Overcoming the Enemy

[Music] well here we are on the morning of the last day of the feast of tabernacles tomorrow of course as was mentioned is no longer the Feast of Tabernacles but a special holy day with a very great and glorious meaning that you will hear about tomorrow but this morning I would like to reflect on an event that occurs at the end of the millennium on the day that is represented by today it's an event which we should keep in mind and one that will help us understand just how much we need to be on guard as we head back into the world to continue our lives our schooling and our relationships that we have there the 7th day of the Feast of Tabernacles represents the end of the thousand-year millennium of the rule of Jesus Christ and His Saints on the earth a time that will produce unprecedented prosperity and peace we read of many scriptures and you've read of many of those scriptures at this Feast of Tabernacles in which Whitley which did it to describe a very beautiful world and yet on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles in the days of the temple in the temple compound that was a hymn actually two hymns sung by the choir of Levites on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles this is according to a research done by Alfred edersheim called the temple it's ministry and services I don't like to look at those two hymns today because you had them in your Bible the first hymn that was sung by the Nevada choir at the service on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles was Psalm 12 it's a psalm of david and you can turn to the book of psalms chapter 12 and we might wonder why this song was sung at the end of glorious time of celebration you will note in Psalm 12 verse 1 help Lord the godly man ceases for the faithful disappear from the sons of men they speak idly everyone with his neighbor with flattering lips and a double heart they speak may the Lord cut off flattering lips and the tongue that speaks proud things who have said with our tongue we will prevail our lips are our own who is lord over us for the oppression of the poor the word can mean humble for the sighing of the needy now I will arise says the Lord and I will set him in safety the safety for which he yearns the words of the Lord are pure words like silver tried in a furnace of Earth purified seven times you shall keep them O Lord you shall preserve them from this generation forever the wicked prowl on every side when vileness is exalted among the sons of men now does that sound like the Millennium it sounds like the time before God's intervention on the earth we could see how verse 8 might apply to our day but why such a psalm be used on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles what possibly could it be referring to we are told as that after the return of Christ's and the Saints to the earth on the Feast of Trumpets eventually the events of the Day of Atonement occur when Satan is bound and put away for a period of time you will note in Revelation chapter 20 revelation the twentieth chapter and verse one it says then I saw an angel coming down from heaven having the key to a bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand he laid hold of the dragon that serpent of old who is the devil and Satan and bound him a thousand years and cast him into a bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nation's No More until the thousand years were finished but after these things he must be released for a little while at the end of the millennium Satan is released and he causes much havoc on the earth revelation 20 verse 7 and says now when the thousand years have expired Satan will be released from his prison and he will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth all peoples really Gog and Magog especially named to gather them together whose number is of the sand of the sea and they went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the Saints and the beloved City which is Jerusalem and fire came down from the from God out of heaven and devoured them now there are many questions with regard to those pieces of Scripture first of all why would God allow this destructive being to be loose again after all he did during the first six thousand years of man and secondly why would a people who have enjoyed the peace and beauty of what the millennium is pictured to be who had been taught nothing but God's Way of life and have seen the fruit of that way of life suddenly so violently turn against God and those who follow God you know I think this prophecy from your Bible emphasizes the power of the being knowing as Satan this is why he has to be put away to allow the Millennium to be peaceful otherwise there would be no peace an acquaintance of mine man whom I've met several times it's the former commander of the princess Patricia's Canadian light infantry his name is Colonel gray and Colonel gray was deployed as a battalion commander of the 1st battalion of the PPC Li in Bosnia in the early 1990s and his regiment was involved in one of the biggest land battles in Bosnia as he defended the Serbs from the Croats who were trying to exterminate the Serbs in their region it was called the Battle of the militia pocket the Serbian war was an interesting model that might help us understand what takes place at the end of the millennium Yugoslavia after world war ii was ruled by a dictator named Tito in general Tito ruled out country with an iron hand he was nominally communist although Yuka Slavia was the most open country in the Eastern Bloc they also became the most prosperous country in the communist bloc but after Tito's death things seemed to move along okay for a while the Olympic Games were even held in Yugoslavia at that time there was much economic and social interchange between all the populations of the region and the region was made up of people from different ethnic groups largely Muslims from Bosnia and Kosovo there were Orthodox Christians