Thank you for joining Alan Jackson Ministries. Jesus is describing His church advancing against the fortifications of evil and the church is triumphant. Evil cannot withstand our advance. That's not the mentality or the emotion in the present day church.
We've seen far more frightened, far more threatened, far less aware of who we are in Christ. We're appeasing, we're yielding, we're surrendering. The enemy should be anxious about the activity of the church. What will they do next? One of my objectives in doing this little series with you is to begin to restore the initiative to God's people.
Our ministry is to spread God's truth across our nation and around our world. And Alan Jackson Ministries intends to do this in every possible way, including broadcasts like these. If you'd like to listen to the full sermon, you can find it right now on AlanJackson.com on our podcast and on our app.
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Should Christians talk about politics? What if we share our biblical worldview and it pushes people away? What does the Bible say about standing against ungodly leaders, policies, and governments? Pastor Allen's new book, Jesus, his followers, and politics answers all of these questions and more. He'll give you a biblical perspective on the chaos surrounding us and offer practical things we can do to make a difference. Request your book when you donate $25 or more today at alanjaxon.com
or by calling 855-5772255. That's 855-5772255. And thank you for coming alongside Alan Jackson Ministries with your prayers and financial support. Together, we're transforming lives with God's hope and truth.
We're so glad you're here to listen. Today's program will complete the message we began yesterday. Here's Pastor Allen with Part 2 of Spiritual Warfare and the End Times. Not my problem? I brought you some good news. I thought by this point you'd need a little.
Colossians chapter two, Paul's writing to another church that he's been instrumental in helping form. And he's speaking of what the Lord has accomplished. He said, having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. See, on the cross, a divinely ordered exchange took place. The reason Jesus had to be tortured to death in public view,
hungry, thirsty, naked, in want of all things he hung on a Roman cross. The sinless, innocent, perfect Son of God. And God placed upon him the punishment that was due by divine justice, all of our rebellion, all of our godlessness. Jesus exhausted the curse of sin that in its place we might have all the blessings that were due his perfect obedience.
Prior to the cross, Satan had a legal claim against every one of us. He could look at Almighty God and just God and say, I have a right to them. They're from a fallen race. They're from a race of rebels. He had a legitimate argument. He had a claim against every one of us. But through the cross, Paul says, Jesus disarmed those spiritual powers and authorities. He made a public spectacle of them and he triumphed over them by the cross.
It's a bit technical, but in Roman life a triumph wasn't the winning of the victory, it was the celebration of the victory. If a general had a great victory on some foreign battlefield, occasionally they would be granted a triumph, a processional through the streets of Rome, and they would bring the slaves that they captured or the plunder of the people that they had defeated
And they would ride in the chariot through the streets of Rome, celebrate their victory. It was a triumphal procession.
And it says, the cross made possible a triumphal procession. We are the ones, we're being demonstrated to all of humanity, to all the principalities and powers in heaven, all the spiritual forces of wickedness arrayed against us, that through the cross they were defeated, that we can be free, we can be forgiven, we can be justified. We are the demonstration of what Jesus accomplished.
Paul wrote to that same Corinthian church in the first chapter and it's not because you were wise or from noble families or from royal birth or because of your remarkable education. It's just quite the opposite. God chose the weak and the depraved and those who weren't so wise so that the only possible glory would go to God. We're the crack puffed. He's made into useful vessels for his purposes. It's good news.
But we should know above all people that appeasing evil is not a plan to victory. You could Revelation 1. It says, Jesus Christ, it's a description of Jesus, of the introduction to the book of Revelation, a triumphant Jesus. He's the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Now those are wonderful statements about him, but the next sentence begins to make it personal. He loves us and he's freed us from our sins by his blood. And he's made us to be kings and priests, to serve his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. It's true. There's a conflict in the earth, but God has not left us alone. He hasn't abandoned us. He hasn't withdrawn from us.
