Post by Les Brewer on Mar 17, 2012 14:30:10 GMT
Calvary's Cross Ministries
Preaching Christ Crucified I Cor.1:18-25
From the Pastor's desk and heart...
The Whole Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10-20
"...above all,taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one."
A shield is for protection from the attacks of the enemy,in this case,Satan and all of his spirits of wickedness.God Almighty Himself is our shield of protection against any and all of the arsenal of Satan.God told Abraham,the patriarch of faith in God,in Genesis 15:1,"Do not be afraid,Abram (anyone's name can fit here),I am your shield,your exceeding great reward." If we are to believe the word of the Lord,then we can believe and take this as a promise of God for our lives.He is our shield and our final reward.
You know? Alot of trials and tribulations await the child of God in this life,we are not exempt from problems,but if our faith is in God and His promises to us,Satan will not be victorious in our lives.We may get knocked down,but God will pick us up,brush us off,forgive us,and establish our goings.He will plant our feet back onto the ROCK of His Son,Jesus.
There is alot of talk and teaching today about faith.The faith of Islam,the faith of Mormonism,the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses,the Word of Faith movement that says,"have faith in your faith" and "have the faith of God",the faith of the New Age Movement,which is faith in yourself,believing in the god that you are.Are any of these belief systems legitimate ways to fellowship with God? The short answer is,no! If it doesn't square with Scripture it is to be thrown out as false teaching,regardless of who is teaching it.
Jesus told the disciples in Mark 11:22,"have faith in God." The question now becomes,"which God?" The gods of Hinduism? The god of the Watchtower Organization,the god of Islam,the god of the Church of the Latter Day Saints,etc.etc. Which one?
Even in the book of Hebrews 11:6,it tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God.So,what is faith?Hebrews 11:1 gives us the definition:"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,the evidence of things not seen." Our faith must not be established in anything except Christ Jesus our Lord,and what He accomplished for us at the Cross.We must understand that,faith must have as it's basis, someone who keeps His promises and fulfills His word.There is only one God who can do this,the God of the Bible.This is where the rub comes in,we are looked upon as being narrow minded and out of touch with reality,if we believe there is only one faith and one God and One way to get to this God.
We can place our faith in anything we like,this is our perogative,it is our choice.But we must be willing to accept responsibility for our choices.Faith in anything or anyone except in the God of the Bible is a fools hope and will ultimately end in disaster.There is a such thing as dead faith.
A person can be very sincere in their beliefs,for example: The Watchtower Organization (Jehovah's Witnesses) are very sincere in their mission of going from door to door,and handing out their literature.When they speak to you about whatever subject is on the books for that day,they are very sincere.They sincerely believe that they are the only true people of God on earth today and everyone else is wrong and headed for annihilation,if they don't become a member of their Organization.Their faith has been transferred from faith in Christ and what He did at the cross for them,to trusting in the Organization for salvation.Anyone who places their faith in anything other than Jesus Christ and the cross,no matter how sincere they are,is not trusting God,they are trusting in that object,whatever it may be.A person can be sincere and at the same time be sincerely wrong in their beliefs.Sincerity is not the standard by which we are judged.Truth is the standard established in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus said in John 14:1," Let not your heart be troubled;you believe in God,believe also in Me." By making this statement,Jesus was equating Himself with Diety,with the God of all creation,Jehovah Himself.How can this be,you may ask?We all know that we are to have faith in God alone and nothing else.So,either Jesus is the true God of the Bible,and we can trust Him for salvation,or He was attempting to lead people astray from the true God.There is only three conclusions a person can make about this statement:1.) He was lying,or, 2.) He was insane, or, 3.) He was telling the truth.Which do you choose? I'll take the third choice.
Child of God,you can place your faith firmly upon Jesus Christ and He will become your shield of faith and quench all the fiery darts of Satan,or you can trust something else,it your choice.I pray you make the right choice.....Tomorrow,we will look at the Helmet of Salvation.........Until then,be blessed in the Lord....JW
Preaching Christ Crucified I Cor.1:18-25
From the Pastor's desk and heart...
