Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....November 1, 2021
Aloha God Morning family...I want to take the next three weeks of Reflections and talk about a subject we do not like to talk about...when I say we, I mean those of us who feel we just want to go on with our lives and not be bothered by the outside noise....
The beginning of a teaching series focusing on the fact that we're at war....Spiritual Warfare.
Revelation 12:1-5, 7-8, 17
We’re at War!
Most of you know I’m a sports guy. I enjoy watching and playing sports. One thing that drives me crazy when watching is when you hear an announcer say that the team or individuals LOOK FLAT.
Have you ever heard that said about your team? It means they’re not into the game, they have no energy, they’re not really ready to play. I’ve heard it most for football and basketball teams. I’ve heard it for tennis players as well. Maybe it’s hard to get up for every game. Yet, I find it remarkable that a team knows they’ve got a war, because in a sense that’s what competition is, and they’re not ready for it. You know what I mean?
It’s not always easy to get all excited for each day as well. We often go through the motions of life.
Sometimes we kind of sleep walk through the day. And if your life is on TV, the announcers may say, ‘they like flat today.’
I say all of that to let you know we’re starting a new teaching series today. It’s going to be different. I’ve taught on this topic before in class with our Revelations series, but never with as much background that I’m going to do, which is next weeks message.
What I’m going to be talking about and doing it in many different directions is war! It’s not the typical war I’m going to be talking about. It’s a spiritual war. We’re going to be looking at spiritual warfare. Yup, fun topic! But I believe this is so, so important in our world!
This is kind of the process I’m going to be using. Today is more of an introduction, to help us see that we really are in a war. Next week, we’re going to see how, where, when and why this whole thing started. It’s going to be a little more of a Bible Study sermon. Then we’re going to look way, way back to Genesis and see how this all played out, and that may actually take me a couple of weeks. Then we’re going to bring it present again and talk about how we can invoke God and help protect ourselves.
Obviously, we’re talking about satan.
There’s a problem, though - - because this isn’t a war we’re going to fight in the physical world. We may think that, but that’s part of the delusion. It’s a war unlike any we’ve ever seen, a war unlike any we’ve been part of. Actually, it’s a war we’ve already experienced, but maybe haven’t realized.
It’s the longest unrecorded war in human history. You see, our battle is not with one another, as much as we might look at one another with disdain, mistrust and enmity. As he is finishing his letter to the Ephesians, Paul puts it best . . .
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 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 firm. - Ephesians 6
Do you understand what Paul is saying?
You see, our battle isn’t against one another, our battle is against forces of evil which places those temptations, thoughts, desires and addictions right in front of us. They lead us into battles within ourselves and with others. Some cause us to sin.
Our battle is against the forces of evil - - not against flesh and blood. As Paul says, it’s against the rulers, authorities, the powers of this dark world. He’s talking about satan, the devil, the evil one, lucifer . . . or whatever you want to call him.
But you see we don’t take this topic seriously, do we? We don’t want to talk about evil. It’s either too scary or we laugh it off, really, because it’s too scary. We like to joke about the devil as the one wearing a silly red cape who’ harmless.
Yet, Paul tells us we need to be strong in the Lord, using His strength. So we put on God’s spiritual armor. Not ours, ours is weak, but we put on God’s armor so that we can withstand the war and we have the confidence to stand firm in battle.
Yet, satan would lead us to believe we can act like there are no consequences in life. Then when we’re caught, we blame someone else. That will be in 2 weeks when we look at the garden scene with Adam and Eve. It’s a daily battle and if we’re not equipped and ready for war, then we will lose the battle. We can’t be flat.
Many of us have God sized hopes, dreams and visions. Sometimes they don’t materialize. Sometimes we’re at fault, but I also believe satan wants us to believe we’re no good, that we’re not worthy of God’s grace, love, power, forgiveness and we don’t deserve those great dreams and visions.
We can easily buy into the lies. Jesus tells us in John 8:44:
44 He (satan) was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. - John 8:44
And sadly, so many of us buy into those lies. There’s nothing good in him. He wants us to believe there’s nothing good within us. And we believe the lies.
This is why Peter tells us:
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8
We’re going to talk more about this passage later in our series as well. Peter wants us to understand the devil is always prowling, always on high alert. Picture a lion prowling and sneaking around . . . ready to pounce on their dinner. That’s satan.
