Focus: Sharpen Your Tools! (Pt.3)

Text: 1Sam.13:20

"But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock."

The Israelites went to their sworn enemies to sharpen their material tools or farming implements, and with their hard earned money they paid highly for it.

The Israelites did not have much of a choice in doing that, and most importantly, they did what they had to do for economic or commercial reasons. They needed to sharpen their tools in order to achieve agricultural success as individuals and as a people.

The lesson is that as believers in Christ and as the true Israel of God, according to Paul, we cannot afford to sharpen our spiritual tools in the hands of the people of this world.

God has given us spiritual tools and weapons, and as Paul has said, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.

Spiritually speaking, the Philistines represents to us the world, the flesh, and the devil. These trios do not mean well for us. They do make our spiritual skills and tools dull and ineffective, not make them sharp and useful. The world quenches our spiritual fire, dulls our spiritual sharpness, weakens our spiritual power, and kills our spiritual passion.

The world, the flesh and the devil do not have the ability or equipment to sharpen our God-given tools. Their wisdom is demonic, and their love, sentimental. The flesh profits nothing. Paul acknowledges that no good thing dwells in his flesh. The carnal mind is in enmity with God. 

Satan hates God and His people. He is a thief, a murderer and a destroyer. He is father of all lies and the source of all evil. He is vile and vicious. He is the god of this world system.

The world, the flesh and the devil don't want us to own swords or spears and the means of sharpening our spiritual tools. They are vehemently opposed to our faith, hope and love.

The truth is: we need no swords and spears, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. Instead we have the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The Scriptures shape our lives, sensitize our consciences, sanitize our hearts, and sharpen our intellects and all our spiritual tools.

We can't be going to the Philistines of this world to sharpen our God-given tools. The natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit. Only God can sharpen whatever tool that He has given to us.

We will surely find in the Scripture how to do or run things. The Scripture shows us how to run our family and train our children. God has given us all that pertains to life and godliness. We are partakers of the divine nature. Therefore, the world has absolutely nothing spiritual to give us, and it lacks the sharpening equipment for spiritual tools. God has given us all it takes to rekindle or sharpen our spiritual tools.

The Spirit is the sharpener of our tools. The word of God shapes us and sharpens our spiritual armor. Prayer play a vital role in sharpening our spiritual sensitivity and perception. Fellowship with other believers in Christ helps tremendously in sharpening our spiritual cutting edge. It is about time we sharpened our tools of faith, but not at the hands of the Philistines. We need sharpness of focus and skills. We need to get seriously involved in spiritual cultivation and productivity. Child of God, sharpen your tools!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter