What It Means to be Filled with the Holy Spirit # 48

"Neither Give Place to the devil" (continued)

So, just when Abraham seemed to be at his weakest, satan made his move; the Philistine king and the commander of his army moved to make an agreement with Abraham - and satan was about to be taken in his own craftiness. Now if we follow these Scriptures closely, in Genesis 21:22-34, we will find that the Philistine king and the commander of the army, under the inspiration of satan, were really trying to bring Abraham under their rule, and the king and the commander of his army said to Abraham:

"God is with thee in all that thou doest: now therefore swear unto me her by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned."

And Abraham said, "I will swear."

When Abraham said, "I will swear," he was not just meekly submitting to the Philistines, for in the next breath he fearlessly "reproved" Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. The Septuagint Bible uses a better word that "reproved," the Septuagint says, Abraham "expostulated with Abimelech;" in other words, there was a vehement demand and a great force empowering Abraham's words, and this force was the Holy Spirit of God.

Thus, when Abraham said, "I will swear," he was "in the Spirit." He was no longer being ruled by his natural man, he was living in the control of the Holy Spirit. And he said, "I will swear." And because he was "in the Spirit," these words were not only spoken to the Philistines, but they were spoken to the devil himself.

"I will swear." - You can be assured, I will no longer deal falsely with you as I did when I allowed my natural man to jeopardize "The Seed."

"I will swear." - You can be assured I will speak "The Truth," I will give no place to "the lie" of the devil, who is the father of "the lie." I will give no place to "the lie" of the devil whose lying iniquitous spirit is always at work to seduce and convince God's people to partake of "the lie" - "the lie" which is always seeking to seduce and convince God's people that the natural man and his ways can become perfect, that the natural man can in some way please God.

"I will swear." - You can be assured, I will have no further part in "the lie," I will only live in the reality of "The Truth" which Is Christ, and which Is in Christ, The Messiah, The Anointed One.

Then, Abraham demanded that Abimelech give back the ground he had unjustly and violently taken; for there was more than a well of water at stake here, the enemy was after the inheritance of God's people. Abimelech then began to make excuses, and he declared that he had not known this; but as usual the lying spirit of the devil was behind these words, for Abimelech is an agent of the one who is the father of "the lie."

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 49)