WEBVTT 00:00:11.820 --> 00:00:15.660 Let's open our Bibles together to the book of 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:42.359 Acts, the seventh chapter. spiritual warfare 00:00:42.359 --> 00:00:47.159 occurring in the spiritual dimension of reality. 00:00:48.280 --> 00:00:51.700 This warfare began with Satan's rebellion and 00:00:51.700 --> 00:00:55.359 consequent judgment, and entered into human history 00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:00.619 in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. So now 00:01:00.619 --> 00:01:04.280 every descendant of theirs is involved in this 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:09.159 warfare, know it or not, like it or not, none 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:12.950 is exempt. from this warfare between the forces 00:01:12.950 --> 00:01:18.609 of the evil one and the Lord God. When an individual 00:01:18.609 --> 00:01:23.230 is saved, he is transferred from the side of 00:01:23.230 --> 00:01:28.250 Satan to the side of God. Thus he joins the victory 00:01:28.250 --> 00:01:33.750 side. In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer, 00:01:34.409 --> 00:01:37.489 says the New Testament, through him who loved 00:01:37.489 --> 00:01:42.370 us. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory 00:01:42.370 --> 00:01:47.069 through our Lord Jesus Christ, who always leads 00:01:47.069 --> 00:01:53.829 us in his triumph in Christ. That victory is 00:01:53.829 --> 00:01:56.030 woven throughout the text that we are going to 00:01:56.030 --> 00:01:58.769 read this morning beginning in verse 54 of Acts 00:01:58.769 --> 00:02:10.180 7. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed 00:02:10.180 --> 00:02:13.240 intently into heaven and saw the glory of God 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:15.740 and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 00:02:16.180 --> 00:02:18.900 And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened 00:02:18.900 --> 00:02:21.439 up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:24.759 of God. But they cried out with a loud voice 00:02:24.759 --> 00:02:26.879 and covered their ears, and they rushed upon 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:29.740 him with one impulse. And when they had driven 00:02:29.740 --> 00:02:32.919 him out of the city, they began stoning him. 00:02:32.990 --> 00:02:35.870 And the witnesses laid aside their robes at the 00:02:35.870 --> 00:02:39.150 feet of a young man named Saul. And they went 00:02:39.150 --> 00:02:42.009 on stoning Stephen, as he called upon the Lord, 00:02:42.210 --> 00:02:46.569 and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And 00:02:46.569 --> 00:02:48.729 falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud 00:02:48.729 --> 00:02:52.750 voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. 00:02:54.449 --> 00:02:58.370 Having said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was 00:02:58.370 --> 00:03:00.469 in hearty agreement with putting him to death. 00:03:01.219 --> 00:03:04.240 On that day a great persecution arose against 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:07.300 the Church in Jerusalem. They were all scattered 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:10.240 throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:13.840 the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:19.080 and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:22.300 began ravaging the Church, entering house after 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:24.979 house, and dragging off men and women. He would 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:28.400 put them in prison. Therefore, those who had 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:30.580 been scattered went about preaching the word, 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:33.419 and Philip went down to the city of Samaria and 00:03:33.419 --> 00:03:36.539 began proclaiming Christ to them. And the multitudes 00:03:36.539 --> 00:03:38.699 with one accord were giving attention to what 00:03:38.699 --> 00:03:41.639 was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the 00:03:41.639 --> 00:03:44.740 signs which he was performing. For in the case 00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:47.560 of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:51.039 out of them, shouting with a loud voice. And 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:53.840 many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed, 00:03:54.219 --> 00:03:58.259 and there was much rejoicing. in that city. Now 00:03:58.259 --> 00:04:01.280 there was a certain man named Simon who formerly 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:03.840 was practicing magic in the city and astonishing 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:06.180 the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone 00:04:06.180 --> 00:04:09.319 great. And they all from smallest to greatest 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:11.979 were giving attention to him saying, this man 00:04:11.979 --> 00:04:16.019 is what is called the great power of God. That 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:19.399 was his billing, you see. When Simon was doing 00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:22.759 his thing, that's how he was introduced. The 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:28.970 great power of God, Simon. They were giving him 00:04:28.970 --> 00:04:32.930 attention because he had for a long time astonished 00:04:32.930 --> 00:04:37.990 them with his magic arts. When they believed 00:04:37.990 --> 00:04:40.709 Philip, preaching the good news about the kingdom 00:04:40.709 --> 00:04:43.810 of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were 00:04:43.810 --> 00:04:47.290 being baptized, men and women alike. Even Simon 00:04:47.290 --> 00:04:51.290 himself believed. After being baptized, he continued 00:04:51.290 --> 00:04:54.620 on with Philip. As he observed signs and great 00:04:54.620 --> 00:04:57.300 miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. 00:04:58.339 --> 00:05:01.060 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that 00:05:01.060 --> 00:05:03.399 Samaria had received the word of God, they sent 00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:06.240 them Peter and John, who came down and prayed 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.660 for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:11.720 For he had not yet fallen upon any of them. They 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:14.060 had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord 00:05:14.060 --> 00:05:17.040 Jesus. Then they began laying their hands on 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:19.339 them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. 