Sound the Battle Cry! by William F. Sherwin

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Today we're considering the topic of spiritual warfare as

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we look at the song entitled Sound

the Battle Cry by William Sherwin.

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Sound the battle cry.

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See the foe is nigh.

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Raise the standard high for the Lord.

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Gird your armor on, stand firm, every one.

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Rest your cause upon his holy word.

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Strong to meet the foe, marching on we go.

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While our cause we know must prevail.

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Shield and banner bright,

gleaming in the light.

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Battling for the right we ne'er can fail.

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O thou God of all, hear us when we

call, help us one and all by thy grace.

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When the battle's done and

the victory won, may we wear

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the crown before thy face.

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Rouse then, soldiers.

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Rally round the banner.

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Ready, steady, pass the word along.

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Onward, forward, shout aloud, Hosanna!

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Christ is captain of the mighty throng.

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William F.

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Sherwin spent some time working at the New

England Conservatory of Music and taught

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singing in multiple different states.

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He also spent time as a musical editor

and holds at least 58 works to his name.

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He is another character that has

evaded my research resources.

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So let's focus on the powerful emphasis

of this song as we examine three

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steps for gaining spiritual victory.

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First off, we need to

recognize that we are in a war.

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Recognize that there is an enemy.

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The song perfectly demonstrates

this with the first line.

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Sound the battle cry.

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See the foe is nigh.

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The Bible tells us be sober, be

vigilant because your adversary,

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the devil, as a roaring lion walketh

about seeking whom he may devour.

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Unfortunately, most of us live as if life

is just a thing that we have to make up.

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We just have to trailblaze our own path

and we acknowledge that God is real and

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he has a plan for us, but we often so

easily forget that there is also an enemy.

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Satan doesn't play by

any particular rules.

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He only is limited by what God

forces him to be limited by.

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And if given the opportunity, he

will, in an instant, devour you.

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But God doesn't stop there.

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He goes on to say, Whom resist steadfast

in the faith, knowing that the same

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afflictions are accomplished in

your brethren that are in the world.

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This reminds us that we

are together in this fight.

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It is a war, not a one on one.

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All of who God is and what he stands

for and what he loves is against

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all of who Satan is and everything

that he desires and hates.

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Let me just tell you, if you are like the

vast majority of Christians, particularly

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in America, this reality hasn't hit you.

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We see in the Bible through the

gospels dozens of times where it

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is referenced that Jesus frequently

cast out demons, demonic influence

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directly in people's lives.

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We tend to overlook the

underlying truth revealed by this.

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Demons are real.

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They're granted power and they're active

in influencing and hurting people's lives.

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Modern technology has not

rendered them obsolete.

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So what has happened?

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They haven't simply disappeared.

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Instead, their methods are perhaps

more subtle than some of the things

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demonstrated in scripture, and we tend

to just dismiss every unfortunate event

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as natural causes, or we ignore them.

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Do you really think it's a coincidence

that your family is always more at

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each other's throats on Sundays?

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Why the ride to church always seems

extra tense or full of arguments?

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Why you suddenly feel so sleepy

when the preaching starts?

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Why little comments by church

members offend you more than the

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same treatment from coworkers?

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This is satanic attack.

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I could spend all day giving you specific

examples, but instead let me give you

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the all encompassing principle instead.

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Where God is trying to work, Satan

is using his forces to fight back.

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It's a guarantee.

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And since the devil's power is in

fact limited, He focuses the majority

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of his influence where God's work is

greatest and where it is just beginning.

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He can't let people return to

God and live for him unchallenged

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because of his hate for God.

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So he destroys God's work before it

really takes root in someone's heart,

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or else hinders it as much as he can

while God is perfecting a Christian.

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Step one in this battle

of spiritual warfare is to

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recognize that we have an enemy.

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Step number two is to

look to God for strength.

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We are not meant to live and

fight against Satan in our power.

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That would be silly.

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We are meant to look to

God for his strength.

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Oh, thou God of all, hear us and

help us by thy grace, the song says.

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Gird your armor on and stand firm.

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I love the passage in Ephesians.

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Finally, my brethren, be strong

in the Lord, not in your own power

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and in the power of his might.

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Put on the whole armor of God, not the

armor of self discipline, not the armor

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of man's thinking and self help books.

