THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

(I apologize for how choppy this article is. It was originally a series of emails, that I later put together.)

One day, when I had been praying all day with regard to God pouring out His Spirit upon us - clothing us with "Power from on High" (Luke 24:49), I came across this verse in I Samuel 13:22:

“So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; ONLY Saul and his son Jonathan had them.”

Then moments later I read this verse:

Ps 44:3

“It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was YOUR right hand, YOUR arm, and the light of YOUR face, for you loved them.”

I noticed the obvious connection between these two passages and began to think. I then opened to Philippians 2-4 where my eyes fell on the heading for chapter 3:

“No Confidence in the Flesh”

At this point I began to think of several other verses, such as:

John 5:19

“Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do NOTHING of HIMSELF...”

John 5:30

I can do NOTHING on My OWN initiative...

2 Corinthians 12:8-10

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses... for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Luke 21:14-15

"So make up your minds NOT TO prepare beforehand to DEFEND YOURSELVES;

For I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.

These last two verses in particular I have long held to be the key to unlocking the power of God in OUR lives. It is the essence of what Jesus meant when He said,

John 15:5

"...He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

So I guess where I'm going with this is, maybe not having swords is a good thing!

The verse that really got me started thinking on the whole sword/no sword lines was in John 4. I've noted before the fact that after Jesus spoke to the woman at the well about the living water that He had to offer, and spoke a word of knowledge concerning her, we are told,

John 4:28-29

"...Then, LEAVING HER WATER JAR, the woman went back to the town and said to the people..."

Anyway, I couldn't help but see this as significant - she left HER water jar. It appears that she was so caught up in the living water flowing from His lips, she completely forgot the reason she came to the well in the first place. Or did she? Verse 15 came back to mind:

“The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water SO THAT I won't get thirsty and HAVE TO KEEP COMING here to draw water." It makes one wonder... Did He? Surely he could have, but DID he? His suggestion that she get her husband first suggests not, but she did leave her pot – it is curious but it really doesn't matter...

What most certainly DOES matter is the issue of NOT HAVING TO DRAW WATER...

That phrase jumped off the page at me. I've taught before on the "Well" that Jesus was referring to in verse 14 - that the "bucket" for drawing water out of it is our mouth. Many verses support this - the most obvious being Matt. 12:34). As powerful as this teaching is, and as much as I still see truth in it, its based on a mistranslation.

This is one of those cases where the NIV is more accurate than the NAS - the word translated "well" in verse 14 is "fountain or spring," - a very different word than the one used for the "well" they were standing next to. Jesus clearly said that the "fountain" of His Spirit in us would eventually "Spring” [literally Leap] up “to eternal life"!

There's a vast difference between a well where the water table is so low you have to lower a bucket and "draw" [literally, lift/bear up] the water out, and a spring where the water leaps out at you! The story of the woman with the issue of blood is a great illustration of what happens when someone is actually living this out! (Also Matthew 9:20)

So, is it just me, or does it seem like we've been doing a little too much heavy lifting?

Suddenly I see her words to Jesus in verse 11 in a new light:

"Sir, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DRAW WITH and the well is deep..."

He clearly did not have anything to draw with for the simple reason that, on account of the fountain of Life within Him, He did not NEED anything to draw with! I think this goes a long way toward explaining how we can be sealed and even filled with The Holy Spirit, but not seeing any incidents like the woman with the issue of blood. (Which makes me wonder if that's why it was a woman with an "issue" [literally a flow] of blood [life] that God used to illustrate this point!)

The real question we need to ask ourselves is, whose Sword is it anyway? Look again at 1 Samuel 13:22:

“So it came about on the day of battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan.”

The King and His Son had a sword, but no one else. But following a powerful strike by the Son with His sword, the enemy drew up to battle and GOD defeated them by turning all their swords against one another.

At this point, another verse popped into my head - John 5:26

"For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself.

So here's the connection. God and Jesus both have a sword. And really, those are the only swords we need in the camp. Its true that we as men have “swords” of our OWN, but frankly, they aren't much in comparison with God's Sword. In addition to the verses I’ve already looked at on swords, here's another:

Isaiah 31:8

“And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of man will devour him. So he will not escape the sword...”

The key phrase here is, "NOT OF MAN"

Another passage that shows us this distinction between our sword versus His Sword is Luke 5:5-6:

“Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but UPON YOUR WORD, I will let down the nets." When they had done THIS, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break.”

So... Jesus is The word, The life and The truth. (John 1:1, 14:6)

And The Holy Spirit - "The Spirit OF Life" (Romans 8:2) is The Truth (1 John 5:6).

For that matter, Jesus IS the Spirit - (2 Corinthians 3:17)

And, not coincidentally, The Word that Jesus speaks IS SPIRIT AND LIFE (John 6:63, 68)

So where am I going with this? I don't know why I've never thought about it like this before, but in listing the armor of God, Paul referred to "The breastplate OF righteousness, the shield OF faith, the helmet OF salvation, and the sword OF The Spirit..." God's Spirit IS his sword, while His Word defines the sword’s task. As Jeremiah put it, The word of God defines what the Sword’s “assignment” is. (Jeremiah. 47:6-7). Or, as Ezekiel put it, The Word of God tells the sword "where its edge is appointed..." (Ezekiel 21:16)

One of my favorite verses (yes, there are many!) is Psalm 33:6. It clearly shows the connection between God’s Word and His Spirit:

“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath [Spirit] of His mouth all their host.”