Satan enjoys nothing more than a defeated Christian, because a defeated Christian is a powerless Christian. They have no spiritual power to defend themselves from his attacks. They just wilt and succumb to arrow after arrow, insult after insult, abuse after abuse, until they become exactly what satan wants, a nothing.
You see, we’re at war. It’s not the type of war we think about, we’re in a spiritual war. The good news is that we know who our enemy is. And satan will do all he can to defeat us.
When you look at our world, you can see the residue that satan leaves behind and the consequences of his power in the world.
Let’s look at my favorite book of the Bible and in Revelation 12 and understand that satan is real and seeks to destroy us. We’ll also see why he seeks to defeat us:
1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swiped a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a Son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to His throne. 7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he (satan) was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. – Revelation 12
Now . . . before we get too far into this, let me say this...
People have a lot of different views for who the woman is, some say she’s obviously Mary, but I don’t believe that. Most scholars view the woman as a symbol for the nation of Israel; and I agree with that. The child is Christ, the red dragon is satan.
According to this passage, satan sought to destroy Jesus. Verse 4 tells us as the woman was ready to give birth, satan was ready to devour her Child as soon as He was born. We can go into a lot of the imagery, but I’m not. That’s not the point.
In verse 7 -- we’re told there’s a cosmic war. A war in heaven between satan and his angels against archangel Michael and his angels. satan lost and was kicked out of heaven along with his angels. Verse 9 tells us satan’s mission was to lead the world astray. To confuse the whole world. To lead us down the wrong path.
Again, think about our world, we don’t know the truth most of the time, because everything is skewed. It’s easy to see how easily it is to be led astray.
Paul also reminds us in 2 Corinthians 11:14, satan “masquerades as an angel of light.” He’s a deceiver, with only one intent...to confuse and lead you astray.
So satan is really angry that he’s been thrown out of heaven. Since the child is protected by God, he pursues the woman. The woman is protected by God as well and is shielded by the earth. Ultimately, we come to the final verse of the chapter.
It’s a key verse, Revelation 12:17:
17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring — those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. - Revelation 12
Did you get that? satan lost and was kicked out of heaven and he’s fuming mad. He wants to do anything he can to get back at the one who defeated him. He knows the One with all of the power is God. satan wants to make war with God! But, he knows he’s going to lose every battle. That’s a given!
He’s so angry and wants to make war against someone. For him revenge is sweet. It’s plotting his next move so he can get back at God for his defeat. So, whom is he going to make war against? Against any person who believes Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Look at the end of that passage.
Let me make this very clear, if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you’re under spiritual attack. You’re in a war, and you may not know it. And this is exactly what satan wants. Because . . . and now catch this, it’s really, really important to know...
If you don’t know you’re at war, then you can’t fight! And if you can’t or won’t fight in your own war, then how can you be victorious, you’re losing the battle.
Ain’t this fun today?! Pardon my English but I hope so, because this is really important. We need to see how important this is.
You see, satan will attack us on all fronts. He hits us where we’re weak, he hits us when we think we’ve got it made. He hits us with surprise attacks when we’re not ready. He hits us from the front when we’re expecting an attack from our rear. He comes straight at us, and dares us to fight back. He’s good at what he does. He’s a master deceiver. If you remember in classes on Understanding Christianity and Revelation, we talked about the two angels, one on our right shoulder and one on the left....you know who the one on the left is then...yes, satan!!
He’ll tell you things like ---
• I don’t need to go to church, I’m saved!
I don’t like the music, the sermons are too long, and I can’t bring coffee into the sanctuary.
• I don’t need Sunday School or Bible Study!
I know what I need to know.
• I can sleep with anyone, anytime. It’s my body.
• Give money . . . no way. That’s mine. I worked for it.
• Forgiveness, it’ll be a cold day before that happens!
• Serving others and God, what’d they do for me?
• I can cheat, everyone else is doing it.
• I can drink and smoke, it’s my body
• I can do the bare minimum at work, nobody cares
• Nobody at work will know what I took.
• The devil, he’s got no power. He’s just a myth in a red cape with a pitchfork.
Too often we buy into the lies. We believe we can do whatever, whenever. Some is our own doing. We can’t pull the Flip Wilson line - “the devil made me do it.”
Sometimes we give in to temptations because we’re weak and not well grounded in Christ, using the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s true for so many of us, really all of us. We have the power to do more than we can ever imagine, but we struggle to get off the ground on it.
We should be living the joy-filled, passion filled life, we should be experiencing the joy and presence and power of Christ, but it seems like such a struggle.
