The Armor of God to Battle Satan #5
The Helmet of Salvation - the Mind of Christ!
THE ARMOR OF GOD TO BATTLE SATAN #5
"And take the helmet of salvation" - Ephesians 6:17
The head and so the brain, and so the mind, is of vital
importance if we are going into battle against Satan and his
fiery darts of destruction. If the enemy can control your mind,
or put it another way, if you are not mentally on the mark,
mentally sound, mentally sharp as we say, then you are
immediately at a great disadvantage in opposing someone as wily
and cunning and deceptive as the Devil. Why it is written that he
and his helpers can come looking like an angel of light (2
Corinthians 11:13-15).
Jesus told us that before He came again to earth, deception
would be so great that IF it was possible even the very elect
would be deceived (Mat.24:24).
John in his day, said that many anti-Christs were present
(1 John 2:18). Jude in the first century, had to exhort the
saints to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints
(Jude 3-4). The grace of God was already in his day being turned
into a licence to sin.
The apostle Paul had to tell his readers that the mystery of
iniquity was already at work (2 Thes.2:7).
If deception and iniquity coming in the name of "Christ" was
already at work and even abounding, coming as looking like angels
of light, in the days of the first apostles, then pray tell what
so-called "Christianity" must be like today, two thousand year
later.
Most of us grow up in a ready-made world. We are taught
things from being an infant that the popular Christianity says is
truth or Biblical. Most of us do not question the customs and
teachings of the "churches" we may grow up in. I went to a Church
of England school from grade one to grade twelve. Fortunately
with our school Bible reading, we were not taught "doctrine" as
such. We did read the Bible and we did have to recite some Psalms
and the Ten Commandments as found in Exodus 20, the full version.
I never heard it from one mouth of any Church of England priests
or any Sunday school teacher, from age 5 to 18 (when I left
England and came to Canada) that Sunday was the first day of the
week. I knew what the 4th commandment said in full form. I
presumed that Christianity was observing the 4th commandment as
written. Until I came to Canada and found out differently, I
believed Christianity was observing the 7th day of the week!
WHAT A SHOCK when I found out at age 18 that Christianity
was observing the 1st day of the week. I had taken things for
granted all those years. It was another SHOCK to go to the Public
Library and read a book by a Roman Catholic Bishop called
"Christian Feasts and Customs" in which he openly stated that
customs like observing Christmas and Easter and many other feasts
and days, were not observed by the first century Church of God.
This RC Bishop explained in clear language where all these so-
called "Christian" feasts came from, and it was NOT the Bible!
Well my mind at age 18 was being blown apart as we may say,
but really it was God who was opening up my mind as never before,
because I had grown up in a ready made world, and had accepted
things as they were present in my culture and society.
If the enemy can get to our mind, have influence over it in
whatever way, have control over it, then the battle, is really
lost before we begin, because then we will not have the correct
strong shield of faith, we will not have the correct strong
breastplate of true righteousness, and we shall not be wrapped in
the clothes of truth.
The mind is where the battle is won or lost. With the wrong
mind-set we will not even know we are in a battle with Satan. We
will think we are just fine, we will not even know we are in
DECEPTION and following a lie! And so it is as the New Testament
makes clear (see Romans chapter 9 to 11) - all are in deception,
blinded to the truths of God, until the blindness is removed,
until God calls us as part of the "election of grace" - and the
rest are blinded to spiritual truth.
I cannot over state that the MIND, has to be protected by
the helmet of salvation. If Satan can win your mind, he wins the
battle, and you have lost!
HERE IN THE WORDS OF OTHERS IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MIND!!
At the Wright Patterson Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio,
researchers hope they will develop the means for pilots to fly
airplanes with their minds. The project is called brain-actuated
control.
Writers Ron Kotulak and Jon Van say this is how it could work.
The pilot would wear scalp monitors that pick up electrical
signals from various points on his head. The scalp monitors would
be wired to a computer. Using biofeedback techniques, the pilot
would learn to manipulate the electrical activity created by his
or her thought processes. The computer would translate the
electrical signals into mechanical commands for the airplane.
Imagine being able to bank an airplane's wings, accelerate, and
climb another ten thousand feet, all by controlling what you
think.
Although controlling airplanes with the mind is yet to be
developed, our mind already has tremendous control of one thing:
our behavior. Our thoughts sooner or later lead to our actions.
......
According to an October 29, 1994, story from the Reuters news
agency, a Chinese woman named Zhang Meihua began to suffer
mysterious symptoms when she turned twenty She was losing the
ability to nimbly move her legs and arms. Doctors could not find
the cause, and the symptoms continued.
Two decades passed, and Zhang began to also suffer from chronic
headaches. Again she sought help from the doctors. This time a
CAT scan and an X ray found the source of the woman's mysterious
symptoms. A rusty pin was lodged in her head. The head of the pin
was outside the skull, and the shaft penetrated into her brain.
Doctors performed surgery and successfully extracted the pin.
The Xinhua news agency reported the doctors expressed amazement
that the woman "could live for so long a time with a rusty pin
stuck in her brain." After noting the position of the pin in her
skull, they speculated that the pin had entered her skull
sometime soon after birth and before her skull had hardened.
Zhang, now fully recovered, said she "had no memory of being
pierced by a pin in the head."
Like the rusty pin in that woman's brain, unwholesome thoughts,
bad attitudes, and painful memories can lodge in our minds and
cause chronic problems. God tells us to renew our minds.
......
From "750 Engaging Illustrations" by Craig Larson
......
Someone Once Said ...
* The most important things in life are the thoughts you choose
to think.
Marcus Aurelius
* I think, therefore I am.
Decartes
* It doubtless is true that people become what they think about.
Gary R. Collins
* All mortals tend to turn into the thing they are pretending to be.
C. S. Lewis
* If I knew what you think, I would know what you are. Our
thoughts make us what we are.
