Call to Worship: 2 Samuel 22:47 “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior! 48 He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me, 49 who sets me free from my enemies.”
Songs: He Is Exalted - Twila Paris
Alive Forever, Amen - Travis Cottrell
Giants Fall - Francesca Battistelli
Scripture: 1 Chronicles 28:1-21
Song: War Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago
Sermon: “Terror form Heaven”
Song: Warrior - Steven Curtis Chapman
Benediction: 2 Samuel 22:49b “You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me. 50 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. 51 “He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”
2 Samuel 22:49b “You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me. 50 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. 51 “He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”
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Sermon:
Today we live in a time where everyone goes there own way but not only is their course narcissistic, there is a famine of hearing the word. That combination leads to sheep being scattered on the hillside as the prophet Micaiah said. Psalm 44:9 “But now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. 10 You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us. 11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations. 12 You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale. 13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us. 14 You have made us a byword among the nations; the peoples shake their heads at us. 15 I live in disgrace all day long, and my face is covered with shame 16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me, because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge. We saw this famine in Ruth were in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.” Judges 21:25 explains more to the famine as “in those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.”
We talked about being fastidious in our study of the word of God; making sure we are following the right way, which is “this gospel.” Because of this lack of attention to detail, most are following ways unfamiliar to the word of God. People are so off track they don’t even know they are following false gospels. They think just by attending church they are okay. When you read about the descriptions of these other gospels, warning signs should be going off but since there is a famine of hearing the word, people are just not hearing. Just as Jesus said in Matthew 13:13 “This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” No one is interested in that word otherwise so that there would be healing. Not only is there a lack of hearing, there is delusion that has been brought on by God himself. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”
The disciples were asking about the end and said Luke 21:7 “Teacher,” “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” 8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” Did you notice Jesus said “watch out that you are not deceived.” Once again there are many charlatans howling at the moon. He said in Matthew 24:22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.” Well we are in those days and the church has been decimated and sits in desolation;” the sheep have been scattered again.
Yes not the most cheerful news; so now what. Where do we go from here? The answer is get ready to cross the Jordon; stay close to the word as we have not been this way before. As Joshua said in Joshua 3:5 “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” The good news is that God has cut this time short and the remnant will be saved once again and we will take the land again. Every year during Lent our focus is concentrated on a topic for 46 days. This year that will start March 6, 2019. Our subject is taking the land. God told Joshua to get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
So we are about to take back the land and we do not need to be afraid of the enemy because our God goes before us. Up until now we have been taken captive because those who went before us have not adhered to the word of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29:8 “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.” But this time is coming to an end. For over 2000 years now the church has not followed closely the detail of God’s commandments and we have gone astray. We read what Solomon was told. 1 Chronicles 28:7 “I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.’ 8 “So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.” He didn’t and lost his kingdom. What makes us think we can reject God’s word, go our own way and not be held accountable for it.
One thing I have noticed during my journey is that very few people actually want to know what the bible is actually saying. There is a big difference between what they think it says and what God’s word actually states. People will share their opinions even if they do not line up with scripture. People will hold on to some form of teaching of denominational distinctives, doctrines and theology thinking it to be truth because someone said it was, yet most people do not even know what the church they go to believes or where those beliefs came from, let alone their own personal understanding of the way. If they did understanding most people would be repenting and pleading for mercy. They would be running from the churches they attend. Most people have no idea what “this gospel” is, nor do they understand the power behind it. They are content to have a just a form of godliness. Jesus was not kidding when he said do not be deceived. Paul said to Timothy 2 Timothy 3:10 “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Unfortunately because of deceptive teaching we have not been built up. Ephesians 4:11 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”
So we continue to follow the teaching of the word of God. We know that following God’s word will cause people to hate you as Jesus said. Jesus came to give us so much more than warming seats on a Sunday; he came that we would have life abundantly. He came to destroy the work of satan. 1 John 3:8 “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” We are at war even though Jesus already defeated satan. He showed us what to do and empowered us to do it but it meant we had to adhere to his word and continue in it or else we get defeated. We too must also defeat him. Yes “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” We must stay focused because satan is still hard at work because he knows his time is short. Revelation 12:12 “Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” You see people are unprepared for this war and are loosing the battle. The only way to win this war is to be anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit. For that to happen we must truly believe. Hebrews 2:14 “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” We are told do not be afraid Hebrews 13:6 “so we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Death has been defeated and we have nothing to fear. We can live in perfect peace just as Isaiah said Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” The very fact that the Jews who do not believe in Jesus as their Messiah and do not believe peace is possible should frighten you when the church who teach a millennial kingdom does not believe peace is possible either as they wait for the Millennium to bring peace. Me thinks both have missed the Messiah.
The most important piece of knowledge you can grab onto is that we are at war and loosing the battle but the good news is we do not have to be afraid of the vast army that is attacking us. Yes we are surrounded like Hezekiah was but if we return to God he will return to us and He will defeat our enemies. Hezekiah prayed 2 Kings 19:19 “Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.” Isaiah responds and says 21 This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: “Virgin Daughter Zion despises you and mocks you. Daughter Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee. 22 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! 23 By your messengers you have ridiculed the Lord. 30 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. 31 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. “The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. 32 “Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. 33 By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the LORD. 34 I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’ 35 That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp.”
