Greetings!

IS YOUR FOOTING ON SOLID GROUND?

In the church community there has been - and still is - an emphasis on the "armor of our warfare", which is certainly crucial in the matter of spiritual warfare.

But let's look for a moment at what the ultimate objective of our warfare is according to what Paul writes to the Ephesians (chapter 6).  Many people focus in on tearing down strongholds and casting down whatever exalts itself against the knowledge of God - - and these are certainly objectives which we must be prepared to do, but are these the main objectives?

13.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
 14.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Here, in the beginning of explaining or detailing the weapons of our warfare Paul tells us that our aim, our focus, our ultimate objective is to "and having done all, to stand"! 

Did you ever notice, in the popular teachings on the weapons of our warfare, that so much emphasis is placed on things like the "shield of faith" and the "sword of the Spirit"?  Of course these things are crucial but these are not the most vital!

In fact, I submit, that the most vital thing we must be concerned about is not knowing how to use the Word of God as a sword, but since our ultimate goal is TO STAND, the most important thing we must pay attention to - first and foremost - is our footing!  Are we standing on solid ground?

Think about this for a moment - - we can be armed to the teeth and trained in all manner of warfare - - but all of it will do absolutely no good for you if you are not sure footed!  If the "ground" we are standing on is not solid, rock solid in fact, we may just find ourselves to be well armored soldiers who are stumbling and faltering!  And if we are losing our balance, then instead of gripping the sword and shield, we will be using our hands to "catch ourselves" as we stumble and we end up a heap of armor ... that is not standing as God's Word tells us to do!

Therefore, the most important thing we must pay attention to is upon what do we take our stand!  Upon what does God expect us to, having done all, stand upon?

This goes back to His Word, but His Word not as a weapon, but as the "foundation for our lives"!  Jesus said that whoever hears what He says and does what He says, that one is like a man who builds his house upon a rock!  See:  Matthew 7:24

And what, ultimately, was Jesus teaching us?  How to live AS GOD'S CHILDREN once we are born again!  What He DID was to enable us to become God's children through His death, burial and resurrection - what He TAUGHT was how to live once we received the benefit of what He DID.

And isn't what the devil tries to do against us in warfare is to knock us out of experiencing life as God's children?  Isn't what the devil tries to do is to wrestle from us the certain knowledge that the Holy Spirit gives us of being adopted by God Almighty and in doing so, defeating our witness for Christ? 

In other words, do you see that the devil is waging war against us to remove us from standing as the new creatures we are to become as being reconciled to God?  In fact, if he could, satan would overthrow the reality of our knowing God as our Father in a personal and intimate fellowship!

In fact, many Christians are already on the losing side of the combat because they have no sure footing on which to stand in the first place!  The most that they have are bits and pieces of God's Word - solid, but bits and pieces all the same!  Much like gravel!  Each piece of gravel is solid to be sure, but have you ever tried to be sure footed on a pile of gravel?  You look around and everything you see is solid, but it is not connected together so it is loose and gives way easily!

This is the "ground" that many Christians are trying to stand on!  They have never allowed the Lord to "put it all together" in their lives!  They get a promise here and a principle there and come across a "rhema" every once in a while and then they try to take a stand on a pile of gravel!  But they have their armor on!

I have dealt with a good number of saints over the years who live in constant defeat because they never knew the battle was about "standing"!  Talk with them about knowing God up close and personal and they don't have a clue about what you are talking about - - but they can show you all the promises they are claiming!  Yet they don't know how to be intimate with God as their Father!

They live in defeat, but will argue from dawn till dusk that what we DO doesn't matter only that we believe in Jesus as our Savior!  They live in defeat, but when you talk about living under the LORDSHIP of Jesus, they accuse you of being a legalist!  They use their shield to block what they don't like to hear and use the sword to back you away from them so they don't have to listen to the Truth about "doing" the words of Jesus!

What's more, the ground of God's Truth that we are to stand on defines life and the issues of life on God's terms!  Yet, if God's people won't listen to how God defines, explains and instructs us about the concerns of life, what is it exactly then that we are standing on? 

If you are not standing on the foundation of God's Truth - concerning every area of your life - why bother "suiting up" in His armor?  If you are going to try to "stand" on a pile of bits and pieces of God's Truth, all you will do is slip and slide, stumble and falter!  Many Christians are all suited up but have no ground to defend!  They have nothing solid to stand on in the first place!

