0:07 The purpose for which God has is building his church. One of the reasons he's building his church today is because there is spiritual warfare. There's an enemy who's out to kill, steal, and destroy. And he's building a church, a church 0:27 that will take down the gates of hell. So, turn with me Matthew chapter 16. And this is the promise that the Lord made when he spoke of the church. I will build my church. 0:47 Matthew 16:18 And the gates of hell will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. And so this authority the Lord has given 1:06 to the church to overcome spiritual forces. There's nothing else that can take down spiritual forces other than the church that the Lord is building. I was thinking about 1:26 uh these college entrance exams. Some of you may have prepared for college exams yourself. When I prepared for my college exams, you know, it took a lot of effort. And I see some people who prepare for some colleges for years on advance. 1:45 They prepare so hard. They'll go for extra classes to pass that exam. When I went to college, I saw some of those people who worked so hard to study and pass those and they did 2:01 really well and they got into college. Once they got to college they suddenly stopped going to classes. They said, "You know what? I made it. I worked so hard to get into this college and I'm finally here." 2:19 They put the books aside, they went and had time to have fun. Year after year they would be in that college because they didn't realize that college was just a stepping stone for something more. That college was supposed to help them 2:38 to gain more understanding so that they could get a job so that they could earn their living. But because they were so happy that they got it, they they thought they achieved their goal. They became lax. And as I think of each one of us 3:00 many of us may have come to a place where God showed us that there's a day that's coming where we'll have to give account of our lives. And we said, "Oh, you know what? I need to set my life right. I have to apologize to the Lord, 3:18 apologize to others, set matters right, have a clear conscience." And time passes on, we said, "Lord, I want to obey that command you gave to be baptized. My old life is gone. I want to be one who's following after you." 3:36 And we get baptized. And for years we're there seeking to follow the Lord and we're like, "Lord, I wish there was some fellowship that I could have, a church that I could fellowship with. And then God 3:57 opens up miraculously a door for us to come to a church. Many of us are here because the Lord opened a door and brought us here. But like that college student who put away his books and said, "I've 4:16 reached." Could it be that some of us have put down our sword or shield? We made it. We're here in a church. Let's take our ease. 4:33 It says in Amos chapter 6 verse 1, "Woe to those who are at ease." Where? Do you know where? "Woe to those who are e- at ease in Zion." Amos 6:1, "Woe to those who are at ease 4:54 in Zion." They came to the church and they're like, "I'm at ease. Finally made it to the church." We uh recently saw uh 5:12 a play that our our our young children in Sunday school did about Esther. And very often after the church is over, they'll all get together and they'll reenact that play. And there's one thing that Mordecai tells when Haman, 5:29 who wants to destroy all the Jewish people, God's people, he wants to destroy all God's people, he comes and tells Esther one thing. He says, "Esther, I know that you feel comfortable and safe inside this palace. But no. 5:50 That God has placed you in that palace not to be safe there and try to protect yourself. If you try to protect yourself, you won't be protected. God has placed there. Go and tell the king that the people are being are going to 6:04 be destroyed. Go and plead for them. And you can turn with me to Esther Esther chapter 4 verse 13. After Nehemiah before 6:25 Job. Esther 4:13. Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent, God will deliver the people. And who knows whether you have come to 6:48 this place of royalty for such a time as this? God has brought us here not so that we could put down our swords and shields and say we've come here to the church. We're safe in the palace. No. 7:06 We must hear what Mordecai told Esther. Go and plead with the king. The enemy is here to come and destroy the children of God. You must stand and plead. Ask the king to preserve. And a young queen, young girl, took a 7:26 stand that day. And because of that, the Jewish people were saved from Haman. And God turned the tables on the devil and and on Haman. For us, to here in this church, 7:46 the Lord has called us here not to sit down in palace and say, "Oh, we're safe." But perhaps the Lord has brought you here for such a time as this. Because there's a great need all around us. There's a battle that's to be 8:04 fought. And God is looking in the church and he's saying, "Everyone is at ease. Everyone has put their swords and shields and there's a battle waging." And the devil is trying to take captive those 8:23 of his children. Where are those who are going to rise up and fight the Lord's battles spiritually? Esther was one who took a stand. There's a beautiful promise in Proverbs as I think about why the Lord has brought each one of us here. 8:43 One of the reasons I believe the Lord has brought each one of us here, as it says in Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 17:17, "A friend A friend loves at all times. 