Month: May 2016

It is gratefulness which makes the soul great.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

So think clearly and exercise self-control.  Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
1 Peter 1:13
The New Living Translation

Grace/ Can You Hear The Music Of Faith?
by J. Jeffrey Smead
 
John shares these words of truth with us, John 1:16:
“For of His fullness we have all received and grace upon grace.”
During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith.
The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room.
“What’s the rumpus all about?” he asked.
And heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions.  Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”
“I give thanks to my God always for you, because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus,”
Beloved in Christ…It is Grace!!
We are called to be a people of Grace.
A people filled to with grace, and overflowing with the joy of the Lord.
Sadly, so many, even those who call themselves followers of the Christ seem to have lost their first love.
They have lost or misplaced that spiritual joy of the Lord.
And as we know the joy of the Lord is our strength.
And the joy of the Lord in a way is the Music of Grace.  The music of Faith.
The author, Max Lucado speaks about grace, “and hearing the music of faith.”
Now, imagine that you want to learn to dance.
Being the rational, cerebral person you are, you go to a bookstore and buy a book on dancing.
You take the book home and get to work.
Finally, you think you have got it, so you invite your wife to come in and watch.
You hold the book open and follow the instructions, step by step.
You even read the words aloud, so she will know that you have done your homework.
“Lean with your right shoulder,” ….and so you lean.
“Now step with your right foot,” …so you step.
“Turn slowly to the left,” …so you turn.
You continue to read, …then dance,
…read, then dance,…until the dance is completed.
You plop exhausted on the couch, look at your wife, and proclaim, “I executed it perfectly.”
“You executed it, all right,” she sighs. “You killed it.”  “What you ask?”
“You forgot the most important part, where is the music?”
You never thought about music.
You remembered the book, you learned the rules.
You laid out the pattern, but you forgot the music.
“Do it again,” she says, putting in a CD.
“This time don’t worry about the steps; just follow the music.”
She extends her hand and the music begins.
The next thing you know, you are dancing and you don’t even have the book.
We as Christians are prone to follow the book while ignoring the music.
We master the doctrine, outline the chapters, memorize the catechisms, debate the rules, and stiffly step down on the dance floor of life…with no music in our hearts.
We measure each step, calibrate each turn, and flop into bed each night exhausted from another day of dancing by the book.
“Let God have you, let God love you.”
Allow the Grace of God to permeate your very being.
Than do not be surprised, if your heart begins to hear music that you have never heard and your feet learn to dance, as never before.
Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ and you will hear the music of the Holy Spirit and you Will dance a life of grace.
And beloved…you will dance…you WILL dance like you have never danced before.
Amen and Amen!

Every day, I find countless opportunities to decide whether I will obey God and demonstrate my love for Him or try to please myself or the world system.
Bill Bright

That is why the LORD says, “Turn to me now, while there is time.  Give me your hearts.  Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.”  Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  He is eager to relent and not punish.
Joel 2:12-13
The New Living Translation

