Ephesians 6:13-17
Hebrews 4:9-12
The irony of ironies is this:
Rest is the result of obedience.
The Bible is not just any book. It has remained on this earth since the ancient of days. The Bible has changed the world.
Why?
The sword of the Spirit: Word of God.
The Word of God is special, the Old Testament being translated from Hebrew and the New from Greek. There is no major preaching of the Word of God, so we don't have to worry whether we need to learn Hebrew or Greek.
Logos means word in Greek, but when the Bible says Word of God it means Rhema.
The Word of God is this arsenal, this stockpile of weapons.
But the Word of God, the sword of this Spirit, is the deployment of that weapon into a specific situatio.
The sword is the truth of the Word of God applies by the Spirit and followed obediently by us in a specific situation where the enemy is attempting to deceive us and rob God's rest from us.
Each time Jesus was tested, how did he respond? It is written. He responded with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God fro that situation.
Matthew 4:1-11
When Jesus was fasting the devil came and tempted him, each time Jesus responded with the Word of God to rebuke the devil.
A fighter has his sword, he has it with him everyday. And his sword becomes an extention of himself, giving him a longer reach.
Paul says to take up the sword of the Spirit.
The word "free" in John 8:32 and the word "rest" in Hebrews 4:11 (both of which are so appealing) ultimately refer to the same thing - we all hunger for both.
The fulfillment of those desires hinge on one condition. "If you abide in my word."
To abide in God's Word is to have it regularly be part of our lives. It is to train like a soldier with God's Word so that when the attack comes, God's Spirit has something to apply to our situation.
The sword is so sharp it penetrates the body.
Often we do not pray or read the Word or do other things that posiition us to be close to Jesus to hear Him because we don't want to change.
When it comes down to it, we don't want to be told what to do.
Obedience is not a negative word.
John 14:15
Luke 11:28
Matthew 7:24
They take up the sword and put it into practice.
Obedience is the invitation of the Father because He longs for what is best for us. And, in this case, Father really does know best.
God restricts things to protect us; He demands things to mature us; He allows things to shake us - all for our good.
Romans 8:28, 31
Rarely, if ever, does God reveal how He is going to use our obedience to do things He has promised.
Almost always obedience preceeds actual understanding
We have to take up the sword of the Spirit - meaning we have to be will to both learn God's Word and apply God's Word to our lives.
Knowledge does not equal power.
Knowledge is what is inside us.
Main thing: a fully developing follower of Jesus seeks to in an increasing way to live by the God's Word.
Why? So we can enter the rest of God - so we can stand against the enemy during this day of evil - so we can know deeply the truth that sets us free - so we can have a life built solid foundation on a that will stand strong when the storms of life hit.
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