The Enemy at the Gates

Introduction

The year is 700 BC. You and me and all of our families are Israelites. And we live in Jerusalem. And we really like it there. Jerusalem is a safe and prosperous city. We’re surrounded by these incredibly strong and fortified walls. And in truth, we feel really safe inside the city of Jerusalem. We have the temple in our city. So we know that God dwells there. We feel extremely close to God. Our children are growing and learning and doing very well. And we have a great king. He lives in the city with us. He is a tremendous man, a godly man, and he’s led us for quite a few years. We trust him and we feel great about our lives that we built together. Well, one day in our wonderful city where we live and enjoy it so much, you and I and our families are up near the North Gate just having a conversation, and we hear something rumbling, like thunder off in the distance.

And the ground underneath our feet starts to shake just a little bit, and we wonder how quickly it will pass, but it doesn’t pass. Instead, that thundering noise grows ever louder and louder, and our feet start shaking with the ground a little bit more and more, and we don’t know what’s going on. So we leave our families down below, and you and I go climb the ladder up to the top of the wall to look outside of Jerusalem at the field before us. And when we get up there, we are in shock. As far as our eyes can see in every direction are soldiers, armed men, evil men coming quickly, pursuing us, marching directly at our beloved city. And we stand there speechless for a half an hour while they all come down towards us and fashion themselves all the way around our city.

There must be two or three hundred thousand of these guys. And once they settle in the place, a man walks out in front of them and addresses us directly in our language. And he looks up at you and me in the top of the wall, and he says, I come here on behalf of the great Assyrian Empire. We are the strongest people in the land. We dominate everywhere we please, but out of the grace of our hearts we have come to make you a deal. And you and I are listening to every word. And he makes it short and he makes it simple. Option one. You can surrender. Come down off of the wall and open the gates. And you and all of your family members can walk out of the city and you can let us have it.

And we will take you home with us to the northern kingdom of Assyria, and we will set you up nicely there and give you all the provisions you need for the rest of your lives. That’s option one. But you will serve our king. Option two. Stay behind your wall. Keep your gates closed and take your chances, but I guarantee you that within 48 hours, the 300,000 soldiers around this city will barge through your walls, and every single one of you, including your wives and your children, will die. You and I are up there on the wall, and we look down. I’ve told you about my kids. And I look down the ladder, and there’s Nicholas. He’s five. And he doesn’t know what’s going on. And he’s looking up at me, wondering what’s going to happen.

And I look out at all those soldiers, and I look down at Nicholas. And I look at my city that, by the way, looked a lot stronger about 30 minutes ago. The wall looked taller, it looks kind of short now. The temple seemed glorious. Now I’m not quite seeing that shimmer or shine. My king seemed like he was always going to win, and now I’m not so sure. Here’s my question for you tonight. Which option. Think about your children. Which option would you choose? What you are trying to contemplate tonight is a very real event in Israel’s history. In 700 BC, the Assyrian Empire did come down upon them in front and around their city. And they had to make the exact choice. And before you make your choice, and before I show you the choice that they made, I need to show you a couple of things so that you can really have all of the information at your disposal along the way.

1. The Enemy Is All About Destruction

There is an enemy at the gates. Now let me tell you a little bit about the enemy, so you can make your choice. And then I want to tell you a little bit about your king. His name is.

Sweet and angelic. He is evil. He is pure disdain for good. His name is Sennacherib. He is the Assyrian king. He has sent this army to us, and he sent a spokesman named Rabshekah to confront us. And there are two things I can tell you about Sennacherib, and by the way, let’s get our Bibles open so you can read some information about Sennacherib. I want you to have your Bibles open to Isaiah chapters 36 and 37. In order to get the information that you need to make your choice, you need to know everything about the enemy and the king, Isaiah 36 and 37. And while you’re turning there, let me say something interesting about this story. This is one of the only Old Testament stories recorded three times.

That’s kind of rare. I mean, we’re used to that stuff because of the stories of Jesus in the New Testament and in the Gospels. But Old Testament, you know, you’d read about it in the Kings, and you’d read about it in the Chronicles, right? All these king’s stories. But this is also recorded in Isaiah 36 and 37. Do you know why that is? It is because Isaiah was actually in the city at the time. His family lived in the city at the time. He was there with the king trying to weigh the options and make the decision. And he writes about it later. And here are two things I need you to know about the enemy. Number one, he is all about destruction. Sennacherib tears down and destroys everything that he touches.