The Whole Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10-20
"...above all,taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one."
A shield is for protection from the attacks of the enemy,in this case,Satan and all of his spirits of wickedness.God Almighty Himself is our shield of protection against any and all of the arsenal of Satan.God told Abraham,the patriarch of faith in God,in Genesis 15:1,"Do not be afraid,Abram (anyone's name can fit here),I am your shield,your exceeding great reward." If we are to believe the word of the Lord,then we can believe and take this as a promise of God for our lives.He is our shield and our final reward.
You know? Alot of trials and tribulations await the child of God in this life,we are not exempt from problems,but if our faith is in God and His promises to us,Satan will not be victorious in our lives.We may get knocked down,but God will pick us up,brush us off,forgive us,and establish our goings.He will plant our feet back onto the ROCK of His Son,Jesus.
There is alot of talk and teaching today about faith.The faith of Islam,the faith of Mormonism,the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses,the Word of Faith movement that says,"have faith in your faith" and "have the faith of God",the faith of the New Age Movement,which is faith in yourself,believing in the god that you are.Are any of these belief systems legitimate ways to fellowship with God? The short answer is,no! If it doesn't square with Scripture it is to be thrown out as false teaching,regardless of who is teaching it.
Jesus told the disciples in Mark 11:22,"have faith in God." The question now becomes,"which God?" The gods of Hinduism? The god of the Watchtower Organization,the god of Islam,the god of the Church of the Latter Day Saints,etc.etc. Which one?
Even in the book of Hebrews 11:6,it tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God.So,what is faith?Hebrews 11:1 gives us the definition:"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,the evidence of things not seen." Our faith must not be established in anything except Christ Jesus our Lord,and what He accomplished for us at the Cross.We must understand that,faith must have as it's basis, someone who keeps His promises and fulfills His word.There is only one God who can do this,the God of the Bible.This is where the rub comes in,we are looked upon as being narrow minded and out of touch with reality,if we believe there is only one faith and one God and One way to get to this God.
We can place our faith in anything we like,this is our perogative,it is our choice.But we must be willing to accept responsibility for our choices.Faith in anything or anyone except in the God of the Bible is a fools hope and will ultimately end in disaster.There is a such thing as dead faith.
A person can be very sincere in their beliefs,for example: The Watchtower Organization (Jehovah's Witnesses) are very sincere in their mission of going from door to door,and handing out their literature.When they speak to you about whatever subject is on the books for that day,they are very sincere.They sincerely believe that they are the only true people of God on earth today and everyone else is wrong and headed for annihilation,if they don't become a member of their Organization.Their faith has been transferred from faith in Christ and what He did at the cross for them,to trusting in the Organization for salvation.Anyone who places their faith in anything other than Jesus Christ and the cross,no matter how sincere they are,is not trusting God,they are trusting in that object,whatever it may be.A person can be sincere and at the same time be sincerely wrong in their beliefs.Sincerity is not the standard by which we are judged.Truth is the standard established in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus said in John 14:1," Let not your heart be troubled;you believe in God,believe also in Me." By making this statement,Jesus was equating Himself with Diety,with the God of all creation,Jehovah Himself.How can this be,you may ask?We all know that we are to have faith in God alone and nothing else.So,either Jesus is the true God of the Bible,and we can trust Him for salvation,or He was attempting to lead people astray from the true God.There is only three conclusions a person can make about this statement:1.) He was lying,or, 2.) He was insane, or, 3.) He was telling the truth.Which do you choose? I'll take the third choice.
Child of God,you can place your faith firmly upon Jesus Christ and He will become your shield of faith and quench all the fiery darts of Satan,or you can trust something else,it your choice.I pray you make the right choice.....Tomorrow,we will look at the Helmet of Salvation.........Until then,be blessed in the Lord....JW
