebrate the day they enrolled the hitler youth. Every year They celebrate this with dressing as Hitler youth with swastika badges and candy given to everyone. As a Jew who has watched the Nazis burn, cage and destroy your family and relatives, would you celebrate this day with them? It is just dressing up and enjoying candy; no harm done. but would you celebrate with your enemy? Would you celebrate separately from your enemy in a different fashion?

christians, we are in a war. Let's not join in celebrating a day that centers on our enemy, seemingly devised by our enemy. A day Certainly not promoting the love and life of our king. instead celebrate our king everyday.

P.s. If you have any left over candy send it my way.
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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Roosevelt for Him

Decided to go to the dollar store after finding out i had change in my Jeep enough to get some junk food, that I thought I was craving. I'm certain I needed a pound of cheese puffs. At the check out I paid in Dimes and the guy behind me says, " is that a dollar in dimes?" the cashier and I said "yep". He handed her a dollar and asked if he could trade her for a dollar bill. He said, "i'm trying to catch the bus".
I paid with dimes because I didn't want to carry them around anymore. But it made his day. I'm guessing he told me that he was trying to catch the bus so we didn't think he was some type of dime fanatic.

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Vanity contiinued

So after another month of eating well except for weekends I've found that regardless of what I do to lose body fat I need to do a fee things:

Workout in the am doing cardio
Drink over 8 glasses of water
Eat no carbs or fatty foods
Not eat after 9pm

I had my body fat down to 12 but after 3 days of not doing thr above it's back to 17. If course I'm losing weight but I dint want to.....

So I guess i have learned this: vanity either comes through hard work and disciple or lots of money and surgery. I am hoping the first builds character. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Saturday, April 09, 2011

Vanity

Hopefully my vanity will notlast too long, but this month I have been on the phase 1 fungus free diet and doing some light working out. My aim is to get my body fat to 8%. the fungus free diet basically is low carb diet with many foods that may contain fungus or yeast taken out. I have been attempting to do cardio in the morning and some strength trainging at some point thiughout the day. As far as drinking water I am trying to drink 10 servings a day. Of course I am taking weekends off. The true goal, while I will be acheiving better health is to beable to see my abdominal muscles. I have been doing the power 90 ab work out made by the px90 guy for about a month or two... So I assume there are abs somewhere on me. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Who we are..from Kenyon

But I know it now, and before the world I confess that I am walking in the light. I confess

that God is my Father and I am His child; that I am in His Family. Satan's dominion over

me has been broken, and I have in me now the very Nature and Life of the Son of God. He

gave it to me. I am a partaker of the Divine Nature. I have passed out of death into Life.

I know I am a Son of God, and if I am a Son, then I am an heir and a joint-heir with Jesus

Christ.

If that is true, then I have a standing with the Father just like the Master had, because He

has become my sponsor. He is my Savior and my Lord. I see it now. He has made me His

Righteousness, and I can now stand in the Father's presence just as I did in those first

glad days after I accepted Him. I have a right now to ask Him to come into my body and

make it His home.

I remember He said, "If a man love me, he will keep my word, and the Father and I will

love him, and we will come and make our abode with him." I wonder if that doesn't mean

that He will come and live in me Wouldn't it be wonderful if He would live in my body, so

wherever I went He would be with me; He would be in me.

Then Isa. 41 :10 becomes a reality : "Fear thou not, for I am with thee ; be not dismayed,

for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee : yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the

right hand of my righteousness." This is mine, all mine, and I dare confess it before the

world. Wonderful thing, isn't it? Rom. 8:11 at last is real: "But if the Spirit of him that raised

up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall

make his home in your body."

Yes, quicken your body; heal it if it is sick; make it strong if it is weak, and pour into your

spirit the consciousness of a victor, the sense of an overcomer. Heb. 13:20 then becomes

a living Reality: "Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great

shepherd of the sheep, with the blood of an eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus, make

you perfect in every good thing to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in

his sight." How vividly real this can become to the heart, and it all comes when one dares

to confess what he is in Christ; and more than that: confess it in the face of everything.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

A repost from another site...on shame.