00:05:19.660 --> 00:05:22.560 Now, when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:24.519 through the laying on of the apostles' hands, 00:05:24.600 --> 00:05:27.639 he offered them money, saying, Give this authority 00:05:27.639 --> 00:05:30.259 to me as well, so that every one in whom I lay 00:05:30.259 --> 00:05:34.300 my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter 00:05:34.300 --> 00:05:38.000 said to him, May your silver perish with you, 00:05:38.220 --> 00:05:40.199 because you thought you could obtain the gift 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:43.519 of God with money. You have no part or portion 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:45.879 in this matter, for your heart is not right before 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:49.110 God. Therefore, repent of this wickedness of 00:05:49.110 --> 00:05:52.129 yours, and pray the Lord if possible the intention 00:05:52.129 --> 00:05:55.069 of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see 00:05:55.069 --> 00:05:57.490 that you are in the gall of bitterness and in 00:05:57.490 --> 00:06:01.370 the bondage of iniquity." But Simon answered 00:06:01.370 --> 00:06:03.670 and said, pray to the Lord for me yourselves, 00:06:04.149 --> 00:06:06.269 so that nothing of what you have said may come 00:06:06.269 --> 00:06:09.290 upon me. So when they had solemnly testified 00:06:09.290 --> 00:06:11.670 and spoken the word of the Lord, they started 00:06:11.670 --> 00:06:15.160 back to Jerusalem. We're preaching the gospel 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:21.180 to many villages of the Samaritans. God's servants 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:26.839 are on the victory side. Our text today reveals 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:31.800 three encouragements to the children of God about 00:06:31.800 --> 00:06:35.540 their Heavenly Father. The first encouragement 00:06:35.540 --> 00:06:40.740 is this, that God's sovereignty employs all circumstances 00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:45.480 to achieve His will. God's sovereignty employs 00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:49.959 all circumstances to achieve His will. That does 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:53.079 not mean that God creates all circumstances, 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:58.079 for He is not responsible for sin, yet they all 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:03.139 are used to achieve what He has ultimately purposed. 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:07.620 There are two seemingly disastrous circumstances 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:15.100 in our text which occurred in one day. Let's 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:19.060 notice how God used them to accomplish His purpose. 00:07:20.139 --> 00:07:22.959 The first circumstance is the death of Stephen, 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:27.060 the first martyr of the newborn church. We studied 00:07:27.060 --> 00:07:30.920 his trial this last week. We looked at his lengthy 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:35.660 historical defense, which actually became an 00:07:35.660 --> 00:07:39.800 indictment of the nation of Israel. His words 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:46.420 to them resulted in their rejection of the gospel 00:07:46.420 --> 00:07:51.879 and of their Messiah, that rejection being signified 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:55.959 by their killing of the Lord's prophet, Stephen. 00:07:57.220 --> 00:07:59.660 It is interesting to notice the parallels between 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:04.139 Stephen's death and that of Christ's. Both involved 00:08:04.139 --> 00:08:08.680 a trial before the Sanhedrin on charges which 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:15.180 were trumped up. Both had false witnesses brought 00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:19.420 before the trial to accuse them. Both were accused 00:08:19.420 --> 00:08:24.560 of blasphemy. Both prayed for their murderers 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:29.120 when dying. It is further interesting just to 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:32.559 notice in passing that the deaths of Christ and 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:36.460 Stephen are the only two death scenes recorded 00:08:36.460 --> 00:08:42.690 in detail in the New Testament. Stephen's martyrdom 00:08:42.690 --> 00:08:47.889 was crowned with a vision, a spectacular and 00:08:47.889 --> 00:08:55.289 majestic vision of the Lord. Stephen confirms 00:08:55.289 --> 00:09:00.190 as a witness himself the exaltation of the Lord 00:09:00.190 --> 00:09:04.389 Jesus Christ to the right hand of God the Father. 00:09:04.970 --> 00:09:08.450 Jesus had said himself that he was going there. 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:12.320 But now there is one standing on earth who looks 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:16.720 into heaven and says, in essence, yes, he is 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:22.559 there. I see him at God's right hand. The right 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:26.639 hand, of course, signifying the place of acceptance, 00:09:27.740 --> 00:09:33.379 the place of full authority and honor. As Stephen 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:36.899 looks up, he sees Jesus standing, not sitting 00:09:36.899 --> 00:09:39.870 at the Father's right hand. Most of the time 00:09:39.870 --> 00:09:42.250 the New Testament refers to his posture as that 00:09:42.250 --> 00:09:46.429 of sitting. But Stephen sees him standing there, 00:09:46.950 --> 00:09:49.429 and the question is why was Christ standing? 00:09:50.649 --> 00:09:53.769 Well, there are several possible answers to that. 00:09:54.169 --> 00:09:58.429 It may show his intense awareness of the events 00:09:58.429 --> 00:10:02.870 transpiring there in the city of Jerusalem. Perhaps 00:10:02.870 --> 00:10:06.470 he is also preparing to welcome home Stephen, 00:10:06.570 --> 00:10:12.190 his child. Stephen bore witness on earth to the 00:10:12.190 --> 00:10:16.029 Lord Jesus Christ. And so the Lord Jesus Christ 00:10:16.029 --> 00:10:19.629 stands before the Father in heaven to bear witness 00:10:19.629 --> 00:10:24.289 of his servant, Stephen. Whatever the reason 00:10:24.289 --> 00:10:28.549 for that, the fact is that Stephen's death might 00:10:28.549 --> 00:10:33.509 appear on the surface as a major defeat for the 00:10:33.509 --> 00:10:36.789 will of God. For after all, here is a key spokesman 00:10:36.789 --> 00:10:45.220 who is silenced. But verse 58 introduces to us 00:10:45.220 --> 00:10:52.179 the person of Saul of Tarsus. And here we understand 00:10:52.179 --> 00:10:57.659 something of why God is allowing this event to 00:10:57.659 --> 00:11:03.200 take