And here is some evidence for that. Are you in Isaiah 36? Look with me in verse 1. Now, in the 14th year of King, there’s a giveaway, Hezekiah. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. So what I want you to see is he’s already been successful. He has destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel. It’s completely decimated. He has taken captive, verse 1, all of the little regions and cities north of Jerusalem, and now he sets his sights on one mission hurting and destroying all of the Israelite nation in Jerusalem. In verse 2. And the king of Assyria sent Rabshaka from Lakish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the Fuller’s field.

Second observation, he commands a large army to attack. So it’s not some impotent enemy who hates us and wants to destroy us, but he lacks the power to really get it done. This guy has the power to get it done. He has destroyed so many others, and now, as I told you, there are going to be at least 185,000 soldiers out there and probably many more. Look in verses 19 and 20. He would go on to say that faith cannot stop him. And that’s what you’re thinking, right? You’re up on the wall thinking, this does not look good. But God will save us. God, the mighty one, will deliver us. He tells them through Rabshaka. He tells them in chapter 36, verse 19, where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad, where are the gods of Sebrabaim, when they were and when have they delivered Samaria from my hand?

Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their land from my hand that the Lord would deliver Jerusalem from my hand? It’s almost like he knows what we’re thinking. You think God will save you. You’re a fool. We destroyed this nation, their God didn’t save them. We destroyed this other nation, their God didn’t save them. We went to the northern kingdom, and their God didn’t save them. Gods and faith and fiction cannot save you from me. He hates us. He puts an army against us and he undermines any idea that faith could help us. And then one more thing. Look in chapter 37 and about verse 10. Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely.

Will you be spared? Verse 13, where is that king? And where is that king, verse 13 of chapter 37? And what about those cities? Where are those kings? And he says in verse 13, where are they? Answer, they’re dead. I have killed every king that ever chose to fight me. You know, we’re having to make that decision, right? I love my kids. I don’t want to see them die. And I’m looking out at this army, and he’s saying, You’re thinking God’s going to be there. That’s not how this works. You’re thinking King Hezekiah surely has some plan up his sleeve to get you out of this. It hasn’t worked for anybody else. Anywhere else, all along the way. Sennacherib is a destructive, dangerous, and can I use this word?

2. The Enemy Was Also Very Deceitful

Successful evil force. But that’s not his only quality. He was destructive, but he was also very deceitful. You know that he could have just barged right in, right? Why did Rabshaka come to the gate and talk to us? Why didn’t Sennacherib just barge right in and start fighting? Well, if he had done that, people would have died, right? A lot of those soldiers would have died. He’d probably rather his soldiers not die. And a lot of potential slaves like you and me, a lot of us, probably all of us. We would have died also. He doesn’t want to destroy everything. He wants to destroy everything he has to destroy, and he wants to own. He wants to own everything else. So his approach is, I’m going to try to convince you of some things so that you’ll just walk right out of there and give in to me.

Let me show you four things, and I need you in chapter 36 for this. Chapter 36, verse 7. He says this. But if you say to me, We trust in the Lord our God. Is it not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away? And has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, you shall worship before this altar. Now that was a tricky move. The high places were not godly places. And Hezekiah took down the false God worship. But he’s trying to trick him. He’s saying, you actually don’t realize that you’re not even right with God. You think you are, don’t you? You think that if you choose to fight, that God’s going to save you, but don’t you know that you’re not even right with him?

You’re wrong with God. You took down his high places. You undermined your worship. And boy, that would be powerful, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t it be powerful for you to be standing up there thinking this is no big deal? God will deliver us. And then you start thinking, but what? What if God’s mad at me right now? What if we shouldn’t have taken down the high places? What if this is our judgment? Because of our mistakes. And when this starts to crumble, I think they’re going to be done, don’t you? But he’s not done. In fact, I would say he’s just getting started. Look in verse 10. Have I now come up without the Lord’s approval against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it.