or Serbs in Serbia and Roman Catholics and Croatian and other people's the religious divisions while they existed were not the barrier they once were and generally people live together relatively peacefully many of them intermarried and then suddenly as Colonel Dre explained to me within a time period of not more than two weeks two weeks it all came apart next-door neighbours even some whose children had intermarried began to kill one another it started when Muslim Bosnians and the Catholic Croatians began a program of ethnically cleansing Serbs from Croatia and Bosnia and then the Serbs responded in kind and started to cleanse their areas of Muslims and Croats strangely the Western media took the side against the Serbs even when NATO commanders like general Mackenzie of the Canadian Army complained that the Serbs were actually largely the victims and the United Nations fired him and you may remember them in the Canadian news however what ensued was a bloody war with hundreds of thousands ending up dead wounded or displaced Colonel gray told me this was a very strange thing he said everything was so peaceful and relatively prosperous and suddenly a mood of anger rose up among the people swept over the population and gentle people suddenly acted with brutality Yugoslavia is not the only example of this occurrence Rwanda about the same time experienced similar consequences leaving millions dead you know the same can be said for what occurred in Germany in the 1930s a very liberal society well-educated populated by a people trying to get through tough economic times was suddenly taken over by a band of thugs and eventually Adolf Hitler came to power and the whole mood of a country changed two years ago I requested that a lecture be given at an institute of which I'm chairman in Edmonton the man I requested the lecture provide the lecture was a dr. Brian Evans dr. Evans had been the first diplomat sent to China by the government of year to doe in 1972 when Canada opened relations with communist China he was one of the most famous scholars on the middle on the far east and he mentioned in his lecture that prior to the 1930s the Japanese army had a reputation for strict discipline and never performing atrocities against civilians and yet in the 1930s at the same time in Germany when Hitler was rising to power dr. Evans said that the mood of the Japanese army changed and they began to commit unspeakable atrocities in China and elsewhere you see a change of mood just happened with violent consequences and whether it's Yugoslavia or Rwanda or Cambodia or Germany or Japan or a host of other examines one cannot explain that sudden change of behavior in human terms there is a spirit world led by a spirit who is a vicious silent notice Ephesians chapter 2 Ephesians the second chapter verse 1 Paul begins here by continuing from chapter 1 and he says and you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins we are given a new life when God calls us and we respond to that calling and we repent and are baptized for forgiveness we are given a new life a forgiven life God places his spirit in us and we really do have a new lease on life eternal life in which you once walked he said the sins in which you once walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the air the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience and he writes among whom also we all once conducted ourselves we cannot look down on anyone in the world who may be committing things with which we disagree because we were once there God mercifully called us out of that and we conducted ourselves in the lust of the flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and we're by nature children of Wrath just as the others Satan broadcasts his ideas his thoughts his feelings his moods and he can cause sudden depression if you suddenly start for no reason feeling terribly depressed I suggest you pray about it because that's an influence especially when there's no reason to be depressed sometimes it's a feeling of anger or a feeling of hatred or a feeling of jealousy those are Satan's moods you see he is a jealous angry hateful being and he must be very depressed because his way of life leads to that and he tries to cause us to feel the same way and he tries to cause us to act against the holy law of God Bosnia was just one example of what happens when Satan uses his power to influence and twist the minds of people to do his destructive will and it's not just in those other nations I can go back in history to English Kings like Henry the fifth who was one of the most brutal monarchs brutal individuals in English history and conducted his brutality not just in England but also in France during the Hundred Years War it was a vicious man and he was led by a wrong spirit but this is the kind of thing that happens at the end of the millennium now one might ask will not these people have been warned of this impending problem by the Saints and Jesus Christ of course they will notice Amos chapter 3 the Book of Amos chapter 3 and verse 7 it says surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets and the prophet doesn't keep a secret there is no point in revealing something to a prophet if the Prophet isn't going to teach it of course people will be taught they will be warned that statement is true in these physical beings who live in the Millennium will have experienced a nearly perfect life they will have had it pretty good they will have read during their feasts about the meaning of the holy days they will have lived in a time of prosperity they will have an abundance of food beautiful homes and surroundings they will lack nothing the Bible even tells us their health will be wonderful without disease their lives will be long I can only speculate on the latest of their lives there are many different possibilities we might mention that in a moment well what is certain is that these humans alive at the end of the millennium