9:05 A brother is born for adverse adversity or a difficult time. There's a difficult time coming. And God brought me here and you here to be a brother or sister to another one in adversity. Your brother's going to be in a 9:23 difficult time and so I brought you here so that you can be an encouragement to that brother. Not for a selfish reasons I brought you here. No, there's a brother here in this church who's going to need you. A child that's going to need you as it 9:38 were for an encouragement. And God brought you here so that at that time of adversity and that time of difficulty, you will be there to be a brother to that brother, a sister to that sister, a friend to that other friend in the 9:53 church. And so there is a purpose for which God has brought us here. And it is not for a picnic. God is not building a church that is having picnics primarily. It's a church that is going to go and take down the gates of hell. 10:14 It's beautiful in in the New American Standard Bible. It says that there are two kinds of he he calls out and says there are soldiers who are in active service. And he says, "Be one of those who are in active service, not one of those who are 10:32 reserves." There are two kinds of military services you can be. You can be in in active duty or a reserve. The active duty has to be ready all the time. They have a certain time they have to wake up. They have to go through the 10:46 drills. They have to be in top form, exercise, all of that. They're disciplined. But then you have those who are in the reserves. All the requirements for those in reserves is that every week, I think you have to check in and say, "I I I'm 11:01 present. I'm here. If you need me, call me." Next week you come, check in, say I'm here, fill in some paperwork, and go back. In 2 Timothy, you can turn with me. 2 Timothy, chapter 2, 11:20 verse 3. Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Verse 4. No one No soldier in active service entangles himself with the affairs of everyday life so that he may please the 11:38 one who enlisted him as a soldier. Has the Lord enlisted you as a soldier in his body, in his church? The answer is yes or no. And if he has enlisted you, what kind of 11:57 soldier has have you enlisted as? Have you enlisted yourself as a reserve or as an active duty? You know the difference. The active duty, they come, they're trained, they're seeking. They know that there is the enemy attacking here and there 12:14 and he's ready. They're ready, they're praying, they're seeking to deliver those who are in need. They have a concern, they have a care. Like it says in the military, leave no man behind. They're not They're not Okay, yeah, that person got captured. Fine. 12:31 No, they're going to go and find that person and get rescue that person. You read of David's testimony when they say, "How can you go and fight Goliath?" Do you know what his testimony was? He said when a lamb would go out there 12:49 and get caught by a bear or a lion, do you know what he would do? He wasn't a man who was gifted like Samson with strength, supernatural strength to tear a lion apart. But he had such compassion for that lamb that he would run after that lamb in the 13:09 Lord's name and he'll grab a hold of that lion by its mane and tear it into pieces and take that lamb out. That's how much he had a concern for that lamb. And God said, "You know what? 13:27 I'm going to make you a shepherd over my people because you have that heart. You didn't look over your own interest." How many of us would go after I think for a a child we would go after and fight a lion perhaps, but for a 13:42 lamb? But God looks for people who have a great concern for his people that will risk their lives so that they can save the other. That's what Jesus did did. I lay down my life for you. And for us too, we having good care. An 14:00 active soldier has a care for all of those others. Oh, that person was captured. Let me go and rescue him. She's captured. Let me go go rescue her from the clutches like David who went not only fought Goliath, but fought the lion 14:19 to rescue that lamb. God today as well is going there. Are we going to join them to rescue those who are caught in the clutches of the devil? Those who are in the reserves as you know they come for the meetings. And that's all their commitment. I'm in 14:39 reserve. I'll come for the meetings. But no. The Lord is calling us into active service to be ones who will fight the Lord's battles, rescue those Jesus did that. If you turn with me to Luke chapter 13. 14:57 The devil is seeking to bind people all the time. Says there here in Luke chapter 13. Verse 11. Luke 11 Luke 13 verse 11. And there was a woman for 18 years had 15:15 sickness caused by a spirit and she was bent double and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called over her and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness." He laid hands on her, and immediately 15:33 she was made erect and began glorifying God. Verse 15, when they complained about him healing, "You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath day untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? 