He has empowered us, he has given us the victory, but he has asked us to stand faithfully as ambassadors for his kingdom in the midst of a fallen and depraved world. The question on the table is what will we do? In this world, in time, in our journey under the sun, the Bible is very clear. We are going to face conflict.
But can John 1633? Now you can turn a page. Jesus is speaking to his friends. He said, I've told you these things so that in me, you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. In this world, you will have trouble.
Church, we've got a whole schools of theology. I don't mean institutions. I mean, whole blocks of Christendom whose messaging is focused on no problems, then no trouble. You don't need to go looking for any extra. Enough will find you, but don't live on the fantasy island of Christians have no problems. Second Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 3.
Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. Now we would like to repunctuate that sentence. Though we live in the world, we do not wage war, period. The awkward part is the sentence says we don't wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.
On the contrary, we have weapons with divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments in every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Is it safe to say our lives are filled with arguments and pretentious spoutings that set themselves up against godly principles? It washes over us like Niagara Falls on a daily basis.
We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. That begins inwardly. We have to take our thoughts and yield them to the authority of Christ. There's a tug of war within every one of us, that same voice that we hear in the garden in Genesis that says, did God really say that same voice is chirping within every one of us? It plays on a loop.
particularly at the points where you are uniquely vulnerable to temptation. Did God really say? Paul is addressing all Christians. He's not speaking to some subgroup of leaders or exceptional disciples. And Paul was brilliant. A classically trained Jewish scholar in the laws of Moses. He purposefully chose military words and phrases.
It's not accidental. He talks about war and weapons and destruction of fortresses and taking captives. It's worth noting. In fact, it's an important note that the New Testament presentation does not place Christians on the defensive. Rather, the language very clearly implies that we are to be on the offensive. As Christ followers, we should be advancing against the adversaries of our Lord.
not surrendering to the darkness. Now that takes courage, that takes intentionality, it takes a willingness to sacrifice. So the question is, does the Bible call for those things? Or is it just a motivational ploy of a pastor who's trying to stir you up for whatever the next project is? Look at Matthew 16 and verse 18, Jesus again, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Jesus is describing His church as advancing against the fortifications of evil. In antiquity, cities didn't defend themselves with iron domes and long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles. They defended themselves with stone walls.
and they would build a wall around the city and make provision for water and food. So in case of the approach of an enemy, you would close the gates and imagine the walls protected you from the enemy. You were unassailable. And Jesus flips the script. He said, the church will not be able to be withstood. They will take the fortresses of evil. It's the same language of 2 Corinthians 10. We'll have divine power to demolish strongholds.
Jesus is describing His church, advancing against the fortifications of evil, and the church is triumphant. Evil cannot withstand our advance. That's not the mentality or the emotion in the present day church. We've seen far more frightened, far more threatened, far less aware of who we are in Christ. We're appeasing. We're yielding, we're surrendering.
The enemy should be anxious about the activity of the church. What will they do next? One of my objectives in doing this little series with you is to begin to restore the initiative to God's people. Thank you for listening to Alan Jackson Ministries. We'll be back to the message in just a moment. But first, Pastor Alan wants to tell you about his book, Jesus, His Followers, and Politics.
Hey, I'm in Jerusalem tonight. It seemed like an appropriate place to tell you about a new book we've just completed. It's Jesus, His followers, and politics. You know, that's a hot button issue in the church in America these days. People say to me frequently, Jesus was not involved in politics.
Well, I agree up to a point. Jesus was not a part of a political party. He didn't advocate for a political candidate. But Jesus was very much involved in the events of the day in which he lived. He spoke to those in power. He spoke about those in power. That's a part of the New Testament narrative. And if you and I step away from current events and current culture, we abandoned it to a completely secular attitude and mindset. We can't afford to do that.
Again, I'm not suggesting we advocate for candidates or parties, but taking our voice into the public square, talking about what's happening in our culture, is an assignment we have from Scripture. This book will help you understand how to do that at your kitchen table with your friends and in your community of faith. It's time for us to have a voice in our culture, and I believe this book will help you do that.