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Put on the whole armor of God that ye

may be able to stand against the wiles

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of the devil, For we wrestle not against

flesh and blood, but, he goes on to say,

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against the rulers of the darkness of this

world, and against spiritual wickedness.

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This battle is one that is primarily

spiritual, with some physical elements

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to it, not the other way around.

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And the armor, the strength, the

defense that we're to look to,

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comes from God, not ourselves.

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God is our shield.

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I'll put more of some of my favorite

verses from the Bible that discuss these

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things in the show notes for you, but

let me give you an excerpt from Psalm 18.

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The Lord is my rock and my fortress and

my deliverer, my God, my strength in

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whom I will trust, my buckler and the

horn of my salvation and my high tower.

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I will call upon the Lord

who is worthy to be praised.

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So shall I be saved from mine enemies.

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Oh, do you see the emphasis?

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As you read through Psalms, you

see it over and over and over.

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In the midst of good times and emotional

turmoil, the psalmist is always led to a

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point of looking to God for protection.

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Rock, fortress, deliverer,

strength, salvation, high tower.

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This is just in a few verses

of one particular psalm.

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It goes on to say, Thou hast also

given me the shield of Thy salvation,

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and Thy right hand hath holden me up,

and Thy gentleness hath made me great.

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We cannot rely on ourselves or

even each other for ultimate

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protection, strength, and defense.

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That comes from God.

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And yes, God goes on to use people

around us to build us up, but it's always

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to build us up in the things of God.

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Proverbs says, every word of God is pure.

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He, he is a shield unto them

that put their trust in him.

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Add thou not unto his words lest he

reprove thee and thou be found a liar.

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We've talked about the importance and

the perfection of God's word before,

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but here we also see it doesn't even

say that God's word is our shield.

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Some people think that the Bible is used

as a means of throwing out verses to

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defend yourself whenever somebody says

anything that you feel is not okay.

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But the word itself isn't even the shield.

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God is the shield.

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It is his word that we look

to, to learn about him.

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But he is the one who provides

the protection, not us where we

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just willy nilly swing his word

around to try to protect ourselves.

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Notice this about the armor of God.

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Unlike in our physical warfare

today, there is no point where you

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are supposed to take that armor off.

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Ordinarily, when a soldier

comes home, he gets to relax.

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He gets to take his armor off.

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He gets to stop thinking about the enemy.

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And unfortunately, that's not

how this spiritual warfare works.

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In fact, Satan is going to

attack at home more than he's

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going to attack in other places.

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while home is a place where you can

physically and mentally relax in

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different ways, it is also a place

where you must be most on guard.

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Because if Satan can tear apart

your family, you're not going to

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be an effective servant for God at

work, at church, or anywhere else.

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And as we do so, again, we look to God

for strength to deal with this real enemy.

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And then step three, It's not that we're

supposed to stand still and do nothing.

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We are to press forward for God's cause.

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The song tells us, raise the

standard high for the Lord, rest your

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cause upon His holy word, battling

for the right we ne'er can fail.

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See, God is sovereign and

purpose Comes from God.

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People try to make up their own purpose.

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They try to find their own way

in life that will be fulfilling.

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But if you're not doing what God

made you to do, then you're not

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going to reach maximum fulfillment.

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You might get some temporary pleasure or

a kick out of achieving certain things.

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But if you aren't fulfilling God's

purpose, which is the one you

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were made for, what are you doing?

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What is your life worth if at the

end of it, all you've done is pleased

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yourself instead of the one who made you?

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Strong to meet the foe, marching on we

go while our cause we know must prevail.

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The wicked flee when no man pursueth,

but the righteous are bold as a lion.

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This is not a instance where we are merely

to be on the defense, but on the offense.

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God's word is the sword of the spirit.

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That's a weapon.

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We're to go on the attack

against the wiles of the devil.

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We're to fight back for God's

kingdom, to take ground for his name.

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And when the battle's done and

the victory won, we may wear

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the crown before his face.

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Oh, I hope you look forward to that

day when the battle will be over, the

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war will be over, And if you've trusted

Jesus for salvation, even when you've

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messed up in the battles on earth,

you'll get to enjoy his presence forever.

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The refrain says, rouse, then

soldiers rally around the

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banner, shout aloud, Hosanna.

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Why?

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Because Christ is captain

of the mighty throng.

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This harks back to Palm Sunday.

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Here is John's account

from John chapter 12.