We’ve bought into satan’s lies that we’re not good. We don’t believe our heart’s really all that good. We have some fair moments, but for the most part, we don’t believe in ourselves. We don’t really love ourselves as God desires us to love ourselves, we’re not happy.
Yet, God calls us to be fully alive in Him. Remember that passage from Jesus:
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - John 10:10
This is an interesting statement from Jesus. Why would He join these 2 diametrically opposed statements together? He’s showing us what satan offers and what He offers.
God’s intention for you is fullness of life, but right now that life is opposed. God’s plan is the super, over flowing abundant life, but we must deal with an enemy who has a different agenda.
The world in which we live is a combat zone, a violent clash of kingdoms, a bitter struggle against evil forces who are determined to keep us from experiencing true life. We’re at war.
Satan’s goal is to utterly destroy, decimate, demolish, ravage, obliterate; wholly, completely, utterly destroy you and lead you to cause someone else to be destroyed. That’s what the first part of John 10:10 is getting at.
William Gurnall was a pastor in the 1600's, he wrote, “the devil has more temptations than an actor has costumes for the stage. And one of his all time favorite disguises is that of a lying spirit, to abuse your tender heart with the worst news he can deliver, that you do not really love Jesus Christ and that you are only pretending, you are only deceiving yourself.
We should have fullness of peace and joy.
To be fully alive is to be filled with an awesome awareness of how much God loves us.
It is to believe God’s intention towards us is always good, not evil.
To be fully alive is to be strengthened by God’s indwelling power.
To be fully alive is to be totally free from our sinful past and all of its guilt.
To be fully alive is to be trust in plan and purpose for our future.
To be fully alive is to demonstrate God’s wonder and awe.
it is to inspire others to become men and women of faith.
To be fully alive is to be fully accessible to God - His power, His purpose and His plan.
OK, we’re coming to the end of the this teaching for this week, but I want to end with good news. I want to end with 2 passages from Paul in the book of Colossians:
13 God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. - Colossians 1:13-14
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.
Yes, we’re at war . . . and we need to be prepared for war. But always remember, never forget we win the war, because of Christ’s sacrifice for you and I.
NEXT WEEK....We get deeper into our Spiritual Warfare and how satan is trying to destroy all of us. I love yo all:)
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
I love questions like this one because they come directly from someone who wants to know about Heaven and Earth.
"Can people in heaven look down and see us?"
Some see in Hebrews 12:1 the idea that people in heaven might be able to look down and see us: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. . . .” The “witnesses” are the heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11, and the fact that we are “surrounded” by them leads some commentators to understand those heroes (and possibly other people) are looking down on us from heaven.
The idea that people are looking down from heaven to see what we’re doing is common in popular culture. But, as much as we might like the notion that we’re being watched by our departed loved ones, that’s not what Hebrews 12:1 is teaching. Building on Hebrews 11, the author begins drawing up some practical lessons (that’s why chapter 12 begins with “Therefore”). The “witnesses” are the people whom God commends for their faith in chapter 11, and there is a large crowd of them in heaven. The question is, in what way are they “witnesses”?
The proper interpretation of Hebrews 12:1 is that the men and women forming the “great cloud of witnesses” are witness to the value of living life by faith. Their Old Testament stories give testimony to the blessings of choosing faith over fear. To paraphrase the start of Hebrews 12:1, “Since we have so many tried-and-true examples of proven faith . . . .” So, it’s not that people are in heaven watching us (as if our lives on earth are so interesting or they have nothing better to do!), but that those who have gone before us have set a lasting example for us. The record of their lives bears witness to faith and God and truth.
Hebrews 12:1 continues, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Because of the faith and endurance of believers who went before us, we are inspired to stay the course in our own race of faith. We follow the examples of Abraham and Moses and Rahab and Gideon and etc.
Some people point to the rich man’s mention of his brothers in Luke 16:28 as proof that departed souls (in Hades, at least) can see events on earth. However, the passage never says that the rich man could see his brothers; he knew he had brothers, and he knew they were unbelievers. Also, some people use Revelation 6:10 as a proof text: the tribulation martyrs call for God to avenge their deaths. Again, this passage says nothing about the martyrs seeing people on earth; it simply says that they knew they deserved justice and desired the Lord to take action.
The Bible doesn’t specifically say that people in heaven cannot look down on us, so we can’t be dogmatic. However, it is unlikely that they can. People in heaven are likely preoccupied with other things such as worshiping God and enjoying the glories of heaven.