15:52 And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom who whom Satan has bound for 18 long years, should need she not have been released by this bond bond on the Sabbath day?" 16:10 Jesus went and found people who were bound by the enemy and loosed them. Today, his church also, just like he did, follows in his footsteps, seeking to loose those who have been bound by Satan. He's given us the keys of the 16:31 kingdom to loosen those who have been bound. There's a beautiful thing. Elisha was a man that he had such great insight. It speaks of Elisha, if you turn with me to 16:49 2 Kings. 2 Kings. And it says, chapter 6, verse 8, "Now the king of Aram was warring 17:06 against against Israel, uh 2 Kings 6:8, with the servant saying, 'In such and such a place shall be my camp.' Verse nine, the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, beware that you do not pass this place, for the Armenians are coming down 17:26 there. The king of Israel sent to that place about which the man of God had told, and he warned them, so that he guarded himself more than once or twice. So, Elisha knew, okay, the enemy is going to attack there. Be careful. 17:44 And the king of Israel would say, okay, don't go over there. The king is And the king of Aram was confused. Verse 11, he says, he was so angry and he says, which one of you guys is telling the king of Israel where we're going to set up 17:58 our camp. And he says this beautiful verse, verse 12, no one of his servants said, no, my lord, oh king, but Elisha the prophet who is in Israel tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom. 18:16 There's things that you speak in secret that God reveals to his servant. And you can't you can't do anything. He No matter what you set up, God's going to tell him what's happening. And I say, Lord, if you can give this insight 18:35 to a man in the old covenant, how much more can you give your church insight onto what the schemes of the devil are and make your church powerful to set free its captives. And then it goes on and says, 18:53 they got the king got so angry, he sent armies after a great army, it says here in verse 14. And now verse 15, now when the attendant of the man of God had risen and early and gone out, behold the army of horses and chariots circling the city. 19:11 And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master, what shall we do?" Verse 16. He answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Verse 17. Now, see this. 19:28 Elisha saw this. He's asking Eli- asking God to open the eyes of his servant. A man who could see the heavenlies. It says there, "Then Elisha prayed and said, 'Oh Lord, pray open the his eyes that he may see.' And the Lord opened the eyes of his 19:46 servants, and he saw, 'Behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.'" He could see the kings, and he was never afraid because he could see the kings of heaven and the ki- the kings, I mean, the 20:03 chariots of heaven, the chariots of fire all around him. Today also, it says in 1 John, "He who is in us is greater than the world, he who's in the world." It says that the light has come and the darkness could not overpower it. 20:23 And as we see things around us, the enemy and the darkness and all that, we must confess that he who is with us is greater than he who's in the world. The light will never be overpowered with darkness. But you see this man, as he's getting 20:44 old and he's about to die, the last thing before he comes before he dies, the king of Israel comes to him and says, "You know, the king of Aram is coming again. What should we do?" It says this in 2 Kings chapter 13. "My father, 21:03 my father, the chariots of Israel and and horsemen." Elisha said to him, "Take a bow and arrows." And he took bows and arrows, and he said to the king of Israel, "Put your hand on the bow." And he's put his hand on it. And the king of king Elisha laid his 21:22 hands on the king's hands. Verse 17, and he said, "Open the window towards the east." And he opened it. And then Elisha said, "Shoot." And he took the arrow and he shot it towards the east. And Elisha's And he said, "The Lord's arrow of 21:38 victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram. For you will defeat the Arameans until you have destroyed them." Verse 18, and he said to He said, "Take the arrows." And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground." 21:55 And so he struck it and he struck it one, two, three times. And you could be like, "Okay, he's he did what the prophet told him." And it says, "Look at the reaction of the man of God." Verse 19. So the man of God was angry with him and said, "You 22:14 should have struck it five or six times. Then you would have struck Aram until he would have been destroyed until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times." What was the man of God getting angry 22:30 about? He saw a half-hearted king who was like, "Ah, chop chop chop." Said, "No, you should have hit it harder. You should have some passion to defeat the enemies." And I was thinking of Elisha he The next thing is it says that verse 20, Elisha 22:48 died. He was not going to see these battles being fought and won. But he had such a passion that God's people should be victorious. Even as he's dying, the last thing is give one 23:05 more shot to the enemy before I go. Bring down those strongholds. Don't let the enemies of God triumph over his people. That's the passion he had. The God who lived in the days of Elisha, 23:23 the God who filled Elisha with a double portion, how much more Jesus who's the same yesterday, today, and forever will baptize us with the Holy Spirit with this