place. It brings Saul to the forefront, 00:11:03.299 --> 00:11:07.879 not yet a believer, still very much a Pharisee 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:11.649 of the Pharisees. A man who on this occasion 00:11:11.649 --> 00:11:17.710 approved of the execution of Stephen. They laid 00:11:17.710 --> 00:11:21.049 their coats at his feet. That doesn't mean they 00:11:21.049 --> 00:11:24.090 needed someone to guard them. That means that 00:11:24.090 --> 00:11:28.110 he may well have been in charge of the execution 00:11:28.110 --> 00:11:36.330 itself. Luke inserts the detail regarding Saul 00:11:36.330 --> 00:11:40.350 because he wants us to see that in the seed of 00:11:40.350 --> 00:11:42.970 Stephen's life, which is being planted at this 00:11:42.970 --> 00:11:47.970 point in death, there is very soon going to germinate 00:11:47.970 --> 00:11:52.950 another life, another man, whose influence upon 00:11:52.950 --> 00:11:57.009 the whole Roman Empire will be many times greater 00:11:57.009 --> 00:12:00.049 than that which Stephen had in the church in 00:12:00.049 --> 00:12:05.450 Jerusalem. Undoubtedly, Saul was impressed with 00:12:05.450 --> 00:12:10.490 the demeanor of Stephen as he laid down his life 00:12:10.490 --> 00:12:14.629 for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. Undoubtedly, 00:12:14.690 --> 00:12:19.509 Saul heard his prayers as he prayed for the Lord 00:12:19.509 --> 00:12:23.909 to receive his spirit and asked the Lord in essence 00:12:23.909 --> 00:12:29.330 to forgive his murderers. St. Augustine was so 00:12:29.330 --> 00:12:32.360 impressed with this truth that he said, If Stephen 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:36.919 had never prayed, Paul had never preached. His 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:39.620 point being that the prayers of Stephen were 00:12:39.620 --> 00:12:46.779 so important and so overwhelming in their significance 00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:50.799 that they struck the heart of Saul and he was 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:53.940 unable to escape them though he continued on 00:12:53.940 --> 00:12:57.879 in his persecution of the church. One of the 00:12:57.879 --> 00:13:01.350 positive outcomes of Stephen's death is Saul's 00:13:01.350 --> 00:13:04.610 ultimate conversion, although interestingly Paul 00:13:04.610 --> 00:13:07.610 never does, in his letters at least, refer back 00:13:07.610 --> 00:13:11.750 to this occasion. Will you notice that how God 00:13:11.750 --> 00:13:15.850 used even this circumstance to bring about his 00:13:15.850 --> 00:13:19.750 ultimate purpose? This is the second disastrous 00:13:19.750 --> 00:13:22.070 event that took place that day, and that is great 00:13:22.070 --> 00:13:24.350 persecution against the church in Jerusalem. 00:13:25.049 --> 00:13:28.470 It says that all were scattered. Now the all 00:13:28.470 --> 00:13:31.750 here probably refers to all of the Hellenistic 00:13:31.750 --> 00:13:36.289 or the Greek oriented Jews like Stephen who were 00:13:36.289 --> 00:13:38.750 there in the city of Jerusalem. There was not 00:13:38.750 --> 00:13:41.289 entirely good feeling between the Palestinian 00:13:41.289 --> 00:13:44.450 born Jews and those who had a Hellenistic background. 00:13:45.710 --> 00:13:48.330 And so probably on this occasion it was those 00:13:48.330 --> 00:13:51.210 Hellenistic Jews who had converted who were chased 00:13:51.210 --> 00:13:54.190 out of Jerusalem. The apostles remained in the 00:13:54.190 --> 00:13:56.389 city, evidencing among other things their great 00:13:56.389 --> 00:13:59.600 courage. although they were not Hellenistic Jews. 00:14:01.299 --> 00:14:03.519 Saul was like an animal that got a taste for 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:10.059 blood. He was like a vicious wild beast who with 00:14:10.059 --> 00:14:13.320 excitement and determination went about persecuting 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:17.220 the Church of Jesus Christ. In verse 3 it says 00:14:17.220 --> 00:14:20.759 that he ravaged the Church a very strong term. 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:25.820 And so it might seem that suddenly the revival 00:14:25.820 --> 00:14:29.360 in Jerusalem is over. This great movement of 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:32.000 the Spirit of God that we have observed in our 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:35.019 study now for a number of months may seem on 00:14:35.019 --> 00:14:38.679 the surface to be cut short by the persecution 00:14:38.679 --> 00:14:41.799 against the church, that its potency has been 00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:44.480 diminished, that Satan has gotten a victory. 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:51.799 that God used even this circumstance to accomplish 00:14:51.799 --> 00:14:55.340 His will. It says, therefore those who had been 00:14:55.340 --> 00:15:01.440 scattered went about preaching the word. So once 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:04.899 again, God used what was a disastrous circumstance, 00:15:05.259 --> 00:15:09.340 humanly speaking, to bring about His ultimate 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:14.039 will and design. They went about into the city 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:17.899 of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. 00:15:18.029 --> 00:15:22.690 Remember Acts 1 -8? Jesus said, you'll be witnesses 00:15:22.690 --> 00:15:27.049 unto me both in Jerusalem and Judea. And what 00:15:27.049 --> 00:15:32.929 was the next place? Samaria. This was God's method 00:15:32.929 --> 00:15:37.190 of getting the gospel to the Samaritans. Otherwise, 00:15:37.370 --> 00:15:41.070 the Jews might never have gone there. These Jewish 00:15:41.070 --> 00:15:43.210 Christians, they might never have gone there. 00:15:43.649 --> 00:15:47.090 But the Lord forced them out of the city of Jerusalem. 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.679 through the persecution, and they went to the 00:15:50.679 --> 00:15:55.039 city of Samaria. My point is this, that nothing 00:15:55.039 --> 00:16:00.879 outward can thwart God's will in your life. He 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:06.419 uses even seeming disasters to achieve His ultimate 00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:10.639 good for you. Notice I said nothing outward. 00:16:11.179 --> 00:16:14.820 There is something inward that can thwart God's 00:16:14.820 --> 00:16:20.639 will. And that is a rebellious heart. If our 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.019 hearts are not right with God, we can thwart 00:16:23.019 --> 00:16:26.820 the will of God and waste our lives. Such tragedy, 00:16:27.659 --> 00:16:31.820 such awful sadness when that occurs. But there 00:16:31.820 --> 00:16:35.299 is nothing outward in our circumstances which 00:16:35.299 --> 00:16:38.700 can possibly hinder God's will in our lives. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:43.820 He uses all of them by His sovereignty to accomplish 00:16:43.820 --> 00:16:47.519 His good. and His design for you and me. Boy, 00:16:47.539 --> 00:16:50.080 that's a great encouragement to me in the midst 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:53.700 of my battle. I don't know about you, but that's 00:16:53.700 --> 00:16:56.580 an encouragement to me as one who is on the side 00:16:56.580 --> 00:16:59.480 of victory to know that God is working for me 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:04.200 in all of my circumstances. Now, there's a second 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:06.240 encouragement I want you to notice. It is that 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:09.359 God's kingdom advances through the proclamation 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:13.180 of Christ. Now, there are some in our world today 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:15.680 who have mistaken ideas about how God's kingdom 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:19.220 advances. There are some who think it happens 00:17:19.220 --> 00:17:23.579 through legislation, others through environmental 00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:27.079 improvements. Some think that God's kingdom is 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:30.200 advanced by throwing over oppressive governments, 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:33.859 or by education, or by healing the sick and feeding 00:17:33.859 --> 00:17:37.400 the poor, or by working for a nuclear free world. 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:41.480 Indeed, this theme, the kingdom of God coming, 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:46.099 is a favorite of liberal theology, which of course 00:17:46.099 --> 00:17:50.119 we totally reject. What they usually mean by 00:17:50.119 --> 00:17:54.779 the coming kingdom of God is that man, by his 00:17:54.779 --> 00:17:58.460 own ingenuity and goodness, by his improvements 00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:01.920 and evolution, if you please, will establish 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:06.779 a utopia of peace and justice in the world. Such 00:18:06.779 --> 00:18:10.980 an idea is a misunderstanding of both the kingdom 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:16.140 of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The kingdom 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:19.759 will not come as a result of humanity's efforts, 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:25.119 but indeed in spite of them. Furthermore, the 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:27.960 kingdom will be to the glory of God and not to 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:32.880 man's glory. The kingdom refers to God's rule 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:36.210 in the world. Now, that is an invisible kingdom 00:18:36.210 --> 00:18:38.910 in the hearts and lives of those who follow Him. 00:18:39.430 --> 00:18:43.529 Someday it will be a visible, earthly, real kingdom 00:18:43.529 --> 00:18:50.289 when Jesus comes again. And then they often speak 00:18:50.289 --> 00:18:53.009 of the gospel of Christ as being the good news 00:18:53.009 --> 00:18:58.369 that man has a spark of divinity in Him, or that 00:18:58.369 --> 00:19:00.930 we all have innate goodness which just needs 00:19:00.930 --> 00:19:04.329 to be announced and developed. the world will 00:19:04.329 --> 00:19:08.490 be a better place. But the gospel of Jesus Christ 00:19:08.490 --> 00:19:12.210 is the fact that men are lost hopelessly in sin, 00:19:12.529 --> 00:19:14.930 but that God has loved us so much that he has 00:19:14.930 --> 00:19:18.410 sent his Son to die on the cross, be raised from 00:19:18.410 --> 00:19:23.349 the dead, to save us from our sin. What we need 00:19:23.349 --> 00:19:26.009 to do is to trust in him, to believe on him, 00:19:26.250 --> 00:19:29.490 in order to be saved. That is the gospel of Christ. 00:19:30.529 --> 00:19:34.819 God's kingdom His true kingdom advances when 00:19:34.819 --> 00:19:37.759 the gospel of Christ, the true gospel of Christ, 00:19:37.980 --> 00:19:42.380 is proclaimed. It advances not continents at 00:19:42.380 --> 00:19:47.900 a time, not cultures at a time, but one person 00:19:47.900 --> 00:19:51.920 at a time. When that one person responds in faith, 00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:59.279 that is the advance of God's kingdom. including 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:01.740 Philip, who went into the new areas to proclaim 00:20:01.740 --> 00:20:05.859 Christ. The result of this was that the gospel 00:20:05.859 --> 00:20:09.440 and God's kingdom extended further than ever 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:13.559 before into enemy territory, including Samaria. 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:18.640 I don't think I need to recount for you the intense 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:27.490 hatred between the Samaritans and the Jews. These 00:20:27.490 --> 00:20:30.950 people gave attention to what was being preached 00:20:30.950 --> 00:20:34.769 by Philip. Now, why would these Samaritans pay 00:20:34.769 --> 00:20:38.069 attention to him? Well, in the first place, he 00:20:38.069 --> 00:20:42.910 was proclaiming the gospel of the Messiah. You 00:20:42.910 --> 00:20:46.490 may know that the Samaritans in their own peculiar 00:20:46.490 --> 00:20:51.869 religion, which was a mixture of Jewish religion 00:20:51.869 --> 00:20:58.640 and Gentile paganism, that these Samaritans also 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:01.059 believed in a Messiah who was coming because 00:21:01.059 --> 00:21:04.599 they accepted the Pentateuch, the books of Moses, 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:12.519 as being truth. And in Deuteronomy 18 .15, Moses 00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:15.599 predicted the prophet who had come, a Messiah. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:19.779 And so the Samaritans too looked for a Messiah. 00:21:20.119 --> 00:21:22.680 In fact, read about it in the Samaritan woman's 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:25.490 conversation with Jesus. there at the well outside 00:21:25.490 --> 00:21:27.970 the city of Sychar. They look for a Messiah. 00:21:28.690 --> 00:21:30.750 And so now here is one who proclaims to them 00:21:30.750 --> 00:21:33.970 the Messiah and at the same time who was doing 00:21:33.970 --> 00:21:36.410 amazing things. He was delivering people from 00:21:36.410 --> 00:21:40.690 demons and disease resulting in great rejoicing. 