THE WORD OF GOD AS A WEAPON

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the Word of God.” Ephesians 6:17

“The Spirit-filled man has enemies; he is engaged in warfare. The powers
of hell are all against him. He is always open to attack and momentarily
liable to defeat. He needs both defensive and offensive weapons. He must
be able to stand and withstand in every assault of Satan .

There is but one way this can be done and it is the way the God-man
used. His only weapon in the wilderness was the Sword of the Spirit. ‘It
is written,’ repeated three times in the threefold attack, repulsed the
enemy.

Let us not that the God-man had His sword burnished and ready. He did
not wait to draw out the scroll of Scripture and read from it to get an
answer for the devil. In the years of seclusion in the Nazareth home he
had stored away the Word of God in His heart, and in the hours of quiet
work in the carpenter’s shop He had mediated upon them. It may be that
the Son of Man had gone into the wilderness fresh from the study of
Deuteronomy. His mind was so saturated with its truth that when Satan
attacked, the Spirit instantly brought to remembrance the very words
that utterly routed him. The Son of Man was kept in the moment of
temptation by the Word hid in His heart.

Deuteronomy 11:18 – Therefore shall you lay up these my words in your
heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that
they may be as frontlets between your eyes.”

Psalm 119:11 – “Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin
against thee.”

Colossians 3:16 – “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual psalms, singing with grace in your heart.”

Often the reason we yield so quickly to temptation is that our sword is
rusty. This gives Satan the advantage over us. Temptation comes to us on
the street, in the office, when we may not have a Bible with us. It
comes unexpectedly. There is no time to stop and search for an effectual
portion of Scripture. It is only the part of the Word that is hid in
the heart that will become the SWORD IN ACTION at the moment most
needed.

Many Christians are defeated today in the warfare against sin and Satan
because of doubt regarding their weapon, the Word of God. To them the
Word is not the Sword of the Spirit but it is merely a staff of man’s
making to assist him on the pathway of life which he feels at liberty to
whittle down to the measure of his own intellect and experience. Belief
in the absolute trustworthiness and final authority of the Word is an
essential to the potent use of it as the Sword.” From LIFE ON THE
HIGHEST PLANE

You can start memorizing one verse a day. Your THINK VICTORY! Memory
verse is on the Keswick website homepage. You can memorize God’s Word
along with the men of the Colony of Mercy. During their 120-day stay,
they will memorize 120 verses of Scripture. http://www.americaskeswick.org.

Men’s Fellowship Night – tomorrow night with Pastor Tony Cuellar. Call
for reservations. Come and bring a friend. 732-350-1187

THE POWER OF THE WORD

Here are some reminders these next several days of the POWER OF GOD’S
WORD

The Word of God is a mirror to reveal. (James 1:23-25) A mirror
reveals the personal appearance of the one who looks into it. The Bible
is just such a revelation of man. In it we see the human heart mirrored
exactly as it is in the sight of God. We have in the Word full-length
portraits of the natural, spiritual and carnal man. As one studies the
Bible he finds HIMSELF; mirrored in the lives of men and women who lived
centuries ago he sees himself. In the covetousness of Achan, the
backsliding of David, the despondency of Elijah, the avarice of Job, the
falsehood of Annanias and Sapphira, the denial of Peter, the
self-righteousness of Saul of Tarsus and the jealousy, unbelief and
self-seeking of the disciples, he looks into his OWN sinful heart and
his own wayward life.

The Bible takes the covering the inmost spirit and unveils its
secret thoughts and motives. It shows us to ourselves as we are. But it
does not stop there. It unfolds to man’s vision the perfect Man. He
“beholds as in a glass the glory of the Lord” for in the Word, God gives
“the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ.’ Then the Bible challenges him, who has seen himself as he is
and as he may become, to act upon the vision, to become the DOER of the
Word in order that He may be conformed to the image of Christ. (adapted
from LIFE ON THE HIGHEST PLANE by Ruth Paxson)

Did you take this morning to use the Word of God as a mirror? I
am excited to share with you that we are now placing the daily memory
verses that are used by the men in the COLONY OF MERCY. Each man
memorizes 120 THINK VICTORY! Verses during his stay. Over the years guys
have asked for the verses we use and the verse for the day will be on
the home page (www.americaskeswick.org). Sometime in the next week we
will also have the entire list posted for your use. Be watching for
other THINK VICTORY! Resources.