We too must plead our case before the Lord and wait for his response and he will respond. 1 Samuel 7:3 “So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” You can’t expect God to answer and still follow false gospels. One piece of knowledge that most in the church fail to grasp is that the enemy has taken them captive. Even though they sit in church every Sunday, they sit in captivity thinking they are free. Remember this is spiritual warfare and you can’t always see it but that is how the enemy works and you can see the results if you are willing to see the desolation. Our war is not always with what we can see. Yes people with flesh and blood will stand against you but Ephesians 3:12 “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
There is specifically a couple of verses that I want to look at when it comes to war that will give us hope. The first is what Jonathon said to David when he had to leave because Saul was going to kill him. 1 Samuel 20:16 “So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.” David’s enemies will not get away with it. And the other was shortly after Saul had become king. This is a good example of what we are praying for and waiting to happen. 1 Samuel 10:6 “The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. 7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day.” He then became king and again the power of the Holy Spirit came upon him. 1 Samuel 11:6 “When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he burned with anger. 7 He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out together as one.” But as you are aware Saul disobeyed and was destroyed. 1 Samuel 31:6 “So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day. 7 When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.” Disobedience allows the enemy to occupy our land. Earlier David had said to Saul 1 Samuel 24:15 “May the Lord be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.” David also said when he had a chance to kill Saul 1 Samuel 26:10 “As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.” So Saul did die in battle. Earlier a man name Nabal went against David and “Lord struck Nabal and he died.”
God will always keep his word to David. David then 2 Samuel 22:2 “sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” God has promised David and that promise continues until the sun stops setting and the moon ceases to exist (by the way take a peek at the moon tonight) so we too can have our enemies defeated as Jonathon declared to David. This is what the church is supposed to be about. We are saved from certain death, wrath of God and saved from our enemies and captivity. Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Psalm 18:3 “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.” When God turns his face back to shining on us once again and like Saul, fills us with his spirit, the terror of the Lord will fall on our enemies once again. Exodus 23:27 “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.” Deuteronomy 11:25 “No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.” Deuteronomy 28:7 “The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.” Leviticus 26:7 “You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.” This is what we have to look forward to when God turns his face to shine on us once again. Jesus said Matthew 16:15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This is the power we are supposed to have over our enemies. The power that is available to us is a binding power over satan’s efforts. This is the kingdom of God and the power of it. As Paul said Ephesians 1:19 “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. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Luke 1:67 “His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: 68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— 72 to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”
The kingdom we are supposed to be a part of is a powerful kingdom where Jesus reigns on David’s throne. Mary was told Luke 1:32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” We can say we are part of this kingdom because we have been seeking his truth. We can say that because we anticipate what God is going to do. Not only will he empower His church once again. He will tingle the ears once again. 1 Samuel 3:11 “And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.” So we had better on be on the right side. We had better be fighting for truth and not following false gospels. We must turn away from everything false. Paul said 1 Timothy 6:20 “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.” We want the power of God to fall on us once again so we can go out as one and fight. Look at those who gathered around David. 1 Chronicles 12:22 “Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God.” They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains. 2 they were armed with bows and were able to shoot arrows or to sling stones right-handed or left-handed.” When the church rises up once again we will go out clothed with power to the ends of the earth and continue the work of Jesus in the power and authority he gives us.” we will continue to defeat satan in the power of the Spirit till the end.
When Samson was born it was said in Judges 13:5 “He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” David was anointed by Samuel and 1 Samuel 16:13 “from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.” Eventually David became King. 2 Samuel 3:17 “For some time you have wanted to make David your king. 18 Now do it! For the Lord promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.’” God told the Apostle Paul Acts 26:17 “I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” Jesus came to destroy the work of satan. Revelation 11:15 “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 12:10 “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Messiah.”
This is the how the church is supposed to be operated. The enemies are not supposed to be conquering us. If they are we have disobeyed. Deuteronomy 28:15 “However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:” Leviticus 26:36 “‘As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them. 37 They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies. 38 You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you. 39 Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their ancestors’ sins they will waste away.” Deuteronomy 28:19 “You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. 20 The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. 21 The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. 24 The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed. 25 The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven.”
We were actually supposed to continue in this war, not sit idly by and be conquered. Jesus said Luke 24:46 “He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus said to us for a reason John 14:11 “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 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.” What an degradation to the word of God. People who call themselves Christians refuse to accept God’s word as it is. We must turn from these wicked ways we have been raised with. What I read when looking how far the church is from God’s word and this lack of belief is disgusting. At this point men and women go their own way and do not even care if they turn away. They will follow their wicked ways to death. There is no fear of God in the land but there will be fear of the enemy coming.
I like what they said about Solomon when he took his fathers throne. When David prepared to have Solomon anointed king. 1 Kings 1:36 “Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. 37 As the Lord was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!” Because we are supposed to have the Holy Spirit the same power should be available to defeat our enemies. Since they are spiritual we must have the anointing of the Holy Spirit but we must be unswerving in carrying out the commands of the Lord.
The church doesn’t even know that the Holy Spirit has turned away. There is no power available to us unless we turn back and wait for the power to return. Yes satan will fight you on this because he knows you are finally joining in this war and this will continue to defeat him just as Jesus did. We were supposed to carry on the fight just as Solomon was to carry on David kingdom but he did not and he lost it and eventually the whole kingdom was carried into captivity just as it is now. If we wait, we will go out in power; we will take back the land; we will defeat our enemies. Why because God wants to make our enemies his footstool. Hebrews 13:12 “But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.”9 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
We do not want to be God’s enemy but fight against his enemies by being faithful to his word. We do not want his terror to fall on us but on our enemies. There is great power available to us when God shines his face upon us. 1 Samuel 17:45 “David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” Luke 9:1 “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Matthew 10:1 “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” Mark 16:20 “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” Deuteronomy 11:22 “If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast to him— 23 then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you. 24 Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. 25 No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.” Deuteronomy 9:1 “Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. 2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” 3 But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.” Deuteronomy 7:6 “The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. 7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. 10 But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him. 11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.
1 Corinthians 15:1 “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
