DAY: EIGHTEEN

DATE: MARCH 26, 2019.

THEME: ARREST MY ARRESTERS, O LORD, AND LET ME NOT BE TAKEN BY THE ENEMY.

TEXT: JOHN 7:32.

INTRODUCTION: A coalition of the Pharisees and the Chief Priest was formed against Jesus.  Thus, he was arrested by members of the temple guard.  Apparently, these were enemies of the Gospel who, from time to time, opposed our Lord during His earthly ministry.  There are forces that combine efforts to arrest the children of God – these forces may be physical or spiritual, such as: witches/wizards, principalities/ powers, sickness/ disease.

LESSONS:

1. (a) God has given us power to arrest the arresters of our lives.  Instead of the arresters to

arrest Jesus, it was Jesus that eventually arrested them.  He warned them that they had but “one little while to hear the truth, believe, and be saved (John 12:35ff).

(b)         It was not Jesus who was in danger, but those who wanted to arrest him.  At the end of the day, they saw that they only put themselves into trouble for the  Son of God was glorified.

2. There are forces waging war against us day and night. Sometimes, these forces are physical; sometimes, they are spiritual.  Paul said, “we are not fighting against flesh and blood” (Eph. 6:12).

3. The arresters are very powerful and influential. Those who came to arrest Jesus were sent by the Pharisees and the Chief Priest.  They were rulers – those we can refer to as being at the corridors of power.  So, it takes conscious efforts for them to be arrested.  Only the power in the blood of Jesus and the authority in the word of God that can arrest them.
4. Arrest is a sure way to fall into the hand of the enemy. For the enemy to capture Jesus, soldiers were sent to arrest him.  Samson was arrested by Delilah, the enemy came and took him away.  Therefore, to avoid being taken by the enemy, we need to outsmart our arresters.
5. These arresters could be among our close relations, unfriendly friends or colleagues. We need the spirit of discernment in dealing with them.

What do we need for the arresters to be arrested and not be taken by the enemy?

1. Faith (Heb. 11:1; Eph. 6:16).
2. The Word of God (Josh. 1:8; 3:16; Eph. 6:16).
3. Prayer (Eph. 6:18; 1 Thess. 5:17).
4. God’s Spirit and Anointing (Acts 10:38; 16:16ff).

CONCLUSION:  God is more than able to handle our arresters and put all our enemies to shame.  All we need to do is to hand over our battle to Him and follow Him through His word by faith and prayer.  With this, we will prevail over all our enemies and our arresters will be arrested.