Pastor Allen wrote a timely new book called Jesus, His Followers, and Politics. It offers an honest look at what's happening in our culture and the pathway toward a better place. Here's the truth. We don't need to wait for election results. No matter what parties in power, our nation needs a heart change. And God has placed each of us in a specific place in this season so we can take His truth to the people around us. As you read, you'll see that many things people call political are actually biblical.
marriages between a man and a woman. People are either male or female. Parents have ultimate authority over their children. These are all biblical principles. This book helps unravel the confusion surrounding us by providing powerful insight from God's truth. Request your copy of Jesus, his followers, and politics when you donate $25 or more today at EllenJackson.com or by calling 855-5772255. That's 855-5772255.
Now, let's get back to Pastor Allen to wrap up part two of his message, spiritual warfare and the end times. Not my problem. Well, I want to wrap this up my times about going. I just want to give you one suggestion on how we could increase our effectiveness. And it really has to do with how we process our journey through time. I've spent a few years serving the church. It's a great delight in my life.
But I want to encourage you not to boast about the attacks of the enemy which you witness. Don't boast in the attacks of the enemy which you witness. I don't believe it's an expression of tremendous discernment to be able to identify all the ways that spiritual attacks impact your life. I believe the real objective is to be the living example of triumph.
Let the fruit of your life be the declaration that in Christ we have the victory. It seems far too often we like to bemoan the attacks. I'm not asking you to be dishonest. I'm asking you to change your focus. Too often we try to establish our value by recounting the spiritual attacks that we can identify.
I have found it in my life and the lives of others to be far more beneficial to demonstrate the resurrection power of our Lord." One more scripture, 1 Peter chapter 2. How is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this, you were called.
because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. So Jesus is gonna model a behavior for us. He said, you're supposed to act like he acted, follow in his steps. He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth. He's quoting from the prophets. When they hurled their insults at him, he didn't retaliate. He's not quoting the prophets now. Peter watched it. Peter listened to the beating begin with Jesus.
He watched him carrying across the streets of Jerusalem. When they hurled their insults at him, he didn't retaliate. When he suffered, he made no threats. He could have. He said to Peter, put your sword away if we needed angels. I got some angels. He didn't retaliate. He made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
He himself, Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree. That's the exchange I mentioned. So that we might die to sin and live for righteousness by his wounds, we've been healed. So here's the shorthand on this. Poor planning on our part is not a spiritual attack. That's not the devil. A lack of effort on our part is not a demonic assault. It's lazy.
Come on church, we've adopted a whole spiritual vocabulary to explain away our indifference, our appeasement. I don't believe that it's evil has grown stronger. I think we've grown less and less interested in righteousness. Being unprepared does not indicate the presence of principalities and powers. It indicates a lack of preparation. However, in fairness, the absence of a prayer life,
little knowledge of Scripture, the failure to routinely gather with God's people, the lack of obedience to the truth that you already know, or the absence of generosity with your time and your money, or the cultivation, the intentional cultivation of pride or selfish ambition or greed, those things will devastate you because you are opening the doors wide to spiritual forces other.
than the kingdom of heaven. We can improve our effectiveness tremendously by simply changing the way we are imagining our lives. Let's decide to become the triumphal procession of a victorious king and let our words and our actions and our life choices reflect the majesty of his kingdom.
Now that is an appealing presentation. We're gonna close with communion. We're gonna come to the cross. If you're on campus when you entered whichever sanctuary or worship space this morning, there were ushers there with communion. If you missed that, there's some in the aisles. If you'll raise a hand, they'll bring it to you. If you're at home and you weren't prepared, run quickly. Grab a cup of water and a cracker.