Join us Thursday night for our November Men’s Fellowship Night with
Pastor Tony Cuellar. Tony’s ministry of the Word will bless your heart
and challenge you to walk in victory. For reservations and information,
call 732-350-1187.

TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED

I have been in bed most of the weekend with the “flu” so I just got up.
Sorry that your Freedom Fighter was delayed this morning.

I just read an on-line article yesterday by Jon Gordon, who is a life
coach in helping men be all that God wants them to be. Some of his stuff
is a little out there, but yesterday’s article dealt with how to handle
stress.

The premise of his article was that when you and I maintain a spirit of
thankfulness at all times, stress is much easier to handle. So often
when the pressures of life are mounting and it seems like things are
caving in around us, we forget about how blessed we are.

Thursday night before going to be we noticed that we were smelling oil
fumes from our basement. As the night went on it got worse and worse. In
the morning when I called our maintenance staff, they discovered that we
had a leak in the oil tank. Not good. We have two large tanks in our
basement. They called the Oil company and they quickly decided that they
needed to drain the tank and remove them.

The problem was that in order to remove them, Jan had to go through
hoops to get stuff moved. She has made a commitment to do Zach’s
homeschooling in the mornings, and this was a major interruption.
Everything in the kitchen and laundry room needed to be removed. The
good news is that by the end of the day, the new tank was in and we were
able to put the house back together. For Jan, it was a very stressful
day.

Saturday morning I stopped over to the main building to drop something
off and came home to Jan being hysterical. When they put back our washer
and dryer (located off the kitchen) the drain hose didn’t get put back
into the drain line! There was water EVERYWHERE – kitchen, laundry room
and basement. Again, very stressful.

Those may seem like too minor stressor compared to what you are facing.
Jon suggests that when the stress is mounting, we should step back and
review how blessed we are and rehearse them in our minds. Rather than
focusing on the negative (stress), be reminded of the positive
(blessing). Reminded me of the old song we will sing during this month:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed.
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost.
Count your many blessings name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
Good words as we begin this new week.
Join us this Thursday night for our Men’s Fellowship Night with Pastor
Tony Cuellar. Pastor Tony serves at Immanuel Bible Church in Vineland,
NJ. Dinner begins at 6:15 PM followed by the program and the use of the
Activity Center. Call today for reservations. 732-350-1187

PICK UP THE HARP

“Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name: bring and offering and
come before Him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” 1
Chronicles 16:29

“Man was made to worship God. God gave to man a harp and said, ‘Here
above all creatures that I have made and created I have given you the
largest harp. I put more strings on your instrument and I have given you
a wider range than I have given to any other creature. You can worship
Me in a manner that no other creature can …’

The purpose of God in sending His Son to die and rise and live and be at
the right hand of God that Father was that He might restore to us the
missing jewel, the jewel of worship; that we might come back and learn
to do again that which we were created to do in the first place –
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, to spend our time in awesome
wonder and adoration of God, feeling and expressing it, and letting it
get into our labors and doing nothing except as an act of worship to
Almighty God through His Son Jesus Christ.

I say that the greatest tragedy in the world today is that God has made
man in His image and made him to worship Him, made him to play the harp
of worship before the face of God day and night, but he has failed God
and dropped the harp. It lies voiceless at his feet. Help me, Father, to
pick up the harp and bring You the glory due to Your name. I’ve come to
know You in a deeper way; may I respond with heartfelt worship, today
and every day. Amen.” Adapted from TOZER ON THE ALMIGHTY GOD – A DAILY
DEVOTIONAL by Ron Eggert

Great quote: It takes less time to do something right than it does to
explain why you did it wrong.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE OLD MAN

Here is the last installment of observations of this “old man” That Paul
instructs us to PUT OFF. I need to clarify that Ruth Paxson actually
wrote this stuff in 1928 not 1945.

