Each time, we are dead wrong and our conscience knows it. In
the first example of temptation, if we turn around and flee at the crucial
“moment of truth”, then our integrity remains intact….not to mention our
testimony and peace of mind. Each time, for the Christian, it is the word of
God which rescues us. We are told to “flee immorality”. James – who grew up in the same household as his half- brother – the Lord Jesus Christ – warns us to “resist the devil and he will flee from us”. “One little word shall fell
him (the devil) and that word is – JESUS!
In Psalm 119:33-40, we read:
Psalm 119:33-40
He (pronouced "Hay")
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law
And keep it with all my heart.
35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to dishonest gain.
37 Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,
And revive me in Your ways.
38 Establish Your word to Your servant,
As that which produces reverence for You.
39 Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your ordinances are good.
40 Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.
Something actually happens to us when we are put under the enemy's weapons of sin - we sometimes either panic spiritually or feel abandoned. If you are honest with yourself, you will know this is the truth. So what can the righteous do in this case? We actually need to double down and hunker down in our Mighty Fortress, Who is our God! We can protect our flanks like the ancient Roman soldiers, not just from sexual sin by literally running from it, but thinking globally. This is not global thinking in the sense of a secular global agenda, but a going outside of the immediate oppression from the enemy of sexual sin or lust and bringing to mind the other sins of greed, covetousness and other such arrows from the pit which have the potential to be fired at us. We gather all that can cause us to fall, in full knowledge of how destructive they are. Then we seek God in the most strategic way possible (verses 33-34).
This is what verse 35 tells us! The Word here calls for God to bring His truths and commands to full consciousness so we can bring all this spiritual attack under that umbrella and defeat it mightily, But note that this defeat is not only for the sake of defeat. God created a purpose for defeating sin, as Defeat becomes Delight!
Delight leads to our spiritual heart leaning to the right side of the ledger and we see bright clear daylight (verse 36). The clarity of the cleansing power of His Word averts our eyes from the morass of the mundane to the miracles of the Mighty one. He has turned our eyes from seeing death and darkness to a revival of the Spirit in anticipation of an exploding, over abundant joy which the heart cannot contain (verse 37)!
The exuberance which cometh from being fortified by His Word, accompanied by the oil of joy, reminds us (if we are completely in sync with God) that He is not just worthy to be praised but deserving of our respect and reverence. He is God Eternal, wise and powerful (verse 38) and everything in us should require wonder and worship of He Who sits on the Throne.
In troubled times of spiritual oppression, we are able to defeat the enemy by His Spirit and the Word of God. This is our defense. We shall not be moved or hurt if we are armored up and protected on all sides by the Word and Wonder and Will of God - if we obey Him and do not fall short into reproach (verse 39).
The letter under which this portion of Psalm 119 falls under is "HE" ...pronounced "Hay or Hey". In Biblical Hebrew, this signifies "breath" - i.e. the very Breath of God. It is used several times in the Creation account from Genesis chapters 1 and 2. It is also used for the words "light" as in Genesis 1:3-4 ("let there be light"). It is no accident that the Lord is giving us the weaponized response to spiritual attack by naming this portion of Psalm 119 by the word "Light" as in the original "He". Yahweh is the Light (the two "H's" in Yahweh are the same letter - "He"). In Him there is found NO darkness. He has breathed His Words and commands into the human authors of the Bible so that we can understand how He uses humans to do His Will. We can choose to remain under His protection, and allow His Spirit to guide us away from darkness back to the lighted path and we can long for this (verse 40)....if we are wise. Amen.
In Psalm 119:33-40, we read:
Psalm 119:33-40
He (pronouced "Hay")
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law
And keep it with all my heart.
35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to dishonest gain.
37 Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,
And revive me in Your ways.
38 Establish Your word to Your servant,
As that which produces reverence for You.
39 Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your ordinances are good.
40 Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.
Something actually happens to us when we are put under the enemy's weapons of sin - we sometimes either panic spiritually or feel abandoned. If you are honest with yourself, you will know this is the truth. So what can the righteous do in this case? We actually need to double down and hunker down in our Mighty Fortress, Who is our God! We can protect our flanks like the ancient Roman soldiers, not just from sexual sin by literally running from it, but thinking globally. This is not global thinking in the sense of a secular global agenda, but a going outside of the immediate oppression from the enemy of sexual sin or lust and bringing to mind the other sins of greed, covetousness and other such arrows from the pit which have the potential to be fired at us. We gather all that can cause us to fall, in full knowledge of how destructive they are. Then we seek God in the most strategic way possible (verses 33-34).
This is what verse 35 tells us! The Word here calls for God to bring His truths and commands to full consciousness so we can bring all this spiritual attack under that umbrella and defeat it mightily, But note that this defeat is not only for the sake of defeat. God created a purpose for defeating sin, as Defeat becomes Delight!
Delight leads to our spiritual heart leaning to the right side of the ledger and we see bright clear daylight (verse 36). The clarity of the cleansing power of His Word averts our eyes from the morass of the mundane to the miracles of the Mighty one. He has turned our eyes from seeing death and darkness to a revival of the Spirit in anticipation of an exploding, over abundant joy which the heart cannot contain (verse 37)!
The exuberance which cometh from being fortified by His Word, accompanied by the oil of joy, reminds us (if we are completely in sync with God) that He is not just worthy to be praised but deserving of our respect and reverence. He is God Eternal, wise and powerful (verse 38) and everything in us should require wonder and worship of He Who sits on the Throne.
In troubled times of spiritual oppression, we are able to defeat the enemy by His Spirit and the Word of God. This is our defense. We shall not be moved or hurt if we are armored up and protected on all sides by the Word and Wonder and Will of God - if we obey Him and do not fall short into reproach (verse 39).
The letter under which this portion of Psalm 119 falls under is "HE" ...pronounced "Hay or Hey". In Biblical Hebrew, this signifies "breath" - i.e. the very Breath of God. It is used several times in the Creation account from Genesis chapters 1 and 2. It is also used for the words "light" as in Genesis 1:3-4 ("let there be light"). It is no accident that the Lord is giving us the weaponized response to spiritual attack by naming this portion of Psalm 119 by the word "Light" as in the original "He". Yahweh is the Light (the two "H's" in Yahweh are the same letter - "He"). In Him there is found NO darkness. He has breathed His Words and commands into the human authors of the Bible so that we can understand how He uses humans to do His Will. We can choose to remain under His protection, and allow His Spirit to guide us away from darkness back to the lighted path and we can long for this (verse 40)....if we are wise. Amen.
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