From Love Lost and Misguided to Love Commanded

 

Robert Olson / General

 Sermon Preached 1/2/2022 Watch Here: From Love Lost and Misguided to Love Commanded

Love...

…Lost

…Misguided

…Commanded

This morning I am starting a series of three sermons.  Today I am speaking on Love lost, love misguided, and love commanded.  Next week I am going to speak to the practical ways that we can love God and love others.  And then on February the 13th I hope to speak to the consistency and perseverance of love.  

I would like to give you a little background for this series.  Approximately two years ago I was working with a couple in my counseling practice.  We were discussing the Bible’s command for husbands to love their wives and what that meant practically.  This couple had been through many bible studies and marriage conferences. Then the husband who had been in church the whole of his life said something quite amazing to me.  He said, “I don’t know how to love my wife.”  At the time it struck me as odd that a person that had sat under the teaching of some very conservative and seemingly solid biblical teaching would make such a statement.  After all “God is love.” We also have 1 Corinthians 13, the “love chapter.”  Also the predictable sermon on love on or around Valentine’s day.  Several books, retreats, conferences and so on.  How was it possible that that this husband could have spent so many years and not learn what it meant to love. 

I determined to write a study on love.  Initially I was going to write the study on love in the marriage relationship.  It was intended to be an exploration on the “love chapter.”  I was able to complete the draft copy of the study about a year ago.  The preparation and writing of that study has taken me personally on a journey that I did not quite expect.  Not only did that husband not know what love meant, I discovered my own understanding was woefully inadequate to what the scripture has to say about love.  In fact, every time I look into scripture about love I discover more that I had missed. 

I recall that a rather perfunctory survey of 1 Corinthians 13 and some commentary and a few books on marriage counseling had been the whole of my knowledge on this subject.  I was feeling pretty confident.  Little did I know that God was about about to confront my pride on this subject. 

God’s timing is everything.  We as a church were seeking God as to a direction for the future of Richland Baptist Church.  God gave Pastor Travis the wisdom to put together a strategic visioning team.  The team was started pre-COVID but not by much as the majority of our meetings have been over zoom.  In that we developed a statement to guide the future of RBC.  This was a labor of several people in our congregation and the staff to genuinely seek out God’s direction.  Hours of discussion we were able to distill what God was giving to us in three admonitions: Loving God, Loving People, Multiplying Disciples.  For many years RBC has worked hard to fulfill the “Making Disciples” mission of the church.  In some ways this new focus was not really new.  God has used and will continue to use RBC as a shining light for making disciples and supporting missions work.  But God in his timing and wisdom was saying that RBC had lost its way when it came to love.  We had become a organization busy doing important work, but all the while missing the opportunity to really connect in a loving way to God, brothers and sisters in Christ, and the community around us. 

Mission Statement

 “Saturated with continuous prayer, Richland Baptist Church values the glory of God above all things by:  Loving  God,  Loving  People, Multiplying Disciples”

This parallel work confirmed to me and to others I believe that transformation and sanctification needed to get back to a first love.  As such God put it on my heart to advocate for Love at every opportunity.  Ironically I think I have annoyed several with a overwhelming focus on love.  I was initially surprised that there would be some that would be critical of this.   After all Loving God and Loving others are the two greatest commandments.  Yet I did step on some toes. 

God was working on me as well.  I realize that I come up short when it comes to loving as God would have me love.  At every turn over the last couple of years has been a test to love and offer encouragement toward others.  At times I have even thought whether the whole focus on Love was really worth it.  God in His grace always brought me back to the importance of love.  He also made me painfully aware of how I had come up short in this way.  Many tears have been shed as I realize how painfully obvious it is that I really don’t know how to love.  Am I a hypocrite writing and talking about love?  You bet I am.  But at least now God has my attention.  My hope is that He will get yours as well. 

I have to apologize for such a long introduction.  However, I felt it would help you all understand where I am coming from in this focus.  I also know that this journey is shared by many others.  In the Church staff and leadership have been longing for God’s love and transformational love in our lives.  There have been many of you that have encouraged me over the last couple of years.  For every negative God has used several of you to offer encouragement when I thought I might give up.  As much of my thoughts have been public I have been encouraged by pastors, bible teachers, and missionaries.  Often through private messages offering similar sentiment.

So the focus of this morning and next week is Love. 

Love Lost

First I would like to look at love lost.

Revelation 2:2–6 CSB

I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars.

I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary.

But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.

Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

This message is from Christ through divine vision through John to the church in Ephesus.  According to this message the Ephesians had a zeal for God’s righteousness.  Jesus commended them for taking a stand against evil, false teachers, and unrighteous practices.  They also apparently faced hardships that they endured for following Jesus.  They would have appeared to most of us I think as a church that had it together doing the right thing.  However something very important was missing.  Love.  Not only was love missing, but it had been abandoned. 

Love was abandoned in that the actions they were taking while righteous had no thought of love.  Love was something that did not figure into their reasoning.  They had become a church of righteous activity devoid of any thought of love.  Oh how far they had fallen from the love they had at the beginning.  This change in focus also change the mission.  Notice that they also had stopped doing the works they had done at first.  No doubt these early works reflected the love they had for God and for one another. 

In short then they had abandoned the  thought  of love, abandoned the  focus  of love, resulting in the abandonment of  works  of love. 

Living in a loveless relationship erodes the soul.  I have met with many couples that have abandoned the love they have for each other.  It is a sad situation.  Often they are coming to see me to fulfill some obligation that they made to seek counseling before seeking divorce.  Truthfully though they are already divorced in their heart.  They have abandoned their first love. 

