Call to Worship:Psalm 150:1 “Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.”
Songs: Emmanuel - The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
Sing - Travis Cottrell
Awake My Soul - Hillsong Worship
Scripture: Jeremiah 33
(The first line of this song doesn’t apply today, just saying)
Song: If We Are The Body - Casting Crowns
Sermon: “A Place of Healing”
Closing Song: Our God Saves - Travis Cottrell
Benediction: - 1 Chronicles 16:9 “The LORD reigns! 34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. 35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Saviour; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” 36 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the LORD.”
Prayer and anointing with oil
Psalm 62:1 “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. 2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”
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Sermon: “A Place Of Healing”
Today we are taking our pause from our study of Esther, although we are still talking about God saving us from our enemies just in a different way. Before we continue with Esther and the evil Haman who tried to destroy them, I want to talk about a couple of events that happened this week. We are still praying that our mourning will be turned into dancing and we too will have God turn the tables on our enemies and get relief. Esther 9:22 “the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration.”
Today I want to look at something I received in the mail and the global event called the Coronavirus. First of all this week I received in the mail this little booklet that is being sent out across Canada. If you go to their website you can see their goal is to cover Canada with this booklet. They are working on Ontario now. You may think that’s nice, God keep our land and if you look in this booklet you will see that it contains the book of Romans and John. As you look at the first page it says these books are from the Authorized King James Bible; the trusted word of God since 1611. Here is the concern. One they think that the 1611 is the only bible. If you go to the back cover and then follow the link to the Bible Baptist Church in St Thomas or Ohio or globally you will see that it is not just the bible that they are sending out across our country but are actually sending their “other gospel” belief system across Canada in the guise of spreading the gospel. The name of this organization is Bearing Precious Seed Canada but you have to ask what seed are they planting? Yes today we will be talking about the enemy but it is important to see how this enemy has infiltrated the church today as seen in this verse from 2 Thessalonians 2:4 “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” So while the enemy still hands out the bible, which looks good on the surface, he is leading you down the wrong path and it would have been better not to have heard. Yes people can read God’s word but if they connect this church or churches like them and believe the same as this organization, they will have believed in vain, so in essence they are doing damage across the country. 2 Peter 2:2 “Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.”
If you follow the link to the Bible Baptist church in St Thomas, you will see it all laid out for you in their beliefs section. There are many churches around the country who believe as they do. As you know I would normally read their beliefs and tell you they are dispensationalists but I don’t even have to convince you that they are dispensationalists; they tell you they are! Here is what they said. “We are dispensationalists, in that, we believe that God has given His revelation to mankind progressively throughout time.” That statement is very condensed as is this but here is a little broader definition that states, “Dispensationalism, as a system, results in a premillennial interpretation of Christ’s second coming and usually a pretribulational interpretation of the rapture. To summarize, dispensationalism is a theological system that emphasizes the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy, recognizes a distinction between Israel and the Church, and organizes the Bible into different dispensations or administrations.” Except the bible says Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change.” The whole bible is the age of grace not just one dispensation occurring now as they say but grace occurring since the fall in the garden and all the way through the bible. They say in their beliefs “In a dispensational manner, we understand the difference between Israel and the Church.” Except that is not what the bible states. Galatians 3:26 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV) 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26 NIV “So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” I often wonder if God is speaking to ye are ye speaking to God that way? Just a thought! So what have they been baptized into? They then talk about the rapture, tribulation and millennial reign. These are deceptive, the doctrines of demons.
I thought it was important for you to see how satan works in the church. This is what is being spread across our country and around the world. This church has no emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit, as they are not even written down in their beliefs because they do not believe they are for the church today. What got them into this mess is the bible isn’t read literally but as read directed by the Holy Spirit just as it was written by the Holy Spirit, therefore not a book. John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” No other author of any book can do that. Reading the bible literally from man’s perspective will get you into a heap of trouble very quickly as seen by this cancer of dispensationalism. I will include this from their site, as I thought it was humorous that they contradict themselves in their own description of beliefs. They said, “We believe in literal interpretation of the Word of God. The Bible is a literal book,” Now if they had stopped there that would have been in line with what they believe, yet they continued saying, “but it does contain portions that are clearly defined as allegorical (symbolic meaning). The proper method of interpretation depends solely on the power of the Holy Spirit to illumine the believer.” They then go through the allegory and pick and choose what is literal and what is not such as the thousand year reign found only in Revelation. You then must ask what portions are allegory; hence the trouble of reading the bible without the Holy Spirit revealing truth. Now there are all kinds of groups like this spreading their teaching like gangrene around the world who do not teach the way or the truth but their own agendas. (2 Timothy 2:17 “Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have departed from the truth”)
The second event as you are well aware, unless you have self-quarantined for a month with no media source, is the pandemonium caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. This has global affects and with all the media coverage there is worldwide fear spreading. Is it dangerous, yes! Listen to this statistic having to do with influenza. “The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States. “The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide, annual influenza epidemics result in about 3-5 million cases of severe illness and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths.” That is already happening annually. This new one will be added to those stats. The World Health Organization says 142,651 cases and 5,393 deaths at last check. This virus is just another added to a list of sicknesses around the world that man really has no control over their presence or even where they come from. We already have annually those numbers for influenza but for this one the world is shutting down and I can’t buy the toilet paper I like at Costco because I can’t get in. Is this serious? Yes and it is now called a pandemic, which has led to worldwide pandemonium and fear.
