Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Spiritual Warfare Pt.10

Hallelujah! I don't know how many of you were able to go into the basement and see the decorations this year for the formal. As usual, the kids did a great job--and a lot of fun down there. Different theme--each year it's different. You wonder how they're going to come up with a new idea and new decorations, but they did and each year it's outstanding. So it you haven't been down there, you might want to go down and check it out. Take a little walk on the boardwalk down there and enjoy yourself. Take your shoes off; walk on the beach. No sand in your shoes. It's great, praise God--that miracle sand.

We want to go ahead and take a few minutes as we finish up the study that we've been doing on spiritual warfare. Getting some of the reports back from the Home Fellowship Groups, it seemed like we had a good hold on the main points that we were dealing with, getting our hearts stirred back up to realize again that we're at war--your life, your children are at risk. There's a very real enemy that's out there: our adversary the devil, going about seeking whom he may devour.

We talked about those who were susceptible to being destroyed and devoured, and the thing that I want to make very clear to you is this: that the more you try to protect your family in the natural, the greater preys they become. So it's very, very important that you understand your weapons are not carnal; they're mighty through God, amen? You see, all you need to do is begin to trust in the arm of the flesh and trust in Egypt, and everything that you've tried to preserve will be destroyed--great, the Scripture says, is going to be the fall of that house. But if we have that confidence that God's gone before us and that all we have to do is hold our peace and the Lord is going to fight for us, what a rest it brings and what a confidence when God is then able to disperse His ministering spirits that create a hedge around us. Aren't you glad tonight for the angels that are given charge over us lest we dash our foot against a stone? It's so much better to trust in God's arsenal and in God's protection.

How much greater for you and I to rest in the weapons of God, the warfare of praise, as the singers go forth and sing praise to the Lord, and He sets ambushments up against the enemy--to be able to see with spiritual eyes and not be moved by circumstances, but as the prophet of old, pray and say, "Lord, open his eyes." And the young man's eyes are opened, and he looks around the mountains that are surrounding them and they're filled with fiery chariots of the heavenly hosts. As a prophet of God you can speak to your children and say, "There's more for us than there are for them, praise God!" Have you been able to do that and be able to cause your children to trust in the unseen and to trust in the supernatural?

That's the heritage that we want to leave. That's the confidence that we want to build into them, as God is delivering us from the bondage of Egypt, and the supernatural hand of God--not only in the signs and wonders, but in the deliverance itself as the presence of God became that great pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud. It was shade by day and comfort, it was a light by night, and it says that it kept the armies of Egypt so that they couldn't even come near to the children of Israel. It held them at bay so that God could miraculously cause those to cross over on the dry land as Moses stood and the staff was raised and the seas parted. Let me ask you something: at a time like that, would you rather have an automatic weapon in your hand or the rod of Moses?

So we begin to understand where the Spirit of God is speaking to us and what our preservation really is and where our life is. And we saw as we were studying this morning that the eyes of the Lord are searching to and fro on the earth, and He's looking for those that He might show Himself mighty on their behalf--a people whose eyes are on Him, a people that are trusting and not leaning to their own understanding. He made a promise to His children that He would send out a fear before us and destroy all of the people that we would come in contact with, and they would turn their backs. They're going to come against us in one way, the Scripture says, and flee in seven; and one will put a thousand to flight and two, ten thousand.

Our confidence needs to be in the Lord tonight and in the power of His might. We saw that the thing that's going to activate that is for you and I to be able to return to that dependence, a total dependence, upon the Greater One that's living within us and an acquisition of all of those promises that have been made to us, because "...without faith it is impossible to please him." A confidence in God as we cast our care upon Him, knowing that He cares for us, the Scripture says. That's our strength tonight, beloved: the understanding of our Father's good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.

Have you sensed any anxiety in your life in this day that we're living in? Have you really come to that place of wondering if God really cares? Then your armor is down--you have no hope; there is no strength--if Satan has caused your mind now to be caught up with the cares of this world. "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6).