Taking Your Shame

Isaiah 65.12-16 contrasts the servants of the Lord God with those who did not answer when He called, did not hear when He spoke, chose that in which He does not delight, did evil before His eyes. In contrast to those who forsake the Lord, God’s servants eat while the others remain hungry. God’s servants drink while the others remain thirsty. God’s servants rejoice while the others remain in their shame. God’s servants sing for joy of heart while the others cry for sorrow of heart and wail for grief of spirit. God’s servants bless themselves in the God of truth. Indeed, for those who serve God, the former troubles are forgotten because they are hidden from God’s eyes.

God turns the captivity of shame to glory according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1.12) that those called by the gospel might obtain of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2.14). For the shame of sin and its consequent sufferings, God grants favor (Luke 4.18, 19). God turns shame into praise and renown.

In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak; The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

"I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, who are among you, to whom its reproach is a burden. Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, and gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame." Zephaniah 3.16-19

How can these things be? The answer is found in Jesus Christ You can be delivered from shame by understanding and embracing in faith three great truths of the gospel of grace. Let’s look at them briefly.

First, Jesus bore the inherent shame of the cross itself. He endured the cross, despising its shame (Hebrews 12.2). The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1.18

The Phoenicians were the first to devise the art of crucifixion. Their goal was to find a slow, humiliating way of death fit for punishing criminals. They had experimented with drowning, burning, boiling in oil, strangulation, death by spear, and impalement, but these proved to bring death too quickly. Crucifixion involved nakedness, hours under a burning sun, jeering crowds, and physical torment beyond description. By the time of the Romans, crucifixion had become a science. Soldiers trained in its techniques followed specific rules as enemies of the Roman Empire lay victim of this evil. Why in one day more than 6,000 men suffered death by crucifixion following the revolt by Spartacus.

Jesus of Nazareth likewise suffered at the hands of these experts of the craft of crucifixion He was bludgeoned, brutally beaten, bloody beyond recognition Thorns some four to six inches in length tore into His scalp, protruding to form His crown. Jagged pottery and rocks knotted into leather cords of a whip lashed across His flesh. In this condition He was expected to carry a crossbeam through the streets of Jerusalem to Golgatha, the place of the skull. After five inch stakes were driven into His wrists, He was hoisted up against an upright pole or tree. A larger stake was pounded through His overlapped feet.

Horror ensued as Jesus found His arms in a "V" position, paralyzing the pectoral muscles. Able to draw in air but not exhale, relief came only with pressing down on the stake holding His feet. For three hours this went on. Jesus moaned from the depths of His being. Not as others who died by crucifixion, Jesus, very God and very Man, had laid upon Him the sin and iniquity of humanity. This singular, sacrificial victim, this Lamb of God, experienced the shame of the cross as the Father turned away from His own Son, now made sin. Jesus was forsaken. In wrenching agony He committed His spirit into the hands of His Father and died. He bore the shame that comes as the consequence of sin and guilt.

Secondly, He bore the curse. (See Deuteronomy 28.) In suffering such total humiliation, He became a curse for those who would live by faith in Him. The just shall live by faith. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, Paul tells us in Galatians 3.13, 14 having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hands on a tree’), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Shame, falling out of favor with God, not knowing the glory of God, being driven from His presence, is the curse. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6.23).

Thirdly, Christ died outside the camp. On the Day of Atonement the bodies of the animals whose blood was brought into the sanctuary, into the Holy of Holies. by the high priest for sin were burned outside the camp (Leviticus 16.14, 27). Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate (Hebrews 13.12). Jesus was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem (John 19.16, 17). He bore reproach as the Sin-bearer. He suffered shame.

Jesus Christ is God’s answer to shame. Jesus became sin that through His shame those who believe in Him, repenting of their sins, might receive the favor, the glory of God. In Jesus, God offers the only way to remove shame. In an obedience to His Father that took Him to the experience of suffering the humiliation of the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the wrath of God, the agony of rejected love, the curse of the Law. Outside the camp, He took the reproach, the rejection, the consequence of sin, the shame.