00:21:41.670 --> 00:21:44.529 In verse 12 it says that many of these people 00:21:44.529 --> 00:21:48.210 believed and they were baptized. Their baptism 00:21:48.210 --> 00:21:51.329 being an evidence. of their genuine salvation. 00:21:51.410 --> 00:21:54.289 You say, is it necessary for a person to be baptized, 00:21:54.369 --> 00:21:58.029 to be saved? Of course not. Of course it is not. 00:21:59.470 --> 00:22:02.690 Is a person genuinely saved who refuses to be 00:22:02.690 --> 00:22:07.490 baptized? Question mark. I don't know. Because 00:22:07.490 --> 00:22:09.950 in the New Testament, baptism is the outward 00:22:09.950 --> 00:22:13.269 profession and evidence that one has genuinely 00:22:13.269 --> 00:22:18.150 trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verses 14 through 00:22:18.150 --> 00:22:23.509 17. We have recorded the fact that the apostles 00:22:23.509 --> 00:22:30.990 sent a delegation to the city of Samaria in order 00:22:30.990 --> 00:22:33.589 to check out what was happening there. Peter 00:22:33.589 --> 00:22:37.970 and John were selected to go. Why did they come? 00:22:39.410 --> 00:22:43.009 When they came, notice that they prayed for these 00:22:43.009 --> 00:22:45.170 new converts that they might receive the Holy 00:22:45.170 --> 00:22:48.599 Spirit. And it says that He had not yet fallen 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:51.259 upon any of them. They had simply been baptized 00:22:51.259 --> 00:22:54.180 in the name of the Lord Jesus. And so they prayed 00:22:54.180 --> 00:22:56.019 for them, laid their hands on them, and they 00:22:56.019 --> 00:22:59.339 received the Holy Spirit. Now let me emphasize 00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:03.140 that that is not the norm for this age. But it's 00:23:03.140 --> 00:23:05.920 something that God allowed to take place in Samaria 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:11.299 for a specific reason. And that was so the Samaritans 00:23:11.299 --> 00:23:14.859 would understand what Jesus said. Back in John 00:23:14.859 --> 00:23:20.519 4 the salvation is from the Jews. What takes 00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:24.259 place here by the will of God allowed those early 00:23:24.259 --> 00:23:28.920 believers from such diverse prejudice backgrounds 00:23:28.920 --> 00:23:34.700 to be welded together for the Samaritans to understand 00:23:34.700 --> 00:23:37.400 that what they were receiving was coming from 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:41.309 Jerusalem. And to help those people in Jerusalem 00:23:41.309 --> 00:23:44.089 to understand that those Samaritans down there 00:23:44.089 --> 00:23:46.990 were receiving the very same gift of salvation 00:23:46.990 --> 00:23:51.210 that they had gotten. So you see it was to weld 00:23:51.210 --> 00:23:53.750 together the early church so that there would 00:23:53.750 --> 00:23:57.309 not be a church of Jerusalem and a totally separate 00:23:57.309 --> 00:24:01.849 church of Samaria. It was the Lord's body to 00:24:01.849 --> 00:24:12.059 be one. the message of Jesus Christ proclaimed 00:24:12.059 --> 00:24:17.759 in our world today will give advance to God's 00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:21.920 kingdom and God's work. And may I say that that 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:25.500 is true in your world as well, in your sphere 00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:30.759 of influence where God has placed you. Only as 00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:35.460 you proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ, Is God's 00:24:35.460 --> 00:24:38.039 kingdom going to be extended through you in that 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:43.259 office, in that school, in your home? Would you 00:24:43.259 --> 00:24:47.079 please understand that God has not called us 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:49.940 to circle the wagons. Do you know what I mean 00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:52.519 by that? Have you watched enough cowboy shows 00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:57.420 to know? God has not called us to build a fortress. 00:24:59.619 --> 00:25:03.700 God has called us to be aggressive ambassadors 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:07.519 to the world, or to put it another way, to be 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:12.000 gorillas, not gorillas, gorillas, of love and 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:16.180 righteousness, reaching out to those who are 00:25:16.180 --> 00:25:20.700 lost with the good news. When you and I do that, 00:25:20.779 --> 00:25:23.240 believe me, it will not go unnoticed by the enemy. 00:25:24.980 --> 00:25:27.160 And I think that we can observe in our world 00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:30.859 that Satan is not on the defensive. but rather 00:25:30.859 --> 00:25:34.420 he is on the offense. Let me just suggest to 00:25:34.420 --> 00:25:39.279 you very quickly four fronts of obvious satanic 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:43.539 offense in our day. One is the front of Eastern 00:25:43.539 --> 00:25:50.740 mysticism. This Eastern oriental religion is 00:25:50.740 --> 00:25:53.960 mushrooming in our nation. Whether it is called 00:25:53.960 --> 00:25:57.819 Hinduism or transcendental meditation or yoga, 00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:02.819 it is mushrooming. in various parts of our world, 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:06.140 and especially in our country. I believe that 00:26:06.140 --> 00:26:08.940 is because when people turn from the truth, they 00:26:08.940 --> 00:26:12.079 are turned to the lie. And there's nothing that's 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:16.779 more hideous and filled with the lie than Eastern 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:21.200 religions. Second front that I see Satan attacking 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:26.559 on is that of what I call neo -Paganism. There's 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:30.180 a growing movement. In our nation today, returning 00:26:30.180 --> 00:26:35.660 to paganism, witchcraft, astrology, and Satanism. 00:26:36.299 --> 00:26:41.380 You can see it in the advertisements that Gene 00:26:41.380 --> 00:26:45.599 Dixon is putting out for astrological forecasts. 00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:49.039 Call this 800 number and get your astrological 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:52.299 forecast. It would be funny if it weren't so 00:26:52.299 --> 00:26:56.529 serious. There is a growing concern, if you watched 00:26:56.529 --> 00:26:58.690 2020 last Thursday night, you know that there 00:26:58.690 --> 00:27:02.470 is a growing concern in our nation today regarding 00:27:02.470 --> 00:27:05.470 the ritualistic worship of Satan, including human 00:27:05.470 --> 00:27:09.630 sacrifice. There is growing evidence that some 00:27:09.630 --> 00:27:11.890 of the children who have disappeared in our nation, 00:27:12.150 --> 00:27:16.529 two million of them a year, are disappearing. 