God Gives the Increase

Archive for the ‘Spiritual Warfare’ Category

“And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah nissi.” Exodus 17:15

The book of Exodus declares the going out of the children of Israel from the land of their bondage; God brings His people out so He might bring them in to the land He promised them.

The scriptures declare there is a war in the process of bringing God’s people out of bondage, in Exodus 17 we are told, “God would make war with Amalek from generation to generation. In this war there is, as in all nations, a standard, or banner by which the troops are rallied. In our county, we have the stars and stripes, which every American is aware, stood through the night, though the bombs were bursting in mid air.

In Israel, each family was to have their own banner, and there was to be a banner on each side of the tabernacle. When Israel camped at Rephidim Amalak made war with them, and at that time, Moses lifted his hand and became the banner for Israel. As God’s man Moses led the people out of Egypt, then in Exodus 17 the sight of him, with his hand raised gave victory to God’s people.

Moses was only a man, and as such, he pointed to the God/man who would one day come and die for the sins of His beloved. Christ sets the captive free, makes their hearts ready for war, and makes clear the enemy.

The Christian is to keep looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of his faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

It is harder to get the devil out once you let him in, than to keep him out, with this thought in mind let us consider the words of the apostle Paul. “Do you not know, that to whom you yield yourselves slaves to obey, his slaves you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16

No one has the option to walk in and out of slavery as if it were just another job; the one who becomes a slave stays a slave unless he is set free by his master or bought by another. The slave owner in Romans 6:16 is either sin or righteousness, as it is written, ‘…his slaves you are to whom you obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.”

If we willfully sin, that is, plan to before time, make allowance because of grace or any other reason, or excuse ourselves because of some pending circumstance, then we present ourselves to sin. Once we present ourselves to sin, we become the slave of sin. Paul warns us not to become slaves of sin because once enslaved it is difficult to become free.

The child of God is free from sin because of his union with Christ. “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” Romans 6:5-6.

However, the person enslaved to sin does not easily exercise faith, because he has no spiritual strength to do so. If you are enslaved to a sin set aside prolonged periods of time to pray and fast, so that you might be given the necessary faith to reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God, by your union with Christ.

The Christian will rise again by faith when knocked down by sin; he is united in Christ’s death, therefore, he will also be united in His resurrection, so that he might not be enslaved to sin!