The same loveless atmosphere can choke out a local body of believers.  When love is abandoned in a church it becomes agenda driven.  Who ever has the greatest influence wins the agenda.  It becomes works based.  The measure of success becomes programs, classes, and numbers.  Without love relationships take a back burner to the event and the calendar.  Without love guilt becomes the primary driver of relationships.  Every action is taken to minimize shame.  Obligation replaces care and genuine concern.  Without love preaching at people becomes more important than ministering to people.  Without Love so called evangelistic events become more important that addressing the needs of the community at large. Over time it erodes and chokes out the vitality of the church. 

R.C Sproul speaking on common grace said it like this:

This unnatural  schism took place where evangelicals began to say “Oh social action, social concern, concern for the general welfare of the human race that’s a liberal matter. That’s a liberal agenda. Whereas concerns for the souls and personal salvation, that’s the real concern of the church.” If Christ would hear that He would say “A pox on both your houses.” Because the church is called not only to the ministry of special grace, but also to the ministry of common grace… …If you find somebody sick and dying in a ditch you don’t ask them how they got in that ditch. The love of Christ is to constrain you to pull them out of that ditch and do everything you can. That is what the story of the Good Samaritan is all about.

Jesus offers this warning Rev 2:5 “Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

First Jesus challenges them to remember how far they have fallen from first love.  In some ways I am hoping that is what we are doing this morning.  Remember your first love when all was alive, brilliant, and good.  Even bad news was greeted with an eternal optimism in your soul.  Before the bitterness of ideology, demagoguery, and pride settled into your soul.  Remember when the words “I forgive you” flowed freely off you lips as an expression of the forgiveness you had received from God.  Now we choke on the words if they are uttered at all.  Remember when kindness and compassion drove you to care and concern for your fellow humanity. Love my dear brothers and sisters is the thing that is missing.  Jesus continues by commanding repentance.  Repentance is a change of heart and mind toward the subject at hand.  Jesus is saying to change your mind about the importance of love.   Love is the preeminent fruit of a life filled with God’s Holy Spirit.   We must align our minds with this truth.  That without love everything and literally everything we do, say, or think is utter meaninglessness and devoid of anything of value.  We must agree with God.  Here are a couple of verses to keep in mind while repenting of how far we have fallen. 

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 CSB

If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.

And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

2 John 6 CSB

This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.

1 John 4:20 CSB

If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

In short religious activity without love is  nothing ,  disobedience  to God is not love, and saying you love God while hating others makes you a  liar . 

Love Commanded

You see love is not a command of God it is the command of God. 

Mark 12:28–31 CSB

One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”

Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”

Think about this for a moment.  Jesus the Son of God, creator of the universe, the savior of our souls identifies loving God and loving others as the two greatest commandments.  There are none greater than these.  It would seem to me that if these two are the greatest that we as believers ought to not only understand what it means to love God and Love others, but we also ought to be practicing these as well.  When we acknowledge these commands Jesus says Mark 12:34  “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” So not only are they the greatest commands, but the expression of Love of God and Love of others is directly connected to nearness of the Kingdom of God.  Dear friends this Love is important.  It ought to be the central characteristic of the Christian faith.

John 13:34–35 CSB

“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Again Jesus makes love the core identity of being one of His disciples.  And it is the love that we have for one another that marks a follower of Christ.  We cannot miss this point. 

Jesus elevates love as the core of our faith. 

1 John 3:16 CSB

This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

John 15:12–14 CSB

“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.

No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Listen to Paul, John, and Jesus!  We have a problem of Love.  If you are offended by this statement then let me just say you need to examine your rebellious heart! Loving well is the clear teaching of Christ. 

To be offended by love is to be offended by Christ!

Love Misguided

One of the problems that we face when it comes to love is that we can have affection for things that are not of God.  That is to say we can have a misguided love.  The objects of our affection are as important as the affection itself.  If we love something that is false then we become a part of that falsehood.  We become married to something that is not of God. 

Here are some examples of misguided love. Loving only those that love you (Matthew 5:43-46), Loving money (Matthew 6:24), Loving popularity (Luke 11:43; 20:46), Loving evil deeds rather than Christ (John 3:19-20), Loving men’s praise over God’s Praise (John 12:43), Loving the world during hardship (2 Timothy 4:10), Loving the wages of evil deeds (2 Peter 2:15); Loving the things of this world (1 John 2:15); Saying loving words without loving action (1 John 3:18), Loving spiritual sounding displays of religion (Matthew 6:5), Loving favorites in your family (Genesis 37:3-4), Loving evil words (Psalm 52:3-4), Loving ignorance (Proverbs 1:22), Loving to offend and cause strife (Proverbs 17:19).  This list is not exhaustive. However, I think you get the point.

Having the appropriate focus of our love and affection is very critical.  Loving the wrong thing makes you unrighteous not good. We must guard our hearts to love the things that God loves and reject the things that God rejects.  We must set boundaries about our love.  If we do not we will find that our affections do not reflect the genuine love of God.  On the other hand we cannot in our efforts to set boundaries abandon the centrality of Love that God places in our faith and hope.  We must not abandon love of God and others.  Remember the stark warning:

Revelation 2:4–5 CSB

But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.

Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

If we abandon our love then God would be just in removing our influence and our very existence as a church from this place.  It is that important to Jesus.  It ought to be that important to us. 

As a preview for next week I want to read a selection of way the scripture commands us to love God and love others.

Loving God

Matthew 22:37 “He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

John 14:15 ““If you love me, you will keep my commands.”

