Enemies

Day 43 – Thoughts from Psalms; Enemies

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Of all things for me to write about.  Enemies?  I really feel as though I have no enemies within the human race; at least as far as someone just out to destroy or hurt me.  However, I know that as a believer in Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior I do have enemies who would like to hush the message of Christ; and of God.  Therefore because there are enemies of Christ, His cross, His God and eternity they are and must be my enemies as well.

Have I noticed these enemies of the cross of Christ?  Most definitely.  They are those who hate God, hate righteousness, Justice, genuine peace and love, and all that is holy.  They are those who hate the way of God, and choose their own way.

My reading today took me from Psalm 108 through Psalm 121.  I found the word “enemies” seven times in those fourteen Psalms.  What is the deal with the Psalms and enemies?  It is quite apparent that David, and the kings of Israel had enemies.  You have enemies as well; especially if you are a Christian.

For the most part we need to realize that our enemy is the Devil, otherwise known as Satan, the Old serpent. He is also known as the “Accuser of the brethren”.  All conflict between human beings is because of sin and Satan.  Those people who hate God, God’s word and God’s people are full of hate for God because of the deceit of the devil.

I want us to look at what the seven verses have to say about “enemies”.

“Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies.” Psalm 108:13 (KJV)

This comes from a Psalm which is called a Psalm or Song of David.  David of all people knows the strength and power of God to deliver from enemies, and from trouble.  He also knows that it is God who will give him the ability to do “valiantly” and that  God is the one who will “tread down our enemies”.

“The LORD said unto my Lord, ‘Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.  The LORD shall send the rod of Thy strength out of Zion: rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies.'” 110:1-2

Two uses of the word “enemies” is found in one Psalm and the first two verses.  It is a Psalm of David as well, and is directed as the LORD speaking to the Lord.  This, of course, has Messianic wording, and is speaking of the Messiah who is Jesus Christ.  This is not an argument.  It is a clear statement that the LORD – Jehovah, YHWH [YaHWeH] – has a Son and that He is deity.  The Messiah is being told by the Father, “Sit at My right hand, until I make thine enemies Thy footstool.”  Jesus’s former state before He was born a babe in a manger was a seated position at the Father’s right hand.  Following His death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection He was given back that position, and all enemies were placed under His feet; where ultimately all the enemies of God and Christ will be destroyed.

“His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.” 112:8

This Psalm is speaking of the “man that fears the LORD” (v. 1).  The heart of such a man is stable, trustworthy, and is not afraid of anything that enemies can throw at him.  He is a man who will see his desire come about upon his enemies.  Now for the Christian we pray for our enemies; our prayer being that they might have their eyes opened, their hearts opened to Christ, and be saved.  Then they would no longer be our enemy, but our brethren and friends.

“Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.” 119:98

Because the Christian has the commandments of God, trust them, believes them, and lives by them he/she will be wiser than the enemy of Christ.  The commandments of the LORD are forever, and they are forever with the one’s who love God, and His word.

“My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten Thy words.”  119:139

The following is from the TREASURY OF DAVID on Psalm 119:139;

In Psa_119:137-138 David spoke concerning his God and his law; here he speaks of himself, and says, “My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words”, this was no doubt occasioned by his having so clear a sense of the admirable character of God’s word. His zeal was like a fire burning within his soul. The sight of man’s forgetfulness of God acted as a fierce blast to excite the fire to a more vehement flame, and it blazed until it was ready to consume him. David could not bear that men should forget God’s words. He was ready to forget himself, ay, to consume himself, because these men forgot God. The ungodly were David’s enemies: his enemies because they hated him for his godliness; his enemies, because he abhorred them for their ungodliness. These men had gone so far in iniquity that they not only violated and neglected the commands of God, but they appeared actually to have forgotten them. This put David into a great heat; he burned with indignation. How dare they trample on sacred things! How could they utterly ignore the commands of God himself! He was astonished, and filled with holy anger.
FROM the Treasury of David by Charles H. Spurgeon.  e-Sword

We will end these thoughts from Psalms with the final verse in the reading today.

“Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from Thy testimonies.” 119:157

Sometimes it seems we have all kinds of persecutions and enemies; but in all these things we are to be victors.  We are to never decline from the testimonies of our LORD.

-Tim A. Blankenship

Enemies of the Cross

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Enemies of the Cross

Philippians 3:17-21

1.  Paul addresses the brethren of Phillipi.

2.  Paul as a “pattern” in example.

3.  Weeping for the enemies of the cross.

4.  Heavenly citizenship.

5.  The enemy will be conquered.

I.  THE BRETHREN ARE TO FOLLOW PAUL’S EXAMPLE (v. 17).

II.  BEWARE THE ENEMIES OF THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST AND WEEP (vv. 18-19).

III.  OUR EARTHLY AND OUR HEAVENLY CITIZENSHIPS (v. 20).

IV.  A TRANSFORMATION AND CONFORMATION (v. 21)

i.  We are to be an example for those who will come after us;

ii. Let us be defenders of the cross, living for Christ;

iii.  Live as citizens of Heaven;

iv.  Live as though the Kingdom is already come.

-T.A.

This is the sermon outline for the Sunday morning message at Carr Lane Baptist Church on 09/25/11.

Observations From Mark – 031611

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Today’s Reading is from Mark 11 – 13.

The religious leaders of Jesus ‘s day were having trouble with the idea of Messiah being more than a man; however, Jesus asks them a question concerning a writing of David, a king of Israel whom they all respected, and admired.

