BELIEVERS’ WALK, WORK AND WARFARE

“Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power...” – Mark 3: 14-15a

Beloved, Welcome to the Month of the BELIEVERS’ WALK, WORK, and WARFARE: “Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons” (Mk.3:14-15). The Word of God gives credence to the Believers’ Walk, Work, and Warfare, as distinct yet interrelated dimensions of the Complete Christian Life. The Believer’s Walk in and with Christ speaks of relationship, communion, fellowship, conduct, character, and Intimacy with the Lord, including Devotion and Worship. Our Work for Christ signifies Service and Ministry. And there is the Believer’s Warfare through Christ, which derives from the reality of the operations and oppositions by Satan and evil spirits.

Our meditation text contains these three components of the Complete Christian Life: The Walk, the Work, and the Warfare.

The Walk: “That they might be with Him” – Relationship, Companionship, Communion, Fellowship, Intimacy with the Lord, and Discipleship that builds character and frames conduct.

The Work: “And that He might send them out to preach” – Ministry, Mission, Work of Service, using God-given tools and strategies.

The Warfare: “And to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.” God gives Believers empowerment for Spiritual Warfare and Dominion over the Devil, demons, all powers of evil and works of darkness: “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over ALL the POWER of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Lk.10:19).

The Walk: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, WALK as children of light” (Eph.5:8). Our Christian Walk refers to the everyday activities of life through which we relate with one another and with God. We don’t need special “tools” for this Walk because it derives more from WHO we are and are becoming than from self-effort. When we’re born again, living the Christian life is the most natural thing to do with our new nature in Christ. It’s supernaturally natural for us to walk in the light of who we are in Christ and in our heritage in Him. We’re enabled by His Grace, to walk with God – in agreement with His Will, His Ways, and His Word. We’re to walk: In the Spirit, by Faith, in Love, in the Light, in Truth, in Holiness, in Wisdom, and in Dominion.

The Work: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt.5:16). Our Lord Himself exemplified what our attitude to this work should be: “My food is to do the WILL of Him who sent Me, and to finish His WORK” (Jh.3:34b); “My Father has been WORKING until now, and I have been WORKING” (Jh.5:17b); “I MUST WORK the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (Jh.9:4). The Lord has made tools available for Believers to effectively carry out His work; hence He assures: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the WORKS that I do he will do also; and greater WORKS than these shall he do, because I go to My Father” (Jh.14:12).

The Warfare: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Cor. 10:4). Believers are in a spiritual warfare, actively engaged in onslaughts against the forces of darkness that try to resist us as we deliberately WALK with and WORK for God, especially winning souls into the Kingdom. Our weapons of war are determined by our understanding of the adversary. For example, the Bible clearly identifies the tools David used when he faced the giant, Goliath of Gath: a stone, sling, and the Words of Faith he spoke. Because “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,” the armour and weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God in discomfiting the adversary (Eph.6: 10-13; 2 Cor.10:4).