WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.839 Bibles turn to Genesis chapter 3, Genesis chapter 3, just before 8 a.m. on Sunday, December 00:00:10.839 --> 00:00:19.800 the 7th, 1941, near Honolulu, Hawaii, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:27.679 A one-ton bomb hit the USS Arizona battleship, smashed through the deck, and landed in the 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:36.460 ammunition magazine. The ship immediately exploded, sank, and killed a thousand men that were trapped 00:00:36.460 --> 00:00:43.780 inside. Nine battleships were harbored there, and all of them sustained significant damage. 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:52.460 That many more ships were damaged as well, along with 300 airplanes. More than 2,000 people died 00:00:52.460 --> 00:00:59.660 from that attack. Previously, before that, America had played a supportive role for the Allies, 00:01:00.140 --> 00:01:08.019 but things changed that day. It was devastating, but thankfully, all of the aircraft carriers, 00:01:09.019 --> 00:01:17.120 which had become the most potent machine for the military, were out to sea. They were not harbored 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:26.540 there. The submarine docks were not hit either, and the U.S. Navy rebounded quickly. The next day, 00:01:27.100 --> 00:01:32.939 President Franklin Roosevelt declared in a speech that was originally written to say, 00:01:32.939 --> 00:01:44.360 a day which will live in world history, changed the words to say, a day which will live in infamy. 00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:56.280 He declared war on Japan. Three days later, Hitler responded by declaring war on the United States, 00:01:56.280 --> 00:02:04.739 and we were fully engaged in both the European theater as well as the Pacific theater for the next 00:02:04.739 --> 00:02:14.280 four years. That horrible war ended with atomic bombs, and 400,000 American troops did, 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:22.620 along with millions of other worldwide troops and civilians. It forever marked our country, 00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:31.640 and less than 1% of those greatest generation veterans that fought in that war are living today. 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:40.380 For the last 30 years, I have spent much of my ministry bearing many of my friends that fought for our 00:02:40.379 --> 00:02:47.319 country in that war. We ought to thank God for their sacrifice and their service. 00:02:49.120 --> 00:03:03.359 Thank God that war is over. But there is a larger, longer lasting, more unseen, and more devastating war 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:11.520 that rages on. And in the passage that we look at today in Genesis chapter 3, we see a declaration 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:21.860 of war. Adam and Eve had sinned against God, deceived and seduced by the evil one in the form of a snake. 00:03:23.200 --> 00:03:31.280 Blamed, blame was tossed around, but God addressed all of them. And I want you to notice God's words to Satan, 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:38.439 that old snake in the grass. Notice what he says in Genesis chapter 3, verse 14 and 15. 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:43.939 The Lord God said to the serpent, because you've done this, cursed are you above all livestock 00:03:43.939 --> 00:03:53.020 and above all beasts of the field. On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:59.620 I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. 00:04:00.380 --> 00:04:04.860 He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. 00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:15.219 Sin is like an onion. You peel one part of it back and there's another. And layer after layer, 00:04:15.219 --> 00:04:24.779 it just continues to the point it'll make you cry. I want you to begin to see in this passage this morning, 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:35.759 the layers of our sinful conflict. Before the earth was created, before God made us from the dust, 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:45.099 there was conflict in heaven. And that conflict caused a war. And the influence of that war spread 00:04:45.099 --> 00:04:51.740 when the serpent crawled through the garden and pressured a couple into breaking the only command 00:04:51.740 --> 00:04:59.240 that we know that they had. And that, my friend, was the first peeling back of the onion of sin. 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:11.519 It exposed us to a cosmic sinful battle that was already raging. And it grew from that day and it's kept going 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:21.220 throughout history. It spreads the conflict like a wildfire. If you want to understand what's going on in this 00:05:21.220 --> 00:05:27.600 world, go right back to Genesis chapter 3 because this is the foundation of where all of it came from. 