What’s So Great About Gratefulness?
by Don Jaques
 
1 Thessalonians 5:16-5:18
In “The Hiding Place”, Dutch woman Corrie ten Boom wrote of her family’s experience undergoing the trial of concentration camps under the Third Reich in World War II. Though not Jews themselves, she, her father, and her sister, Betsie, were sent to a series of prison camps for harboring Jews in their Netherlands home. At one point, the two sisters are sent to their third camp, Ravensbruck, and upon their arrival at the barracks, they realize that among other horrors of the camp their barracks are completely infested with fleas. QUOTE: p. 180-181
“Fleas!” I cried. “Betsie, the place is swarming with them!…how can we live in such a place?”
“Show us. Show us how.” It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize she was praying. More and more the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie.
“Corrie!” she said excitedly. “He’s given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!”
I glanced down the long dim aisle to make sure no guard was in sight, then drew the Bible from its pouch. “It was in First Thessalonians,” I said….”Here it is; ‘Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all…’” It seemed written expressly to Ravensbruck.
“Go on,” said Betsie. “That wasn’t all.”
“Oh yes; ‘…to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus–‘”
“That’s it, Corrie! That’s His answer. ‘Give thanks in all circumstances!’ That’s what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!”
I stared at her, then around me at the dark, foul-aired room.
“Such as?” I said.
“Such as being assigned here together.”
I bit my lip, “Oh yes, Lord Jesus!”
“Such as what you’re holding in your hands.”
I looked down at the Bible. “Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all the women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages.”
“Yes,” said Betsie. “Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we’re packed so close, that many more will hear!” She looked at me expectantly. “Corrie!” she pleaded.
“Oh, all right. Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed, suffocating crowds.”
“Thank You,” Betsie went on serenely, “for the fleas and for–”
The fleas! This was too much. “Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.”
“‘Give thanks in all circumstances,’” she quoted. “It doesn’t say, ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”
And so we stood between piers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.
(END OF QUOTE)
Who do you relate with? Betsie and her seeming superhuman power to give thanks even for the fleas? Or Corrie, who had come to the end of her rope?
If I’m honest, I think my gut reaction is much like Corrie’s. I know, I know, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says: Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. But when things are going badly my natural response is, “God can’t possibly expect me to give thanks in THESE circumstances!” Can God really be serious about this? And why would he instruct us to do it anyway? For the next few minutes let’s see if we can find some answers to these questions.
As I began studying the passages in the Bible that talk about giving thanks – one thing began to come clear for me. When the Bible says that I’m supposed to give thanks in all circumstances – it also gives me plenty of examples of people who did just that.”
I found the example of Daniel. He hears the news that praying to God is now a federal offense punishable by death. What does he do? He promptly goes to his room, opens the window and proceeds to give thanks to God, just as he was in the habit of doing.
I also discovered Jesus, standing up in front of a hungry crowd of people, with a measly 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed all of them, giving thanks to God for those measly provisions. Even though what he had was not near enough – He gave thanks!
Most incredibly, I discovered Job, who, upon hearing that in one fell swoop he had lost all of his children in a freak accident, comes up with one of the most profound quotes of the Bible…
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
Thank God I can only imagine the pain of losing just one of my children, let alone all of them at once. But here, this amazing man of God finds the strength to say – even though the Lord has taken away what He gave, I will praise Him still.
But still the question remains – WHY? Why would God make such a crazy demand on us when we’re undergoing the worst of times. Well, I believe the answer is that there are benefits and blessings that God gives to those who will take Him at His word and learn this discipline of giving thanks in ALL circumstances.
So, what are these benefits, these blessings promised from God to those who will give thanks in ALL circumstances?
1. Giving thanks to God prepares the way for Him to reveal his plans for us. (Ps. 50:23)
If you’ve got your Bible with you, turn with me to Psalm 50. Allow me to read, starting in verse 14 (the speaker here is God Himself…)
Psalm 50
14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” …
23 He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me,
and he prepares the way
so that I may show him the salvation of God.”
Do you see that? “He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.”
This idea of “preparing the way” calls to mind one of the mundane things
That gets done every week both here and in Oak Harbor. A couple hours before the service starts, a group of incredible servants arrives to do such “spiritual” work as setting up chairs, hauling children’s ministry equipment, and making coffee. These servants “prepare the way” so that the MAIN EVENT of the worship service can happen. If you were to arrive and there was no sound system set up, the musicians hadn’t rehearsed, there were no chairs to sit on, and so on, it would be very difficult for anyone to experience the work of the Lord in their life. There would just be too many distractions.
Well, what does this verse say about how we can see what God wants to do in our lives? It says that those who offer sacrifices of thanksgiving prepare the way for God to show his salvation to them. Just like the work of those on the set up team, our acts of thanksgiving prepare the way for the Lord to reveal his salvation – his way of delivering us from whatever situation we’re facing.
It’s as if God is just waiting for us to say, in our thanksgiving to Him, “God I know that all I have is yours and comes from you – and I trust that just as your word says it, “You are good!” I choose to trust you and thank you!”