passion that he had for the church, 23:42 triumphant, victorious. So, I'm thankful I see this and you see this his dead bones, it says later on it says that verse 21 as they were burying a man, behold they saw they cast the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of 24:01 Elisha, he revived and stood up. There was such anointing on this dead man's bones. How much more the Lord who has raised us up? The spirit of that raised Jesus from the 24:19 death dead from the grave lives in us. How much more he's going to do for us? Let's have faith that the Lord is going to raise us up to be those who are effective in God's kingdom to bring down the strongholds. One of the beautiful promises that the 24:41 Lord has given, and today you may be sitting here and saying, "You know what? I love to hear this victorious message. I wish I could be one like that. But as you think about your life, you say, "You know what? 25:00 I'm in a cage today. I've been bound by sin and discouragement. I'm I'm I'm caged up. There's a beautiful promise. One of the first things that Jesus preached it says he took verse 17 25:21 Luke 4:17 He opened the book, Luke 4:17, and found the place where it was written, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor." And what is this good news? He has sent me to proclaim release to 25:39 the captives and recovery of slight to the blind, to free those who are oppressed to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. The Lord has come to set the captives free. Dear brothers and sisters, each one of 25:57 us if if we are here in a cage here that the devil has bound us by Our young people are listen reading the Pilgrim's Progress in Sunday school. And there's a place where the the character is being put in a cage 26:14 of despair. No hope. You're always going to be here. You hear the voice of Goliath who came up morning and evening, and what did he say? "Who's going to defeat me? I've been conquering you all the time. Is there anybody who can come against 26:29 me?" And you hear the voices of all those giants in your flesh calling out and saying, "You know what? Just wait to come back home. There's a cage waiting for you. All these words about being set free, no. You have this cage here that I have." 26:49 But, when God speaks about when Jesus spoke about the church, he spoke about the gates of hell being taken down, but also about keys. A key that will open up the door and set the captives free. Just like Jesus set the captives free, the church also will 27:04 set those captives free. It says of Zacchaeus, when he speaks of Zacchaeus who was caught up in the cage of money and bound by money and cheating and all that unrighteousness. There was hope for him. And Jesus said, "The Son of Man is come 27:26 to seek and save that which was lost." In Luke 9, Luke 9, if you turn with me there, Luke 9. When when when the Samaritans didn't accept him, uh 27:43 verse 53, the disciples, verse 54, James and John saw this, "The Samaritans are not accepting you. Let fire come down and consume them." Verse 55, listen to the words of Jesus. But he turned and corrected them or rebuked them and said, "You do not know 28:01 what kind of spirit you are." Verse 56, "The Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Today too as well, the church has not come to destroy men's lives. The church has come to save people's lives. 28:19 Set people who are captive and free. And as I see, whenever it was with Jesus, those who were bound with by sin like Zacchaeus, those like the woman at the well who was divorced five times and immoral, living an immoral life, why 28:39 could they find a place with Jesus? They found a a gentle spirit, a humble spirit. They found hope that God not open smart not going to condemn them, but I had hope for them that they could 28:57 be rescued. She could go and tell the woman at the well could tell others, "He told me everything I've ever done." But he gave me hope. And that's why I come to this village and tell you all, just like he gave me hope for my 29:14 hopeless condition, he gives you hope as well. The church should be a place if we are becoming more and more like Christ. Learn of me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. If I we are spend time with the Lord, we've really met 29:32 with him. And we're a church who's fellowship with him, those who found fellowship could found find hope with Jesus should be able to find hope in our midst as well. No matter how hopeless the cage could look like, they should be 29:50 able to find hope in the church. No matter what mess up situation they come in, there's hope. It's interesting it says of uh in in 30:09 in 2 Timothy, you can turn with me. These are the last things that Paul is writing before he And so these are the last couple of things and one of his great burdens is I hope that people will be able to humble 30:28 themselves to be able to receive God's word. It says here verse 24, dear brothers and sisters, let us hear this. The Lord's bond servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, 30:48 patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are opposition. And why? Why is there a correction that the Lord gives in his church? Why? If perhaps God may grant them repentance 31:05 leading to the knowledge of the truth. Sometimes you see these dentist office and you have this little child in the dentist office chair. And it's in pain because there's a tooth that needs to be extracted. And the baby is kicking that dentist and 31:24 saying, "Why are you doing this to me?" It doesn't understand why. Doesn't understand he's trying to help. Kicks that dentist and the dentist thing and I I think it's one of the hardest professions being a dentist for a little 31:35 child because the child doesn't understand it's for its good. And it's kicking and fighting it, fighting it. Finally it relieves once the pain is released it really it realizes the purpose for which the dentist was doing what he was doing. 