Strength for the Battle

“I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

    and did not turn back till they were consumed.

I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;

    they fell under my feet.

For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

    you made those who rise against me sink under me.

You made my enemies turn their backs to me,

    and those who hated me I destroyed.

They cried for help, but there was none to save;

    they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

I beat them fine as dust before the wind;

    I cast them out like the mire of the streets.”

We live in a different time now than David did then. Ever since Jesus Christ was born and lived and died and rose from the dead and ascended back to heaven and sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers, we have been taught that we are to love our enemies. We are to pray for them, and do good to them, and say to them what is beneficial for them in the eyes of the Lord which will bring spiritual blessings into their lives if they will but forsake their sins and now walk in obedience to the Lord (Luke 6:27-28).

So we are not to pursue our enemies with physical weapons of warfare, but with spiritual weapons of warfare which we read about in Ephesians 6:10-20 and all throughout the Scriptures, in reality. We are to put on the armor of God and not the physical armor of people of physical warfare. And we are to walk in the Spirit and not according to the flesh. And we are to love our neighbors as ourselves and do good to them and share with them the truth of the gospel of our salvation so they can have eternal life, too.

So the way in which we pursue our enemies today and overtake them is with the spiritual armor of God of truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, our witness for Jesus Christ, our salvation, and the word of God. And this is not to be mean and hateful to them, and it is never for the purpose to get even with them, but it is to conquer evil and to fight evil with the truth in hopes that our enemies will surrender their lives to Jesus Christ and walk in his ways and in his righteousness and no longer in sin. That is the goal!

For the real enemy behind our physical enemies, who are our spiritual enemies, is Satan, the devil. And he is the one we are really fighting against when we stand on the truth and righteousness and when we rebuke the lies of the enemy and when we speak truth into situations where people have been believing and following the lies of the enemy, and not God, and not the truth of his word. For people walk in sin and are trapped in sin because Satan still has a hold on their lives. And they need to be freed from him!

So we fight the enemy of our souls with the truth of God’s word, for the devil is the Father of lies, and his followers follow him in his lies. And we must never give up on fighting the enemy with the truth, even if sometimes it feels like we are not making any headway, and the liars and lies continue to increase and to abound everywhere. For this battle won’t be totally won until Jesus Christ returns and he takes his faithful bride to be with him for eternity and Satan no longer has any influence over people’s lives on the earth.

So, we have to daily put on the armor of God, not just to fight off the enemy, but as our spiritual walks of faith in obedience to our Lord in holy living, which also equips us to fight off the enemy of our souls. So daily, by the Spirit, we are to be putting to death the deeds of the flesh (sin), and we should be walking by the Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. And we are to daily be walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. Then we have the hope of salvation and eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Teach Them  

An Original Work / May 24, 2012

Based off various scriptures

Open up the blinded eyes of

Those who walk in sin’s darkness.

Turn them to the light of Christ

And to His righteousness.

Turn them from the pow’r of Satan.

Turn them to the peace of Christ,

So they may receive forgiveness

And eternal life. 

Teach them to put off their old selves

And their former way of life,

And to put on their new self,

Reborn to be like Christ;

To not copy worldly customs;

Be transformed in life and mind;

Obey freely His word in them,

Pleasing unto God.

Teach them how to love their neighbors

Truly as they love themselves;

Be a witness; share the gospel;

Satan’s lies dispel;

Comfort all who mourn in sadness;

Share Christ’s love and joy today.

Do this through your life and witness

For your Lord always. 

https://vimeo.com/125485489