Key Scriptures: 1 Chronicles 13, 15; Luke 4
Preamble
God's Church, you and I- Christ’s Bride, is victorious!
Christ paid the price for our victory!
With His precious blood, His life poured out on the cross of Calvary, He defeated Satan, Lucifer, the enemy of our souls!
It is written,
Jesus Christ 1Pe 3:22 - Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers have all been and are continuously being made subject unto him!
We are victorious!
It is written!
We win!
And God is calling His church, you and I, His Bride, back into close fellowship with Him!
We are His Ambassadors, permitted, authorized, empowered to execute His will in the earth!
It is written! He is coming again for a glorious Church, spot free, wrinkle free, eagerly awaiting the consummation of her marriage to her groom!
It is written! Heaven and earth shall pass away but my word shall NEVER pass away!
It is written,
Mat 5:17 - Jesus said, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
Mat 5:18 - For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled! Jesus is the fulfillment!
It is written,
Rev 22:16 - I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Rev 22:17 - And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Rev 22:18 - For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, (hold up Bible) If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19 - And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Rev 22:20 - He which testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Rev 22:21 - The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!
It is written,
Psalm 138:2 - I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Isaiah 55:10 -11 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: Isa 55:11 - So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it!
It is Written!
Let us pray
Prayer
So Lord Jesus, send your word now, in this room, to your church, to your bride! Raise her up! Stir up your word and a hunger in her heart for you her groom! Like David, like you Jesus, put a righteous indignation in her heart against an enemy who has dared to defy the armies and the sanctuary and the truths of the living God to dare set up his own defilement to mimic the truths of the living God! Power of God arise! Sword of God unsheath and go forth! Arrows of the living God unfurl and make your mark to tear down strongholds and erect the tabernacle of David in power and anointing of Jesus to expand and build up your kingdom! Even so Lord Jesus, come quickly! Hallelujah!
Challenge
Heb 4:12 - For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The word of God is God Himself, the essence of who He is.
It is written,
John 1:1-3, 14, In the beginning, was the Word and the word was with God and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us
Without the word of God we become at best weak, a prey for all the voices in the world, and it's vices, tossed and turned about with doctrines not of God, and unable to access that which Christ Himself apprehended for us when He spent 3 days and 3 nights in the bowels of hell!
Satan doesn't mind you coming to church and speaking Christianese, as long as you do not know the truth that is written!
It is written!
And God says He wants you to get the word of God in you quicker, and more copious than you have ever gotten anything into you!
It is written!
Isa 55:1 - Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Isa 55:2 - Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Isa 55:3 - Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live;
Isa 55:6 - Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Let it be said of us that we had a heart after God's heart.
John 7:37 - Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. John 7:38 - He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Which of you will say to God today, now, let me be found with a heart that is after God's heart? Whose heart is now being stirred by the Spirit of the living God to desire His heart? Who vows to draw near to the heart of Jesus our Bridegroom?
Come to the Altar; for those who will vow to draw near
Come! Come to the altar! Declare today that you will run after God. You will know His heart. You will find out what is written. Come.
Song: love has a name, Kim walker smith
Message
Play house and play shop as kids, mimicking the real parents and shopkeepers. No-one wanted to be the kids to get bosses around. It was real to us. We argued for the top parts. I loved shopkeeper because I got to use the machete to cut the beef! Cutting up grandma's cactus to her horror. It was real! Our shop and house.
But we turned 13 and 14 and the pretend house and shop ceased. Though it was real as children it could not sustain because it was not the real.
Proverbs 25:14 whoso boast himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.
So Satan has set himself up in a kingdom that mimics God's. But it cannot sustain beyond our allowing it to. He was defeated by Jesus by virtue of the cross and resurrection. In the end he will be tied up. Those who serve him will be in a place of abject horror, without access to satan, the daddy of the counterfeit kingdom.
To be sure just as we did damage to my family's property during our pretend era until grandma used her real authority over us to put a firm stop to it each time, just so Satan will do damage during His pretend era unless we use our authority, given to us by the Master of the Universe, Jesus the Christ, to stop it.
1 Chronicles 13- let's turn there
1 And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. 1Ch 13:2 - And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren everywhere, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us: 1Ch 13:3 - And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul. 1Ch 13:4 - And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. ¶ 1Ch 13:5 - So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjathjearim. 1Ch 13:6 - And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjathjearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it. 1Ch 13:7 - And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart. 1Ch 13:8 - And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets. ¶ 1Ch 13:9 - And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled. 1Ch 13:10 - And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God. 1Ch 13:11 - And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzza: wherefore that place is called Perezuzza to this day. 1Ch 13:12 - And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me? ¶ 1Ch 13:13 - So David brought not the ark home to himself to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite. 1Ch 13:14 - And the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that he had.
David had good intentions. He had a zeal for the things of God. He was able to communicate his zeal so that a mighty number of people gathered to see the ark of the Lord returned to its rightful place.
But our good intentions, our zeal without knowledge, our leadership abilities, our talents, our great offerings to the Lord, none impresses God. If we are not careful all of what we have and want to do for the Lord can cause the death of someone else if not ourselves.
