The Armor of God

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MAKE YOUR HEART CONFORM TO TRUTH

Now there is a new union between you and truth—or between you and Christ—which can never be broken.

Likeness is the ground of love. A carnal heart cannot like truth because it does not resemble truth. How is it possible, then, for an earthly heart to love pure heavenly truth? It is sad when men’s understandings clash with their affections, when judgment and will are so unequally yoked. Truth in the conscience scolding lust in the heart! Like a quarreling couple, they may live together for awhile; but the discontent will soon expel truth as Ahasuerus did Vashti, and espouse principles which will not cross his heart in its bent for sin. This has parted many men from truth in these licentious days—they cannot sin in peace and keep sound judgment at the same time.

But if the power of truth has transformed you into its own likeness by the renewing of your mind, and made you bear fruit like itself, you will never separate yourself from it. Before this could happen you would have to part with the new nature which the Spirit of God has formed in you. But now there is a new union between you and truth—or between you and Christ—which can never be broken.

A mighty power goes along with wedlock; two persons who have barely known each other can leave friends and parents to enjoy each other after their affections have been knit by love and their persons made one by marriage. But a mightier power accompanies the mystical marriage between the soul and Christ, the soul and truth. This is the same person who, before conversion, would not have given a penny for Christ or His truth; yet now, knit to Christ by a secret work of the Spirit, he can leave the whole world behind for oneness with Him.

A persecutor once taunted a martyr by asking him if he did not love his wife and children too much to die. “Yes,” answered the Christian, “I love them so dearly that I would not part with any of them for all that is the Duke of Brunswick—whose subject he was—is worth; but for Christ’s sake and His truth, farewell to them all!”

The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

[civic]

The thread has me thinking of Pilgrims Progress by Bunyan

48. Into the Armory​ The next day they took him and had him into the armory, where they showed him all manner of furniture, which their Lord had provided for pilgrims, as sword, shield, helmet, breastplate, ALL-PRAYER, and shoes that would not wear out. And there was here enough of this to harness out as many men for the service of their Lord as there be stars in the heaven for multitude. They also showed him some of the engines with which some of his servants had done wonderful things. They showed him Moses' rod; the hammer and nail with which Jael slew Sisera; the pitchers, trumpets, and lamps too, with which Gideon put to flight the armies of Midian. Then they showed him the ox's goad wherewith Shamgar slew six hundred men. They showed him also the jaw-bone with which Samson did such mighty feats. They showed him, moreover, the sling and stone with which David slew Goliath of Gath; and the sword, also, with which their Lord will kill the Man of Sin, in the day that he shall rise up to the prey. They showed him, besides, many excellent things, with which Christian was much delighted. This done, they went to their rest again. Notes and Commentary As Christian continues his tour of Palace Beautiful, the family takes him into the armory. Here Christian sees vast weapons of warfare and notable armaments from past and future conflicts. Learning to wear the armor and wield the weapons provided by his Lord will be crucial for Christian to successfully complete his journey. The presence of the armory at Palace Beautiful highlights an important reality. Living the Christian life is a battle. We must daily fight against temptation and sin. We have an enemy of our souls who desires to keep us from our intended destination. Christian learned this lesson earlier in his pilgrimage while he was at the House of the Interpreter. He was shown a Stately Palace and watched as a valiant man fought past enemies to gain entrance. Like the valiant man, we must resist the enemy, "fight the good fight of faith" and "lay hold of eternal life" (1 Timothy 6:12). Christian saw something else in the lesson at the Interpreter's House. The valiant man was equipped and prepared for battle. Before he rushed the door of the Stately Palace, he drew his Sword and put on his Helmet. Now at Palace Beautiful Christian sees how his King fits His servants for battle. We are not capable of resisting the enemy in our own strength and resources. On our own we will fail and fall. But God has provided in Christ all we need to fight this battle. Bunyan's description of our weapons for war points us again to the Word of God. In Ephesians 6 Paul explains the armor of God that we must put on to stand firm against sin and Satan. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak (Ephesians 6:10-20). Paul draws these weapons of spiritual warfare from the Old Testament. He uses words and phrase from passages that speak of Christ, the coming Messiah and Redeemer. Paul helps us make an important connection: the armor we need to engage in spiritual warfare is Christ Himself. The prophet Isaiah describes Jesus as "a Rod from the stem of Jesse" and "a Branch" that grows "out of his roots" (Isaiah 11:1). We read in 11:5 "Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist." In chapter 59 Isaiah testifies: "The Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save" (59:1). When God sees the failings and sufferings of Israel, He Himself raises up a champion for justice and truth. He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. (Isaiah 59:16) Isaiah describes how this Warrior is clothed: For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak. (Isaiah 59:17) There is a Redeemer who "will come to Zion" (59:20). This is the Redeemer we need. We need to put on His truth as our belt. We need dressed in His righteousness as our breastplate. We need His salvation as our helmet. We need faith in Him to shield and protect us. We need to devote ourselves to prayer in His name. We need to take up "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God," the very weapon the Savior used against the devil when he was tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11). And we need feet prepared to carry His gospel to the ends of the earth. How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7) The provisions that God has given us in Christ will never wear out or run short. There is no end to the supply of what we need to fight the spiritual battles of this life. There is an abundance to the strength and might of Christ in the gospel that will clad "as many men for the service of their Lord as there be stars in the heaven for multitude." In the armory Christian sees the testimony of God's provision reaching back through history. He marvels at some of the unusual weapons supplied by God in the Old Testament. He sees the rod of Moses (Exodus 4:1-5, 17, 20, 7:8-12), the hammer and nail used by Jael to slay Sisera (Judges 4:21), the pitchers, trumpets and lamps used by Gideon to scatter the armies of Midian (Judges 7:19-22), the oxgoad used by Shamgar to kill six hundred men (Judges 3:31), the jaw-bone of a donkey used by Samson to kill a thousand men (Judges 15:15), and the sling and stone used by David to slay the giant Goliath of Gath (1 Samuel 17:40). Christian also sees the sword by which the Lord will bring judgment upon the nations. The apostle John describes the scene in Revelation 19: Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:11-16). The armory underscores our need to be watchful and courageous in our pilgrimage. And it reminds us that we cannot and must not engage this battle in our own strength. We need the might and power only God can provide in Christ. Spiritual warfare calls for spiritual weapons. 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). We must fight this battle daily, walking in the light of the gospel and living together for Christ in the church. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him" (1 Thessalonians 5:8-10). Christian will soon discover the value of the armaments supplied by His King. To reach his journey's end, he must first descend into the Valley of Humiliation. There he will face his fiercest foe. Continue reading 49. A View of Immanuel's Land Return to 47. Instruction at Palace Beautiful Read and Follow "A Guide to John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress​ " on the blog: Into the Armory

​ The text for The Pilgrim's Progress and images used are public domain Notes and Commentary ©2014 Ken Puls​ "A Guide to John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress" was originally published from January 1993 to December 1997 in "The Voice of Heritage," a monthly newsletter of Heritage Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas​ Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version (NKJV) ©1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.​ Return to A Guide to John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress​

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[civic]

And this one from Gospellight.wordpress


In Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, the main character, Christian, receives a suit of armor to put on as he prepares to continue his journey to the Celestial City. Bunyan writes, “The next day they took him and had him into the Armory, where they shewed him all manner of armor, which their Lord had provided for Pilgrims, as Sword, Shield, Helmet, Breastplate, All-prayer, and Shoes that would not wear out. And there was here enough of this to harness out as many men for the service of their Lord as there be stars in the Heaven for multitude.“ We, too, face enemies and danger in our walk with Christ, and God has given us armor to put on. So far, in this series, we have looked at six pieces of armor that God has supplied for us as we face spiritual battle every day :

1. The belt of truth.
2. The breastplate of righteousness.
3. The shoes of the Gospel of peace.
4. The shield of faith.
5. The helmet of salvation.
6. The sword of the Spirit — the Word of God.

After a very detailed discussion on the pieces of armor that a Christian needs to put on, one might think that that is all there is too it. But it isn’t. There is one more thing we must do in order to be battle ready. No, it is not another piece of armor. But, based on the way Paul talks about it, it is extremely important. It is prayer.

Three times in a single verse, Paul urges us to engage in prayer as part of our warfare. First, he says we ought to be “praying always,” that is we ought to be in a constant spirit of prayer. We ought to pray “in every season” and at “every opportunity.” Second, he says, “with all prayer,” that is with all forms of prayer which we will discuss shortly today. Third, he says, “and with supplication,” that is to make our requests, in the name of Christ, for things that are in God’s will.

In his commentary on Ephesians, John MacArthur writes, “All the while that we are fighting in the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, we are to be in prayer. Prayer is the very spiritual air that the soldier of Christ breathes. It is the all-pervasive strategy in which warfare is fought.”

Because spiritual warfare is a constant struggle, we ought to be constantly praying. The Bible commands us to “pray without ceasing.” But, what does it mean to pray with “all prayer and supplication.” This means that we should not hesitate to engage in prayer in all its forms — whether alone or with others, in private or in public, silent prayer or praying aloud — all prayer is to be engaged.

