Salvation
They Laid Down Their Armor
THEY LAID DOWN Their ARMOR
by David Wilkerson
“And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had
made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) then
Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the
Lord’s side? Let him come unto me” (Exodus 32:25-26).
The Hebrew word used here for naked is para, meaning “to loosen,
expose, dismiss.” It also implies “a new beginning.”
A modern beer commercial admonishes this generation to “turn
it loose tonight.” It simply means to throw off past moral inhibitions,
shake free of all law, begin pleasing yourself. Do your own thing,
whatever makes you happy.
Merely taking off their clothes was not corruption; it was the signal,
the message they were sending to the heathen looking on. Can
you see the Amalakites on the surrounding mountains, far off,
looking on this peculiar scene? These enemies, who had trembled
when they saw God at work among them, now laughed and mocked,
“Look at them. They are just like us! Their God has no power. They
don’t even trust in Him! They want to lust and party and play just
like all the rest of us. What hypocrisy!”
In that one act of nakedness they belittled their God in the eyes of
the ungodly! They made God seem heartless, cruel, uncaring and
helpless. They besmirched the honor and majesty of an omnipotent
God. They were no longer an example, no longer admired or feared
or respected.
They had laid their armor down to party! They put in jeopardy God’s
plans for their salvation. They were saying to the world, “We don´t
want to fight any more enemies! We don´t want to resist! We have
had enough of rejection, of sacrifice, of future hopes and far-off
blessings. We want to live now! We want to enjoy ourselves! We
want the good times to roll.”
The corruption was this: This was to be their new beginning. No
more combat! If they were going to have to exist in a hard, cruel
wilderness, then they would quit the struggle and make do the
best they could-on their own.
-Source-
John Wesley and Sanctification
John Wesley
John Wesley was a man mighty in faith and prayer. Time and again people possessed with devils were brought to him and in answer to prayer the demons were cast out. Not only were evil spirits cast out, but the sick were healed as well. As Wesley preached, the power of God often came upon his listeners, and hundreds would fall under the power of the Holy Spirit. Then, in answer, to prayer their souls and bodies were healed. A physician became offended at the cries of many who fell under the power of God. He attended Wesley’s meeting and a lady he knew fell under the power. “Great drops of sweat ran down her face, and all her bones shook. But when both her soul and body were healed in a moment he acknowledged the finger of God.” On another occasion when Wesley was traveling the preaching circuit, his horse suddenly became lame. With no one near to offer help, he stopped and prayed. “Immediately the horse’s lameness was gone.”
Wesley pleaded with men to repent and by faith make peace with God or suffer in an everlasting hell. People who had entertained false hopes of salvation had their religious masks torn away by his plain preaching. Wesley believed that those who failed to warn the sinner and backslider, themselves stood under the judgement of Christ. He was determined to declare the whole counsel of God, offering the love of God in Christ and giving warning of the dreadful consequences of rejecting the gospel. Wesley wrote, “Before I can preach love and grace, I must preach sin, law and judgement.”
John Wesley, as well as the other early Methodist preachers, was both a bold advocate and a living example of sanctification. Wesley preached with unceasing zeal that complete holiness was the primary fruit of a vibrant faith in Christ. Counseling another minister, Wesley wrote, “. . .till you press believers to expect full salvation from sin, you must not look for any revival.”
If John Wesley were to make an anonymous visit to the Methodists of today, it is doubtful whether many of it’s churches would welcome him. They would most likely resent his fervent zeal and enthusiasm. When he was eighty-three he made a note that he was regretful that he could not write more than fifteen hours a day without hurting his eyes. Wesley faithfully preached almost up to the very day he died. Truly his vigor and zeal in old age were the reward of his faithful stewardship of time. He seemed to consider every thought, word and deed in light of eternity.
“Amid all his arduous labors, his innumerable engagements, his coming and going, Wesley lived a hidden life of intimacy with God. When worn out with overwork he often found new strength in answer to prayer.” It was Wesley’s strict habit to daily spend one hour in prayer in the morning, and then another hour in the evening. John Wesley shook the world by his preaching because he first shook heaven and hell with his praying. His preaching had a sense of eternal urgency because he had touched eternity on his knees.
by David and Patricia Knowles
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