Take Strength

No enemy can be victorious against the sons of God. The saying, “no weapon that is formed against you will prosper” is so true. When God has blessed us, there is none to repeal it. When He has chosen us to sanctify in His Son, none can nullify it. It is indeed a blessing to be sanctified, since it guarantees a heavenly place with the Almighty Father. Men may stand against us to make our way crooked, but our Father will not let it happen. They may make plans to unsettle our soul, but their works and thoughts will not see fruition. There is one thing we, as the sons of God, can be sure of: no man or the words and works of man can derail us from the path to glory. So, the prophet had to say, “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?” (Num. 23:8).

A dangerous weapon against the sons of God is the mind of the ungodly. It works with the intent of Satan. Satan has an utterly easy access to the mind of unbelievers. He does not need to sweat to convince them of evil, because of the sin that has not been removed from them. As He controls their mind, they gear up to do exactly that which God declared as evil and unrighteous. Their reasoning power supersedes all goodness. The reason they work against the sons of God is that they are in fear. It is the fear of losing their position. The devil induces it in them to accomplish his desire. His desire is to destroy God’s people. He entices the sons of the world with wrong thoughts so that they stand their ground. Hence, there is always a war between the sons of men and the sons of God. In the former days it was in the flesh, but now it is in the spirit.

Whatever the war never has there been a case when the sons of God were derailed from glory. If a prophet of God was called to curse His sons and he could not, what could any man possibly pronounce against them? Even if one has spoken against us, it would not suffice? For the Lord our God will not let it stand; His power overcomes its brutality. So, when Balak asked Balaam to curse Israel, he could not. The word God spoke to Balaam did not allow him to fulfill the desire of the enemy. Israel was victorious and all the same, Satan was defeated. Satan’s plan in using God’s very own prophet against His sons did not see fruition. And how important it is for us to note before we begin any work for God that when He chose us we do not have to fear! We do not have to worry over the hurdles or pains that could come across us. We do not have to estimate the plans of the enemy. At all times God will be working for us. Many times we do not notice it, but because of the single reason that we are His sons He constantly works for us. In fact, we notice it in the times to come. It was the case with Israel. Israel did not know Balak was making efforts for their demise. Neither did they have the need to be worried, because God worked for them. It is impossible for men without God to fulfill their wishes against the sons of God. If we are able to take strength from this fact, we will be victorious in life.

Remember, being a son of God means overcoming the world. It does not matter if he or she is a preacher, teacher, servant, a mere believer, etc they are all called to overcome the world. And the only way to do it is by faith in the God who chose us. Therefore, the man of God said, “Because of his strength I will watch for You, For God is my stronghold” (Ps. 59:9). Yes, the enemy is with strength; he is neither weak nor foolish, but full of wicked thoughts. Since our goal, which God has set us, is to overcome him, we ought to be the people that look for His help. We must always consider Him as our fortress, because we cannot always see the intent of our enemy. And David became the man he is, i.e. victorious. To be a victorious son of God involves two things. The first is to acknowledge the strength of our enemy and his ability to ensnare us. The second is to know how to watch for God after having accepted Him as our stronghold. Life in being a Christian is not easy. If it were so, we would just walk over the enemy (the world and its prince) without any trouble or suffering.

What separates victorious Christians from the rest of the Christians is their desire to watch for God. They know how and when to watch for Him, and they escape the snares of the enemy. All Christians readily admit their enemy’s strength, but the reason many fail to overcome him is because they do not watch for God. In other words, they do not look for His guidance, power and knowledge. Just as the enemy constantly works to derail us, even so we who have the knowledge of the enemy should constantly watch for God. This will certainly make us victorious. For even when we are unaware of his schemes at the right time we overcome him. This is what faith in God is all about. And our path to love Him is not hindered. So, it was said, “Let us rise early and go to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine has budded and its blossoms have opened, and whether the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love” (Song. 7:12).

See, overcoming faith yields in demonstrating our complete love for God. It yields in setting aside time to fellowship with Him. If it is not because of faith in Him, there is no opportunity to love Him. And if we love Him dearly, we have the desire to watch for Him. Then, the benefit is obvious. No man or works and words of man can derail us from the path to glory. We are encompassed in God’s unconquerable protection. Though the enemy breathes fire against us, we walk through it unharmed. Now, here is the matter we ought to understand. God has placed in us the principle of faith for a good reason. It is for loving Him. To love Him is the only way to have an intimate relationship with Him. Through our faith in Him He demonstrates the love He has for us so that we in turn fully love Him. It is this truth Solomon revealed in wisdom. When such love exists between God and us, He will not allow the enemy to overcome us. We will win every battle we face by the love of God. And He has even prepared a better way to bind it upon us. So, John said, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11).

There are many reasons for Christ to baptize us with the Holy Spirit, but the foremost of them is to demonstrate God’s love toward us. God makes His love known to us by dwelling in us in the Spirit so that we too are equipped to love Him. He works in us to build a personal relationship with Him. And He achieves it by the fire He gives. The fire is His zeal. It makes our hearts burn for Him so that we are compelled to live for Him. It leads us to turn our bodies into His resting place. And when He is resting in us, the saying “no weapon that is formed against you will prosper” stands true. Do not be confused. Unless God is for us, the curse and denouncing of men will come true upon us. For the sin present in us will be the cause for the fulfillment of their works and words against us. Defeat always lives nearer to us.

So, as sons of God, we are called to be in touch with Him. This was a passion and was considered a necessity in those days by those who believed in Him. The Holy Spirit and the fire in them drove them for it. And God has called certain men to facilitate the rest to be in touch with Him. So, we see Luke write, “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). By referring to the first account in the second he opened a new chapter for God’s working nature. It is through the Holy Spirit and fire which Jesus promised. The account of Acts is full of God’s victorious ways by which His sons were guided, protected and blessed. To be precise, it is an account of the defeat of the enemy. It details God’s working nature through Christ Jesus. It is marvelous, full of surprises, energy, motivation and results. It is by the reason of it that we need not worry about ourselves. By it God revealed that His ways and works in overcoming the enemy are infinite; our path to glory will not be derailed. Oh, what confidence is there in finding God’s love and in being able to truly love Him! It is for a successful life. But if you are not sure that this is your idea of living for God, evaluate yourself. See to it that you understand. “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you– unless indeed you fail the test?” (2 Cor. 13:5).

By all that has been said you can certainly know if Christ is in you. In other words, if your life is fitting to God’s working nature and you are without worry or fear, and if the enemy is failing to derail you from the path to glory, then you have indeed not failed the test. On the contrary, if none of the above pertains to the life you are living for God, God has kept you aside. Though He saved you, He is not working for you and through you. Seek Him for guidance, power and knowledge confessing to Him your shortcomings and iniquities. This is the way to examine yourself to come back into faith. He shall cleanse you to reestablish His personal relationship with you. For this reason, He sent His Son saying, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt 1:21).

Posted in 2012, Archives.