Are you at peace tonight? That's the armor of God. See, everything that would steal your peace are the fiery darts of the enemy. Everything that would cause you to walk in doubt and in fear and in judgment of the promises of God to bless you is the carnal mind. It's showing again that independence, and I guarantee one of the greatest ways of determining whether or not you're moving in that independent spirit is whether you're afraid or not. You're running scared, your decisions are based on fear--fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of the future (the unknown), the fear of having to face reality and admit who and what you really are. But the man that's walking in the Spirit and understands the love and the care of His Heavenly Father is able to enter into that rest. And there's a labor to enter into the rest Hebrews tells us, and that labor is the one of obedience. It's choosing to go against what's natural and to be able to choose the truth of God's Word.

So, many times we find ourselves then where we were this morning, and that's just a little overview of the basic thoughts that we've been dealing with. But we were looking this morning and talking about Asa and the attack of the Ethiopians, and I commented this morning--and I want to reemphasize this; it's so important for us. We mistake character many times--and I didn't say it this way; I'll just address it this way for this evening--we mistake character many times when God miraculously delivers us and we find ourselves in a position of hopelessness and helplessness to where there is no other alternative but God. And in His mercy, then, He manifests His glory and delivers us, and in the process we receive benefits: spoils of the Ethiopians, whatever it might be that becomes a benefit of it, the healing of our bodies, the driving away of adversity, whatever it is. Somehow now we take that and because of what God has blessed us with, we seem to think that somehow there's a merit in that and that there's character involved. We fall into the trap that He spoke of when they were to go into the Promised Land, and that's that we think that by our own hands we've attained these things.

I was mentioning this to the men in our breakfast yesterday, and I could tell some were looking and they were really wrestling with some of the statements that I was making. I was sharing with them some of the different things that we have to deal with, and one of the temptations that we're facing all the time is, in the natural, not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. But at the same time that we're dealing with this, we're realizing that the Scripture talks to us about the confidence of the Greater One that's in us and the fact that we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us.

We have to balance out faith and that confidence in God's ability and distinguish that from our own ability. And if we're not careful, we'll fall into the delusion that Peter had. You remember when he said, Lord, though everyone else will forsake you, you don't have to worry about me; I'm there? And tragically, it led up to his denial and defection from the lordship of Jesus. And later in his maturity, when asked if he loved the Lord more than all that God had provided him, his response was as a mature man, "Lord, thou knowest..." I'm not going to make the mistake of saying anymore: Of course I do, Lord; You know that I--God everything I have, I'll never leave You!

I shared with the men yesterday, you know, put in Stephen's position, I don't know how I would respond in that given situation. I really don't know. I don't believe I could respond as Stephen did. In fact, I'm confident that at this very moment I could not respond as Stephen did and say, Lord, (Thock!) forgive them (Thock!), they don't know what they're doing. I have a feeling that my response would be more like James and John to want to call fire down. And yet that's not one of the alternatives unless God speaks it as He did in Elijah's ministry. What am I talking about? Dependence again. You see, you no more have the faith to call the fire down as Elijah did than you do to have the character and the patience to be stoned as Stephen did because without Him we can do nothing. And He chooses the method in which He sustains us. But I was sharing with the men, as much as I don't believe that at this moment I possess that, I believe with all of my heart that put in that same circumstance, the grace would be present to help in the time of need. Do you believe that tonight?

You see, where the devil can get you is if he starts telling you right now: that's not in you; you can't do that. And he begins to strike fear in your heart, and he begins to cause you to doubt not only yourself but the Lord. I want to tell you something. His grace is sufficient, amen? And He will not allow you to be tempted past that that you're able to stand, and with every temptation, the Scripture says, He makes the way of escape, praise God! That's that daily dependence that we're talking about that's so necessary for us to walk in if we're going to please God. But what would Satan have us do? He would have us begin to trust in the arm of the flesh, and that brings us back to where we were in this morning's study. Let's go back to Isaiah 30 and to 2 Chronicles 15 and 16 and allow the Lord to speak to us from these passages so that we can tie these pieces together as we end this study on spiritual warfare.

