Train to Live on Mission – Week 17
Establish a Strong Defense!
Proverbs 10:9-12 (NAS95)
Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.
The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 10:9-12:
He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out. He who winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will be ruined. The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.
To better understand how I am applying this Scripture, you need to hear these verses in their context, as a part of the whole of Proverbs 10. Read from the Bible. This is what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply today’s battle drill to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.
Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon held fast to these in love. He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done.
Ironically, the very words of Solomon in Proverbs 10:9 are illustrated through Solomon’s life, “He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.” God was angry with Solomon because “his heart was turned away from the Lord” (1 Kings 11:9) and God judged Solomon accordingly in 1 Kings 11:11-13:
So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
Solomon had taken steps to ensure a strong national defense through the vanquishing of enemies, successful treaties, successful administration of his kingdom, and a strong conscription program for the temple project. But Solomon did not set up a strong personal defense against his own flesh! As my friend recently said to me, “It is so easy to busy ourselves with perfecting what is visible, to the detriment of that which is invisible.” Solomon missed that his true enemy’s strategy was subtle, and that evil had a foothold in his heart! We must learn from Solomon’s positive words, and, also, from his negative example. Paul explains about the enemy within in Romans 7:14-25, from whom we all need to establish a strong defense:
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
A significant reality of establishing a strong defense is to forsake the three major forces of the fall that must be brought into submission to God’s will – the devil, the structures and systems of this present age that are in rebellion against God (i.e., the world), and the flesh (our self-will that seeks to make life work out on its own terms). We have spent time, and will continue to spend time, learning how the battle drills of a good soldier must be trained into our lives so that we live a victorious life and not be distracted or derailed by either of these three forces.
From today’s chapter, Proverbs 10:29 states, “The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright, but ruin to the workers of iniquity.” To keep God first and foremost in our lives is to make Him our stronghold, and that is the greatest defense against the devil, the world, and the flesh. To do so we must learn to live for the approval of God alone and not be so easily seduced by lesser things. That takes us to the third action step of being a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
What is essential about this truth is that the victory is not from us, but from God – He is our stronghold. God provides the way of escape so that we can persevere to the end. But we must choose His way and the key to that is that we must have our eyes and ears, hearts, and minds, open to seeing God’s way of victory. Often, the way of escape is well before the potential threat even appears, and we must faithfully walk in the way of Jesus, daily, so that we don’t walk down the wrong street through bad decision making. As I’ve taught you before, sometimes it’s too late to ask, “WWJD” because Jesus never would have allowed Himself in that dangerous situation in the first place. The way of victory was in not taking the exit ramp of the flesh – stay in the easy yoke of Jesus! Paul makes this clear in Galatians 5:16-26, as he teaches us the training regimen of a soldier for Jesus to set up God as our strong defense against the enemy within, our flesh:
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
Do you remember what God said about Solomon at the conclusion of his life? It was the exact opposite of God’s verdict of his father, David’s life! David was a man after God’s own heart; whereas, in 1 Kings 11:9, “the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord.” Once again, it is ironic that it was Solomon who wrote in Proverbs 4:23, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”
It was not for lack of wisdom that Solomon fell, it was from his disobedience to God’s ways in the most intimate places of his life – he didn’t watch over his heart with all diligence! Maturity as a Christian is not in how much Bible information you have in your head, but how much of what you know gets in your heart and establishes God as the stronghold of your life! Because Solomon did not guard his heart, the enemy got a foothold through his lust, ultimately making his heart a place of idol worship. It is only when our hearts are the throne room of God, His stronghold, that we can establish a rescue mission for God in this world. That takes us to the last action step.
Action Step #4) Live on mission.
This cannot be done by our own power! In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus commanded his disciples to pray in Matthew 26:36-41 because He knew the flesh was weak:
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
If Jesus couldn’t fulfill His mission on Earth apart from prayer and the Spirit’s consolation of His spirit, then how much more do we need to pray and seek the power of the Holy Spirit to empower us to preserve in the mission? Paul confirmed Jesus’ words in Galatians 3:3, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
The best defense you can establish for this life and the life to come is to put your faith in Jesus Christ. It is only by believing that you can do anything to further the Kingdom of God on Earth; to do the Lord’s will on Earth as it is in Heaven. Jesus explained this to us in 1 John 5:4-5, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Jesus promised the way of victory will come with tribulations, but don’t fear, find rest in the easy yoke of Jesus, and walk in the Spirit – His way of victory is belief. This is how you establish a strong defense. Make this battle drill a reflexive, instinctive, and habitual part of your Christian life so that you can CM – Continue the Mission! Therefore, live on mission today and train the battle drill of the week for the glory of God. Let us pray.
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Seize the Moment – Day 816
Today’s hymn focus will be
Rock of Ages
Psalm 18:2 (NLT)
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.
Augustus Toplady first published this hymn in 1775 in an article entitled “Life a Journey”, stating: “if you fall, be humbled and do not despair. Pray afresh to God who is able to raise you up, and set you on your feet again.” He wanted people to realize that no matter how big the debt of our sin account, it is only the blood of Jesus that could pay that debt in full. He rejoiced in the fact that Jesus is our place of safety and the rock to which we can anchor the ship of our life.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee,
Let the water and the blood, from Thy wounded side which flowed
Be of sin the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure.
We need to wake up and realize the truth of this ancient hymn that reminds us there is no one like our God. He is our Rock, our Hope and our Salvation. When in doubt, sing this song to remind your heart and mind Who our Rock is!
YOUTUBE:
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.
can fulfill thy law’s demands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save, and thou alone.
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.
when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.
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Seize the Moment – Day 815
The Heart of Worship!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, June 10.
Why do we gather as the church? What is the heart of worship? Is it about a building, or a service with songs and a sermon, or is worship something more than all of these?
The detailed description of Solomon’s temple has two distinct parts in 1 Kings 6. Verses 2-10 describe the exterior and verses 14-38 describe the interior. While most of this chapter is focused on the details of the construction of the temple, the heart of the temple project is found in 1 Kings 6:11-13:
Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon saying, “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word with you which I spoke to David your father. I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”
Obviously, the temple was an important place, but it should not be surprising that God would remind His people that at the heart of its construction, and its future usage, was the life of obedience to His commandments. God taught the heart of worship previously in 1 Samuel 15:22-23a, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.”
While building projects, event planning, song selections, and sermon writing are important parts of how we practice our faith in contemporary Christianity, let us never forget that the heart of worship has always been, and will always be, obedience to God and His ways. We are the temple of His presence on the Earth (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
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Seize the Moment – Day 814
The Heavy Burden of Forced Labor!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, June 9.
Have you ever been forced to do a job you didn’t like or want to do? Imagine being conscripted by the President to be a forced laborer for a grand national project in Washington DC.
First Kings 5:13-16 explained how Solomon conscripted 183,300 workers to do the hard labor of building the temple:
Now King Solomon levied forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered 30,000 men. He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in relays; they were in Lebanon a month and two months at home. And Adoniram was over the forced laborers. Now Solomon had 70,000 transporters, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains, besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were over the project and who ruled over the people who were doing the work.
These men quarried and cut the stones for the foundation of the temple, as well as transported and prepared the necessary timber for this grand national project in Jerusalem. Unstated in this account are the countless farmers, laborers, and servants who would support this undertaking and provide for the terms of the purchase agreement with Hiram, the king of Tyre (1-12).
We read through all this way too quickly! We remain deaf and blind to the suffering of the people living under the heavy burden of Solomon’s aggressive agenda. In 1 Kings 12:4, after forty years of Solomon’s rule, the people petition Solomon’s son Rehoboam, “Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” When he refused, the people rebelled (1 Kings 12:13-19). People can only take the heavy burden of forced labor for so long!
Seize the moment and find rest for your soul from the oppressive regime of sin by breaking the world’s heavy yoke and getting in the easy yoke of Jesus, His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
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Seize the Moment – Day 813
God Keeps His Promises!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, June 8.
Are you waiting on God to fulfill a promise?
King Solomon’s reign was unique in the history of Israel. It was a time of rest for the nation as they experienced the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, according to 1 Kings 4:20-21, and 25:
Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing. Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. … So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
You may recognize the phrase “as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore” because it was a promise of God given to Abraham in Genesis 22:17, “indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.” God later reiterated this promise to Israel (Jacob) in Genesis 32:12.
God yoked the promise of abundance and the promise of rest with the giving of the Promised Land, which He covenanted to give to Abraham in Genesis 15:18. That was later affirmed by Moses to the twelve tribes of Israel in Deuteronomy 12:10, “He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security.”
Just as God’s promises of abundance and rest were fulfilled in the days of Solomon, so they are today in Christ Jesus (John 10:10; Matthew 11:28-30; 2 Corinthians 1:20).
Seize the moment and wait upon the Lord with faith, hope, and love; God never fails to keep His promises!
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Seize the Moment – Day 812
The Opportunity of a Lifetime!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, June 7.
If God gave you the opportunity to ask for anything you want, what would you ask for? Before you give a flippant response to this question, take time to think deeply upon this opportunity of a lifetime. Your answer reveals your heart and determines the way in which you will walk.