will be tested just as you and I are tested and God will see which way they go when a powerful enemy is released perhaps that's the reason for the release again we can only speculate but in any case it is certain that man will be warned by God that this eventualities will occur and man will in the Millennium be very carefully be guided by the family of God and teaching will be diligent Isaiah chapter 30 Isaiah chapter 30 and verse 20 Isaiah 30 and verse 20 and it says speaking of us in this age going into the millennial period and though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore but your eyes will see your teachers and speaking of the people living in the Millennium it says your ears shall hear a word behind you saying this is the way walk in it whenever you turn to the right hand or the left they will be guided God will ensure they are guided and thus the Millenium will be close to a perfect condition which raises many questions of what why Satan is released and why his release will have such dreadful effect now questions are often asked about how long people live in the Millennium the Bible does not tell us you know trees on this earth have a long life there are trees that may live 20-30 years and then you know fall over there are others I know in Spain I saw olive trees that are over a thousand years old and still producing olives some pine trees and parts of the United States are 4,000 years old they can live a long time Bristlecone Pines we don't have a clear biblical answer to the question of how long people live in the millennium there are only two possibilities one is that man will live in the millennium and once God judges the readiness of a person's character that person may be born into the family of God alternatively the idea has been expressed that since in the days of Adam man lived almost a thousand years according to the scriptures that might be restored and they might live throughout the millennium and be tested at the end we can only speculate we don't know the Bible doesn't tell us if it was important for us to know we'd know but it's interesting however that only the persons who will have lived in the beginning of the millennium who have gone through some tribulation would have experienced the poles of Satan those millions and millions of people who will yet be born in the millennial period will not have experienced that and perhaps they need to be tested when Satan is released so how can Satan so effectively and so quickly work his power of deception it appears the leaders of the rebellion when it happens may come from the lands of Gog and Magog which are the peoples of the east we also learned from Ezekiel 39 that GOG is the leader of the tribes of Mesa and tubal and Ezekiel implies in Ezekiel 38 and 39 that not only gog and magog leaders will come but they will draw many nations against the territory around Jerusalem the question however that we need to consider is how can Satan inspire such hatred against God the God family and Israel in a world that is very peaceful and prosperous well I mentioned and some sermons that Satan's main tools what does Satan work with every workman has tools tools were needed to build this beautiful lector Satan also needs tools and Satan's tools are jealousy lust greed and anger that's what he works with he creates feelings it's not fair there's a big one of his moods I deserve better I'm entitled to better it's not right that they have more than I do those are the kinds of moods he works with and thus we may be able to speculate a potential source for the motivation that Satan uses to get so many people upset that they will take part in a rebellion against God and attack Israel at the end of the millennium as the Bible predicts you know in the law of God the firstborn was to receive a double portion turned back to Deuteronomy chapter 21 Deuteronomy chapter 21 and verse 15 now we don't have two wives anymore God never wanted that but nonetheless this is an interesting law verse 15 if a man has two wives one loved the other unloved and they have borne him children both the loved and the unloved and if the firstborn is the son of her who is unloved then it shall be on the day he bequeathed his possessions to his sons he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved woman and preference to the son of the unloved the true firstborn he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all he has for he is the beginning of his strength and the right of the firstborn is his in Israel when a man died the firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance now my wife and I have two sons when I read that Scripture my youngest son was not amused but that is the law now it was the law for a number of reasons as we'll discuss when in other places in the Bible Israel is called God's firstborn among the nations Exodus chapter 4 Exodus chapter 4 and verse 22 it says you shall say to Pharaoh thus says the Lord Israel is my son my firstborn that various tribes of Israel were people who were considered God's firstborn you go to Isaiah 61 Isaiah the 61st chapter and verse 7 it says this Isaiah 61 verse 7 instead of your shame you shall have double honor instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion therefore in their land they shall possess double everlasting joy shall be theirs speaking of a blessing to be given to Israel in the Millennium Israel will get a double portion and even within the nations of Israel Ephraim gets a double portion Jeremiah 31 Jeremiah 31 verse 9 it says they shall come with weeping and with supplications I will lead them I will cause them to walk by the rivers of water in a straight way in which they shall not stumble for I am a father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn interesting now some other tribes of Israel might say wait a minute that's not fair well why did God have that law of the double portion you see it wasn't just the fact that they got twice as much