Psalm 119:5 Aleph – My Ways – Thy Ways

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Psalm 119

My Ways — Thy Ways

(Psalm 119:5)

ALEPH

O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! (Psalm 119:5)

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8)

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)

   In Psalm 119 the soul cries out, Not my way, but direct me by Thy way, show me the very path I should take to keep thy statutes. God’s will is God’s way working through the heart of the redeemed of the Lord crying out, Not my will, but they will be done.

   These verses that we will be considering in the Old Testament leaves mankind with a dilemma, for you see, man’s will is based on the sin of Adam. Each and every person who has been born of the seed of Adam has Adam’s DNA of sin. Sin is the most horrible, and most destructive strand of DNA. It never changes, it never diminishes in the children of Adam, and I also add, and the children of the devil. This evil strand of sin or DNA runs through the entire history of mankind past, present, and into the future until the righteous Judge ends this wicked strand by casting it into the lake of fire. Man, in Adam, cannot change. In Adam, man is completely doomed in his sin, and there is nothing that Adam can do to change himself. He is a fallen creature away from God, and has no hope in this world. This leaves mankind with the immortal question, What must I do to be saved?

   This is where we have the determinate counsels of God because the plan of redemption is spelled out in black and white in the King James Version of the Bible (the only Bible that has consistency of thought in the righteousness of God from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21). The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. In this last verse of the Bible the Spirit of God looks over all the history of mankind contemplating the souls of men. He muses on the very words that He has given for the redemption of man, and the Holy Spirit of God closes the entire cannon of Scripture with the word ‘grace,’ the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the last moment of God’s love to mankind, calling out to those who need salvation, who are the called of God shedding faith upon us that we might believe.

Faith

   Yes, I said Faith. This is not man’s faith. This is God’s faith. It belongs to God. When God gave faith to Abel, it was the substance given to Abel’s heart that God would call faith. Faith is the witness of the things hoped for, and it is the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is the crowning jewel of belief in God, and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) Abel had divine faith, his faith was a gift from God Almighty. This led Abel to walk in the statutes of the Lord, to obey God and to offer a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4) For our own information, Abel’s faith is not recorded in the Old Testament, the word ‘faith’ is not mentioned in relationship to the man Abel. We have to wait until Hebrews 11 in the New Testament to see and understand the faith of Abel. In fact, the word ‘FAITH’ is only mentioned twice in the Old Testament, the first mention is in Deuteronomy 32:20, and the last mention is in Habakkuk Chapter 2, verse 4.

And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. (Deuteronomy 32:20)

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:4)

   There is a specific reason in the counsels of God for these two mentions of faith in the Old Testament. The first mention in Deuteronomy declares that God will hide His face from the children who have no faith. He will not consider them in His blessings. He will not consider them in His grace. They are children under condemnation, the condemnation of God for their sin. We have the contrast in the last mention of faith in the Old Testament that those who are justified by God SHALL and WILL walk by faith.

   This takes us to the man Abraham (in the book of Romans Chapter 4) that he walked by faith, that he believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. (James 2:23) James tells us that Abraham’s faith was the fulfillment of Scripture. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. (Romans 4:3) Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. (Galatians 3:6)

Imputed

   Why begin with the book of James? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. (James 2:23) We need to understand the word ‘imputed.’ God imputed His own righteousness unto Abraham because Abraham acted on God’s faith, yes, I said God’s faith, He is the possessor of all faith, and He is the Giver of all faith. Faith is BY God, IN God, and THROUGH His divine mercies. No one of Adam’s race deserves the righteousness of God. It has to be an IMPUTED act of God through DIVINE faith.

   Hebrews Chapter 11 is that monumental Chapter of divine faith. Not once in the entire Chapter do any of the witnesses of faith call it ‘my faith.’ It is God’s way and not our way. It is God’s thoughts and not our thoughts. In Chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews verse 6, we read, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. What a reflection of Psalm 119:5, for it is impossible to please God unless one comes to God, and they must BELIEVE that He is, and that He is a rewarder, that He meters out His righteousness because of their belief IN Him. Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness — righteousness was IMPUTED by God to Abraham.