The Word of God defines the task (ie: make the heavens) and the SPIRIT fulfills it.

This is why God said His word "Will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it..." (Isaiah 55:11)

Because The Spirit of God IS the POWER that makes sure it gets done just like He said.

Another great passage to show this in action is Ezekiel 2:1-2:

“Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!’ As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and SET ME on my feet..."

Again we see God’s Word saying something and His Spirit fulfilling it.

Here are a few New Testament verses that demonstrate this same connection between Gods Word and His Spirit:

Matt 8:16

“When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.”

This verse tells us clearly that Jesus cast out demons with a WORD. But the following passage tells us that he cast out demons by the SPIRIT of God:

Matt 12:28

"If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Here are a few others:

2 Thessalonians 2:8

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay WITH THE BREATH OF HIS MOUTH and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.

Revelation 1:16

In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged SWORD...

Hebrews 4:12

“For the WORD of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword…”

There is another very strong link to The Spirit and the Sword in this seemingly simple statement made in a rather obscure verse in Daniel:

Dan 7:15

“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me…”

At first glance this verse seems to have no bearing whatever on this topic, but a closer look reveals something rather powerful. The phrase, "My spirit was distressed WITHIN ME..." in the original language literally says, "My spirit was distressed in the midst of its SHEATH..."

There are two different words used for "Sheath" in the Old Testament. In all but one of the eight times "sheath" is used, the word is "taar" (Strong’s # 8593) - which is also translated five other places as "razor", and another as "knife". But the word for "sheath" in Daniel 7 is the Aramaic word "nidneh" (Strong’s #5085) based on the Aramaic root Nadan (#5084). Curiously, there is only one other place this word is used, and its in reference to The Angel of The Lord, who both unleashed and then later "sheathed" his sword in the matter of King David numbering the people.

1 Chronicles 21:27

"...The LORD commanded the angel, and he put his sword back in its sheath."

Several things seem singular about this incident, including:

1) The fact that the word used here is not of Hebrew origin, but foreign - evidently Aramaic. This is at the very least anachronistic – since the appearance of certain Aramaic words in the Bible doesn't really start until late into the reign of the kings, with the bulk of it being during and after the exile.

Here's a note on Aramaic from a Bible Dictionary:

"After the return from the Captivity, it displaced Hebrew as the spoken language of the Jews in Palestine" (Hard not to see the powerful inference we can draw from this...)

2) The fact that the whole matter arose from David doing something that represented his confidence in the arm/sword of man/flesh - the number of "MEN who drew the sword..." (1 Chronicles 21:5)

3) The fact that That the angel was fulfilling the Word of God with an actual sword in hand.

Anyway, having said all that, here's what I think the real significance to it all is. As I pointed out earlier, the only ones with a sword in the camp of Israel in 1 Samuel 13 were The King and his Son (13:22). It is not too much of a stretch to see this as a picture of God and HIS son. There is only One Spirit of God - which He shares with the His son Christ Jesus (John 7:39). And this is THE SAME Spirit He's given us (Acts 2:33).

In other words, He didn't just "sharpen" OUR sword, or tell us to for that matter. Instead, He gave us HIS SWORD!!

That's why Ephesians 6:17 instructs us to take up "the armor OF GOD" and not just "your spiritual armor."

Numbers 23:16 says,

Then the LORD met Balaam and PUT A WORD IN HIS MOUTH and said, "Return to Balak, and THUS you shall speak." This is what we’re talking about – God putting HIS words in our mouth.

Acts 4:8 is another great example of this:

"Then Peter, FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, SAID..."

This is precisely what Jesus was referring to when He told his disciples,

"It is NOT YOU who speak, but the Spirit of Your Father who speaks IN YOU."

(Matt. 10:20)

I believe this is what Lamentations 3:37 says as well:

"Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, Unless THE LORD has commanded it?"

And it is definitely what David was talking about in 2 Sam 23:2:

"The Spirit of the LORD spoke BY me, and HIS word was on MY tongue."

It may seem like splitting hairs to point out a difference between us speaking His word and Him speaking His word in/through us - if it is, its a BIG hair! Consider the following verse about the “Hand of the Lord:”

Habakkuk 3:3-4

God comes from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise. His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing FROM His HAND and THERE is the hiding of His POWER.

Ps 118:16

The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.

1 Kings 18:46

“Then The HAND of the LORD was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.”

2 Kings 3:15-16

"But now bring me a minstrel." And it came about, when the minstrel played, that The HAND of the LORD came upon him. He said, "Thus says the LORD...

Ezra 7:6

“The king granted him all he requested because the HAND of the LORD his God was upon him.”

Ps 89:20-21

"I have found David My servant; With My holy oil I have anointed him, With whom MY HAND will be established; My arm also will strengthen him.”

Isaiah 25:10

“For the HAND of the LORD will rest on this mountain [Zion!]”

Isaiah 66:14 (Oh I REALLY like this one!)

“...And the HAND of the LORD will be made known to His servants...”

Ezekiel 3:14 (3:22, 33:22, 37:1)

“So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and the HAND of the LORD was strong on me.”

Acts 11:21

“And the HAND of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.”

The point God is showing us through all this is that we must forget about our hand, and learn to focus and rest upon HIS!