Scholars have found in the Bible eight types of prayer. Allow me to share them with you.

1. The prayer of faith. This is a prayer for something that is in God’s will, but is yet to come to pass. In this prayer, you express belief in the power of God to bring things to pass. James 5:15 says, “The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

2. The prayer of agreement or corporate prayer. This is simply praying with other believers. In Acts 1:14, we find that Jesus’ followers “all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication” in the upper room before Pentecost.

3. The prayer of request. When Paul used the word “supplication”, he was talking about this kind of prayer — asking God for your needs and desires. Philippians 4:6 teaches us to “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” John R. Rice said, “Prayer is simply asking and receiving.”

4. The prayer of thanksgiving. This is a prayer of gratitude to God for what He has done for you. This is a prayer you pray after God has answered your prayers. Philippians 4:6 says we ought to offer “prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.”

5. The prayer of worship. This is a prayer of praise to God where you aren’t asking or thanking Him for anything specifically, but you are just worshipping Him because of who He is. In Acts 13, we read of early Christians who were “worshipping the Lord and fasting.”

6. The prayer of consecration. When something or someone is consecrated, it means that they are set aside to do God’s will and be used for God’s purposes. Jesus Christ prayed a prayer of consecration in the Garden of Gethsemane when He told His Heavenly Father, “Not my will, but thine be done.” Jesus also taught us to pray this way in the Lord’s prayer which says, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

7. The prayer of intercession. This is when we pray for the needs of others. In 1 Timothy 2:1, Paul says, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.” You ought to always have in mind someone you can pray for other than yourself.

8. The prayer of imprecation. These are prayers that invoke God’s judgment on the wicked. David and others prayed these types of prayers in the Psalms. However, Jesus teaches us as Christians to pray for blessings on our enemies, not cursing. He said in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Of course, that is often a hard thing to do, but we can do it through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Those are the eight types of prayer found in the Bible. When we “pray always with all prayer,” we are engaging, at different times, in all types of prayer.

As a final command regarding spiritual warfare, we are told that we ought to be “watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” This means that we must be alert and we must be watching in order that we might pray. We ought to be on the lookout for saints who are faltering that we might lift them up in prayer. We ought to be on the lookout for sinners that we might lift them up in prayer, asking God to deliver them from their spiritual blindness. We ought to be ready to pray for people and situations at a moment’s notice.

John Piper describes this wonderfully when he calls prayer our “war-time walkie-talkie.” He said prayer “is mainly for those on the front lines of the war effort to call in to headquarters to send help. One of the reasons our prayer malfunctions is that we try to treat it like a domestic intercom for calling the butler for another pillow in the den rather than treating it like a wartime walkie-talkie for calling down the power of the Holy Spirit in the battle for souls.”
https://berean-apologetics.communit..._advertiser=45fe194c3ce8561daa284418b792be33"

 

[Complete]

'Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God,
and be more ready to hear,
than to give the sacrifice of fools:
for they consider not that they do evil.
Be not rash with thy mouth,
and let not thine heart be hasty
to utter any thing before God:
for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth:
therefore let thy words be few.'
(Ecc 5:1)

Hello @civic,

I believe prayer is as much for listening as talking.

In Christ Jesus
Chris

 

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JUNE 16

SINCERITY AND ASSURANCE

“Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).


Others severely judge faults in order to hide their own flaws, thus enabling them to carry on selfish designs with less suspicion. Absalom, for example, criticized his father’s government as a stirrup to help himself into the saddle. And Jehu loved the crown more than he hated Jezebel’s whoredoms, even though he swung a keen sword against them. False zeal thus becomes revenge and shoots at the person rather than at his sin; hypocrites can hate the tyrant while admiring his tyranny.

The better way is to test a person’s boldness by his sincerity, and not sincerity by boldness. True confidence and a spirit undaunted at death and danger are glorious when the Spirit and Word of Christ stand by to fulfill them. And certainly it is good when a person can give some account of the hope that is in him, as Paul did when he showed people the source of it operating in his life. This was Christian courage, not Roman fearlessness.

But the Christian must pass many rooms before arriving at this place of assurance, which adjoins heaven itself. Faith is the key which lets him enter into all these rooms. First, it opens the door of justification and takes him into peace and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ: “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

Through justification the seeker passes on to another room—the chamber of God’s favor—and is welcomed into His presence: “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand” (v. 2). Not only have we been pardoned from sin and reconciled to God by faith in Christ, but now we are brought into the royal court under Christ’s wing as favorites of the Prince.
We not only enjoy God’s grace and favor and communion now, but move on and open the door to a third room—a hope firmly planted in our hearts for heaven’s glory later, “rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God” (v. 2).