You're never weaker than when you think you're strong, and His strength is made perfect in weakness--or our awareness of total dependence upon Him. And we saw in Isaiah 30 that the Lord said, You're a rebellious people, taking counsel but not of Me, and you're covered with another covering that's not My presence and it's not My wisdom (My purposes being effected). You're trusting now, He says in Isaiah 30 in that 1^st and 2^nd verse--you're trusting in the world's system and in idols. Then we came over to Chronicles, and we began to look at Asa. And we saw his dependence upon the Lord as the Ethiopians were coming upon him, and we saw the crying out to God for preservation.

We said it's easier to believe God when there's absolutely no other resources at hand, but we don't find ourselves in that situation here in America. As I've been around the world and sharing the gospel and in many of these countries laying hands on people by the thousands with broken bodies and tumors, lame, blind, deaf, tormented by disease, and they would come seeking someone to say, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." Burned into my mind and burned into my heart are the miracles that we've seen as we've laid hands on the sick and watched them miraculously recover. Even as I'm speaking right now, my mind is racing, and I'm seeing faces that are still there after all these years and healings that had manifested. Some of those in Haiti--that young boy. I'll never forget him as long as I live, as God opened his ears and he heard for the first time and the expression on his face as those hopeless dull eyes began to light with the gospel encounter that illuminated his spirit. I'll never forget the healings and the miracles in Korea as God was delivering those that were lame and tumors dissolving before your very eyes as you went about in the simplicity of the gospel with weapons that were not carnal but mighty through God. Whether it's in Africa or whether it's in Korea or whether it's in India or whether it's in Haiti, there's one common denominator, and you know what it is? They don't have doctors to go to, and they don't have health plans, and their eyes have to be upon the Lord. And it's frankly easier to believe God when there are no other alternatives.

So Asa was able to believe, and a million that were coming against him--there was no way in the natural that they could win this battle. Yet God delivered them from the Ethiopians, and the treasures that they received were immeasurable. The treasures, as we saw this morning, were then put into the House of God. And now, another foe is beginning to come toward them, and as Israel begins to move on Judah, he begins to surmise how we can deal with this. I know: we'll go ahead and take all of the treasures that we got from the Ethiopians and all of the treasure of the temple, and we'll go and we'll solicit the Syrians to break their pact (their covenant), defect and become a protector of ourselves at this particular juncture. We'll bribe them to break the covenant with Israel. They had resources that they didn't have before. Interesting enough, the resources they had were God's blessings that are now being misused. God's blessings that are now being trusted in instead of the source, the Lord Himself.

This is where we left off this morning. You remember these words coming very powerfully in chapter 16, verse 9 as the prophet of God brings the rebuke and reminds Asa in verse 8, "Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many [300] chariots and horsemen? [far greater than this enemy] yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the Lord [verse 9] run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him."

Is your heart perfect toward God tonight? Perfect, just meaning mature. It means you're seeking God first; it means you're trusting wholly in Him. The prophet speaks and says, "...thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars." You've given access into your life by the enemy now to prey upon all of these appetites that you've acquired for the natural. You've given access into your life; you've shown your vulnerability and given place. Tragic, isn't it? This man who received the prophecy of Azariah back in chapter 15, verse two, "... The Lord is with you, while ye be with him..." Let me expound upon that for just a moment: the Lord is with you while you be with him. The moment you turn your heart, your determination, your thought processes to the world--it's wisdom and it's methods--the Lord is no longer with you. He is with you while you're with Him.

I want to tell you something. He will let you trust in Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and He will let you trust in E.F. Hutton, and He will let you trust in an army of one, and He will let you trust in the wisdom of our institutions of higher learning, but the Lord will only be with you while you're with Him. "And if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, [say it with me] he will forsake you." I tell you, man, this is what it's all about. You've got to understand something, and this is vital for us to see.

Exodus 34--keep your fingers here in Chronicles for just a moment and go over to Exodus 34. I want you to see this: if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. But wait a minute. Doesn't the Scripture say the Lord said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee"? He won't as long as you're trusting in Him, as long as you're seeking Him. When you seek Him with all of your heart, you will find Him. When you seek Him early, He is present to help. Draw nigh unto God, He will draw nigh unto you, the Scripture says. But in Exodus 34 we find the foundational principle on what that statement is based by the prophet, where he says in verse 12, "Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves."

Now, we're specifically told how we respond to the world's gods, and we've just articulated what some of their gods are just a moment ago. We've talked about the philosophies of the world's system--all that's the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that we've been emphasizing week after week now. Everything that's a derivative of that fruit from the midst of the tree--all of our confidence in science, in philosophy, whatever the different hopes are placed upon--it's the fruit of worldly wisdom. We showed that it's real, that it works, that it can produce empires. There's a power to it. It all belongs to Satan and to whoever he desires to give it.

That wisdom has found a way around virtually every judgment of God. Think about it. What's the curse that was put on man? And he lives by the sweat of his brow, and yet man's finding ways that that's no longer the case. The curse of woman and her subordination to the man, and ERA's taking care of that. They don't even have to have childbirth anymore; you can just take a few little parts of each one and shake up a test tube and out comes Junior. Genetic engineering to where we're wanting to do away with aging and death. Man's come around the Tower of Babel through all of our technological means of communicating, defying the judgment of God--a spirit that says, "I will be like the most High".

Those who put their confidence in that spirit have prospered without Him. Kingdoms have been built without Him, and yet He says, "...without me ye can do nothing"--nothing acceptable of Me, nothing that's going to last, because the fire of my wrath is going to purify all of it. There's no fellowship between light and darkness. When you go into the world I want you to pull down their groves. I want you to see them for what they are. "Thou shat have no other gods before me." Look what He goes on to say in the next verse "...for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God" (Exodus 34:14). God reveals a new name in this 34^th chapter of Exodus; a side of His character that not a lot of people are familiar with: the jealous God. He said, "[You be very careful, verse 15, that you don't] make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice."

Can I ask you something? Are you sitting down on the job and admiring these that have gone a whoring after their gods and envying their successes and envying their methods and their technologies and how they're able to sell their product by lying and deceiving and conning? Have you gone a whoring and sat down in admiration of the way the world's wisdom works and how success can be achieved? "Oh, I wouldn't do that!" But what's in your heart in how you perceive them? Be careful lest they call you and say, "Eat of this sacrifice. I'll share it with you. I'll give you a little inside information." Where is our heart, and where is our trust? Because every time we go and partake of the world's wisdom, we create a response in the heart of a jealous God, and it's important for us to understand the consequence of that because we saw over in Chronicles that if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

So as we look at Asa and the prophecy that came to him in that 15^th chapter of Chronicles, see the jealous God, see Him speaking through His prophet here and says, "The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you." They were in that trouble because the Scripture said they were a long season without God's presence and without a teaching priest and without the law.

Anytime you're away from the presence of God, when you're not spending time in prayer and fasting and in seeking the presence of God in worship, anytime you've just got into ritual sacrifices--oh beloved, make sure that when you come up here on Tuesdays in prayer and we come up at the other times, that you're not just going rote through some type of a system. Dear Lord, if you're coming in here and you're spending the exact same amount of time every time you're in here--you pop in at 7 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. on the dot, boom, you're one of the herd that goes out--then you might ought to be asking yourself whether or not you're partaking of religion or you've encountered the presence of God. I find it hard to believe that He is always finished talking to us at exactly the same time.

It's very important for us to understand what we're doing here. Are you fulfilling a requirement that's been placed upon us? And we've spoken it as something that's required here. We're speaking it and saying this is something you need to do, but if it's only for that reason that it's being done, He'll forsake you. The teaching priest that stood before you and the law that's been held up as a standard in our midst is only the vehicle to bring you into the presence of the living God. I want to tell you something. When you've tasted of Him, He's good, and you can't get enough. It's not how quick can I get out of here? I don't know about you, but I see those times as the highlights of the day--that opportunity to be refreshed and to be able to rest in Him.

Go back to Isaiah 30 and let's look at that as we close for tonight and shut this particular study down--see how many of you found the key words that we were talking about. You see, there's an interesting statement that's made in this 30^th chapter. He talks about that trust, that reliance in the shadow of Egypt, in the strength of Pharaoh, verse 2 tells us. But look at verse 3, "Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion."