Dale Carnegie
* A man is what he thinks about all day long.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
* Our life is what our thoughts make it.
Marcus Aurelius
* For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
Proverbs 23:7
......
THE BATTLE GROUND
* Every temptation comes to us via our thoughts.
Erwin Lutzer
* The mind of man is the battleground on which every moral and
spiritual battle is fought.
J. Oswald Sanders
* Our defeat or victory begins with what we think, and if we
guard our thoughts we shall not have much trouble anywhere else
along the line.
Vance Havner
* Self-control is primarily mind-control.
John Stott
* Every kidnapping was once a thought. Every extramarital affair
was first a fantasy.
Leslie Flynn
MORE QUOTES:
* It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use
it well.
* For 2,400 years, ever since Hippocrates located the seat of the
intellect inside the skull, the mind has been forced to admit
that its greatest achievements, its loftiest thoughts, its
deepest emotions all arise from something with the consistency of
Jell-O and the color of day-old slush.
Newsweek
* A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that
people are still thinking.
Jerry Seinfeld
......
DEPRESSION AND THE MIND
In his book Learned Optimism, Professor Martin Seligman makes a
case for considering depression as arising, not from misplaced
chemicals or lingering childhood trauma, but from negative
thinking. Summarizing the research of Joseph Wolpe and Tim Beck,
Seligman explained how cognitive therapy began to be considered a
treatment for mental illness.
"Depression is nothing more than its symptoms," writes Seligman.
"It is caused by conscious negative thoughts. There is no deep
underlying disorder to be rooted out: not unresolved childhood
conflicts, not our unconscious anger, and not even our brain
chemistry. Emotion comes directly from what we think: Think `I am
in danger' and you feel anxiety. Think `I am being trespassed
against' and you feel anger. Think `loss' and you feel
sadness....
"Depression results from lifelong habits of conscious thought. If
we change these habits of thought, we will cure depression."
(Some would no doubt not fully agree with Seligman. He probably
has some truth in what he states, but I think depression can and
is often caused by misplaced chemicals - Keith Hunt)
......
MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr SEAT
In the "Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.", Dr.King tells
of growing up in Atlanta, Georgia:
I remember another experience I used to have in Atlanta. I went
to high school on the other side of town - to the Booker T
Washington High School. I had to get the bus in what was known as
the Fourth Ward and ride over to the West Side. In those days,
rigid patterns of segregation existed on the buses, so that
Negroes had to sit in the backs of buses. Whites were seated in
the front, and often if whites didn't get on the buses, those
seats were still reserved for whites only, so Negroes had to
stand over empty seats. I would end up having to go to the back
of that bus with my body, but every time I got on that bus I left
my mind up on the front seat. And I said to myself, "One of these
days, I'm going to put my body up there where my mind is." And he
did.
Our bodies always end up where our minds are.
......
SPURGEON'S CONFESSION
Charles Spurgeon once made a remarkably honest confession to his
congregation. In a sermon entitled "The Power of the Holy Ghost,"
he said: I hope that my will is managed by Divine Grace. But I am
afraid my imagination is not at times. Those who have a fair
share of imagination know what a difficult thing it is to
control. You cannot restrain it.... My imagination has taken me
down to the vilest kennels and sewers of earth. It has given me
thoughts so dreadful that, while I could not avoid them, yet I
was thoroughly horrified by them. These thoughts will come; and
when I feel in the holiest frame, the most devoted to God, and
the most earnest in prayer, it often happens that that is the
very time when the plague breaks out the worst.
......
GARBAGE
Leslie Flynn tells of a mother who was peeling vegetables for a
salad when her daughter, home from college, casually mentioned
she was going to a questionable movie that evening. The mother
suddenly picked up a handful of garbage and threw it in the
salad. "Mother!" said the shocked girl. "You're putting garbage
in the salad." "I know," replied the mother, "but I thought that
if you didn't mind garbage in your mind, you certainly wouldn't
mind a little in your stomach."
......
The Power of Suggestion
Franz Anton Mesmer was the talk of Paris in the 1780s. In spite
of his training as a physician, he held the unorthodox view that
a mysterious magnetic power permeates the universe and resides in
human bodies. Treatment of disease, he proposed, could best be
done by using magnetic forces from the environment to restore the
patient's "magnetic equilibrium." Such view put Mesmer into
conflict with the medical profession in his native Vienna, but
laypeople were intrigued with the theory.
When the doctor moved to France, his reputation preceded him and
soon patients were flocking to experience magnetic treatments.
It wasn't easy to treat so many people on a one-to-one basis, so
Mesmer developed a group technique. As many as thirty people
would come at a time and sit around a large wooden tub known as a
"baquet." The baquet was filled with water, ground glass, iron
filings, and long metal rods that extended from the tub and were
grabbed at one end by the patients. According to Mesmer, the
magnetic fluid in the baquet somehow came to the people through
the rods and led to all kinds of physical cures.
Mesmer did what he could to make the healing sessions
impressive and emotionally powerful. Soft music played in the
background. The room was dimly lit and thickly draped.
Mesmer himself demanded silence when he entered the room. Often
he wore a long flowing lilac silk robe, and walked about,
touching the afflicted body parts with a long iron wand and
making magnetic "mesmeric passes" as he waved his free hand
through the air.
A few people had no response to this dramatic treatment, but many
thought they felt forces moving through their bodies, and some
went into prolonged convulsions. These involved jerking of the
body, apparent dreaminess or stupor, and some times piercing
cries. Mesmer's followers called this experience "the crisis" and
claimed that it brought great healing.
But King Louis XVI wasn't so easily convinced and undoubtedly His
Majesty's interest in Mesmer was sparked by secret reports that
some mesmerites had radical political ideas. To investigate, the
king appointed a Royal Commission and declared that it would be
chaired by the American ambassador to France, a man named
Benjamin Franklin.