Whether or not people in heaven can look down and see us, we are not running our race for them. We are not hoping for their approval or listening for their applause. Hebrews 12:2 keeps our focus where it belongs: “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Jesus is our blessed hope, no other (Titus 2:13).
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
We continue this week with our look into the workings and questions of the Bible....
How Do I Reconcile the Fact That the Bible Seems to Contradict Itself?
This really is a more specific form of the question “Why is the Bible so confusing?” God is God and we are not. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours. We are trying to understand his Word with very small and very depraved minds, so it should not surprise us that there seem to be contradictions in Scripture; rather, we should expect it. It is part of the exciting challenge of understanding the Bible.
There is a long history of claims that there are contradictions in the Bible. But it is important to note that none of these claims has been proven very convincing over time. This is not to say that all apparent contradictions have been clearly and unambiguously shown not to be contradictions at all. But it is safe to say that all claims of contradictions have been thoroughly examined and satisfactory explanations have been offered.
One classic example of a possible contradiction is what the apostle James wrote as compared to what the apostle Paul wrote. Numerous times, Paul vigorously argued that one is “justified” or made right with God by faith apart from works or anything that we do. For example, in Ephesians 2:8–9, he says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” But James writes: “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). At first glance, this seems to be a blatant contradiction. Paul says that we are justified by faith and not works. James says that we are justified by works in addition to faith.
In light of situations such as this, we need to remember something about the nature of the Bible that we have already discussed: its unity. This principle says that if God is the ultimate author of Scripture, and if God does not contradict himself (his thoughts are perfect), nor does he deceive anyone (he is a God of integrity and truthfulness), then no contradictions will be found in the written Word of God. Neither will any human author of Scripture contradict any other human author of Scripture because God, through the Holy Spirit, guided all of them to write what they wrote. This, however, does not rule out apparent contradictions. These are called paradoxes, things that seem to be contradictory but are not.
An important principle for interpreting the Bible, called “the analogy of faith,” is that we should use Scripture to interpret Scripture. By this method, we use clearer Scriptures to help explain more ambiguous Scriptures, such as apparent contradictions. So if we apply this principle to the issue between Paul and James, we will discover that the clear and consistent teaching of Scripture is that an individual is saved or “justified before God” by faith or belief alone. Paul says this over and over again through his letters (e.g., Romans 3:20–28; 5:1; Galatians 2:16; 3:11). Other New Testament authors would agree (see John 1:12; 3:15–18; Acts 16:30–31). Theologically, the concept of grace would rule out anything that we might do to “deserve” or “earn” salvation; grace and works are mutually exclusive ideas (Galatians 5:4). So Scripture is clear that salvation is indeed by faith alone apart from works.
So is James wrong? Does he contradict Paul and other biblical writers? On closer examination, the answer to both of these questions becomes apparent—no. The broader context of what James wrote (James 2:14–26) indicates that he had a different concern in mind than Paul did, namely, he is writing to Christians who think that since salvation is by grace and received by faith alone, they can live any way they want to. James, then, is writing to show that the kind of faith that results in salvation demonstrates that it is genuine, gives evidence that it is true faith.
This is the nature of the works that James says must accompany faith. They are not good works in order for one to be saved, but rather good works that a Christian does because he or she has been saved. His two examples show this: Abraham believed God (James 2:23, which quotes Genesis 15:6) and then demonstrated the genuineness of his faith when he was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac (James 2:21–22, alluding to Genesis 22:1–14). Rahab believed God, and then she protected the spies of Israel (James 2:25).
James would agree with Paul that salvation is by faith alone apart from works. He just takes an additional step to clarify that the kind of faith that saves also shows itself through good works. And Paul would agree with James about that. Read Titus 3:4–8 to see how Paul makes both of these important points in one context: “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done … having been justified by his grace … so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.”
So what do you do when the Bible seems to contradict itself? First, trust that this is indeed only an apparent contradiction—not a real contradiction. Second, realize that apparent contradictions are often simply misinterpretations of Scripture. So again, we should be motivated to interpret Scripture correctly. The next chapter addresses this important topic.
Even a theological giant like Martin Luther believed that James was contradicting Paul and Luther’s beloved (and correct!) doctrine of justification by faith alone. As a result, he did not think the book of James deserved to be in the New Testament canon. He called James an “epistle of straw,” that is, not worth much! Even theological giants don’t understand everything perfectly.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
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