,,Part 2

The individual who practices the works of the flesh cannot stand when he is being pressed by the enemy. Only the righteous can stand and bring themselves and others into the Kingdom of God.

It is folly to claim "it is not my righteousness but Christ’s righteousness that God accepts." We hear this so often! Such a statement is nothing more than an excuse for sinful, rebellious behavior. It is to call Jesus "Lord," and then not do what He commands.

His righteousness must fashion our daily behavior. If Christ is not living His life in us we are not Christians at all, as emphasized in the Book of I John.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: (I John 1:6). Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

The idea here seems to be that we are to make ourselves ready to walk by the Gospel of Christ, which brings peace with God, and also to be always prepared to bring the Gospel to others.

There are believers today who have been taught the Christian Gospel for many years but they are unable to teach anyone else. Yet millions of people today have not heard the Gospel even one time.

It is our fault as teachers. We have not taught the believers that as soon as they receive Christ they are obligated to serve Him the remainder of their days on the earth. The idea of serving Christ and suffering for Christ has nearly disappeared from present-day Christian teaching.

No member of the Body of Christ is without a purpose, a use, a function, a job to do, a work to accomplish, a task to fulfill. Every believer who would be a functioning member of Christ’s Body must go to the Lord every day and find the Lord’s will for his life.

If he does not he will settle back in complacency. He then will have to answer for a wasted life, for buried talents, at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This severe judgment of Christians shall take place, whether we believe it or not.

It is time now for every member of the Body of Christ to prepare himself or herself for the greatest ingathering of souls in history. The twentieth century awakening is at hand. Every saint must immerse himself in prayer and in the Word so that when the Spirit of God brings in the multitude of souls there will be many believers who will be able to teach them how to stand in the Lord.

God expects young and old to diligently prepare themselves with the Word of God, the Gospel of peace. Then wherever the Spirit of God directs their steps they will be able to bring glad tidings of joy to the nations of the earth. There is no place for a shirker in the time of harvest.

Every Christian is to be a worker in the harvest of the peoples of the world. The shield of faith.

Satan continually hurls burning arrows at the saints. These arrows will set fire to the personality if they are not warded off and extinguished promptly. We must have the shield of faith in front of us at all times so that the arrows do not wound us severely.

Faith is the means by which the saint overcomes the world, the devil, the lusts of his own flesh, and his self-will and self-seeking. The cross brings us down to helplessness. Faith in God’s person and Word raises us up to conquer the universe.

Faith is a rock-like trust in God and in what God has stated. Faith is compounded from perseverance, trust, hope, courage, and relentless determination to find "the city that has foundations."

Satan forever is shooting doubt, lust, discouragement, reasoning, perplexity, dismay, fear, dread, at our heart and our mind. We keep moving the shield of faith so that every one of these flaming missiles is kept away from our heart and mind, its fire quenched and its poison neutralized.

Faith is the healthy, strong, buoyant attitude toward Christ’s Word that keeps us striding forward, nothing daunted by the poisonous floods of lawlessness, sin, and filth that spew from the mouth of the ancient red dragon. We want no part of him or his ways. We maintain our trust in all that God has stated. We declare that the Word of God is true no matter what our circumstances or feelings suggest. Also, we forgive everyone who wounds us and permit no bitterness to dwell in our personality.

By faith Christ dwells in our heart. By faith we gain the approval of God. By faith we live in expectation of finding the city that has foundations—the mountain of the Holy One of Israel.

The helmet of salvation.

Christ is our Head and He is our salvation. We have the mind of Christ. Christ Himself is our motives, our plans, our imaginations, our purposes. Every thought in our mind is being brought into subjection to Christ. Paul instructs us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind:

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2).

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (II Corinthians 10:5).

It appears that the last days will be filled with the communication of concepts and ideas. Has it ever been true in the history of the world that teachings and ideas have been circulated so rapidly? There are books, radios, televisions, magnetic tapes, satellites, computers—all communicating information. Knowledge is being increased, as Daniel prophesied. Messages are flashing across the earth with the speed of light.

Every such change in the environment and culture of mankind has an effect on the behavior of people, a potential for good and a potential for evil. The dramatic rise in communication in the twentieth century will be used by both Christ and Satan. Christ is creating people in His image. Satan is attempting to create people in his image.

People are transformed by the renewing of their minds. The Christian is to keep his mind filled with the hope of salvation, with the Word of God, with the serving of Christ. We are to flee from the molding influences of the world. We are to meditate day and night in the Word of God, the Law of the Lord.

We are to fill the minds of our children with the Word of God, with the serving of Christ. We are to persuade the people around us to keep their minds on Christ. We are to preach and teach the Word of Christ. In so doing we will save ourselves and those who hear us.

The battle today is for the minds and hearts of people. The saint is to keep himself aware that he is being educated by various devices, and that the devil-inspired purpose of worldly education is to cause the saint to be self-seeking, to be his own god, to sin and rebel against God’s will in Christ.

The books and electronic devices of today offer the greatest opportunity in the history of mankind to cover the earth with the word of righteousness. Such a transforming message must be conveyed by cross-carrying disciples, by those who are dead to self-will and in whom Christ is living. It is an hour for signs and wonders; but the signs and wonders, working together with communication devices, must flow from the cross-carrying obedience of the saint.

The sword of the Spirit.

The Word of God is contained in the Holy Scriptures. The Word of God is Divine Substance, and the words of the Scriptures represent the factual, information-giving aspect of the Divine Substance.

The Word of God includes more than the words found in the Scriptures, although the conquering saint learns that the Scriptures are the Word of the almighty God and will never change.

The Word of God is Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh and raised from the dead. The body and blood of Christ are the body and blood of the Word of God. The conquering saint learns to live by the Word of God in his mind (the Scriptures), and by the Word of God in his heart (the body and blood of Christ). The Word of God is alive. The Word of God is the most powerful force in the universe—far more powerful than any hydrogen bomb. The Word is inconceivably powerful, capable of dismissing galaxies with one thrust.

The Word of God is not the sword of the saint, it is the sword of the Spirit of God. It is only as the saint is filled with the Spirit of God that the Spirit’s sword can be used.

The churches of Christ, in comparison with the promises of Scripture, are comparatively weak. The churches behold with dismay the armed might of the nations of today, feeling themselves to be weak and impotent—which indeed they are.

When the churches become willing to die to their own plans and ambitions the Holy Spirit will be able to clothe Himself with the churches. When the Spirit of God clothes Himself with the saints of today, as He did with Samson, He then will wield His sword. The sword of the Spirit will turn aside the armed might of the nations of today as the treads of a large tractor turn aside the petals of a tiny flower.

The Spirit of God working by the Word of God brought the universe into being. Can we comprehend power as great as this? When we insist on building the Kingdom of God by human talent, wisdom, and resources, the Spirit of God will keep His sword sheathed until we perceive the folly of our self-centered, self-seeking ways.

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