The commissioners went to work with enthusiasm, conducting
experiments and interviewing Mesmer's patients. After careful
study, it was concluded that body magnetism did not exist, that
the banquet fluid had no power, and that convulsions and
proclaimed cures came as a result of the creative imagination of
Mesmer and his highly suggestible followers. Shortly after the
report was issued, Mesmer left France and the mesmerizes went
underground, but a half-century later mesmerism reemerged in a
more sophisticated form and with a new name - hypnosis.
......
AS A MAN THINKS ...
One of history's sharpest minds belonged to Thomas Edison, the
great inventor. Despite only three months of formal schooling,
Edison and his inventions changed the world forever.
His secret? "One percent inspiration and 99 percent
perspiration," as he put it; and he proved his definition by
working days at a time, obsessed with his projects, neglecting
family and friends, and stopping only for short catnaps. Failure
never seemed to discourage him. When about ten thousand
experiments with a storage battery failed to produce results, a
friend tried to console him. "Why, I have not failed," Edison
quipped. "I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
Of all his inventions, perhaps the most famous is the electric
light. He devised the prototype, then spent two years looking for
the right filament, sending associates to the jungles of the
Amazon and to the forests of Japan. He even tried strands of red
hair from a friend's beard. Finally, he utilized carbonized
thread, and it worked! The world gained electric lights.
Our light bulbs today have three parts to them. There is the
glass itself - the bulb surrounding the filament. Inside the bulb
is a mixture of gases, commonly argon and nitrogen. Finally, in
the very center of the bulb, is the filament. Most filaments
today are made of a very tough metal, and when electricity flows
through them, they become very hot - about 4,500 degrees - making
them glow and give off light.
Light bulbs bear a fascinating resemblance to you and me. There
is the outside covering, the glass bulb, the body - the part
people see. Inside, like invisible gases within the bulb, are our
personalities. And at the very center of it all is that part of
us that glows and enlightens - the human mind.
The mind is the sum and substance, the axis and pivot, of our
existence. It is the base of operations, the core of our
humanity. Our minds are the most important things about us, and
our lives are simply the overflow of our thoughts.
Dale Carnegie was once asked on a radio program, "What is the
biggest lesson you have ever learned?" He quickly replied, "By
far the most vital lesson I have ever learned is the importance
of what we think. If I knew what you think, I would know what you
are. Our thoughts make us what we are. Our mental attitude is the
X-factor that determines our fate. Emerson said: "A man is what
he thinks about all day long. How could he possibly be anything
else?"
Why? An old maxim states: "Thoughts produce acts, acts produce
habits, and habits produce character." The Roman philosopher
Marcus Aurelius said, "Our life is what our thoughts make it." Or
as the Bible puts it, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he."
(Proverbs 23:7)
......
THE CAULIFLOWER JEWEL
Each of us owns a jewel far more valuable than any displayed in
the window of Cartier's or Tiffany's. It's a three-pound blob of
grey pulp resembling a rotting cauliflower.
Unimpressed?
This jewel is the most incredible creation in God's universe, a
fabulous, living supercomputer with unfathomable circuitry and
unimaginable complexity. It is the human mind - a collection of
billions of neurones, each as complex as a small computer. Imagine
having 100 billion computers inside your skull!
Each of these neurones consists of a central nerve-cell core
attached to a long tail and several thousand wispy dendrites.
These dendrites reach out to make contact with other dendrites,
and the number of connection points between these dendrites
is perhaps one quadrillion in every human brain. According to one
writer, the number of connections within one human brain rivals
the number of stars and galaxies in all the universe.
That's not all, for each of these connection points is itself a
marvel of complexity. The dendrites don't actually touch each
other, but they efficiently and rapidly pass messages to each
other through the form of electrical and chemical impulses in a
series of processes that takes less than one-thousandth of a
second.
"All of this is so complex," said one scientist, "that the brain
cannot even begin to comprehend its own complexity."
What a jewel!
I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT YOU
When Harry Truman became president, he worried about losing touch
with common, everyday Americans, so he would often go out and be
among them. Those were in simpler days when the President could
take a walk like everyone else. One evening, Truman decided to
take a walk down to the Memorial Bridge on the Potomac River.
When there, he became curious about the mechanism that raised and
lowered the middle span of the bridge. He made his way across the
cat walks and through the inner workings of the bridge, and
suddenly he came upon the bridge tender, eating his evening
supper out of a tin bucket.
The man showed absolutely no surprise when he looked up and saw
the best known and most powerful man in the world. He just
swallowed his food, wiped his mouth, smiled, and said, "You know,
Mr.President, I was just thinking of you."
It was a greeting that Truman adored and never forgot.
Wouldn't it be wonderful, if Jesus Christ were to suddenly appear
before us physically or come suddenly in the cloud, if we could
say, "You know, Lord, I was just thinking of you."
......
THE HARBOR
The Bible describes our minds by using the figure of a ship
looking for a harbor. Though you may be unable to keep
disease-ridden ships from sailing back and forth on the ocean,
you can refuse them docking privileges in the harbor of your
mind.
* Jeremiah 4:14 says, "How long will you harbor your evil
thoughts?" (NLT)
* Deuteronomy 15:9 says, "Be careful not to harbor this wicked
thought." (NIV)
* Job talks about those who harbor resentment in their hearts.
* The Psalmist talks about those who harbor malice in the minds.
* James talks about those who allow bitter envy and selfish
ambition to harbor within them.
* Jesus conveyed the same basic idea when asking, "Why do you
entertain evil thoughts in your minds?" (Matthew 9:4-NIV)
* Paul had the same thought in mind when he said, "Clothe
yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how
to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (Romans 13:14-NIV)
......
