St Matthew, Chapter 10, verse: 20, The Enemy and his Tricks.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Opposition foretold) Part 7.  

Christ now unveils the ultimate bombshell to his disciples.  He is training them for warfare with the spiritual enemies that they will face in their solo journey preaching the gospel of the kingdom of heaven to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  He has instructed them to not become anxious about what they will say or how they will say it when they are delivered up to the enemy.  They will face the enemy in the kings and the governors that they will be brought before.  For the enemy is the spiritual evil that has occupied the men of power in the towns and villages of the lost sheep.  The evil one has conquered these peoples and occupied their towns and villages.  Now Christ is sending out his warriors to do battle with these evil spirits to cast them out and deliver the lost sheep back to the Lord.

Christ warns his disciples that they will be delivered up to kings and governors.  He tells them who they will face.  And he shows them that even in the face of the enemy they should not be anxious or allow fear to rule them.  They should not think about what they are to say in their defense.  They should only close the door to anxiety, keep their minds clear, keep their hearts steady and calm their spirits so that the Holy Spirit will come to them.  For the enemy will try to rattle them.  The enemy will try to confuse them.  The enemy will seek to open the door of fear in them so that they can have access to their minds and read their hearts.  But Christ tells to them to not be anxious, for what they will speak to the enemy will be given to them in the hour.  What they will say will come to them through their spirits.  What will be spoken will be given to them from the spirit of the Father.  Christ tells them,  "For it is not you who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks through you."  

Christ now reveals to his disciples that they are to be spokesmenn for the Spirit of God the Father.  This will be their weapon to defeat the enemy.  The enemy will not be able to defeat them.  The enemy will not see the weapon that they are carrying.  The enemy will not know what hit them.  They have brought the weapon into their midst not knowing that it is a weapon but thinking that they have captured lambs.  Christ has told his disciples that he was sending them like sheep amongst wolves.  But now he reveals to them that they are lions in sheep's clothing, carrying the voice of God with them.

This is an awesome example for us today.  Christ tells his disciples and also tells us today, through the writings of St Matthew, that we are not to worry about what to speak or how we should speak when facing the enemy.  We are only to remain calm and to not allow anxiety to enter into our hearts and minds.  By doing this and staying focused on his words we can open ourselves up to the Spirit of our Father to speak on our behalf.  What a wonderful gift.  What a wonderful weapon in our arsenal, to be able to deal with whatever we face in our daily lives.  Do not be anxious.  Do not allow fear to come in.  For the Spirit of the Lord will speak for us and through us to the enemy.  Are you ready to allow the Spirit of God to speak through you to your enemies?    
 

St Matthew, Chapter 10, verse: 19b, The Enemy and his Tricks.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Opposition foretold) Part 6.  

Christ continues his discussion with his disciples concerning how they are to respond when they are delivered up to the governors and kings.  He is preparing his disciples for mental and spiritual training.  He has told them that they are not to be anxious when they are delivered up.  He wants them to understand what anxiety does to them.  He wants them to understand that anxiety opens the door for the spiritual demons to come in and destroy their defenses.  Anxiety will cause them to be fearful.  Anxiety will lead them to think about the consequences of what will or may happen.  It will take their focus off of today and put it in the past or in the future.  Anxiety will cause their minds to consider endless possibilities of events that are not real and keep them in a circle of fear.  The design of anxiety is to take control and give way to fear.  And it is this fear that prevents the word of God from operating in their lives.

The disciples must remain calm.  They must focus upon the words that Christ has given them,"Do not be anxious how or what you are to speak."   By maintaining mental and spiritual clarity the enemy will not be able to enter the mind or the spirit.  They enemy will have no foothold upon them.  The door will be closed to fear without having any way of entering.  So Christ says this to his disciples so that they can prepare themselves.  The disciples have been with Christ long enough to know that he speaks with authority.  What he says comes true.  What he says is the truth and they can rely upon his words.  They have seen the results of his words, the results of his actions, and they have come to believe and have faith in who he is. 