So why do I share this. The fear that has spread through the world is real as is the virus. Today all you see are reports stating how bad this virus is. Where do you go to relieve that fear? People need a sanctuary to go to. For many their sanctuary is sports as these gods are a place of worship for many. It was like a funeral as they announced one after another sporting events cancelled or postponed. You then have the closure of events, borders, towns, malls, schools etc. As I followed along, what really got me was the cancellation of church today around the country, the true sanctuary a place of refuge and safety. I realize I talke about the temple as the body but today we are talking about a safe place to go. Now in contrast to these closures, look at the hospital, “a place where people who are ill or injured are treated and taken care of by doctors and nurses.” Is the church not supposed to be a place of healing? Laurie showed me a post talking about the health profession. This post said “offices closed, malls are empty, events called off, flights grounded, borders closed, economy down, schools closed, people scared to look at each other, forget touching but hospitals are open, we still get close, touch patients to check their pulses and examine, we don’t hesitate. The only community which is at the highest risk yet not stepping back are health care professionals.” Yet the church is closing their doors to the sick and fearful!
We have been praying as a church that God’s power would return. As we have been talking about, you don’t want to stand against the enemy on your own. This example illustrates what we are praying for. Matthew 8:1 “When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.” Jesus would do the same with someone who had the virus. He would also know whether they did or didn’t have the virus or just a cold. Yes leprosy is not the corona virus but trust me when I say you don’t want leprosy. We continue to pray that the church would once again be and do as Jesus responded to John about being the Messiah in Matthew 11:14 “Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” As you know if you get a cold, you take medication for two weeks or you wait it out for two weeks. There are things even the health profession can’t heal or control. The church is supposed to have that power but if we look at the church, the power to heal is missing from the church. Our dispensational friends share openly, “We do not agree with the Pentecostal and Charismatic doctrines of the Holy Spirit.” Well yea there are a lot of things not to agree with but you can’t disregard the power gifts, which include healing. In their fear of the charismatic they have renounced the word of God. 1 Corinthians 12:9 “to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers,” just to mention a couple of the gifts.
Here is where I am going with this. The hospital is open for healing yet the churches are closing to protect people and themselves. They fear the virus, what if someone were to come that had it, but not only that there are insurance issues and blame. What would happen if something happened at their church and they didn’t close and I am sure the questions and conversations were extensive. Let’s just say today gives you a clear picture of the church in North America. The sanctuary, the place of healing as you probably have seen, are closed for the next few weeks. I like what one person said, “apparently prayer won’t help you but a bomb shelter full of toilet paper will.” If the church truly had the power of God flowing, would it not be a place of healing as Jesus said it was supposed to be. This is why we must seek more than ever for God to turn His face back to us and clothe us with His power.
The first church I am going to talk about shows you why you should listen to the words of Jesus instead of man. Matthew 24:4 “Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.” That is also a warning to beware of the dispensationalist teaching and others like it that I talked about earlier. This next church shows you about false teachers and prophets, well all the examples I am talking do, but this one in particular is very specific. An article dated March 2, 2020 said Lee Man-hee, the leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, got on his knees and bowed at a news conference. About 60% of the country's more than 4,000 confirmed cases are sect members. Deaths nationwide now stand at 28.” So the church of Jesus is spreading a virus? This next article will show why I said that. “Founded in the 1980s, followers are taught to believe that Lee, the founder, was the second coming or the returned Jesus Christ. "It fits with a number of similar cults, where...the new messiah will take over the role of Jesus and comes with all the authority of Jesus...it has a huge, huge appeal, This type of religion involves learning to read the Bible in a very distinct way, so you read the Bible as a kind of code, and you're looking for ways to interpret this code...everything then confirms the 'absolute truth' of this kind of movement." As I have said often the bible is clear just read it. There is no code. It doesn’t need a leader who is the only one who can interpret the code. There is quite a list of people claiming to be Jesus or the fulfillment of His second coming. Then the question is if you are the Messiah, could you not do what the Messiah did. Pretty easy to see this man is not the Messiah!