The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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JUNE 25

THE LOVE AND FEAR OF THE WORLD

Get above the love of the world. This is a stubborn root for hypocrisy to grow on.

A Christian’s sincerity is not eclipsed without the intervening of the earth between God and his soul. Get above the love of the world. This is a stubborn root for hypocrisy to grow on. If your heart becomes attached to something else in the world, and chooses it above everything else, you will be sick with longing for it and vulnerable to take the first advice Satan offers for getting what you want most. Hunters do not care how they get in—over hedges and ditches and through marshes—just so long as they catch the rabbit.

It is a mystery how a saint, with the precious ointment of Christ poured upon his heart, could still have such a strong scent after the world. It would seem that the sweet perfume which comes from those beds of spices—God’s promises—would spoil the Christian’s desire for hunting earthly game. The breath from Christ in them should so fill the saint’s senses that gross earthly enjoyments would no longer be pleasing to him.
This is true as long as the Christian’s spiritual senses are open, but as a head cold stops up the nose from doing its job, so a Christian’s negligence obstructs his heavenly graces. And when the saint cannot enjoy Christ’s divine savor, the devil takes advantage and immediately sets some worldly attraction before him. Soon the flesh picks up the scent and takes the Christian into a chase which dead-ends in sorrow and shame. Get above the fear of the world.

Fear of man brings a snare. A coward will run into any hole, no matter how filthy, to save himself. And when the holiest saints are tempted, they are like all other men. When Peter’s reputation seemed to be in a little danger, he did not “walk uprightly according to the truth of the gospel” (Galatians 2:14). Instead he took one step forward and another back again—sometimes he was willing to eat with Gentiles, but at other times he was not. Why? Because he feared “them which were of the circumcision” (Galatians 2:12).


The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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JUNE 26

COMFORT FOR THE SINCERE ONE WHO DOUBTS

There is a treasure of sincerity hidden in many souls, but the time has not come for them to open the sack and know their true riches.

You may be genuinely sincere but doubt persuades you otherwise. To you I have a few words of counsel, and I trust God to give His blessings to each one.

Do not conclude you are a hypocrite because you cannot now see evidence of your sincerity. The patriarchs had money bundled up in their sacks and traveled all the way to the inn, not knowing what they had until they opened them. There is a treasure of sincerity hidden in many souls, but the time has not come for them to open the sack and know their true riches. Thousands of saints whose voyages were marked by fears about whether or not God’s grace was truly in them have crossed the gulf and safely landed in heaven. Faith unfeigned puts a believer into the ark with Christ and shuts the door; but it does not necessarily keep him from getting seasick in the ship.

It is the work of Christ which demonstrates itself in such a way that we can see and own it, whereas the truth of our grace may not so clearly show itself. God has put the Holy Spirit beside the truth of grace to lead the soul into the light and show His children that truth. He alone is the great messenger who is able “to show unto man his uprightness” (Job 33:23).

But even as the eye, which cannot see anything in complete darkness, is still a seeing eye where there is light, so there may be truth of grace where there is not a sense of that truth present. So the person may hunt passionately from one church service to another to get the sincerity he already has, as one who looks frantically throughout the house to find his hat, when all the time it has been on his head.

Mark this down as real truth: “I may be upright even if I am not able to see it clearly.” Although this insight will not furnish full comfort, it can be support until assurance comes.


The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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JUNE 27

EVIDENCE OF YOUR CALLING

“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself” (1 John 5:10). Christ and the Holy Spirit live in your heart.

Look for evidence of your sincerity. This is the “white stone” with the “new name” in it, “which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it” (Revelation 2:17). Paul had this white stone sparkling in his conscience more gloriously than all the precious gems in Aaron’s breastplate: “Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity… we have had our conversation in the world” (2 Corinthians 1:12).

And Job was not without this evidence either when he appealed to the very thoughts of God while He was ransacking every corner of his heart by His heavy hand—“Thou knowest that I am not wicked” (Job 10:7). He did not say he was without sin—this we hear confessed again and again—but he knew he was not a rotten-hearted hypocrite. The Lord gave way to let him be searched and brought to trial to stop Satan’s mouth and to shame him for laying a spiritual felony charge against one of God’s elect.