31:54 If perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth and they may come to their senses. And why? Look at this. To escape from the snare of the devil having been held captive by him to do his will. 32:13 And so you see the devil is very very wise and clever in how to get people trapped in the poison of pride, a pride that says, "You know what? Don't humble yourself. Don't repent. Stand your ground. Justify yourself. 32:32 Say why you did what you did. Don't apologize. It's a great miracle to find repentance. And humility, it's a great miracle. It's easier for God to 32:49 open the eyes of a blind person than for God to open the eyes, spiritual eyes, to see their need. And so it says here, "Perhaps they'll come to their senses and escape from the snare, having been held captive by him to do 33:08 his will." And so, you know, sometimes when I've gone fishing, you go fishing and you find you have to find something that you know that fish is going to bite. It's called a bait. And you get the right bait for that fish. 33:23 And the devil also, having seen you, knows the things that you're that you're you're going to cattle catch a hold of. And so he has this bait and he has this says, "You know what? You know, this brother I know, I just flash this thought, 33:41 he's in my captive. He'll he's ready to I'll put him in my cage. This sister, I just have to That just that thought about this other sister, that's it. She'll be She'll be in my captive." And like that, the devil knows very, 33:56 very well. It says he puts a snare, he puts a trap. Let us not be those who fall for that bait. Little do they know, the ones that fish eats that bait, what's going to happen? What's the next thing that happens to that fish once that fish 34:11 bites it? It enjoys that worm for a few seconds, but pretty soon it knows that I've been fooled. And so the devil also, he's he's he's like he'll put the bait there, "Look at this sin. Look at this pleasure. Look at 34:29 this Keep that Keep that grudge, sister. Keep that bitterness, brother. And he starts off young. Even young children, sometimes they Oh, this person did that to me. That person hurt me. Very young. 34:47 Let us be careful. And as I was saying that it's easier for God to heal the blind people than to heal our spiritual blindness. Turn with me to John 9. 35:05 And I say, "Lord, I I want to be one who's always being able to be able to hear your voice of correction." Verse 33. John 9:33. This is the blind man who 35:22 Jesus healed. All that this blind man knew of God was probably what he heard from the meetings he went at the synagogue every week. Week after week, all that he knew was what these people had taught. And this is what he tells them. 35:40 He says, "If this man were not of God, that means of Jesus that Jesus, if he was not of God, he could have not healed me of my blindness. He could have done nothing." Verse 34, they answered him, these people who knew the Bible, who 35:55 attended the meetings, who had taught God's word, this is what their response was. "You who were born eternally I entirely in sin, are you teaching us? Are you teaching us? You who are blind, and you heard the word from us, 36:14 are you now teaching us?" And so that's what God's word, if we get God's word regularly, hear it, we know God's word and think we can have this attitude. We may not say it out with our mouths 36:33 that oh, I've read the Bible. I've been listening to God's word for so long. Are you teaching me? Very dangerous place to be in. I say Lord, I don't want to I want to always be it sensitive, Lord. Lord, perhaps I didn't 36:51 know if this if these leaders of that synagogue heard this blind man, they could have received salvation. This blind man was giving them the words of life. And they shut the door. Again in John 7, we read of the high 37:10 priest. He says, "Search the scriptures. Is a prophet going to come out of Galilee?" He says that to Nicodemus. He knew the scriptures. Search it. You tell me. He could argue and all of that. But the words of salvation that was coming out 37:26 of Nicodemus, he could not hear. He could not receive it. The very words that could bring him life, he rejected. And that's what pride can do. And so as we read down here, John chapter 9 verse 35, Jesus heard that this man had been put out the blind man 37:46 had been who received sight has been put out. Do you believe in the son of man? Verse 36, he answered, "Who is he, Lord, that I might believe in him?" Verse 37, Jesus said, "You have both seen him and he is the one talking with you." Verse 38:00 38, and he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshipped him. The Lord is looking for those who are blind, who recognize their blindness, who say, "Lord, I cannot see as I ought to see. Lord, open my eyes. I want to humble myself, Lord. I don't want to 38:16 think highly of myself that I can see when I can't." I want to humble myself. It's