All the Law and the Prophets...

"Then they said to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.'"(John 6:28-29) The Random House Dictionary ( (c) 2009) defines "believe in"as follows:

"to have faith in the reliability, honesty, benevolence, etc., of."

Thus, to believe in Him (Jesus) whom He (the Father) sent is to have faith in the reliability, honesty, and benevolence of Jesus. And plugging that definition into the passage from John, we derive that "the work of God is to have faith in the reliability, honesty and benevolence of Jesus."

If I have faith that Jesus is reliable (dependable in achievement, accuracy, honesty), honest (honorable in principles, intentions, and actions; upright and fair) and benevolent (characterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings), my actions as one of His soldiers should reflect that faith. In other words, I should obey His commandments. Why would I NOT obey the commandments of someone who is reliable, honest, and benevolent? Jesus told the disciples that obedience is evidence of our love (the reverent affection due from God's creatures to God) for Him. (John 14:15) I do not love Him, conversely, if I do not obey His commandments. And carrying the argument one step further, disobedience is tantamount to having no faith in Him.

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (I John 4:10) God's love is so much more magnificent than we can even imagine. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8, emphasis added) How many of your enemies are you willing to lay down your life for? Do we not owe Christ, our Commander-In-Chief, our allegiance and our love; even our very lives? Paul wrote to the Roman church, "...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12:1, emphasis added)

Most of us will never be asked to lay down our lives for Christ in a literal sense, although in the current world's political climate, that is more of a risk, even in America, than it has been for some time. On the other hand, presenting our bodies a living sacrifice simply means keeping God's commandments. John wrote in chapter 5, verse 3 of his first epistle, "...this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."

"Jesus said... '"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.^d]">" This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.'" (Matthew 22:37-40, emphasis added) These are not burdensome commandments, and these two encompass "all the Law and the Prophets."

So, seargent, what do you need to do to "work the works of God?" It is as simple as "love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself." The enemy of our souls is sly and crafty. His strategy, though, is simple. If he can get us to stop loving God and stop loving our neighbors, he believes he can win. Fortunately, he has already been defeated, but there is a caveat. If Satan can deceive us into serving ourselves, instead of serving God and our neighbors, he can take more of God's people down with him. Remember our mission: Set the Captives Free.

Are you ready for the battle? Put on your armor, and let's go! Hooooo-aaaaaah!

The Holy Spirit, God's strategic weapon...

The senior pastor of our congregation has been teaching about the Holy Spirit for that last few weeks. What a breath of fresh air...literally. In Acts chapter 2, the disciples gathered together on Pentecost, when "suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting." (v. 2) Again I say, "What a breath of fresh air."

In the Old Testament we read in a number of passages that a particular person was "filled with the Spirit of God." Bezalel, the seventy elders, Balaam, Gideon, Jephthah, Lehi: these are just a few of the men upon whom the Spirit of God rested from time to time. But in the Old Testament, this condition of being filled with the Spirit, or having the Spirit upon them, was a temporary condition. It is not until Jesus has completed his work on the cross, been buried and raised again, and ascended to the right hand of the Father, that we see the Holy Spirit coming to indwell the saints permanently.

Can you understand, Christian soldier, how blessed we are that Jesus went to the Father and sent the "Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."? Prior to Pentecost, Jesus himself was the only one who was indwelt by the Holy Spirit as a condition of his being. Paul told the church at Rome, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." (Romans 8:17). Let that sink in. We are heirs of El Eljon, the God Most High, and we are co-heirs with Jesus himself. That means that what He inherits, we inherit, too. One of those things is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told the disciples, "It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. ⁸When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; ¹⁰in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." (John 16:7-11) If Jesus had remained on the earth, only a small percentage of the world's population could have had contact with Him, simply because of logistical considerations.

On the other hand, after Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell the believers. This was a masterpiece of military strategy. How many more people could be influenced by the Holy Spirit through millions of believers in whom He dwelt than could be influenced by one man, indwelt by the Holy Spirit! Jesus told the disciples, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12) Why? Jesus had a 3 1/2 year ministry on earth. Most of the saints have a much longer time to minister to other people. In addition, as He told us, unless he went to the Father, the Holy Spirit would not come to indwell the believers. The Holy Spirit dwelling in the saints is the post-ascension manifestation of God on earth.

So, our Commander-in-Chief has a battle strategy to outnumber the enemy, by filling each of His soldiers with the Holy Spirit, and sending us forth into the world. "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me." (John 15:26, emphasis added). Jesus told Pilate, "For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." (John 18:37, emphasis added) And to the disciples He said, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)

The Father's battle strategy is to multiply the warriors, fill each one with the Holy Spirit, and send them forth into the world, armed with the truth. Our mission as Christian soldiers, again, is what? To free the prisoners of war, whom Satan has enslaved. How do we do that? By arming ourselves with the Sword of Truth, which is the word of God, and following our commander into the fray. Jesus said the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom He would send, would "teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." Lieutenant, He cannot bring to your remembrance all things that Jesus said to you, if you don't let Jesus speak to you. How? READ THE WORD!