SELF- CONSCIOUSNESS – “the old man never forgets himself; wherever he
goes he casts a shadow of himself before. He is constantly occupied with
photographing himself and developing the plates. He is chained to
himself and as he walks one hears the clank of the chains. He is often
morbidly self-introspective.

SELF-EXALTATION – “the old man” is absorbed in his own excellencies; he
overestimates himself and his abilities; he thirsts for admiration and
praise and he drives on flattery. He secretly worships at the shrine of
“self” and he wishes others to do so publicly.

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS – “the old man” loves to dress himself in the
garments of morality, benevolence and public-spiritedness. He even
patronizes the church and often assists in drives for raising money for
philanthropic and religious purposes, heading the list of donors with a
handsome gift. He keeps a double entry account book both with the church
and with the world and expects a reward both on earth and in heaven.

SELF-GLORYING – perhaps “the old man” resents this plain delineation of
himself as he really is and thinks the condemnation too sweeping.
Immediately he begins to enumerate his good qualities, his amiableness,
geniality, tolerance, self-control, sacrificial spirit and other
virtues. In do so he takes all the credit to himself for what he is,
exhibiting ill-concealed pride and vanity.

Is this delineation of self true or untrue? You have three ways by which
you may judge and decide:

1. What God’s Word says of Him
2. What you have seen of his manifestation in other lives
3. What you know to be true of YOURSELF!!!

In light of our own experience is there one of us who would not have to
confess to everyone of these hateful manifestations of self at some
moment in a greater or less degree? We each of us know what a
hydra-headed monster that old “I” is. Luther knew it and said “I am more
afraid of my own heart than of the Pope and all his cardinals. I have
within me that great Pope SELF!” adapted from LIFE ON THE HIGHEST PLANE,
by Ruth Paxson.

The value of this exercise is not on option #2 above. The value of this
exercise is allowing God to show you from His Word (#1) what you know to
be true of YOURSELF (#3). PUT OFF THE OLD MAN – BECASUSE HE WAS
CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST AT THE CROSS!!!! More on the good news throughout
this week.

I am going to format this past three days into a resource that you can
download from our website. Watch for details.

Great Quote: It takes less time to do something right than it does to
explain why you did it wrong.

MORE ON THE OLD MAN …

I want to continue where I left off yesterday on the picture of the “old
man” written by Ruth Paxson in her classic work LIFE ON THE HIGHEST
PLANE. What intrigued me was that she wrote this in 1945 and yet its
words are as fresh and update as if she just wrote it … As a reminder
from yesterday, she wrote: “The foundation of life in the NATURAL MAN is
foursquare: self-will, self-love, self-trust, and self-exaltation, and
upon this foundation is reared a superstructure that is one HUGE capital
“I.” Self-will is the cornerstone and self-exaltation is the capstone.”

SELF-SEEKING – “the old man: is on a quest: he is after whatever will
advance the cause of self. He seeks with feverish ambition and activity,
praise, position, power, prominence, and anything that checks his
gaining them is attributed to others.

SELF-PITY – his love for HIMSELF often creates within “the old man”
rebellion against his circumstances or relationships; he exaggerates his
own possible suffering, discomfort or sorrow and makes himself and
others miserable by his habitual murmuring.

SELF-SENSITIVENESS – “the old man” is extremely hard to live with
because he is covered with wounds and is continually being hurt afresh.
He is not very companionable because usually he is dissolved in tears,
shrouded in silence, or enjoying a pout.

SELF-DEFENSE – “the old man” is very jealous of his rights and busy
avenging his wrongs. He indulges freely in lawsuits. In his pursuit of
his own vindication and justification in cases of disagreement and
estrangement with others, he is blinded by his own sin.

SELF-TRUST – “the old man” is very self-confident and feels no need of
one wiser and stronger than himself. Trusting in his own powers and
resources he is prone to say, “Though all me shall deny You, I will
not.”