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:35.840 We see the ramifications of the conflict that continues on. This first layer is the devil is trying to cripple 00:05:35.840 --> 00:05:41.560 humankind. It's what he wanted to do in Genesis chapter 3, what he wants to do today. It becomes obvious 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:49.620 as God first looks at the serpent. And he tells him that he's cursed and that he shall crawl on his belly and 00:05:49.620 --> 00:05:57.580 eat dust. Now, does that mean that he changed the way the snake got around? Many believe so. 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:05.500 I've seen some pictures along the way of what the serpent may have looked like before. Let me tell you 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:11.760 something, friend. When I see that, I already don't like snakes. One of the reasons I'm Baptist is because 00:06:11.760 --> 00:06:20.879 we don't mess with snakes. Did God change the way that he made snakes? I don't know. 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:33.019 The passage seems to point to that. Regardless, the point is the same. You will crawl on your belly. 00:06:34.019 --> 00:06:41.060 You will bottom out. You will never win. Even when it seems like you're winning, you're not. 00:06:41.060 --> 00:06:49.100 Now, folks, if you hadn't picked up on it yet, he's not only talking to the snake, he's talking to us. 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:56.100 What he said for the snake is the same truth for us. And what he's talking about is the cost of sin. 00:06:57.840 --> 00:07:00.699 Old gospel song the cathedral sang said this, 00:07:00.699 --> 00:07:09.339 Sin will take you farther than you want to go, slowly but wholly taking control. Sin will leave you longer than you want to stay. 00:07:10.099 --> 00:07:12.759 Sin will cost you far more than you want to pay. 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:18.120 Sin never gives all that it promises. 00:07:18.120 --> 00:07:20.720 Sin never gives all that it's like an onion. 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:23.560 Sin never gives all that it's like an onion. You just peel another layer. 00:07:24.899 --> 00:07:28.220 Temptation builds hopes that are false. 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:30.540 And they're made up of lies. 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:34.160 I like what Micah, chapter 7, verse 17, Micah said, 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:38.439 the prophet speaks about the sinful neighboring nations of Judah. 00:07:39.019 --> 00:07:40.220 And he says, 00:07:40.220 --> 00:07:45.040 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:48.860 like the crawling things of the earth. 00:07:50.080 --> 00:07:52.160 Now listen, the snake is the most crafty, 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:54.939 one of the most beautiful creatures that God ever made. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:58.460 What ought to be a beautiful, admired creature 00:07:58.460 --> 00:08:02.920 is now a hissing, slithering, dangerous one. 00:08:03.420 --> 00:08:06.400 He crawls on his belly, never able to rise. 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:07.360 He eats the dust. 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:10.759 He never rises out of the muck and the mire of the dirt of life. 00:08:10.759 --> 00:08:14.680 And so it is with the horrible devastation of sin. 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:19.760 Donald Gray Barnhouse is a strong preacher and writer of yesteryear. 00:08:19.819 --> 00:08:22.879 And he said this in explaining this passage. 00:08:23.260 --> 00:08:23.560 He said, 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:26.660 To eat dust is to no defeat. 00:08:27.860 --> 00:08:31.900 The enemy will always reach for his desires and fall just short of them. 00:08:32.680 --> 00:08:35.340 There will never be continuous aspiration, 00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:37.620 but, excuse me, 00:08:37.659 --> 00:08:40.000 there will be continuous aspiration, 00:08:40.420 --> 00:08:42.560 but never any attainment. 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:45.539 The old rock group said, 00:08:45.819 --> 00:08:47.139 Another one bites the dust. 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:49.919 And we know what they meant. 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:54.719 Because it means the proud will be humiliated. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:58.659 It means the admired will be the most hated. 00:08:59.599 --> 00:09:01.899 It means the crafty will be the cursed. 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:06.439 It is the cost of sin. 00:09:06.440 --> 00:09:12.280 But it also speaks of the conflict of sin. 00:09:13.700 --> 00:09:17.780 We are made to fellowship together with God. 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:21.800 We are to be united in that purpose. 00:09:22.620 --> 00:09:23.600 And due to sin, 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:25.540 there's conflict. 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:29.160 There's not only conflict with God, 00:09:29.460 --> 00:09:31.180 there's conflict with each other. 00:09:31.540 --> 00:09:32.300 There's conflict. 00:09:32.299 --> 00:09:34.599 When sin came, 00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:37.179 an enmity between man and the serpent came. 00:09:37.839 --> 00:09:41.740 Enmity speaks of a deep-seated ill will. 