John 14:23 “Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

John 15:10 “If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”

1 John 2:5 “But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him:”

1 John 4:16 “And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.”

1 John 5:2-3 “This is how we know that we love God’s children: when we love God and obey his commands. For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden,”

2 John 6 “This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.”

 

Loving Others

Matthew 5:44 “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

Mark 12:31 “The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.””

John 15:12-13 ““This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.”

Romans 13:8-10 “Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not covet; and any other commandment, are summed up by this commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.”

1 Corinthians 14:1 “Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy.”

1 Corinthians 16:14 “Do everything in love.”

Galatians 5:14 “For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Ephesians 4:1-3 “Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Colossians 3:14 “Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”

1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.”

Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works,”

James 2:8 “Indeed, if you fulfill the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.”

1 Peter 1:22 “Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly,”

1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.”

1 John 3:11 “For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another,”

Truthfully there are many more passages that I could include.  I did not include Old Testament passages and this was a survey of the New Testament.  God in His word elevates love above all things.  In fact obedience without love is rejected by God.  Faithful love is the Character of God and if we are to reflect God’s character in our lives then faithful love ought to be our aim in our relationship with Him and in our relationship with others.  We will explore this in greater depth next week.  We will look at what does loving God and Loving others practically look like.  For now, let's examine our hearts to determine whether we have come up short in the two greatest commands from our Lord and Savior.  Let us take notice of how far we have fallen.  Let us repent and set our minds on the Love of God.  Finally let us return to the loving works we did when we first came to Christ!  Let us Pray!

 

 

 

In Christ, In Love

Jesus prayed for believers for all times on the evening before his crucifixion. He was facing the most difficult hours of his life and he got off to pray as was often his practice. Initially He praised and glorified God (John 17:1-5). Next he prayed for the 12 apostles (John 17:6-19). Then in the moments before his arrest he prayed for all Christians who would eventually receive his message (John 17:20-26).

If you are a Christian then you can read this prayer that Jesus prayed for you. That is powerful. That is moving!

So what exactly did He pray?

First he prayed for our salvation (John 17:20). We become a believer on the testimony of the Word. If a believer has been transformed by Jesus then they have done so through the testimony of others and the power of God’s Word. This divine Logos (word) is in all its fullness when we look to the person of Jesus Christ. We are saved when we put our hope in the Word (Christ) through the testimony of another disciple of Christ. Even, if a person comes to Christ through the reading of the Bible it is still testimony of the author who wrote the gospel. That is God’s way.

Next Jesus prays for two fold unity (John 17:21). The first unity is with other believers. This unity with believers represents the unity between Jesus Christ and Father God. The second unity with with God. The expressions of unity in both cases is to “be in” and “one with.” To be one with is to be in agreement. Unity is an expression of God’s divine presence in our lives. More than agreement though is to be in Christ which denotes a connected intimacy with Jesus. This intimacy is also expressed in fellowship with other believers. When we strive with other believers it is both a threat and a blessing. One the one hand if our striving leads to disunity then we lose our witness of God’s work in our lives. On the other hand if our striving leads to unity we have a deeper fellowship, deeper intimacy, and deeper love for one another. This becomes a witness to the world of the saving and transforming power of Christ in the lives of believers.

Jesus continues by saying that he has shared his glory with believers in order that we may further express this unity (John 17:22). This makes me think that this unity that Jesus is referring to is supernatural. What else could it be? As I think about myself I see in me a devastatingly selfish man who left to his own end would rather be right than to have a right relationship. It is only by Jesus putting something supernatural into my life that I can overcome the curse of self-centeredness.

Continuing to pray for unity Jesus asks that we be in Him as God the Father is in Him (John 17:23). Again with the purpose of being a witness to the world. What drives all of this? God’s love! The foundation for all of this is God’s love for His Son Jesus and His love for us. Jesus is praying at the profound moment of the eve of crucifixion very clearly that our greatest witness of God’s work to the world, is His love. And no doubt Jesus had the fact that he was about to lay his life down for us as he prayed this prayer (See John 15:13).

Jesus ask that we be with him (John 17:24). This is both a present reality as well as looking forward to the future with Him in heaven. For the believer then Jesus is asking our Heavenly Father to make Jesus presence to be in believers now and with Jesus for all of eternity. We see again that God’s love is the basis of Jesus’ desire.

Continuing the Unity and intimacy theme Jesus says that He knows Our Heavenly Father (John 17:25). Often in religious knowledge we know something about God. However Jesus’ expression is no mere knowledge about God. No it is a relationship of intimacy. This relationship of intimacy makes it clear to the followers of Christ that He knows God. Through that relationship then Jesus continues to make God known to us (John 17:26). This is how the Word of God is revealed to the world. That we share the knowledge of God.

Notice the last part of this prayer. John 17:26 “I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them and I may be in them.” This last phrase points out the purpose of His prayer for us. Jesus’ ultimate desire is that the love of God be in us and that He (the divine logos) would be in us. We fulfill the desire of Jesus when we allow God’s love and Word to do its work in our lives. I am not up to the task, but thank God we have Jesus’ prayer, empowering glory, and Holy Spirit to help us fulfill this calling.

The greatest of these is Love,

~BJ Olson

 

First Love (Accepting Jesus Christ)

John 5:41–44 CSB

“I do not accept glory from people, but I know you—that you have no love for God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and yet you don’t accept me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, since you accept glory from one another but don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?

Jesus says that these people “have no love for God.”  Why?  Because, “You don’t accept me.”  What exactly does it mean to “accept” Jesus? Well let’s go back one step first.  

