Another wonderful Sunday --- had the rare opportunity to share worship time with my daughter this morning. Johnathan Mast delivered a great sermon on pridefulness and the danger of thinking that we are beyond certain sins. He used the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector that Jesus delivered to those who were "looking down" on others due to their sinfulness.
Again, as I sat, I contemplated how this topic fit in with our current verse, and I came to the conclusion that there is a very direct connection. While our verse says that we are to treasure God's words in our heart so that we will be armed against sinfulness, we can never presume that we will ever get to the point of being beyond sinfulness. No matter how many Scriptures we memorize, no matter how deep an understanding we come to have of God's word, we remain, while on this earth, in our human state, terribly vulnerable to our tempter.
Once we say, "I'm beyond that one...", or "I'll never do that again...", or the most prideful, "I would NEVER do what they are doing, I just couldn't", I believe we turn Satan's ear toward us and he is alerted that we are prime targets for his arrows of temptation. The quicker he can get us to fall into the area that we have publicly proclaimed victory over, the more ridiculous he can make us look to all those who have heard our proud professions. Galatians 6:1 warns us "Brothers and sisters, what if someone is caught in a sin? Then you who are guided by the Spirit should correct that person. Do it in a gentle way. But be careful. You could be tempted too."
Falling to a temptation that you have criticized someone else for is humbling. It hurts. It makes you doubt if your relationship with God is as secure as you had previously thought, which is exactly what Satan's ultimate goal is.
I also heard David Jeremiah talk this morning regarding spiritual warfare and how God has absolutely given us specific direction on how to enter the battle, and how we so very often disregard his instructions and then are surprised when we fail. Jeremiah pointed out the parallel between Isaiah 59:17 where we are told how God prepared Himself for spiritual warfare, ("He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak."), to Paul's instructions to us in Ephesians, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:10-18. We are told to prepare ourselves just as God prepares Himself for battle, and yet we don't do it. We try to get by with the very last directive of prayer without all of the other pieces of protection.
Don't misunderstand me, prayer is vital and critically important to our success. But God has instructed us on actions that we should take in order to be victors, along with praying for His supernatural protection, and I know I very often let Him down on fulfilling my part of the preparation.
So while we will always be vulnerable and should never presume to think that we can say we are beyond temptation or better than those who have fallen, we can also do everything that God instructs us to so that we are fully prepared for the battle that is before us each and every day. His Word is our sword...and we are working on having that sword by our side at all times.
Again, as I sat, I contemplated how this topic fit in with our current verse, and I came to the conclusion that there is a very direct connection. While our verse says that we are to treasure God's words in our heart so that we will be armed against sinfulness, we can never presume that we will ever get to the point of being beyond sinfulness. No matter how many Scriptures we memorize, no matter how deep an understanding we come to have of God's word, we remain, while on this earth, in our human state, terribly vulnerable to our tempter.
Once we say, "I'm beyond that one...", or "I'll never do that again...", or the most prideful, "I would NEVER do what they are doing, I just couldn't", I believe we turn Satan's ear toward us and he is alerted that we are prime targets for his arrows of temptation. The quicker he can get us to fall into the area that we have publicly proclaimed victory over, the more ridiculous he can make us look to all those who have heard our proud professions. Galatians 6:1 warns us "Brothers and sisters, what if someone is caught in a sin? Then you who are guided by the Spirit should correct that person. Do it in a gentle way. But be careful. You could be tempted too."
Falling to a temptation that you have criticized someone else for is humbling. It hurts. It makes you doubt if your relationship with God is as secure as you had previously thought, which is exactly what Satan's ultimate goal is.
I also heard David Jeremiah talk this morning regarding spiritual warfare and how God has absolutely given us specific direction on how to enter the battle, and how we so very often disregard his instructions and then are surprised when we fail. Jeremiah pointed out the parallel between Isaiah 59:17 where we are told how God prepared Himself for spiritual warfare, ("He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak."), to Paul's instructions to us in Ephesians, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:10-18. We are told to prepare ourselves just as God prepares Himself for battle, and yet we don't do it. We try to get by with the very last directive of prayer without all of the other pieces of protection.
Don't misunderstand me, prayer is vital and critically important to our success. But God has instructed us on actions that we should take in order to be victors, along with praying for His supernatural protection, and I know I very often let Him down on fulfilling my part of the preparation.
So while we will always be vulnerable and should never presume to think that we can say we are beyond temptation or better than those who have fallen, we can also do everything that God instructs us to so that we are fully prepared for the battle that is before us each and every day. His Word is our sword...and we are working on having that sword by our side at all times.
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Remaining daily in our walk with Christ, we must remain steadfast in the study of his Word. God's Word "arms" us against evil and sinful ways. We are vulnerable and can be caught with our guard down. We treasure God's Word and realize that it is only with his Love, Power and Glory can we fight against sin. Through Prayer we ask God for his protection. We can never assume that we are beyond sin. We are human and only strive to be Christ - Like. Given certain circumstances we may be tempted in ways that we are not prepared for.
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