I remember one particularly powerful way that I learned this lesson, back in the summer of 1990, on a muggy summer night in the south of France. At the time I was part of a singing group touring for the summer doing evangelistic concerts. After doing our nightly concert, tearing down our equipment, and loading it into our tour bus, we drove a few miles to the youth hostel where were to spend the night.
Just one problem – when we arrived at the youth hostel shortly after 11:00 pm we discovered that they had filled the 35 beds we had reserved since we were so late in arriving. No amount of arguing with them through an interpreter was going to make any difference. They did not have beds for us.
What they did do was refer us to a different hostel in a different part of town that they said might have room for us, if we could make it there before midnight. We tried to telephone them, but got no answer, so all we could do was pack up on the bus and start the drive to this other hostel. On the way, an amazing thing happened. Someone in the front of the bus started softly singing a praise song. Pretty soon a couple of others picked up the refrain, and before we knew it our entire group was singing a song of praise and thanksgiving to God – even though we didn’t know if we would have beds that night. Where there had been disappointment, anger, and fear only a few minutes earlier, the bus now resounded with joy, optimism, and hope.
The great happy end to the story is that when we arrived (just before midnight) we discovered that not only did this hostel have room for all of us, but it was in a safer part of town, and was a cleaner, quieter environment than the original hostel.
But I can’t help but think that, even if that hostel didn’t have room for us that night, we would have found joy in the midst of our uncomfortable night on the bus simply because we had made the choice to praise God anyway.
Now, why else does God want us to learn to give thanks in all circumstances?
2. Giving thanks to God ushers in the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds. (Phil. 4:6-7)
Phil 4:6-7 (NLT)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
So, the Apostle Paul writes, get rid of your anxiety and replace it with a lifestyle of prayer – bringing all your needs before God WITH THANKSGIVING. And if we’ll do this, we’re promised something that no amount of money can purchase. Peace. Guarding our hearts and minds beyond anything that the human mind can understand.
We’ve all seen and read of the role the secret service plays in protecting our President. Their job is to put themselves in the way of any harm that is intended for the President or a member of his family. 24 hours a day they surround the first family with protection that is often unseen to the casual observer but is nonetheless very real. In this way, the peace of God guards our heart and mind from the harm our enemy would send our way through any one of the weapons at his disposal.
In addition to the peace promised to those who learn to give thanks in all circumstances, and the way doing so sets the stage for God to show us his salvation, there is a third reason I’ve found that God asks us to develop this discipline.
3. Giving thanks reminds us that God uses all our circumstances to make us more like Him (Romans 8:28-29).
As you may know, the Apostle Paul did not have an easy life. He endured hardships most of us only read books or watch movies about – beatings, imprisonments, hunger, shipwrecks, abandonment – yet even in the midst of this, he wrote in his letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verses 28-29:
Romans 8:28-29
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Here we see one of the most incredible promises of the Bible for you and me. It clearly states that for those who love God, every circumstance of their lives is being used for their ultimate good. Now this takes incredible patience and understanding, because the “good” promised may be very far off in human terms.
Yet even to those of you who are in the midst of pain, crisis, or grief, God says – TRUST ME – I’m STILL IN CONTROL, AND I’M WORKING FOR YOUR GOOD. What good you ask? Verse 29 tells us – the good of being conformed into the likeness of His Son. That some day we might be able to stand before Him and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You had some hard lessons in your time on earth, but you see now how they ALL shaped you into who I had created you to become. Welcome and enter into your rest!”
We walk by faith, not by sight. So when sight says, “There is no God – look at all the suffering!” Faith says, “Even in this I believe God is good and his love endures forever.”
I’ll close by returning to the story I started with. You remember Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie, giving thanks even for the fleas in the Nazi concentration camp Ravensbruck. You’ll remember Corrie saying “This time I knew she was wrong!” Well a couple months later something happened that proved who was right and who was wrong.
Corrie writes…
One evening I got back to the barracks late from a wood-gathering foray outside the walls. A light snow lay on the ground and it was hard to find the sticks and twigs with which a small stove was kept going in each room. Betsie was waiting for me, as always, so that we could wait through the food line together. Her eyes were twinkling.
“You’re looking extraordinarily pleased with yourself,” I told her.
“You know we’ve never understood why we had so much freedom in the big room,” she said (referring to the fact that they had been free to have Bible studies and even sing hymns in the barracks together in the evenings..) “Well, I’ve found out.”
That afternoon, she said, there’d been confusion in her knitting group about sock sizes and they’d asked the supervisor to come and settle it.
“But she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t step through the door and neither would the guards. And you know why?”
Betsie could not keep the triumph from her voice: “Because of the fleas! That’s what she said, ‘That place is crawling with fleas!’”
My mind rushed back to our first hour in this place. I remembered Betsie’s bowed head, remembered her thanks to God for creatures I could see no use for.
May we learn what Betsie and Corrie ten Boom had come to learn – that when we trust God enough to thank Him in all circumstances – even for the creatures and circumstances we can see no use for – He will bless us in ways that surprise us and fill our lives with a peace and a joy that we never knew we could experience.