This is what God was doing for Gideon when he cut his army from 32,000 down to 10,000 and then down to 300. He did this so Gideon would not think he could do it, or that had done it after it was done.

This same principle is why God was so upset with David for a seemingly innocent thing - numbering his army. God wanted David to trust in HIS (GOD’s) Sword and not his (David’s) sword.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 addresses the difference between those who put their trust in the sword of man and those who put their trust in the sword of God:

5 Thus says the LORD, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD.

6 "For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes,

But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant.

7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD.

8 "For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream

And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.

OK, back to THE SWORD of THE Spirit. In the passage I quoted from Luke 21, Jesus made it clear that He wanted us to trust HIS Spirit IN us.

Luke 21:14-15

"So make up your minds NOT TO PREPARE beforehand to defend YOURSELVES;

For I WILL give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute."

(Again, Not our sword, HIS)

Matthew's version of this is slightly different, but it makes it a little clearer as to whose sword it ISNT!

Matt 10:20

"For it is NOT YOU who speak, but it IS THE SPIRIT of YOUR FATHER WHO speaks IN you."

(Its not your sword, its THE KING'S!)

The distinction he's making in these passages, though seemingly subtle, is enormous! You could easily draw the inference from Jesus' statement that, if we DO "prepare beforehand" then it WILL be us speaking (Even though we may be using His words, its us speaking His words, not HIM speaking His words.) This is the heart of what Jesus was trying to get across to them (US!). In essence, he was telling us that if we have our sword, then we will use it; if we don't have one, we will have to count on HIS!

2 Corinthians 12:10

"Therefore I am well content with weaknesses... for when I am weak [without my sword], then I am strong [I've got HIS!].”

Proverbs 3:5 says this same thing:

“Trust in the Lord (HIS SWORD) with all your heart, and lean not on your own...”

Once you see it, it's everywhere. But I think what is coming so clear to me now is the necessity for God making it BEYOND what we can do with our own sword. Even now He has set before us things to do which WE simply CANNOT do – and will not do until we are resting entirely upon HIS Sword/Strength.

Incidentally, this is also why "going to church" is so often a terrible downer – because far too often most, if not everything that goes on there could be done by men who don’t even believe in God! That in itself does not mean it is not of God, but when EVERYTHING that goes on in a church “service” fits into that category, one must wonder...

Consider the Luke 12:22-34 passage in light of all that we've said:

22 And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.

23 "For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

24 "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!

25 "And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span?

26 "If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 27 "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

28 "But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!”

29 "And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying.

30 "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.

31 "But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

33 "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.

34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Notice that when He says, "Consider the ravens..." He then says WHY we should consider the ravens; "BECAUSE they neither sow nor reap, they have no storeroom nor barn" (they have NO SWORD") "God feeds them." (They rely on HIS SWORD). Then He says, "HOW MUCH MORE... YOU?"

Again, with the lilies, He says WHY we should consider them: BECAUSE "they neither toil nor spin..." (they have no “sword!”) Then He makes an incredible statement, "I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.”) Well, I've read about Solomon's "glory" (1 Kings 10) and I have to say, I was puzzled by this comparison until about a year ago when I noticed something ENORMOUS hidden there in the middle of that verse

"...Solomon in all HIS glory, CLOTHED HIMSELF..."

Jesus wasn't saying that Solomon had LESS glory than the lilies, but rather the way in which he "clothed himself" wasn't "LIKE one of these [lilies]. They were being clothed from within, not from without. Their “glory” was simply a result of the life of God Almighty flowing through them!

In Psalm 104 God is said to "Cause the grass to grow... and the vegetation..." (verse 14). Then, in verse 29 and 30 it says,

"You hide your face, they are dismayed; you take away THEIR breath/spirit [sword], they expire and return to the dust. You send forth YOUR spirit [sword], they are created, and you renew the face of the ground."

Its natural to think of these verses as referring to only the animals mentioned elsewhere in the psalm, or even just the "swarms without number" that verse 25 says fill the seas. But in reality, it’s just as true for the plants as well. They may not have "breath" as we think of it, but they wouldn't be alive were it not for the Spirit of God. And clearly when it says He sends forth His Spirit and "renews the face of the ground" its the plants that are being spoken of - the "grass of the field" (Luke 12:28).

After telling us to consider how the lilies GROW and how they are clothed, he said,

"HOW MUCH MORE YOU...!"

And then the underlying problem is addressed,

"Oh you of LITTLE FAITH!"

What exactly was it that He was referring to them having little faith in? The didn’t believe that if they put down their sword, He would Give them HIS!

In the very next verse, in fact, He proves this:

"DO NOT SEEK what you will eat and drink...” [don’t use your sword/strength]. WHAT? CAN YOU BE SERIOUS! Yes, very serious. How? "BECAUSE [of] YOUR FATHER..." [HIS SWORD] Then, in order to remove all doubt, He says, in verse 33:

"Sell your possessions and give to charity [give your sword away!]; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven.” [because if you do, He will give you HIS SWORD!]

But... I… How can something so simple be so hard to do?

So, this brings up a seeming contradictory passage in Luke:

Luke 22:36-38

And He said to them, "But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one. "For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in me, "AND HE WAS NUMBERED WITH TRANSGRESSORS'; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment." They said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them, "It is enough."

