Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: 17HC
Program Code: 17HC000009A
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00:50 Welcome back to 3ABN Fall Camp Meeting...
00:53 Camp Meeting right here at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:56 And we've got a good crowd here tonight. 00:58 You all happy in the Lord? Amen! All right. 01:01 It really is. I want to tell you something: 01:03 I travel to churches but you never see 01:05 so many friendly happy faces 01:07 as we do here at 3ABN Camp Meeting. 01:10 That's cause you all travel long distances... 01:12 says you want to be here, right? 01:14 Sometimes in church you can see the husband going to sleep 01:17 and the wife poking him a little bit. 01:18 And it's like: "I think he'd rather be home 01:20 but he knows he'd be miserable later on 01:23 if he doesn't go to church with her, you know. " 01:25 Things like that... that goes through my mind. 01:26 I know it shouldn't all the time. When I'm up front speaking 01:29 I'm like: "Oh, I think this person would rather be home. " 01:31 But anyway, not here at 3ABN Camp Meeting. 01:34 You all are happy... you have happy faces 01:36 and you're happy in the Lord. We ought to be the happiest 01:38 most excited people on planet earth. 01:41 Can you imagine that when Jesus was hanging on the cross 01:44 you and I were on His mind? 01:45 We were on His mind. 01:47 And He could look down that stream of time and see a people 01:50 that would be willing to give their lives unto death 01:52 if necessary for the cause of God. 01:55 It's an honor to be living in the closing moments 01:57 of earth's history and be a part of a movement - 02:00 the church, but a movement - 02:02 that has present truth to give to a lost and dying world. 02:06 Be living right in the time that Jesus is about to come back! 02:10 I'm excited tonight about the Lord, but I'm excited 02:13 about 3ABN Camp Meeting. I'm excited about 02:16 salvation that's a free gift that's offered to us. 02:18 And I'm so thankful tonight that we have Bro. John Bradshaw. 02:23 He's speaker/director for It Is Written. 02:26 I've known John for many, many years. 02:28 What you see is what you get. 02:30 And he's not a person that worries about 02:32 political correctness. Somebody say amen? 02:35 Amen! So remember that if he steps on your toes tonight. 02:39 Right? 'Cause you said you didn't mind him not worrying 02:43 about political correctness. He really doesn't 02:45 but he's led by the Holy Spirit. 02:47 A great anointing on him. 02:49 But before he comes to speak to us tonight 02:53 it's my privilege to have my daughter Melody - 02:55 Melody Dawn - and I'm going to ask her to come out 02:59 and sing. She took the husband and kids 03:03 a few years ago and deserted me and went to Nashville. 03:06 And so now I know at least at Camp Meetings 03:09 I get to see them. So the airport's a little farther 03:13 to Nashville for us to drive, maybe 30-45 minutes longer, 03:17 but I go there instead of St. Louis when I can 03:19 'cause guess what? I get to see my grandbabies, right? 03:22 And you of course, too, Melody. 03:26 I love you and I'm so glad you're here. 03:27 What are you going to sing for us tonight? 03:29 Let It Fall. But I tell you, I'm a little concerned 03:32 because Mollie told me she was going to heckle me 03:35 the whole time I was singing. She was going to heckle you? 03:36 Mollie wouldn't do that. So I'm not going to be able 03:38 to look over there. OK... don't look over there. 03:41 Mollie Sue! If I forget the words, you all will know why! 03:45 You'll do great. Melody - when she was born - 03:48 we named her Melody in faith God would give her musical 03:50 abilities. And we dedicated her to the Lord 03:53 and we said: "Lord, if You give this child... we're asking You 03:57 to give this child a gift of music... " 03:58 Why we named her Melody Dawn: the dawn of new music 04:01 in the family. And we said: "We'll raise her 04:04 in an atmosphere free of other type of music. " 04:06 And we did that, and God has blessed. 04:08 And so I love to hear you sing. I'm sure I'm not prejudiced. 04:12 But I love you and love your heart 04:14 and love the whole family, so glad you're here tonight. 04:17 I love you. 04:36 Facing situations 04:39 like I've never seen 04:44 leaves my heart uncertain 04:48 of what tomorrow may bring 04:52 it seems I could lose 04:57 all that I've gained. 05:00 If everything falls 05:04 Lord I just pray: 05:08 Let it fall 05:12 into place... 05:15 Place it all 05:19 in Your grace. 05:24 According to Your purpose 05:28 for the rest of my days 05:33 let it fall... 05:37 let it fall 05:41 into place. 05:50 The more things slip away 05:53 the more I try to hold on. 05:58 My grip is getting weak... 06:01 Lord, my hands aren't that strong. 06:06 But I know I can trust 06:09 Your will and Your way 06:13 so if everything falls 06:17 Lord, I just pray: 06:21 Let it fall 06:25 into place... 06:29 Place it all 06:33 in Your grace. 06:37 According to Your purpose 06:41 for the rest of my days 06:47 let it fall... 06:50 let it fall 06:55 into place. 06:59 Your Word formed the universe; 07:03 Your breath gave me life; 07:07 Your thoughts are on my future 07:11 so many perfect 07:14 times. 07:20 Let it fall 07:24 into place... 07:28 Place it all 07:32 in Your grace. 07:37 According to Your purpose 07:41 for the rest of my days 07:46 let it fall... 07:50 let it fall... 07:54 let it fall... 07:58 let it fall 08:02 into place. 08:28 Beautiful! Good evening everyone! 08:30 Good evening! So good to see you tonight. 08:32 I'm glad you are here. Are you glad you're here? 08:34 Amen! Yeah you should be. 08:36 You're in the right place this weekend! 08:38 Wherever you're joining us from thanks for being part of this 08:40 Camp Meeting experience. 08:42 To be here on site is to be blessed...what do you say? 08:46 Amen! Is to be really blessed. 08:47 And we've still got a whole 24 hour plus period left to go. 08:52 So I'm just really glad. 08:55 I'm going to let you know something that we're bringing 08:57 to you on 3ABN from It Is Written 09:01 at the end of October. You know 09:03 that the 31st of October marks 500 years 09:08 since the Reformation was kicked off. 09:10 Not that you can really tie it to a day 09:13 but if there was a day that was as good as another 09:16 that would be the day Luther - Martin Luther - nailed 09:18 the 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, 09:22 Germany. And so It Is Written went to several 09:26 Reformation sites and came home with 9 programs 09:30 that'll be aired on 3ABN the last 9 nights of October. 