When the dream of our heart is one that God has planted there, a strange happiness flows into us.  At that moment, all of the spiritual resources of the universe are released to help us.  Our praying is then at one with the will of God and becomes a channel for the Creator’s purposes for us and our world.
Catherine Marshall

“And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.  But he who endures to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 10:22
The New King James Version

REMEMBERING TO SMILE
by Eric Elder
The Ranch
Dancing with the Stars: my daughter and me rehearsing for one last dance with Miss Janet.
 
Last weekend I had a chance to dance in a recital with my childhood dance teacher from 40 years ago. She’s now teaching my daughter’s tap class, and at the beginning of the school year, she said, “Eric, you don’t have to sit out in the hallway. You can come and dance with us! Just take off your shoes and dance in your socks.”
Part of me really wanted to do it. I loved those weekly tap classes as a kid. They always made me smile (and as my sister-in-law says, “How can you not smile when tapping?!”).
But another part of me was really embarrassed by the idea. I’m over 50 (53 today, actually!), and I couldn’t imagine how it would look to see myself in the classroom mirror, tapping again. But my tap teacher is now 75 and still tapping away. How could I say “No” to Miss Janet?
So I took off my shoes and went into the classroom, along with my daughter and a few other girls and their moms. By the end of the class, I was hooked. I hadn’t laughed so much or so long in a long, long time, and for that alone, I told Miss Janet I’d be back again the following week. I went out and bought a pair of tap shoes and for the past 9 months have been tapping away with Miss Janet and my daughter every week.
Last weekend was the culmination of our year together, as I danced with my daughter and Miss Janet in her annual recital–her 60th since she began teaching–and she wanted to do it up right with a big bang.
She asked if I would dance with her in a special number at the end of the show, along with several of her other current and former students. Again, I demurred, as I couldn’t imagine dancing in a recital after all these years. But at 75, Miss Janet can still do the splits, so she wondered if I could dance with her and drop her down into the splits and pick her right back up again a couple times during the show.
She hooked me again. How could I say “No” to Miss Janet? So we did it! And we had a blast, laughing all the way.
After the show, I gave Miss Janet a card and a picture, thanking her for the laughs and smiles. The picture I gave her was of a pewter statue my mom had given me back when I was in high school, as my mom said it reminded her of me when I was a boy, taking acrobats from Miss Janet. The smile on the boy’s face was the same smile I had whenever I walked on my hands. There was something about it, walking on my hands and doing back flips, just like tapping, that always made me smile.