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:47.319 It speaks of an ongoing battle of hatred that takes place. 00:09:48.459 --> 00:09:52.019 And that surely speaks to an ongoing battle between humans and serpents. 00:09:52.719 --> 00:09:53.539 I'm going to test that. 00:09:53.639 --> 00:09:55.839 But more importantly and more deeply than that, 00:09:55.899 --> 00:10:01.599 it speaks of a war of the offspring of women and the evil one. 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:04.000 Now, to be clear about something, 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:07.220 Satan literally does not have any offspring. 00:10:07.580 --> 00:10:08.840 He didn't create the demons. 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:10.659 They were angels. 00:10:11.060 --> 00:10:13.300 Like he, we talked about this a few weeks ago. 00:10:13.420 --> 00:10:14.960 Remember, they have now fallen. 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:16.139 He didn't create them. 00:10:16.779 --> 00:10:18.740 They influence people into being sinners. 00:10:18.899 --> 00:10:22.000 And they become the children of influence of the evil one 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:23.519 when they fall for such sin. 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:28.840 Sometimes false and empty religion can be the same thing. 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:33.620 Jesus called the Pharisees a brood of vipers. 00:10:34.060 --> 00:10:36.320 In other words, an offspring of snakes. 00:10:37.060 --> 00:10:42.500 And what he's saying is that false religion is saying they act like one of the devil of sorts. 00:10:42.660 --> 00:10:46.740 They're too much under his influence in the words in which they say. 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:50.560 That's the kind of war that's raging. 00:10:51.340 --> 00:10:53.500 That's the kind of war that's happening. 00:10:53.700 --> 00:10:56.659 The battle of sin is fighting against God. 00:10:57.060 --> 00:11:00.759 But it's played out by the evil one influencing the children of God. 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:08.620 And Satan and his army work hard to draw us away from God in such a way that it is in fact war. 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:13.480 And verse 15 is a declaration of that war. 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:17.560 It is the conflict that we will have with sin. 00:11:17.700 --> 00:11:19.820 Satan is biting at our heels. 00:11:20.620 --> 00:11:23.360 And we too often are poisoned by that. 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.019 Satan has way too much influence on us. 00:11:27.460 --> 00:11:28.340 It's a war. 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:31.080 I had a man ask me the other day, 00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:35.940 why can't I consistently walk in the spirit of God? 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:42.920 I mean, I pray and I read my Bible and I read devotional works and I still struggle. 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:45.259 With that sinful pattern. 00:11:46.580 --> 00:11:48.800 I do the things that I don't want to do. 00:11:49.960 --> 00:11:51.360 When he said that, I said, 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:53.800 you know who you sound like? 00:11:54.500 --> 00:11:56.120 You sound like the Apostle Paul. 00:11:57.379 --> 00:11:58.879 Romans 7 verse 15 said, 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:00.740 for I don't understand my own actions, 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:03.279 for I do not do what I want, 00:12:03.820 --> 00:12:06.320 but I do the very thing that I hate. 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:08.680 Have you been there? 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:12.099 Don't look at me like that. 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:13.219 We've all been there. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:14.879 We're guilty of it. 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:16.599 It's a war that we're fighting. 00:12:17.479 --> 00:12:18.719 And when Paul says that, 00:12:18.779 --> 00:12:20.879 he's talking about this battle here. 00:12:22.299 --> 00:12:25.819 Dwight D. Eisenhower was our 34th president, 00:12:26.099 --> 00:12:29.039 but also served as the supreme commander in World War II. 00:12:30.019 --> 00:12:31.699 And he said this about war, 00:12:31.779 --> 00:12:34.139 and it's fitting about the spiritual war in which we face. 00:12:34.139 --> 00:12:35.120 He said, 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:38.860 I hate war as only a soldier who has lived in it can. 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:44.580 Only as one who has seen its brutality and its stupidity. 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:47.699 When I read that, 00:12:48.699 --> 00:12:51.019 I thought that's exactly how I feel. 00:12:51.580 --> 00:12:52.819 That's exactly how I feel. 00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:55.600 Sinful battles in people's lives 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:59.240 are filled with brutality and stupidity. 00:12:59.240 --> 00:13:01.519 That's what we're fighting. 