09:35 You're going to be blessed by these. These are in depth look 09:37 at the Reformation, what brought about the Reformation, 09:40 what happened, why it matters, and how it applies to us today. 09:44 And so we look for the reasons for the Reformation. 09:47 We examine this church that had become 09:49 what it should not have become. 09:51 Gives us the opportunity to speak rather plainly 09:54 about some very important teachings of the Bible. 09:57 We examine the lives of people like Martin Luther. 10:00 The lives of people like Ignatius of Loyola. 10:04 You know, he's the man who went to the Pope and said 10:06 "Let us begin an order dedicated to countering 10:11 the Reformation. " So we have a whole hour dealing with 10:14 Ignatius of Loyola who found... What was the order that he 10:17 founded? Can you tell me? Jesuits! 10:19 That's it. We call it the Jesuits, the Society of Jesus. 10:22 Tell you some interesting things. I wish... 10:25 Oh boy, I shouldn't start this 'cause I'll never stop. 10:28 So across the weekend I'll give you... I'll take the opportunity 10:33 to tell you about some fas- cinating statues we looked at 10:37 and some interesting things we saw that send a very clear 10:41 message to Protestants living in earth's last days. 10:46 And when we talk about Protestants you and I both know 10:49 that Protestants are increasingly hard to find. 10:54 Because as Luther protested 500 years ago 10:57 today most people have stopped protesting. 11:01 In fact, most people who would be Protestants 11:04 or protestants haven't a clue what the protest was even about. 11:07 So these nine programs the last 9 nights of October 11:10 on 3ABN will be programs that you'll be blessed by. 11:14 The series is called 500 brought to you by It Is Written 11:17 and you'll be really blessed. Amen! 11:20 Well now, I must put an end to that. 11:24 Perhaps tomorrow in the after- noon I'll tell you a little more 11:27 about some of what we saw and experienced and why it matters 11:30 so much. Camp Meeting theme this year 11:34 is Sacrifice: His and Ours. 11:37 His and Ours. We began talking about that last night. 11:41 Let's pray now 11:44 and anticipate the blessing of God. 11:46 Let's pray. Our Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus 11:53 and it's now the Sabbath where we are 11:56 and we are thankful... we just are... 12:00 because in Your mercy You did more than just give us an hour. 12:05 More than give us a morning. 12:07 You carved a day out of the rock of time 12:12 and said: "Every moment that you spend in this day 12:15 I want you to be cognizant of where you came from. 12:17 I want you to remember your roots. 12:20 I want you to remember that if you go all the way up 12:23 your family tree you're going to get to Adam 12:24 who was made by Me. " 12:27 We are thankful that we are Your children 12:30 and that this day is a memorial not only of creation 12:34 but of re-creation. Amen! 12:38 And so bless us in these hours. Now as we open Your Word 12:44 we ask You, Father, 12:48 to speak, that we would be blessed according to Your will. 12:53 We thank you and we love You and we pray 12:55 gratefully, in Jesus' name... please stay with me... 13:01 Amen and amen. 13:06 It was June the 22nd; it was 1746. 13:12 An expedition of 11,000 men on board 64 ships 13:19 left France for a place called Annapolis Royal. 13:25 And if you were looking for Annapolis Royal on a map 13:29 and let's say you found it 13:31 you would see that it is almost directly across 13:35 the Bay of Fundy. Do you know where we are? 13:41 Anybody? 13:43 All right. No... somebody said New Zealand. God bless you! 13:46 God bless you. It was not New Zealand 13:49 but that's... I mean, that's better than the right answer. 13:54 Sure. 13:57 Annapolis Royal is pretty much directly across the Bay of Fundy 14:01 from St. Johns, New Brunswick. 14:05 Have I helped? 14:07 That's where? In Canada! All right. 14:10 I know about nine of you know it's Canada. 14:15 It's just across the Bay of Fundy from New Brunswick 14:18 in Canada. Back then Annapolis Royal was 14:22 known as Port Royal. It was established in 1605 14:27 by the French in what was then Acadia 14:31 but today is known as Nova Scotia. 14:34 And this is why the French fleet was on its way 14:36 to Annapolis Royal. It had been attacked repeatedly 14:40 by the British and by New England colonists. 14:43 Eventually it fell to the British. The French said: 14:47 'Unh-umm... we want it back 14:49 so we are going to take it back by force. " 14:52 Think now: this wasn't force. Eleven thousand men, 14:56 sixty-four ships. They believed the land was rightfully theirs. 15:02 And they were going to come up against the very best 15:04 that a small settlement could do. 15:07 It was not going to be pretty at all... 15:14 except that 15:17 sometimes 15:19 the plans of human beings don't track with the plans of God. 15:24 And so this is what happened. 15:26 The French fleet got away late. 15:29 A storm broke out. 15:31 Bad winds slowed them down. 15:34 They became becalmed off the Azores. 15:39 Disease broke out... 15:41 not only scurvy but typhoid as well... 15:44 back then before antibiotics. 15:48 Another storm arose during which lightning struck the ships. 15:52 One of those lightning flashes causes an explosion 15:56 that killed 30 men. 15:58 This was tough sailing. 16:01 There was more bad weather. More ships were damaged 16:04 and so the French fleet turned around. 16:06 They sailed back to France. One of them got a little 16:09 too close to Ireland for the liking of some. 16:13 That ship was captured by the British 16:15 70 miles off the Irish coast. 16:18 So by the time this expedition made it back to Nova Scotia 16:24 hundreds of men had died 16:26 and hundreds more were dreadfully ill. 16:29 The leader of the expedition died six days after arriving. 16:34 His replacement as leader 16:37 attempted suicide shortly after that. 16:42 The whole leader ended in abject failure. 16:49 Now what's less known is that in 1746 16:57 the people of New England began preparing for this invasion 17:02 as the French fleet were planning to, on their way 17:06 to Nova Scotia, sack Boston. 