Uzza did what anyone of us may instinctively do, such as when you are driving and hit a bump or make a sudden stop and automatically, especially if you are a mother, your hand stretches out. Why? To protect.
Uzza was trying to protect the ark from falling off the cart as it hit a bump. And God killed him.
Why? They had disobeyed God’s prescribed order, that which was written.
Exo 25:12 - And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. Exo 25:13 - And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. Exo 25:14 - And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
(how did they carry the ark? driven on a new cart)
Num 4:5 - And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it: Num 4:6 - And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.
Num 4:15 - And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
the levites. the priests. Aaron’s sons.It was their burden, their job, to carry the ark on their shoulders, by staves
Num 7:9 - But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.
1 Chronicles 15
1Ch 15:2 - Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him forever
1Ch 15:11 - And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab, 1Ch 15:12 - And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it. 1Ch 15:13 - For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.
1Ch 15:14 - So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel. 1Ch 15:15 - And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD
It is written!
God has a due order. His prescribed plans. These must be carried out. Just as He prescribed.
But how we follow what we do not know?
He is calling His church back to His written order found in HIs word through the revelation of His Holy Spirit.
John 14:26
John 14:26 - But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
It’s difficult to bring to your remembrance that which you have not “heard” from Jesus through studying His word.
The world, our country, our families, our schools, our courts, our cities, our neighborhoods- all depend on Christians who are filled with God’s zeal according to what is written.
2 Chronicles 14:7
If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then, I will hear from heaven and will heal their land
Humble self first to be empowered to turn away.
Recognize He alone is God, not our good ideas, our talent, our money, nothing, no-one. He has a prescribed order. And though the highest authority of this land says marriage is legal between same sex, God’s prescribed order says No! And who do you think will win in the end? The supreme court of America or the Supreme Judge of the Universe?
Many will die needless useless deaths because of refusal or ignorance of God’s prescribed order.
Humbling ourselves is the first step
2Co 10:3 - For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 2Co 10:4 - (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 2Co 10:5 - Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2Co 10:6 - And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
The world awaits our obedience to God’s it is written.
Matthew 28:20 Go. Make disciples
He never promised that it would be easy. To the contrary,
Jhn 15:20 - Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
2Ti 3:12 - Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
But He also promised rewards for obedience not just when we get to heaven but right here on earth
Mar 10:29 - And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
Unchecked Copy BoxMar 10:30 - But he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Jesus is our example.
John 8:28-29
John 8:28 - Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. John 8:29 - And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
John 4:34 My meat is to do the will of the Father and to finish the work He sent me to do
1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Jesus was led by the Holy Ghost into the wilderness to conquer these areas of the flesh for us by, it is written!
Luke 4:1-2a And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into
the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil
a. Lust of the flesh
Luk 4:2b -. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
Luk 4:3 - And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made
bread.
Luk 4:4 - And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word of God.
Notice Jesus’ response
1. Refused to acknowledge His identity- If thou be the son of man
Settle your identity, You are God’s Dearly Beloved, if Christ be in you. Settle it.
2. Respond with the word of God, It is written. Do it His way
b. Lust of the Eyes
Luk 4:5 - And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luk 4:6 - And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
Luk 4:7 - If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
Luk 4:8 - And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Matthew 28:18 and Jesus came and spoke unto them saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth
All Power was God’s to give. Satan took illegal possession of it and was trying to get Jesus to achieve it without going to the cross. Beware of promises that are made to you that only God can keep. Trying to get these before you are deemed ready may prove not only detrimental to you, but to many others. One example, Sara and Abram. God promised them a son. But not hearing God, not knowing that all things are possible with Him, they did not follow God and wait for the promise. They aborted the wait period and got Hagar pregnant. Today we deal with this deadly false promise in the form of Islam, where Hagar’s descendants are ever ready to wipe out the Jews and Christians and all America as infidels. We must do it God’s prescribed way, His due order.
c. Pride of Life
Luk 4:9 - And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: Luk 4:10 - For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: Luk 4:11 - And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Luk 4:12 - And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Notice that now Satan uses God’s word. Don’t be fooled into thinking that He doesn’t know the word. He knows it better than most of us who refuse to study it. He lived in heaven with the Word! Sure he knows how to use it! Only His motives are selfish and deadly.
He will get you to show off your gifts and your anointing outside of God’s directives, even using the argument that it is for God. Just as he whispered to Saul- keep the animals to use in worship to God!
1Sa 15:20 - And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 1Sa 15:21 - But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
Or as he appeared to Eve in the Garden and said,
Did God say?
Do not think that you can take on satan without God’s empowerment.
Jesus showed us clearly that we are to allow the Holy Spirit access to our lives to kill the flesh so our ears could hear better.
Hebrew 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.
Conclusion
God is calling us back to His word. IT IS WRITTEN!
Hos 4:6 - My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Joshua 1:7 - Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. Jos 1:8 - This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
And for those who say, that’s the Old Testament
2Ti 3:16 - All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 - That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
2Ti 2:15 - Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth
Get back to God, back to your first love, back to His word, It is Written!