Remember we talked about the carnal mind cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God because they're foolishness? Can I ask you something tonight: are you confused? Do you find yourself confused, and whenever you get thrown into one of these situations your mind starts racing and you're just not sure what to do and all of a sudden all of the principles aren't there, when in fact the Scripture says if you hide His Word in your heart, you won't sin against Him? Do you understand what our weapon is according to Ephesians--the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God? Not just hearing, not just memorizing, but doing it? Our obedience is what causes us now to receive more illumination and strengthens our hands to war.

You see when you're trusting in Pharaoh and you're trusting in the shadow of Egypt, you're confused--"A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." "I don't know what to do!" You ought to know what to do before you're in the situation. What do you mean you don't know what to do? I don't understand! "Pastor, I just don't know what to do. My electric bill is due, and it looks like the only thing that I can pay that electric bill with is the tithe, and I just don't know what to do." What do you mean you don't know what to do? You honor God with the firstfruits of your substance! The tithe is the Lord's! What do you mean you don't know what to do? "I'm just so confused!" How can you be confused in a situation like this? Confusion comes from one place. You've got too much of Pharaoh's spirit in you and too much of the world, and I don't know how you've ever arrived at the conclusion that your electric bill is equal to God's glory!

We've got heretics like Fred Price that are out there teaching that man ought to be honored first and that you should pay your electric bill first because you made a covenant with that company that if they brought that juice to your house, you would pay for it! I want to tell you something. We've got a covenant that's a lot bigger than that covenant. And I'll tell you another thing. You can live without electricity, but you can't live without the presence of God!

He said if you don't honor Him, you're going to be found with dung in your faces. Don't you dare bring Me your halt, and your lame, and your blind. And of course that judgment's upon the priesthood first because they were the ones that were tolerating it from the people. How many of you know why the priests were allowing the people to bring in all those broken up offerings--how many of you know why the priests were not challenging the people? Because they were moving by the same Pharaoh spirit that said, "Well, something's better than nothing. If we put the standard up too high, we won't get anything; nobody will come." Who are you trying to honor, and where is the Word of God in your hearts today? Look at it: "...Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion."

Now you can take this and apply it to any principle you want that you know is God's Word to us. "Pastor, I don't know what to do. This particular individual I'm in love with is not a believer, and I just don't know what to do." What do you mean you don't know what to do? "Well you know, we've been going out, and I'm just so emotionally involved." Do you know how many times in churches this scenario arises? It's one of the premier incidents in any church.

Now we've done something here to try to prevent that, haven't we? And one of the things, of course, is we teach the Word of God, and we say you can't be unequally yoked together with unbelievers--there is no fellowship between light and darkness. There is absolutely no way that anybody would perform a marriage between you and an unbeliever. So the standard is set, but in the hearts of those around us there would be this type of a thought process in Pharaoh's wisdom: "Well, I know that's the standard here, but I just really believe that this is what God would have me to do. We'll go get married at the J.P. Can we still come and fellowship?" Do you know we've had that asked? Of course you can fellowship here! You're going to need this body now more than ever before! But what are you trusting in?

We have a young man that's getting ready to go away to college, and he's received counsel concerning some of these principles. And this young man making the statements: "Well, at this particular Bible school that I'm going to they believe in dating, and they're good Christians. We know that we at Calvary don't date, but other Christians do and therefore it's that particular environment. I know we don't do it here..." Now, why don't we? Well, there's a Bible passage that says, "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?" I don't care what school you go to, what state you go to, what country you go to. There is a principle. You are not the exception, and you will be burned, period! So what do you do? I don't care if the rest of the world's doing it that way. All it's going to bring you--the fact that that Christian group (whatever church it might be, whatever college it might be) takes the wisdom of the world and intermingles it with the wisdom of God doesn't make it right. It doesn't change the consequences that it will be your shame, and it will bring you confusion, period!

So what can we do; what do we do as a people? We saw that we're to go and to pull these altars down and to destroy their idols. It's tragic, in my thinking, that the young man would be leaving here already purposing to compromise. If you're going to go into an environment like that, at least go in there as a prophet of God and be willing to stand up against the whole school and say, "You all are wrong!" And maybe a remnant can be saved. Now when I say saved, I'm not talking about people going to hell because they're dating. I'm not talking about people going to hell because they get into premarital sex and get pregnant out of wedlock. That's not the issue; that's not what we're talking about. What we're talking about in this whole series is compromising and mingling the wisdom of the world that brings death and destruction. We're talking about independence. I want to tell you something, beloved. God's Word does not allow for that! And so it's very important for us to understand.