Monday, March 28, 2011

If there is anything good that happens in life it's from Jesus.

John 10:9-11 (New International Version, ©2011)


9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Let's rememebr that when bad things happen, and they do. Things that are not just dumb mistakes or causes of entropy, but things that are willfully done for evil come from Satan. The Bible points out that the thief (Satans) work is to steal kill and destroy. Every instance of these actions involved with the human race is a result of the work of the Devil, or enemy if you are in the Kingdom of God. This is his work he is constantly looking to destroy good.
1 Peter 5:8 (New International Version, ©2011)says,

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.


We often cannot understand how a person can do evil as it seems to not be in us (remember it isnt in you if you are a new creation). Those who are not new creations, however, are described as we once we, in Romans 3:9-11 (New International Version, ©2011)
No One Is Righteous
9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
Dispite what secular humanism would teach us, there is no good in everyone. The potential people have to to become good, through the new birth in the belief in Jesus Christ.

C.S. Lewis says, ""[Pain] removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul." --The Problem of Pain


When we see the works of the enemy (Satan), whether it is violence, pride, vanity, self worship, or anything that takes glory from God and brings evil to his creation we can see the enemy for who he really is. Do not see that God is causing some trouble for you to learn from, it is not God. It says in James 1:16-18 (New International Version, ©2011)
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

If it is good it is from God. If it is evil it is from the enemy of your soul, your body, and your spirit. The son in the Kingdom of God can find comfort here:
1 John 5:3-5 (New International Version, ©2011)
3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Old things

People in general America have a fascination with the new. New computer, new phones, new books, new dirotos flavors, name it there is likely a new. This really isn't at all superising knowing that we are created to embrace a new creation state.

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Thursday, February 24, 2011

Enduement is no longer an english word

And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. -Luke 24:49

THE ENDUEMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY PRES. CHARLES G. FINNEY THE INDEPENDENT. NEW YORK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1871 Please permit me, through your columns,
to correct a misapprehension into which
some fell who listened to a few brief
remarks which I made to the late Council
at Oberlin, first on Saturday morning, and
afterward on the Lord's day. 1. In my first remarks I called attention to
the mission of the church to disciple all
nations, as recorded by Matthew and Luke,
and stated that this commission was given
by Christ to the whole church, and that
every member of the church is under obligation to make it his lifework to convert
the world. I then raised two inquiries. 1st.
What do we need to secure success in this
great work? 2d. How can we get it?
Answer. 1st. We need the enduement of
power from on high. Christ had previously informed the disciples that without him
they could do nothing. When he gave them
the commission to convert the world, he
added: "But tarry ye in Jerusalem till ye be
endued with power from on high. Ye shall
be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Lo! I send upon you the
promise of my Father." This baptism of the
Holy Ghost, this thing promised by the
Father, this enduement of power from on
high, Christ has expressly informed us, is
the indispensable condition of performing the work which he has set before us. 2d.
How shall we get it? 1st. Christ expressly
promised it to the whole church, and to
every individual whose duty it is to labor
for the conversion of the world. He
admonished the first disciples not to undertake the work until they had received
this enduement of power from on high.
Both the promise and the admonition
apply equally to all Christians of every age
and nation. No one has at any time any
right to expect success unless he first secures the enduement of power from on
high. 2d.* The example of the first
disciples teaches us how to secure this
enduement. They first consecrated
themselves to the work, and continued in
prayer and supplication until the Holy Ghost fell upon them, on the day of
Pentecost, and they received the promised
enduement of power from on high. This,
then, is the way to get it. The Council
desired me to say more upon the subject.
Consequently, on the Lord's Day, I took for my text the assertion of Christ that the
Father is more willing to give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him than we are to
give good gifts to our children. 1. I said this text informs us that it is
infinitely easy to obtain the Holy Spirit, or
this enduement of power from the Father. 2. That this is made a constant subject of
prayer. Everybody prays for this, at all
times; and yet, with all this intercession,
how few, comparatively, are really endued
with the spirit of power from on high! This
want is not met. The want of power is a subject of constant complaint. Christ says,
"Every one that asketh receiveth"; but
there certainly is a "great gulf" between
the asking and receiving, that is a great
stumbling-block to many. How, then, is
this discrepancy to be explained? I then proceeded to show why this enduement is
not received. I said: 1st. We are not
willing, upon the whole, to have what we
desire and ask. 2d. God has expressly
informed us that if we regard iniquity in
our hearts he will not hear us. But the petitioner is often self-indulgent. This is
iniquity, and God will not hear him. 3d. He
is uncharitable. 4th. Censorious. 5th. Self-
dependent. 6th. Resists conviction of sin.
7th. Refuses to confess to all the parties
concerned. 8th. Refuses to make restitution to injured parties. 9th. He is
prejudiced and uncandid. 10th. He is
resentful. 11th. Has a revengeful spirit.
12th. Has a worldly ambition. 13th. He has
committed himself on some point and
become dishonest, and rejects further light. 14th. He is denominationally selfish.
15th. Selfish for his own congregation.
16th. He resists the teachings of the Holy
Spirit. 17th. He grieves the Holy Spirit by
dissension. 18th. He quenches the Spirit
by persistence in justifying wrong. 19th. He grieves him by a want of watchfulness.
20th. He resists him by indulging evil
tempers. 21st. Also by dishonesties in
business. 22d. Also by indolence and
impatience in waiting upon the Lord. 23d.
By many forms of selfishness. 24th. By negligence in business, in study, in prayer.
25th. By undertaking too much business,
too much study, and too little prayer. 26th.
By a want of entire consecration. 27th.
Last and greatest, by unbelief. He prays
for this enduement without expecting to receive it. "He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar." This, then, is the
greatest sin of all. What an insult, what a
blasphemy, to accuse God of lying! I was obliged to conclude that these and
other forms of indulged sin explained why
so little is received, while so much is
asked. I said I had not time to present the
other side. Some of the brethren afterward
inquired, "What is the other side?" The other side presents the certainty that we
shall receive the promised enduement of
power from on high, and be successful in
winning souls, if we ask in faith and fulfill
the plainly revealed conditions of
prevailing prayer. Observe, what I said upon the Lord's Day was upon the same
subject, and in addition to what I had
previously said. The misapprehension
alluded to was this: If we first get rid of all
the forms of sin which prevent our
receiving this enduement, have we not already obtained the blessing? What more
do we need? Answer: There is a great difference
between the peace and the power of the
Holy Spirit in the soul. The disciples were
Christians before the day of Pentecost,
and as such had a measure of the Holy
Spirit. They must have had the peace of sins forgiven, and of a justified state; but
yet they had not the enduement of power
necessary to the accomplishment of the
work assigned them. They had the peace
which Christ had given them, but not the
power which he had promised. This may be true of all Christians: and right here is, I
think, the great mistake of the church, and
of the ministry. They rest in conversion,
and do not seek until they obtain this
enduement of power from on high. Hence,
so many professors have no power with either God or man. They prevail with
neither. They cling to a hope in Christ, and
even enter the ministry, overlooking the
admonition to wait until they are endued
with power from on high. But let any one
bring all the tithes and offerings into God's treasury, let him lay all upon the altar and
prove God herewith, and he shall find that
God "will open the windows of Heaven
and pour him out a blessing that there
shall not be room enough to receive it." * numbered 3rd in original by mistake. BlogBooster-The most productive way for mobile blogging. BlogBooster is a multi-service blog editor for iPhone, Android, WebOs and your desktop

Enduement

I hope to write about it.
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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Tyranny of the Urgent

There is always something to do. In fact right now i have a list of several things that I need to do. They must get done. They try torace in our mind like the people driving to work early mornings, leaving work late nights, and the people going places between. We have to get going so we can race to where we are going to do what we are doing...
STOP.
Stoppping can help us find out where we are and where we are going; not to mntion (though I am) who we are. STOP.