SELF-SUFFICIENCY – the self-confidence of “the old man” fosters an
egotistical, smug, self-satisfaction which leaves him stagnant. He has
neither desire nor sense of need for anything beyond what he already
possesses.

More tomorrow … but this is the “old man” that Paul instructs us to
“PUT OFF!” Do a self-examination this morning. Who is reigning in your
life today?

Great Quote: Happy is the person who not only sings, but feels God’s eye
is on the sparrow, and knows He watches over me. To be simply ensconced
in God is true joy. How small a portion of our life it is that we really
enjoy! In youth we are looking forward to things that are to come; in
old age we are looking backward to things that are gone past; in
manhood, although we appear indeed to be more occupied in things that
are present, yet even that is too often absorbed in vague determinations
to be vastly happy on some future day when we have time. — C. C. Colton

PUTTING OFF THE OLD MAN …

” … that you put off, concerning your former conduct,
the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.”
Colossian 3:9

Who is the “old man” that the Apostle Paul instructs us to “put off?”
For the next several days, I want to help you understand who the old man
is – you are probably extremely familiar with him, more so than you want
to admit.

I want to share this picture through the eyes of Ruth Paxson whose
classic work on victorious Christian living has been a blessing to so
many over the years:

“”Let us take a full-length portrait of this hideous, heinous self; let
us face honestly his manifold operations and see if we are not forced to
accept GOD’S estimation of him and to acquiesce in the method of
deliverance from his sovereignty. The foundation of life in the NATURAL
MAN is foursquare: self-will, self-love, self-trust, and
self-exaltation, and upon this foundation is reared a superstructure
that is one HUGE capital “I.” Self-will is the cornerstone and
self-exaltation is the capstone.”

“SELF-WILL” – “We have turned every one to his own way.” The flesh wants
its OWN way and is determined to have it even if it defies and disobeys
God and overrides others.”I WILL” is the alphabet out of which self
fashions its language of life.

“SELF-CENTEREDNESS” – “the old man” feeds upon himself. He is the
beginning and the end. Life presents little that interests or affects
him except as it relates to HIMSELF. He is the center of the world in
which he lives and moves and he always looks out for number one.

“SELF-ASSERTION” – “the old man” believes that everyone is as interested
in him and as fascinated by him as he himself is, so he protrudes and
projects himself into the sight, hearing, and the notice of others
continually. He monopolizes conversations and the theme is always “I,”
“my” and “mine.” He walks with a swagger and expects the world to stop
work and look at him. And he never dreams how offensive his
self-importance is to others.

“SELF-DEPRECIATION” – “the old man” is very versatile and sometimes it
suits his purpose better to clothe his pride in a false humility. He
curls up in his self-depreciation and shirks a lot of hard work which
other people have to do. He magnifies his littleness and feebleness to
his own advantage, yet with strange inconsistency he resents others’
taking his professed estimate of himself and treating him accordingly.

‘SELF-CONCEIT” – “the old man” lives so much in himself that he does not
know how big the world is in which he lives and how many other really
intelligent people there are in it, so he has little regard for the
opinions of others, especially if contrary to his own. He looks with
proud and supercilious pity upon those less favored and gifted than
himself.

“SELF-LOVE” – “the old man” loves HIMSELF supremely, one might say
almost exclusively. He loves God not at all and his human love for
others is tainted more or less with selfishness, jealousy, envy or
impurity. Indeed, “the old man” makes an idol of HIMSELF which he not
only loves but worships.

“SELF-INDULGENT” – “the old man” eats, drinks, and is merry. For him to
want anything is equivalent to having it. He pampers and coddles
himself; he can even indulge his extravagant, fleshly appetites while
others starve to death before his eyes.

“SELF-PLEASING” – “the old man” chafes under discomfort and deprivation
and is grumpy and peevish unless EVERYTHING in the life of HIS day
ministers to real or imagined needs. He lives unto only ONE person whose
name is SELF! (Adapted from LIFE ON THE HIGHEST PLANE by Ruth Paxson.)

Will share more over the next several days. No wonder Paul said, “O
wretched man that I am!”

Great Quote: When you become consumed by God’s call on your life,
everything will take on new meaning and significance. You will begin to
see every facet of your life – including your pain – as a means through
which God can work to bring others to Himself. Charles Stanley

QUESTIONS REGARDING MY PRAYER LIFE

Here is another list of questions to help determine your spiritual
health. These questions will be helpful in analyzing your prayer life.

1. Has my prayer life been POWERLESS because of some besetting sin?

2. Has my prayer life been HINDERED by haste, irregularity,
indefiniteness, insufficient preparation, unbelief, neglect of Bible
study?

3. Has my prayer life been FRUITLESS? Have I had such power with
God that I have had power with people? Have I had definite answers to
prayer week by week?

4. Has my prayer life been RESTRICTED merely to short, stated
seasons of prayer or have I come to know what it is to ‘pray without
ceasing?’

5. Has my prayer life been LIMITED to prayer for myself? My family?
My work? My church? My mission? Or have I taken the world into my heart
and into my prayers?

6. Has my prayer life been STARVED? Or have I devoted time to the
study of God’s Word about prayer? Do I know His precepts and promises?

7. Has my prayer life been JOYLESS? Do I love to pray? Or is prayer
more of a duty than a delight?

8. Has my prayer life been GROWING? Do I daily know more of the
meaning and power of prayer?

9. Has my prayer life been sacrificial? Has it cost me anything in
time, strength, vitality, love?

“Lord, teach us to pray!” adapted from a KESWICK CLASSIC on
the victorious Christian life … LIFE ON THE HIGHEST PLANE by Ruth
Paxson

Great Quote: Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do
you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the
foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper
must be its foundations. Augustine

REVIVEHER NIGHT … Guys – want a great way to encourage your
wife? Send her to the monthly ReviveHER Night at America’s KESWICK.
Tomorrow night is our next one. See the website for details. It is a
great investment into the life of your spouse! See:
http://www.americaskeswick.org

If you have been blessed by the ministry of Freedom Fighters, we
encourage you to share it with others. If you would like to get the men
in your church interested in this daily publication, email me and we can
send you sign-up cards.

Additional Accountability Questions

I read these great questions in a newsletter from the ministry of
Blazing Grace. They come from speaker and author of prayer, Evelyn
Christenson.

1. Do you worry about anything? Have you failed to thank God for all
things, the seemingly bad as well as the good? Do you neglect to give
thanks at mealtime?

2. Do you fail to attempt things for God because you are not talented
enough? Do feelings of inferiority keep you from trying to serve God?
When you do accomplish something for Christ, do you fail to give Him all
the glory?

3. Have you failed to be a witness with your life for Christ? Have you
felt it was enough to just live your Christianity and not witness with
your mouth to the lost?

4. Are you proud of your accomplishments, your talents, your family? Do
you fail to see others as better than yourself, more important than
yourself in the body of Christ? Do you think as a Christian you are
doing quite well? Do you rebel at God wanting to change you?

5. Do you complain, find fault, argue? Do you have a critical spirit? Do
you carry a grudge against Christians of another group because they
don’t see eye to eye with you on all things? Do you speak unkindly about
people when they are not present? Are you angry with yourself? Others?
God?

6. Are you careless with your body? Are you guilty of not caring for it
as the temple of the Holy Spirit in eating and exercise habits? Do you
defile your body with unholy sex acts?

7. Do you ever use filthy language, tell slightly off-color jokes? Do
you condone others doing so in your presence, in your home?

8. Do you fail to see that you are a landing strip for Satan when you
open your mind to him through transcendental meditation, yoga, psychic
predictions, occult literature, and violent, sex-driven movies? Do you
let Satan use you to thwart the cause of Christ in your church through
criticism, gossip and non-support?

9. Do you fail to pay your debts on time? Avoid paying them altogether?
Do you charge more on credit cards that you can pay when due? Do you
neglect to keep honest income tax records? Do you engage in any shady
business deals?

10. Are you irregular or spasmodic in church attendance? Do you attend
preaching services in body only, whispering, reading or planning while
God’s Word is being preached? Are you skipping prayer meetings? Have you
neglected family devotions?