00:27:17.430 --> 00:27:19.990 That some of these children have been sacrificed 00:27:19.990 --> 00:27:24.460 to Satan. You had to see the program to appreciate 00:27:24.460 --> 00:27:26.140 what I'm saying. If you didn't see it, maybe 00:27:26.140 --> 00:27:28.380 you'd want to write for a transcript. It was 00:27:28.380 --> 00:27:32.920 an extremely enlightening telecast, and I would 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:35.079 say that if they're concerned about it, that 00:27:35.079 --> 00:27:39.500 it's something we better be aware of. There is 00:27:39.500 --> 00:27:42.720 around us something called the New Age Movement, 00:27:42.779 --> 00:27:47.599 which we've talked about in brief before. The 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:49.859 most recent issue of Christianity today, there 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:54.190 is an article quoting Douglas Groteis, a doctoral 00:27:54.190 --> 00:27:57.609 candidate at the University of Wisconsin, regarding 00:27:57.609 --> 00:28:01.289 the New Age movement. He says it's the result 00:28:01.289 --> 00:28:05.329 of the counterculture which rejected materialism 00:28:05.329 --> 00:28:08.470 and turned inward and eastward in the 60s and 00:28:08.470 --> 00:28:13.869 70s. He says the New Age worldview added the 00:28:13.869 --> 00:28:16.769 dimension of divine power to humanistic thought, 00:28:17.910 --> 00:28:22.160 producing a type of cosmic humanism. He says 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:27.019 that the political agenda of the New Age movement 00:28:27.019 --> 00:28:31.099 is a form of androgyny, making no distinction 00:28:31.099 --> 00:28:35.099 between male and female. Males are held responsible 00:28:35.099 --> 00:28:38.460 for the evils of human history. The neo -pagan 00:28:38.460 --> 00:28:42.859 return to the Wicca concept of Mother God, holding 00:28:42.859 --> 00:28:46.859 male and female in her womb, is a hallmark of 00:28:46.859 --> 00:28:51.660 New Age religion and politics. That has to do 00:28:51.660 --> 00:28:56.140 with witchcraft, by the way. A view of ecology 00:28:56.140 --> 00:29:00.980 in which nature and God are merged. In other 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:03.700 words, a great emphasis on ecology. It's almost 00:29:03.700 --> 00:29:07.640 a spiritual thing and the transcendence of God. 00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:10.220 That is, that He is separate from and above His 00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:15.480 creation is totally rejected. A world order that 00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:20.019 applies and quote, all is one. close quote, theology 00:29:20.019 --> 00:29:23.740 to nations, making national boundaries obsolete 00:29:23.740 --> 00:29:27.519 and taking a global approach to the world's problems. 00:29:27.619 --> 00:29:31.480 In other words, this is just socialism. Walter 00:29:31.480 --> 00:29:34.079 Martin, director of the Christian Research Institute, 00:29:34.380 --> 00:29:38.000 defined the New Age movement simply as occultism. 00:29:39.559 --> 00:29:41.819 I think we see it as well in the popularity of 00:29:41.819 --> 00:29:45.279 such games and television shows as Dungeons and 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:50.799 Dragons. Pat Pulling, who is the founder of BAD, 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:54.500 B -A -D -D, bothered about Dungeons and Dragons, 00:29:55.400 --> 00:29:59.680 is the mother of a son who was in his early teens 00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:02.839 who killed himself and was one who was deeply 00:30:02.839 --> 00:30:06.160 involved in playing Dungeons and Dragons. After 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:09.440 studying this movement and this game, she says 00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:12.960 that the material comes from demonology, witchcraft, 00:30:13.319 --> 00:30:17.849 and the occult. Now she, as far as I know, doesn't 00:30:17.849 --> 00:30:19.829 claim to be a Christian. She's just a mother 00:30:19.829 --> 00:30:23.150 whose son died, killed himself as he was involved 00:30:23.150 --> 00:30:25.690 in this particular game, and that's her conclusion. 00:30:26.329 --> 00:30:28.809 This is neo -paganism. Satan is on the move, 00:30:28.910 --> 00:30:32.809 my friend, in our nation today in neo -paganism. 00:30:34.250 --> 00:30:39.410 And then in Islam. Islam is awakening to a new 00:30:39.410 --> 00:30:42.869 era of militant evangelism, especially... in 00:30:42.869 --> 00:30:45.450 what may be called the post -Christian cultures, 00:30:47.690 --> 00:30:51.529 especially those in Europe. I was talking to 00:30:51.529 --> 00:30:54.049 a missions executive this past week and she told 00:30:54.049 --> 00:30:58.230 me that in 15 years, that is in the year 2000, 00:30:58.829 --> 00:31:04.369 one out of every two babies born in France will 00:31:04.369 --> 00:31:09.490 be born to Muslim parents, if the present trend 00:31:09.490 --> 00:31:14.309 continues. and conversions in France. Today in 00:31:14.309 --> 00:31:19.289 1985 in England, one church building every week 00:31:19.289 --> 00:31:24.569 is being bought and made into a mosque with oil 00:31:24.569 --> 00:31:27.990 money that you and I are supplying the Arabs. 00:31:29.230 --> 00:31:33.589 Islam is on the move and I think is perhaps potentially 00:31:33.589 --> 00:31:35.650 the greatest force that we are going to have 00:31:35.650 --> 00:31:38.950 to reckon with not only spiritually but politically 00:31:38.950 --> 00:31:41.710 in the world. even more so than communism, which 00:31:41.710 --> 00:31:46.150 is my number four front. Because communism today 00:31:46.150 --> 00:31:50.789 seems to be sterile in Europe and Asia, but it 00:31:50.789 --> 00:31:53.710 is spreading like a fire through Latin America 00:31:53.710 --> 00:31:57.650 as the impoverished masses seek alleviation from 00:31:57.650 --> 00:32:00.970 their suffering. Satan is on the offense in our 00:32:00.970 --> 00:32:04.809 world, and you and I who belong to Jesus Christ 00:32:04.809 --> 00:32:08.950 need to be on the offense as well. proclaiming 00:32:08.950 --> 00:32:12.509 the gospel of Christ, advancing His kingdom. 00:32:14.210 --> 00:32:18.269 But you say the battle is tough. Satan is strong. 00:32:19.049 --> 00:32:22.250 These powers around us are moving. That's right. 00:32:22.930 --> 00:32:27.009 My friend, Jesus Christ is stronger. That brings 00:32:27.009 --> 00:32:30.309 me to my third encouragement, and that is that 00:32:30.309 --> 00:32:34.029 God's power overcomes the power of darkness. 