Words of Wisdom - Helen Keller

"Defeat is simply a signal to press onward.”

Words of Wisdom - Abraham Lincoln

“All through life, be sure and put your feet in the right place, and then stand firm.”

 

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Words of Wisdom Series

This week we’ll look at some powerful words from historical men and women of influence and wisdom.

Let’s start with Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.”

Phenomenal Resilience

Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. (Acts 14:19&20)

He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God. The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace. But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.” (Acts 16: 34-37)

In the first scenario we are examining, Paul and Barnabas were teaching the truth in Lystra and miracles happened. Those who saw the miracles wanted to worship and offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas. Paul and Barnabas told them not to do so – that they were only men and to worship God -  but they still wanted to. We pick up the story here when others came from surrounding areas and were opposed to the work of Paul and Barnabas. They were familiar with the followers of Christ in Antioch and Iconium. And some were opposed to the work that God was doing through them.

So these visitors to Lystra whooped up a hostile crowd and they stoned Paul, and thinking he was dead, they dragged his body out of town. How hostile and uncivilized is that?!?!

But God either did not allow Paul to die or breathed life back into him and Paul went back into the city and stayed another day! That’s pretty gangster if you ask me. Gangster, of course, meaning Paul was hardcore and about his business – the business of Christ. (not that he was at all criminal)

In this second scenario, Paul & Silas had been beaten and placed in jail because they had cast a demon out of a young woman. The woman had a spirit by which she predicted the future and she was a slave. When Paul casted out this demon, her owners were livid because Paul had ruined their money-making scheme. So, as we see over and over again in scripture, they (the enemies of God) started a ruckus, whopped up the crowd, seized Paul and Silas, and brought them before the law keepers of that time – saying “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice”. These magistrates are the ones who had Paul and Silas flogged and then thrown into jail.

That night, while Paul and Silas were in jail, they were praying and singing. The scriptures tell us that all in the jail were listening. And at midnight, the Lord caused an earthquake and released all of the prisoner’s restraints. When the jailer in charged realized all the prisoners had been unrestrained, he assumed they’d escaped and he was getting ready to kill himself. Paul told him not to do that, that they were all there. In response, the jailer wanted to know about this God they were serving and how he may be changed. They began to share the truth with the jailer. This is where we pick up. The jailer took them to his home and all of his family was saved!

In verse 35, we pick the story up in the next morning as see that Paul and Silas were back in jail and the jailer had returned to his post. Amazing! Again, we see that Paul (and Silas, in this instance) was not deterred by the persecution of the enemy. They returned to prison! And they continued to speak according to the Spirit’s move in their lives.

Paul and Silas did not shy away from the persecution of the enemy. They were all about glorifying God and loving the people He created – regardless of how they were mistreated.

Are we like that? Serving God and loving others without regard for how we are being hurt? That’s a tall order but we can do it.

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3&4)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles [non-believers] do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)

SUIT UP! Prayer & Fellowship

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 Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:18)

Paul concludes this particular section of admonition to the Ephesian believers by telling them to pray. Pray all the time, in the Spirit, and for others. He even asks in verse 19 for them to pray for him so that he may be strong and courageous and know what to say and how to say what he is called to.

Prayer is a critical part of our spiritual defense. By prayer, we are able to talk with the Father, He is able to talk with us, we are strengthened, we are able to work through the matters concerning our lives, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and transparent with God (and others!) through prayer, we are able to see what is in our own hearts.  Our prayers are part of fortifying ourselves for the battle we are engaged in.

Also [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up). (Luke 8:1 AMP)

Further, we looked at two scriptures regarding fellowship at the beginning of the week:

Ecclesiastes 4:12 - Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

In fellowship with one another, we can be strong for one another and we can help each other to grow in our walk with God. And since the concept of fellowship is alluded to in this passage, I believe it is worth a quick moment of focus.

We see the perfect example of fellowship with the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Then we see Jesus on earth with 12 close relationships but even closer to Peter, John, and James – His “roll dogs” if you will allow me to use a bit of slang. Beyond that we see Jesus sending the disciples out with one another; not alone. Once Jesus had returned to heaven, we see the Holy Spirit given to every believer, to live in daily fellowship. And finally, we see the ministers of the gospel living in and teaching believers to be in fellowship with one another.

So I encourage you today to pray, be in fellowship with other strong believers, and to SUIT UP!