Paul and Job were saints of the highest form, it is true; but the weakest Christian in God’s family has the identical witness in him which they had: “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself” (1 John 5:10). Christ and the Holy Spirit live in your heart just as they abide in the most holy saint on earth. And you have the same blood of Jesus and the water of the Word to wash you. These will testify for your grace and sincerity as they did for Job’s and Paul’s. But witnesses in a court of law must wait to give testimony until the judge calls them to the bench. And you can be certain God will call up the right witnesses at the right time. But now let us examine three ways to find the evidence of a true heart.


The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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JUNE 28

WAIT ON GOD

Go to God’s Spirit and wait. The fact that you are at the right door is comforting in itself

You might search all over the field and still not discover the treasure hidden there. The only way we can “know the things that are freely given to us of God” is by God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12). He lives in God’s ordinances as a governor works in his graces—evidences for heaven—sealed to our consciences.

Go to God’s Spirit and wait. The fact that you are at the right door is comforting in itself. Even if you knock for a long time but do not hear anyone coming, you should not feel ashamed. Eglon’s servants waited for a dead man (Judges 3:25), but you are waiting for the living God, who hears from heaven every knock you have ever given on earth. He is a loving God who hears your prayers and sees your tears. And even if He seems like a stranger, as Joseph appeared to his brothers, He is so big with mercy that He will soon fall on your neck and ease His heart by acknowledging and accepting you, and His grace in you.

Lift up your head, then—but remember, you cannot set times for God Almighty. The sun rises at its own hour, no matter what time you decide it should come up. Sometimes God comes to you in an ordinance and His heavenly light radiates into your innermost being while He quickens His Word to you. But have you not spent other nights on your face wrestling with God, wondering why He did not satisfy your soul? When someone brings a candle into the dark room we stir around and look for the thing we have lost and soon find what we had groped for in the darkness for hours. We can gauge more of our spiritual condition in a moment of His revelation than in days or weeks of His withdrawal.

Carefully watch for the seasons when God comes to you; take advantage of them. But even if God chooses to hide the treasure from your sight, comfort yourself. He knows your sincerity is real whether you can see it or not.


The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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November 19

HOPE PROVIDES STRENGTH

Today many souls throw themselves into the embraces of the adulterous world because the comfort and joy of the promise is temporarily withheld.

Where there is no hope there is no strength. “And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord” (Lamentations 3:18). God protected and provided for Israel in the wilderness, but as soon as they used up their Egyptian supplies they resented both Moses and God. Why? Their hope was grounded in human help.

Moses climbed the mountain and was out of the Israelite’s sight for only a few days; yet they had to have a golden calf. They thought they would never see him again and gave him up for lost. God wants His servants to wait for what He means to give them, but few stay with Him because most are short-spirited.

You know what Naomi said to her daughter: “If I should have an husband also tonight, and should also bear sons; would ye tarry for them till they were grown? Would ye stay for them from having husbands?” (Ruth 1:12–13). The promise has salvation in its womb; but will the unbeliever wait until the promise ripens and this happiness has grown up? No, he would rather mate with any base lust which pays him in some present pleasure than wait a long time, even if it is for heaven itself.

Tamar played the harlot because her promised husband was not given as soon as she wanted him (Genesis 38). Today many souls throw themselves into the embraces of the adulterous world because the comfort and joy of the promise is temporarily withheld, and God wants them to wait for their reward. “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10). Only the soul which has this divine hope will patiently wait for the good of the promise. Now, in handling this service of hope God often waits a long time before fulfilling a promise; secondly, it is our duty to wait; and thirdly, hope enables us to wait.

Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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NOVEMBER 19

HOPE PROVIDES STRENGTH

Today many souls throw themselves into the embraces of the adulterous world because the comfort and joy of the promise is temporarily withheld.

Where there is no hope there is no strength. “And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord” (Lamentations 3:18). God protected and provided for Israel in the wilderness, but as soon as they used up their Egyptian supplies they resented both Moses and God. Why? Their hope was grounded in human help.

Moses climbed the mountain and was out of the Israelite’s sight for only a few days; yet they had to have a golden calf. They thought they would never see him again and gave him up for lost. God wants His servants to wait for what He means to give them, but few stay with Him because most are short-spirited.

You know what Naomi said to her daughter: “If I should have an husband also tonight, and should also bear sons; would ye tarry for them till they were grown? Would ye stay for them from having husbands?” (Ruth 1:12–13). The promise has salvation in its womb; but will the unbeliever wait until the promise ripens and this happiness has grown up? No, he would rather mate with any base lust which pays him in some present pleasure than wait a long time, even if it is for heaven itself.