00:32:34.569 --> 00:32:36.710 Greater is He that is in you than He that is 00:32:36.710 --> 00:32:40.650 in the world. We see individuals who are delivered 00:32:40.650 --> 00:32:43.470 from demonic spirits, the spirits screaming as 00:32:43.470 --> 00:32:47.470 they come out in verse 7. And then we are introduced 00:32:47.470 --> 00:32:51.750 to one Simon who was the leading sorcerer in 00:32:51.750 --> 00:32:55.769 that area. He was put out of business, at least 00:32:55.769 --> 00:33:01.349 temporarily. His conversion in verse 13 seems 00:33:01.349 --> 00:33:04.930 to have been a superficial one. You will notice 00:33:04.930 --> 00:33:08.150 especially in the narrative books. of the New 00:33:08.150 --> 00:33:10.690 Testament that the word believe does not always 00:33:10.690 --> 00:33:16.930 mean genuine conversion. In James, it says, using 00:33:16.930 --> 00:33:21.089 the same word that the demons believe. They're 00:33:21.089 --> 00:33:24.990 not saved. They believe. I think in that same 00:33:24.990 --> 00:33:27.910 sense, this man, Simon, believed he was even 00:33:27.910 --> 00:33:32.630 baptized, but he was exposed for what he was 00:33:32.630 --> 00:33:36.420 and what happens in verses 18 through 24. It 00:33:36.420 --> 00:33:39.019 is from him we get our English word, simony, 00:33:40.740 --> 00:33:44.720 which refers to the selling or buying of religious 00:33:44.720 --> 00:33:50.299 office and privilege. This Simon was probably 00:33:50.299 --> 00:33:53.660 not a genuine believer, but was exposed as one 00:33:53.660 --> 00:34:05.160 who was still perishing in his sins. such direct 00:34:05.160 --> 00:34:08.239 and obvious contact with the powers of darkness 00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:11.679 as Philip here. We must not be deceived into 00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:14.480 thinking that they are working only in pagan 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:18.940 lands, or inactive, or somehow merely ancient 00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:23.920 superstitions. One of the ways in which Satan 00:34:23.920 --> 00:34:27.340 enjoys working the most is through false Christianity. 00:34:28.800 --> 00:34:33.760 He has done this from the beginning. It talks 00:34:33.760 --> 00:34:38.480 about those messengers of Satan who disguise 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:42.000 themselves as angels of light. In other words, 00:34:42.019 --> 00:34:44.860 they come on as Christian ministers and Christian 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:48.079 leaders, but in fact are the messengers of Satan. 00:34:49.719 --> 00:34:55.639 Satan is very alive and active. I read an editorial 00:34:55.639 --> 00:35:02.960 in a newspaper I get in which the writer... told 00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:08.059 about a person by the name of Starhawk, a lady, 00:35:08.800 --> 00:35:15.320 and he says I use that term generously, who had 00:35:15.320 --> 00:35:21.539 a seminar in a church, and her seminar was entitled 00:35:21.539 --> 00:35:26.820 Magic, Sex, and Politics. Starhawk has written 00:35:26.820 --> 00:35:31.389 the Spiral Dance colon, the rebirth of the ancient 00:35:31.389 --> 00:35:35.289 religion of the great goddess. That goes together 00:35:35.289 --> 00:35:37.449 with that New Age stuff that I read a few moments 00:35:37.449 --> 00:35:41.510 ago about Wicca and the worship of the goddess. 00:35:41.809 --> 00:35:44.789 That's exactly what it's talking about. She also 00:35:44.789 --> 00:35:48.610 wrote a book called Dreaming the Dark, colon, 00:35:48.929 --> 00:35:50.969 Magic, Sex, and Politics, and that was her subject. 00:35:51.050 --> 00:35:54.369 She claims to be a feminist, a peace activist, 00:35:54.550 --> 00:36:00.760 a private therapist. I'll bet. and a witch who 00:36:00.760 --> 00:36:04.219 teaches and practices the old religion of the 00:36:04.219 --> 00:36:08.400 goddess." Now you say, what church in the world 00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:12.219 would sponsor such a thing as that? It would 00:36:12.219 --> 00:36:16.500 even allow it in its facilities. Where in America 00:36:16.500 --> 00:36:19.980 could that happen, right? Plymouth Congregational 00:36:19.980 --> 00:36:25.159 Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Satan loves 00:36:25.159 --> 00:36:30.320 to use religion. That's his favorite disguise. 00:36:32.239 --> 00:36:35.960 But let's make it a little more personal. You 00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:38.119 see, Satan is not either just working in religious 00:36:38.119 --> 00:36:41.320 leaders, but he also is working in your life 00:36:41.320 --> 00:36:45.380 to seek to neutralize your effectiveness. Satan 00:36:45.380 --> 00:36:49.500 does not care if you are cold or lukewarm in 00:36:49.500 --> 00:36:51.480 your Christianity as long as you don't become 00:36:51.480 --> 00:36:55.480 hot. He doesn't care if you're busy in church 00:36:55.480 --> 00:37:00.400 work. as long as you don't pray. Satan doesn't 00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:03.440 care if you attend services at church as long 00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:07.019 as you don't witness when you leave. He doesn't 00:37:07.019 --> 00:37:09.739 care how much money you give to the church as 00:37:09.739 --> 00:37:12.239 long as you fail to love God with all of your 00:37:12.239 --> 00:37:17.239 heart. Satan is on the attack against you, but 00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:20.920 the encouragement is this, that God's power is 00:37:20.920 --> 00:37:24.110 greater than the powers of darkness. Ephesians 00:37:24.110 --> 00:37:28.469 6, verses 10 through 18. That's a key passage. 00:37:28.969 --> 00:37:33.969 Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his 00:37:33.969 --> 00:37:40.329 might. Put on the whole armor of God. My friend, 00:37:40.449 --> 00:37:44.170 if you are a child of God, you are on the victory 00:37:44.170 --> 00:37:50.650 side because of the victor, Jesus Christ. God 00:37:50.650 --> 00:37:53.789 employs all of your circumstances to accomplish 00:37:53.789 --> 00:37:58.289 His will. Even your failures, your mistakes, 00:37:59.329 --> 00:38:02.030 the consequences that you bear because of past 00:38:02.030 --> 00:38:06.670 sins, all of those God nonetheless employs to 00:38:06.670 --> 00:38:09.389 accomplish His will in you. That should be an 00:38:09.389 --> 00:38:13.530 encouragement to you, soldier. Secondly, God's 00:38:13.530 --> 00:38:16.269 kingdom advances through the proclamation of 00:38:16.269 --> 00:38:21.250 Jesus Christ. We have a job to do. You may feel 00:38:21.250 --> 00:38:24.969 that your witness has fallen on deaf ears. Don't 00:38:24.969 --> 00:38:27.210 forget that your witness is important whether 00:38:27.210 --> 00:38:31.909 it's heard or it's not heard. It's exciting to 00:38:31.909 --> 00:38:35.449 be a part of a church that has a purpose that 00:38:35.449 --> 00:38:39.230 is greater than its members individually. Our 00:38:39.230 --> 00:38:42.409 purpose in part is to be a witness in the Twin 00:38:42.409 --> 00:38:45.809 Cities area to capture the attention of this 00:38:45.809 --> 00:38:48.590 metropolitan area. with our sister churches. 