Did you ever notice how the most difficult thing to find time for is ... reading/studying the Word of God?  Why is that?  Perhaps because the devil knows that this is the very foundation that needs to be established in your life upon which your life is to stand!  If you are distracted from this long enough, you will not be sure-footed when the devil really unleashes a raging war against you and your family!

The remedy of course is to pre-empt the devil's battle plan with spending time, quality time, intentional time, to take in God's Word so as to establish the very foundation upon which you WILL be able to stand ... and continue standing until that final victory is declared about your life!

Many Blessings!
Dr. Timothy

P.S. You are invited to join us for the interactive Wednesday night Bible studies called True Hope Live!  7pm central time and it is free!  Join us by computer/internet or by phone conferencing!  Find out how by clicking here!  We would love to have you with us!

PROPHET'S CORNER

Isaiah 9:10 ...
The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

Does 'Freedom Tower' Height Fulfill Prophecy?

http://www.wnd.com

News this week that the new World Trade Center Freedom Tower surpassed the height of the Empire State Building to become New York’s tallest building is stirring even more interest in America’s bestselling Christian book and video documentary – both of which contend the country is missing the spiritual warning of 9/11 by simply building higher, bigger and stronger structures after the worst attack on the homeland in history.

The Freedom Tower isn’t expected to reach its full height for at least another year. When complete, One World Trade will stand at 1,776 feet, which includes a 408-foot-tall antenna spire that will sit on its roof. Discounting the antenna, it will still be the second-highest building in the U.S., after the Willis Tower in Chicago.

In January, Jonathan Cahn’s book “The Harbinger” skyrocketed to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list by suggesting America was following in the defiant footsteps of ancient Israel as recorded in Isaiah 9:10 by insisting on rebuilding bigger and better without considering what God was trying to tell the country

It was on Monday the rising tower passed the height of the Empire State Building with the installation of a vertical structural beam. The date, April 30, also is a key date revealed in Cahn’s “The Harbinger,” concerning the mystery of Ground Zero.

In March, WND Films released “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment” as a documentary followup to Cahn’s stunning research revealing the eerie parallels between the reaction of ancient Israel to a similar attack and those of national leaders in the U.S. It quickly became the No. 1 faith video in America.

The video has received broad praise from leading Christians, including one of the entertainment world’s biggest and most enduring stars, Pat Boone.

“God bless you for ‘The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment.’ It’s absolutely fabulous! The content and the production are so well done,” Boone said. “In fact, Shirley and I are ordering a dozen or more to send to close family and friends – after which we’ll probably need scores more. Every Christian, every American needs to see this!”

Christian media critic Ted Baehr called it “extraordinary, compelling, dramatic.”

Author Ray Comfort called the documentary “a powerful, inspiring trumpet-blast of thought-provoking biblical truth.”

“The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment” is an unusual documentary, told through the eyes of messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, author of the No. 1 bestselling Christian book of 2012, “The Harbinger.” It tells the remarkable story of striking parallels between the judgment of ancient Israel for turning its back on God and those judgments facing America today – specifically since Sept. 11, 2001.

Richie Furay, the leader of the rock group Poco and an original member of the Buffalo Springfield, now a Calvary Chapel pastor in Colorado, had this to say: “Fascinating! The correlation between God’s specific word to Israel in Isaiah 9:10 and how it applies to the United States is very revealing. In light of the current events of our nation, this DVD is sobering and needs to be seen. I am certainly going to share it with our fellowship.”

And Jamie Wilcox of Weatherford, Texas, added: “A few days ago I received “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment” DVD set. That’s a hard-hitting, extremely well-done project, and I’m very thankful you decided to make it. I truly must agree that the parallels are stunning and found myself looking at Obama in a new way. He could be part of the judgment, or at least the removal of God’s hedge of protection and blessing on our country. I commend you for this film and for WND, one of the few news sources unafraid to tell the truth.”

Added Dwight Douville, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel, Appleton, Wis., “The dots connected by Rabbi Cahn are impossible to ignore. Decide for yourself if the message on this DVD is ‘for such a time as this.’”

The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment DVD is available from Prophecy News Watch by clicking here
***This will take you to Prophecy News Watch to order their material.  We appreicate PNW for supplying The Times with a great many of our articles!

By:  David Smithers