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Los Lunas Cornerstone

Church of the Nazarene

So it Begins (John 10:10)

    It’s no secret that I like nerdy things. Star Wars, Superheroes, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Comic Books, Doctor Who, you name it. If it’s geeky in the slightest, I probably like it. The last few weeks have reminded me of a scene from the Lord of the Rings. I know, it’s been 20+ years since the most recent version of movies came out, but they still stand out in my mind as great masterpieces of cinema. The particular scene I’m thinking of is from the second of the three movies: The Two Towers.
    It’s just before the Battle of Helm’s Deep. The Rohan people, who for those who might not know, are the “good” guys, are all waiting with bated breath in Helm’s Deep, which is a fortress of sorts built in the mountainside. It’s easily defensible as any enemy would have to sort of funnel through a narrow opening before the fortress, and then come up against huge stone walls. The problem is that the Rohan people don’t have enough soldiers to defend the attacks against the wall. In the book, there’s only 2,000 who fight for the “good” side, and they go up against 10,000 orc soldiers, who are the “bad” guys. However, the movie makes this number even more dramatic, to make it 300 good guys, and an unknown number of elves, against 10,000. Not super great odds for a battle.
    If you don’t already know, good prevails and the evil forces are defeated and driven back. But, leading up to the battle is the scene I’m thinking of. All the good army has been gathered. They’ve all got their armor on. They’re on the walls and behind the walls with weapons in hand and waiting for the enemy to come. They can hear their marching in the distance. It begins to rain. The enemy draws close, just before the great stone walls and they both have a moment of silence before the battle begins. The King of the Rohan people, the good guys, King Theodan, looks out at this great army before him, all of them knowing that they probably will not live through the night, and he says, “So it begins…”
    They were expecting battle, they were waiting for it, they were ready for it, they knew the enemy was coming for them, coming to squash what little hope they had left.
    So it begins…
    What does this have to do with us, beside just being a really awesome 3 hours of entertainment? Well, we’ve made the commitment for the last three weeks to spend more time with Jesus every day. Some of you have made the commitment to spend at least 1 hour or more with Him every day. Did you put your armor on when you made that commitment? I sure hope you did, because when you made that commitment, when we made that commitment…we practically invited the enemy to come up against us and bring everything that he could to try to squash the hope and commitment we have.
    Have you noticed this? I sure have!
    I should’ve been ready! I should have known I needed to be standing on the wall, with my armor on and weapon in hand to meet the enemy on the battlefield and saying to myself, “so it begins”…
    Join me, please, in John 10:10. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”
    Christian, this is a word of truth here, any time that you press in to Jesus more, any time you renew your commitment to Him in anyway, be prepared for the thief to come and try to steal, kill, and destroy you. He doesn’t want you to have life abundantly. He doesn’t want you to have life at all. He will do anything that he can to rip all that commitment from you, to rip away all that you have in Jesus. Be ready. If you’ve made a commitment to Jesus in the past three weeks to seek Him more, be with Him more, want Him more…the thief is coming for you. It’s a certainty.
    Put on your armor. And watch for the thief. This is what he wants to do, and when you start to notice these things, you know that he is working to steal, kill, and destroy and it’s time to press in to Jesus even more.
    2 Corinthians 5:15, “and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf.” Jesus came to give us life abundantly. That life abundantly means that we live for Him. That’s part of why He died, so that we would be set free from living for our selfishness, and instead live for Christ. When you start to see that you are choosing to live for SELF, that’s a pretty good indicator that the enemy is working to steal your commitment to Jesus. Press in to Jesus even more, and commit to live for Him in every way.
    Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Though we are not saved by works, we are created for good works, which is what Ephesians 2:10 says. That’s part of abundant life. The opposite of that then is evil works, BAD WORKS, even selfish works. When you start to notice your actions, your deeds start lining up with what is not good, what is selfish, the thief is at work to kill your witness through your good deeds. Press in to Jesus and do His work.
    This passage in Ephesians also helps us be aware of another sign the enemy is working. We are saved through faith. Faith on our part is the condition through which we are saved. Faith then is the also the condition through which we continue in relationship with Christ. Faith sustains our relationship with Him. The opposite of this is spiritual apathy. When you start to feel apathetic about your faith, just blah about faith, that may be a clue that the enemy is working to try to destroy your faith. Press in to Jesus and let Him remind you of why you placed your faith in Him in the first place.
    Psalm 62:6-7, “He alone is my rock and my salvation, My refuge; I will not be shaken. 7 My salvation and my glory rest on God; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.” He is our rock, our refuge, so as the Psalmist says here, when we’re standing on Him, He makes us unshakeable, firm, because He is unshakeable and firm. When you start to notice that instead of feeling unshakeable and firm, you feel easily swayed, easily overcome, and uncertain, that’s possibly a sign that the thief is trying to steal your security. Jesus is your rock. Press into Him and let Him be your strength.