FROM JOHN SPURGEON'S "John Ploughman"
Some will say they cannot help having bad thoughts; that may be,
but the question is, do they hate them or not? Vain thoughts will
knock at the door, but we must not open to them. Though sinful
thoughts rise, they must not reign. He who turns a morsel over
and over in his mouth, does so because he likes the flavor, and
he who meditates upon evil, loves it, and is ripe to commit it.
Snails leave their slime behind them, and so do vain thoughts.
Good thoughts are blessed guests, and should be heartily
welcomed, well fed, and much sought after. Like rose leaves, they
give out a sweet smell if laid up in the jar of memory. They
cannot be too much cultivated; they are a crop which enriches the
soil.
......
PEPSI OR SEVEN-UP?
Suppose you have a sponge and a pitcher of Pepsi Cola. If you dip
your sponge into Pepsi and squeeze it, what's going to come out?
Seven-up? No, when you squeeze a sponge soaked in Pepsi, Pepsi is
going to gush out of it.
If you saturate your mind with questionable movies, videos,
magazines, novels, music, and entertainments, do you think that
holiness and happiness and godliness will flow out?
......
GLASS HIVES
When I was a child my parents took me to the Tennessee Valley
Fair to ride the rides and see the exhibits. One of the most
interesting displays was the honeybees in glass hives. There
appeared to be thousands of bees, all of them hustling and
bustling in frantic activity beneath the pane of glass that
covered their colony. The bee keeper showed us the queen and
explained about the workers, the guards, and the drones, every
one of them oblivious to the fact that their every move was being
observed by a higher intelligence.
In the same way, our heads, are like glass hives and God sees
every hustling, bustling thought buzzing through our brains. None
are hidden from Him.
* 1 Chronicles 28:9 - The Lord searches all hearts and
understands all the intents of the thoughts.
* Psalm 7:9 - The righteous God tests the hearts and minds.
* Psalm 94:11 - The Lord knows the thoughts of man.
* Psalm 139:1 - 0 Lord, You have searched me and known me. You
know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought
afar off.
* Jeremiah 11:20 - 0 Lord of hosts, You who judge righteously,
testing the mind and the heart....
* Jeremiah 12:3 - But You, O Lord, know me; You have seen me, and
You have tested my heart toward you.
* Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart (is) deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the
heart, I test the mind. . . .
* Jeremiah 20:12 - 0 Lord of hosts, You who test the righteous
and see the mind and heart ...
* Ezekiel 11:5 - Thus says the Lord: ... I know the things that
come into your mind. . . .
* Revelation 2:23 - I am He who searches the minds and hearts.
* Hebrews 4:12-13 - For the word of God is living and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is
no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and
open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
* Matthew 12:25 - But Jesus knew their thoughts....
......
From "Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes" by Robert Morgan
......
"LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU, WHICH WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS"
(Philippians 2:5)
......
And the above verse is the key to it all. It is allowing
Jesus into your mind through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Actually through the Spirit BOTH the Father and Christ come to
dwell in us (John 14:23).
So if they are in us, then we will think as they think, not
as unconverted humans think, not as our self-guided emotions
think, but as the Father and Christ think!
Let me give you just ONE example. For people living in North
America, the celebration of "Thanksgiving Day" is an automatic
custom so ingrained in most people, that to NOT celebrate that
day on the calendar of the USA or Canada (those countries keep it
at different calendar dates) would be by most, considered
practically as "unrighteousness" or sin! I have given you a study
on this Website that shows the origin of that day, which is no
different than the Christian world observing December 25th as
Christ's birthday party. It may all be dressed in nice platitudes
and fancy clothes but the bottom line is that Satan has used
these adopted customs, invented by man, to HIDE the TRUE
Festivals of God. Why would you want to observe the "thanksgiving
festival" of the Feast of Tabernacles, when you have
"Thanksgiving Day"? Such man made, out of the minds of men, who
were not looking in the Bible to see when a Thanksgiving Festival
should be held to praise and honor God, is just not looking at it
the way God's mind looks at it. The Father has already
established a thanksgiving festival, thousands of years ago, that
His people should be observing.
When you look at the festival customs of a Christian world
that has adopted and "made up" a whole bunch of festivals
(depending how many according to if you are Roman Catholic or
Protestant) out of their own thoughts and minds, then you put
aside the mind of God (who has already given His mind on what
Festivals are His - Leviticus 23) to observe the traditions of
men, that lay aside the commandments of God (see what Jesus said
about that in Mark 7).
Having the MIND of Christ, the MIND of the Father, is
finding out what is THEIR mind, buy reading their mind as written
down in all the books and verses of the entire Bible. You can
then win the battle against Satan, and having the mind of God
naturally leads us into the next piece of armor - the Sword of
the Spirit, which is the WORD of God!
...........................
Keith Hunt (written on the last holy day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, April 2009)
The Armor of God to Battle Satan #6
The Sword of the Word!
THE ARMOR OF GOD TO BATTLE SATAN #6
"...and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"
(Ephesians 6:17)
The Spirit of the Lord is what guides us into all truth
(John 16:13).
God very seldom literally talks to us. Very few in history
have had God come and talk to them. It has happened though, it is
written the Lord talked to Moses as friend to friend. Certainly
for three and one half years God in the flesh (Christ Jesus)
talked to humans during His ministry. After Jesus ascended to
heaven, very few indeed have had Him talk to them in a literal
way. Of course God can talk to us in "dreams" and He certainly
can communicate to our minds through the power of His Holy Spirit.
The overall way God now at present talks to us about His way
of life He wants us to live by, is through His written word - the
Old and New Testament - the Holy Bible.
And that word, is not passive, it can be very cutting, very
up front, pull no punches, say it like it is. God's word can
TEACH us, it can ENCOURAGE us, it can INSPIRE us, it can COMFORT
us, it can ADMONISH us and CORRECT us. Hence it can be like a
SWORD, to cut to attack, to use as an offence weapon. They say
the best way to defend is to attack. But to defend by attacking
with the Sword of the Word of God, you have to KNOW that sword.