Actually, it’s not at all contradictory. Jesus told them these things to counter what He told them in Luke 9:3, because He knew He was about to be crucified and didn't want them to be mistreated once He was gone. He said this, no doubt, because He knew that even with Him among them, they still didn't really believe Him ("Oh you of little faith") and would even less after he died. He had many more things to tell them that they just weren't able to handle yet. (John 16:12)

So he said, "WHOEVER HAS" an overnight bag and a wallet should take them along. Clearly this doesn't apply to those who DONT have these things (Like the ravens, for example – “they have no storeroom nor barn..."). Furthermore, it doesn’t explain how they were supposed to get the clothes and the money, respectively, to put in them.

As to the issue of His telling them to buy a sword if they didn't have one, I must say it is curious. It is even more curious when we see Peter actually USE his sword at one point, only to have Jesus rebuke Him for it and tell him to put it away. But Jesus made it clear that He was not speaking only to Peter when He cited this principle:

"All those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword." (Matt 26:52)

It is hard to think He intended them to actually USE their swords after this statement, and yet He clearly told them to acquire swords. I'm left to think it was for the purpose of "peace through strength." He knew very well that they would be persecuted vigorously once He was "out of the picture." He also knew very well that men look "on the outward appearance" and the simple fact is that a man with a sword on His side is a less likely target than a man without one! (Regardless of whether he intends to use it or not!)

I have always thought it rather strange that Luke 22:38 was included in this story - until now.

Luke 22:38

They said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them, "It is enough."

In light of the passage we started with in 1 Samuel 13, it seems rather significant that He said, "...Here are TWO swords..." Not one, not three, not twelve, but TWO. Would that be one for the King, and one for His Son? Why is it that between the 12 of them they only had TWO swords? I think the answer to this question lies in Jesus' reply:

"IT is enough [sufficient]"

What was sufficient? He may have just been saying, as some translations suggest, "Ok, that's enough of that now Peter, don't get carried away..."

OR…

He may have been saying that TWO swords are sufficient - The Spirit of the Father (Matthew 10:20) and The Spirit of HIS SON. (Luke 21:15).

What God is stressing to me in all of this is the need to rely on HIS sword and how much easier that is to do if we don't have one of our own that we are constantly being tempted us to use. (Kind of like telling an alcoholic to get rid of the beer in the fridge!)

Realizing this causes me to see many passages in a new light. A great example is the story of David and Goliath:

1 Sam 17:45-47, 50

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."

50 "THUS David prevailed over the Philistine... there was NO SWORD in David's hand."

True, there was a sling in his hand, from which he hurled a stone, but the fact remains that He saw the entire event as an opportunity to prove to everyone present that,

"The Lord Does NOT deliver BY [man’s] SWORD..."

He pointed this same thing out in Psalm 20:7:

“Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.”

And yet again a little differently in Psalm 33:16-17:

“The king is not saved by a mighty army. A warrior is not delivered by great strength.

A horse is a false hope for victory; nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.”

One of the sons of Korah obviously had this figured out as well:

Psalm 44:6-8

6 For I will NOT trust IN MY BOW, Nor will MY SWORD save me.

7 But YOU have saved us from our adversaries, and YOU have put to shame those who hate us.

8 In GOD we have boasted all day long...

King Asa also had this figured out – at least in his early days:

2 Chronicles 14:11

“Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, ‘LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and THOSE WHO HAVE NO STRENTH. So help us, O LORD our God, for we trust IN YOU and in Your name have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail AGAINST YOU.’ "

Unfortunately, he lost this somewhere along the line:

2 Chronicles 16:7-13

7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "BECAUSE you have relied ON the king of Aram [the sword of man] and have NOT relied ON THE LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand.

8 "Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet BECAUSE YOU RELIED ON THE LORD, He delivered them into your hand.

9 "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is COMPLETELY His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars."

10 Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him FOR THIS [telling him the truth! - Gal. 4:16]...

11 Now, the acts of Asa from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease HE DID NOT SEEK THE LORD, but the physicians.

13 So Asa slept with his fathers, having died in the forty-first year of his reign”.

(I just really hate to see stories like that... He HAD IT at one point, and threw it away!)

The prophet Hosea pointed out this same principle:

Hosea 1:7

"But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them BY the LORD their God, and will NOT deliver them BY bow, sword, battle, horses or horsemen."

And of course this is exactly what God said through the much-quoted Zechariah 4:6:

"...Not by might nor by power [man’s power that is] but BY MY SPIRIT,' says the LORD of hosts."

When God refers to people “whose heart is completely His..." He's talking about people like Caleb - People who have no trust at all in THEIR sword, and complete trust it GOD’S.

"But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.”

(Numbers 13:30, 14:8, 24.)

And I guess I said all that to say (again) its a lot easier to put our trust in God’s sword and not our own when we DONT HAVE ONE! I suddenly had this image of an add in the classifieds:

FREE:

Sword of man. Single owner. Good condition (as far as men’s swords go, that is).

Well, as is always the case with spiritual vision, the more I see, the more I can see... If I didn't know better (and, incidentally, I don't) I'd think God was telling us all something through this...

I left my Bible open to Luke 6 last night when I went to bed. I had been looking at the connection between verse 19:

"And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all."

And verse 40:

"A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher."

So this morning this whole this a little more, and came across a HUGE revelation from Exodus. When God first called him at the burning bush, Moses was, as you recall, having a little trouble believing that he could actually do what God was telling him to do. So, in Exodus 4:2 God asked him,

"What is that in your hand?"

