Hopefully
you took the time to identify the type of fighter you are after yesterday’s
declaration, Fight Club Pt. 2: What Kind Of Fighter Are You? As odd as it may seem I would venture to say
that most people probably have not taken the time to consider their fighting
style, especially Born Again Believers. If
asked their justification would most likely be Matthew 5:39 (CEB): But I
say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap
you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well. How many of you believe that Jesus
intended for us to be punching bags to demonstrate humility and/or your level
of deepness? In my sanctified
imagination, I hear God saying: “Why are you standing here, looking toward
heaven?” Acts 1:11a (CEB)? Am I
advocating violence? No, of course not. 
If
someone walked up to me out of the clear blue and slapped me in my face there
is no question that person would be under the power and influence of the
devil. Born Again Believers who are in
right fellowship with God have authority over the devil and his evil powers
through and by the blood of Jesus Christ.
To be clear, this power is available to us because of our relationship
with God (through Jesus) and his power literally resides in us, if and only if,
we are in right fellowship with God. Can
I prove this? Absolutely: These
miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in
my name, and they will speak in new languages.
They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink
anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands
on the sick, and they will be healed.”
Matthew 16:17-18 (NLT).
Tania
Not Tanya Nugget: Sane Born Again
Believers don’t purposefully stick their hands in snake pits to demonstrate
they have special powers; nor do they purposely ingest poison to demonstrate
their ability to withstand its affects. This text was written in a time period where
the primary source for traveling was a good pair of sandals. Their travels led them through rural areas
where snakes could easily be found. We
must also consider the fact that the “houses” they lived in were not nearly as
insulated and sophisticated as modern homes today. It was common practice to kill someone using
poison whereas today the common practice is a bullet. The Matthews verse above is a promise to us
that if we find ourselves in danger, we can take authority over that situation. Let’s jump back to our subject.
I
could be wrong, but my humble opinion is that it would be illogical for me to
stand or sit in front of a demon possessed person and allow them to punk me by
slapping me upside the head. I hear you,
but what if the person brought the trouble (aka the slap) on themselves; what
if I they did something that earned them the right to be slapped. That would be classified as criminal battery
which is: the use of force against another, resulting in harmful, offensive or
sexual contact and it may also be viewed as an assault, which is: a threat of
bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm. It is
both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in either criminal and/or
civil liability. A “tort” is a wrongful
act, not including a breach of contract or trust, that results in injury to
another's person, property, reputation, or the like, and for which the injured
party is entitled to compensation. If a “slap” is classified as illegal, a tort and
punishable by criminal or civil liability by our predominantly wicked judicial
system, can you imagine how God classifies an attack on his children? He takes it so serious that he said: And
whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is
better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast
into the sea. Mark 9:42 (KJV). In essence if someone offends us (e.g. lies
to you, manipulates you, tricks you out of your resources, slaps you, etc.)
s/he’s better off jumping in a lake and calling it quits, because God’s is not
going to stand by and allow people to take advantage of his children, just like
you wouldn’t let anyone take advantage of yours. So you can stand around and let people slap you
in the face if you want to, it’s left up to you, but according to the word, you
have authority over the devil and his tricks and you have the law on your side.
Tania
Not Tanya Nugget: Did I just give you
permission to fight and go blow for blow with a hater? No ma’am, no sir. Protecting yourself by ducking or blocking
the gesture is absolutely in order and if it’s possible you can quickly leave
the area. Most importantly it is
important for you to quickly engage in spiritual warfare and instinctively pray
for wisdom. I don’t mean one of those
long drawn out Baptist or COGIC singing prayers: “oh Lord, I need you to help me right now,
Jesus. Master, there’s trouble on every
side. The devil is trying to make me
fight, but Oh, Lord, you know my heart; I don’t wanna go off on this woman, Give
me a sign Father, down hemmmm.” No,
unless the person is slapping you in really slow motion you won’t have time for
that kind of prayer, however, a quick: “Jesus” or “Help me God” will suffice
because there is still time to duck, block or quickly leave the area. What then is the heart of the text from Matthew
5:39 above (But I say to you that you
must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right
cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well?) I believe it is
handling offenses. Jesus used this
extreme example of an offense to demonstrate how we can make the choice not to
be offended by the offender’s offense by retaliating with vengeance. “Turning the cheek” is simply self-control
which is the power to controls one emotions on purpose. It’s also a method of fighting. If someone offended you, let it (the offense)
go and keep it pushin’. Or wallow in it
and punch them (offend them back), it’s left up to you.
It
is imperative that you understand how you can instantaneously go from a filthy,
wretched sinner to a fully forgiven Born Again Believer. You are forgiven of every cotton pickin’
thing you have ever done or thought of doing.
Even those things that you think no one knows about, yeah, that one, yup
that one too, uh huh, and all of those.
It’s so instant that it almost feels as if nothing happens but don’t underestimate
the power of forgiveness by your loving Father, God. You don’t have to work for it, save for it,
lay it away or charge it; because it (the gift of Salvation) is absolutely
free. F R E E!! You couldn’t buy it even if you
wanted to because God wanted there to be an equal level playing field for
everyone. Poor people, middle class (if
there is such a thing anymore), rich people, illiterates, doctorates,
employees, business owners, etc. have access to this free gift.
Yes
Salvation is free to us, but it wasn’t free. Someone had to pay a huge price for us voluntarily. After a universal search which produced no
qualified candidates, Jesus made the choice to accept the call. When the time was right, He paid the price in
full, in advance (for us) with his blood, the blood he shed on Calvary for the
remission of our sins. What does this
have to do with fighting? Hold on, I’m
getting there. First I want to be clear
we all understand what took place in order that we could have free access to
Salvation 24/7; 365 and when there is a leap year, 366 days a year. Let’s look at the phrase above “remission of
sin”. The word remission means: to pardon; forgiveness, as of sins or offenses;
the relinquishment of a payment, obligation, etc. Without the shedding of our Lord’s blood,
there could be no remission (pardon, forgiveness, etc.) of sin. We would have been doomed to eternal
damnation with no way of escape. Blood in;
so we could be brought in. Brought into what?
The Family of God and all that represents. For God
bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:20 (NLT)
I’m out of time, we’ll continue the
fight journey tomorrow.
In His New and Excellent Service
Tania
Not Tanya
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