I told Miss Janet that I’ve put this statue on my desk my time to time over the years to remind myself to smile whenever I’m doing the work God’s called me to do. Sometimes I get so bogged down in the details of the work and I forget to smile. I forget that this is what I was made for, this is what God’s called me to do, created me to do, and what I truly enjoy doing!
Whenever I look at this statue, it reminds me to smile. Not just when the work is done, not just when I’m on stage, not just when someone wants to take a picture, but right there in the midst of life, all along the way.
I love the quote of Eric Liddle, the Olympic runner who also had a heart for missions. Although he wanted to move overseas and be a missionary, he also wanted to train for and run in the Olympics. When describing to a friend why he decided to run in the Olympics and then perhaps still be a missionary some day later, Eric said:
“When God created me, He made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
There are some things in life that just bring a smile to my face. And if I stop and think about it for long enough, it probably brings a smile to God’s face, too. And He loves bringing smiles to our faces. He loves bringing us joy. He loves bringing us laughter. He loves delighting us with the intimacies and ecstasies of life.
But with all the pressures, obstacles and heartaches that we face, it’s sometimes easy to forget. We forget to smile.
It’s not that life isn’t hard. It’s not that there aren’t times when it’s okay to be sad. It’s not that God wants us to fake it. But sometimes we just have to remind ourselves to smile. And when we do, it can open the door again to bringing joy back to our lives. As the Bible says:
“A happy heart makes the face cheerful… the cheerful heart has a continual feast” (Proverbs 15: 13a, 15b).
I was sad a few weeks ago when Miss Janet told me this would be her last recital. After 60 years of teaching over 7,500 students, she was going to retire after the show. I wanted to cry. But looking at Miss Janet, how could I be sad? She had brought such joy back into my life. I had had so much fun all year that I was ready to take her classes over and over again.
But as I told her in my card, I was so thankful she had invited me to dance with her for one more year, so thankful to dance with her in the recital, and so thankful for the laughs and smiles again. I really needed them.
And whenever I was dancing with her, I didn’t need the reminder.
Thank you, Miss Janet, and many blessings on your years ahead!

Frustration is not the will of God.  There is time to do anything and everything that God wants us to do.
Elisabeth Elliot

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
1 Corinthians 14:33
The New International Version

We have to pray long, but with few words.
Louis Evely

Sin has remained unchanged, although man has done his best to alter it.  We’ve tried to dress it up with other names.  We’ve put new labels on the same old bottle of poison.  We’ve tried to whitewash the old barn and pretend it was another building.  We’ve tried calling sin “errors” or “mistakes” or “poor judgment” but sin itself has stayed the same.  No matter how we try to salve our conscience, we’ve known all along that men are still sinners and the results of sin are still disease, disappointment, disillusionment, despair and death.
Billy Graham

And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?  He said, “My child, don’t make light of the LORD’S discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you.  For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”  As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children.  Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?
Hebrews 12:5-7
The New Living Translation

If you think someone is guilty of wronging you, forgive him.  If you have never forgiven the guilty before, you will experience a new joy: the joy of forgiving.
Leo Tolstoy

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9
The New International Version

You can do more than praying after you have prayed.  You can never do more than praying before you have prayed.
Corrie Ten Boom