Now we are talking about the God who designed and built the universe here, so I'm going to just guess that he wasn't asking Moses this because He didn't know the answer. No, this question was more for Moses' sake than it was for God's – like in the garden, when he asked Adam, "Where are you?" and "Who told you that you were naked?"

So Moses - probably not really seeing the big picture yet, says,

"A staff." (Without punctuation we can't be sure, but he may have said, "A... staff?"

Either way, God replied, "Throw it on the ground."

OK, here again, I'm wondering, WHY? I mean its not like God couldn't have turned it into snake right there in his hand. Sure, that would have scared him, but he was scared anyway... No, once again, I have to think God had a reason for this. But before looking at that, let's go on:

"So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. But the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail' - so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand."

OK, here's what I saw in this. I believe God wanted to say something to Moses about what he had in his hand. (And through him, to say the same thing to us...)

In Jesus Matthew 5:30, Jesus said,

"If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you..."

Essentially, this is what God had him do with his staff. He "cut it off" in the sense that he used his staff, which was separated from his body - as opposed to using his actual hand! Then He told him to "throw it from you." Why? Because it was his own hand/strength that Moses was “stumbling” over – just like we have done so many times. God had to point this fact to him, so He could then get him to trust God’s hand! He was making this same point when he later had him put his hand in his cloak, and it was covered with leprosy (a symbol of sin!).

So this brought to my mind this seemingly obscure verse in Isaiah:

"...A deceived heart has turned him aside; and he cannot deliver himself, nor say, 'Is there not a lie in my right hand?' " (Isaiah 44:20)

At this point, I said, "WOW! This is BIG!" "He CANNOT deliver HIMSELF." Why? Because there is a lie in his right hand! Ever since the garden, the serpent is clearly the animal directly associated with deception. So when Moses' staff turned into a serpent, it wasn't just because that was the easiest animal for God to turn it into! (After all, it already kind of resembled a snake - long and skinny with a knob/"head" on one end…) No, if God had wanted to turn his staff into a lion it wouldn't have been any harder for him!

The real point God was making was that what Moses really had in his right hand was a lie! The lie was that he could trust in his strength. God needed to get it across to him (and US!) that the idea that we have ANY strength of our own is a lie! This is what Moses was wrestling with - how can I do this, MY strength will never be enough...

"...What if they will not believe ME or listen to what I say?"

"...Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent..."

"...I am slow of speech and tongue."

This is why God had him throw HIS staff on the ground! He was saying, “Moses, Get rid of YOUR sword, YOUR Hand, YOUR arm - it CANT Deliver you!” But there is still more to be drawn from this incident. After he throws his staff down and it becomes a serpent, it says Moses fled FROM it. Once he realized what he’d been holding, he ran away from His own weakness. But God wouldn't let him. He told him,

“Stretch out your hand and grasp it BY its TAIL”

Now I’ve always thought God told him to grab it by the tail just because you don't want to grab a snake by its head since that's where the real danger is! But I now think there was another reason. I think God was making a point by having Moses grab the SMALL, WEAK end of the staff. For years he had been holding it the other way around, and now God was teaching Him the same lesson He would teach the apostle Paul years later:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for MY POWER is made perfect IN WEAKNESS."

Once Paul learned this lesson, he was able to say,

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about MY WEAKNESSES, so that Christ's POWER may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)

God wanted Moses to know that HE was going to be WITH HIM. He wasn't going to do it FOR him, HE was going to do it THROUGH him.

Ex 4:12

"Now then go, and I, even I, will be with YOUR mouth..."

He wanted him to pick up the same staff, but hold it differently now - embracing the weak end!

Exodus 4:17

But take THIS staff in YOUR hand SO YOU can perform miraculous signs WITH IT."

Moses had been carrying that staff for a long time and, even though it doesn't say so, I'm guessing he had not performed ANY miraculous signs with it up to that point in his life. But something was different now! It wasn't the same anymore. In one sense it was still his staff, but at the same time, it wasn't...

This sounds a lot like what Paul said in Galatians 2:20:

“…I live - yet not I, but Christ lives in me”

But the most powerful verse in this whole incident is yet to come! Exodus 4:20 says:

"So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand."

Whoa! What happened? Before this incident it was just his staff - now it’s "THE STAFF OF GOD!" That’s a BIG difference! And this is the very difference we have been talking about in all this talk about our sword verses HIS SWORD. The next verse says essentially the same thing:

"The LORD said to Moses, 'When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in YOUR power'..."

The word translated "power" in this verse literally means "an open hand." Through this incident, God put something in Moses' hand that was not there before – HIS [GOD’S] POWER.

Isaiah 63:12 says that God “Caused HIS glorious arm to go AT the right hand OF Moses.” WHOA! Essentially this says Moses had the hand of God at his fingertips!

This fact makes it easier to see why, after all the signs that God performed through Moses and Aaron using "The staff of God" He later rebuked Moses for whining to him about the spot they were in, (in Ex 14:15-16) saying,

"Why are you crying out to me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. As for you, lift up YOUR STAFF and stretch out YOUR HAND over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.”

