"It Is Written

In the 1930’s American military leaders adopted a strategy of offensive air power to trick back against an aggressive nation and end any war quickly. If a foreign power should start a war, planes loaded with bombs would strike a quick and devastating blow and shorten the war. This was tested t o end WW II when the USA dropped bombs on Japan. It was in 1939 that Einstein came to President Roosevelt about creating an atom bomb. The USA asked Japan to surrender but they refused and continued fighting so we came to the only option and that was to drop the deadly bomb. On August 6, 1945 we dropped the bomb killing between 70,000 to 100,000 people. They still refused to surrender. On August 9, 1945 we dropped an even bigger bomb and many more died. Japan surrendered. On September 2, 1945 they signed the official papers on the ship the Missouri.

We do not fight Satan with man made bombs but with a weapon that is far more powerful in this spiritual world. The invincible weapon is the Word of God. Satan threw his heaviest weapon he could at Christ but Jesus responded with a weapon that took care of what Satan used. We have no other weapon in which to win this war. It is the Spirit filled believer armed with the inerrant, inspired, infallible, accurate Word of God who will win and have victory.

There is nothing wrong with the desire to have the Holy Spirit’s power in your life. Sadly, however, teaching on the subject too often strays from biblical truth. In the quest for Holy Spirit power, many people follow paths paved with emotion rather than doctrine. There is an interesting sequence surrounding the temptation of Jesus. He was full of the Holy Spirit and led by the Spirit (v. 1). Filling comes with surrender. Surrender allows the Spirit to lead. The Spirit-filled believer will be an obedient believer. In a setting of temptation, He withstood the direct attempts of Satan to get Him to sin. The Spirit-filled believer also will resist temptation and live a righteous life. After the temptation Jesus is described as returning to Galilee "in the power of the Spirit" (v. 14). It is not incidental that "power" is noted after surrender, obedience and resisting temptation. There is no short circuit to Holy Spirit power. One must start with surrender and proceed with obedience. Righteousness also is required. A lack of spiritual power is not due to a shortage of emotion. More often it is a shortage of the Christ like life. If you want Holy Spirit power, follow the example of Jesus. Do not start with emotion but with truth.