Tamar played the harlot because her promised husband was not given as soon as she wanted him (Genesis 38). Today many souls throw themselves into the embraces of the adulterous world because the comfort and joy of the promise is temporarily withheld, and God wants them to wait for their reward. “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10). Only the soul which has this divine hope will patiently wait for the good of the promise. Now, in handling this service of hope God often waits a long time before fulfilling a promise; secondly, it is our duty to wait; and thirdly, hope enables us to wait.



Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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NOVEMBER 20

ASSURANCE FOR THE APPOINTED TIME

“Though God seldom comes at our day, because we seldom reckon right, yet He never fails His own day.”


Though the promise tarries until the appointed time, yet it will not tarry beyond it! “When the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt” (Acts 7:17). Herbs and flowers sleep underground all winter in their roots but come up out of their beds, where they have lain unseen for so long, when spring approaches. And the promise will do this in its season.

Every promise is dated, but with a mysterious character; and because we cannot understand God’s chronology, we think He must have forgotten us. It is as if a man should set his watch by his own hungry stomach rather than by the sun, and then say it is noon and complain because his lunch is not quite ready. We covet comfort and expect the promise to keep time with our impatient desires. But the sun will not move any faster if we set our watch forward, nor the promise come sooner if we antedate it.

It is most true, as someone has said, that “though God seldom comes at our day, because we seldom reckon right, yet He never fails His own day.” The apostle exhorts the Thessalonian church not to “be soon shaken in mind, or be troubled… as that the day of Christ is at hand” (2 Thessalonians 2:2). But why did these saints need such an exhortation when they were looking for their greatest joy to come with that day? It was not the coming of that day which was so alarming, but the time in which some seducers would have persuaded them to expect it—before many prophecies had been fulfilled. “For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” (v. 3). The promise waits only until those intermediate truths—which span a much shorter period—are fulfilled, and then nothing can possibly hold back the promise after that.


Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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NOVEMBER 21

HIS COMING ACCORDING TO PROMISE

“Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient.”

Wait on God as long as you have to, until He comes according to His promise and takes you out of your suffering. Do not be hasty to take yourself out of trouble. “Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:7–8).

Although the farmer wishes his corn were already in the barn, he waits for it to ripen in the ordinary course of God’s providence. He is glad when the former rain comes, but he wants the latter rain too, and waits for it, though it is long in coming. And have we not all seen that a shower falling close to harvest time brings the ear to its completeness? The fullest mercies are the ones we wait for the longest. Jesus did not immediately supply wine at the marriage of Cana, as His mother had asked, but they had the more for waiting awhile.

Hope assures the soul that while God waits to perform one promise, he supplies another. This comfort is enough to quiet the heart of anyone who understands the sweetness of God’s methods. There is not one minute when a believer’s soul is left without comfort. There is always some promise standing ready to minister to the Christian until another one comes. A sick man does not complain if all his friends do not stay with him together, as long as they take turns and never leave him without someone to care for him.

We read of a tree of life which bears “twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month” (Revelation 22:2). What is this tree but Christ, who brings all manner of fruit in His promises and comfort for all times and all conditions? The believer can never come to Him without finding some promise to supply strength until another is ripe enough to be gathered.


Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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NOVEMBER 22

IGNORANCE AND SALVATION

“Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

The most notorious false prophet in the world, and the one who deceives the most, is the vain hope which men take up for their salvation. It prophesies peace, pardon, and heaven as the portion of one who was never God’s heir. But the day is coming, and soon, when this false prophet will be confounded. Then the hypocrite will confess he never had any real hope for salvation except an idol of his own imagination; and the religious man will throw off his profession, by which he deceived himself, and appear naked in his sinfulness.

It is enough to make us carefully search our own hearts and find out what our hope is built upon.
Now hope of the right kind is well grounded. “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). All Christians, no matter how weak, have grounded their hearts in Scripture for the hope they profess. What entitles you to inherit God’s kingdom without a promise from Him? If someone should say that your house and land were his, would you give him your property just because he demanded it? Yet many hope to be saved who can give no better reason than this.

Just as a saint conquers fear by asking his soul why it is disquieted, a similar question can throw the bold sinner from his prancing hopes. “What reason do you find in the whole Bible for you to hope for salvation, when you live in the ignorance of God?” Certainly his soul would be as speechless as the man without the wedding garment was at Christ’s question. This is why some dare not let themselves think about salvation—they know this thought would make a disturbance in their conscience that will not be stilled quickly. Or if they do ask, it would be like Pilate, who asked Christ what was truth but had no intention of waiting for His answer.


Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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NOVEMBER 23

BE THANKFUL FOR THIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT

Earth’s greatest king would be glad to change his crown for your helmet at his dying hour.