God expected him to act on the strength of the power He had given him (God’s Sword!) Unfortunately, Moses was having a little trouble with "residual self-image." He was forgetting that the staff he had in his hand was no longer just the staff of Moses, but “THE STAFF OF GOD.” He was stumbling over the old lie about HIMSELF – believing that he WASN'T sufficient for the task. The fact is, he WAS sufficient – not because of his strength, but because God had given him HIS POWER – which was more than sufficient for whatever task or obstacle he would face.

This, incidentally, is exactly what Jesus had in mind for all his followers when he said,

"I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with POWER FROM ON HIGH." (Luke 24:49)

Unfortunately, the church has done a lot of "going" without this clothing. In doing so, we have brought great reproach upon the name of Christ, and great discouragement into the hearts of His people. But, thanks to Jesus, through the help of God’s own Holy Spirit IN and UPON us, these two wrongs will be righted!

There is still another extremely important verse in the story we’ve been looking at. Once Moses had been given “The Staff of God,” he set off for Egypt to do as God had commanded him. In Exodus 4:24, one of the most puzzling and powerful verses in the entire Bible, we read this statement:

“Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the LORD met him and sought to put him to death.”

Try as you might, there’s no way to get around this verse! After giving Moses a command to go back to Egypt and lead His people out of slavery, and then empowering him to do just that, God sought to KILL Moses before He even made it back to Egypt! It is almost impossible to read this verse without being shocked by it. Everything within us cries out, “What? He sought to KILL him? Why?”

The next two verses provide the only direct answer we are given to this question:

Ex 4:25-26

“Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it at Moses' feet, and she said, "You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me. So He let him alone…”’

Even after reading this, it is hard to understand this passage. Clearly the reason given for God’s seeking to kill Moses was the fact that he had not circumcised his son, for it was only when his wife did so that God let Moses go. But still, if we’re honest with ourselves, something inside us says, “Why would God seek to kill Him over this?” The answer to this question is of great importance to not only for Moses, but for us as well.

In Genesis 17, God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants after him. God clearly stated that as a sign of this covenant all males were to be circumcised, and that any male who was not circumcised would be excluded from the covenant community. Providing an incredible example of instant obedience, Abraham had all the males in his household, including himself, circumcised “the very same day.” (Genesis 17:23)

Being a descendant of Abraham, there is little question that Moses was aware of this covenant requirement. There is also little question that Moses was himself circumcised. But having spent the first 40 years of his life in and Egyptian household, and the next 40 years of his life in a Midianite household, he had almost surely lost sight of different aspects of his heritage.

Judging from her response, it seems clear that Moses’ wife Zipporah did not approve of circumcision. This fact, combined with the fact that he had for many years been removed from his Jewish roots, resulted in Moses not having his son circumcised. While this clear disobedience to the direct command of God was what motivated God to seek to kill Moses, there is more to this story.

We are not told how old Moses’ son was at the time of this event, but seeing as 40 years had elapsed since Moses had met his wife, it seems likely that he was no longer a child. What is so striking about this is the fact that he had been uncircumcised for some time, and yet during this time God had not “sought to put Moses to death.” Only now, as he was on his way back to Egypt with the Staff of God in his hand, did God confront Moses regarding his son’s circumcision. Why exactly is that?

In Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus denounced the cities in which he had done so many mighty works, because they did not repent upon seeing these works of power. He even told the city of Capernaum that, because they had experienced his power and had still not repented, judgment would be more tolerable for the land Sodom than it would be for them. The clear principle behind these statements is the same principle behind the story of Moses not circumcising his son – and one which Jesus stated clearly in Luke 12:48:

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

Certainly God was giving “much” to Moses when He entrusted him with His own power. And, as the above verse says, He demanded much in return. Moses was no longer able to “get away with” what he had before. And we can be certain that this same principle will apply to us if we are expecting to walk in the power of God.

In Colossians 2:11, Paul made it clear that our circumcision is not physical but spiritual. He referred to this “circumcision done by Christ” as “the putting off of the sinful nature.”

So, then in light of all this, I am wondering just exactly HOW it is we are supposed to,

"Be strong IN the Lord and IN the strength of HIS might." (Ephesians 6:10)

In asking God about this, He led me to Mark 1, where I read through these verses:

Mark 1:8-12

"I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens open, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased." Immediately the Spirit impelled Him..."

As I did, I heard this line in a song which was playing softly in the background:

"...I am laying down my arms, and running HELPLESSLY to YOURS..."

Well, I thought more about the story of Jesus' baptism and remembered Exodus 29, where God told Moses the plan for preparing Aaron and his sons to serve in their priestly office. The process consisted of washing them with water, clothing them in their priestly garments, anointing them with the Holy oil, then offering sacrifices for their sin so that they would be accepted before God. Really, in the passage from Mark 1, Jesus went through this same process (minus the sacrifices for sin - for obvious reasons...)

He was "washed" through His baptism, "clothed" (see judges 6:34) and then anointed with the REAL oil - The Holy Spirit.

Next to this passage in one of my Bibles I wrote in the margin, "JESUS BECOMES CHRIST!" This is exactly what happened - "Jesus of Nazareth," became "Jesus Christ" When God anointed Him with His Holy Spirit. Hebrews 1:8-9, (which is actually quoting Psalm 45:6-7) says:

Hebrews 1:8-9

“But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by ANOINTING YOU with the oil of joy."

("The oil of JOY" is an interesting phrase - bringing to mind Nehemiah 8:10:

"Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the JOY of the LORD is your STRENGTH."

Its quite clear from Hebrews 1:9 that God anointed Jesus was BECAUSE He

"...Loved righteousness and hated wickedness."

This brings me to Luke 4. The first verse says that Jesus was "Filled with the Spirit" and "Led by the Spirit" (Romans 8:14). What's striking to me is the fact that the FIRST place The Spirit led Him was into the desert,

"…Where for forty days he was TEMPTED by the devil."

Why exactly was that? To test/prove Him - to see if He "Loved righteousness and hated wickedness..." Which brings us to James 1:12:

"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."

The story of Joseph provides a great visual aid for this verse. Speaking about Joseph, Psalm 105: 19-21 says,

“Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord TESTED him. The king sent and released him, The ruler of peoples, and set him free. He made him LORD of his house And RULER over all his possessions...”

Although the passage in Luke 4 doesn't use the same words found in James 1:12, This is essentially what happened. God led Jesus into the desert to be tempted, knowing that WHEN He passed the test and was “approved” He would wear "The Crown of Life." This is also what Paul had in mind in Romans 5:17:

"...Those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will REIGN IN LIFE through the One, Jesus Christ."

Another way he could have said this is,

"Those who put on the robe of righteousness that God has given us will wear the ring as well..."

The word translated "approved" in James 1:12 is "dokimos" - the Greek word used for testing precious metals. It is the same word translated as "tested" in Proverbs 17:3:

"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart."

This is also the same root word used by Peter in 1 Peter 1:7

"...The proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though TESTED by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ"

This is why Jesus is referred to in Malachi 3:2-3 as being like a "refiner's fire" who will “…sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and… purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver…”

Once a metal was tested by fire (which involved putting it IN the fire to burn out all the impurities) it was stamped with a stamp of approval by the assayer. In essence, the "trying of our faith" results in the same thing. But with us, the "stamp" of approval is The Holy Spirit Himself - The Spirit of LIFE - "Crown of Life" upon us.

Luke 4:14 says,

"Jesus returned [from his testing in the desert] to Galilee in the POWER of the Spirit..."

Referring to this same anointing with power in Acts 10:38, Peter said:

"You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him."

It is this same Hand/Sword of God that we MUST wield (or perhaps, be wielded BY would be more accurate!) if we are ever going to preach "The gospel of the Kingdom” ACCURATELY and EFFECTIVELY – which is the only thing that will remove the “reproach” that is on the name of Christianity.

Earlier I mentioned the ordination of the priests as described in Exodus 29, and how that related to Jesus at his baptism. But I did not address the rest of the ordination process.

In particular, after washing, clothing, and anointing, the priests applied some of the blood from the "ram of ordination" to their right ear lobe, the thumb on their right hand, and the big toe of their right foot. (One might get the impression that there is something significant about the RIGHT side...) These three represented their head, torso, and legs respectively - representing the WHOLE body. By extension then, they were applying the blood of the sacrifice to their entire being. (Which is exactly what we are to do with the blood of OUR sacrifice – Jesus.)

But what is particularly interesting is the word used for "ordination." Both here and in Leviticus 8 (where the actual ordination is carried out) God said that He would "Ordain them" over a period of seven days. (Exodus 29:35, Leviticus 8:33) The phrase "ordain them" in the Hebrew is a combination of two words.

The second word is Yad - defined by strong (3027) as follows: yad (yawd) - a primitive word; a hand (the open one [indicating power, means, direction, etc.], in distinction from OT:3709 - the closed one)

The first word is Male' - defined by strong (4390) as follows:

male' - "to fill, fulfill, overflow, ordain, endow." This verb occurs in all Semitic languages and in all periods. Biblical Hebrew attests it about 250 times. Basically, male' means "to be full" in the sense of having something done to one. In 2 Kings 4:6, the word implies "to fill up": "And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said...." The verb is sometimes used figuratively as in Gen 6:13, when God noted that "the earth is filled with violence."

Used transitively, this verb means the act or state of "filling something." In Gen 1:22 (the first occurrence of the word), God told the sea creatures, to “fill the waters.” Male' can also mean "to fill up" in an exhaustive sense: "...and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" Ex 40:34. In this sense an appetite can be "filled up," "satiated," or "satisfied."

Male' is used of "filling to overflowing"-- not just filling up to the limits of something, but filling so as to go beyond its limits: "For Jordan overflows all his banks all the time of harvest" Josh 3:15. The word often has a special meaning in conjunction with "hand." Male' can connote "endow" ("fill one's hand"), as in Ex 28:3: "And you shall speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have [endowed] with the spirit of wisdom...." In Judg 17:5, "to fill one's hand" is to consecrate someone to priestly service.

A similar idea appears in Ezek 43:26, where no literal hand is filled with anything, but the phrase is a technical term for "consecration": "Seven days shall they [make atonement for] the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves." This phrase is used not only of setting someone or something aside for special religious or cultic use, but of formally installing someone with the authority and responsibility to fulfill a function (i. e., to be a priest). God commanded concerning Aaron and his sons:

"And you... shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office" Ex 28:41.

In military contexts, "to fill one's hand" is to prepare for battle. This phrase may be used of "becoming armed," as in Jer 51:11: "Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers." In a fuller sense, the phrase may signify the step immediately before shooting arrows: "And Jehu drew [literally, "filled his hand with"] a bow with his full strength..." 2 Kings 9:24. It can also signify "being armed," or having weapons:

"But the man that shall touch them must be [armed] with iron and the staff of a spear..." (2 Sam. 23:7.)