   In Hebrews Chapter 11 you will not find the word ‘grace.’ Does this nullify grace? God forbid. As the horse of the chariot pulls the chariot, so divine faith pulls divine grace. Did Noah have faith? Yes, and through divine faith He found grace in God’s sight. (Genesis 6:8) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. Noah’s day was the end of the known world. God had repented of Himself that He had ever made man. We were at the verge of total annihilation. For there was no one who walked by faith left upon the earth except for this one man, and this one man saved all humanity by building an ark that survived and came through the flood. Noah found grace in God’s sight. The eyes of God fastened on Noah, and Noah believed God for his own salvation, and the completion of that was realized on the other side of the flood when ALL would be made new. No where is it recorded that Noah’s sons, Noah’s wife, or the wives of his sons found grace in the sight of the Lord. Noah, therefore, was the only one with divine faith. And God honored Noah and his house because of that divine faith.

Faith in the New Testament

   In the New Testament faith is mentioned many times, and we should look at the amount that it is mentioned, don’t allow this to bore you for it is very important. Once again, we are dealing with the single act of faith — FAITH.

   In the gospel of Matthew, faith is mentioned 13 times. In Mark’s gospel it is only mentioned 5 times. In Luke’s gospel it is mentioned 12 times, now here is the big surprise, faith is NOT mentioned in the gospel of John, but ‘belief’ is mentioned, and in relationship to God’s grace, belief is the prominent word in John’s gospel. This takes us forward to the book of Hebrews, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 　Therefore, when one believes, one receives faith from God by God and in God. God gives the gift of grace in His Son Jesus Christ through belief and faith. In the grace of God He imputes to us His own righteousness and sin cannot stand that righteousness because sin has been taken out of the way by God’s dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. Let us continue our journey through the New Testament: in the book of Acts the word ‘faith’ is mentioned in 15 verses, in Romans we have 34 verses, 1 Corinthians — 7 verses; 2 Corinthians — 6 verses. And here again is another surprise, in the small book of Galatians, the word ‘faith’ is recorded in 20 verses, it is the predominant word. In the book of Ephesians ‘grace’ is the predominant word, and ‘faith’ is only mentioned in 8 verses, however, grace is always mentioned in compatibility with or in conjunction with faith. In Philippians, ‘faith’ is only mentioned in 4 verses. In Colossians we have 5 verses, in 1 Thessalonians — 8 verses, in 2nd Thessalonians — 4 verses, in 1st Timothy— 19 verses, in 2nd Timothy — 8 verses, in Titus 5 — verses, in Philemon — 2 verses, and in Hebrews ‘faith’ is mentioned in 31 verses, and let us not forget the 11th Chapter which is considered by all the faith Chapter of the whole Bible which closes with, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:40) Verse 40 is the vision of those who walked by faith looking forward to the day of the fullness of time when Christ would sacrifice Himself on the cross of Calvary. We, through faith, look back to that day because the Son of God was perfected on the cross of Calvary, therefore, both Old and New Testament saints enter into His perfection that we ALL are perfected in Christ.

And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third [day] I shall be perfected. (Luke 13:32)

For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (Hebrews 2:10)

I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. (John 17:23)

Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. (Philippians 3:15)

Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: (Colossians 1:28)

   All these verses are in the realm or dominion of God’s faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. In the book of James, faith is mentioned in 12 verses, in 1st Peter — 5 verses, in 2nd Peter — 2 verses, 1st John we have only 1 verse, in 2nd John there is no mention of faith, in 3rd John there is no mention, and in the book of Jude there are 2 verses that faith is recorded, yet, this ends the testimony of man as the prelude to the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

   In the book of Jude, verse 3, it is the faith which was ONCE delivered unto the saints, consider this word ‘delivered’ some thing that was given to them, and the divine origin of this faith was God Himself. ¶ Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3) Then we have verse 20, But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, (Jude 1:20) this is to encourage those of faith, the Holy Ghost calls your faith, your most holy faith. This again testifies to the divine origin of faith for God is holy, and His holiness can only come through His faith. We can only receive holiness by being IN Christ Jesus our Lord, thus, we can fulfill ‘be ye holy, for I am holy.’

   Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (1 Peter 1:16) Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. (Leviticus 19:2) We cannot close out verse 20 of Jude without considering verse 21, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (Jude 1:21) Notice the result of faith: that we keep ourselves in the love of God. What is this divine love? It is that God laid down His life for us, and our faith is to keep us looking for the mercies of our Lord Jesus Christ, not just for an hour, not just for a day, not just for a lifetime, but unto eternal life. Jude closes this little section of two verses with eternal life. He begins it with ‘faith’ and ends it with eternal life. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

   In the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, ‘faith’ is only mentioned in 4 verses. This is very important, for the book of the Revelation is the last witness of the Spirit of God to Adam’s race, to the men of the world, and the number 4 always speaks of the world. The four corners of the earth will hear the message of faith for the last time before the great judgment of God rolls upon them. As Noah found grace in the sight of God, so through the tribulation period men of like minds will find grace in the eyes of the Lord before the great and terrible day of the Lord.

God’s Faith not ‘My Faith’

   Noah’s day is closely related to our age, for mankind has heaped upon themselves the sins of Noah’s day. Even the religious man has lost the true definition and the true origin of faith. How many times outside of the church doorway do we hear people talking about ‘their faith.’ They use the term ‘my faith’ as though faith originated within them when there is no divine faith in them. ‘My faith’ cannot be determined or defined by a man under sin and death. It is ‘faith’ that brings forth grace that brings forth life in Jesus Christ, and this faith has to be delivered by the Spirit of God. Since I dwell in Adam, it is impossible for me to come to God. God MUST reveal Himself to me by divine faith. Again, I say, His faith is imparted to man. For without faith it is impossible to please Him. (Hebrews 11:6) Therefore, man in Adam cannot find faith or acquire faith without God revealing Himself by His faith to the individual. Man in Adam has no comprehension or understanding of the divine sacrifice of the Son of God. God MUST reveal our Savior, Jesus Christ, to the heart, to the soul and to the spirit of man. God reveals HIS faith, and God is the source of ALL faith, not Adam. If mankind wants to stand on his own faith, which we hear from the lips of men all the time, then they are reasoning within themselves that they are able to will themselves into salvation, this is impossible. The will of the natural man is under the control of Adam, and thus under the control of sin which makes all of mankind enmity against God.

   Enmity means being in complete opposition to the Almighty — complete denial of the Almighty — complete separation from the Almighty, and in complete darkness of heart, soul and spirit because within me is no good thing. Now you see where mankind stands. He is without God in total darkness. And in this enmity mankind is the child of Adam, and the child of his father, the devil. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (John 8:44) The Lord spoke these words to the religious men of His day. This was their character and this came from Adam, and the devil. The verse is self explanatory, only the darkest eyes, and darkest minds could not see the horror and the darkness of man’s religion. Christianity is not a religion. It is a possession. I am in Christ, and He is in me. I don’t worship a building, or a preacher, or an organization, or relics of the past, I worship the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. In my lifetime if my worship of Christ were to separate me from all men, so be it because my faith is IN Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.

   I am sure that the men who condemned the Lord of glory to the cross used the words ‘my faith.’ Their faith, however, was in Adam and sin, and not in the Savior. They were blind to the saving faith of God. Putting one’s faith in Adam will not give you salvation. Adam was never a savior. Adam became a condemned man with no hope in this world. It took a man from heaven, the Lord of glory, the Son of God to do a divine work on the cross so that Adam would be taken out of the way, or in our modern terms, Adam was completely deleted, and replaced with a divine Man, the GodMan Jesus Christ. Christ’s work on the cross was so complete that we now have a glorified Man, a divine Man in heaven without sin. And He is there for all the redeemed. Could Adam, and his will, or the will of man, do this? No. Adam gave up divine life for the devil’s darkness, thus, John Chapter 1 tells us that mankind loves darkness and will not in any way come to the light. Even religious men believe that they can live by three principals: his will to be good, his will to be saved, and his will to live up to Adam’s standard of good. All three will not save the soul. In fact, they will put the soul into deeper darkness because the only light that man can receive must come from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? (John 3:4)