You know, it isn't only busibodies who succumb to the tyranny of the urgent. The lazy do the same thing: waiting until the mail comes then rushing to get it, waiting for the W-2s to spend the refund as quick as possible (like the money is on fire and it wouuld burn if put into your pocket). Hurrying to watch a show impatiently because the one they wanted to watch is on next.
STOP.
Stop recording shows with Tivo to make you think you are controlling the urgent(though I am sure that some people do manage this well), only to get home and watch everything you have recorded as fast as possible.
STOP.
Meditate on the goodness of God in the peace and quiet.
Sit and do nothing for a couple minutes.
Stand and look around you at the store; what's happening?
Listen to the snow melt (in Michigan).
Listen to the cars drive, and as you quiet yourself listen to the tires, the fan belts, and even the people or music inside (this all can be heard).
Feel the cold (or warmth depending on where you are).

Doing this will help clarify what is urgent and what is important. Breathe.

-There is a good article on this at Elim Article

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Scripture Songs for Download

I spent some of 2010 mixing a couple songs to scripture verses and composing music and overlaying scripture onto them. The artists consist of Tom Petty, Owl City, Sleeping Giant, Paper Tongues, Sufjan Stephens, Justin Rizzo, and others. The music was composed on a Korg R3 and possibly mixed with beats from ACID 5.0.
Click this link to download them. Scripture Songs 2010 Listen to the word and watch your faith increase.

Spiritual Warfare in Brief

Spiritual Warfare in Brief

The following is a basic interpretation of the armor of God that can be used to understand and implement spiritual warfare through being a spiritual warrior or ambassador. A basic scriptural exposition verse by verse of Ephesians 6:10-20 will show that the Christian is able to demonstrate the victory that Christ has won on this earth; first by being a new creation in union with the Holy Spirit and having as part of his very being the armaments of the armor of God, secondly by acting in this world to will and do the work of the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.
14 Stand therefore having you loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, were with you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds; that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Spiritual warfare can only be considered when the Christian considers the armor that they have put on. A Christian should not consider entering into spiritual warfare without their armor. Yet to be a Christian is to enlist into the army of God.
First, we must understand the position that the believer has in Christ. In all spiritual battles they are the victor. On the cross Christ stated that “It is finished”. Christ tells us in Revelation 1:18, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death”. Essentially he is telling the Christian that he has defeated the last enemy, that is death, and he has the keys of hell and death. He has the power over them. By our position as sons of God, and heirs with Christ, his position is ours. 1 John 4:17 says, “As He is, so are we in this world”. Also note here that John was referring to Christ after the resurrection here. Now take that statement “as He is, so are we in this world” and apply to the situations that we may see as warfare: demonic manifestations, someone with a cold, someone with cancer, someone with schizophrenia, even someone unsaved on their way to hell. As he is so are we. Through Christ we can heal the cold, cure the cancer, make whole the schizophrenic, and save the lost; because Christ has done it so will we.
This is what John G. Lake says of our position in Christ with some indignation, sarcasm:
“If you are born again, you are a son of God. And for you to tear yourself out of your sonship, your relationship and the righteousness of God, and to put yourself over into the reality of death, and tell God you are dirty and unclean, that his blood has not cleansed you, and His life has not been delivered to you, it is a monstrous thing. It is all right to sing as an unregenerate, but it is not the experience of the sons and daughters of God.
Here is our position through Christ Jesus. God has become our righteousness. We have become His very sons and daughters, and you sing weakness, and you talk weakness and you pray weakness, and you sing unbelief, and you pray and talk it, and you go out and live it. You are like that good old woman. She said, I do love the doctrine of falling from grace, and I practice it all the time. Another man said, brother, I believe in the dual nature, I believe that when I would do good, evil is always present with me, and I thank God that evil is always there. (70-71)