17:11 That's what they were going to do. 17:13 And one historian wrote this, so let me read these words 17:16 to you: "The governor - that's the governor of Massachusetts, 17:20 William Shirley - had proclaimed... " 17:22 Listen to what the governor did. Can you imagine a governor 17:24 doing this today? "The governor had proclaimed 17:27 a fast day to pray for deliver- ance from this present peril. 17:33 Everywhere men observed it 17:38 thronging to the churches. 17:41 In Boston the Reverend Thomas Prince 17:45 from the high pulpit of the Old South Meeting House 17:48 prayed before hundreds. 17:51 The morning was clear and calm. 17:54 People had walked to church through sunshine. 17:59 'Deliver us from our enemy" the minister implored. 18:04 'Send Thy tempest, Lord, 18:08 upon the waters to the eastward. 18:10 Raise Thy right hand. Scatter the ships of our tormentors 18:16 and drive them hence. Sink their proud frigates 18:21 beneath the power of Thy winds. ' " 18:25 He was just finished praying 18:29 when the sun suddenly was gone and the morning darkened. 18:35 A shadow came over the entire church. 18:39 A wind shrieked around the walls of the building. 18:43 It was sudden; it was violent... 18:47 like a hammer hammering at those dark shadows 18:50 with a giant hand. 18:53 There was nobody up in the steeple. 18:55 Later on people swore there was nobody there. 18:58 In spite of that, the great church bell struck twice. 19:04 It was described as being a wild, uneven sound. 19:09 Thomas Prince paused in his prayer, both arms raised. 19:13 'We hear Thy voice, O Lord, ' he called. 19:17 'We hear it! ' he thundered triumphantly. 19:21 'Thy breath is upon the waters to the eastward... 19:24 even upon the deep. Thy bell tolls 19:29 for the death of Your enemies! ' " 19:33 You see, here's what we learn from this story. 19:36 We learn that when there are challenges 19:40 and when our plans don't look like they're working out, 19:43 when your intentions meet with frustration, delay, 19:46 even defeat, God's plans 19:52 know no defeat. Amen! 19:54 God triumphs always! I wonder if you would turn with me 19:59 in your Bible to Matthew chapter 26. 20:01 We will go to that afternoon. That afternoon: Matthew 26. 20:07 As a matter of fact, it's not the afternoon... 20:08 now it's the evening. 20:10 The evening before the afternoon. 20:12 We'll get to the afternoon sooner enough... soon enough. 20:15 But first it's evening time... it's Thursday evening 20:17 before Friday afternoon 20:20 and Jesus knew what was coming. 20:25 He had already said: "One of you here 20:28 is going to betray Me. " "Oh, not I! " 20:31 "Oh, not I! " "It couldn't be me. " 20:33 "What could He possibly mean? " Isn't it fascinating that the 20:36 disciples often were told the plainest things by Jesus 20:38 and didn't understand what He meant. 20:41 "I'm going down to Jerusalem; they're going to kill Me. " 20:44 And the disciples turned to each other and stroked their chins 20:47 and they said: "Well what do you think He could possibly mean 20:49 by that? " How is that? 20:53 After that the fact... and it is a fact... 20:55 that the prophecies that they read made clear 20:58 that Messiah would die. 21:00 I tell you what it does: it didn't make me doubt 21:03 but it causes me to be a little humble about the things 21:05 that I believe inasmuch as I wonder sometimes 21:08 what I could be missing. Huh? 21:10 Eyes wide open... reading my Bible. 21:13 Studying the Word of God: gotta wonder what you're missing. 21:15 The disciples were missing certain things even though 21:17 Jesus spoke them plainly in their hearing. 21:22 And so Jesus had read the scriptures. 21:24 He'd read Isaiah chapter 53. 21:26 We looked at a little bit of it last night. 21:28 He knew what was coming. 21:30 Jesus had read the 22nd Psalm 21:34 which begins with the words: "My God, My God... 21:39 why hast Thou forsaken Me? " He'd read that. 21:42 And He read that and looked at those words 21:45 and knew: "That's Me 21:48 David was writing about! " Imagine that. 21:50 He read in Psalm 22: "They pierced My hands 21:53 and my feet. " He read that... He knew what was coming. 21:58 Jesus had read where the prophet had written 22:00 "They cast lots for My garments. " 22:04 He had read Isaiah chapter 53 22:07 knowing that He would be numbered with the transgressors 22:10 to be nailed between two thieves and not taken by surprise. 22:16 And so looking forward to a dark ending of His life 22:21 Jesus went out to pray. This is Matthew chapter 26 now 22:28 and we must begin reading 22:31 in verse 37. 22:35 "And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee 22:42 and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 22:48 Then He said to them: 'My soul is exceedingly sorrowful 22:51 even unto death. Tarry ye here and watch with Me. ' 22:57 And He went a little further 22:59 and fell on His face and He prayed. " 23:01 Now... now... just stop here. 23:05 Jesus knew what was coming. 23:06 He knew what Friday afternoon would bring. 23:08 He'd read it in the prophecies; He knew that. 23:10 He knew that He would die on an old rugged cross. 23:13 He knew that. 23:14 What could He have done to prepare Himself 23:17 for Friday afternoon? 23:19 He could have called every angel in heaven down. 23:21 He could have done that. 23:23 He could have raised up an army. 23:25 He could have armed His followers 23:28 and fought off His captors. 23:31 I don't know that His little band of disciples 23:35 could have defeated the Roman authorities. 23:37 But it wasn't really the Roman authorities that were giving Him 23:39 grief. I don't know if He could have fought off all of the Jews 23:43 but He could have held them off long enough to escape! 23:45 They could have run! 23:47 What could Jesus have done Friday afternoon 23:50 when trouble came? 23:52 What could Jesus have done when they placed a cross on His back 23:58 and told Him to carry it to Golgotha? 24:00 What could Jesus have done? 24:04 He could have called angels. 24:06 Could have raised up an army... 24:08 but instead Thursday night 24:12 Jesus got ready for Friday afternoon. 24:16 Verse 39: "He went a little further and fell on His face 24:19 and He prayed saying: 24:20 'O My Father, if it is possible 24:24 let this cup pass from me. ' " 24:27 And then He said: 24:29 "Nevertheless, not as I will 24:33 but as You will. " 24:36 This is what Jesus did to prepare for Friday afternoon. 