1Ti 1:18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck
War a good warfare.
Holding faith.
A good conscience.
Remember this--
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
To war a good warfare means being prepared, fully armored, ready for battle.
This SPIRITUAL battle we are all in is REAL.
Shake your head, scoff if you like, but it is real. You can spend your whole life ignorant to the Spiritual war going on, but you live it none the less.
Young children growing up in the middle of warfare do not know what's taking place around them. The blind cannot see what is taking place during a war. The feeble are unable to participate in a war but that doesn't mean they are all excluded. When a city comes under siege do you think those warring stop their battling and make an announcement for all those who are prepared to leave? People are victims in battle all the time, a lot of them never even knowing what the war is all about. People who do not become soldiers and yet they are killed are call casualties, civilian casualties, collateral damage. This Spiritual battle is unique because everyone is a part of it and there will be millions and millions of casualties who actually have chosen to be casualties rather than fight the Spiritual battle. These are people who have access to the armor they need, in fact they have access to all the implements of warfare they need and yet they choose to simply not fight.
This fight has NO physical casualties, you are NEVER called to kill a single person, not ONE. There can be NO objection to this war on the basis of objecting to taking a life. The Spiritual battle is a battle against the flesh DESIRES, against the wickedness that would have us give in to selfishness at every turn. The Spiritual battle is one you wage against the invisible evil that would have you yield to every temptation presented to you. It is a REAL evil, a REAL force that encourages us to evil all the time! If only it were fiction, if only it were a fable.
We have to war a good warfare and to do this we must have FAITH, a shield of FAITH that quenches ALL the fiery darts of the wicked. When we give up our faith, when our faith is perverted, when we look to ourselves and not to faith in our Redeemer, we will be lost in this warfare. You might not feel the spiritual bullet that pierces your heart- taking your spiritual life. You might not even feel the first prick from an evil dart, but that is only because you desire to be blind, deaf, and dumb to the truth, you make the choice willingly to numb your spiritual senses to the reality of the war you are in.
1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck
1Ti 1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Some have put away their FAITH and their GOOD CONSCIENCE, and when we put those away we have no armor, we are unprotected, we are still in the war but we are subjecting ourselves to being overtaken, we are endangering ourselves, our eternal life, our Salvation.
When we read that Hymenaeus and Alexander are delivered to Satan in order to learn not to shun God, it sounds really strange. Read more...
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Delivered to Satan doesn't mean some Satanic cult takes you and tears you apart, it doesn't even mean you are being given to him for destruction of anything but that which would keep you from God.
How often have we suffered because of our OWN backsliding? How often are we the victims of our own lack of faith, of our own selfishness? Truly we are giving OURSELVES to Satan ALL the time when we give in to the evil he tempts us with. If others leave us to our sinning, by NOT condoning it, by NOT keeping us among them, then we are left to Satan, left to our own devices. We are delivered to Satan aren't we? Yet, others will NOT stop praying for us, Christ does NOT stop loving us, there is HOPE for us. This part-- 'THAT THEY MAY LEARN' means there is HOPE!
When we reveal by our actions that we desire evil over good, then others can't be expected to desire us to be around them, others who are fighting the Spiritual battle. It's hard enough to fight the Spiritual battle, the invisible battle, let alone fight those who are flesh. If we are not in a situation that demands us to be around those who are not fighting the Spiritual war all around us, that's one thing, but to CHOOSE to have people around us that will only be used to weaken our faith is wrong.
We need to PRAY for all! No one is beyond our PRAYERS, not a single person!
By the grace of God may we keep our faith strong, our conscience good all through HIS LOVE!
Please LORD, please keep us fighting the Spiritual battle fully armored by YOU. Help us Lord, Save us!
In YOUR love!
1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck
War a good warfare.
Holding faith.
A good conscience.
Remember this--
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
To war a good warfare means being prepared, fully armored, ready for battle.
This SPIRITUAL battle we are all in is REAL.
Shake your head, scoff if you like, but it is real. You can spend your whole life ignorant to the Spiritual war going on, but you live it none the less.
Young children growing up in the middle of warfare do not know what's taking place around them. The blind cannot see what is taking place during a war. The feeble are unable to participate in a war but that doesn't mean they are all excluded. When a city comes under siege do you think those warring stop their battling and make an announcement for all those who are prepared to leave? People are victims in battle all the time, a lot of them never even knowing what the war is all about. People who do not become soldiers and yet they are killed are call casualties, civilian casualties, collateral damage. This Spiritual battle is unique because everyone is a part of it and there will be millions and millions of casualties who actually have chosen to be casualties rather than fight the Spiritual battle. These are people who have access to the armor they need, in fact they have access to all the implements of warfare they need and yet they choose to simply not fight.
This fight has NO physical casualties, you are NEVER called to kill a single person, not ONE. There can be NO objection to this war on the basis of objecting to taking a life. The Spiritual battle is a battle against the flesh DESIRES, against the wickedness that would have us give in to selfishness at every turn. The Spiritual battle is one you wage against the invisible evil that would have you yield to every temptation presented to you. It is a REAL evil, a REAL force that encourages us to evil all the time! If only it were fiction, if only it were a fable.
We have to war a good warfare and to do this we must have FAITH, a shield of FAITH that quenches ALL the fiery darts of the wicked. When we give up our faith, when our faith is perverted, when we look to ourselves and not to faith in our Redeemer, we will be lost in this warfare. You might not feel the spiritual bullet that pierces your heart- taking your spiritual life. You might not even feel the first prick from an evil dart, but that is only because you desire to be blind, deaf, and dumb to the truth, you make the choice willingly to numb your spiritual senses to the reality of the war you are in.
1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck
1Ti 1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Some have put away their FAITH and their GOOD CONSCIENCE, and when we put those away we have no armor, we are unprotected, we are still in the war but we are subjecting ourselves to being overtaken, we are endangering ourselves, our eternal life, our Salvation.
When we read that Hymenaeus and Alexander are delivered to Satan in order to learn not to shun God, it sounds really strange. Read more...
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Delivered to Satan doesn't mean some Satanic cult takes you and tears you apart, it doesn't even mean you are being given to him for destruction of anything but that which would keep you from God.
How often have we suffered because of our OWN backsliding? How often are we the victims of our own lack of faith, of our own selfishness? Truly we are giving OURSELVES to Satan ALL the time when we give in to the evil he tempts us with. If others leave us to our sinning, by NOT condoning it, by NOT keeping us among them, then we are left to Satan, left to our own devices. We are delivered to Satan aren't we? Yet, others will NOT stop praying for us, Christ does NOT stop loving us, there is HOPE for us. This part-- 'THAT THEY MAY LEARN' means there is HOPE!
When we reveal by our actions that we desire evil over good, then others can't be expected to desire us to be around them, others who are fighting the Spiritual battle. It's hard enough to fight the Spiritual battle, the invisible battle, let alone fight those who are flesh. If we are not in a situation that demands us to be around those who are not fighting the Spiritual war all around us, that's one thing, but to CHOOSE to have people around us that will only be used to weaken our faith is wrong.
We need to PRAY for all! No one is beyond our PRAYERS, not a single person!
By the grace of God may we keep our faith strong, our conscience good all through HIS LOVE!
Please LORD, please keep us fighting the Spiritual battle fully armored by YOU. Help us Lord, Save us!
In YOUR love!
No comments:
Post a Comment