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (John 3:7)

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)

   Even Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, a religious educated man in John Chapter 3 asked the Lord Jesus, as any unredeemed man would ask, Can a man enter into his mother’s womb again? How would this make man any better? Would that give man eternal life? Would that eradicate sin? Would that replace Adam with a GodMan? No. Man is subject to his sin, and man must die because of his sin. The dust must return to dust. The Lord Jesus informed Nicodemus that a man must be born of the Spirit, and not the seed of man.

God’s Way Not Man’s Ways

   Why this problem with Nicodemus? The thoughts of Nicodemus were not the thoughts of God. The ways of Nicodemus were not God’s ways. Divine revelation is God sharing His thoughts and showing mankind His ways, and revealing man’s need because of his sin. Man cannot have the thoughts of God unless God breaks down the wall of sin, and shares His thoughts with man. Man remains in a helpless state in Adam, and his father, the devil, leads mankind down a dark road of sin. It is the devil who gives man his daily thoughts that leads to the fires of hell, therefore, God must share His thoughts by divine revelation, and/or we could say inspiration. We have both the revelation and inspiration of God’s thoughts in His most holy Word. The Bible shows His ways as He intervenes in the history of Adam. During this history, in the fullness of God’s time, He sent forth His Son, Jesus Christ, and as the last straw concerning man’s sin, man cast the Son of God out of the vineyard and crucified Him because their way and will was better than (they thought) the ways of God. Adam once again was completely ready to trade life for sin and death. He was ready to trade righteousness for evil. He was ready to trade light for darkness, and immortality for mortality. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ undoubtedly proved that an incomprehensible spirit dwelt within man because he could not understand (and today he cannot understand) the thoughts and ways of God, therefore since God’s thoughts are higher than my thoughts should I not listen to Him? Where can I hear His voice? The Bible has 66 books showing the need of mankind, and proclaiming the remedy of that need in Jesus Christ the Savior of the world. Ask your father, Adam, What did you give me? The answer is sin and death. In the transgression of Adam everything about mankind was distorted almost like the fantasies of the world in the shapeshifters mythologies where an object becomes completely changed in its appearance and in its structural appearance. Completely changed — this was Adam at the point of sin. Even his intellectual powers changed, and left him alone and no place to go, and no one to turn to, for he was alienated from his Creator. His sin was so gross that it has been imputed to all of mankind. Man is lost, and completely alienated from God, and yet, God offers His truth and His grace through Jesus Christ. As someone once said, What have you got to lose? Seems too simple?

The Fight

   Don’t be fooled. Both Adam and the devil do not want you to come to the truth and the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. They do not want you to agree with God in any way. They want you to agree with their way, which is the wrong way. Adam will argue with you about the existence of God, he will argue with you concerning his own creation, he will tell you to your face that he was an accident that came from slime. That he is no better than the lowest forms of life on the planet, however, he was not created slime, he became slime because of sin against God. Adam and the devil will fight tooth and nail against God’s faith, and God’s grace. They will deny the Person of God’s dear Son the Lord Jesus Christ. They will deny that He was God’s Son. They will deny that He was a divine Man. They will deny that Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things both seen and unseen. They will deny that Jesus Christ is the Holder and Minister of all truth. There is no truth in Adam or the devil! The devil has been a liar from the beginning. One of the greatest points of God’s salvation is that after the divine work in you, and you are a new creature in Christ, you have no more affinity for Adam. Adam’s world becomes foreign to you. And for a while you might even be sympathetic to Adam’s religion, however, the Holy Spirit will unmask and expose the fallacies of Adam and the devil’s religion. When saved you become a stranger in this world, and on the other side, you understand God’s ways and God’s truth. And by heralding God’s truth, not only does the world become strange to you, but you become strange to the world. You feel closer to heaven then to the earth, and closer to Christ then to Adam. Adam becomes a strange character because  you see what you were, and you know what you have become. What you could not see before — now the Holy Spirit shows you all. He shows you the darkness of Adam, and the darkness of the devil by the truth that is in His Word, consequently the ways of the Lord are in your heart, and the heart cries out, O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! (Psalm 119:5) The Holy Spirit takes you to God’s ways, and He also takes you to God’s thoughts. You are directed by the Holy Spirit of God which could not happen when you were in Adam.

   So what are these ways of God? The Holy Spirit will take one Scripture after another to give you the direction, the will, and the mind of God for your life, and for your path. Let’s look at the following Scriptures.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (Ephesians 6:10)

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.(Ephesians 6:11)

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)

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. (Ephesians 6:13)

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; (Ephesians 6:14)

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (Ephesians 6:15)

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (Ephesians 6:16)

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (Ephesians 6:17)

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:18)　

And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, (Ephesians 6:19)

   As we enter into the mind and thoughts of the Spirit of God, for He is the Spirit of truth, and He is the Spirit of Christ, step back, take an inventory of the world around you, look through the eyes of the Holy Spirit of God, you will see the world as it is, and as it was in the days of Noah. Your inventory list of the world and its sin becomes overwhelmingly long, you see Adam’s sin like you have never seen it before, and when you feel your heart begin to melt, you hear the words of the Spirit of God, Finally, my brethren. He is not ashamed to call you brethren. (Hebrews 2) He shows you the opposition, He shows you the battlefield, and He shows you the battle plan. When you see all of this, the turmoil of Adam’s life, at this point put on the whole armor of God. You have been called, you have been saved, you have been trained, and now you are a soldier. You are a soldier for the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. You belong to an army, an innumerable army, but you have a personal responsibility to put on the whole armor of God. Do not leave one piece idle, or discarded. The words of the psalmist echoes in our heart, O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! And what better declaration can you get than this — and then the words from the Holy Spirit Put on the whole armour of God. As salvation is complete so God presents a complete list of the armor of God. And with the armor of God we receive the whole strength and power of the Lord Jesus Christ to set us in opposition to a sinful world even the wiles of the devil, of which there are quite a few. In the 12th verse of Ephesians 6, we are to walk after the Spirit, and not the flesh. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)

The Beginning of the Battle — The Law Broken

   Now, we are walking in the law of the Spirit of life and the Spirit of truth. We have been given these as a gift from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a divine promise to everyone who is born of the Spirit of God. We have been given the law of the Spirit of life to replace the law of sin and death. We are IN Christ, and we have received His Spirit of life, and we are completely set free from the law of sin and death that our father, Adam, gave us. Just what was that law in the day that Adam sinned? God had spoken these words to Adam, in the day that you partake of the tree of good and evil in that very moment ye shall surely die. This was the law of sin and death. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: (Genesis 2:16) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17) and it is magnified in Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

The Change

   In that very moment that Adam partook of the fruit of the tree, Adam was changed, He was changed from a man of life to a man of death. He was changed from a man of light to a man of darkness. He was changed from a man whom God called ‘good’ to a man of evil. He was changed from a glorious image to a distorted image, and now, flesh and blood could not inherit the kingdom of God.

   The redeemed do not wrestle against flesh and blood because they have been transformed from this world of flesh and blood to the world of the spirit, and the sons of God.

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1 John 3:1)

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (1 John 3:3)

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13)

Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. (Isaiah 56:5)

   It is the divine will that we (who have life in Jesus Christ) enter into spiritual warfare against the darkness of this world. There is a tangible world, and there is a spiritual world. The battle here is with the foes of darkness, the principalities of the wicked one, the powers of the darkness, the rulers of that darkness, and this conflict reaches into high places. It is so drastic that even Michael, the archangel, was delayed in the days of Daniel because of the Prince of Persia, the rulers of the darkness of this world. They are also the deceivers of this world energized by that old serpent the devil. Have you ever wondered why man’s religion is so corrupt? You can list the evil and wickedness, the lasciviousness, and the basest acts of men and bring them in the houses of their religions. Why? Because their religions are based on Adam and not Christ. Adam and the devil are so deceptive that they will even use the name of Christ to overthrow the faith of some.

   The deceiver of men, the devil himself, has been working long hours, he has traveled a very long path from the garden to the present day. His sole object has always been to overthrow the souls of men. He uses the sons of Adam as a deceptive force by creating religion that has no power, and most of all has no path to salvation. He also raises up those who mock the power of the Son of God. In their distinctive garments they declare that although a man can be saved Christ has no power to keep that man. They preach a powerless gospel for they know not the power of eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

   They mocked the Lord, they spit upon Him, they scourged Him, and today with sweet words and flowery sayings from the pulpits of the world they do the same. They do not proclaim the majesty, and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ that He IS the Creator of all things, that He has existed in eternity, and that He was manifested on earth as the GodMan to take away the sin of the world. Beloved, do not let the devil and his ministers deceive you. Christ’s gospel is not a powerless gospel. His gospel has turned the world upside down. His gospel has saved men from the bottomless pit. His gospel has reached into the darkest dungeon of sin with His glorious light. Don’t be intimidated by the devil and his hosts, put on the whole armor of God that you might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

   God never presents just one article of His armor, He gives us five pieces, the completion of His grace, and He allows us to proclaim that grace to mankind. Remember, this armor is God’s armor, and man cannot take it from you or from me, for God Himself in His preserving power has given and placed His armor upon us. He has fitted it to everyone who belongs to Him. Like David with the armor of Saul, David could not prove it, so too Adam and his armor of religion will not fit and cannot be proved. God gives us five smooth stones of grace in His armor, and with this armor we are to go against the giant and his kingdom so that we can stand with our sling in our hands and destroy his kingdom by reaching out and pulling the souls of men out of the fires, although their garments are spotted with flesh.

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, (Jude 20)

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (Jude 21)

And of some have compassion, making a difference: (Jude 22)

And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. (Jude 23)

   This is the sadness of the state of the world that we walk through, so keep your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Holding the eternal shield of faith because this shield has been given of God to protect you in your walk of faith. Examine all things by the Word of God, and seek God’s mind, and His thoughts in your walk of faith. All this Abraham did. He walked by faith, and in his walk he proved his faith. And God imputed righteousness to him because of Abraham’s faithful walk before the Almighty God.

Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (Romans 4:16)

But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. (Romans 4:5)

Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. (Galatians 3:6)

And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. (James 2:23)

   Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. In Acts Chapter 7 verse 2, we are informed by the Spirit of God that the God of glory appeared to Abraham when he was yet in Mesopotamia. This was the call of Abraham. God not only appeared, but called Abraham from the wickedness of idolatry. God spoke, and Abraham listened and Abraham believed. Abraham is a good example and proof of Hebrews 11:6. The day that God called Abraham was like any other day in Abraham’s life. Abraham was not looking for God, it was God who was looking for Abraham. Abraham was not a random choice by God. Abraham was not fitted into God’s plan, he was part of God’s plan because the divine seed one day would be Jesus Christ who took upon Himself the seed of Abraham, and that He (as a faithful high Priest) would deliver a people from their sin. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16) For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. (Hebrews 2:16)

The Battle Plan Revealed

   These two Scriptures show the plan of God, or one could say, God’s determinate counsels. The Holy Spirit links the life of Abraham through Scripture to a new generation bought with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the book of Hebrews, Chapter 2, the Spirit of God continues with the priest of sacrifice laying down His own life for the sins of His people. This is the generation of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 1) Matthew 1:1 begins with a supernatural generation, the souls that are bought, the souls that have been paid for by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the eternal generation. It is not the generation of the world, but a supernatural generation from Abel to the new heaven and the new earth. God’s plan has been revealed to us as it was revealed to Abraham. God has (through the pages of Scripture) revealed His intent, and His purpose with the redemption of mankind. He has fulfilled His determinate counsels, and He has done it through His foreknowledge and His divine will. He revealed from the very beginning — the Son of God in the Old Testament — when God declared, And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)

   This was the image of Jesus Christ. The exact image that He would manifest on earth when He walked among men. When speaking to His disciples He referred back to the writing of Moses, and to the prophets, and to the Psalms in all things concerning Himself in that all the Old Testament prophecies would be fulfilled in Him. He was/is the hinge pin of eternity, and the hinge pin came forth in the fullness of time. Christ today is fulfilling prophecy concerning us, the redeemed. He declared a people for Himself, and we are that people. As we live and believe in Jesus Christ, He, the divine Sovereign, is fulfilling His plan IN us and THROUGH us, as Abraham walked with God, he was called a friend of God. (James 2:23) The Lord Jesus told His servants, the disciples, that they were no longer servants, but friends, thus, joining them to Abraham, and joining them to us He is not ashamed to call us brethren for we are part of Him, we are part of His body for all eternity. (Hebrews 2) He has redeemed us for Himself. We are His bride of great price paid in full by His own blood. This Adam could not do. Although his bride was part of him, she still came from his rib as part of his bone, and part of his flesh. In the fall of Adam, it was his bride who was first tempted, and then Adam fell into sin, and received the penalty of death upon both, Adam and Eve. Adam could not save Eve or himself.

   In the new creature (in the new creation), we are created not to be man, but to be spirit by the Spirit of God. We are not as man by blood, or of the will of the flesh, or the will of man, we are supernaturally created by the will of God through His Spirit. We become a new people born by the Spirit of God in a spiritual realm. (John 3) We are energized not by man, but by the Spirit of Christ. Abraham was told by God to walk before God, and to be thou perfect, and Abraham was perfect in God’s imputed righteousness. The apostle tells us by the Spirit of God to walk IN Christ, and this walk is a walk of perfection, for Christ has been perfected in us. Is not Christ the perfect Savior? Was He not the perfect Man on earth? Is He not in heaven for us as the perfect God? This is the perfection that we walk in. This is the way of the Lord that He directs me to keep His statutes. (Psalm 119:5) The way of the Lord is the walk of His will. Even the Son of God said of Himself, I must walk today, and tomorrow, and on the third day I will be perfected.

And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. (Luke 13:32)

Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. (Luke 13:33)

   The words of verse 32 ends with the third day, and the perfection of the Son of God. This was the completion of His perfect walk before God. The heart, the souls, the spirit of the One who could say, I delight to do thy will, O God. Now, for the child of God today, I walk today, I walk tomorrow, and one day I will be perfected before Christ. The book of Romans, Chapter 8, speaks of our complete change from flesh to spirit, and then from spirit to eternity with Christ. In our adoption one day God will reveal all His favor in the redeemed of the Lord, however, today I must walk in an evil world. So I will walk in the One who has been perfected for this Perfection has told me that He will never leave me, nor forsake me. He has given His own Spirit within me to reassure, to guide, and to eternally keep me. (Romans 8:9) In verse 33 of the gospel of Luke we read, Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. We read about the Savior speaking about walking tomorrow, we, as Christians, do not know what is in tomorrow. But we know who holds tomorrow. He knew what was before Him in every new day, and the Lord Jesus knows what is before us in every new day. He will keep me each and every day. He has told me to keep my focus on the things at hand, the things of this day, to watch every one of my footsteps for in the very day that I live there are enough things to overcome. The only way to overcome the burdens of today, is to walk in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ and be about our Father’s business. And THAT day in the future, we will reach that day by following Christ as we walk through the world, and are joined to His suffering, and IN His suffering. I must walk in His ways, and I must keep His statutes. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (John 14:21) We cannot turn aside from the words of the Lord Jesus. They are as the burning bush, and the ground that He stands on is holy ground. These are divine words from heaven, and from the Man in heaven for us. They go right to the very heart of salvation, and the love of God for us, and our love for God because of His divine love. I say with all grace that Adam gave us weakness and death; Christ gave us power and life. We must listen to the voice of the Savior through the divine Spirit of God, for this is where the power lies in Christ Himself. He IS the perfection, and we are perfected in Him. Don’t let Adam, the lesser, tell you to be weak, to be a poor little victim, you have been set free in Christ, and in that freedom you have this power. Ask and it shall be given unto you. This is His promise to us that through His power we can overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. We are now free to seek the perfect will of God, and walk in His ways not our ways, and to have His thoughts and not our thoughts, and keep His statutes and not our statutes. As all these words flowed from His mouth to His disciples in John 14:21 so by the Spirit of truth they flow to us as they flowed to the psalmist in Psalm 119:10. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

