Three Questions

Three Questions

1. “Do I really belong among the people of God since I am so _______________?”

2. “How am I supposed to do life so intimately with all these different people?”

3. “How do I continue Jesus’ mission to love?”

Three Questions

1. “Do I really belong among the people of God since I am so _______________?”

2. “How am I supposed to do life so intimately with all these different people?”

3. “How do I continue Jesus’ mission to love?”

We are in a war!!!

What kind of war is it?

Total War: From Stalingrad to Berlin by Michael Jones

“‘By the Volga shoreline were masses of people,’ remembered Katia Bogdanova, including many children. And these children were terrified – using small spades and their bare hands they tried to dig holes in the sand, by the river’s edge, to hide from the bullets and shells. And then German planes appeared, low over the Volga. They flew in relays, hovering over the ferries, which they first bombed and then machine-gunned. It was clear that these were civilians waiting to be evacuated,


but the German pilots opened fire on unarmed women and children. They dropped bombs on a crowd of passengers just about to board a boat, then fired at those crowded on the decks. They bombed the Volga islands, on which hundreds of wounded had gathered, for people were fleeing the city on everything they could find – logs, barrels and makeshift rafts. The Germans pursued everything on the river that moved.”


“Colonel Nikolai Skripko of the Fifth Soviet Air Fleet was in Stalingrad that afternoon. ‘It was a massive Nazi raid,’ he said. German bombers were flying in groups of six or nine, at different levels, attacking in relays. Over 2,000 sorties were counted. It was a terrible scene – the howling of falling bombs, the chaos in the city. The main German attack was on central Stalingrad, where there were no industrial or military facilities. The Nazis wanted to spread panic


among the inhabitants of the city, so that law and order would break down in the streets and on the river crossings . They struck with high-explosive bombs and incendiaries – the whole residential area was ablaze.”


Colonel General Andrei Yeremenko, head of the Stalingrad front, wrote: “No one will ever forget that day – it was a living nightmare. We had been through a lot in the war up to that time , but what we saw in Stalingrad on 23 August was something completely different . The sky was filled with columns of fiery smoke. Asphalt on the streets emitted choking fumes and telegraph poles flared up like matches. The earth of Stalingrad was crumpled and blackened. The city


seemed to have been struck by a terrible hurricane, which whirled it in the air, showering the streets and squares with rubble.”


seemed to have been struck by a terrible hurricane, which whirled it in the air, showering the streets and squares with rubble.”

That is the kind of war we are in!

Luke 11:14-36

14 Now He was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon came out, the man who had been mute, spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!”

Luke 11:14-36

14 Now He was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon came out, the man who had been mute, spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!” 16 And others, as a test, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven.

Luke 11:14-36

17 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. 20 If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

Luke 11:14-36

17 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. 20 If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

Rather than explain things away, why

not take the risk of commitment?!?

Luke 11:14-36

21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his estate, his possessions are secure. 22 But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he takes from him all his weapons he trusted in, and divides up his plunder.

Luke 11:14-36


Satan

Luke 11:14-36


Jesus

Luke 11:14-36


Deception

Luke 11:14-36


Deception

2 Cor. 10:3-5 -- 3 For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, 4 since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.

Luke 11:14-36


People

Luke 11:14-36


People

2 Cor. 4:4 -- the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Luke 11:14-36

21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his estate, his possessions are secure. 22 But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he takes from him all his weapons he trusted in, and divides up his plunder. 23 Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.

Luke 11:14-36

24 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest, and not finding rest, it then says, ‘I’ll go back to my house where I came from.’ 25 And returning, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man’s last condition is worse than the first.”

Luke 11:14-36


The nature of evil is to bring disorder &

chaos

Luke 11:14-36


Resistance without replacement is

futile

Luke 11:14-36

27 As He was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “The womb that bore You and the one who nursed You are blessed!” 28 He said, “Even more, those who hear the word of God and keep it are blessed!”

Luke 11:14-36

27 As He was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “The womb that bore You and the one who nursed You are blessed!” 28 He said, “Even more, those who hear the word of God and keep it are blessed!”

We are blessed when we respond in trusting obedience.

Luke 11:14-36

29 As the crowds were increasing, He began saying: “This generation is an evil generation. It demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31 The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and

Luke 11:14-36

look—something greater than Solomon is here! 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation, and look—something greater than Jonah is here!

Luke 11:14-36


Jonah was called to go preach to

the hated Ninevites (Gentiles)

Luke 11:14-36


Jonah went there after being

“buried” in the belly of a fish for 3

days & then resurrected

Luke 11:14-36


The Ninevites were more

repentant and responsive than

the Israelites

Luke 11:14-36


Luke 16:27-31 -- 27 “‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so they won’t also come to this place of torment.’ 29 “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”

Luke 11:14-36

33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see its light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness.

Luke 11:14-36

33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see its light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness.

Without guile; single-minded

Luke 11:14-36

33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see its light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. 35 Take care then, that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

Luke 11:14-36

33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see its light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. 35 Take care then, that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

Big Point – You MUST choose

between kingdoms!

This is TOTAL WAR

“The Queen Mary, lying in repose in the harbor at Long Beach, California is a fascinating museum of the past. Used both as a luxury liner in peacetime and a troop transport during the Second World War, its present status as a museum the length of three football fields affords a stunning contrast between the lifestyles appropriate in peace and war. On one side of a partition you see the dining room reconstructed to depict the peacetime table setting that was appropriate to the wealthy

This is TOTAL WAR

patrons of high culture for whom a dazzling array of knives and forks and spoons held no mysteries… On the other side of the partition the evidences of wartime austerities are in sharp contrast. One metal tray with indentations replaces fifteen plates and saucers. Bunks eight tiers high explain how the peacetime capacity of 3000 passengers gave way to 15,000 troops on board in wartime. How repugnant to the peacetime masters this transformation must have

This is TOTAL WAR

been! To do it took a national emergency, of course. The survival of a nation depended upon it. The essence of the Great Commission today is that the survival of many millions of people depends on its fulfillment.”

-Ralph Winter

Ushers please come forward…

A Chance to Give to the Cause

Three Questions

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