Human’s have been created with a strong moral sense.  We look at various situations and draw strongly held conclusions of things being right or being wrong.  Many of these things are universal like: don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t harm others, don’t take advantage of the the vulnerable, don’t be a jerk, show compassion, treat others with respect and so on.  Truth be told we are fairly rigorous at applying these moral standards on other people, but when it comes to applying it to ourselves we really miss the mark.  This interesting because that phrase “miss the mark” is the very definition of sin.  When we miss the mark with morality we sin against our conscience.  

To take this a step further this also becomes a sin against God.  You see if you view something as bad and yet you do it anyway then you are acting against the conscience that God has given you.  You are literally disobeying God.  This guilt is talked about in Romans 1:18-19 “For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.” 

Our moral sense (unless a person has completely seared their conscience) testifies against us.  In our brokenness there is a profound realization that even though I know the right things to do in this life there is a complete lack of ability to do it (see Romans 7:23-24).  Most of us can string together a goodness for a season, but at some point we return to missing the mark (sin).  It really is a hopeless condition.  It also is true of all of us.  Religious people miss the mark, secular people miss the mark, professional people miss the mark, kind people miss the mark, rude people miss the mark.  We all sin!

So returning to describing what it means to “accept” Christ.  First, we have to humble ourselves and see that we have truly sinned (missed the mark).  We also have to recognize that even though we can see that we missed the mark that we are unable to do anything other than missing the mark.  That is to say we need help to get out of the this helpless state of sin.  With this recognition in our soul we then are in a position to repent.  Repent is a change in our soul and heart with regard to the life we have been living.   We acknowledge that we are headed in the wrong direction and long for something better, something pure, something righteous.  That something is actually someone.  That is Jesus Christ the Son of God and author of our salvation. 

John 14:6–7 CSB

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

So to accept Christ is the know Him and to know him is to know God the Father.  This also is the beginning of God’s sanctifying work in your life through the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.  As you trust in Jesus to forgive your sin through confession and repentance God sets your moral sense right and gives you the strength to live uprightly.  To love God and To love others by the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  This is a Christian’s first love.  

Jesus was eventually tried by these same people that did not love God.  He was put to death by those that hated Him.  Ironically God used those that hated him to complete the work of saving souls.  You see Jesus’ sacrifice was the ultimate death the penalty of our sins was laid on Him. 

1 Peter 2:24–25 CSB

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

When we accept Christ then we are healed of our broken moral sense and going astray.  Put your hope in Him.  Would you pray to receive Him today?  If you have already accepted Jesus would you return to your first love?  If you would like to talk more about this please feel free to message me.  Or if you have question find a friend or family member that is a follower of Christ and ask them the questions.  You can also contact myself or church staff Richland Baptist Church.  Don’t wait follow Christ today.

May God Richly Bless You

~BJ

Sermon: Great Expectations

Audio: Great Expectation
Slides:
 
Text:

Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.

The problems began when Chippie's owner decided to clean Chippie's cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She'd barely said "hello" when "ssssopp!" Chippie got sucked in.

The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie -- still alive, but stunned.

Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.

Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.

A few days after the trauma, the reporter who'd initially written about the event contacted Chippie's owner to see how the bird was recovering. "Well," she replied, "Chippie doesn't sing much anymore -- he just sits and stares."

It's hard not to see why. Sucked in, washed up, and blown over . . . That's enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart.

~Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, p. 11.

I would like to share from Matthew 11:1-6.  In this passage we will see how John the Baptist had been sucked in, washed up, and blown over, and how Jesus pointed John the way to restore the song of his heart.  Let’s pray.

Completed Joy Sermon

Here is my sermon from 5/1/11: Completed Joy

Sermon: In the Midst of Darkness 3/13/11

Here is the MP3 for the sermon that I preached last week.  It loosely follows this post: In the midst of dark times.

God is a Meanie III (Judgment of Pharaoh and the Egyptians)

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But Pharaoh responded, "Who is Yahweh that I should obey Him by letting Israel go? I do not know anything about Yahweh, and besides, I will not let Israel go."
Exodus 5:2 (HCSB)

This is not an insignificant verse. There people that will reject God as a matter of course in this life. I must admit that I can understand the deception of sin the blinds a person to the love of God. It is often pointed out "Why would God punish Egypt for the sin that was Pharaoh?" and why would God punish Pharaoh when He "Hardened his heart." When we consider these comments we have to understand that they are observed and spoken through a filter of disowning God. There are many rationalizations that people can give to hate God. And they will just to assuage their consciences. Yet in there passion to find a reason to hate God they reveal within themselves the work of the Holy Spirit. The intensity of the reaction is out of sync with what they say that they believe. Namely that the Bible is a book of myths.

Let's take a look the two complaints and see if they are legitimate. As I have said before most people are not interested in what the Bible says. They form an opinion and will tell you what the Bible says often after reading or hearing about it somewhere else. In case there are those that are interested this verse quoted above is very important.

This was the very first recorded interaction with Pharaoh. Now as near as I can tell Pharaoh is rejecting God of his own accord. The hardening of his heart has not yet occurred. Not only did he reject God, but he also made things worse for the Hebrews.

But he said, "You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, 'Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.' Now get to work. No straw will be given to you, but you must produce the same quantity of bricks."
Exodus 5:17-18 (HCSB)

Hardness of Heart was a condition that preceded the plagues.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hard: he refuses to let the people go. "
Exodus 7:14 (HCSB)

Which continued after the first sign.

Also the sacred scribes of Egypt did so with their occultisms; hence the heart of Pharaoh was steadfast, and he did not hearken to them, just as Yahweh had spoken.
Exodus 7:22 (CLT)

(Side Note: I am using Concordant Literal Version for this part because the translation intends to bring a literal word for word understanding to the text)

Notice the statement the heart of the Pharaoh was steadfast. Still at this point we do not see God hardening Pharaoh's heart.