It is like having the whole Bible written on a physical sword,
and you as a skilled expert in the use of that sword, can drive
back the darts of the evil one, and get him to not only stop his
attack but to run from you.
To be skilled with the sword (like in the art and sport of
"fencing") takes time, effort, diligence, practice, mental
fitness. You are not going to be a world class athlete in fencing
if you never get into it and do the work to be skilled in that
sport. If you just sit on the side lines, wishing you were a
world class fencer, and never get involved, your dreams will just
remain that, dreams.
As a kid growing up I wanted to come West and work with
Western horses and be a skilled Western rider. I wanted to also
be a skilled "trick rider" doing all those twirls and hang-up-
side-down on a horse that trick-riders do. Well, at the age of 5
my parents moved from the Welsh village (and the out-doors farm
working world all around us) and went to an industrial town in
Northern England where there was much more work opportunities. So
for the next 13 years I lived in the city, and back then in
Britain there was no "Western riding stables." I had to be 18
years old before I could come to Western Canada, to fulfil my
dream. At the age of 16 I thought, well if I'm going to do what I
want to do on the back of a Western horse, I better get on one
even if it was "English riding." For two years I did English
riding, a few overnight trecks, and it got me out of the dug-out
so to speak. You do not become an expert horse rider by never get
on a horse. That is just common logical sense.
I did come to Canada, and yes I did become an expert horse
rider and trick-rider. But it took working at and practice.
So it is with being skilled on attack with the Sword of the
Word of God.
You have to read the word of God, from cover to cover. You
have to meditate upon it. You have to think about it, get to know
it. You have to be willing to search it like those at Berea did
when Paul and Silas came teaching God's word (Acts 17). You have
to be able to check things out when told this or that by this or
that person, as to what the Word teaches. It takes effort to get
to know the word of God, it takes time spent with your eyes and
mind in it.
Only then can you have the skill to do what Jesus did when
Satan tried to use the word of God to deceive Christ. Jesus was
able to answer him by the Word, and when Satan tried to tempt Him
to turn the stones into bread, He was able to answer that it was
written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Mat.4:4).
You must also have a LOVE of the Word of God. You must be
willing to led it teach you and correct you. Now teaching and
correcting does not happen over night. And with some things God
can be very patient with and guides you into more truth over many
years, sometimes decades. Your part is to keep your mind wanting
to be guided and corrected and to grow in grace and knowledge. In
time, in God's time, He will lead you into all truth, you have to
be of a ready mind to admit truth and to admit error.
The offensive Sword of the Word is to battle Satan as he
comes to deceive you, remember he can come as an angel of light,
so it is written. Deceivers are not going to come and say, "Well,
now, let me tell you, I'm here to deceive you." No! They will
most of the time come saying Jesus is the Christ, and they are
coming in Christ's name. And you need to remember that Jesus said
deception would be so strong before He returned that IF it was
possible, even the very elect would be deceived (Mat.24:24).
The Word of God is your sword of not only defence but
attack.
You will put to silence the deceivers if you KNOW the skill
of the Sword of the Lord.
As you handle it keep in mind that it works both ways, it is
sharp and can cut you also, providing you are open to being led
into all truth.
As it is written:
"For the Word of God, is quick, and powerful, and sharper than
any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing of the soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).
The following words by humans are very real when it comes to
the Sword of the Word of God.
Word of God:
To better understand the human body, in 1994, researchers made
available a new computer tool called "The Visible Man." The
Visible Man consists of almost two thousand computer images.
To produce the images, scientists at the University of Colorado
Health Sciences Center took a man's body that had been willed to
science and took CAT scans, X rays, and MRI images of it. Then
they embedded the body in gelatin. They froze it, sliced it
crosswise into 1,800 millimeter-thin sections, and digitally
photographed each cross section.
Medical students can look at "The Visible Man" from any angle,
call up an image of any cross section they desire, rotate the
images, and put them back together again.
What The Visible Man does for the body, the Word of God does for
the soul. God's Word pictures the inner person - our motives,
priorities, thoughts, and sins.
......
Any of us more than forty years old can probably remember where
we were when we first heard of President Kennedy's assassination.
British novelist David Lodge, in the introduction to one of his
books, tells where he was - in a theater watching the performance
of a satirical revue he had helped write. In one sketch, a
character demonstrated his nonchalance in an interview by holding
a transistor radio to his ear. The actor playing the part always
tuned in to a real broadcast.
Suddenly came the announcement that President Kennedy had been
shot. The actor quickly switched it off, but it was too late.
Reality had interrupted stage comedy.
For many believers, worship, prayer, and Scripture are a
nonchalant charade. They don't expect anything significant to
happen, but suddenly God's reality breaks through, and they're
shocked.
......
From "750 Engaging Illustrations" by Craig Larson
"Nave's Topical Bible" has half a dozen or so pages on "The
Word of God." So it is no small topic in the Bible. I shall only
produce about half the verses that the Lord gives us concerning
His Word.
WORD OF GOD
CALLED: Book - Psa.40:7; Rev.22:19; Book of the Lord - Isa.34:16;
Book of the Law - Neh.8:3; Gal.3:10; Good Word of God - Heb.6:5;
Holy Scriptures - Rom.1:2; 2 Tim.3:15' Law of the Lord - Psa.1:2;
Isa.30:9; Oracles of God - Rom.3:2; 1 Peter 4:11; Scriptures - 1
Cor.15:3; Scriptures of Truth - Dan.10:21; Sword of the Spirit -
Eph.6:17; The Word - Jas.1:21-23; 1 Peter 2:2; Word of God - Luke
11:28; Heb.4:12; Word of Christ - Col.3:16; Word of Life -
Phil.2:16; Word of Truth - 2 Tim.2:15; Jas.1:18.