SUIT UP! Combat Helmet & Sword

And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God. (Ephesians 6:17)

Regarding our helmet, Matthew Henry says: The helmet secures the head. A good hope of salvation, well founded and well built, will both purify the soul and keep it from being defiled by Satan, and it will comfort the soul and keep it from being troubled and tormented by Satan. He would tempt us to despair; but good hope keeps us trusting in God, and rejoicing in him.

Amen!

The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, is the only offensive weapon named in this passage. The rest of our gear is defensive – a way of defending ourselves against the tactics of the enemy. The Word, however, is an offensive piece of weaponry. By the Word we are able to cut down what the enemy is attempting to resurrect in our lives. You will remember that in Luke 4 we see Satan coming to Jesus to tempt Him. He was tempting Him for the 40 days that Jesus was in the wilderness, and once He completed this time of fasting, the devil made one last unsuccessful attempt at temptation because Jesus was hungry and would have been vulnerable. But Jesus’ response to the enemy was to speak the Word of God to him. And we see the conclusion of this time in verse 13, which reads: And when the devil had ended every [the complete cycle of] temptation, he [temporarily] left Him [that is, stood off from Him] until another more opportune and favorable time. 

Let me encourage you: brandish that sword!

SUIT UP!

SUIT UP! Combat Boots & Shield

… 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.  (Ephesians 6:15&16)

In the midst of combat, our feet must be protected. Ancient warriors were known to lay devices on the ground that would disable the enemy should they walk upon them. This passage may be understood within that context. And the idea of peace speaks to being prepared to engage any and every thing that we come upon with a resolve to adhere to the gospel. The Living Bible says this: Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God. Awesome.

Similar to the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith can protect our vital organs. More importantly though, this shield is what anchors us in the truth of God. Our faith in God allows us to combat the weapons of the enemy because the truth reveals that the enemy is a lie and is already defeated. When our faith is rested in the truth, we are not tricked by the lies of the enemy and he loses his power. With our faith, the tactics of the enemy are reduced to impotent schemes.

SUIT UP!

SUIT UP! Belt and Body Armor

Ephesians 6:14-18 - 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 Lord’s people.

“It was prophesied of Christ (Isa. 11:5) that righteousness should be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. That which Christ was girded with all Christians must be girded with. God desires truth, that is, sincerity, in the inward parts. This is the strength of our loins; and it girds on all other pieces of our armour, and therefore is first mentioned. I know no religion without sincerity. Some understand it of the doctrine of the truths of the gospel: they should cleave to us as the girdle does to the loins, Jer. 13:11… Righteousness must be our breast-plate. The breast-plate secures the vitals, shelters the heart. The righteousness of Christ imputed to us is our breast-plate against the arrows of divine wrath. The righteousness of Christ implanted in us is our breast-plate to fortify the heart against the attacks which Satan makes against us.” – Matthew Henry

SUIT UP!

Are You Ready to Rumble?

Micah 5:1a - Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.

This militaristic directive is totally appropriate for the believer today. Marshal your troops... assemble your soldiers... rally your armed forces...prepare for battle…gather your warriors. Why? Because he who desires our destruction is at hand. His focus is solely about our destruction (see John 10:10) so we must rally our troops and be prepared for combat.

Now, first I have to point out that Jesus died on the cross in order to reconcile man to God. If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, if we’ve believed in Him for the forgiveness of our sins, then we are already victorious against the devil. We will spend eternity with God and we have the blessing of living on this earth with the powerful grace of God. If we have not accepted Jesus as Savior, then that would be the preliminary step in this process. If you have questions about that or want to receive Jesus as Savior and don’t know how, I welcome you to inbox me on Facebook and we can either chat about it or I can point you to an online resource. If you scroll through the Simply Christian teaching blog or our Facebook page, you will also see that a resource of that type has been posted a couple of times.

Ok, so marshaling our troops involves suiting up with God’s armor and also calls for connection with other believers. The concept of “strength in numbers” truly applies here. In Ephesians 6, we are given the directive to be strong in the Lord and told how to do that. In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, we find a couple of scriptures that summarize some of the benefit of connecting with believers in order to strengthen us in our journey.  In the next few days, we will look at these concepts more closely.

Ephesians 6:10-13- 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.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 - Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

WELCOME SPRING!!!!!

It is the first day of Spring and here in Southern California it certainly feels like it. But in other parts of this country, it still feels like winter. How about in your neck of the woods? What does Spring look like for you?

Well, no matter where you are and what your Spring looks like today, be encouraged…