I do not believe you have it if your heart is not thankful for it. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope… to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away” (1 Peter 1:3–4). Do you have heaven in hope? It is more than if the whole world were in your hand. Earth’s greatest king would be glad to change his crown for your helmet at his dying hour. His crown will not get him this helmet, but your helmet will bring you a crown, a crown not of gold, but of glory, which once on will never be taken off.

Remember, Christian, it has not been long since you had only a fearful expectation of hell instead of a hope of salvation. But God took away the chains of guilt which weighed your soul down in despair and gave you favor in His celestial court. Of all men in the world, you are the most indebted to God’s mercy. If you thank Him for crust and rags—food and clothing—how much more should you thank Him for your crown?

After you have praised Him with your spirit, you should collect the praises to God of your friends too—and then, in heaven, continue thanking Him throughout eternity for your helmet of salvation. It will be a debt you will never be able fully to pay.

Live up to your hopes. Let there be a suitable agreement between your principles and your practices—your hope of heaven and your walk on earth. As you look for salvation, walk the way your eye is looking. If the Christian fails to walk in the worthiness of his calling, he betrays God’s hope for him. And the Word emphasizes the necessity of this walk. It stirs us up to act “as becometh saints” (Romans 16:2) and as “it becometh the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27).


Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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NOVEMBER 24

YOUR MANNER OF LIVING

Why has this wedding day been put off for so many years? It has taken a long time for the bride’s garment to be completed.

What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God?” (2 Peter 3:11–12). Every believing soul is Christ’s spouse. The day of conversion is the day when she is betrothed by faith to Christ; and therefore she lives in hope for their marriage day when He will come and take her home to His Father’s house—as Isaac took Rebekah into his mother’s tent.

And there they will live in His sweet embraces of love, world without end. When the bridegroom comes, does the bride want him to find her in dirty garments? “Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?” (Jeremiah 2:32). Has a bride ever forgotten to have her wedding dress ready on her marriage day? Or does she forget to put it on when she expects her bridegroom’s coming?

Holiness is the “raiment of needlework” in which you will be “brought unto the king,” your husband (Psalm 45:14). Why has this wedding day been put off for so many years? It has taken a long time for the bride’s garment to be completed. But when its preparation is finished and you are dressed in it, then that joyful day will come: “The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7).

Christian, you have no more effective argument to defeat temptation than your hope. Of course it is good when temptation is defeated, no matter what the weapon is. Yet the Israelites used poor judgment when they borrowed the Philistines’ grindstone to “sharpen every man… his axe, and his mattock” (1 Samuel 13:20). So the Christian’s choice is inferior when he must use the wicked man’s argument to cut through temptation. The saint has more purity of spirit than this. Hope’s innocent argument will put you into a stronger tower against sin than all the sophisticated weapons of the uncircumcised world.


William Gurnall and James Scott Bell, Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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NOVEMBER 25

FEAR OF GOD IS A GREAT GIFT

After Satan has thrown the Christian into some filthy sin he asks God, “Is this the assurance You gave of heaven—and this the garment of salvation You put on him?”

The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy” (Psalm 147:11). Too often children forget to respect their parents once their inheritance is settled. And though the doctrine of assurance cannot rightly be accused of producing such bitter fruit, we are too prone to abuse it. Even the best of saints may be led far into temptation after the love of God with eternal life has been passed over to them under the seal of hope’s assurance, and may fall into great sin.

God opened the depths of His heart and demonstrated His love to David and Solomon in great measure before both of them gave into sin. A blot left on their history shows the somber shadows of their sin in the light of such divine love. And while their story leaves us examples of human frailty, it also portrays indelible assurance. Because this assurance spreads itself into highest rejoicing from the certainty of our expected glory, we must nourish a holy fear of God in our hearts.

The devil is delighted if he can cause saints to sin, but he glories most when he can lay them in the dirt in their Sunday clothes and make them defile their garments of salvation. If he succeeds, he tries to insult God by showing Him what a predicament His child is in and holds up the Christian’s assurance for the world to laugh at. After Satan has thrown the Christian into some filthy sin he asks God, “Is this the assurance You gave him of heaven—and this the garment of salvation You put on him? Look where he has laid it—and what a mess he has made of your grace.” We tremble at the thought of putting such blasphemy of our living God into the devil’s mouth!

God’s beloved children must not loiter in the sunshine of divine love but keep moving their feet in the path of duty because God has been so kind as to make our walk most full of cheer. But we must not lose our reverential fear of God in His familiarity with us.

William Gurnall and James Scott Bell, Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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NOVEMBER 26

HOPE IN THE KING

If you have some hope of heaven, and you believe that your eternal happiness or misery depends on it, you must search your heart by the light of God’s Word.