   Even though the cross is behind us, we have the power of that cross in our daily life. For we have been crucified IN Christ to the world in which we live, and in His crucifixion, for the world itself is crucified unto us. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. In Galatians 6:14 we have our own death, and we have the death of the world to us. We, in our death, no longer want any part of this evil world, and this evil world considers us dead to them. As the Spirit gives us these words, it couldn’t be any plainer for we have nothing to give to the world except Jesus Christ, and nothing to take from the world, for we have received all from Jesus Christ. There are few soldiers who reach the spiritual conflict against Satan, and against Adam. And for this God has given the whole armor of God that we might stand in THIS evil day. That we might speak the truth and lie not. We have nothing to gain, but the harvest of precious souls. And all truth BY us, and IN us comes from the Spirit of truth who has fitted us with the breastplate of divine righteousness. Faith brings grace, and grace brings the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ.

   Our feet are shod with the healing balm of Gilead, the gospel of and by Jesus Christ. The preparation of the gospel, the fine flour beaten finely, the oil of gladness pure as it can be, the offering of great price, the ointment poured forth, she has done this for my death and burial, the ointment of great price, and wherever this gospel is preached let it be declared for this woman that she did what she could. How beautiful are the feet of them who bring good tidings. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! (Isaiah 52:7) These feet have been bathed in His walk. They have been anointed in His death, and raised by the power of His resurrection. These feet are the messengers of His light and glorious grace to mankind, then the Almighty gives us the shield of faith. As I mentioned before, the word ‘faith’ is only found twice in the Old Testament. The first mention is ‘children of no faith’ in the book of Deuteronomy. The last mention is of those who are justified by faith and have received the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. When I was a child, there was a saying, Wherever you stepped with your toe, the rest would follow. This can be very important to the child of God. When walking by faith if the toe comes out from among them, the whole being also comes out, and therefore, that step separates one from the world, the flesh, and the devil. With that walk one carries the shield of faith. It is this shield of faith that quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked, and gives an answer to all men of the reason for your faith in Jesus Christ. As the shield of faith protects the heart, the helmet of salvation protects the mind. Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2) In the mind we sing to ourselves the psalms and spiritual hymns, we register the Word of God into the pages of our memory so that it can be used by the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, thus, we are always abounding in that holy Word. You have now traded Saul’s armor for the armor of God. You have five smooth stones, and a sling. One, you have the God of truth, Two, you have the breastplate of righteousness, for with the heart man believes. Three, you have the shield of faith to protect both the breastplate and the heart. Four, you have the helmet of salvation to give you the mind of Christ. And five, you have the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11) Now you have done all to stand against the wiles of the devil. You stand as a soldier in the whole armor of God, so now, bow the knee in prayer.

   Let us pray for all saints, and as we lick the water out of our hands, (Judges 7:5-7) let us be watching for the perishing souls in the wilderness, in the villages, in the hamlets, in the towns, in the cities, in the country, and in the world. We are ready for battle. Let’s get to it. Amen.

© Copyright 2018, Michael Haigh

Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.

All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)