Weekly Anchor Scripture: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” – Matthew 11: 12
Friday 25th September 2020
Focus Scripture: “. . . for I know whom I have believed . . . .” – 2 Timothy 1: 12
Admonition.
I bring you greetings from the Throne of Grace in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
As I have said severally in the past, there are different kinds of gospels today in the world. And just as that is, so also, there are different kinds of faith, being preached from the pulpit today in the Christendom. Therefore, from the onset, let us make a distinction between the bread and butter faith and the faith that brings salvation to its possessor. It is of this kind of faith that the Bible says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith . . . .” (Mark 16: 16; Luke 7: 50; Ephesians 2: 8).
A shield is used to ward-off arrows shot or any other things thrown at a soldier by the enemies and it does not matter whether the enemy thrower is close or far; whether such an enemy is seen or unseen. What matters is the vigilance of the soldier holding the shield to be able to see the arrows approaching so as to know how and where to direct his shield. The word therefore for us is spiritual vigilance
It was said on Monday that the only weapon of the devil is lie. He constantly throws the arrow of lies at believers to assault our faith and disabuse our minds of the unending and limitless Power of God, knowing that if only the believer could believe one of his numerous lies, he could overcome them. However, we must know that our faith, which is the truth is the direct opposite of the devil’s lies.
Our faith is the shield with which we tell the devil to “shut up”! That is how to use our faith as a shield to ward off the wiles of the devil. Let me quickly add here what faith is: faith is, believing the unheard and the unseen. Faith is, believing the impossible. Faith sees in the dark. Faith lives, even after being buried. Faith sings and dances in sorrows. Faith smiles to scorns.
You can see all these elements of faith in the life of Brother Job who once declared “I know my redeemer liveth . . . .” (Job 19: 25). In the same vein, Apostle Paul is declaring in our Focus Scripture this morning that he knew Whom he believed. These two men displayed the inalienable characteristics of the faith that has become strong in the Lord and with which they both warded-off all the wiles the devil threw at them. We are all familiar with Job’s story and reading through 2 Corinthians 4: 6 – 10, we got a glimpse of what Apostle Paul went through and how he used his faith as a shield to fence them off without his faith getting wounded.
As we close this morning, John 6: 27 says, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” This Word of Jesus Christ tells us not to dwell only on the faith that puts more money in your bank accounts, food on your table, cars in your garage, and new designers in your wardrobe. If your faith as a child of God must endure to the end and FINISH STRONG as we were taught last week, it must be STRONG IN THE LORD, but no faith will be strong in the Lord except it be used as a shield against the wiles of the devil. The truth really is that we grow in faith when the faith is tested by the wiles of the devil and we do not give in.
Till tomorrow when we shall meet again on this beautiful journey of FINISHING STRONG together, please, keep keeping on in Him!
Jesus loves you!