When Pharaoh saw that there came to be an interval, he caused his heart to glory, and he hearkened not to them, just as Yahweh had spoken.
Exodus 8:15

Pharaoh "Caused his heart to glory." That is he became proud!

The sacred scribes said to Pharaoh: This is the finger of Elohim! Yet the heart of Pharaoh was steadfast, and he did not hearken to them just as Yahweh had spoken
Exodus 8:19

Here it starts to get more interesting. The religious leaders in Pharaoh's court have a change of heart. They recognized they were not dealing with a magic trick, but in fact where going toe to toe with God Himself. Yet when they pointed it out to Pharaoh his response was to remain steadfast. Notice God has yet to harden Pharaoh's heart.

Yet Pharaoh gloried in his heart, even at this time, and he did not dismiss the people.
Exodus 8:31

Again Pharaoh became prideful. No hardening by God Yet!

Then Pharaoh sent, and behold, not even one had died from the cattle of Israel. Yet the heart of Pharaoh gloried, and he did not dismiss the people.
Exodus 9:7

After five of the plagues Pharaoh was still holding pride within his heart. Yet no hardening as of yet by God. But that was about to change.

Yet Yahweh made the heart of Pharaoh steadfast, so that he did not hearken to them just as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.
Exodus 9:12

Here after many attempts to change the heart of Pharaoh do we see that God is now hardening his heart. You see if a person does not want God, God eventually gives them over to the hardness of his heart. There comes a point at which the person's rebellion serves only to deepen the judgment they have against themselves. There is only one cure, humbling themselves before God and turning their heart toward Him. Otherwise you continue on in the hardness of heart and God hardens your heart. My point is this you harden your heart to God long before He hardens your heart to long for sinful rebellion. It is when the conscience becomes seared that this type of hardness sets in. As long as there is a vestige of moral sense left there is a hope for repentance. In this case Pharaoh had crossed over. From this point forward his doom was certain.

Then Yahweh said to Moses: Rise early in the morning, station yourself before Pharaoh, and say to him, Thus says Yahweh, Elohim of the Hebrews: Dismiss My people that they may serve Me. For at this time I am sending all My strokes onto your heart and your servants and your people in order that you shall know that there is no one such as Me in the entire earth.
Exodus 9:13-14

Notice in this warning God specifically identifies that He is going to strike the Pharaoh�s heart. In one way I believe that God is giving Pharaoh one last chance to repent. Sadly he did not turn. However, some of the Egyptians began to repent.

The one fearful of the word of Yahweh among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee to the houses.
Exodus 9:20

Yet those that did not take the warning to heart did not repent.

Yet he who was not setting his heart on the word of Yahweh, forsook his servants and his cattle in the field.
Exodus 9:21

Here we see God showing grace to the Egyptians that heeded His word. Now that some how gets left out when those making a case against God. God is gracious to the humble and upholds the repentant.

Now Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail and the thundering sounds had halted, yet he continued to sin and made his heart glory, he and his servants.
Exodus 9:34
Yahweh said to Moses: Enter to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart glory and the hearts of his servants that I may set these My signs among them,
Exodus 10:1

Who continued to sin? Pharaoh did. Who continued with a prideful heart? Pharaoh did. See God's hardening was something that Pharaoh already had in his heart. At this point it was clear that the Pharaoh's intent was hardness against God. It is at this point that God begins to harden the heart of Pharaoh to show the his signs against them. From this point on God hardened Pharaoh's heart (See Exodus 10:20, 27, 11:10).

This applies to us. God makes it clear to us either in our consciences, basic decency toward other human beings, His word (the Bible) what His expectations are for our lives. We also experience the consequences of choosing to go against God's ways. We may not have the same dramatic experience that Pharaoh had, but we have our own conviction that things are not right. Then we have a choice. Will we turn from missing the mark in our lives or will we with great pride in our hearts and stubbornness in our soul continue on our sinful way. The story is not over yet though.

I had mentioned that some of the Egyptians had repented and heeded the word of God (Exodus 9:20). What is even more interesting is that there was an ethnically diverse people that left Egypt.

An ethnically diverse crowd also went up with them, along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds. The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they had been driven out of Egypt they could not delay and had not prepared any provisions for themselves.
Exodus 12:38-39 (HCSB)

Wait just a minute! Why did I not learn this in Sunday School? I am not sure why, but there it is. It would not have been possible for the family of Jacob (Israel) to be ethnically diverse. So what are we to make of the peculiar statement. I believe that being a Jew was an act of faith. You see the Passover required that people spread blood of a lamb over the door posts (Exodus 12:22-23). It was this act of faith that resulted in deliverance. Being covered by the Lamb's Blood (an act of faith) demonstrated that you were part of "Spiritual Israel." If you were a Jew, but did not put blood on your door post death visited your home. By reasoning then it is possible that if you were Egyptian (or other race) and you put blood on your doorpost then you were saved from death visiting your home. That seems radical, but it was the very thing that God said he would do. He did not say death would Passover decedents of Jacob. He said that death would Passover those that faithfully put the lamb's blood on the door post. That is why I believe there was an "ethnically diverse" people who left Egypt. It was the faithful followers of God that left. It was "Spiritual Israel." No doubt that the majority was ethnic Israel, but it would seem to me at least some were not ethnically Israel as well (Galatians 3:7 and others).