That’s a low blow, isn’t it? He said, By the way, have you thought about this? God actually sent me here. You can’t prove he didn’t. I think that’s kind of why he said that. You can’t prove he didn’t. Don’t you realize? You have sinned against God and you don’t even know it. And that got him shaken a little. And I have been sent by Yahweh God to execute judgment against you. He is lying. These are lies. Both of those things are lies. But that’s how he tries to demoralize these people. Keep going to verses 14 and 15. Thus says the king. And he’s speaking for Sennacherib here. Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you, nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us.

This city will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria. Now at this moment, wouldn’t you be looking to your king? I want to see what Hezekiah has to say. Rabshaka says, I know what he’s going to tell you. He’s going to tell you can win. Because that’s the kind of stuff kings say. You can’t win. You can’t win. And your king cannot protect you. And then finally, verses 16 and 17 of that same text, chapter 36, verses 16 and 17. Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria make your peace with me and come out to me and eat each of his own vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

What’s he saying? If you come, we’re going to give you a great life. You think Jerusalem’s a great place to live. You ain’t seen nothing yet. You open up those gates and give up because you can’t win, because God’s not on your side, and because this is the way it’s going to go, whether you like it or not, why don’t you go ahead and give in? Because if you give in, we’ll lead you peacefully to the land that we’re supposed to be in the land of milk and honey. Oh, you ain’t seen milk and honey yet. Is he telling the truth? No. He is a destructive force. He kills. He destroys. He’s trying to trick them. Now here’s my question for you. What would you do?

3. Hezekiah Was an Incredibly Honorable Man

You don’t want to see your family die, do you? But you do believe in God, right? What are you going to do? Well, we can’t really answer that tonight, can we? But here’s something we can answer. Do you know what they chose to do? Well, they look back at their king and they saw some things that they really liked. Even with all of this going on, they had this man on the inside. And Isaiah tells us a lot about this man named Hezekiah. And if you don’t mind, I’m going to ask you to leave Isaiah for a moment. I told you this story is told in three places. I want you to read about Hezekiah over in 2 Chronicles. Because I can show you a little bit about the guy before this event even took place.

So go back with me to 2 Chronicles chapter 29, and we’ll do this very swiftly. I want to tell you two things about King Hezekiah before you make your choice. Number one, he was an incredibly honorable man. They had a wonderful king during the majority of Hezekiah’s life. Let me tell you some things about Hezekiah I really like. Number one, he set his sights. He’s the opposite of Sennacherib. He set his sights on honoring God. Are you in 2 Chronicles chapter 29? Look at verse 2. He did right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father David had done. Verse 3, he opened the door of the house of the Lord and he repaired it. Verse 5, he re-established the Levites so that they could officiate there.

He worshipped and loved God. Look at verse 9. Our fathers have fallen by the sword. Our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord our God. So the first thing is he said, I want us to get right with God. Let’s restore the right kind of worship. Let’s do the right kind of things. He was an honorable, God fearing man. And you know what else? He commanded that all of us become God fearing, worshipful people.

I’ll show that to you briefly. Look in chapter 30, please. 2 Chronicles, chapter 30. If you were reading with me in verses 1 through 5, you would see that he sent verse 1 to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters telling them, verse 1, to come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. He is circulating throughout the entire kingdom, north and south. Let’s worship God again. Let’s get right with God. Let’s reestablish the right things. Let’s worship God. And this is before Sennacherib shows up. And the people did it. Don’t forget you did that. If you’re on that wall, don’t forget you chose to do that. You chose to worship God again, and that’s not all. He makes these wonderful proclamations.

Hezekiah was a great speechgiver. And if you look with me in the text in chapter 31 and verse 1. In chapter 31 and verse 1, he says, When all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the asherim, and pulled down the high places. And he goes on to talk about how they stopped worshiping every other thing. Now turn back to chapter 30, verse 6. Chapter 30, verse 6, he said, We’re going to be a people who put all of our trust in the Lord. In verses 6 and following, the couriers went out through all Israel and Judah with these letters. Look halfway down verse 6 and chapter 30. O sons of Israel, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may return to those of us, so those of you who have escaped.