Solomon is the new king of Israel, and, in his great wealth, he offered a large sacrifice to God, after which the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Ask what you wish me to give you” (1 Kings 3:5). Solomon’s response, in 1 Kings 3:9, pleased God: “Give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
A thousand years later, in Mark 10:51-52, a blind beggar was crying out to Jesus from the side of the road when Jesus responded, “‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ And the blind man said to Him, ‘Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.”
Two men, one a rich ruler and the other a poor beggar, are given the opportunity of a lifetime. The first received the ability to hear with his heart and the second the ability to see with his eyes. Both, in response, are invited to follow in the way to demonstrate that they have received the true gift – a relationship with the Gift-Giver. Today, God is offering you the same opportunity of a lifetime.
Seize the moment and “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it” (Psalm 37:4-5).
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Seize the Moment – Day 811
Deal with the Enemy Within!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, June 6.
Have you ever felt like the greatest threat to your own happiness and well-being was not from the outside, but from the enemy within?
In his final charge to Solomon, King David commanded the new king, to deal with the enemies within his own gates; he started with these instructions recorded in 1 Kings 2:2-4:
I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, “If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.”
Wisely, David gave Solomon God’s instructions for a king from Deuteronomy 17:18-20 and passed on to his son God’s covenantal promise from 2 Samuel 7:12-16. David believed the greatest threat to Solomon would be the enemies within the gate, including Joab and Shimei (1 Kings 2:5-9).
By the end of this chapter, it looked as if the enemies within the gate had been dealt with successfully. Except for one! Solomon seemingly didn’t deal with the worst of the enemies within the gate that David warned him of – himself! As we will see in the very next chapter, Solomon sowed the seeds of his own failure, not from a lack of wisdom, but from a lack of submission to God’s ways in the most intimate places of his life (Deuteronomy 17:17; 1 Kings 11:1-6).
Seize the moment and “watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23; Mark 7:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Romans 7:21-23).
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Seize the Moment – Day 809
Today’s hymn focus will be
Old-Time Power
Acts 1:8 (NLT)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
The youngest son of a Baptist preacher, Charles Tillman had a passion for church related music. With his eclectic collection of music, he had a knack for adopting material and flowing it into a mix that we know today as southern gospel. He was assisting his father with a tent meeting in South Carolina when he heard a spiritual “The Old Time Religion” and was inspired to write the words and rudiments for this hymn. While G.B. Pike was the first to publish part of this hymn in 1873, the full hymn was later published by Tillman and had a more mnemonic cadence that helped it to be the more popular style to sing this hymn.
O Lord, send the power just now, O Lord, send the power just now
O Lord, send the power just now and baptize every one.
Just like Tillman, we need to wake up and realize we are not able to do this on our own power. We need the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives each and every day. Surrender to His leading and guidance as you make each day a day the Lord can use you!
YOUTUBE:
Old-Time Power
They were all with one accord,
When the Holy Ghost descended,
As was promised by the Lord.
O Lord, send the pow’r just now,
O Lord, send the pow’r just now,
O Lord, send the pow’r just now,
And baptize ev’ry one.
With the sound of rushing wind;
Tongues of fire came down upon them,
As the Lord said He would send. [Refrain]
To our fathers who were true;
This is promised to believers,
And we all may have it too. [Refrain]
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Seize the Moment – Day 808
Men Plot and God Wills!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, June 3.
As we begin a new book of the Bible (1 Kings), we start with the same old story of people acting out of their fears, manipulating current events, and plotting to gain power. Not much has changed over the last three thousand years. As David laid on his death bed, Adonijah, like Absalom before him, took the initiative to make himself the next king of Israel. The heart of the drama is found in 1 Kings 1:13-14 where Nathan organized a plan with Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, to counter Adonijah’s conspiracy:
So now come, please let me give you counsel and save your life and the life of your son Solomon. Go at once to King David and say to him, “Have you not, my lord, O king, sworn to your maidservant, saying, ‘Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? Why then has Adonijah become king?” Behold, while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.
Nathan the prophet had access to David and used it to bring about God’s will for the building of His temple through Solomon, as foretold to David (1 Chronicles 22:9-10). This was of paramount importance to David, as it was on his heart to do this for God. In the 2 Samuel 7 account, Nathan had mistakenly given David permission to build the temple but was given a word from God that forbade David from building the temple but secured a dynastic succession. Adonijah, as the eldest living son of David, thought that he could put himself on the throne of Israel, but that was the way of men. God is the one who establishes authority (Romans 13:1). Men plot and God wills!
Seize the moment and stop your plotting, trust God’s sovereign rule over the nations (Psalm 22:28; 47:8; 1 Chronicles 16:31).
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