It seems then in response to those that say God is being unjust by punishing Pharaoh or the people of Egypt we have a very different picture than they would assume. What is really going on when we look at the passages dealing with Pharaoh's heart, is that Pharaoh started out hard. It was his pride and stubbornness that got him into trouble. Only after it was clear that Pharaoh was not going to repent did God harden his heart. God did this to judge the hardness that was already there. Interestingly those that have taken this position that God is unjust are in the same boat as Pharaoh. Without humility and brokenness they stand judged. Without a change they risk become hardened (calcified) against the things of God. Also it seems that Egyptians were judged not for Pharaoh's sin, but rather for following after Pharaoh (Who is divine according to Egyptian religion) and Egypt's gods. Those that repented and heeded the word of God were saved.

The same choice that existed then is before us today. Will we follow other gods and religions, or will we make God, Yahweh, the Savior and Lord of our lives. It is accomplished through the sacrifice. Since we live after the advent of the Cross it is Jesus who is our Passover Lamb. And it is faith in Jesus Christ that saves.

God Bless You

~BJ

Related articles

• I Did Not Expect That (bjs-spot.blogspot.com)
• Lord, Is My Heart Stubborn? Exodus 7:14 (dianneguthmuller.com)

Thankful for Friends that Make me Think and Help me with my Plank

I have got some feedback from friends that this sermon "The Time is Now" is a bit strong.  One has said that it is hypocritical for me to speak of such lofty things but not do what I say.  Another said that decent people hold the interpretation that the Bible says we are not to judge so I may be alienating them.  I am thankful for friends who are willing to ask me challenging questions and confront me if I have gone astray. 

That being said in this case I do not believe I am going beyond the text.  A nice person can say "BJ you are judging me," but the contradiction is that they are judging by making the statement.  There is a so called belief that judging is wrong and to be avoided.  However, if you apply that belief to anyone you contradict the value of non-judging.  The belief is self-contradictory.  In fact I would go so far to say that those that hold the banner of tolerance with the greatest of zeal are some of the most judgmental people I know! 

What is at stake is the very idea of truth.  If there is truth then we must use our God-given ability to discern to arrive at truth.  Along the way that will require us to make some judgments (more likely a lot of judgments).  Holding the belief that one can live life without judging is simply saying "there is no truth" in disguise (or at least that truth is not knowable).  I call this evil, not out of a spirit of self-righteousness, but rather a position that there is no truth or that truth is unknowable is completely out of step with what the Bible teaches.  It is evil because it contradicts the Bible.  A nice person can say something that contradicts the Bible, I can say something that contradicts the Bible.  Either way the statement is evil, even when the person making the statement is a nice person. 

I have to be on guard though.  Such powerful statements about judging can lead me to become prideful or have others perceive that I am being prideful.  I have to be careful of this.  Spiritual Pride is destructive as saying there is no truth.  I can be right technically, but wrong relationally. 

If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2 (HCSB)

That is why I am working on my planks.  I recently added this picture on my computer desktop.   I put it there to remind me to check my own planks.  The eye in the plank makes me think of having a plank in my eye.  I figure if I am going to challenge others to live out authentic lives and put away evil in their lives then I ought to be doing that myself else I be a hypocrite.   I want to live out the truth of:

Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
Matthew 7:5 (HCSB)

Thank you to all of you who give me such wonderful feedback both on and off my blog.  I love each of you with the Love of Christ and hope that you would always feel that you can approach me with questions or concerns.  I also am open to the fact that even in this response I am off base.  If you believe that I am please let me know.  I will pray that God would help me get the plank out of my eye I that I may see clearly and help others.  What are your thoughts?

God Bless You All

Sermon: The Time is Now (7/11/10)

Here is my sermon from last Sunday.  I am working on some posts about anger.  But it is taking longer to develop than other posts.  I expect I will have some of them out by the weekends.  God bless you all.

Audio: The Time is Now

Text:

A recent letter to Reverend Billy Grahm reads

DEAR BILLY GRAHAM: Does anybody really believe in the devil anymore? You wrote something in your column recently that made me think you did, but I thought that kind of thinking went out with the Middle Ages. — R.C.L.

DEAR R.C.L.: It has been said that one of Satan's most successful strategies is to convince people that he doesn't even exist. Another surely must be to make people believe that he is simply a harmless, comic character (with, for example, a pitchfork and a red suit)...

...Yes, Satan is real, and we see evidence of his evil workings every day. How else can you explain the irrational acts of violence and terrorism that ravage our world? How else can you explain the way we fall for his temptations, although we know they'll only bring us disaster?

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/09/2073663/billy-graham-satan-is-real-and.html#ixzz0tNoq6t49

Evil Exists

We should not be surprised when we hear of evil things and evil people. We are often shocked and terrorized by evil. However evil permeates our very existence. Laws are not made for people who keep the law, but for those that break the law. The reality of evil is so strong that we do not even need to get beyond ourselves to come face to face with the reality of evil.

So I discover this principle: When I want to do what is good, evil is with me.
Romans 7:21 (HCSB)

However Paul gives a cure for this:

All those led by God's Spirit are God's sons.
Romans 8:14 (HCSB)

Being led by the Spirit of God is our cure for evil. However, there are many who reject the offer of salvation through Christ that do not have the Spirit of the living God. For them evil is a very present reality that holds the the distinct possibility that their actions will be at least influenced by, and often controlled by evil. Over time we are lulled to sleep by those in power making us unaware of this very present evil that touches us everyday. The evil exists. It exists in many forms! We can not be unaware of this fact.

We also cannot be fearful of this fact. That evil exists there can be no question, but fearing evil can be equally damaging to our calling and mission. If you fear evil you will be sidelined and ineffective for God. God has a plan and purpose for your life. If you fear evil you will never accomplish that purpose in my opinion. Ours is fearless pursuit or at least it should be.

