SCRIPTURE PRINCIPLE:
And take...the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Eph. 1:17
KEY NUMBER 3: The Fighting Weapon The Word of God (The Sword of the Spirit)
Life is a battle! Homosexuality is one of the battles! God wants us to win the battles of life and gain victory. But too many people try to fight the battle of life without a weapon or at best a rusty one. Some even leave their weapons locked up and think that they are safe just because they have them. Silly, isn't it?
What about your weapon, do you have one? We're not talking about guns and knives, but the Word of God. As our key Scripture says, it's a sword. Is it a sharp sword? Do you ever use it? Would you like to know how to get one or how to use it? Read on.
Let's start with the last point first: HOW TO USE IT. Here we see Jesus's own example. He used it when He was tempted. In the fourth chapter of Matthew, we read how Jesus used the sword of the Word to resist the devil who was tempting Him to disobey His heavenly Father and give into the desires of the flesh. Three times He was tempted. Three times He quoted Words from Scripture and the devil finally had to leave Him alone. Christ won the battle! But His tempting had gone on for forty days. There must have been a lot of Scripture quoting. However, throwing Scripture at the devil does work. It cuts the devil down. Jesus did not give in to temptation.
All sins are preceded by temptations. Homosexual actions are preceded by homosexual temptations, but a temptation is a temptation; and what works on one will work on another. The proper Word of God will bring victory over the devil's homosexual temptations. Have you found that out?
We have to know when we are being tempted. We need to know the difference between right and wrong. Jesus knew the Word and so He knew the difference. The devil couldn't slip one over on Him. His emotions couldn't get the better of Him. He knew that guilt would plague Him if He gave in. He knew that He could say NO and thus win the battle. And He did!
Have you ever experienced the joy of winning? Didn't it feel great? Did you figure that would be the end; and that life would get easier? Were you disappointed when it didn't? A lot of people are. The devil counts on that. God warns us against it. We need to be prepared for a life-long battle. But each victory makes the next temptation easier to cope with, right? And enough victories add up to a heterosexual life style.
But you need a sharp sword! HOW DO YOU GET ONE
It isn't easy! There is no magical way of getting God's Word into you so that you can call upon it in time of temptation. That's what the Holy Spirit helps you do. He brings to mind the proper Scripture you need in time of temptation. This will help you to resist the sexual desires that seem irresistible and want to pull you into actions you later will regret.
It worked for Jesus, it will work for YOU! But Scripture needs to be in you before it can come to Your rescue when needed. This means being in the Word daily. It means memorizing useful passages. If means giving them some deep thought (meditating on them). It means a conscious decision, now, to use them, when needed, with the Spirit's guidance. All this requires conscious effort and then it will become second nature.
Sound hard? Sound time consuming? It is! But if you're going to be good at anything, a similar effort is required. Good athletes practice much. Top notch performers put in hours of practice. Whenever you have become good at something, it has been the result of much tire and effort being expended. But all that time and effort has been spent for something that is only for the "now"; the homosexual's battle is for the "now"and for "eternity".
It doesn't really matter if you become good in a lot of other things in life, but it does matter if you have a sharp sword to fight the battle against homosexuality.
It means freedom! It means being what God meant you to be! It means feeling good about yourself and feeling "in control" of your body; no longer being a slave to your sexual emotions.
Freedom in Christ brings a feeling of power over life that nothing else can bring. It's worth the time and effort!
LET THE WORD OF CHRIST DWELL IN YOU RICHLY. Col. 3:16
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK **********************
I may not be much, but God rnd I thing that can assail me.
<-- THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT -->
Ps. 119:103
Ps. 119:11
WORDS OF HOPE AND HELP ( Write below each verse the thoughts you get from these passages of Scripture. Explain what each passage does for you.)
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Hebrews 4:12