00:13:02.519 --> 00:13:04.680 Satan wins way too many battles in our lives, 00:13:04.779 --> 00:13:05.659 but he knows, 00:13:06.139 --> 00:13:08.960 and this may be why he wears us down so, 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:12.960 he knows that he will not win the war. 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:15.779 You can read the back of the book. 00:13:16.379 --> 00:13:17.259 He's already read it. 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:21.200 He knows that he won't win the war, 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:22.659 so he'll bruise us. 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.159 So he'll scar us. 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:27.720 So he'll wound us. 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:30.779 He will strike our heel. 00:13:31.920 --> 00:13:33.040 There'll be a conflict. 00:13:35.420 --> 00:13:37.899 But the passage also speaks, 00:13:38.180 --> 00:13:39.820 and thank God I ain't got to stop there, 00:13:41.019 --> 00:13:42.920 of the conquest of sin. 00:13:45.259 --> 00:13:47.720 Because sin is to be conquered. 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:51.840 In the midst of our sinful struggles, 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:55.580 and in the conflicts of our sinful nature, 00:13:55.580 --> 00:14:00.300 we must never forget who felt the real pain. 00:14:01.540 --> 00:14:04.139 For the heel that the devil struck 00:14:04.139 --> 00:14:07.800 due to our sin was Christ. 00:14:09.300 --> 00:14:10.980 More than we have to face, 00:14:11.920 --> 00:14:13.540 he faced it all on our behalf. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:18.060 Many children of dear women will fight the battle of sin, 00:14:18.059 --> 00:14:23.719 but Jesus Christ has won the battle. 00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:25.579 It's only been won by one. 00:14:27.259 --> 00:14:31.439 I don't want you to miss the prophecy here in verse 15, 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:32.659 and it's easy to do, 00:14:33.119 --> 00:14:34.479 but I want to point it out to you 00:14:34.479 --> 00:14:35.379 because it's kind of odd. 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:36.839 It's an odd passage. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:40.199 It says the offspring of the woman, 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:42.300 but if you literally look at that passage, 00:14:42.980 --> 00:14:44.200 in the original language, 00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:47.259 it really says the seed of a woman. 00:14:47.400 --> 00:14:50.500 It's translated offspring in many translations, 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:53.120 but it speaks of the seed of a woman. 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:54.560 Now, normally in Scripture, 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:57.420 when you see the word offspring, 00:14:58.580 --> 00:15:01.600 that seed, it always speaks to a man 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:05.320 because Abraham's offspring, for instance, 00:15:05.400 --> 00:15:08.980 is often spoken of as if it was his seed. 00:15:08.980 --> 00:15:10.659 That's the word that's used there 00:15:10.659 --> 00:15:13.139 when it speaks of Abraham's offspring. 00:15:13.420 --> 00:15:16.759 And just a really quick lesson in biology 00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:18.600 because I am scientifically challenged 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:22.000 is the man provides the seed 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:25.320 and the woman provides the egg. 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:28.600 But here, the passage says, 00:15:29.139 --> 00:15:32.159 it is the seed of a woman. 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.779 Why? 00:15:34.779 --> 00:15:34.840 Why? 00:15:36.379 --> 00:15:38.920 My friend, this is the first prophecy 00:15:38.919 --> 00:15:42.199 of the virgin-born Christ. 00:15:43.539 --> 00:15:47.439 This is the first prophetic proclamation 00:15:47.439 --> 00:15:49.219 of the gospel. 00:15:49.719 --> 00:15:51.319 Now, listen, it ain't gonna be long 00:15:51.319 --> 00:15:52.139 before we see more, 00:15:52.699 --> 00:15:55.039 but this is the first one that we see here. 00:15:57.599 --> 00:16:01.279 Satan's efforts are rough on us, 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:05.419 but it's not near as strong and rough 00:16:05.419 --> 00:16:08.000 as it was for the Lord Jesus. 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:11.179 He was hated by church leaders. 00:16:12.379 --> 00:16:14.819 He was mocked by those that followed him 00:16:14.819 --> 00:16:16.860 just days earlier that followed him, 00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:17.959 were fed by him. 00:16:18.220 --> 00:16:20.339 Some of those very folks mocked him. 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:23.019 He was nearly beat to death. 00:16:23.019 --> 00:16:26.360 He hung in agony on a Roman cross 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:28.980 that took his respect away, 00:16:29.539 --> 00:16:31.340 took his dignity away, 00:16:31.539 --> 00:16:33.460 took his life away. 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:37.419 It was a rough strike of the heel, 00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:40.299 but it was only a strike. 00:16:40.299 --> 00:16:44.199 It was not a defeat, 00:16:45.199 --> 00:16:48.539 for his death was nothing more. 00:16:48.719 --> 00:16:51.139 Christ's death was nothing more but a strike, 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:53.299 because we're gonna celebrate in a month. 00:16:54.279 --> 00:16:58.039 His resurrection was the crushing of the head. 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:00.740 Now, oh, the body of the snake still slithers. 00:17:02.079 --> 00:17:04.240 Chickens run without their heads for a little bit. 00:17:05.460 --> 00:17:08.539 Snakes will slime around headless for a time. 00:17:08.539 --> 00:17:09.980 I'm still gonna run from them. 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:14.659 A final declaration of defeat 00:17:14.659 --> 00:17:16.259 will come when the Lord returns, 00:17:16.399 --> 00:17:18.859 but I want you to know today, 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:21.940 because of the cross of Christ, 00:17:22.839 --> 00:17:26.019 he breaks the power of canceled sin. 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:31.200 He sets the sin-sick prisoners of sin free. 00:17:31.819 --> 00:17:34.859 His blood can make the foulest clean. 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:38.299 His blood availed for me. 00:17:38.539 --> 00:17:43.460 Yet even with that, the battle rages on. 00:17:44.839 --> 00:17:47.539 It rages in our lives. 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:50.399 Let's be honest. 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:53.059 If not with anybody else, 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:55.819 with the Lord and with ourself, 00:17:56.659 --> 00:18:00.659 the battle rages in this very sanctuary this morning. 00:18:00.660 --> 00:18:03.759 In the hearts and lives of folks 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:06.519 who are dealing with habits 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:08.840 and struggles 00:18:08.840 --> 00:18:11.140 and attention 00:18:11.140 --> 00:18:14.259 that's somewhat indescribable. 00:18:14.259 --> 00:18:20.240 I would not doubt 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:23.539 that someone here this morning 00:18:23.539 --> 00:18:25.279 needs Christ. 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:29.299 Maybe you've never surrendered your life 00:18:29.299 --> 00:18:30.980 to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:34.059 But when you're honest about it, 00:18:34.940 --> 00:18:36.319 you're too proud to admit it. 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:40.619 You're too temporarily satisfied 00:18:40.619 --> 00:18:44.139 to surrender. 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:47.839 You're too uncertain about what all that means 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:50.599 to do it. 00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:53.019 There's a great possibility 00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:54.740 that someone here needs Jesus this morning 00:18:54.740 --> 00:18:56.500 and will walk out of here without him, 00:18:57.339 --> 00:18:58.799 knowing the whole time 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:01.699 that he or she needs the Lord. 00:19:01.700 --> 00:19:03.039 but too proud, 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:05.640 too caught up, 00:19:06.500 --> 00:19:07.559 too uncertain. 00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:11.960 That's part of that battle. 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:15.900 It's a battle for the souls of men and women 00:19:15.900 --> 00:19:16.740 and boys and girls. 00:19:16.860 --> 00:19:18.080 It's a battle, friend. 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:25.200 When we become aware 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:28.120 of our sinful state, 00:19:28.119 --> 00:19:31.139 when we know in our heart 00:19:31.139 --> 00:19:32.339 where we are with God, 00:19:32.419 --> 00:19:33.179 I want you to understand 00:19:33.179 --> 00:19:33.979 that comes from God. 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:34.879 That don't come from us. 00:19:35.879 --> 00:19:36.959 That comes from God 00:19:36.959 --> 00:19:38.459 making us aware of those things. 00:19:39.959 --> 00:19:41.139 That kind of sensitivity 00:19:41.139 --> 00:19:42.699 is not innate within us. 00:19:43.959 --> 00:19:45.059 Scripture says that we are 00:19:45.059 --> 00:19:46.559 dead in our sins 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:49.119 with no sense of our need for God 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:52.799 unless Christ makes us aware. 00:19:54.619 --> 00:19:56.899 And to the one that is aware today 00:19:56.900 --> 00:19:59.280 and needs to come to Christ, 00:19:59.420 --> 00:20:00.420 but by coming, 00:20:01.780 --> 00:20:05.320 it seems too much of a stretch. 00:20:06.360 --> 00:20:07.640 And by not coming, 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:11.019 you put your life in your hands. 