when God gives a blessing he expects something in return simply because the double portion carried with it double responsibility in the family the oldest boy received a double portion as he was charged with the duty of looking after the parents and the parents when they were no longer able were cared for by that first point there was responsibility of family leadership and all that went with it including protection of property and ensuring all the other brothers and sisters had their needs met to help them out when they got in trouble there was a lot of responsibility on the firstborn and with the nation of Israel Israel will have the double responsibility of all the other nations they will be the example to the world and the world will come to them to learn how they should live and it appears that Ephraim will have a strict responsibility to provide sound loving and consistent righteous example when God gives responsibility accountability comes with it in any case Israel will be the wealthiest nation in the world in the Millennium and it's quite possible that Satan will start immediately upon his release to sow seeds of dissatisfaction with that arrangement it's not fair why do they have so much why do we have to take direction from those Israelites what are we second-class now they forget that they're all blessed they're all healed they're all rich they're all protected but that's just the way God set it up because there's an accountability that goes on Israel if they don't do the job but Satan will begin to sow grievance and jealousy and he'll turn jealousy to bitterness and bitterness to anger and anger to hatred and when greed and jealousy and anger dominate our emotions the next casualty is wisdom wisdom is incompatible with anger and hatred and jealousy because they destroy wisdom you know we can be very intelligent and very unwise some people are very intelligent and do dumb things if we permit ourselves to dwell on jealousy or grievance of some kind then we are not living by the precepts of God and wisdom is eroded and without wisdom we are fair game for Satan Satan will turn that emotion into a desire for war and these people have not learned war the Bible says they will not learn war in the Millennium but Satan will inevitably have them develop some kind of strategy and weaponry and create and then a false confidence that is so easy to muster when wisdom is absent and when you create a mob mentality and these people under Satan's influence will lose perspective of reality Satan did Satan doesn't have a perspective of reality he thinks he can still possibly destroy God he is going to try once more prophecies say that and he will lose yet another war Psalm 12 as we read earlier is very much a reference to the mindset that develops in those who permit Satan's influence to override all the teaching they have had in the Millennium it is a warning if you go back to chapter 12 of the Book of Psalms and look at verse 2 now this is sung by the priests in the temple on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles and it says they speak idly carelessly every one with his neighbor with flattering lips in a double heart that's a satanic attitude verse four who have said with our own tongue we will prevail our lips are our own who is lord over us that's an attitude of Satan verse eight the wicked prowl on every side when vileness is exalted when a nation starts to promote sin as good the wicked will prowl on every side we see that happening in our own people today thus so will it be and it will become dangerous for righteous people in the period at the end of the millennium the righteous who reject Satan's influence will see the problems encroaching which God will for a reason permit for a while we do not know how long this period of Satan's freedom is it says it's a short time but the Bible doesn't give us any further explanation but they will see the light of truth going out and a darkness settling in in many areas of the earth just as Winston Churchill before World War two he once gave a speech and he said you know the lights are going out all over Europe and no one paid attention to him he could see it happening you know notice now ii him that was some on the feast of tabernacles on the last day of the feast it comes from psalm 82 was 82nd psalm this was sung after a period of time during that last service psalm 82 - psalm of Asaph and he starts out in verse 1 a very interesting statement especially when you know the period it's referring to at the end of the millennium it says god stands in the congregation of the mighty and he judges among the gods interesting statement what does that mean he judges among the Elohim that's the Hebrew there you know he has a family just as animals are of the animal kind and plants are of the plant kind and angels are of the angel kind so those born into the family of God are of the God kind you in the future will be an Elohim that's what this is saying referring to the children of God and God discussing the matter with his children and here God raises a question because there's a great problem on the earth and the righteous seemed to be experiencing difficulty due to this rebellion Satan is causing upon his release verse 2 he says how long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked defend the poor and the fatherless do justice to the afflicted and the needy deliver the poor again the word can be humble their deliverer the poor and the needy free them from the hand of the wicked now if this truly does represent the period Satan's rebellion at the end of the millennium the same condition Satan has created in this age seemed to be repeated and man when they give themselves over to Satan's thinking become foolish and they become agents easily to deceive they've given up truth and the earth again is shaken verse 5 they do not know nor do they understand they walk a boat in darkness and all the foundations of the earth are unstable and