24:40 He surrendered His future to His Father. 24:45 He placed His life into the hands of Almighty God. 24:51 His life was on the line. 24:53 His very existence hung in the balance. 24:56 He knew what was going to happen. He wouldn't fight back. 24:59 What He did was He surrendered Himself to God 25:03 and He said: "God... You fight this battle; 25:07 You do what You will. " He didn't pray for darkness. 25:10 God sent darkness. 25:11 He didn't pray for Simon of Cyrene to carry His cross... 25:14 at least not as far as we know. 25:16 God sent Simon. 25:18 He said: "I will fight this on Your terms. 25:23 You decide. " 25:25 "Not My will but Your will be done. " 25:27 He came to His disciples... they were asleep. 25:29 He said to Peter: "What? Couldn't you wait with Me 25:31 for an hour? Watch and pray 25:33 that you don't enter into temptation. 25:34 The spirit indeed is willing but the... " What? Tell me. 25:37 "flesh is weak. " All right! He went away; He prayed 25:40 the second time. He said: "O My Father, 25:43 if this cup may not pass away from me except I drink it... " 25:47 And then what did He say? 25:49 "Thy will be done. " 25:51 The test of His life literally 25:54 and Jesus met it by saying: "Your will be done. " 25:59 He went to the cross Friday afternoon 26:01 strengthened because He had given His life, 26:06 He had given His future, He had committed His destiny 26:09 to His heavenly Father. 26:11 "Spirit of God, You take over! " 26:14 "Not My will... Your will. " 26:16 "Let's do what You want here. " This wasn't all. 26:19 He came again and found them sleeping. Their eyes were heavy. 26:21 "He left them... " verse 44... "and went away again 26:25 and prayed the third time saying the same words. " 26:30 "Not what I will but what... " Tell me now: 26:34 "Thy will. " You know why this is so important for us? 26:38 The test that we go through isn't going to be the same 26:40 as the test Jesus went through. 26:42 I didn't even want to put it into that category. 26:44 Jesus bore the sins of the world... altogether different. 26:49 Altogether different but very similar 26:51 inasmuch as before Jesus comes back 26:54 those faithful ones who are alive and still tread this 26:59 mortal coil will be in... 27:04 will encounter the test of their lives. 27:07 The Bible says that we are coming face to face 27:09 one day soon with a time of trouble such as never was 27:12 since there was a nation. 27:13 Significant time. 27:15 And you can't prepare for this by working out in a gym. 27:17 You can't prepare for this by any type of training. 27:22 This isn't a fitness thing. 27:23 You prepare for this by praying as Jesus prayed 27:27 "Not my will but Thy will be done. " Amen! 27:30 "Not Thy will then... but Thy will now. " 27:34 "Now and later and in the morning and at lunch time 27:37 tomorrow and through the afternoon 27:39 and tomorrow night and forever! " 27:42 If you want to be prepared for your Friday afternoon experience 27:46 it's a matter of "Not my will but Thy will. " 27:48 This is what prepared Jesus. 27:51 Of course I'm not minimizing the fact that Jesus was 27:55 inseparably close to His Father 27:57 and that He spent nights in prayer and He lived His life 27:59 as One serving others. I'm not forgetting all of that. 28:02 But when push came to shove Jesus was ready for what 28:05 Friday afternoon brought Him because He prayed to His Father 28:08 and He said: "Not My will but Your will be done. " 28:15 You know, friends, I wonder if we're having that experience 28:17 now. We talk about: "Oh, when the time of trouble comes 28:20 I'll just let God... But why are you sitting in my seat? 28:23 Get out of my seat. " When the time of trouble comes... 28:26 When the time of trouble comes 28:29 I will be... Baah! Baah! Idiot! Get off the road! " 28:33 "When the time of trouble comes... " 28:38 Are you missing something? 28:41 The time of trouble came when that driver slowed down 28:45 in front of you. I mean, not calling it a time of trouble 28:48 but... You know why God allows these trials to come into your 28:52 life? So you can see what's in your heart. 28:54 That's why. 28:56 And so when a driver slows down in front of you 28:58 or somebody at work is snippy at you 28:59 or your spouse gives you the cold shoulder 29:01 or whatever it might be just wait and see how you react 29:05 and that's God saying to you: "See what's in your heart. " 29:08 Because God wants you to be ready for Friday afternoon. 29:11 And this is why we are to say: "Not my will 29:14 but Thy will be done. " 29:17 You invest in the stock market and things take a turn for the 29:19 worse and you lose your shirt. 29:21 Well, what are you going to do? 29:23 Lose your Christian experience as well? 29:25 Or can you say: "Not my will but Thy will be done? " 29:29 God is still God even when things go bad. 29:32 God is still God even when the bottom drops out of your 29:34 world. Listen: Friday afternoon is coming for us. 29:37 Not in the form of a real cross 29:40 but maybe in the form of that figurative cross 29:42 that Jesus said we ought to take up and carry and 29:45 follow Him, if we are truly to be His disciples. 29:48 Jesus prayed in preparation for the greatest test of His 29:51 existence: "Not My will but Thy will be done. " 29:57 What's your prayer? 30:00 You see, Jesus could have walked in there and wiped them out. 30:03 Struck them down. But He knew this battle - 30:07 this encounter with the cross - was not a battle 30:10 that He would fight except as He continued to 30:14 yield His heart to God 30:17 and allow God to lead and guide and provide 30:20 and strengthen. He was on a mission. 30:23 Jesus' mission He said was "To do the will of His Father. " 30:28 That's all it was. 30:29 If it was the Father's will for Him to go to the cross 30:32 He would go to the cross and say: "Not My will... 30:34 Your will be done. " 30:36 His life was not the outworking of His own will. 30:39 His life was the outworking of the will of Almighty God. 30:43 And so He knew that if His Father was leading Him 30:48 to have a nail driven through His wrists 30:51 all He needed to do if that was the will of God 30:54 in that moment was say: "Not My will... 30:57 Your will be done. And if this is Your will 30:59 bring it on. " 31:01 When they came at Him with a hammer and a great big nail 31:04 to drive it through His feet... Nobody wants that! 31:07 But Jesus said: "Not My will... Your will be done. " 31:11 Where was Christ's strength in that moment? 