Claiming the Promises (7)

“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.” Matthew 12.28, 29

To reconcile and to restore
In Jesus Christ, we are heirs to exceedingly great and precious promises. God intends to bless us with a closer and more intimate relationship with Himself, and then to use us as agents of grace and truth to bless the people in our lives. All of being blessed and blessing others depends on Jesus Christ, in Whom all the promises of God find their fulfillment.

It makes sense, therefore, that the greatest blessing we can enjoy is to know Jesus, and the greatest blessing we can give to others is to help them find their way to Him – whether for new birth, or for continuing growth in the Lord.

Claiming the promises involves careful preparation, planning to use our time wisely (Ps. 90.12), purifying ourselves of anything that blocks the blessings of God, preserving good works and all good things, and plundering whatever truth or wisdom we may discover in the unbelieving world to help us in loving and serving others.

There are riches of wisdom, understanding, skill, beauty, goodness, and truth to be discovered and reclaimed from the works and lives of unbelievers in every field of life. As we live toward God’s promises, taking as our platform the plain teaching of God’s Word, and seeking His glory as our ultimate objective, we will want to gather as much of the truth and wisdom of God as can help us, in our own Personal Mission Fields, to be a blessing to others.

But there is one great work of ultimate plunder to which we are also called, which we must practice deliberately, consistently, and in the belief that God will use our efforts for His glory.

Capture an armory!
Jesus said that He was about the business of plundering the house of the devil, taking back from him all that he had kept within his own power for so many centuries. Especially what Jesus intends to reclaim are the lost souls of those who are still in their sins. By binding the strong man, rendering Satan incapable of preventing Him from sacking his possessions, Jesus declared open season on the souls of lost people. And as He was sent into the world to seek and save the lost, so He has sent us (Lk. 19.11; Jn. 20.21) – to plunder the devil’s holdings by ministering the liberating Good News of Christ to the people around us.

Think how much comes with winning a single soul to Jesus. All the gifts of God, hitherto employed in the service of self, now become the property of the King of kings. Indeed, they are returned to their rightful Owner, to be catalogued, refined, developed, and employed for His Kingdom. Study the pagan and you may glean some wisdom of God to use in claiming His promises. Win the pagan to the Lord, and you capture an armory, a treasure trove, a cache of gifts, abilities, understandings, resources, talents, time, and strength to develop and deploy in the service of our King.

Here is wisdom
No wonder Solomon declared that “he who sins souls is wise” (Prov. 11.30). The greatest, most efficient, most fruitful and lasting work of plundering you and I can do is to lead others to the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The devil, bound though he is, knows this, and he has managed to persuade many of the followers of Christ that they don’t need to do the work of evangelism, don’t need to learn how to defend their faith, aren’t called to the work of discipling others, and should just leave the business of winning people to Christ to the professionals.

And so we have become a generation of non-evangelistic evangelicals, who daily squander the opportunities for ultimate plunder which the Lord presents them day by day. If we would claim the promises of God – to know His blessing and to bless others – then we must take up again that work which Jesus inaugurated, and which He has appointed to us, of proclaiming the Good News and calling people to repentance and faith.

Filled with God’s Spirit, armed with God’s wisdom and truth, and motivated by grace and blessing, we can trust the Lord to use us in this work of ultimate plunder. Prepare to share the Good News. Pray for those with whom you can share it. Purify yourself of all fear and self-doubt, plan your opportunities well, practice wisdom and goodness, and tell the old, old story of Jesus like you really believe it. Not everyone will receive your witness or believe the Good News, but enough people will to convince you that Jesus continues today, plundering the holdings of the devil and bringing new souls to life in the promises and blessings of God.

For reflection
1.  As you understand it, what is the Gospel? That is, how would you share the Good News with someone who asked a reason for the hope that is within you (1 Pet. 3.15)?

2.  What obstacles are in the way of you being more active in this work of ultimate plunder? How might you overcome those obstacles?

3.  How can believers encourage and assist one another in sharing the Good News with the people in their Personal Mission Fields?

Next steps – Demonstration: Begin praying for opportunities to share the Good News with the people in your Personal Mission Field. Take a step to initiate a conversation about Jesus with someone during the coming week.

T. M. Moore

This is part 4 of a 5-part series, Living toward the Promises. You can download this week’s study as a free PDF, suitable for personal or group use, by clicking here. You can learn more about living toward the promises of God by ordering a copy of the book, I Will Be Your God, from our online store (click here).

We invite you to register for the free online course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview. In this course we provide a sweeping panorama of how life in the Kingdom of God unfolds in an age in flight from God such as ours. Set your own schedule and study at your own pace. Learn more, and register for One in Twelve, by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.