This definition substantially changes our Idea of what exactly happened when the priests were ordained. Notice especially the last paragraph in the definition of “male'!” God was literally "Filling their hands" with the power necessary to fulfill their duties.

So what relevance does any of this have to us? Quite a bit! Consider the following verses:

1 Peter 2:9

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood..."

Rev 1:6

"...He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father..."

Our priesthood is as real as theirs. In fact, Paul made it clear that the glory of the new surpasses the glory of the old!

"...If that which fades away was with glory, MUCH MORE that which remains is in glory." (2 Corinthians 3:11)

Again the question God asked Moses comes to mind, "What IS in (y)our hand(s)?"

OK, back to the ordination (Filling the hands) of Aaron and his sons as priests. As I mentioned earlier, once they were washed with water, they put on the Holy garments. There are several very significant things about this process.

For the High Priest, there were eight articles of clothing in all. Parallels could probably be made between some of these garments and New Testament counterparts (like the breast piece being the "breastplate of righteousness"...) but I'm not sure that there are perfect counterparts for each one. And, since only the high priest wore all eight pieces of clothing, and the High Priest is Jesus (Hebrews 2:17, 3:1), it really applies more to Him than to us.

What IS relevant to us is that both Aaron and his sons were REQUIRED to wash before putting on the garments. And, after having washed themselves, they were REQUIRED to put on the holy garments in order to be anointed and ordained (Have their hands filled). Ex 29:29 says,

"The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his SONS after him, THAT IN THEM [the garments] they may be anointed and ordained."

Another significant fact is that the turban, which included the "Holy Crown," was the last thing to be put on. The "crown" was a gold plate worn on the front of the turban, with an inscription on it that said, "Holy [set apart] to YHWH." This suggests to me that our “clothing” process will be complete when we put on a Holy mind – “The mind of Christ.”

Once they had all the Holy Garments on, they offered the required sacrifices - including the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the ordination (“filling”) offering. For each of these offerings, Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the sacrifice before killing and offering it. (Leviticus 8:14, 18, 22) This signified them transferring their sinfulness to the sacrifice.

But with the "filling" offering in particular, they did something else. After Moses killed it, he took the fat, tail, and entrails (all inedible pieces of the sacrifice) along with the right thigh and several loaves of bread and placed them in their hands for them to present as a “Wave offering” before God. This act clearly linked their hands to this offering.

Once that was done, Moses told them,

"You shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for SEVEN days... for He will ordain you (fill your hands!) through seven days."

Basically God told them that over a period of seven days He would "Fill their hands" with all that they would need to fulfill their priestly duties. During this time, they were to "Keep the charge [watch] of the Lord in the tent of meeting."

They did so and, on the eighth day, The glory/fire of God fell! (Leviticus 9:1,4,23-24)

Why on the 8th day? The period of seven days was the standard period required for cleansing from impurity in many instances - including birth, leprosy, feasts, menstral impurity, and defilement by a corpse. The idea of this seven day cleansing period was that the person who had become defiled would separate themselves from their impurity. In a sense, they were putting a week's "distance" between them and their defilement. In light of this, it is easy to see that the real significance to the eighth day is that it is the FIRST day of a NEW, CLEAN week.

The eighth day was the day all males were to be circumcised (Genesis 17:12, 21:4). It was also on the eighth day that all the firstborn animals and boys were to be dedicated to the Lord (Leviticus 22:27). There is also evidence that it was on the eighth day that children were officially named (Luke 1:59, 2:21). In Ezekiel 43:26-27, God said that it would take seven days to cleanse and dedicate the altar, but from the eighth day on, they could use it and their offerings would be acceptable.

In Matthew 16:28 and Luke 9:27, Jesus told His disciples that some of them would not taste death until they saw Him coming in His Kingdom with Power. Then EIGHT DAYS later, He took Peter, James and John up on a mountain, where they witnessed Him being glorified. On the mount of transfiguration, Jesus gave them a glimpse of Himself as the glorified King. In that moment, He became the most perfect expression of God’s Kingdom “come” that any man had ever personally experienced since Adam - with His entire being expressing the glory of God. This is why He told them they would see him coming “In His Kingdom.”

OK, back to the priests. There is an obvious connection between the priests of old washing themselves with water before putting on their garments and us washing in the Word and Blood of Jesus before being filled with His Spirit. In the same way, there is a clear connection between them clothing themselves in "holy garments" and ourselves clothing ourselves in the righteousness and Holiness of Jesus Christ Himself - As Paul admonished us in Romans 13:14: "Put on The Lord Jesus..."

In the same way, just as there was a seven-day ordination (hand-filling) period required for the priests once they were clothed in their garments, I believe there is a "hand-filling" period required for us as New Testament priests. For the apostles, this period was the time between Jesus breathing on them and filling them with The Holy Spirit (John 20:22) and "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." (Acts 1:8, 2:4)

Just as Moses told Aaron and his sons "You shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting... UNTIL your ordination is fulfilled; for He will ordain you (fill your hands!) through seven days."

Jesus told His disciples "Do not leave the city UNTIL you are clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49)

We absolutely must begin to take this seriously and wake up to the fact that a Church that is wearing all the right garments but has empty hands will not do much to win a lost world to Jesus!