31:15 Strength was in His Father. 31:17 Strength was in the power of His Holy Spirit. 31:19 He hung on by faith to the providence of God 31:23 knowing that His Father loved Him. 31:25 Knowing that His trial did not represent the rejection 31:29 or the neglect of Almighty God. 31:31 He hung on to His Father 31:33 knowing that if the cross was God's will for Him then 31:37 then the will and the grace of God would strengthen Him 31:41 to be able to endure that experience. 31:43 It says in Exodus chapter 14 and verse 14 31:47 "The Lord shall fight for you and you shall... " Do what? 31:52 "hold your peace. " 31:54 GOD will fight for you. 31:56 God will strengthen you. 31:58 If it is God's will that has led you to a place, 32:02 if God's providence has allowed a certain circumstance, 32:06 then you can know that God is with you. 32:08 He will strengthen you and according to His will 32:11 He will deliver you. 32:12 It is God's business what happens to us. Amen! 32:16 Ours is to pray that surrendered prayer that says: "Not my will 32:20 but Your will be done. " 32:22 Gideon was called by God to lead God's people 32:24 to victory and success. He called up an army. 32:27 Thousands! God said: "Too many. " 32:29 "Oh? Really? Too many? " 32:31 "Still too many. " "You can't be serious! " 32:35 And he ended up with how many? Three hundred. 32:38 Humanly speaking: not possible. 32:40 Humanly speaking: not sensible. 32:43 Nobody with 300 men goes to fight an overwhelming army. 32:46 That's folly. Except Gideon didn't argue. 32:51 Gideon didn't say: "Hold on! Not Your will my will be done. " 32:54 Gideon did not say: "I don't see how this can happen! " 33:00 Gideon simply said: "All right, if that's what You want 33:03 let's go! " And Gideon and three hundred 33:07 wrought deliverance for Israel. 33:10 You know the people that I think were people of great faith? 33:14 We read about the battle of Jericho, you know. 33:18 And so there they are walking around Jericho. 33:22 I don't know; I wasn't there but the leaders were leading. 33:26 The people I think were people of real faith 33:29 were the everyday soldiers. 33:31 "Why are we doing this? " "Well... 33:35 because Joshua said it's a good idea. " 33:39 "And what's going to happen? " "Well, evidently God is going to 33:42 bring deliverance... deliverance. " 33:47 "And how's this deliverance going to come about? " 33:49 "Well... we just walk... all right? " 33:56 "How long do we walk for? " 33:57 "Evidently we have to do this every day for seven days. " 34:01 "OK... a lot of walking that will bring us deliverance. " 34:06 "Weapons? " "No, no one said anything about weapons... 34:08 not initially. " "All right... we're just going to walk? " 34:11 "Yes. " Anything else? " "Yeah! " 34:13 "What? " "You're not going to believe me; 34:15 I'm not going to tell you. " "Tell me! " 34:17 "No, no... you sound like a skeptic. 34:20 I'm not telling you. " 34:22 "Evidently you know something I need to know. " 34:23 "What is it? " "Well, we're going to walk 34:26 and then ultimately we're going to shout. " 34:31 "We're going to shout? " 34:33 "What? We're going to shout 'FIRE' and then they'll blast 34:35 the place with cannons? " 34:37 "No, no... We're just going to shout and then 34:39 the walls are going to come down. " 34:42 You know what I imagine? I imagine this long column of 34:45 people walking and these two guys having a conversation 34:48 and the second one stopping 34:50 and they all just kind of walk in and bump into each other. 34:52 Like bump... Just what I imagine. 34:56 Hope you don't mind me imagining that 34:58 but that's what I imagine. 34:59 "Hold on! " "We're going to shout 35:02 and you said... you said what? " "No, no, really. The walls 35:05 are going to fall down. " "You know, I'll be honest: 35:08 I have wondered about Joshua. " 35:11 "I reckon he's lost his marbles! " 35:14 And the first guy says: "No... just trust him. 35:17 Has he ever led us astray yet? " 35:18 "No. " "And Moses reckons he's the man. " "All right. " 35:22 "Blessing of God seems to be upon him. " 35:24 I think those poor fellows walking around Jericho were 35:27 the people of great faith. Joshua got it straight from God. 35:29 He was convinced. They had to believe HIM. 35:34 And somehow they were convinced that if they walked and if they 35:37 shouted the great walls of a great city 35:40 would just go... come falling on down 35:42 and then deliverance would be theirs. 35:44 How could that happen? 35:45 Because the battle was not theirs but it was God's! Amen! 35:50 Come on now... I've got a question for you: 35:52 who's fighting your battles? 35:54 Who? Who's fighting your battles? 35:57 God fought the battle of Jericho! It was GOD! 36:01 The next story: "Here's what I'd like you to do: 36:04 dig ditches. " "Phew! You want us to do what? " 36:08 "No, really... trust Me, " God says. 36:10 "Dig ditches. " So they dug ditches, and when the folks 36:14 came over the hill they saw those things. 36:16 "Oh, blood! Oh my goodness! " How does that happen? 36:19 How about this other time when there's a famine in Samaria 36:23 II Kings 6... bleeds into chapter 7. 36:27 There's a famine. The Syrian army has got them surrounded. 36:31 Remember that? So much so 36:34 that they were spending a king's ransom on food 36:38 that wasn't even food. 36:40 They would buy a donkey's head. A donkey is an unclean animal. 36:43 They were buying that for like 80 pieces of silver. 36:46 They would buy the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung. 36:49 I don't even know how much that is. Not much! 36:52 They were buying bird manure. 36:53 What for? Not to put on their garden, man! 36:56 This was food! 36:58 These people were desperate... desperate! 37:01 The lepers outside came to their senses 37:04 and they said: "What are we doing waiting out here? 37:06 There's no food in there for them to give us anyhow! " 37:08 "Let's go out to the Syrians. They'll probably kill us 37:12 but we're going to die anyway! 37:13 Let's give it a shot. " 37:15 Off they went. Do you know what God did? 37:18 Do you know? God sent a noise! 37:23 The Syrians heard the noise and said: "Oh my goodness! 37:28 Mercenaries... let's go! " And they ran! 37:31 They left the food; they left their valuables; 37:34 they left their gold and silver. 