He goes on to say in verse 7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord God. We’re going to be faithful. Verse 9. If you return to the Lord, your brothers and your sons will find compassion. So he goes on and on with this idea that we’re done worshiping everything else. We’re going to worship God. And then fourthly, he makes a wonderful statement of faith. It doesn’t matter who our enemy is. It doesn’t matter how dire it looks. I’m here to tell you that God can deliver us. Look with me in our text here in chapter 32, 2 Chronicles 32, verses 7 and 8. Now we’re getting right up to that fortified army at the gate, and we don’t know what to do.

4. He Was Very Humble as Well

And we look back at our king, and he says, Be strong and courageous. 32 7, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the horde that is with him, for the one with us is greater than the one with him. Quick question. Is that what it looks like? Does it look like the one with us is greater than the one with him? Our eyes wouldn’t see that. Our hearts might. Our souls, perhaps, could comprehend it. But he is an honorable man who believes in God. And I’ll tell you one other thing as we wrap up this section. He was very humble as well. He gave all of his allegiance to the Lord. Go back to Isaiah 37, and I’ll show this to you.

I’ll go ahead and put them all up. All he wanted to do was be right with God. And when it came down to it, look with me here in chapter 37, verse 1. When King Hezekiah heard about everything that was going on with Rob Shekah, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, entered the house of the Lord. Then he said, Eliakim, who was over the household with Shebna the scribe, and covered in sackcloth. He said, Go get Isaiah. I need help. And if you’ll look down with me a little bit further in Isaiah 37 to verse 4, perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of Rabshaka, whom his master, the king of Syria, has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words.

Therefore, offer prayer. And that’s what Hezekiah did. He was in humble man. He sought the will of God, and when things got tough, he prayed. Don’t forget that, please. When things got tough, he laid out the letter of threats to the Lord and said, God, please handle this for us. I have no power. We need you. He knows who has the power. I know what it looks like. Sennacherib’s defeated every army he’s ever faced. And we’re outnumbered. Maybe ten to one, maybe a hundred to one. But I also know this that the Lord has the power. Look with me in chapter 37, please, verse 17. Chapter 37, verse 17. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear. Open your eyes, O Lord, and see and listen to the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God.

Verse 20. Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord our God, you’re the only one that can do this. We believe in your power. And so, while we’re up on the wall wondering what to do next, our king comes out from praying, and he says, Folks, we’re gonna be okay. The God of heaven is going to save us. Chapter 37, verses 6 and 7. Isaiah said to them, Thus you shall say to your master, thus says the Lord, do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. I will put a spirit in him, so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.

So that’s what you’ve got to work with. Are you ready? That’s what you have. Our prayerful, humble, honorable, godly king told us, Hold your ground. God will send him back, and they will die there. What are you going to do? Well, let me tell you what Israel did. Remember how I told you the other day, as goes the king, goes the people. That’s a bad thing sometimes. Jeroboam, that’s a good thing sometimes. The whole city decided in the face of that army to hold their ground and trust their king and lean on the Lord. Do you know what happened next? Open your Bibles with me to chapter 37, verses 34 through 38. What happened? Not even a single arrow was fired. Verse 34, by the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to the city, declares the Lord, for I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.

Then the angel, watch this, the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these men were dead. So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. It came about, verse 38, as he was worshiping some house somewhere, some god somewhere, that his sons killed him with the sword, and they escaped, and some other guy became king in his place. Did you see that? We didn’t even have to fight. The Lord sent an angel to kill nearly 200,000 soldiers. It sent all the rest of them fleeing back home, and even that king fell by his own children. They fell. It would have been a tough choice in the moment.

5. There Is Still an Enemy at the Gates

But they made the right one. And we’ve been talking a little bit this week about shadows. About how some of what we see back there, we’re looking for ourselves, but some of it we’re seeing Jesus. We’re seeing something that relates. I see two shadows in that story. Do you see them? Can I tell you that there is still an enemy at the gates? Can I tell you that the devil is real? That he is the Sennacherib of our day, and he has a whole bunch of rabshakas marching around carrying out his orders. We live in a world where the devil is very powerful and successful. And we see it all around us. And so I’m going to tell you two things about Satan, because let me tell you’ve got to make a choice.