then in verse 6 and 7 we see something that is very sobering I said you are gods and all of you are children of the Most High but you will die like men and fall like one of the princes arise O God and judge the earth for you shall inherit all nations you are told in Joel chapter 2 and Acts chapter 2 that we are told that God will and times to come pour his spirit on all flesh we are told elsewhere has been as quoted undoubtedly at this feast that God's Spirit will be in everyone in the Millennium making everyone who is of age a potential member of the god family a conceived child of God yet though unborn just as we are today we are still considered God's children today yet when they make a choice between Satan's ways and the ways of God and those who choose to deliberately abandon God's way knowingly and unrepentantly rebelling against God under Satan's influence they will lose that spirit and hence he says of all those people who were potential members of the god family you are God's and all of you children are the most high but you will die like men now this may seem a bit of a depressing message at the end of a wonderful feast but that rebellion that by Satan is a prophesied event and shortly thereafter Satan and his demons are removed forever as it is indicated in the scripture in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 and never again will hear as wicked demons be a problem but God will also need to know the character of those who have lived during the Millennium and who can be trusted with eternal life and those who can be trusted will be converted into eternal beings and joined the god family at some point then of course comes the next phase of God's plan which is the great resurrection of all who have ever lived and never had an opportunity those who have experienced Satan's poles but that of course is a subject for tomorrow but what can we learn from this tragic story that ends the period we call the millennium every one of us is going to leave this place after the last great day and return to our homes our families our places of employment our schools and all of us will face trials of some different sort in some cases it may be a health issue in some cases a hostile family member angry about you keeping God's law in some cases employers who didn't want you to leave for the Feast of Tabernacles I know what that's like because I lost my first teaching job as a school teacher over the Feast of Tabernacles and it can be a bit of a it's upsetting you know especially if you have a wife and a little baby and you lose your job as mr. Grove AK pointed out you put truth against pressure you follow truth God will never curse obedience to him he will bless it in some cases maybe school situations where one has to catch up on work or exams that you may have missed but in addition there's a general environment in the world that we're going back to an environment or culture fundamentally opposed to the truth of God and the values you've heard expressed this week and this is all because we currently live in a world that is ruled by the same being who will be released and create havoc at the end of the millennium now there is a lesson for us as we prepare to return home from the events of the week that has described the beauty of the money just as Satan will be released upon the world at the end of the millennium so we return to that world we've been sheltered here from the influences of the world in this very beautiful and peaceful place where our needs are met and those around us are friendly and supportive but just as Satan will be released a test man at the end of the millennium so we return to a world that is ruled by that tyrant so how do you manage to survive spiritually in this coming year how will you avoid bitterness and anger and hatred how will we fight the tendency to jealousy or self-pity or having some sense of entitlement how will we manage to fend off the constant broadcasting of the Prince of the power of the air as he tries to distract and deceive us and lead us to reject God's Way and fall under the penalty of death we are indeed engaged in a war a deadly war where the stakes are nothing less than life and death and one lesson that is very important to a soldier in combat is don't get separated from your unit once you're alone you're much more vulnerable and when we thus return to our home areas we need to keep contact with our fellow soldiers in Jesus Christ we need to keep contact with the unit the Church of God and thus as times get more challenging God through the Apostle Paul gives us an explicit instruction in Hebrews chapter 10 Hebrews the tenth chapter and verse 23 we read let us Hebrews 10 verse 23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful God is trustworthy let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works think about our brethren think about our Brethren's needs not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much more as you see the Day approaching we rely on each other's encouragement that's very very important Paul gives us some orders here these aren't suggestions this is an order written by the Apostle Paul under the influence of God the Father and he tells us be unwavering in our commitment to the truth show concern and mercy to one another you know be be very quick to overlook an offense one of the things Satan likes to do is have someone offend you and then we get as we say in English I don't know how they're gonna translate that our nose is out of joint that's an idiom but we can be offended very easily don't be offended remember the person may not be intending to defend you at least give them the benefit of the doubt and our lives will be happy overlooked offense encourage each other and it's impossible to do unless you're around one another at least once a week we're as quick as often as you can some people are very remote from church but we do need sometimes to be together to assemble on the Sabbath and the holy days unless illness or you know extreme distance makes it impossible but we need to remain together we need weekly services and Bible studies were available we try to make the Bible studies available online for those who can get them and that's that's important to connect and with GoToMeeting we can even connect you on the telephone to those Bible studies if you have a phone plan that that works and that's important so when we get back together remember to assemble on the Sabbath and Satan will make every effort to destroy you by separating you from the group it's very important we need to encourage each other God inspired Paul here to write extensively about this problem because in the days of the Apostles Satan was making an effort to destroy the church through over at persecution and through attacks on doctrine but Paul fully understood how weak he was against Satan and how cunning a foe we faced Paul wrote something to the church at Ephesus toward the end of his life in which he encouraged us to face down the challenges of Satan and his culture in a battle that is really a battle for our lives please take the words of Paul seriously as we return to our homes so I'd like to sort of take one final part in this sermon to go through a little bit of instruction the Apostle Paul gave us in the book of Ephesians Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10 this advice I'm sure will be given to people in the Millennium warning them of the threat to come at the end of the millennium but our threat is now verse 10 finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might God is powerful enough to overcome our enemies verse 11 put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities powers rulers of the darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places we need to remember this there are some people who think they can defend themselves in the future when everything gets rough you have some people who are they call themselves survivalists they will go out in the woods and build themselves a little fortification arm themselves to the teeth with all kinds of weapons what uses that against a spiritual enemy it is of no use whatsoever so you're in a forest all hidden away and there's a forest fire good luck God is our defender not a gun not some sort of human weaponry we need to remember that Paul here is trying to remind us that we need to be unwavering in our commitment and Trust in the and will of God to back us up when we are obedient and he advises us to be armed not with guns and knives but rather he makes an analogy between military equipment and our spiritual preparedness and he goes on to explain this is necessary as we are at war with spiritual powers which are ruthless merciless and filled with hatred against God filled with hatred against his law and all humans who have the potential to become members of the God family as a soldier one is trained to be on the lookout for danger and a soldier relies on the physical whether sight or sound or electronic surveillance or human intelligence but Satan and his demons operate outside the physical world and therefore they are what we call stealth enemies they're hard to detect and therefore challenging to defend against and if one is not defended one will be a victim and hence God causes Paul in this little section of Scripture to lay out a defensive strategy that will if implemented defeat the attacks of Satan verse 13 he says therefore take up the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand God causes Paul now to describe both defensive and offensive equipment that we must develop if we want to survive this very real battle and not be like the victims at the end of the millennium and there are seven elements that he talks about our life depends on this verse 14 the first item stand therefore having girded your waist with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness the first item he mentions is truth and truth is a reference to the Word of God you know in John 17:17 Christ said Your Word is truth we are told to have a knowledge of the scriptures that's our first line of defense against deception jesus warned us in the Olivet prophecy that false teachers would come but if we know the Bible well we have our first layer of defense you know it's been taught many times that we should know the old and new testaments in isaiah 8 verse 20 is a key test against a false minister it says there in isaiah 8 verse 22 the law and the testimony if they speak not according to that word there is no light in them they are in utter darkness anyone who says god's laws either dunaway or well we don't we need to keep that law you know and we are God understands right away we know there are darkness they don't know the truth they teach against the law they're in darkness and dusts Bible study is our first line of defense we let that slip and Satan can breach our perimeter and we choose how strong our defenses are and how seriously we take this admonition that Paul gives the second item he talks about there is the breastplate of righteousness you know psalm 119 verse 172 says all thy commands are righteousness obeying God and keeping his law and living in accordance with his directions is also a wall of protection it protects us against deception God hears those who love and obey Him and living God's Way of life helps us deepen our knowledge and commitment and add much understanding and we become more deeply converted to God's Way of life and this must be something that people at the end of the millennium stop doing otherwise they would not have been so easily overtaken by Satan so I understand God's Word thirdly and verse 15 he says in having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace the third defense is knowing and supporting the preaching of the gospel the plan of God how he's working what his purpose for man really is that's something that people who are deceived by Satan at the end of the millennium