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When they heard that Jesus was

coming to Jerusalem, they took

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branches of palm trees and went

forth to meet him and cried, Hosanna,

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blessed is the king of Israel that

cometh in the name of the Lord.

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Now, unfortunately it would not be

long before these very same people,

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instead of crying out Hosanna would

cry out, crucify him, crucify him.

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But at this point they're welcoming

Christ as the king of Israel.

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And that should be our goal to be

ready, prepared for when Jesus comes

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back, that we may welcome him as King.

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We rally together because he

is the captain of our group.

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Did you know the Bible teaches

that in heaven one day there

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will be a great multitude of

saints that cannot be numbered?

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the question is, will

you be in that group?

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Are you going to be in heaven one day?

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Did you know It has actually

nothing to do with how good

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you are, with how effective you

are in this spiritual battle?

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It has everything to do with what Christ,

our captain has already done for us.

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Jesus, God came in the flesh, lived the

perfect life that we could not live, gave

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his life for us, dying to pay for the sin,

past, present, and future of all mankind,

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and then rose again, proving that he was

God and offering us this gift of eternal

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life, welcoming us into his family and

into his army and giving us purpose.

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So many people try to find their own way.

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And Jesus says that wide is the way that

leadeth to destruction, but narrow is

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the way that leads to everlasting life.

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The narrow way isn't narrow

because it's hard to find.

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It's narrow because there is

only one way, and that is Jesus.

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He said, I am the way,

the truth, and the life.

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No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

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This was not a cocky statement.

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This was actually a loving statement.

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He was making it obvious.

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There is no other way and you

need not seek for any other way.

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You need only to go to him.

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.

And Jesus welcomes you regardless of what kind of life you've lived.

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He welcomes you to come to him,

just admitting that you're a

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sinner, not swearing that you're

going to be perfect for the rest of

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your life, but recognizing that you

have disobeyed God, you're guilty.

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You deserve the punishment for

that, but he is the solution.

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He took that punishment for you.

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He loves you unconditionally..

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And so he asks you to come

to him for salvation so that

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you can be with him forever.

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A lot of people think, well, I'm

not into trying to do what God says

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or really paying attention to the

Bible, but I'm also not a bad person.

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I'm pretty nice.

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Did you know that Jesus says he

that is not with me is against me.

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There is no middle ground.

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There is no neutral zone in this war.

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If you are not on the side of

Jesus Christ, you're driving

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a tank for the other side.

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You are with Satan for Satan's cause,

whether you see it that way or not.

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Whosoever therefore will be a friend

of the world is the enemy of God.

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You know, I was there once.

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I was an enemy of God, lost

in my sin, doing my own thing.

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And finally, one day, I came

to understand the truth of

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who Jesus is and what he did.

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By no merit of my own, I

received him and therefore I

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know I am on the cause of right.

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I am able to look to God for strength,

not because I've created a special

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relationship with him, but because he has

given me a special relationship with him.

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Will you step out in faith for his cause?

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The song says pass the word along.

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Before Jesus said go ye into all

the world and preach the gospel

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to every creature, He first had

to rebuke them because of their

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unbelief and hardness of heart.

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Even if you're a believer, you know,

it is so easy for your heart to be

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hardened and to forget about the cause

of what God is doing in this world.

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Let us first accept him as savior

and then go on to live for him, not

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to earn heaven, but so that we can

tell other people about heaven and

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better yet about the God of heaven.

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We're in a real spiritual warfare.

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We need to recognize we have an enemy.

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We need to look to God for strength,

and in doing so, press forward,

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not for our name, but for His

cause, His glory, His kingdom.

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I hope this challenges you, not

just this week, but for the rest

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of your life, that you'll be

determined to fight for God's side.

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Thank you for listening to this episode

of Understanding Hymns for Everyday Life.

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If you didn't see the announcement

there's a survey that you can click

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on in the show notes that will help

you shape the future of this show.

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There's only a few questions and you

can answer as many or as few as you like.

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What that will do is tell me what

you're most interested in, and

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help me craft these episodes to be

something that's more beneficial for

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you and your spiritual walk with God

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Thank you for listening and for praying

for me with the recovery of my hand.

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I still have multiple weeks of

recovery left, but God has been good.

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My hand is recovering as it should And

I hope that we'll go on together to

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serve him even better See you next time