The more we prize something good the harder we work to have it. If a prince should lose a penny and one should bring him news that it has been found, it is such a petty thing that he would not care whether it were true or not. But if his kingdom lay at stake in battle and a report comes that his army has defeated the enemy, he would long to have this message confirmed.

Is heaven worth so little that you can be satisfied with a few probabilities and uncertain maybes that you will ever get there?

You must despise the blessed peace if you are no more interested in your right to it than that. When Ahab advanced his army against Ramoth-gilead, Micaiah prophesied victory—“Go, and prosper” (1 Kings 22:15). But the king had good reason to suspect that Micaiah’s words were empty of truth and rebuked him: “And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord?” (1 Kings 22:16).

If you have some hope of heaven, and you believe that your eternal happiness or misery depends on it, you must search your heart by the light of God’s Word. And after an impartial review of what you read there, command your conscience to tell you the naked truth—what your spiritual standing is and whether or not you may hope that salvation is yours.

When Peter heard about Christ’s resurrection he did not fully believe; but he ran as fast as he could and looked into the sepulcher, proving how dearly he loved his Lord. Thus, Christian, even if the promise of eternal life has not yet produced such an assurance of hope that you can enjoy it without doubting, you can show your appreciation of it by trying to strengthen your hope and put away all doubt of it.


Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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NOVEMBER 27

FOOD IN HIS WORD

The devil deprives some people of this scriptural relief by mere laziness. They complain about doubts and fears like sluggards crying out of their poverty as they lie in bed.


Strengthen hope by studying God’s Word diligently. The Christian is bred by the Word and he must be fed by it or his grace will shrivel up and die. The growing baby feeds often at the breast. As God has provided food in His Word to nourish every grace, so the Scriptures provide nutrients for the saint’s strong and solid hope. “That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). The devil knows this so well that he works hard to deprive the Christian of the help stored in the Word. And he is right, for as long as this river remains unblocked which makes glad the City of God, with comfort brought in on the stream of its precious promises, he can never besiege the City.

The devil deprives some people of this scriptural relief by mere laziness. They complain about doubts and fears like sluggards crying out of their poverty as they lie in bed. But they will not get up and search for the Word for the satisfaction of their need. Of all others, these sell their comfort most cheaply. Who pities the starving man who has bread before him but refuses to move his hand to take it?

To some Christians, Satan presents false applications of the Word and thereby troubles their spirits. The devil is an exceptionally bright student in theology and makes no other use of his Scripture knowledge than to lure the saint into sin—or into despair for having sinned. He is like a dishonest lawyer who attains legal skill merely to force an honest man into serious problems by the tangled suit he brings against him.

Now if Satan so proficiently manipulates the Word to weaken your hope and deprive you of your inheritance, you should develop a holy skill to maintain the right and defend your hope. In your study of the Word, then, you must closely pursue two goals—and pursue them until they are yours.

Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

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NOVEMBER 28

KEEP A PURE CONSCIENCE

Living godly in this present world and “looking for that blessed hope” are joined together (Titus 2:12–13).

The Christian can say, “I know from the Word that the repentant, believing sinner will be saved; my conscience shows me that I repent and believe. And although I am unworthy, I can firmly hope that I shall be saved.” And as forcefully as the Christian agrees with God’s truth and repents, so his hope will be—strong or weak. If his assent to the truth of the promise is weak, or his evidence of faith and repentance is uncertain, his hope that is born of these will inherit its parents’ infirmities.

Living godly in this present world and “looking for that blessed hope” are joined together (Titus 2:12–13). Thus a soul void of godliness must be destitute of all true hope, and the godly person who is careless in his holy walk will soon find his hope faltering.

All sin brings trembling fears and shakings of heart to the person who tampers with it. But sins which are deliberately committed are to the Christian’s hope as poison is to his body, which eventually drinks it up. Sins produce a lifeless Christian and make thoughts of God dreadful to him: “I remembered God, and was troubled” (Psalm 77:3). They make the man afraid to look on the God of judgment. After all, does the servant want his master to come home and find him drunk?

When Calvin’s friends tried to persuade him to give up his night studies, he asked if they wanted his Lord to come and find him idle. God forbid that death should find you lying in the puddle of some sin unconfessed and unrepented of! Can your hope then carry you to eternity with joy? Can a bird fly with a broken wing? Faith and a good conscience are the two wings of hope. If you have wounded your conscience by sin, renew your repentance so that you may act in faith for the forgiveness of it and redeem your hope.



Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare