Because Because Because

"He's going to change your nature."

WE ARE NOT in a battle to win a war that Jesus has already won. He is the Victor, and in His victory, we are to rejoice and rest.

Why then did the apostles talk so much about battle? BECAUSE the early church fought to spread the gospel, against the opposition of the Jewish leaders. Acts 4:17 is an example. A well-known lame man was healed, and when they couldn’t disprove it, they threatened the disciples instead. They had crucified Jesus and now denied His Resurrection. Why did they talk so much about war? BECAUSE of the widespread idolatry where the Gospel was preached. Minister Rick Renner covers this in depth in his teachings. Cities like Ephesus were filled with temples dedicated to false gods. In Romans 14, the apostle Paul speaks of whether or not to eat of food dedicated to idols. They mentioned battles and warfare BECAUSE they were there before Jesus died and had grown up with Old Covenant thinking. Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant, but when He said “the gates of hell shall not prevail” against the church, that was looking forward at His death and Resurrection, which would cause Satan’s de-feet.

Bottom line, they cannot have said “we don’t fight against people (Ephesians 6:12)” and “seek peace with people (1 Peter 3:11)” and “submit to human government (1 Peter 2:13-14)” and “Jesus triumphed over the devil (Colossians 2:15)” while teaching we are still fighting the devil. That makes them two-faced, and if that is the case, then God wouldn’t have included their writings in His Word for He is holy. So, they knew the truth, but they fought to spread the gospel.

It goes the same for their talk of submission to suffering. They laid hands on the sick and saw them recover, they cast out unclean spirits, and yet taught “we suffer for Jesus (Philippians 3:10;1 Peter 4:13).” So clearly suffering with sickness and at “the devil” is not what was meant, or again, the Gospel is two-faced, and a holy God permits it. Instead, they knew the Truth and understood suffering as what it was: hardship of travel (you had to travel on foot or by ship in those days to get anywhere; it was difficult); hardship of populations (the cities were not always accommodating, which Jesus had prophesied to them (Matthew 24:9)); and hardship of religious doctrines held to by those around them. Many times, the apostle Paul was kicked out of town by the Jews, yet he was raised and educated a Pharisee. For a time, Peter became convicted by certain untrustworthy Jews to ignore the Gentiles, who were his friends, until the apostle Paul got onto him for his behavior (Galatians 2:12,13). The suffering they referred to WAS FOR obedience and WAS NOT to take back upon us what Jesus had dissolved of all of the devil’s works (1 John 3:8). Submission of servitude is the humbling of yourself for the benefit of others. The mind and the will and the emotions try to speak up and protest, but that isn’t what Jesus would do.

“If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.” (John 13:14)

People confuse speaking in the power of the Spirit, speaking His words, as is described in the book of Acts, for being bold in one’s own mind and speech; and suddenly, we’re a loud, aggressive, political church and not a submissive one at all. But what Peter said at Pentecost was BECAUSE he was filled with the Spirit (Acts 2:14), and what Paul said to people about the unknown God was in the Spirit (Acts 17:23). They said what He gave them to say, filled with His Presence. It was not them thumbing their nose at the establishment, as some interpret it. Peter later said to honor all kings … and they would go on to hang him upside-down (1 Peter 2:13-14;John 21:18). Paul submitted and was taken on a ship to Rome to appear before governors (Acts 27:1). A ship that sank, yet because of him, all were saved. But they were doing the work of the Gospel and not simply gathering a crowd to protest and make noise.

God isn’t going to ask you to do something you hate that goes against your nature. He’s going to change your nature so that you do it because you are submitted to Him, and your emotions are peace and joy. OR you can continue to hate it and do it because you have to, be incredibly miserable, and thus gain nothing of a new mindset and a healthy soul that He wants you to have. The Scripture says, “Faith worketh by love (Galatians 5:6).” And love isn’t love if you hate what you are doing. Love feels like love, mushy and gooey. Obedience feels like rejoicing. It is pleasurable. Trusting God feels like “Oh, how I love Jesus because He first loved me ….”

And any hint of any battle is “Wait. What?” because you’re so rested you no longer think that way.

“Grace to you, that is, supernatural favor that empowers you to be and do all that is needed—and peace that brings cessation to wars in your life, closures to conflicts, and the removal of distractions. This peace allows a time for rebuilding and reconstruction, ushers in prosperity, fosters the rule of order in the place of chaos, and produces a calm, inner stability that results in the ability to conduct yourself peacefully even in the midst of circumstances that would normally be traumatic or upsetting. May this grace and this peace and all they entail multiply and proliferate until they abundantly overflow in your life.” (1 Peter 1:2, Renner Interpretive Version)

Photo by Vince Fleming on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com