Saturday

Related Verses
Eph. 6:17-18
17 And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God,
18 By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints,

Neh. 8:10b
10b this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.

Phil. 4:4-7, 12-13
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
5 Let your forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is near.
6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
12 I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack.
13 I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me.

Related Reading
According to Revelation 19, the church is both the bride who is presented to Christ and the warrior who fights with Him against God’s enemy. The armies in Revelation 19:14 are the called and chosen believers in 17:14. They are also both the bride and the guests called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb (19:7-9)…After the wedding, all the guests will become the army. As the bride, we must be beautiful, without spot or wrinkle, and be clothed in fine linen. As the warrior, we must be equipped to fight against God’s enemy.

In Revelation 19:14 we see that the overcomers, as the armies which are in heaven and the ones who followed Him on white horses, are “dressed in fine linen, white and clean.”…The wedding garment of “fine linen, bright and clean” [v. 8] will be the armor for fighting. The overcomers who are the heavenly armies are those who constitute the bride of Christ. In other words, it will be the bride of Christ who will follow Him as His army to fight and destroy Antichrist and his army. Those who have overcome every obstacle will be Christ’s co-fighters in the final battle against Antichrist. These are His bride. They have become His co-fighters by His ministering the rich life supply to them. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4339-4340)

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The overcoming saints have two garments, one for salvation and the other for reward. The fine linen here is the second garment. This second garment of the overcomers qualifies them both to attend the marriage dinner of the Lamb (Rev. 19:8-9) and to fight with the Lord against His enemy. Thus, the wedding garment becomes the fighting garment. The second garment qualifies us not only to attend the wedding but also to join the army…This garment is Christ lived out of us to be our daily righteousness. Even today, we are fighting by Christ as our garment. Ephesians 6 indicates that the whole armor of God is Christ.

Spiritual warfare is not an individual matter; it is a matter of the Body, a corporate entity to fight the battle against God’s enemy. No soldier in a modern army would enter into battle by himself. Rather, he would fight as part of a well-trained and fully equipped army. After we have been formed corporately into an army, we will be able to fight against God’s enemy…Therefore, it is very dangerous to be isolated from the army. Only by remaining in the army will we have the necessary protection.

In Ephesians 5 the word is for nourishment that leads to the beautifying of the bride, but in Ephesians 6 the word is for killing that enables the church as the corporate warrior to engage in spiritual warfare. Pray-reading the Word of God is the way to kill the adversary within us. Every day and in every kind of situation, we should pray-read. Whenever we are troubled by something negative within us, we should take the Word of God by means of prayer in spirit. As we do this, the negative element will be killed.

In Ephesians 6:17 Paul charges us to receive “the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God.” This means that we need to take the word of the Bible as a sword for fighting the enemy. According to Paul’s word in this verse, the word of God is the sword not directly but indirectly…The sword is not the word directly. Rather, the sword is the Spirit directly, and then the Spirit is the word. This indicates that if we would deal with the enemy Satan, the word of the Bible must become the Spirit. If we would use the word of the Bible as a sword to kill the enemy, in our experience the word must be the Spirit. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4340-4342)

Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msg. 54

Further Reading:
Further Reading: Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 424

Hymn: #852
1 Thy dwelling place, O Lord, I love;
  It is Thy Church so blessed,
It is Thy joy and heart’s delight
  And where Thy heart finds rest.

2 For her, Thyself Thou gavest, Lord,
  That she be Thine, complete;
For her, I too my body give,
  Thy heart’s desire to meet.

3 For her, Thou hast become my life,
  That she my living be;
For her, I would forsake myself,
  That she be filled with Thee.

4 The Church is Thy beloved Bride,
  Thou in Thy Body seen;
She is my joy and heart’s desire,
  The one on whom I lean.

5 In her, Thy full supply, O Lord,
  Thou dost to me impart;
In her am I possessed by Thee
  To satisfy Thy heart.

6 Thy dwelling place, O Lord, I love;
  It is Thy Church, Thy home;
In it I would forever live
  And never longer roam.