    The Psalmist says that God is his salvation. What he’s talking about is life, both abundant life here and now, and life eternal. That’s the HOPE we have in Christ, right? The opposite of this is of course, death, no salvation, no hope. When you start to feel a lack of hope, like you’re desperate for something good to hang on to but it’s just not coming, the enemy may be trying to steal your hope. Press in to Jesus. Let Him speak to you again about the life He has in store for you and what awaits you when you are in His arms.
    Psalm 139:7-10, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take up the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me.” I absolutely love this Psalm. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Nowhere. I don’t know about you, but that’s so comforting to me. Through a relationship with Him, I know that He is always with me. I am constantly in His presence. But when I start to feel ALONE, I know that the thief is probably trying to kill my confidence in Jesus’ presence. He’s probably trying to destroy my support.
    The Psalmist here also says that God’s hand takes hold of me, His hand leads me. Everywhere I go, He is giving me guidance and direction. I have that promise. But, if you start to feel like you’re just wandering aimlessly and you’re directionless if everything you do, that’s possible a sign that the enemy is working to kill your future. Press in to Jesus and pray for Him to show you His path and then walk only in what He puts before you.
    ISAIAH 6:1-3, “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above Him, each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew. 3 And one called out to another and said,“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full of His glory.” Just after these verses Isaiah remarks that he is unworthy to see such a sight and to proclaim the Lord’s words because Isaiah is an unclean man. He’s not good enough. Yeah, no kidding, Isaiah! None of us is, this is true.
    But what I know from the Word of God, from my relationship with Jesus, is that even though I am not worthy, I am unclean, His righteousness covers me and His Holiness is in me! His glory is seen in me! He makes me holy, and so I don’t have any shame before Him. I can boldly approach His throne in confidence.
    But when the enemy is working, I feel like nothing I do is good enough, like I’m not good enough. Technically, this is true, but it’s not my focus when I am really pressing into Jesus. The enemy is the one who wants us to dwell on how we are not enough. Press in to Jesus, He is enough, and His holiness lives in you.
    Jeremiah 23:23-24, “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? 24 Can a person hide himself in hiding places So that I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.” God Himself says it, He is a God who is NEAR. This is similar to God’s presence going with us always, but a little different. God being near has more to do with Him being attentive to our cries for help, to being close enough to hear when we need Him, just like a child needs their father.
    But when the enemy is working, you may feel like God is far away. That if you were to cry out to Him for help or you needed Him for something, that He wouldn’t be able to hear you. Nothing could be further from the truth, but that’s what the enemy does when He comes for us. When you start to feel that God is far away, the enemy may be working to steal you from God’s loving arms. Press in to Jesus, draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.
    And finally, Hebrews 12:28-29, “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let’s show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our God is a consuming fire.” We have confidence that as co-heirs with Christ, we inherit the Kingdom of God. We inherit a kingdom that will never pass away.
    But the enemy will have you believing that you have nothing to live for. No purpose in living, no reason to be around. When you start feeling like this, that could be the enemy trying to destroy your inheritance. Press in to Jesus, who is preparing a place for you in His Father’s house.
    When we’re close with the Lord, gratitude naturally flows out of the heart of the believer. We become more grateful, thankful people because we are more aware of His blessings enriching every aspect of our lives. The opposite of that is thanklessness, and an attitude that says, “everything is horrible”. Yep, sometimes life circumstances are in fact, horrible. But the enemy will make these things an overwhelming focus for us, so much so that we are blind to God’s blessings and goodness. The thief will make this feeling of horribleness so overwhelming that it will feel like there is no good at all. When you notice this feeling, that may be the thief trying to steal your joy. Press in to Jesus, who works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes, and look for His goodness in all things.
    Be ready. The enemy is marching, if he is not already there, right before the fortress of your life. Press in to Jesus, and don’t stop. What he has to offer is life abundantly, but the thief, we know, is waiting to steal, kill, and destroy that life. Jesus is your only hope.

1. Continue spending 1 hour a day with the Lord, allowing these questions to draw you close to Him: Who do you say I am? Do you know what I have done for you? Are you listening to me? Do you love Me? (Feed my sheep) Do you believe Me?

2. The last three weeks as you’ve committed to spend more time with Jesus every day, have you noticed the enemies efforts to steal, kill, and destroy? How has he tried to do this? How does being more aware of his work help you stand firm in your life in Christ?

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