Don't get me wrong there is fear, but not of evil. We ought to fear God. God is awesome in power. He strengthens the feeble. He appoints the rising and falling of nations. His power sustains our very existence. We are held in the palm of His hands. We are here out of the goodness of His grace. The blast of His breath would completely annihilate all of existence. His power, His Majesty, His righteousness, His piercing knowledge is what we ought to fear. These minor evils that so hold our attention are nothing absolutely nothing compared to the awesome power of almighty God.

Jesus said:

Don't fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28 (HCSB)

Yes we ought to fear God and not evil.

So how can we deal with evil? First we must realize that there is not only evil, but there are evil men as well. That is not to say all that do evil are hopelessly evil there is time to repent and turn to God. There are a class of men that have given themselves to evil. That is to say they have embraced evil with the full knowledge of evil. They are not deceived as much as they are simply rebellious. These men and women come from all walks of life. Some are poor, some are rich, some are pleasant and nice, some are mean and gruff, some will flatter you with pleasant sayings, some will curse you with vulgar words, Some will look like the very image of perfect love, some will pour out venomous hate. These men and women are destined for destruction. They have an appetite for violence. This violence is not always physical, at times it is emotional, psychological, but it is always spiritual. Spiritual violence is there creed. They twist the goodness of God in order that God would be seen as evil and man as good. At times they are very stealthy and proclaim God, but upon closer examination the God they claim is not really God, but simply and extension of the evil that is in their souls.

Sometimes this special class of evil humans penetrate the very walls of our churches.

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their unrestrained ways, and the way of truth will be blasphemed because of them. They will exploit you in their greed with deceptive words. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.
2 Peter 2:1-3 (HCSB)

These false prophets and false teachers will lead many astray. It is not those lead astray that bear the greater guilt of evil committed, but those that are especially evil and false that will face greater destruction in God's judgment. It is hard though, because at times the false teachers and false prophets seem like the nicest people in the world. How could they do so much good and yet be false. Their intent is not on leading others to the Lord, but rather on a personal lust for money, power, or praise of men. It looks good on the surface, but in their hearts is a great wickedness. We cannot be for one moment be held in the captivating speeches of these evil men and women. We must be with great clarity of thought, strength of wisdom, recognize the very lies that pour from their mouths. The sewage that is their teachings cannot be tolerated no matter how sweet they make it sound. Sewage is sewage no matter how sweet.

We must at first be willing to break with all that is false in ourselves. But there is a great lie, great deception that seeks to destroy the very core of God's Church, to destroy the foundation of this living body, to soil the wedding garment of the Bride of Christ. My dear friends if you did not know it already we are are war with this evil. Its desire is to destroy us. Evil knows that if good is out of the way then it will reign. The deception is quite simple. It is a dagger pulled from the very scriptures themselves. It his put on by these hateful, deceiving lying murderous evil men and women. Yet is sounds a pure as the whitest of whites. Do you want to know what it is?

God teaches us to not judge others.

If you have sympathy for this statement, then let me tell you as plainly as I can, "Repent or be destroyed by this utterly false belief." If you do not feel a sense of revulsion at the belief that "God teaches us to not judge others" then I say it is time to wake up, open your eyes, and get angry! The devil has had a great sway over the church in this one belief. It has become the center piece of Christianity in the United States. Yet the premise to not judge is completely illogical. I would go so far as to say the only way to not judge is to be dead. Our brains are completely incapable of not judging. You might find a few Buddhists that will claim that they have achieved this state, and yet if you spend any time with them at all you will find they too judge. Judging is a very core of conscious awareness. So why would Jesus make such an outrageous statement to not judge? The plain truth is that he did not. In fact the passage that is most often quoted as the central teaching of "do not judge" is not really about judging, it is about hypocrisy.

This is what the false teacher will say to you:

Do not judge, so that you won't be judged (Matthew 7:1).

Seems pretty straight forward. It is Christ saying plainly to not judge. What the problem is that the verse has been taken out of context. What these false teachers will conveniently leave out is in verse five.

Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
Matthew 7:5 (HCSB)

Jesus was not condemning judging. It was hypocrisy that was his focus. Jesus is plainly saying that to judge others you must have first examined your own life and got that right. Once you have examined and removed sin from your own life, then you will be able to help others with sin in their own lives. You see Jesus turns judgement into a loving act in which you take care of your sin in order that you can help others. Strange that we do the exact opposite. In our effort to avoid being judgmental we avoid helping others. You see that is the trick. If you do not judge, you do not see, if you do not see, you cannot help, If you do not help you cannot love. Love is the way. Jesus loves you too much too leave you in sin. We ought to do likewise.

Shocking isn't it. If you are brave enough can you raise your hands if at any point in your life you believed that the Bible taught us to not judge others. I know I have. Yet this is just one teaching among many that these evil false prophets and teachers are pouring out into mainstream Christianity in the United States and around the world.

I want to draw your attention to one more thing before moving on. In this same passage that is often quoted as saying God teaches us to not judge Jesus says:

Don't give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.
Matthew 7:6 (HCSB)

Two things:

One, if God teaches us to not judge then how in the world can we determine if someone is a dog or a pig. The teaching contradicts itself and is therefore complete nonsense.

Two, Jesus seems to be saying that our judgment ought to be reserved for those that are like us seeking to get sin out of our lives. Those that are dogs and pigs ought to be avoided all together.

Evil can also manifest itself in government. You see government is the power over people. And evil power hungry people will use government to carry out their evil plans. We need to recognize that it is not the government itself that is evil, but rather becomes evil when disreputable men usurp it's authority. When these men and women hold positions of power we are not to fear. We are called to witness.

You will even be brought before governors and kings because of Me, to bear witness to them and to the nations. But when they hand you over, don't worry about how or what you should speak. For you will be given what to say at that hour, because you are not speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you.
Matthew 10:18-20 (HCSB)

When evil men use government to destroy us their intent is overcome. Why? By bringing us to the public square we have been given a greater audience than if we simply remained quiet in our homes. Government is the servant of God, so when evil men use it to advance their agenda it will always fail. Our job as believers is to stick to the message and not be turned. We do this by trusting in God. I think of the Prophet Daniel at this point. There were evil men that intended to use the government to destroy him by setting him up. How did Daniel respond? He kept on doing what he had always done and trusted God. As a result he was given a platform to speak the words of God that was much wider than he had before these evil hateful murderers started. He even may have had the opportunity to witness to the king in the process.

The wonderful truth in all of this is that the Holy Spirit of God is there with us giving us the words to speak when that time comes. We are simply a vessel that carries God's message to the nations. He never leaves or forsakes us. If they mock us then we will draw the attention of others, if they fine us we will see a flood of financial support, if they take us to court Christ will be our attorney and they will stand condemned. If they imprison us our followers will grow in number. If they murder us our voice will scream from the grave robbing our enemies of sleep and encouraging the faithful to greater works that we could imagine doing on our own.

Do you get it dear friends? There is nothing that evil can do to triumph over us when God is on our side. There is no thing that can silence the Holy Spirit of God from taking the message to the world. We have nothing to fear. However:

If you do nothing in a difficult time, your strength is limited.
Proverbs 24:10 (HCSB)

Doing nothing is limiting according to God's Word. He has a plan for us we are to:

Rescue those being taken off to death, and save those stumbling toward slaughter.
Proverbs 24:11 (HCSB)

We are on a mission to rescue lost, dying, deceived souls. We have a responsibility to love hurting and suffering people. Their very lives depend on our faithfulness to the cause. We have a high responsibility to accomplish the task. Ignorance is no excuse:

If you say, "But we didn't know about this," won't He (God) who weighs hearts consider it? Won't He who protects your life know? Won't He repay a person according to his work?
Proverbs 24:12 (HCSB)

Brother's Sisters it is time to get out of our complacency, our comfort, our easy living. Wake up there is a war going on here and our time to act is now. No excuses.

"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:62 (HCSB)

What is to be our response to evil? Jesus said:

Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves.
Matthew 10:16 (HCSB)

The serpent always symbolizes Satan from the beginning of the Bible to the end. It seems a strange thing for Jesus to say that we need to be like Satan in some way. However, if you have any military background at all you will understand that Jesus is saying that we must think like our enemy. It is not a pleasant exercise, but we must begin to think if I was evil, what would be the best way in infiltrate and destroy my life, the life of my family, the life of my church, the power structure of education, government, religion. You many not want to bear the thought, but the fact is that the Satan and the forces of evil in this world are planning your, our destruction. He is actively looking for a way to either destroy you, sideline you, or render your walk with God ineffective. When Jesus says to be as shrewd as serpents" He is plainly telling us to think like the enemy. We need to understand his ways. Why? If we do not then we will be caught unaware in evil's trap.

Yet harmless as doves. The Dove in the New Testament is a very obvious symbol of the Holy Spirit. In our understanding the enemy and nature of evil there is a risk of becoming like them. Our protection is the connection to the Holy Spirit of God. We cannot fall into using evil to overcome evil. That also is a trick of the Devil. If evil can sway you to act evil then it will gladly sacrifice itself for the greater victory of having you destroyed, sidelined, or ineffective. We must allow the love of God to flow through us by His Spirit. Our understanding needs to be as wise as our evil enemy, yet holding on the righteousness of God. Our knowledge of good and evil needs to be an awareness of evil yet unmoved to join it, but rather be in the place of guidance by the goodness of God. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives. The word harmless in the Greek is a-ke-rai-os. The "a" prefix means "not." The keraios means mingled or filled. So in understanding this statement Jesus appears to be saying to understand evil as Satan understands evil, not mingling or filled with it even as the Holy Spirit understands evil yet is not mingling with or filled with it.

My dear friends. We cannot miss this point. That we are to understand evil yet be separate from it is of highest important. We can lose the battle at two points. If we do not understand evil then we will be ambushed by it. When we understand evil then we can see it coming and plan a Holy Spirit directed counter attack. We can also loose this battle at another point. We cannot We must not we have to determine in our hearts that we will not mingle with or be filled with evil. We need to turn from, remove, kill, destroy the evil that is in our lives.

Are you ready? Are you willing?

If this sermon seems militant to you it is because it is militant. I will not apologize for the forcefulness. If this word is too hard for you then please try to stay out of the way. We have precious little time to be spreading the gospel of God accepts you just the way you are and God teaches us to not judge other. Don't you get it? There is no power in that gospel. Those that preach it do so to there own destruction. The true power of the Gospel is in trusting in Jesus Christ turning from your wickedness and getting active in advancing the kingdom of God. Jesus' loving sacrifice was for you. He died that we might live. We do not fight a battle of flesh and blood, but we do fight a battle that seeks to destroy the spiritual forces of darkness. This sermon is a call to arms to any that would listen to it. Even if no one in this room will stand with me I will stand for the Lord our God. I am tired of seeing the enemy and evil men taking territory in our lives. We have to have the love of God that overcomes the dark evil days that we live in. Will you shine that love before men? Will you stand with me?