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:13.820 It's like pulling a pin of a hand grenade 00:20:13.820 --> 00:20:14.960 and waiting 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:18.160 before you let it go off. 00:20:21.540 --> 00:20:23.420 And I don't know how long that takes, 00:20:23.420 --> 00:20:27.200 but I know I don't want to do it. 00:20:28.860 --> 00:20:30.880 I know I don't want to take a chance like that. 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:34.180 So let me tell you this morning, 00:20:34.620 --> 00:20:36.400 if you are without Christ, 00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:39.560 if there's never been a time in your life 00:20:39.560 --> 00:20:40.740 when you've surrendered your life 00:20:40.740 --> 00:20:41.800 to the Lord Jesus Christ 00:20:41.800 --> 00:20:43.580 and asked Him to forgive you of your sins, 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:44.940 to come into your life 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:45.560 and to cleanse you 00:20:45.560 --> 00:20:47.060 and to change you from this day forward, 00:20:47.660 --> 00:20:49.840 you are in a fight. 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:52.359 The struggle that you feel this morning, 00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:55.159 the pressure that you feel is a fight. 00:20:56.119 --> 00:20:58.459 And the devil will try his best 00:20:58.459 --> 00:21:01.519 to put a spiritual chokehold on you 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:03.819 and keep you from doing what God would have you do. 00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:07.919 God will bruise His head on your behalf, 00:21:08.259 --> 00:21:10.279 but you have to surrender your life to Him. 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:13.679 Not to the evil one applying the pressure, 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:16.400 but surrender your life to God, 00:21:16.539 --> 00:21:19.160 providing the victory 00:21:19.160 --> 00:21:23.200 for even more of us. 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:27.480 There are Christians in this room 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:30.640 that are still bogged down doing 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:32.680 what you don't want to do. 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:35.980 And I want you to know today 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:38.940 by the power of the Spirit of God 00:21:38.940 --> 00:21:41.519 and because of the blood of Christ 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:42.560 that was shed for you 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:45.940 and because of your commitment to follow Him, 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:48.359 God will provide you victory 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:50.539 over the habits of sin 00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:52.359 that so plague your life. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:54.720 Walk away from them today. 00:21:57.220 --> 00:21:58.259 You can. 00:21:59.099 --> 00:22:00.460 I promise you can. 00:22:01.559 --> 00:22:02.619 You can walk away from it. 00:22:02.819 --> 00:22:03.299 Be clear. 00:22:04.679 --> 00:22:05.359 It's a war. 00:22:07.139 --> 00:22:08.299 And it's real. 00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:11.480 The war that we can't see 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:13.180 is larger than the one that we can. 00:22:13.940 --> 00:22:16.200 With all the havoc that's happening in this world. 00:22:16.460 --> 00:22:18.379 With all the havoc that's happening in this country. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:21.639 With all the havoc that may be happening in your home. 00:22:22.740 --> 00:22:23.899 With all of that, 00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:25.879 what's even more real than any of that 00:22:25.879 --> 00:22:28.180 is the war that we cannot see. 00:22:29.180 --> 00:22:31.180 It is a war and it is a real one 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:32.399 and it is declared here. 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:35.960 However, it is a war that was won on Calvary. 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:38.960 Thank God we can be victorious today. 00:22:39.380 --> 00:22:42.780 We can be victorious every day until Christ comes. 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:46.840 Don't let the floppy bottle of a headless serpent scare you. 00:22:47.580 --> 00:22:48.759 There's no need for it to. 00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:53.279 Jesus is the anti-venom 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:55.619 for the serpent's bite. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:22:59.019 You put your life in the Lord's hands 00:22:59.019 --> 00:23:02.220 and you walk out of here free today. 00:23:03.619 --> 00:23:06.400 Strengthened only by the Spirit of God. 00:23:08.500 --> 00:23:09.779 With every head bowed 00:23:09.779 --> 00:23:11.980 and every eye closed, 00:23:12.920 --> 00:23:16.000 I want you to be real with God. 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:18.779 You don't have to be real with me, 00:23:19.380 --> 00:23:21.180 but you need to be real with God. 00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:24.839 You need to really see what God's showing you this morning. 