LIKENED TO: Seed - Mat.13:3-8,18-23,37,38; Mark 4:3-20,26-32;
Luke 8:5-15.
TO BE READ PUBLICLY: Deut.31:11-13; Josh.8:13,18; 2 Kin.23:2; 2
Chron.17:7-9; Neh.8:1-8,13,18; Jer.36:6; Acts 13:15,27; Col.4:16;
1 Thes.5:27.
TO BE EXPOUNDED: Neh.8:8; by Jesus, Luke 4:16-27; 24:27,45.
SEARCHED: Acts 17:11.
SEARCHING OF, ENJOINED: John 5:39; 7:52.
TEXTS SOMTIMES WRITTEN IN PUBLIC PLACES: Deut.6:9; 11:20.
NOT TO BE ADDED TO OR TAKEN FROM: Deut.4:2; 12:32; Rev.22:18,19.
CONVICTION OF SIN FROM READING: 2 Kings 22:9-13; 2 Chron.17:7-10;
34.
FULFILLED BY JESUS: Mat.5:17; Luke 24:27; John 19:24.
TESTIFY OF JESUS: John 5:39; Acts 10:43; 18:32,35; 13:27; 17:2;
18:24; 28:23.
THE STANDARD OF THE JUDGMENT: John 12:48; Rom.2:16.
NOT OT BE HANDLED DECEITFULLY: 2 Cor.4:2.
......
THE WORD OF THE LORD CONCERNING HIS WORD
FROM SECTIONS OF THE WHOLE BIBLE
WORD OF GOD
Ex.24:3. And Moses came and told the people all the words of the
LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one
voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we
do. 4. And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD....
Deut.4: Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you,
neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the
commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Behold, I
have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God
commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to
possess it. Keep therefore and do these; for this is your wisdom
and your understanding in the sight of the, nations, which shall
hear all these statutes, and say, surely this great nation is a
wise and understanding people. And what nation is there so great,
that hath statutes arid judgments so righteous as all this law
which I set before you this day? Specially the day that thou
stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said
unto me, gather me the people together, and I will make them hear
my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they
shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their
children. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you
statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither
ye go over to possess it.....
Deut.6: And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be
in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy
children, and shalt talk of their when thou sittest in thine
house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest
down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a
sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between
thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy
house, and on thy gates.....
Deut.8:3. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and
fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy
fathers know: that he might make thee know that man doth not live
by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth
of the LORD doth man live. [Matt. 4:4].....
Deut.17: And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his
kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out
of that which is before the priests the Levites. And it shall be
with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life:
that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words
of this law and these statutes, to do them.....
Deut.29:29. The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but
those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our
children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.....
Deut.30: For this commandment which I command thee this day, it
is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. 12. It is not in
heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to
heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13.
Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall
go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear
it, and do it? 14. But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy
mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.....
Josh.1:8. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest
observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then
thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good
success.....
Josh.3:9. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come
hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God......
And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and
cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the
law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which
Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the
women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were
conversant among them......
1 Chr.16:15. Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which
he commanded' to a thousand generations.....
Job 22:22. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay
up his words in I thine heart.....
Job 23:12. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his
lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my
necessary food.....
Psa.1:2. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his
law doth he meditate day and night.....
Psa.12:6. The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried
in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.....
Psa.19:7. The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul:
the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8.
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the
commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9. The
fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of
the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10, More to be
desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter
also than honey and the honeycomb. 11. Moreover by them is thy
servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.....
Psa.33:4. For the word of the LORD is right; 6. By the word of
the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the
breath of his mouth.....
Psa.40:8. I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is
within my heart.....
Psa.56:4. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my
trust.....
Psa.78:1. Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to
the words of my mouth. 7. That they might set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: 8.
And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious
generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and
whose spirit was not stedfast with God.....
Psa.94:12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and
teachest him out of thy law.....
Psa.107:19. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he
saveth them out of their distresses. 20. He sent his word, and
healed them, and delivered there from their destructions.....
Psa.111:7. The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all
his commandments are sure. 8. They stand fast for ever and ever,
and are done in truth and uprightness.....
Psa.119:9. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way 8 by
taking heed thereto according to thy word. 11. Thy word have I
hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12. Blessed
art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.....
15. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy
ways. 16. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not
forget thy word. 18. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law. 19. I am a stranger in the earth:
hide not thy commandments from me. 20. My soul breaketh for the
longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times. [v.40.]
24. Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors. 25.
My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy
word. 28. My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me
according unto thy word. 30. I have chosen the way of truth: thy
judgments have I laid before me. 31. I have stuck unto thy
testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame. 33. Teach me, O Lord,
the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
35. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do
I delight. 41. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even
thy salvation, according to thy word. 45. And I will walk at
liberty: for I seek thy precepts. 46. I will speak of thy
testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.
47. And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have
loved. 48. My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments,
which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. 49.
Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou halt caused
me to hope. 50. This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word
hath quickened me. 51. The proud have had me greatly in derision:
yet have I not declined from thy law. 52. I remember thy
judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself.
54. Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my
pilgrimage. 61. The hands of the wicked have robbed me: but I
have not forgotten thy law. 66. Teach me good judgment and
knowledge for I have believe thy commandments. 67. Before I was
afflicted I went astray but now have I kept thy word.
70. Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in
thy law. 72. The law of thy mouth is better unto me than
thousands of gold and silver. 74. They that fear thee will be
glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.
76. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort,
according to thy word unto thy servant. 77. Let thy tender
mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.
78. Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me
without a cause but I will meditate in thy precepts.
81. My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
82. Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort
me? 89. For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. 92.
Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished
in mine affliction. 93. I will never forget thy precepts: for
with them thou hast quickened me. 96. I have seen an end of all
perfection - but thy commandment is exceeding broad.