Why does he tell them to not be anxious?  It is important that they do not allow their minds to not be filled with fear.  It is important that they not attempt to determine for themselves what they are to say, what will be the best words, what will have the most effect.  When they are considering what to say the enemy can read their thoughts.  They enemy can plan an attack that will lead them into destruction.  But with their minds clear, their spirits calm in Christ, the enemy has no clue what is happening.  Then Christ explains why he wants them not to consider what they are to speak.  He tells them, "For what you are to speak will be given you in that hour." 

You see, with the mind clear from fear, the words that they are to speak will be given to them.  The words that they are to say will come to them.  The words that they are to use to defeat the enemy will be spoken by the Holy Spirit through their mouths.  So Christ wants them to be prepared to receive the Holy Spirit.  He wants them to know that they have a companion with them that will defeat the enemy.  He wants them to be bold and steadfast in the battle they will face with the evil spirits that they will face.  This is a wake up all for us today. It is a tool, a weapon that we can use in our daily lives when we face trials and tribulations with the enemy.  Do not be anxious.  Do not be fearful.  For what you are to say and what you are to do will be given to you.  And the enemy will not know how to read you.  They enemy will not know how to defeat you.  The enemy will not know who you are until he sees the power of the Holy Spirit speaking through you. 

Christ trained his disciples well in preparation for the battle.  He has given us words to help us train today to be bold and steadfast and fearless.  Will you head the words of Christ?  Will you accept the training that he gave to his disciples and that he has provide for you today?  Clear your mind.  Calm your spirit.  Be receptive to the word from the Holy Spirit and you will prevail.  Can you hear the words of the Holy Spirit speaking to you, today?     

St Matthew, Chapter 10, verse: 19a, The Enemy and his Tricks.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Opposition foretold) Part 5.  

Christ now begins to tell his disciples how they are to act when they are delivered up.  A prisoner of war will only give his name rank and serial number to the enemy and the disciples are given instructions as to how they are to respond.  For they will be brought before governors and kings.  They will testify for the sake of Christ.  They will be questioned about the new doctrine they preach.  And the spiritual demons will want to devour them like sheep.  Christ, however tells them, "Do not be anxious how or what you are to speak."  

Do not be anxious, he tells them.  Do not allow yourself to fear.  Do not let your heart be overwhelmed with anticipation.  Do not let your mind race with thoughts of what will happen.  These are the things that Christ wants to prepare his disciples for.  He wants them to practise mental training.  He wants them to still themselves spiritually so that they have a defense against the enemy that they will face.  For the battle is for the souls of men and the soul is reached through the heart and the mind.  So they must be prepared.  They must be ready.  They must know what to expect. 

Anxiety opens the door to fear.  Fear is the gateway to speculation of what will happen in the next minute, the next hour, the next day, and the future.  And fear will give the enemy the advantage to destroy the faith implanted in the disciples by Christ.  Christ has spent time preparing his disciples for the coming battle.  He has spent time showing them the results of faith.  He has questioned their faith in order to strengthen it for the battle ahead.  He has demonstrated to them what faith looks like and what it can do.  Now it's time for them to exercise that faith in the battle that they will face before the evil governors and kings of the land. 

So Christ is warning them to keep the door to anxiety closed.  He is showing them the tricks that the enemy will use.  And he is giving them weapons that they will use to defeat the enemy.  They are the disciples of Christ.  They have the spirit of Christ within them.  They are prepared for battle. 

Can we say the same today?  Do we allow anxiety to control our lives?  Do we open the door to spiritual evil allowing it to bring forth fear into our lives?  How can we fight the spirit of anxiety?  How can we control the entrance of fear into our lives?  Sometimes just repeating the words of Christ begins to help us keep the door closed.  He said, do not be anxious.  So we can tell ourselves to not get anxious, over, and over, and over again, as a means of bringing calm into our lives and our situations.  We can breath and listen to our hearts so that they do not become gateways to fear.  A calm heart is a clam mind, and a calm mind fixed on Christ is a steel door that the devil cannot penetrate.  So let us put on the armor of Christ and keep him before us as we face our trials and tribulations daily.  Will you close the door to anxiety and stop fear from entering your life??