Our position is that of Christ. As he is so are we in this world. Christ did spiritual warfare on this earth and won; with demonic manifestation, with the deaf man, with the mute, with the lack of food, with man’s sin. In every case Christ faced the work of the Devil or the Devil himself and won. “As he is so are we in this world”. So if then we are the victors in every battle as Christ is the eternal victor what is spiritual warfare for us? Let’s look at our armor that we wear as Christians and why we wear it.
Paul was able to say in verse 10, “Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.” He understood very well that the Christians strength is in the Lord. The humble and yielded human spirit is in the perfect position for the power of God to work though. Paul was also making a statement of faith, reminding believers to be strong (have faith in) the Lord and the power of his might. Be strong to stand.
Verse 11 “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Notice here that this is the enemy’s primary weapon against the believer: wiles. Wiles can also be taken as tricks, charm, deception, or even dishonesty. It is important to know that the enemy primarily uses tricks on the believer. This is mostly to trick them into forgetting or not believing their position as victor in Christ. Now had Paul been writing to non believers his list would have contained much more than wiles: sickness, disease, sin, calamity, and any of the results of sin and evil’s influence on the world. But, glory to God, this list is not for the believer, the believer is told to stand against the wiles of the Devil.
Verse 12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”. Paul tells us we are fighting against the darkness of this world; the army of the Devil to put it simply. The Devil who has already lost, who does not even have ultimate control over death and hell, because Jesus has the keys, is the wickedness. There is an enemy. Look around the world; look at the violence, the poverty, human trafficking, and lack of value of human life, broken families, abuse, sickness and disease. This is from the rulers of the darkness of this world. But read 1 John 4:4, “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world”. And Luke 10:19, “behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you”. Again John G. Lake says after going through Africa and casting devils out of witch doctors, “The real Child of God was to be a master over every power of darkness in the world” (149). The enemy is real in the world. The devil is behind every force in opposition to God, but greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.
The devil uses his wiles in the spiritual wickedness in high places. His hope is to trick the child of God from realizing his potential and position in Christ. For the Christian the spirit is saved and seated in heavenly places with Christ; it cannot be touched by the wiles of the devil. As Ephesians 2:6 says, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” But the Christian’s spirit is part of the body and soul, and these areas can be affected by the wiles or tricks of the devil. Peter warns “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8) Timothy Jorgenson explains there are five areas of the soul: emotion, intellect, memory, imagination, and the will (35). Each of these must be fully committed and grounded in Christ to stand firm. The Devil’s wiles are described in 2 Corinthians 4:4 in this realm of the mind in “whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them”.
The Devil attempts to do this by causing believers to be double minded. James 1:8 says, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” This can look like a person on a search for the truth or someone embracing all truth, even someone believing the Old and New Testament truth to coexist, which will be explained later. The believer wins when he accepts Christ’s word as the final authority. This means one must settle that the Bible is true; if a text is not inspired from the Word, Jesus Christ, it is not to be believed. David knew this and his belief in God and God’s promises lead him to continual victory. He wrote, “Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven”. (Psalm 119:89) There is no new truth, God has presented it, Jesus is the truth, and will lead us into all truth. In fact as Christians we have the spirit of truth living within us.
Of crucial importance is the trick the Devil uses to attempt to have the believer mix the nature of the relationship between God and man the old covenant made with Abraham and that which Jesus made with us. The Word clearly states, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. (2 Corinthians 5:17) We know that everything we were in the past has been made new by Jesus Christ, in essence we are new beings. Before Christ no one existed as we do. When the Christian compares themselves to John the Baptist, the disciples (pre-Pentecost), Moses, David or Elijah, they are being tricked by the wiles of the Devil. Not one of those great men of the old covenant had Christ as their mediator, who was always making intercessions for them, had the Holy Spirit anointing that abides at all times or was the righteousness of God in Christ. Jesus said this in Luke 7:28 saying, “For I say unto you, among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” As 1 John 4:17 says, “as he (Jesus) is so are we in this world”.
Verse 13 says, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.” This verse says to take the whole armor of God: the truth, the gospel of peace and the Holy Spirit; righteousness, salvation, and faith. These are not armaments that are picked up and put down, but the very meaning of “having done all to stand” implies having everything finished and abiding in you, working out of you (Strong’s G1746, G537, G2476). The Christian stands fully armed because of what Christ has done.
Verse 14: “Stand therefore having you loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” These are both armaments that the Christian has because of Christ, not things to strive for, but things to be. Jesus promises in John 16:13,”Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.” 1 John 3:24 reminds the believer that the Spirit abides in him. This is also true of the righteousness that Christ has purchased for us by his blood. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” EW Kenyon puts it this way:
That Son went on the Cross by the determinate counsel of God, became sin, took our
place as a Substitute. Then He conquered the Enemy and made Righteousness
available to man. A redemption that did not make man Righteous would be a fallacy.
Until man is Righteous and knows it, Satan reigns over him, sin and disease are his
masters. But the instant he knows that he is the Righteousness of God in Christ and
knows what that Righteousness means, Satan is defeated. (7)
Verse 15 “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Christ means for us to ever be at peace because of the promise of the gospel, the fulfilled good news. Jesus, in presenting the fact that he would leave the Comforter for the disciples, sequentially states in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” He knew that they did not need to be afraid because the Holy Spirit would dwell in them. The Christian should be prepared to bring peace where the Devil has brought chaos: in homes, in communities, and even in churches.
Verse 16 “Above all, taking the shield of faith, were with you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked”. The shield of faith is the armament that keeps the believer from being double minded. Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It is the actual possession of the things which God has promised, which Jesus Christ has completed. Kenneth Hagin says this about faith:
Faith is not hope…. You see, just wanting something from God won't get the job done. If just wanting something from God was all it took to receive from God, we'd all have it made. We would receive instantly. But faith that receives from God isn't hoping or wanting. The only kind of faith that gets the job done is the Bible-kind of faith which believes God and acts on what it believes. You'll not receive from God because you hope. Nowhere in the Bible does God say that when we pray, we shall receive what we hope for. But God's Word does say in Mark 11:24, ". . . What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (35)