97. O how love I thy law it is my meditation all the day.
98. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine
enemies: for they are ever with me. 99. I have more understanding
than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. 100.
I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than
honey to my mouth! 104. Through thy precepts I get understanding,
therefore I hate every false way. 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my
feet, and a light unto my path. 109. My soul is continually in my
hand: yet do I not forget thy law, 117. Thy testimonies have I
taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my
heart. 113. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love. 115.
Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of
my God. 119. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like
dross: therefore I love thv testimonies. 127. Therefore I love
thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.
126. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to
be right; and I hate every false way. 129. Thy testimonies are
wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. 130. The entrance of
thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
131. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy
commandments. 133. Order my steps in thy word. 138. Thy
testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very
faithful. 140. Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant
loveth it. 141. I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy
precepts. 142. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and thy law is the truth. 143. Trouble and anguish have taken
hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights. 144. The
righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me
understanding, and I shall live. 148. Mine eyes prevent the night
watches, that I might meditate in thy word. 151. Thou art near, O
Lord; and all thy commandments are truth. 152. Concerning thy
testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for
ever. 153. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not
forget thy law. 157. Many are my persecutors and mine enemies;
yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. 156. I beheld the
transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.
159. Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O Lord,
according to thy lovnigkindness. 160, Thy word is true from the
beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for
ever. 161. Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my
heart standeth in awe of thy word. 162. I rejoice at thy word, as
one that findeth great spoil. 163. I hate and abhor lying: but
thy law do I love. 165. Great peace have they which love thy law:
and nothing shall offend them, 167. My soul hath kept thy
testimonies, and I love them exceedingly. 172. My tongue shall
speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
IS YOUR HEART LIKE THE HEART OF DAVID? DO YOU LOVE THE WORD OF GOD? DO YOU LOVE THE LAW, THE COMMANDMENTS, THE STATUTES, THE PRECEPTS, THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD? DO YOU SEARCH OUT THE WORD OF GOD? DO YOU LOVE FINDING TRUTH IN GOD'S WORD. ARE YOU WILLING TO BE CORRECTED AND GUIDED BY THE WORD OF THE LORD?
LET'S CONTINUE......
Psa.138:2. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy
name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou halt
magnified thy word above all thy name.
Psa.147:15. He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word
runneth very swiftly. 19. He showeth his word unto Jacob, his
statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
Prov.6:20. My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not
the law of thy mother: 21. Bind them continually upon thine
heart, and tie them about thy neck. 22. When thou goest, it shall
lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou
awakest, it shall talk with thee. 23. For the commandment is a
lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the
way of life.
Prov.22:11. That I might make thee know the certainty of the
words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to
them that send unto thee.
Prov.30:5. Every word of God is pure he is a shield unto them
that put their trust in him. 6. Add thou not unto his words, lest
he reprove thee. and thou be found a liar.
Eccl. 5:1. Keep thy foot when thou guest to the house of God, and
be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for
they consider not that they do evil.
Ecc.12:10. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and
that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
Isa.2:3. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go
up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD
from Jerusalem.
Isa.8:16. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among any
disciples. 20. To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Isa.28:13. But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon
precept, precept upon precept: line upon line, line upon line:
here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall
backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Isa.30:21. And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying,
This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand,
and when ye turn to the left.
Isa.34:16. Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read.
Isa.40:8. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of
our God shall stand for ever.
Isa.51:7. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people
in whose heart is my law.
Isa.55:10. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven,
arid returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and
bread to the eater: 11. So shall my word be that goeth forth out
of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall
accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing
whereto I sent it.
Jer.13:15. Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath
spoken.
Jer.15:16. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word
was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called
by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
Jer.22:29. O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
Jer.23:28. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream;
and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What
is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 29. Is not to my word
like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh
the rock in pieces? 36. And the burden of the LORD shall ye
mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye
have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts
our God.
Ezek.3:3. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to
eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then
did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
10. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I
shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine
ears.
Dan.10:21. But I will show thee that which is noted in the
scripture of truth.
Dan.12:4. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the
book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and
knowledge shall be increased. 9. And he said, Go thy way, Daniel
for the words of this prophecy are closed up and sealed till the
time of the end.
Hos.6:5. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have
slain them by the words of my mouth.
Amos 8:11. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will
send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst
for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. 12. And they
shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the
east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and
shall not find it.
Mic.2:7. O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit
of the Lord straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do
good to him that walketh uprightly?
Zech.7:7. Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried
by the former prophets.
......
ARE YOU HEARING THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS? ARE YOU READING THE PROPHETS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD TEACHES, WHAT HE IS DOING, AND WHAT HE WILL YET DO? I HAVE EXPOUNDED THE PROPHETS FOR TODAY, ON THIS WEBSITE. IT IS TIME O ISRAEL, IT IS TIME WHOEVER YOU ARE TO LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF GOD SPOKEN THROUGH HIS PROPHETS.
LET'S CONTINUE:
Mat.4:4 Man shall not live by bread alone, but my every word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God.
Matt.5:17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I have come not to destroy, but to fulfil.
Matt.7:24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his
house upon a rock: 25. And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell
not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Matt.11:13. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until
John. 15. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Matt.13:23. He that received seed into the good ground is he that
he eareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth
fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty.
Matt.15:3. But he answered and and unto them, Why do ye also
transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 9. But in
vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men.
Matt.22:29. Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power
of God.
Mark 7:9. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the
commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 13.
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition,
which ye have delivered.
Mark 12:24. And Jesus answering said unto thorn, Do ye not
therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the
power of God?
Mark 13::31. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall
not pass away.
Luke 1::37. For no word from God shall be void of power.
Luke 4:22. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious
words which proceeded out of his mouth.