00:38:48.670 --> 00:38:51.829 To be involved in this is a great privilege. 00:38:51.909 --> 00:38:55.170 I hope that you're involved in it. What an encouragement 00:38:55.170 --> 00:38:58.269 to know that God's kingdom advances in this world 00:38:58.269 --> 00:39:03.269 as we proclaim Jesus Christ. And the third encouragement 00:39:03.269 --> 00:39:06.150 I remind you is that God's power overcomes the 00:39:06.150 --> 00:39:10.150 powers of darkness. That is true even in the 00:39:10.150 --> 00:39:12.630 strongholds that Satan may have constructed in 00:39:12.630 --> 00:39:16.429 your life to battle against you. So, enjoy your 00:39:16.429 --> 00:39:20.250 victory and experience it in your daily walk, 00:39:20.809 --> 00:39:23.889 in your relationships, in your temptations, in 00:39:23.889 --> 00:39:27.730 your opportunities. You say, well listen, Pastor, 00:39:27.769 --> 00:39:29.909 all of that sounds really good, but I tell you 00:39:29.909 --> 00:39:36.369 what, I'm already defeated and I quit. I resigned 00:39:36.369 --> 00:39:39.710 from the Army. No, my friend, you didn't resign 00:39:39.710 --> 00:39:43.170 from the Army. You may have gone AWOL, but God's 00:39:43.170 --> 00:39:46.010 going to get you back. You can't quit this army. 00:39:47.110 --> 00:39:49.929 Listen, it's no disgrace to be defeated, having 00:39:49.929 --> 00:39:52.750 done your best, but it is a disgrace to quit. 00:39:54.550 --> 00:39:57.690 Remember the George Washington who defeated the 00:39:57.690 --> 00:40:02.750 English earlier, capitulated to the French in 00:40:02.750 --> 00:40:08.250 the French -Indian War, but he didn't quit. Do 00:40:08.250 --> 00:40:11.889 you remember the man who struck out 1 ,330 times 00:40:11.889 --> 00:40:16.230 at bat? Do you remember his name? Of course not, 00:40:16.349 --> 00:40:19.230 because you remember the fact that he got 714 00:40:19.230 --> 00:40:25.949 home runs. His name was Babe Ruth. It's no disgrace 00:40:25.949 --> 00:40:29.389 to be defeated, but it's a disgrace to quit. 00:40:30.769 --> 00:40:35.769 You may have failed, but your failure is not 00:40:35.769 --> 00:40:38.090 the important thing. It's what you do with that 00:40:38.090 --> 00:40:41.409 failure that counts. How you let God use that 00:40:41.409 --> 00:40:44.300 experience in your life. to strengthen you and 00:40:44.300 --> 00:40:48.440 to teach you. I want to close today with just 00:40:48.440 --> 00:40:54.980 a word that I'm taking from Dr. James Jeremiah 00:40:54.980 --> 00:41:00.400 in a radio presentation that he gave some time 00:41:00.400 --> 00:41:05.920 ago. He writes about Paul Morphy, who was the 00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:09.550 champion chess player of the world. A friend 00:41:09.550 --> 00:41:12.210 of his invited him to come and look at a valuable 00:41:12.210 --> 00:41:14.969 painting that he had purchased. His painting 00:41:14.969 --> 00:41:19.690 was entitled The Chess Player. It represented 00:41:19.690 --> 00:41:24.329 Satan playing chess with a young man, the stake 00:41:24.329 --> 00:41:28.369 of the game being the man's soul. The game had 00:41:28.369 --> 00:41:30.550 reached the stage where it was the young man's 00:41:30.550 --> 00:41:34.530 move, but he was checkmated. There was no move 00:41:34.530 --> 00:41:37.250 he could make that would not mean defeat for 00:41:37.250 --> 00:41:40.269 him. And the strong feature of the picture was 00:41:40.269 --> 00:41:43.730 the look of awful despair on the man's face as 00:41:43.730 --> 00:41:47.789 he realized his soul was lost and the grin on 00:41:47.789 --> 00:41:51.809 Satan's face as he saw his victory. The chess 00:41:51.809 --> 00:41:54.130 champion studied the picture for a time and then 00:41:54.130 --> 00:41:58.349 called for a chess board and some men. Placing 00:41:58.349 --> 00:42:00.530 them exactly in the same position as they were 00:42:00.530 --> 00:42:02.809 in the painting, he said, I'll take the young 00:42:02.809 --> 00:42:07.710 man's place and make the move. And he made some 00:42:07.710 --> 00:42:12.929 moves that set the man free. F .W. Borum said, 00:42:13.409 --> 00:42:16.250 When I heard this story, I thought it was just 00:42:16.250 --> 00:42:19.010 like my life. In the game of life, I was the 00:42:19.010 --> 00:42:21.750 loser. It was my move, but death was in every 00:42:21.750 --> 00:42:25.630 direction. I was in despair when I saw one come 00:42:25.630 --> 00:42:28.630 on the scene who knew all about my life, and 00:42:28.630 --> 00:42:32.190 I recognized in him the only one who could help. 00:42:32.469 --> 00:42:35.840 I turned the game over to him. And He made the 00:42:35.840 --> 00:42:39.860 move that set me free. My friend, that one is 00:42:39.860 --> 00:42:42.360 Jesus Christ, and He can move in your life today 00:42:42.360 --> 00:42:47.380 if you let Him do it. Let's pray together. With 00:42:47.380 --> 00:42:49.519 our heads bowed and our eyes closed, you know 00:42:49.519 --> 00:42:51.480 you could be here today and you feel like the 00:42:51.480 --> 00:42:53.679 person with that chessboard. You feel trapped. 00:42:54.579 --> 00:42:57.159 You feel like every move you make could only 00:42:57.159 --> 00:43:02.059 result in your further defeat, humiliation, maybe 00:43:02.059 --> 00:43:05.909 even death. My friend, there is one on the scene 00:43:05.909 --> 00:43:08.949 who's able to take your place, to make the move 00:43:08.949 --> 00:43:12.710 for you to set you free. Will you look to him 00:43:12.710 --> 00:43:16.250 today? You may need to be saved. You've never 00:43:16.250 --> 00:43:19.849 trusted Christ as your Savior. You need to trust 00:43:19.849 --> 00:43:23.409 him today. Or as a Christian, you may be at a 00:43:23.409 --> 00:43:27.909 point of disobedience and your life is wrecked. 00:43:28.110 --> 00:43:32.960 You're in bondage. There's one who is Wishes 00:43:32.960 --> 00:43:35.039 to set you free if you'll just turn yourself 00:43:35.039 --> 00:43:38.599 afresh to Him. Will you by the uplifted hand 00:43:38.599 --> 00:43:41.199 say, Pastor, God has spoken to me and there are 00:43:41.199 --> 00:43:43.199 some things in my life that I need to take care 00:43:43.199 --> 00:43:46.800 of. Pray for me. I lift my hand to ask you to 00:43:46.800 --> 00:43:54.260 pray. God bless you. Are there others? Yes. Lord, 00:43:54.280 --> 00:43:56.659 I pray that these today who have been spoken 00:43:56.659 --> 00:44:00.960 to will know that next move that you want them 00:44:00.960 --> 00:44:04.570 to make. and will understand what the decision 00:44:04.570 --> 00:44:07.590 clearly needs to be and what the steps are that 00:44:07.590 --> 00:44:11.170 need to be made that you may work powerfully 00:44:11.170 --> 00:44:14.130 in their lives. Lord, I pray today that they 00:44:14.130 --> 00:44:16.369 may know that they are on the side of victory. 00:44:17.210 --> 00:44:18.630 In Jesus' name, amen.