either have not valued and they have not put into their thinking the gospel of God is the message delivered by Jesus Christ which very much includes as a central and critical part the reason and purpose for his sacrifice which opens the way to our membership in the kingdom of God the gospel is just not about the kingdom it's about how you get to the kingdom as well and the price that was paid for us knowing the gospel sharing in its propagation around the world and the truth that God is reproducing himself in humankind and offering us membership in his very universe ruling family is an essential element knowing that descends us and it gives us hope it gives us incentive that gives us strength to endure difficult times knowing and deeply valuing this incredible truth in this regard the keeping of a Sabbath and the holy days also reminds us of that plan strengthens us and God knew we needed this and commanded these days therefore to be observed and dust Paul writes that our very way of life the way of our feet guides our decisions and keeps us from sin the fourth item that he talks about in verse 16 above all taking the shield of faith with which you are able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one faith is something we need to build but how do you build faith how do you build faith faith I believe is the most misunderstood religious word and in literature false religion has caused man to restrict faith to a concept of simple belief people think that faith is only belief that is a deception it's faith belief is a part of faith but it is not all of faith it is not just believing that's a clever deception of Satan it's a lie it's a lie that was around in the days of the Apostles that James had to speak against notice the book of James chapter 2 book of James chapter 2 and verse 14 James 2 and verse 14 he said what does it profit my brethren if someone says he has faith and does not have works can faith save him if a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food and if one says to him depart in peace be warm and filled but you do not give him the things which are needed for the body what does that profit thus also faith by itself if it does not have works is dead it's not living faith but someone will say you have faith and I have works show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works by what I actually do how I change my life he's saying you believe there's one God you do well even the demons believe in tremble Satan has a great deal of faith that God exists he's spoken with him he knows he's there no one has more faith in God's existence than Satan the devil but Satan is a faithless being because he does not obey God verse 20 but do you want to know a foolish man that faith without works is dead was not Abraham our Father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar do you see that faith was working together with his works and by works faith was made perfect and scripture was fulfilled which says abraham believed god and it was accounted for him for righteousness and he was called the friend of God and he goes on with other examples what James is saying is that true faith only exists if it impacts what you do if you believe the truth but you don't do it you have no faith knowing the truth believing it is true is not faith knowing the truth believing it is true and doing it is faith if one knows the law and one doesn't keep it one is unfaithful faith is built on acting on what we know to be true the more we do it the stronger it gets if we act on what is true and our as we are taught by God we will have strong faith and it will get stronger and we will resist the attacks of Satan the fifth and six items in verse 17 that Paul talks about in Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 17 he writes and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God you know the helmet guards the mind and again Paul is referencing knowing and studying the truth especially respecting the sacrifice of Christ and the terrible cost that was paid so we can live forever reminding ourselves of that price and suffering of Christ is sobering and demonstrates how much the father wants us to succeed and this should be an added incentive for us to strive to please the father he's invested an awful lot in each one of you so that our individual cases are not lost and that's a powerful defense against Satan if we use it the sword of the Spirit the six item this refers to the Word of God the Scriptures give us understanding of which we then act and we can judge right and wrong mankind does not know the difference in right and wrong outside of God's law Hebrews chapter 4 Hebrews the fourth chapter Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12 it says for the word of god is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit of the joint and the marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and of the heart asking God for more of his spirit and using the knowledge that God provides in his scriptures and living by that direction stirs up God's Spirit in us enhances our understanding and reveals to us what is truly right and wrong in different situations so we can choose right our actions based on truth are a powerful defense obedience to God is a hard defense Satan cannot penetrate that and finally Ephesians 6 verse 18 it says praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints prayer is the line of communication with our commander our source of strength Jesus took time to outline for us how to pray you can evolve reference that Matthew 6 verse 9 to 13 the topics that we should be thinking about and Paul speaks of many things for which we should pray and all of his writing you will note that Jesus commanded us first to pray for the kingdom to come for the time that were picturing here at the Millennium and the time of God's rule on the earth even after the millennial rule of Christ we need to realize how important it is to pray every day