This type of faith is in the possession of every Christian. Ephesians 2:8 says that we are saved through faith. If you have had the faith to believe in Christ you have the faith to believe the promises, position, and provisions he has endowed you with. The shield of faith is the first barrier to all the fiery darts of the wicked. But it is more even than that. James 2:26 also says that faith without works is dead. The wicked one’s fiery darts will come at us and we need to act in faith to quench those fiery darts. We’ve seen this happen all too often. First someone gets a cold. Then people begin to say that they are getting sick. Next they are buying cough drops making doctor appointments; their friends are staying away so they don’t get sick. Could it be that that cold is a fiery dart from the wicked one? The comments, cough drops, and appointments are fuel for the fiery dart. The word cold could be replaced with any of the enemy’s tactics: depression, idleness, disease, or anger. Faith will encounter the fiery dart and say, believing it true and real, that they do not have a cold because they are healed by the stripes Jesus bore. Faith is acting upon God’s word (42).
Verse 17 “And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God”. The helmet of salvation is the badge the Christian wears that places them in their position of authority. Romans 10:9 states the manner in which the believer arrives there, “That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved.” Ephesians 1 also tells the believer where Christ has positioned them: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise…(7,11,13) Through Christ the Christian wears the helmet of salvation making them both a son of God and an heir with Christ. Early it was stated that Christ has the keys to both hell and death. Philippians further tells us of Christ’s authority that we may execute:
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (9) Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11