37:36 They left clothing; they left their tents. 37:38 They just "high-tailed it" out of there! 37:41 Another time: heathen were coming against God's people. 37:45 It was over. "What do we do now? " 37:48 That king got word from another part of his kingdom: 37:50 "There's trouble... we've got to get out of here. " 37:52 And suddenly they were delivered. 37:54 Time and time and time and time again 37:56 God's people were delivered without even firing a shot - 37:59 Amen - because GOD fought their battles. 38:03 He was taking care of them. 38:05 I'm not suggesting we live in some kind of a fantasy world 38:07 where hardships don't come and we don't have real battles 38:10 to fight... but when we fight them 38:12 who's fighting your battles? 38:15 If you are fighting your battles you're going to lose. 38:17 If God is fighting your battles, you cannot lose... 38:21 even if it looks like defeat. 38:24 Jesus said to some fellows in a boat: 38:25 "Let's go to the other side of the lake. " 38:27 Halfway across, you know, the wind is blowing, 38:30 the rain is coming down, there's water getting in the boat. 38:32 They're bailing out to save their lives, and Jesus is 38:35 sleeping in the back of the boat. 38:37 They wake Him up. "Don't You care that we're about to die? " 38:40 One gospel writer said that they were "in jeopardy. " 38:43 I just love the language. 38:44 Sure... they were in jeopardy, all right. 38:46 "Jesus! We're in jeopardy... what're You going to do? " 38:49 He said: "Oh ye of... " Little faith! 38:55 Doesn't that seem a little strange to you? 39:00 "Ye of little faith. " 39:02 "Jesus, You'd be drowning right now if it wasn't for us. " 39:09 "Oh ye of little faith. " 39:11 "Where does He get off calling us ye of little faith? " 39:16 "You've been sleeping; 39:19 we've been toiling. " 39:22 But they were forgetting the battle was not theirs, 39:24 it was the Lord's. 39:25 Jesus had said: "Let us go to the... " 39:28 other side. It wouldn't have mattered if Hurricane Irma 39:33 had been bearing down on them 39:35 they were going to make it to the other side of the lake 39:38 because Jesus had said: "We are going to the other side 39:41 of the lake. " Amen! Plain and simple. 39:44 And you are half-way to the other side of the... You know, 39:46 you know, come on, now... come on, now. 39:47 Some of you... some of us, some people look around the church 39:50 and say: "Oh, I'm so discouraged by what I see. " 39:53 "I'm so discouraged because not everybody is as holy 39:55 as I am. " 40:02 "I'm so discouraged because I see some churches doing stuff 40:05 that I don't like. I see some church members doing things 40:08 that I don't like. " I'm not suggesting to you that... 40:10 that everything is well. I'm not suggesting that. 40:13 But I remember reading in the Bible 40:17 where it says: "This gospel of the kingdom 40:19 shall be preached in all the world for a witness 40:22 unto all nations. " And if I'm reading that 40:24 I remember reading that God would have a remnant 40:27 down in the last days of earth's history. 40:29 So while you may weep and cry or sigh and cry for the abomination 40:34 that you see done... all right. 40:36 But what are you forgetting? 40:38 You're forgetting that the battle is not yours' 40:40 it's God's. It's HIS CHURCH not yours'. 40:44 Never will be yours'; it's His! 40:46 He can take care of it. Amen! 40:49 He can use it. 40:51 He can purify it. 40:53 He can work with it. 40:54 Don't spit your pacifier out like a child in a stroller! 41:00 Get pouty because you don't like stuff. 41:04 Not your church! 41:08 GOD'S CHURCH! AMEN! 41:10 It's still the apple of His eye! Amen! 41:15 He says "weak and enfeebled though it is 41:17 and in need of reproof and correction it is still 41:22 the one object upon this earth 41:24 upon which Christ bestows in a special sense 41:27 His supreme regard. " Hallelujah it's HIS church! Amen! 41:32 He'll fight the battles! 41:35 He'll win the battles. 41:37 You don't have to be able to figure it out. 41:39 You don't have to be able to see why. 41:41 You say: "Wow! It's uncomfortable in here. " 41:43 "There's too much water in the boat! " 41:45 He has said: "The church is going through! " 41:49 Hallelujah! It's going through. Amen! 41:51 Seems like a roller coaster for some of God's saints sometimes. 41:54 You know the people that get hurt on roller coasters? 41:58 You know who they are? 41:59 Folks who jump off... they're the ones who get hurt. 42:03 Don't jump... don't jump! 42:08 Man, I don't like those rides... I hate 'em. 42:12 You know what? I was at a... I was so blessed. 42:15 A friend took me for a flight in a private plane 42:18 not long ago in Alaska. 42:21 It was beautiful! And so it took off on a runway. 42:24 And it was like where folks were camping, you know, 42:28 and so there was a bunch of people watching and waving. 42:30 And he took off... and I should have known. 42:35 I didn't anticipate this. He turned to me and said: 42:38 "Do you get airsick? " 42:44 Why is he asking me this? 42:46 But that was very considerate. 42:48 I said: "No... I don't get airsick. " 42:52 You can't hear people on board planes... 42:55 I told him: "No, I don't get airsick. 42:57 I don't have a problem with that. " He said: "Good! " 43:06 He turned the plane around, came back along the runway 43:09 about I don't know 50' off the ground. 43:11 Vroom... Did this little fly past for the boys. 43:14 I thought: "That's nice. " And then you know what he did? 43:16 Boom! Straight up! 43:19 "Aah... " my heart was in my mouth! 43:24 I closed my eyes; I tensed up. 43:27 I hoped... I hoped he wasn't looking at me. 43:34 What option did I have then? 43:36 I could jump out! 43:39 Or I could hang on 43:41 and trust that the pilot knew what he was doing! 43:44 Let me tell you what I did... I hung on! 43:47 And the good news was: pilot knew what he was doing. 43:50 Hallelujah! Made it safely down. 43:54 Amen. Who's fighting your battles? God! 43:58 Come on, I want to look at a passage of scripture with you. 44:00 In fact, I want to look at two, so I need to speed up here. 44:03 II Chronicles chapter 20... let's go there. 44:05 This is a fantastic chapter. 44:07 II Chronicles chapter 20. I'll start in verse 1. 