if we suffer pain or have a big problem sometimes it's easier to pray to bring ourselves to pray when everything is really good and we're sort of happy and cheerful it doesn't seem quite so urgent but we need to make it urgent because it is we can sense just how much we need God we need to sense them and we need to realize how dangerous being distant from God is and distance from God's law is how about your children or your grandchildren you know even schooling in many parts of Canada has changed we need to be aware of that in some provinces schools even religious schools are forced to teach against their doctrinal beliefs an acquaintance of mine doll john carpe who's a lawyer in calgary has defended for example i think several catholic private schools here in quebec we're being forced to teach against Catholic doctrine and he successfully defended them in the Supreme Court but it's the challenge is growing about a year ago I received a notice while at the feast that there is a current challenge to Supreme Court of Canada against a particular law in Ontario it is led by a lawyer named Eugene Mian Eugene Mian is an author of 14 books on Canadian law he's the former executive legal officer of the Supreme Court of Canada and the president of the Canadian Bar Association and he wrote this he said by encroaching denominational aspects of a schools function for the purpose of preventing prejudice bill 13 which is the Ontario Law oxymoronic Lee risks prejudicing minority religious groups instead of fostering respect for diversity of beliefs and school choice it risks encouraging and endorsing a single point of view and nullifying the purpose of denominational or religious schools what it really means is that there is an overt attempt to force all schools to teach what the government wants to be taught and the rights of parents will be lost that's a real danger and it's a danger to religious freedom which is significantly at risk John Carr pay is currently defending that particular case in association with the Alliance for defending freedom in the United States he works with them and we need to be praying that God will provide protection for our beliefs and our children we need to value each other we're in a dangerous time so as we return home how can we prevent Satan who is free and at large in the time in which we live from doing to us what he has predicted to achieve at the end of the millennium eight points we've covered one know the Bible well study it daily to practice the law of God keep the commandments three review and study the meaning of the gospel what we believe and why we believe it for build faith by practicing obedience to God in every way five remember the cost of our salvation and how much God thinks of us God the Father gave Jesus Christ as your sacrifice that's how much he loves every human on this earth the father has great zeal for you so does Christ and we need to remember that remember the price paid for your salvation 6 use God's Spirit you know heed the understanding that God's Spirit gives you 7 pray fervently for the kingdom to come and for the things that the church needs to fulfill the mission that is given to us and to pray also as Paul said for the government leaders that we have so they will make decisions that enable us to lead a peaceful life and finish the mission that God has given to us and attend number 8 be with the Brethren attend services as regularly as possible and through these we can overcome our human nature overcome the influences of this evil world and defeat the efforts of Satan to cause us to sin and rebel against God and so died forever that's what he's going to do at the end of millennium and these strategies that Paul inspired to write for us we you we should use them aggressively not passively take the initiative we must not get locked down in a mood of defense but vigorously to do the work of God to build our character to be good employees to be honorable people supportive loyal to our families through the tools that Paul describes be good examples to all around us and if we do this we will not fall victim as those at the end of the millennium will to this evil being who wishes for us not to enjoy what we have been picturing here this week the last day of the feast of tabernacles carries with it a warning as we go back home that we must be vigilant and yet it also carries an enormous hope of a much better time that will be achieved we have a great calling our God wants very much for us to succeed for you to be working with him forever that's what he wants he gave his life free and as a soldier who returns to the front you've been refreshed and equipped with what you need to be successful and the words God gave to Joshua as he was about to take on excuse me take on a great mission are what God speaks to you and me so we will not fall victim to Satan so let's close with Joshua book of Joshua chapter 1 and verse 7 these are Jesus Christ's words to Joshua before entering the promised land they're also his words to all of us as we go forward to do the work to fulfill the mission that he is given he says in verse 7 only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you do not turn from it to the right hand or the left that you may prosper wherever you go the book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success have I not commanded you be strong and of good courage do not be afraid or dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go so it's been a pleasure being here at the feast with you on Quebec I'm sorry I can't get to know everyone well but in time hopefully we will but I do pray you'll have a wonderful year and stay strong and together in God's work as we get it done together thank you

Channel: Living Church of God

Views: 8,504

Rating: 4.9601989 out of 5

Keywords: Overcoming, satan, enemy, sin, repentance, repent

Id: Lej6SGt4oMc

Length: 77min 31sec (4651 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 30 2018