But we could say that to the whole church. No, they may not be claiming they are the Messiah, but they are changing his words. So we ask how come the church is not doing what Jesus did? Jesus said, John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Churches all across the country with great influence over people are closing their doors but open online. Here are two examples from opposite ends of the spectrum. Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church will be online only today. At the other end is the wildly charismatic church Bethel Redding, yes the one with the fairy dust and the very presence of the glory of god (small g because it is not God), yet they will be online only today March 15, 2020 and many others are following. I went through the list of churches I could think of in London that closed their doors. I went to their websites and every church that I could think of was closed today but online. One made sure to let you know you could still give. I read last night about the churches that are closing their doors right here in our little town of Strathroy. Like the example I gave you, here are two churches in town that are also closing. Calvary Pentecostal website says services are cancelled until April 4th. Their slogan is “empowering people to impact their community for Jesus.” Bethel Baptist, another church in town, their website says, “Due to government advisement on the COVID-19 virus, Bethel has decided to suspend all ministry events beginning on Sunday, March 15, until April 4.” Their slogan is “Glorifying God by making disciples who make disciples” Yes the government suggests as I read on CTV news dated March 13, 2020 “Ontario's chief medical officer of health is recommending the immediate suspension of all large events and public gatherings of over 250 people due to COVID-19. In a memo to be issued today, Dr. David Williams says organizers of smaller gatherings should consult with their local public health unit. He says all Ontarians should practice social distancing as much as possible to manage the spread of the novel coronavirus.” So do it differently as some churches are just breaking into smaller groups as some are doing. There are directives about gathering stating 250, 500 and even a 1000 depending on where you are. Now these are my words. I think it interesting that some are saying closed until April 4. Palm Sunday is April 5th and Easter the following week where we celebrate the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Is there no power before Easter to provide sanctuary and a place of healing as Paul says in Ephesians 1:18 “the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” This is supposed to be the power of the church yet the church is closed today.
So you have to ask where is the power? Jesus is the head of the church, we are to do as Jesus did so as we are supposed to do as Jesus did. Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Exodus 23:25 “Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, 26 and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.” Again I ask; Where is the power? Churches like Bethel Redding are always telling people they have the power. The answer is, no they don’t, it is not there as is it not present in today’s church. Deuteronomy tells us why Deuteronomy 28:58 “If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the Lord your God— 59 the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. 60 He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. 61 The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. 62 You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God. 63 Just as it pleased the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.” This is why we continue to pray for God to turn His face and shine on us once again. This is why we wait. This is why we are desperate. Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” We desperately need the kingdom to come near. These churches are just as false as Lee’s church in Korea. I say false because they do not repent and seek God to be clothed with His power. Churches should be open praying for God to move in power. Gather 250 people and pray and then do it again and again. They do not even believe they can have because as Jeremiah said Jeremiah 4:22 “My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.” At a time where the world needs comfort and direction and a voice of truth, churches are closed and closing. Most of them should stay closed if truth were known.
I think it is important to understand that this virus is nothing to what God could unleash on the world for not believing. Just look at what happened to Egypt just before they were freed. Look at what happened to Israel and Judah when they were taken into captivity to Babylon. (Also read Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26) We must obey God once again so that his power will flow. Mark 16:6 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
We need His power so that once again the church will be the place were people cry out like this. Luke 18:35 “As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. 42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.” Matthew 9:20 “Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed. 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.” This is what the church is supposed to look like. If Jesus is not the Jesus being taught, crying out will do no good. It is not Jesus if they do not teach His words.
We the church are supposed to have power to free the captives, not be captives. Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.”
The captives are not going to be freed because of a booklet from a false gospel. Yes due to God’s mercy someone could read it and be directed to the truth but not if they follow the links. Churches who think they are the Messiah as we saw in Korea and the ones who think they are speaking for God, will not have the power either. The question is will people turn and repent? Maybe people will turn for a bit until things get back to normal as we have seen in the past. But let me ask you this. What will they turn to? Where will they go to repent? Will they hear the truth? They think I need to find a church. So they get this booklet in the mail and they see Bible Baptist Church. They see the smile and energy of Joel Osteen. They think I like him or they have a nice website. They get in touch and find a like-minded group near them and then they start their journey in the wrong direction. 2 Peter 2:21 “It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.”
People are hungry for the truth. People need a place of healing, a touch from the living God. We the church are supposed to give them the truth. We the church are supposed to be like Jesus, unafraid and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. We are supposed to be a place of healing. Now if you are going to take a stand, your God better be stronger than a virus or cancer or aides or a cold. Your God better be stronger than all of these too. 1 Corinthians 6:9 “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” There are so many people who need to be washed, sanctified and justified by Jesus and that’s in the church. Imagine all the lost souls. Scripture tells us 2 Kings 6:15 “When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” Hezekiah said to the people 2 Chronicles 32:7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So we the church should be standing firm, unafraid knowing that God fights our battles. 2 Samuel 22:31 “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” You must be following his word for God to shield you.
Today’s closing reminds me of Hezekiah when he purified the temple. He said 2 Chronicles 29:6 “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him. 7 They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. 9 This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. 10 Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.” Then he told them 2 Chronicles 30:6 “People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”
So today we saw how false gospels are spreading as well as a virus terrifying and churches closing in the face of fear. If the church truly was seeking / following the gospel of Jesus Christ, this directive from James would be taking place. We continue to pray that this will be common in the church again when God turns his face to shine on us once again. James 5:13 “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” This is the church of the bible. The man made church is powerless against our enemies. Wouldn’t it make sense for the church to be standing when all else crumbles around them not the other way around?
1 Chronicles 16:35 “Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” 2 Chronicles 20:5 “Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’ 10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” The answer came 2 Chronicles 20:15 “This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” 29 The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.”
Continue to cry out to God that we will be saved. This week our blogs will be looking at how God saves us from our enemies.