a great miracle if the Lord can do that in each one of us. That would be the greatest miracle that God can do in our midst to humble each one of us to see our need 38:34 like this blind man. And verse 39, there's many reasons God came to save that which was lost. God came to not destroy men's lives, but save it. But this is another reason God came sent Jesus. For judgment I came into this 38:49 world so that those who do not see like this blind man physically and spiritually may see. So today if we are all blind and say, "Lord, spiritually I I don't see as I ought to." There is great hope for us. God will open up the one who shone in 39:09 darkness will shone in our heart shine in our hearts and bring light. There will be hope, great hope for each one of us. But there's a second part to what Jesus came for. That those who think they see may be blind. 39:28 And so today if I say, "Lord, I see clearly." I'm in danger. If I'm not humble enough to say, "Lord, perhaps Lord, I'm blind here." That they may be blind. And then the 39:46 Pharisees, verse 40, heard him and say this, "We are not blind, too, are we?" Verse 41, Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin. If you admitted that you were blind, that you were in sin, I could help you. 40:05 Honesty and humility. Honest about our true condition. Lord, this is where I'm at. I don't want to show that I'm something other than I am. This is where I am today. I want to be honest with you. I can't see. I'm blind. 40:23 Lord, this bitterness I have, I have it, Lord. This anger I have, I have it, Lord. This unforgiveness I have, I have it, Lord. Being honest with the Lord. And then humble, Lord. Yes, Lord. The only one who's perfect is you. 40:37 I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. I haven't done all things as I ought to have done. I'm sorry, Lord. Please forgive me, Lord. I want to humble myself. There's a beautiful verse in James 4:10. Some verse that we probably should always 40:52 remember. Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord. Humble yourself. Not in front of people, not in front of Go before the Lord and say, "Lord, I want to humble myself in your presence, Lord. And you will give me grace for every 41:08 situation. My situation at home, in the workplace, in the church, with my family, with my children. Every single place you will give me grace. And if I don't receive grace, what do I do? 41:27 The two things again. I be honest. Lord, the reason I didn't receive grace is because I was proud. I want to humble myself in your presence, and I want to be honest with you. I'm not going to pretend. There is pride in me, and that's why I 41:43 fell. The two things if we have, it'll preserve us in humility and honesty in this church. It says in Zephaniah, it says, "The proud he will take away from the church, and he will leave a humble and lowly people in the church." 42:02 And if we want to be a part of that church that the Lord is building, we too must be humble and lowly. Turn with me to James chapter 1. If there's any time in my life where I 42:22 cannot receive a word in humility, that should be a warning sign to me. It can come from another brother. It can come from God's word, but I'm not able to receive it. I know it's a true word. I know it's a word that's convicting me of my condition. 42:39 And it says here, this is the way you must receive it. James chapter 1 verse 21. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all remains of wickedness in what? In humility, receive the word implanted, which is able to save your 42:58 souls. I don't want there to come a day where there's not a humility in my heart to be able to receive his word. There is so much hope for those who are honest and humble. There are two places to There's two 43:24 edges that the devil will prevent us from being effective in his army. One, getting them bound in sin, putting them in a cage, putting them there captive, held captive. And in Ezekiel 13, you can turn with me there. Ezekiel 13 verse 22. 43:43 Two traps that the devil puts in. Ezekiel 13 verse 22. Because you have disheartened the righteous with falsehood, meaning you discourage this person whom God is happy with. When I did not cause him grief, 44:07 and you've encouraged somebody else, you've encouraged the wicked not to turn from his wicked way and preserve his life. So, there's two things. The devil loves to encourage people in their sin and wickedness. Oh, don't worry. Nobody's going to find 44:23 out. Says that in Psalm 36. It says, "Sin flatters people." And says, "Hey, don't worry. You continue in that sin. It's just between you and me. Nobody will find out." But God's word says, Do you know what God's word says? 44:41 Numbers 32:23. Your sin will will find you out. Will always find you out. You can't hide it. And so, the devil will take people who are living in sin and encourage 45:00 them. And says, "Don't worry. You continue in that sin. Nothing will happen." And then he'll go to those God is completely happy with. And he will discourage them. And so, today, 45:18 if you are a child of God, and you know Oh, you're seeking in the light you have pleasing the Lord. You will love the Lord. You want to live for him. And God, you know, Lord, I'm precious to you. You love me. You care for me. 45:37 And there was a man like that. It says that there was no man like him who feared God and was blameless. Do you know who that is? It's Job. God gave that testimony. That was God's 45:56 opinion of the man. You know, you have top five. You know, the top five, top three. At that time, there was not even a top There was only top one. There was no one else like him. He was the only one. The apple of God's eye there. 