Captivated

A. In 2 Cor. 10:4-6, The apostle Paul reminds us that, “The weapons of our
warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting
down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of
God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” In the
warfare between good and evil, the knowledge of God is at stake. And the
truthfulness and fervency of our beliefs about God will determine our destiny,
either as the slaves of Satan or as the free subjects of the True King.
1. The quality of our lives is governed by the quality of our principles. In the short run, circumstances beyond our control may push us this way or that, but eventually the "law of the farm" will prevail and we'll reap what we've sown. If you live your life on the basis of principles like trustworthiness, diligence, and truth, you will get a different quality-of-life from the person who lives on the basis of treachery, negligence, and error. Whatever kind of life we end up with, it will be something that has "grown" from the principles we chose to adopt. No one can break this law and get away with it. Rom. 2:5-10; Gal. 6:7-8.
a. Equally important is the fire and zeal with which you live by those principles. You cannot live by these principle and be lukewarm about them. It is not enough to live wisely, we must live fervently. But, we're not talking about moral principles that produce quality of life in the here and now, regardless of what we believe about God. It's true that our personal principles must be of the highest quality and they must be held with the greatest passion. But, these principles must be properly focused on the truth of God as revealed in His Word. Jno. 4:24, “Our seeking and worshiping must be in Spirit and in Truth.” Your faith must bring you to be profoundly captivated by belief in Him, for you are not free until you've been made captive by supreme belief.
b. Acts 20:32.

Spur - 08/31/03 pm