The believer has the mind of Christ. Christ knows that His name is above every name. We know that at the name of Christ every knee should bow. Wearing the helmet of salvation is not simply a sign of escape from eternal damnation (though it is); it is a badge of honor symbolizing our place of authority in the kingdom of God.
The sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, is the weapon that is both spiritual and material. It is spiritual in that the believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and every action that is for the Kingdom of God, done under his authority is initiated and acted out by the Holy Spirit in the spiritual realm. As Genesis 1:2 states that the Spirit of God hovered over the world during creation, Hebrews 11:3 states, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” It is material as in each believer must act for the Spirit to act. John G. Lake says that “if the Holy Ghost has come down from heaven into your soul, common sense teaches us that He has made you the master thereby of every power in the world “(145). The word of God spoken by believers is acted on by the Holy Spirit resulting in victory. 1 John 2:14 says, “I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” Again this sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, is an armament that is not taken off but is part of the Christians being. Every Christian would do well to be prepared in remaining the victor over the enemy by memorizing the following verses: Ephesians 4:27, Ephesians 6:11, James 4:7 1 Corinthians 10:13, Matthew 17:20 and Luke 10:19. Despite what things currently look like, God’s word is always the reality. The Christian needs to speak the word.
Verse 18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Paul places the action of prayer after the armaments of the Christian as an action that someone fully equipped should now do, expecting victory. Read 1 John 5:14-15 understanding this is the way your prayer is enacted, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us: (15) And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” Paul tells the believer that they should always be in prayer. This is truly the case if the Christian is united with the Holy Spirit, ever in communion with the Son, ever in communion with the Father. The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, is the ammunition of prayers. Brandt and Bicket remind us that, “faith’s greatest stimulant is the Word of God made alive by the Holy Spirit” (214).
Paul’s second action with prayer is persistence or perseverance. Just as Jesus says in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: (8) For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.” Paul understood that even though circumstances may not show the victory, that Christ was the victor, and as Jesus instructed (as the Greek implies continual action in ask, seek, and knock; Strong’s G154, G2212, G2925) that persistence in prayer would demonstrate the answer.

Verse 19 shows Paul asking for specific prayer to undoubtedly become an effective warrior, “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.” Notice in the gospels that almost every instance of Christ healing, casting out devils, or restoring a soul is done with a verbal or physical action. Here is a brief listing only in the book of Matthew (there are over 200 references throughout the New Testament) of verses where Jesus Christ used words or actions to destroy the works of the enemy and to bring the kingdom of God on Earth as it is in Heaven: Matthew 4:7, Matthew 8:13, Matthew 9:2, Matthew 9:28, Matthew 12:25, Matthew 14:16, Matthew 14:31, Matthew 15:28, Matthew 16:8, Matthew 17:7. Paul understood that there was action associated with his beholding the victory, in this case for him to open his mouth and speak boldly.
Verse 20 states, “For which I am an ambassador in bonds; that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Paul further emphasizes that he must speak boldly, as he should. It is not a question to him as to whether or not to share the gospel; he says he ought to. He also uses a title for himself that embodies the spiritual warrior armed and bringing the rule and reign of another Kingdom: an ambassador. An ambassador is a representative of another kingdom who typically has an embassy (their kingdom within the foreign kingdom) and has all their means supplied from their home country. Paul understood that he was in the kingdom of God at all times, even though he was dwelling on the Earth. He understood that all things pertaining to the kingdom had been supplied to him through Christ. He also understood that it was his obligation to speak boldly the good news of the kingdom of God to those he met.
Curry R. Blake describes spiritual warfare and being a spiritual warrior as it “is a lifestyle of daily readiness; a lifestyle of daily preparation and training; a lifestyle of discipline that becomes second nature to you. It includes spiritual disciplines such as fasting and prayer. Everything you do is spiritual warfare. Nothing is innocent or neutral. You are constantly under surveillance by both friendly and hostile forces. You are either preparing to fight, training to fight, fighting, or analyzing the last fight. If you are not doing one of those four things, you are not a spiritual warrior.” (7)
This all being taken into account: who you are in Christ, your union with the Spirit, the position you have in the Kingdom, the armaments which are part of your new creation being, and what you must do to boldly proclaim the gospel, destroy the works of the enemy, and bring the kingdom of God to appear; it is vitally important to have in mind the will of God. “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40) Jesus expected victory in every circumstance, and had victory. Lastly, when we pray we should remember that as Jesus Christ prayed He was praying with full confidence that what He said was happening. Pray this with that assurance.

Matthew 6:9-13 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. (10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (11) Give us this day our daily bread. (12) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (13) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.



Bibliography

John G Lake His Life His Sermons His Boldness of Faith
Timothy Jorgenson Spirit Life Training
Kenneth E Hagin Bible Faith Study Course
Curry R. Blake Spiritual Warrior Apostolic Training
E W Kenyon Two Kinds of Righteousness
Robert L. Brandt and Zenas J. Bicket The Spirit Helps Us Pray
KJV Bible