Land of the Giants
by Tim George
 
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
In the late 1960’s there was a TV show called Land of the Giants. Seven people from earth found their spaceship caught in a warp of some kind and ended up on a planet where everything was twelve times larger than on earth. Each week they battled giant cats, children, and soldiers. It was a little strange but raised an interesting question. What would we do if everything and everyone was a giant accept for us?
The truth is that we do live in a land of giants. There are things that are bigger than us which seem to stand between us and being where God wants us to be. In the Old Testament, God sent His people, Israel, to a place called The Promised Land. It was a great place to live but it also was inhabited by giants which they would have to face and defeat. We to live in a land of giants which we must face if we are to be where God wants us to be.
I. THE WARFARE WE FACE
A. The Necessity of This Warfare
We must all face the fact that spiritual warfare is a necessity. God never varnishes over the fact that there is going to be warfare for His children. He told Moses there would be blessings and enemies in the Promised Land (Exodus 3:16-17). He promised Joshua the Land but told him he would have to be strong and courageous to face its challenges (Joshua 1:1-7). He promised Gideon he would save Israel but he would have to face the Midiantes (Judges 6:15-16). He anointed David to be king as a youth but David still had Goliath and Saul to fight (1 Samuel).
Our Savior was no less forthcoming with His disciples and with us. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:18-20). In other words, there is great joy and blessing in following Christ but there will also be battles to fight. They are a necessity and they are very real!
B. The Nature of This Warfare
Consider the nature of the warfare we have to fight. We are to be engaged in offensive warfare. We are not called to hold the fort against the giants of life. Unfortunately, that is the plan many Christians seem to have. They want to circle the wagons at the church building and hold off the devil until Jesus comes back. That is not God’s plan!
When Goliath challenged Israel, Saul hid in his tent and just hope everything would work out. When the Midianites were destroying Israel, Gideon was hiding in a wine press. They had adopted the philosophy of that great theologian, Charlie Brown. He told Lucy, “I have a new philosophy. I’m only going to dread one day at a time.”
We aren’t called to run for cover either. A mother came home from shopping to find five of her children sitting quietly in a circle. When she looked inside the circle she saw they had five young skunks they had found outside. Without thinking, she yelled, “run children, run!” They did, but not before each child grabbed a skunk to take with them. We are often like those children. When faced with the giants of life we panic and make a mess out of things.
God has called us to pull down strongholds (v.4). The word pull down means to dethrone. When the Apostle Paul preached the Gospel at Ephesus many people were saved. In coming to Christ they realized they needed to get rid of their idols of the goddess Diana (see Acts 19:21-27). As people gave up their idols, the local idol makers became alarmed that they were losing business. They said that Paul’s preaching of the gospel had destroyed the magnificence of Diana. In other words, the gospel had pulled down the stronghold of that false god. That is what we are called to. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ we pull down the strongholds of this world system we live in.
We are also called to cast down imaginations (v.5). That means we are to conquer them. We are to attack and conquer imaginations of this world. What are these imaginations? They are the deceptive and fleshly way of thinking common to this world system. Paul spoke of this in Colossians 2:8-10 when he said, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us that a giant is anything that exalts itself above God. We are to cast down every high thing. These are those things that seem too far above us to even hope to win against them. Goliath towered above everyone else in Israel. He was even taller than their king (Saul), the tallest man in all the kingdom. No matter how big Goliath was, Israel could bring him down if they let God fight their battle for them. There are many things that tower above us.
·Intellectual Giants – People that seem to have all the knowledge. They are “experts” and we are not. How can we stand against their evidence?
·Philosophical Giants – People who seem to understand life so much better than we do.
·Material Giants – People who have so much more than we do. Who are we to question what they say or believe?
In the end, a giant is anything or anyone that refuses to give God His rightful place. It is what exalts itself against the knowledge of God. This includes people who are operating in the flesh rather than in the Spirit, circumstances that make it appear that God is not in control, and attitudes that puts man before God.
II. THE WEAPONS OF OUR FIGHT
A. Weapons We Cannot Trust
It is imperative we understand that there are weapons we cannot trust. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (v.4). We cannot face the giants of life with weapons of our own making. It is that carnal or fleshly nature that is our problem in the first place (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-3).
B. Weapons We Can Trust
God has given us weapons we can trust. These weapons are mighty in God (v.4). Though we live in this world and face the problems of this world, we have a different way to face those problems. This is the emphasis of Galatians 2:20 which reminds us, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
We cannot trust weapons of this world – we must trust God’s weapons. David refused to fight Goliath with the weapons of Saul. He knew he must fight God’s battle God’s way. We must guard against trusting in the flashy and appealing answers of this world rather than in the trustworthy weapons of God’s armory.
“So Saul clothed David with his armor … And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.”
(1 Samuel 17:38-40)
In future messages we will learn in detail the weapons God has given us to fight His battles. For now let’s take a sneak peek. He has given us:
·His Word – it never returns void.
·Prayer – He is always listening and ready to answer.
·His People – He often has reserves He has prepared to help us fight.
What giants do you face in your life? Do you find other people, circumstances, or things within in your own heart and mind coming between you and obeying God with your whole heart? Hebrews 12:1-2 gives us the ultimate answer for all the giants of life – “Look to Jesus the author and finisher of your faith…”