Grab a chocolate chip cookie and a Dr. Pepper. It's not healthy, but you're only going to take a little bit. Don't drink three liters and call it communion. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but you don't have to have a way for a stamp with a religious symbol. Thank God. Communion is not just some sort of a religious exercise. It's a tangible reminder of what Jesus has done for us.
through his redemptive work on the cross, his death, his burial, and his resurrection. That is the basis upon which we can approach the throne of God. In Hebrews, we're invited to come boldly before the throne of grace. Not because of who we are, but because of what Jesus has done for us. That's the reason that on a regular basis, we will celebrate communion together. Because as we walk through our days and our weeks, we accumulate stuff. We accumulate our own needs for forgiveness.
We accumulate the persons from our journey whom we need to forgive. We face challenges physically, relationally, economically, all sorts of places where we need God's help.
And so we come to the cross, to the communion table, to remember, to be reminded, to acknowledge by faith God's total provision for our lives. Remember what Peter said? He's given us everything we need for life and godliness. Now, which piece of that you need to appropriate today is up to you. Some of you need forgiveness. You've been walking too far in the world.
You weren't confused. You just enjoyed it. Or it was easier to go along than stand up. Some of us need to forgive others. There have been things said about you that aren't true. They were hurtful. They were painful. You have suffered because of wickedness and evil in the world, but you have to forgive. Some of us have real physical challenges. I'm grateful for doctors and medical science. I'm not opposed to that in the very least, but God is the healer.
Some of us need financial help. We need wisdom. A lot of different things. But through the cross, God has made provision. And for that reason, we come to the communion table. It's the reasons Jesus went to the cross. See, it's foolish to trust God for your eternity and not believe He can help you now. That makes no sense.
It's also foolish to think you would gladly stand up for Him in eternity if you won't stand up for Him now. Jesus Himself implemented this. He had the Passover meal with the disciples and at the end of the meal He took bread and He broke it and He said to them, this is my body broken for you. He hasn't been to the cross yet. This will become far more powerful for them in 72 more hours.
This is my body broken for you as often as you eat this, do this in remembrance of me. Let's receive together." And then he took a cup and said, this cup is a new covenant, literally a new contract, sealed with my own blood. As often as you drink it, you proclaim my death until you see me again. Let's receive together.
You stand with me for this prayer, even at home. Father, thank you. Thank you for your great love for us, for the mercy that was expressed towards us in Jesus. Lord Jesus, we thank you for your faithfulness, that in your love for us, you offered yourself as a sacrifice.
that we might be delivered from the Kingdom of Darkness. We praise you for it today. We give you glory and honor and thank you for that. We praise you for it. Lord, we come in humility to acknowledge our own sins. Those places where we have made choices that were dishonoring, that were disobedient, forgive us. We weren't confused or distracted. It wasn't a lack of understanding.
We were willfully rebellions, and we repent. Lord, for those we need to forgive, those who have stood in opposition, who through words or actions have brought pain or hardship or difficulty. Lord, we release them today. We cancel every day. We turn them loose. That just as you have forgiven us, Father, we forgive them.
We pray for those in our midst who have great needs today, physically, emotionally, in relationships. But whatever the challenges may be, I thank you that your power is present to heal and restore and deliver and renew. I praise you for it. But however you choose to bring the deliverance, we thank you now that we will live in those experiences of your faithfulness and your provision.
I thank you that greater is He who is for us than all those things that are arrayed against us. We praise you that you're awakening your church to be a triumphal procession of our victorious King, that your glory may be made evident throughout all the earth, that the name of Jesus might be extended.
that the name of Jesus may be exalted in the kingdom of God expanded. We thank you for it. In Jesus' name, amen. Hallelujah. Why don't you give the Lord a hand, huh? God bless you.
We have a great new tool to offer you today. Pastor Allen's new book, Jesus, His Followers, and Politics. You and I have a biblical assignment to be salt and light, to bring God's truth into our culture. This timely book provides practical insight that will help us do exactly that.
Request your copy when you donate $25 or more today at alanjaxon.com or by calling 855-5772255. That's 855-5772255. That's all for today on Alan Jackson Ministries. Thanks for listening. Tune in next time for another encouraging message. This program is sponsored by Alan Jackson Ministries.