44:12 It came to pass after this. 44:14 II Chronicles 20:1. If you're not there you'll catch up. 44:17 It's OK. Verse 1: "It came to pass after this also 44:19 that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon 44:22 and with them other beside the Ammonites 44:25 came against Jehoshaphat in a battle. " It was not good 44:28 for Jehoshaphat. "Someone came and told them... 44:31 they said: 'They come with a great multitude against you 44:33 from beyond the sea on this side Syria. And behold 44:35 they be on Hazazon Tamar, which is En Gedi. ' 44:38 Jehoshaphat feared. " 44:41 And here's what he did. 44:43 "He set himself to seek the Lord and he proclaimed a fast 44:48 throughout all Judah. 44:52 And Judah gathered themselves together. " 44:53 They came together. "Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation. " 44:55 Verse 6... here's what he said. Now you watch: 44:58 Jehoshaphat's going down. 45:01 There's no way he can win this so watch what he prays. 45:05 He says: "O Lord God of our fathers, 45:09 art not Thou God in heaven? " 45:13 Do you like that? 45:15 "Aren't You God? " 45:20 That would just about be enough. 45:23 The inference is: "If You're God we're going to be OK. 45:25 If You're not, then we're not. " 45:27 "Aren't You God? " 45:30 "Don't You rule over all the kingdoms of the heathen? " 45:33 "In Your hand is there not power and might 45:35 so that none is able to withstand Thee? " 45:37 That's what he says. 45:39 Verse 7... listen to this: 45:41 "Art not Thou our God who didst drive out the inhabitants 45:44 of this land before Thy people Israel 45:45 and you gave it to the seed of Abraham, Your friend forever? 45:49 And they dwelt there and they built a sanctuary. " And so on. 45:54 "Aren't You God? " 45:56 "Aren't we Your people? " 45:58 You know what he's doing? He's upping the ante 46:02 in this prayer with God. 46:04 He's leveraging certain truths and he's bringing them to God. 46:09 He's sharing with God what certain realities were. 46:15 In a certain sense he's painting God into a corner. 46:17 Now I know you can't do that but you know what I mean. 46:20 He's putting this all on God. 46:23 "Aren't You God? Aren't we Your people? " 46:26 "Didn't You drive these people out? " 46:28 Now look in verse 10. You've gotta love this. 46:31 "And now behold the children of Ammon and Moab 46:34 and Mount Seir who You would not let Israel invade 46:37 when they came out of the land of Egypt 46:39 but they turned from them and destroyed them not... " 46:41 Now did you get what he said? 46:43 "These are the rascals that we were going to kill 46:45 except You told us not to 46:47 and now they've come to kill us. " 46:49 In other words: "This is Your fault! " 46:53 "If only we'd killed them like we wanted 46:56 we wouldn't be having this problem now. " 46:58 "See what You've done? " 47:00 We keep reading: 47:02 "O our God, will You not judge them 47:04 for we have no might against this great company 47:07 that comes against us... neither do we know what to do. " 47:10 Listen: "But our eyes are upon Thee! " 47:13 Amen! Who's fighting your battles? 47:16 Friday afternoon is coming. 47:18 Who's fighting your battles? 47:20 Jehoshaphat knew who would fight theirs. 47:22 They got together: the mighty men, the children, 47:25 the wives... they all got together. 47:29 And then the prophet said: 47:31 "Don't be afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude" 47:33 Verse 15: "for the battle is not yours but God's! " Amen! 47:39 Who is fighting your battle, Jehoshaphat? 47:42 And you know what happened here? 47:43 You know what happened here? 47:46 In fact, we need to read it... it's just magnificent. 47:50 In verse 22 it says: "And when they began to sing and praise" 47:55 So here's what I'm wanting to see: 47:58 I want to see God's people get disagreed with 48:01 and then sing and pray or sing and praise in response. 48:07 When someone insults you, go ahead: sing and praise. 48:10 These aren't Bible stories, man. These are prescriptions! Amen! 48:16 When the board meeting vote looks like it's going south 48:21 and you're about to lose your experience, 48:24 sing and praise. 48:26 Their existence was on the line. 48:29 And when they began to sing and praise 48:33 THEN "the Lord sent ambushments against the children of Ammon, 48:37 Moab, and Mount Seir 48:39 which were come against Judah 48:42 and they were smitten. " You know why? 48:45 I'm not trying to re-write the Bible here, but I'm imagining 48:47 with you that if they did not sing and praise 48:50 this may not have happened. 48:52 Because God said: "Get the sing- ers out; get the praisers out. 48:55 Come on now... sing and praise. " 48:56 "The children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants 48:59 of Mount Seir utterly to slay and destroy them. 49:02 And when they made an end of the inhabits of Seir 49:04 everyone helped to destroy another. " 49:06 Hallelujah! I mean, I'm not rejoicing in the bloodshed. 49:10 I'm rejoicing in the deliverance. 49:11 Amen! They turned on themselves. 49:14 What? How does that happen? 49:17 God moved. Who was fighting their battle? 49:19 God was fighting their battle. 49:22 Who's fighting your battles? God! 49:26 Thursday night: Jesus on His knees crying out to God 49:30 "Not My will... Your will be done. " 49:32 Sins of the world are starting to press down upon Him. 49:36 Starts to sweat blood. 49:38 Diapedesis they call it. 49:41 I don't want that. Jesus said: "I already told You 49:44 if it's possible let it pass from Me. 49:46 But if this is the road I ought to walk 49:48 I'm going to walk it... You will give Me strength. " 49:51 Who's fighting... who's fighting your battles? 49:54 There's another passage. I'm going to leave II Chronicles 49:56 and go to another passage with you. 49:58 This is Martin Luther's book: 50:00 Romans, and Romans chapter 7. Let's look at this. 50:03 Who's fighting your battles? 50:05 We can talk in generalities and we can talk about 50:10 the big picture, but let's "zero" it down now 50:13 and see if we can get ourselves in the frame. 50:16 Each of us. Romans chapter 7. 50:20 And I want to start reading 50:24 in verse 14. 