Friday 17 December 2021

The Double-Edged Sword

 Scripture: Hebrews 4 v 12 - 13: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."

A double-edged sword is a formidable weapon that cuts both ways causing considerable amount of damage.  God has given us an even more powerful weapon in the form of His Word, the Bible, and His Son, also known as The Word.

The Word is quick.  The old English word 'quick' means ALIVE.  It is a living word.  When we read the Bible the words we read come alive within our soul even separating it from our spirit.  This is a necessary surgery because our spirit is redeemed but we must still consciously bring our souls into submission to the Lord.

Our souls contain all the sin, rebellion, rejection, anger, frustration, violence, addictions, deceit, corruption etc that caused our spirit to be separated from God.
Philippians 2 v 11 - 12: "And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
 12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

We must work out the salvation of our souls with fear and trembling!  To be reunited with our spirit which is now seated in Christ in Heavenly places, we must overcome Satan our enemy who controls our souls, emotions, intellect and will.  We must actively work against him, learn how to defeat him and apply this knowledge to have the victory.  Jesus cannot go against our own will.  The best He could do was free our will so that we can make the right choice.

Through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, rejected by some as unnecessary, we are equipped to deal with the enemy within.  When we are living the life of a believer we will be able to help others to get free.  

Mark 16 v 15 - 17: "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;"

Every believer is expected to preach the gospel to everyone, make sure they are baptized by immersion in water.  Baby baptism or Christening is not a Biblical truth and counts for nothing in the salvation of our souls.  The person must be old enough to make a choice about his or her beliefs and then immediately be baptized in water. 

Acts 16 v 29 - 33: "Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway."

Baptism in water buries the old sinful part of you so that the righteous nature of Jesus which hates sin comes alive in you.  This gives you a spiritual boost that helps the double-edged sword of the Word to work powerfully within you.  It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of your heart. 

God knows everything about us, even the number of hairs on our head.  He knows our every thought and motive and intention.  Nothing is hidden.  This is the only way He can fix us.  He discovers all this when we are reading His Word.  His living word that shines a light into every concealed nook and watches us tremble with fear.  He then pours out His love and mercy to heal us and take away all guilt and shame.

So do not neglect to work with Him on your own damaged soul.  The enemy hates it because it exposes all his lies and evil plus sets the captives free.  Free to tell others about those very lies that keep them in bondage.  

Our God reigns and flashes that amazing double-edged sword whenever we study and heed His Word.  Jesus Himself was in a major sword fight against Satan when He fasted forty days in the wilderness.  He was tempted to take control of all the kingdoms on Earth in exchange for giving Satan control of the universe.  He would not have to die to have all our souls.  Just let Satan win ultimate power.  Jesus gave that evil one a thrust of the sword with Matthew 4 v 10:
"Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

In all He says and does, Jesus is giving us examples of how to conquer the enemy.  He says its not by might or power but by His Spirit.  Satan is a spirit and we cannot fight him with bullets, whips, or tanks.  We are also spirit beings which have to learn from Jesus how to defeat him.

When we have Jesus in our hearts and are filled with the Holy Spirit, we have all the power we need.  Satan and his demons are very afraid of this power although they try to fool us with an illusion of their superior strength.  If we panic and show fear, we lose.  If we use Godly authority and rebuke Satan in the name of Jesus, we win.  

We have the power to withstand him.  We have the full armour of God upon us, he has nothing but a voice full of lies.  We are hidden in the Rock which is Jesus, whom Satan has to conquer to get to us.  Satan only has his pride to protect himself.  Jesus defeated him when He rose from death.  We are also resurrected in Him.  We must just get a grip and use who we are in Christ to show that big mouth the door.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we worship You in Spirit and truth for all the provision You have made to help us escape from captivity.  We are redeemed but need Your double-edged sword to set us completely free to help others come into Your eternal kingdom.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.