Let me see if I can come up with something else. We've talked about tithing. We've talked about interpersonal relationships and these different things. "I'm so confused. I don't know what to do. Everybody else seems to be doing this." What does God's Word say? You find me Scriptures that support their systems that are not intermingled, and maybe I'll accept it. I can give you plenty of scriptural principles for the foundation that we build on. But look what the Scripture goes on to say: this that they trust in "shall not profit them" verse 6 says. "Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits" (Isaiah 30:8-10).

You see, they heap up teachers to themselves having itching ears. I guarantee you, you can go find some prophets that will tell you what your flesh wants to hear, but check them out. Malachi says they have dung on their faces. Check them out. The prophet speaks toward them as false prophets. "Wherefore [verse 12] thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant." And the Scripture says it will be broken and without remedy.

There's two things you can do, beloved, and we'll end with this tonight. You can trust in Egypt, and it will be your shame and bring confusion. Or verse 15, "For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not." There's a returning for those who have strayed. There's a rest to the people of God, and in that rest, to be in that rest, there must be a quietness, there must be a confidence that He won't leave us nor forsake us. There is to be an anxiousness for nothing. There's to be the conviction that He cares for you. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, return to innocence and total dependence, because His strength is perfect in weakness.

Father, we thank You for the Word of God, and we ask that You would cause us to be a people not confused, a people not in shame, but those who are in quietness and confidence in the Greater One who dwells within us. There's a way that seems right unto men--the majority are doing it--it's death. The prophets will stand and speak smooth things, but it's not of Me; there's a covering, but it's not My Spirit, says the Lord. The shield of faith, the Sword of the Spirit, the shield that quenches the darts, the sword that resists the enemy and causes him to flee is your knowledge and your application of the Word of God. Put on the whole armor that you might be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, stand!

Let's stand before the Lord tonight. As Gary plays for us, we'll take a moment in the Lord's presence. Be careful in this land that we're sojourning in when they call you to their sacrifices. Be very careful at whose table you sit down and commune. Like Daniel, if I were you, I would abstain from the king's dainties, and when they are offered to you, put a knife to your throat, the Scripture says. They have the power to make you rich and to make you famous and to put your life at ease, and then it turns to gravel in your mouth. And that Tamar is now repulsive to you. And the pools of water and the ivory palaces--you'll stand in the night when your heart is sick and you'll cry out, and God will mock you as you say it's vanity and vexation!

Read it as the Psalmist speaks: you've denied Me, I'll deny you. But if you draw nigh unto God, He draws nigh unto you. And in that Exodus chapter as He's revealed as the jealous God, prior to that He says, return to Me. He's the same God of Isaiah 30: return to Me; there's rest. This is the time to let the fetters fall and the bondage of the world's system fall and purpose in your heart: I'm going back to the straight and to the narrow, to the highway of holiness. I've been seduced, I've been deceived--Delilah's fair songs have taken my strength. Lord, I want to be able to walk in faith, ever listening for that voice that says, "This is the way, walk ye in it" and making my determination that whatever I do, I do as unto the Lord. I seek to honor You in that where You've sent me.

Let's sing it, "I Love You, Lord," and just worship Him. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Sing it one more time; just worship Him, "I Love You, Lord."

Thank You, Jesus! Oh hallelujah! We do love You, Lord. Let it be our hearts that are crying to You tonight. Lord, that we would honor You, not just with our lips and our hearts being far from You; but Lord, that You would circumcise our hearts. We thank You for hearts of flesh that have replaced those hearts of stone that were in us. Lord, You are aware of our frame (it's dust--our frailness), the power of sin that resides in our members. Oh how we await the day of redemption! Lord, we can't even imagine what that day is going to be like when we finally lay this body down and sin is no longer a part of us. But until that day, Your grace is sufficient, and we've been pronounced righteous with Your righteousness, and we stand free to yield our members instruments to Your glory. We ask for the grace to do that, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Before you go, turn to somebody and say, "Resist him; he'll flee." Go in peace. God's love go with you.

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