50:26 "For we know that the law is spiritual 50:28 but I am carnal... sold under sin. " 50:32 Paul say: "I am carnal... sold under sin. 50:35 For that which I do I allow not; 50:38 what I would, that I do not. 50:40 What I hate, that I do. " 50:43 He says: "If I do that I would not, I consent to the law 50:46 that it's good. It's no more I that do it 50:48 but sin that dwells in me. " 50:51 "I know that in me in my flesh dwells no good thing; 50:54 to will is present with me but how to perform that which is 50:56 good I find not. " 51:00 "For the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I 51:03 would not that I do. " You know the funniest thing about this 51:05 is there are some people instead of learning from it 51:08 they want to argue about whether this is the converted Paul 51:10 or the unconverted Paul. 51:16 There are some ninnies around. 51:22 You know, Paul said "I. " 51:26 He didn't say: "Let's pass this; put it in reverse and back up 51:29 twenty years. " But you say, you say 51:32 "Well it has to be the unconverted Paul 51:34 because the converted Paul wouldn't say this. " 51:36 OK, I'm going to ask you a question: Are you converted? 51:38 Your answer is "yes... " Your answer is "yes. " 51:40 Are you converted? Your answer is "yes. " 51:43 So: are you converted? "Yes! " All right... yes. 51:46 Have you ever had a battle like this? 51:48 Yes. OK... so you were unconverted all of a sudden? 51:52 Are we saying that only unconverted people struggle? 51:57 Paul is talking. It doesn't matter converted or unconverted. 51:59 He's talking about anybody 52:02 who is letting their grip on God loosen 52:06 and is ceasing to find the strength in Christ 52:10 that He makes available 52:11 and is starting to shift their focus off where it ought to be. 52:15 Because suddenly when you let your grip of Jesus go 52:18 you start to drift and you don't have the power to do 52:20 what you know you should or not do that which you know 52:23 you should not do. 52:25 So let's "zero in" on this here. 52:29 "Now if I do that which I would not... " 52:32 verse 20... "it's no more I that do it but sin that dwells in me. 52:35 I find a law then that when I would do good evil is present 52:38 with me. " How frustrating is this? 52:40 You want to do the right thing but maybe your prayer life 52:43 has slackened the last couple of days 52:45 or your blood sugar is low or there's some real difficult 52:49 situations at work or at home or the children are giving you 52:51 grief or your parents... somebody is giving you grief. 52:56 And then you're not thinking straight and your faith 52:58 slips a little bit. "I delight in the law of God 53:02 after the inward man but I see another law in my members 53:05 warring against the law of my mind 53:07 and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin 53:09 which is in my members. " I go to church; I tithe; 53:12 I pray; I think I eat well. 53:14 I exercise... OK, I lie, too, evidently. 53:22 I do all these things that good Christians are meant to do 53:25 but right now I'm struggling. There's this temptation 53:29 and I want to go right but I can hardly go right. 53:31 I don't want to go that way but I'm getting drawn that way. 53:35 It's really against my will but ultimately it's not 53:39 because it's all a matter of the will. 53:41 What do I do? Have you ever had that experience? 53:43 Yes... oh yes you have. 53:46 Oh yes you have. 53:48 You cry out to God. You say: "God, I've been in church 53:51 forty years... I'm still selfish. " 53:56 "I've still got a dirty mind. " 53:58 "Raised in a Christian home... I still lie. " 54:02 Or whatever it might be. You are capable of 54:05 writing in that gap. 54:08 And then you cry out like Paul cries out 54:10 in verse 24: "O wretched man that I am! " 54:14 "O wretched woman that I am! Who shall deliver me 54:20 from the body of this death? " 54:23 There's a question. 54:26 Paul said: "I mean, I can't do it. " 54:28 "I'm in a battle; it's a war I cannot win. " 54:31 "She says these things. Ah, I just strike back. 54:35 You know I shouldn't... I know I shouldn't. " 54:38 "I'm surfing and I see a link to a website. 54:41 I know, I know I shouldn't. Aah! " 54:43 "Who's gonna deliver me from the body of this death? " 54:48 And then Paul writes... he doesn't leave us hanging: 54:52 he gives us the answer right here in verse 25. 54:55 "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! 54:59 With the mind I serve the law of God; with the flesh the law 55:01 of sin. " But he's thankful now. He says it's a body of death. 55:04 "I'm drawn this way. In and of myself 55:07 I cannot win the battle. " 55:09 Who's fighting your battle? 55:10 Paul said: "When I fight my battles 55:13 I cannot win. But when God is fighting my battles 55:19 victory! " And then the next verse is one of the most 55:22 profound phrases in the history of literature. 55:28 Romans 8 verse 1: 55:30 "There is therefore now no condemnation 55:35 to them which are in Christ Jesus 55:37 who walk not after the flesh 55:40 but after the Spirit. " 55:42 How do you walk after the Spirit? By praying the prayer 55:45 that says: "Nevertheless not My will 55:48 but Thy will be done. " 55:49 Amen! "Lead me in the way everlasting. " 55:52 "Not what I want... it's what You want. " 55:55 That's how you walk in the Spirit. 55:58 By saying: "I'd rather not go to the cross. " 56:00 And you know God calls us to go to the cross every day. 56:03 Every day! 56:05 Paul said: "I die daily. " 56:07 Jesus said: "Take up your cross daily and follow Me. " 56:12 We don't want to be crucified! Who wants that? 56:17 But we pray the prayer Jesus prayed: 56:20 "Nevertheless not My will but Your will be done. " 56:25 How do you feel about that? 56:27 "There is therefore now no condemnation. " 56:30 God could have condemned you 10,000 times already. 56:34 But when you yield your life to Jesus 56:36 there's no condemnation. No condemnation! 56:40 Help me find better news. You can't! 56:43 There's no condemnation. 56:45 Who's fighting your battles? Who? 56:47 Let God fight your battle... let God fight your... 56:49 What's your battle now? What's your battle? 56:51 Think of what your battle is and give it to God 56:55 and say: "God fight this battle; God fight this battle. " 56:57 Come on, let's pray now. Father in heaven, 57:00 our hearts are Yours. They are. 57:02 We act a lot of the time as though they're not 57:05 but they are... our hearts are Yours. 57:07 So keep them. If the battle is not ours but Yours, 57:11 then fight our battle. 57:12 Fight that battle. Don't let us lose. 57:15 We lean on You; we trust in You; we love You. 57:17 You MUST do this for us 'cause we can't do it ourselves. 57:20 We thank you tonight and we pray gratefully 57:23 in Jesus' name. Come on, let's say together: 57:25 Amen and amen. |
Revised 2018-01-31