“And Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, ‘How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.’  David therefore himself calleth Him Lord; and whence is He then his son?’ And the common people heard Him gladly.”  Mark 12:35-37 (KJV)

In this statement which is quoted from Psalm 110:1 declares Messiah to be David’s Lord.  The scribes are correct in calling Christ or Messiah the “Son of David”; however, since David is calling Him “Lord” then there is a great confession from David that the Christ is also the Son of God, the God-Man.

The following is a quote from the MacArthur Study Bible on verse 37;

12:37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord.’ Jesus interpreted Ps. 110:1 for the Pharisees.  David would not have called one of his descendants “Lord.”  Thus the Messiah is more than the “Son of David”– He is also the “Son of God.”  Jesus was proclaiming the Messiah’s deity, and thus His own (cf. Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8; Matt. 22:45).

and from the ESV Study Bible;

Mark 12:35–37 While in the temple, Jesus publicly raises a question that he has already discussed in private with his disciples: who is the Messiah of God—is he essentially the son of David or the Lord of David? Jesus’ point is not to deny that the Messiah is a descendant of David (e.g., Ps. 2:1–12; 89:1–52; Isa. 9:1–7; Jer. 23:5–6; Ezek. 34:23–24). The issue is that, in this passage (i.e., Ps. 110:1–5), there is no mention of the Messiah being the son of David; rather, the Messiah is here the “Lord of David” (see note on Matt. 22:41–46). Jesus affirms the divine inspiration of the Psalm through the Holy Spirit. The Lord (Hb. Yahweh) grants to David’s Lord (Hb. ’Adonay) an exclusive place of honor at his right hand and helps David’s Lord overcome his enemies. Jesus anticipates being exalted to the right hand of God, and thus he far transcends any expectation of a merely political, Davidic messiah.

When anyone argues against the deity of Jesus Christ they argue against the very word of God; Old and New Testaments.

-Tim A. Blankenship

When You Go To Battle

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It could be said, that you and I have either been in a battle, will be in a battle, are presently in a battle, or are just getting through a battle.

There are many times in Scriptures when God says, “Be not afraid…” or something equivalent to that phrase, like, “Fear not”.  These are meant as words of comfort, encouragement, and trust in the Lord.

One of those verses is found in the twentieth chapter of Deuteronomy and in the first verse.  “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them; for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”  Now isn’t that a wonderful verse of encouragement and hope.

As you read this you may think, “Well, I am not in battle.”  Maybe you are thinking of a physical battle where blood is being shed, and that is not exactly what I mean.  As Christians we face an enemy every day, and that enemy is also the enemy of God.  He hates God, and hates God’s people and will attack the God of creation through His people.

Everyday we enter a battle.  The word here is “Be not afraid of them”.  The “Them” of course being the enemy.  The reason we need not be afraid is because the LORD our God is with us, and He is the one who delivered us from our Egypt – the world of sin and its condemnation.

Do not fear; trust the LORD.

-Tim A. Blankenship

Jesus – Powerful Servant

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“And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.  And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.  And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?  And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.  No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.  Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:  But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:  Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.”  Mark 3:20-30 (KJV)

The profane religious rulers and leaders were accusing Jesus of using the power of the devil to cast out demons.  Jesus tells them that Satan will not cast himself out of any place.  That would be self defeating.  It is ridiculous for these men to accuse Jesus this way.  In doing so they condemn themselves because they have rejected the only means of salvation.

The Holy Spirit is the means by which people are convicted of sin, their lostness, their condemnation, and by which they may know the path to eternal life.  The path to eternal life is shown by the Spirit to be Jesus Christ.  To equate the works of the Spirit of God to the devil is to reject God.  All that awaits those who reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit is eternal judgment.

The “Lake of fire”, as it is called in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, is the place where all those who have called the work of the Spirit of the devil will spend all eternity.  You see; God created man an eternal being.  An eternal soul is given to every individual upon conception in the mother’s womb.  By that is meant  the future, not eternal in the past; for we did not preexist as Christ has.

Just as surely as there is a Heaven there is a Hell.  God is just, holy and righteous, and He will not allow the unholy in His presence.  All that reject the work of the Holy Spirit; the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are bound for an eternity of judgment.  There will be no relief from the fires of Hell.  Jesus Himself described it as the place where “…The worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”  He mentions this several times in the ninth chapter of Mark.  It has been said that Jesus said more about Hell than He did of Heaven.

There is one thing for certain.  No one needs go to the place of fiery judgment.  Jesus paid the price for all sin.  He already endured the judgment for our sin.

“There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.  And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.  And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?   And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!  For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”  Mark 3:31-35 (KJV)

In verse 21 it tells us that Jesus’ friends came for Him saying, “He is beside Himself”.  With friends like that who needs enemies.  Right?  Well now we see that His family – mother, brothers, sisters – are standing outside the group wanting to get to Him.  When they tell Jesus they are “seeking” for Him He just tells them what is more important, and that is those who will believe in Him.

Those who do the will of God are His brethren.  Are you His brother, sister, mother, father?  At this point in Jesus’ life it appears that His “family” – apparently even Mary – is not sure of who He is.

This is what John recorded that Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. John 6:29 (KJV)”.  If you want to please God and have eternal life with Jesus Christ call upon the name of Jesus and be saved, then you will be a part of His brethren.  Do it today.

-Tim A. Blankenship