Everybody in this room has to make a choice to give in to the pressures of the work of the devil or stand for the kingdom of Christ that sometimes doesn’t look so big when you see how many of them there are. Let me tell you a couple things about Satan, and they’re the exact same point. Satan is about destruction. All he wants to do is hurt you. He wants to maim your soul. He wants to divide your family. He sets his sights on hurting God’s people. He commands millions of Rabshakas and soldiers that carry out his way. He doesn’t believe that faith can stop him because, quite honestly, a lot of people’s faith have not stopped him. A lot of people’s belief in a God or even some kind of a belief in the God have not stopped him.

He does not believe that any ruler anywhere can stop him. Who knows what 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 8 says. The devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to what? He wants to eat you. He doesn’t want to be your friend. He doesn’t just want you to be in hell with him. He wants you to live the hell of the cratering, absolute sinkhole that is the darkness of his efforts. Look with me in John chapter 10. We need to get really honest with ourselves about the power and the destructive force of our adversary so that when we start talking about little things like sin, you know that little thing? Short word. When we start talking about little things like sin or worldliness or materialism, we will see them for what they really are.

The tools of the devil to destroy your life. To take every bit of joy and hope and peace away from you. Sennacherib did not want to make friends. He wanted to make slaves. In John chapter 10, I’m not certain this is a direct reference to the devil, but it is a direct reference to his work. In John chapter 10, when Jesus was talking about how he is the door, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. Do you believe that tonight? The devil doesn’t want to create some happy situation where he gets to be the king and everything works great. He wants to steal every good thing you have. He wants to kill everyone who will not follow him, and he wants to destroy everything in your life that God has built.

We need to get very real about the reality of the adversary and his purpose and his tools. But he doesn’t just barge in, right? He’s not like a thief where he just barges in and takes everything from you. He is incredibly deceptive. Why go in and try to barge in and take something from a family that if I can get them to believe a few things, they’ll just give it to me and serve me. A dominant ruler doesn’t want to kill what he can control. The devil wants to destroy the good in your life, but leave you alive. Anybody ever read that book, The Screwtape Letters? Man, that’s awesome. I’m going to give the whole thing away here in about 10 seconds. I apologize for that.

It’s about a 60-year-old book. You haven’t read it by now, okay? C.S. Lewis. But it had to do with this demon and his uncle, this other master demon, and they’re trying to get this Englishman into war. They’re trying to get him to follow the devil. They’re trying to lie to him, to get him to think on material things, to get him to think all the four things you see right here. They’re all weaved throughout the letters in this book. He needs to believe that he can never be right with God. It doesn’t matter how good you are, or how much you go to church or how often you pray, you’re never going to be right with God. He will not protect you. He wants him to believe that your defeat may be God’s will for you.

God never intended you to succeed. You cannot win, and your life is better off if you just give in to me. And so this demon and his uncle, demon, not sure what’s the family tree of demons is called. They’re contemplating how to get this guy to believe it. And near the end of the book, this demon writes and says, Hey, I did it. We won. He died. I killed him. And his uncle said, You fool. We didn’t want to kill him. Now he gets to go to heaven. We wanted him to live. We wanted to tear him away from God. Death was a victory for the child of God. He didn’t want to kill you. He wants you to live. He wants to deceive you and trick you and convince you to buy into sin.

Look with me here in John chapter 8. And John chapter 8, you know what we’re about to read. It’s in verse 44. You and he’s talking, Jesus here addressing these Jews. You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. If anyone anywhere in your life in any way, Rob Shakaz are everywhere. If anybody at any point in your life, even the people closest to you in your life, are trying to convince you in any way, shape, or form, that doing something that violates the will of God is good for you, they are a liar.

1 John chapter 2, you know where we’re going. Look in 1 John chapter 2, please. And you know this text about the way that he works. Look at the bottom thing here. He didn’t just demoralize, he lured. Alright, there’s a difference, right? You demoralize, like I don’t know. You thought you think God cares about you? You think you can really get. Did you really think you were really going to get to heaven? I mean, you thought that. He wants to demoralize us like we’re no good. And then say, all right, now that you feel like you’re probably not going to make it to heaven anyway, check this out. I can give you lots of interesting things. And they’re coined for us in 1 John chapter 2, verse 15.

Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, you know what they are. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, it’s from the world. You could say from the devil. The world is passing away and also its lusts. I think that’s a really interesting verse because you might say, I don’t know what you’re talking about, preacher, because I sin and it’s pretty awesome. I’m violating the will of God and I’m living it up. Don’t be a fool. Your life here. Yeah. You see that thread? That’s your life here on this earth.

6. Can I Tell You About King Jesus

We wish it was a little longer. Stronger. Maybe not so much gray there on the chin. The rest of the carpet in this room is eternity. It’s forever. The devil convinces you to sell that out for that. The lusts will leave you with nothing. The world is passing away. But look, I don’t want to undermine Satan. He’s strong. And this has been working a long time. But can I tell you about somebody and then we’re done? I know our time’s running low. Can I tell you about somebody? Can I tell you about King Jesus for a few minutes? Can I tell you about the one when you’re up on the wall and you’re looking into the eyes of the kids and the devil’s just pushing, and maybe even convincing you that he doesn’t exist, which is a tremendous trick.

And you look back at your king, and what you find there is Jesus. Can I tell you about Jesus? Can I tell you about Jesus? He is honorable. Jesus has set the entire purpose of his existence in the plan of salvation to honoring God, to getting people to see the power of God, to proclaim that faith in God is all that you need to be strong because God fights for you, and God can and will save you. Go back to John 10. So many verses we could examine. John 10 is all we need at this moment. Look at what Jesus said about what he has come to do. He is honorable, folks. In John 10, in verses 10 and 11, the thief, the thief comes to steal and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. Look down with me a little further in verse 18. No one has taken it away from me and powerful. But I lay it down on my own initiative. I have authority to lay it down. I love this verse. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back up again. He came to earth for you and for God. He died on a cross for you and for God. And then, best thing of all, he goes into the veil of death that Satan uses as this tremendous scare tactic, death. He goes across the veil of death and comes right back and says, It ain’t nothing.

It ain’t nothing if you believe in God. It ain’t nothing. I know it’s a double negative. It’s nothing. God will give you victory in life. God will help you build strong families. God came to heal, not to kill. And then when you die, it gets better. Our King is honorable, and He has crossed the veil and come back to prove to us that we can live. And He is so humble, isn’t he? He could bark the same things that the devil does and try to just outpower him with words, but Jesus is just humble. He’s all about seeking to be right with His Father. Wasn’t that His whole mission? To fulfill the will of His Father. He’s so humble. When things would get tough, look with me in John 17.

He would pray about it. He would go to God because the king knows. If I am connected to God, I live and all my people live also. Jesus knew that better than anyone. He knows that God has the power and he assures safety with the Father. And in John 17, listen to the glory he gives to his Father. This is our King. Verse 1, Jesus spoke these things of John 17. And lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son, that the Son may glorify you, even as you gave him authority over all flesh. That to all whom you have given him, he may give eternal life. This is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Verse 4, I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work which you gave me to do. Listen to the voice of your king. I came to serve you, Father. I fulfilled the mission that you gave me, and that mission was to hand eternal life to my people and give them a blessing that they could never achieve on their own, and by all means the devil can’t give them.

He prays verse 22 about our oneness. He prays for us to understand that the truth can set us free. I know the adversary is angry, and he’s strong. I was flying in, and this can hit you at any time. It could do it tonight on your way home when you’re driving through some traffic. But last year it was nighttime, and I was flying into Tampa, I think. And I was coming down. You ever fly in over a city and there’s just lights everywhere, and there’s just, I mean, they’re all orange for some reason. I don’t know what happens to the lights from the sky, but there’s orange lights everywhere. And I’m looking down over Tampa and I’m thinking, I’m looking at millions of people. Millions, maybe a million.

I don’t know how many here in Tampa. A lot. I’m looking at a lot of people. And there’s a good chance that almost all of these people have been deceived by the devil. Their agendas modified by humanism, which is his tool to destroy your soul, by getting you to focus on your own flesh. There are a few people here who care, and it just overwhelmed me, and I’ll tell you, I was discouraged. I didn’t say, oh, but Jesus will save us. I was really discouraged. I thought, this country over. Hundreds of millions of people. Deceived and destroyed. And they don’t even know it. Sometimes they just want to give up. Feels like a losing battle. But Jesus, but Jesus, our victorious, honorable deity, humble king, has assured us victory if we stay with him.