00:23:26.900 --> 00:23:28.079 If you're here this morning 00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:31.420 and you've never surrendered your life 00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:32.640 to the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:35.539 never asked Him to forgive you of your sins, 00:23:35.640 --> 00:23:37.140 to come into your life and save you, 00:23:37.220 --> 00:23:38.920 I want you to know today is the day of salvation. 00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:41.579 That everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord 00:23:41.579 --> 00:23:42.579 shall be saved. 00:23:42.579 --> 00:23:45.960 And the only reason you sense that need 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:47.660 is because God is drawing you. 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:49.759 Now I promise you there's a tension there. 00:23:50.579 --> 00:23:52.240 There may be a struggle there. 00:23:52.980 --> 00:23:54.220 That's the war, folks. 00:23:54.840 --> 00:23:56.920 That's the battle that we're in the midst of. 00:23:59.840 --> 00:24:01.279 You take that first step. 00:24:01.980 --> 00:24:04.019 As soon as we stand and sing in just a moment, 00:24:04.100 --> 00:24:05.259 you take that first step. 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:08.559 And I promise you it gets easier with every other step. 00:24:09.360 --> 00:24:10.680 You just follow the Lord. 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:13.480 Just give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus today. 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:17.099 Maybe you're here and you know that you have done that. 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:19.460 You nailed that down. 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:21.779 Your life is in the Lord's hands. 00:24:21.860 --> 00:24:23.180 But you've never told anybody. 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:25.599 You've never publicly acknowledged that. 00:24:25.740 --> 00:24:28.420 And Jesus, by His commission and by His example, 00:24:29.220 --> 00:24:32.660 shows us that baptism is the way to let others know about that. 00:24:32.660 --> 00:24:37.200 God, I want to encourage you to make what's private in your life public today. 00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:40.060 To honor the Lord in that way. 00:24:41.259 --> 00:24:43.740 Maybe God is drawing you to be a part of this church. 00:24:45.019 --> 00:24:47.320 You have joined us for a part of this journey 00:24:47.320 --> 00:24:49.840 and you feel drawn here to be a part of it. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:52.580 I want to encourage you to just follow the Lord. 00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:55.320 We'd love to guide you in that process. 00:24:55.460 --> 00:24:55.900 You come. 00:24:55.900 --> 00:25:01.640 For the most of us, the reality is, 00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:04.540 there's a battle raging within us. 00:25:05.820 --> 00:25:07.720 One that we've paid too much attention to. 00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:11.019 And at the same time, one we've let go too much. 00:25:13.060 --> 00:25:16.019 Today, will you lay that before the Lord? 00:25:17.800 --> 00:25:21.320 Will you claim His promise that He gives us the strength to walk away from it? 00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:28.059 Lord, these steps and this stage is an altar for us to lay it down before the Lord. 00:25:28.139 --> 00:25:28.700 You can do it here. 00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:29.639 You can do it where you are. 00:25:30.339 --> 00:25:33.039 I just encourage you not to just sing through this song 00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:35.319 and ignore what God's doing in your heart and life today. 00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:38.119 You obey Him as He speaks. 00:25:39.779 --> 00:25:43.119 Lord Jesus, I pray that if there's any hindrance in this place, 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:47.159 any misunderstanding about the message, dear God, 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:50.079 Lord, will you clarify all that? 00:25:51.500 --> 00:25:54.319 God, if there's any barrier, will you remove it, dear Father? 00:25:55.299 --> 00:25:58.579 Will you help us to walk in the way that you would have us to go, dear God? 00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:03.259 Lord, may we honor you by simply being obedient and following you today. 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:06.359 Whatever other voices that we hear, 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:08.759 whatever other feelings that we feel, 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:10.799 God, help us to ignore them 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:12.919 and just follow your lead 00:26:12.919 --> 00:26:15.220 as you speak to our hearts and lives. 00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:16.939 We love you, Lord. 00:26:17.500 --> 00:26:18.819 We surrender to you. 00:26:19.399 --> 00:26:21.279 Have your will and your way in our midst right now. 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:23.740 In Jesus' precious name, amen.