11. Do you ever lie? Exaggerate? Do you fail to see “little white lies”
as sin? Do you tell things the way you want them rather than the way
they really are?

12. Are you guilty of a lustful eye towards the opposite sex? Do you
fill your mind with sex-orientated TV programs, movies, books or
magazines? Their covers? Centerfolds? Do you indulge in any lustful
activity that God’s Word condemns-fornication, adultery, perversion?

13. Are you guilty of being a part of factions or divisions in your
church? Would you rather add fuel to a misunderstanding than help
correct it? Have you loved only the ones in your own church, feeling
those of other denominations are not worthy of the body of Christ? Are
you secretly pleased over the misfortunes of another? Annoyed by their
successes?

14. Have you failed to forgive anybody anything they might have said or
done against you? Have you turned certain people off? Are you holding
grudges?

15. Do you steal from your employer by doing less work, staying on the
job less time than you are paid for? Do you pad your expense account?

16. Is your goal in life to make as much money as possible? Accumulate
things? Have you withheld God’s share of your income from Him? Is money
your god?

17. Do you know in your heart that you are a fake, just pretending to be
a real Christian? Are you hiding behind church membership to cover a
life still full of sin? Are you faking Christianity for social status,
acceptance in your church, community? Do you smile piously during the
Sunday sermon but live in your sin all week? Are you the person in your
home that you are trying to impress people you are?

18. Do you enjoy listening to gossip? Passing it on? Do you believe
rumors or partial truths about an enemy of your competitor? Do you fail
to spend time every day reading the Bible? Do you fail to think on the
things of God-only good and true and pure things-always?

So how did you fare? Good questions to consider today and in the days
ahead.

“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will
receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 16:24

“During the American Civil War, a certain man had a son who had enlisted
in the Union army. The father was a banker, and although he gave his
consent to his son, it seemed as if it would break his heart to let him
go.

Once his son had left, he became deeply interested in the plight if the
soldiers, and whenever he saw one in uniform, his heart went out to him
as he thought of his own dear boy. Often to the neglect of his business,
he began spending his time and money to care for the soldiers who came
home disabled. His friends pleaded with him not to neglect his business
in this way, by spending so much time and energy on the soldiers. So he
decided to give it all up, taking his friends’ advice.

After he had made the decision, however, a young private in a faded,
worn uniform stepped into the bank. It was easy to discern from the
wounds on his face and hands that he had been in the army field
hospital. The poor young man was fumbling in his pocket to find
something, when the banker saw him. Perceiving his purpose for coming
into the bank, he said to the soldier, ‘My dear man, I cannot help you
today. I am extremely busy. You will have to go to the army
headquarters, where the officers will take care of you.’

The poor wounded soldier still stood there, not seeming to fully
understand what was being said to him. He continued to fumble in his
pockets and finally pulled out a scrap of dirty paper. He laid the
filthy page before the banker, who read the following words written in
pencil:

Dear Father:

This is one of my friends, who was wounded in the last battle and is
coming to you directly from the hospital. Please receive him as you
would me.

Charlie

All the banker’s previous resolve to focus solely on his business
instead of the soldiers quickly flew away. He took the young man to his
own magnificent home and gave him Charlie’s room and seat at the dinner
table. He cared for him until the food, rest, and love had returned him
to health, and then sent him back to his place of service to again risk
his life for his country’s flag.” From STREAMS IN THE DESERT

Good thoughts to ponder today.

Great quote: If we can, by God’s grace, turn ourselves entirely to Him,
and put aside everything else in order to speak with Him and worship
Him, this does not mean that we can always imagine Him or feel His
presence. Neither imagination nor feeling are required for a full
conversion of our whole being to God. Nor is intense concentration on an
idea of God especially desirable. Hard as it is to convey in human
language, there is a very real and very recognizable (but almost
entirely indefinable) Presence of God, in which we confront Him in
prayer knowing Him by Whom we are known, aware of Him Who is aware of
us, loving Him by Whom we know ourselves to be loved. — Thomas Merton