In this issue:

i) Known by Name - J. Carattini

ii) The Spiritual Warfare (Part 11) - B. Deffinbaugh

Known by Name

J. Carattini

When a man wearing sunglasses approached the cash register of a Midwestern pharmacy and told the employees he was going to rob them, the pharmacist couldn't believe his ears. Stepping forward, he thwarted the plans of the would-be burglar and prevented the crime before it came to fruition. But he didn't scare the thief off by threat or weapon. In fact, the pharmacist did not even attempt to dissuade him from the theft. The man was stopped dead in his tracks because the pharmacist knew his name. Recognizing his voice, the pharmacist called him by name and asked if the robbery was a joke. The man immediately spun around and ran out of the store, boarding a nearby city bus.

It is easy to enter into certain situations with a false sense of anonymity. Shielded under the veil of obscurity, the pharmacy break-in seemed somehow easier to carry out. The man walked in thinking he would carry out a faceless robbery, when in fact the pharmacist knew his name, his address, and enough of his character to suspect it was a joke. Had someone not recognized him, he might have followed through with the crime.

It is often a startling thought to remember that God knows your name. At times we can charge foolishly into life with the idea that some sins, some fears, some thoughts can be hidden. But this false sense of sovereignty, God in his mercy must shatter. And often He does so by calling our names, startling us at the sound of it, jarring our attention to the only sovereign one in the room. At times, like the pharmacy burglar, we may instinctively feel like running, finding ourselves suddenly exposed where we once thought we were safely hidden. But what point is there in running away from someone who knows your name?

At one time in my life the words of Psalm 139 seemed a harsh reminder that my hiding from God was unsuccessful. Not wanting to face my own shortcoming, I chose to run from the one who called me out. David's prayer seemed to leap out at me, a stubborn confession of my own inability to hide from Him: "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me… Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?" (139:1-7).

But there was always one verse in this psalm I unconsciously ignored. Speaking personally of God's omniscience in his own life, David sang, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain" (139:6). There are many reasons in life that one might instinctively attempt to run from God. Often times, the thought of remaining in the presence of a holy God who knows your name is too much to bear. David knew the terror of being caught in sin and called out by name. He also knew the mystery of being in the presence of one who would never stop calling his name, though he made his bed in the depths or settled on the far side of the sea.

That God knows your name means He will not stop looking for you though you hide from Him. Though you turn away, He will not abstain from loving you. He will not stop striving to bring you back into his fold: "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:14-15). He calls his own sheep by name; such knowledge is too lofty for us to attain.

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[Copyright(c) 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission.]

The Spiritual Warfare (Eph 6:10-13) (Part 11)

Bob Deffinbaugh, Th.M

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death” (Revelation 12:10-11).

And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:9-10).

In spiritual warfare the battle is the Lord’s. At times, God simply commanded the people to “stand still” and watch the Lord win the battle, without any human help:

10 And as Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. 14 “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent” (Exodus 14:10-14).

When the Christian is actively engaged in the battle, it is the Lord who wins the victory (see Joshua 5:13–6:27). When David fought Goliath, he did not even have a sword, but only a sling. While David fought, it was the Lord who gave the victory. Even Goliath’s words to David made it clear that this young man could not prevail on his own. And David’s words made it clear that the battle, and the victory was the Lord’s:

41 Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46 “This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” 48 Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. 50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled (1 Samuel 17:41-51).

(11) Satan’s defeat and our defense is spoken of in terms of the gospel. Jesus spoke of Satan’s defeat a number of times in the Gospels. In every instance, His defeat is viewed as accomplished at the cross of Calvary. Our salvation and Satan’s defeat has already been accomplished by our Lord, when He died on the cross of Calvary and then rose from the dead, triumphing over His foes, foremost of whom is Satan himself.
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[Courtesy: Bible.org]