46:17 The one man on earth that brought joy to his heart was Job. But the enemy used three of his friends to discourage him so much. One after another, "Oh, it must have been this sin. It must have been that." Now, obviously, if there's sin in our 46:34 lives, we set it right. But constantly condemning him, discouraging him for things that were not true. And this is what the devil was able to do through those three friends. Turn with me to 46:54 Job. Job chapter nine. Job chapter nine, verse 16. "If I called and he answered me, this is Job, the one on the top of the list of God's favorites, 47:12 the only favorite at the time, if I called and he answered me, I could not believe that he was listening to my voice." God had discouraged this man who God loved so much that he even doubted whether God would 47:29 listen to his voice. And that's another danger that we could be in this church, seeking to please God. Our only desire is for him. And the devil comes and says, "You know what? Why would did this happen? Why did that happen?" 47:46 And try to discourage us. And just like we should not get caught in the cage of discouragement and despair, we should not get into this this cage as well. Perhaps God does not love me. Perhaps he doesn't care for me. Perhaps I'm not the 48:04 apple of his eye. And you read in John chapter 21 verse 20 at the age of probably 80 in his 80s John the Apostle says I am the disciple whom 48:23 Jesus loved. I am the disciple that Jesus loved. You might remember Jesus is John's own brother was the first Apostle to be martyred. He probably had this question, Lord, why 48:42 my brother? Of all the people who had to die first, why was it my brother? But he reminded himself the one whom Jesus loved. And when Jesus when John was writing his gospel, he knew that he only he says, I 48:58 could have written about so many things. But I I chose to write to only these few things that I could. And one of the things that he wrote about was found in John 11. John 11 And I want you to come think of what the 49:21 next sentence should be. Verse 5, John 11:5 it says, Now Jesus loved Martha her sister Mary and Lazarus. Right? That's It says that Jesus loved them. That's what he said. And what's the next verse should say? When he heard that 49:41 her brother was sick. The next verse should have said, Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus, so he went there to heal them. But it doesn't say that. It says, So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed there two days longer in the 49:56 place where he was." Now we know what happens at the end. We know that Jesus goes and raised Lazarus from the dead. But did Martha and Mary know that? They did not know that. All they knew was they asked Jesus, 50:15 "Jesus, the one you love, now Lazarus is dying. Please come and heal him." And two days go by. What's the thoughts that are going to come through your mind? If I was there, I would say, "You know what? Maybe there was something that I said 50:35 the last time I met with Jesus. Maybe there was something that I complained or maybe I said something wrong. Maybe I did something. Maybe the Lord's upset with me." Perhaps there's something maybe maybe the the Lord doesn't care for me. 50:54 He did say that he loves me, but perhaps all these questions. But the Lord allowed that to happen. Why did he allow that? So that 2,000 nearly 2,000 years later than when we come through a circumstance and situation, we can go 51:08 back and say, "John, you chose to take this incident and write it down so that today when it says that Jesus loved a J, Jesus loved you, Jesus loved John, the apostle, and they're going through a difficult 51:25 situation like Job, they would say, "You know what? I don't understand the situation. I don't know how this is going to all work out for good, but one thing I do know. I'm the apple of God's eye. I'm the disciple whom Jesus loved." 51:46 And so that's why I believe John took the time to write this for each one of us not to doubt God's love. That he loves us dearly. He's planning every day of our lives in love. And I think of people like Joseph. At the age of 29 in prison, 52:07 he did not know what was going to happen. But I can almost see the Lord saying, "Joseph, just hang in there. One more year. See what I've planned for you. Little do you know what's what I have in store for you. Just hang in Hang in 52:23 there. One more year in prison. I know you can't see what I see, but know that I have wonderful plans for you." Same thing the Lord is saying to each one of us today. God has not called us to this church to be at a place of ease. 52:41 He's not called us to be in bondage to sin. He's come with keys to set the captives free. And the Lord has plans for us. He loves us tremendously. And in the midst of all of those things, he's hoping 53:00 that we will hear and get encouragement from these scriptures. That in our time of need, Lord, I can't understand it, but one thing I do know is you love me through this all. May the Lord help us to be this church who cares for one another. 53:15 Who's helping to set the captives free. Who brings down the gates of hell in these last days. May the Lord help us. Amen.