Luke 8:11. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God
12. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the
devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they
should believe and be saved. 13. They on the rock are they,
which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have
no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation
fall away. 14. And that which fell among thorns are they, which,
when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and
riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to
perfection. 15. But that on the good ground are they, which with
an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and
bring forth fruit with patience.
Luke 11:28. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear
the word of God, and keep it.
Luke 13:17. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than
one tittle of the law to fail. 29. Abraham saith unto him, They
have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 31. And he said
unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Luke 24:32. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn
within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he
opened to us the scriptures? 45. Then opened he their
understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.
John 2:22. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his
disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they
believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
John 5:24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my
word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,
shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto
life. 39. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have
eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
John 6:6:3. It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto ,you, they are spirit, and
they are life.
Jolts 8:31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him,
If ye continue in in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free.
John I5:3. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken
unto you.
John 17:8. For I have given unto them the words which thou
gravest me; and they have received them, and have known surely
that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst
send me. [v. 14.] 17. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word
is truth. 19. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they
also might be sanctified through the truth. 20. Neither pray I
for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word.
Acts 17:11. These were more noble than those in Thesalonica, in
that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and
searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
......
DO YOU READ THE WORDS OF JESUS? IF YOU HAVE A RED LETTER NEW TESTAMENT, THE WORDS OF JESUS ARE EASY TO FIND AND READ. HE IS THE WORD OF TRUTH.
DO YOU SEARCH THE WORD OF GOD DAILY, TO KNOW IT, AND TO FIND WHO SPEAKS THE WORDS OF TRUTH?
LET'S CONTINUE:
Rom.3:1. What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is
there of circumcision? 2. Much every way: chiefly, because that
unto them were committed the oracles of GOd.
Rom.6:17. But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin,
but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was
delivered you.
Rom.9:4. Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and
the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the
service of God, and the promises; 6. Not as though the word of
God hath taken none effect.
Rom.10:17. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God.
Rom.12:2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what
is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Rom.15:4. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were
written for our learninging, that we through patience and comfort
of the scriptures might have hope.
Rom.16:26. But now is made manifest and by the scriptures of the
prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God,
made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.
1 Cor.2:13. Which things also we speak, not in the words which
man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1 Cor.10:11. Now all these things happened onto them for
examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the
ends of the world are come.
2 Cor.2:17. For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of
God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God
speak we in Christ.
Eph.1:12. That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first
trusted in Christ. 13. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
Eph.5:26. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing
of water by the word.
Eph.6:17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God.
Phil.2:16. Holding forth the word of life.
Col.1:5. For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof
ye heard before me the word of the truth of the gospel.
Col.3:16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the
Lord.
1 Thess 2:13. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing,
because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us,
ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the
word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
1 Tim. 4:5. For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
6. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou
shalt be a good minister of Jesus, Christ, nourished up in the
words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto tbou hast
attained.
1 Tim.6:3. If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to
wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to
the doctrine which is according to godliness; 4. He is proud,
knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words,
whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmising.
2 Tim.1:13. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast
heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
2 Tim.2:15. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.
2 Tim. 3:15. And that from a child thou hast known the holy
scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16. All scripture. is
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all
good works.
Heb.1:1. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2. Hath in these last
days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds.
Heb.2:1. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the
things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them
slip. 2. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of
reward: 3. How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was
confirmed unto us by them that heard hint.
Heb.4:2. Unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them:
but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with
faith in them that heard it. 12. The word of God is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged 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.
Heb.6:5. And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of
the world to come.
Heb.11:3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed
by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made
of things which do appear.
Jas.1:14. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth,
that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear,
slow to speak, slow to wrath: 21. Wherefore lay apart all
filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with
meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
22. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves. 23. For if any be a hearer of the
word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural
face in a glass: 24. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way,
and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25. But
whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work,
this man shall be blessed in his deed.
1 Pet.1:23. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for
ever. 24. For all flesh is 1s grass, and all the glory of man its
the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof
falleth away: 25. But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And
this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
1 Pet.2:2. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word,
that ye may grow thereby.
2 Pet.1:4. Whereby are given unto its exceeding great and
precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped tile corruption that is in the
world through lust. 19. We have also a more sure word of prophecy
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that
shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star
rise in your hearts 20. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of
the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21. For the
prophecy came not in old time by the will of men but holy men
spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2 Pet.3:2. That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken
before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the
apostles of the Lord and Savior: 15. Account that the
long-suffering of the Lord is salvation: even as our beloved
brother Paul; also according to the wisdom given unto him hath
written unto you: 16. As also in all his epistles, speaking in
them of these things; in which are some things hard to be
understood, which they who are unlearned and unstable wrest, as
they do also the other scriptures, unto their destruction.
1 John 2:7. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an
old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old
commandment is the word which ye have heard from tile beginning.
14. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong,
and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the
wicked one. 21. I have not written unto you because ye know not
the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the
truth.
1 John 5:11. And this is the record, that God hath given to us
eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 13. These things have
I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God;
that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may
believe on the name of the Son of God.
Jude 3. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of
the common salvation, it was needful for me, to write unto you,
and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith
which was once delivered unto the saints. 17. But, beloved,
remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rev.1:2. Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony
of Jesus Christ, and of all things that lie saw. 3. Blessed is he
that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and
keep those things which care written therein: for the time is at
hand.
Rev.22:18. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of
the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these
things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in
this book 19. And if any man shall take away from the words of
tile book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of
the book of life, and omit of the holy city, and from the things
which are written in this hook.
......
NOTE:
THIS HAS BEEN A LONG STUDY. BUT SO IS THE WORD OF GOD. THERE ARE MORE VERSES THAT I COULD HAVE ADDED, BUT THE ABOVE VERSES ARE ENOUGH TO SHOW YOU THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING AND SEARCHING THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, FOR IN THEM IS TRUTH AND LIFE AND GLORY.
Keith Hunt (April 2009)
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