Conclusion

Here’s the question tonight. What are you going to choose? Because it’s not 700 BC. It’s 2016 AD. You and your families and everybody we love lives inside of a city. The new Jerusalem. Revelation. We are his church. And we are happy as his church. And we are blessed and we feel protected by the spiritual walls around us, and we serve a great king. He’s a mighty king. He’s a lovely and wonderful leader. But the ground starts to rumble sometimes, doesn’t it? I mean, it really gets a shake. And we climb up on that wall, and the enemy says, give in, or I’ll destroy everything you care about. What are you going to choose? Can I show you one or two more things? I mean, if I go over, what are you going to do?

Fire me?

I want to show you two passages and then we’re done. Let me jump to the end of that story first. Look in 1 Corinthians 15. I don’t know what you’re going to choose. I can’t speak for every family here. Lord willing, I’ll pass through this way in a few years, and I sure hope that every Christian in the room is still in the city a few years from now. But can I tell you that I know people I really care a lot about who absolutely walked down the ladder, grabbed their kids by the hand, opened the gate, and walked right out. I hope you don’t do that. So I’m going to go ahead and take you to the punchline on this thing. When the final battle commences, on the final day of judgment, not a single arrow will be fired.

There won’t be any battle of Armageddon. There won’t be any loss of life on the Christian side, because on the final day in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 50, I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. But I tell you a mystery, we will not all sleep. We will all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed. Now skip down to verse 55. In the final battle of the final judgment, death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin. The power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. You want to know the end of the movie? Satan loses. I mean, there’s not even going to be a fight. Like the angel killing 185,000 adversaries overnight in their sleep where they didn’t get a chance to fire an arrow, the devil and his people will lose. The faithful will be saved. Do you believe it? Do you believe it enough, verse 58, to live like you believe it? I think that’s kind of how we should end this meeting, maybe. It’s one thing to tell you that Jesus is the great and wonderful king, but what about my beloved brethren, therefore? Because I know how it’s going to end. And I know who’s already won.

Be steadfast and movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. It’s tiresome sometimes, and we feel outnumbered a lot. And the adversary gets his licks in, but the toil is worth it. Because we win. Last passage, and then we’re done. Isaiah 33. Isaiah 33, the week’s over. You have been so patient and kind and following along this week. I’ve enjoyed so much sharing these things with you. I know sort of the drudgery of marching through Old Testament text. I get a real kick out of it. I learn a lot of things, and I hope that you’ve enjoyed some of those journeys as well. And I hope that we’ve made some practical applications you feel like you’re going to be able to use in your life.

Because otherwise I don’t know why we did it. But I want to end with this. Are you in Isaiah 33? This is a beautiful passage because it has dual fulfillment. This is about Hezekiah. This is about the people deciding are you going to side with Hezekiah or not? But some translators have added a capital K in one of these verses because this is a shadow of the choice that you have to make tonight. This is about Jesus. Are you ready? Then we’re done. Isaiah chapter 33 and verse 15. He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity. He who rejects unjust gain and shakes his hands so that they hold no bride. He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil.

He will dwell on the heights. His refuge will be the impregnable rock. His bread will be given him. His water will be sure. Your eyes will see the king in his beauty. They will behold a far distant land. Verse 22 for the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us. Do you believe it? We will see the king in His glory. Not an arrow will fly. That’s what we’re living for. This is all I can say as we conclude. If there happens to be anyone here who has been deceived andor destroyed by the works of the devil, the gates will open for you. The King is loving, just like He’s honorable. He will receive you if you repent and return.

1 John 1, he will forgive every confessed sin by a brother and sister in Christ. Come back to the place of safety and eternal abode. And if you’re not a Christian, you’re standing outside the wall. I know why you’re out there. There’s a ton of them. I know why you’re out there. I’m asking you to take a step of faith. Come in and serve Jesus with us. You can become a Christian tonight. You can immerse, be immersed in water. You can have your sins washed away and be clothed with the protection of Jesus, Galatians 3 27. Victory is assured. If we can guide you in those steps, come now as we stand together and sing.