there's an old saying that there are two
things in life that are sure
death and taxes
while some have found a way to avoid
taxes
the truth is that death cannot be
avoided
now while many may think that death is
the end
according to the bible death is not the
end
we will all stand before god after death
god will judge us to be guilty or not
we all should be guilty due to our sin
however those who are under the blood of
jesus will be forgiven and judged as
righteous
we can't plead the faith of our parents
or the righteousness of our neighbor
in acts 17 verse 30-31 the bible says
the times of ignorance god overlooked
but now he commands all people
everywhere to repent
because he has fixed a day on which he
will judge the world in righteousness by
a man whom he has appointed
and of this he has given assurance to
all by raising him from the dead
paul here is preaching to a very
educated group of greek philosophers
many of them would have been some of the
top scholars in athens
however
no matter their background paul tells
them they will one day stand before god
to be judged
the same is true for us today
we will stand before god and be judged
for our sin no matter our
background you may be a top biblical
scholar an actor a sweet old grandma or
anything in between but there is no
avoiding the fact that you and i will
have to stand before god and give an
account for your life
it also doesn't matter who you know
your parents will not be able to stand
with you before god that day
you will not be able to make the excuse
that your enemy hurt you and say
something like god so and so wronged me
and that's why i sinned you will not
even be able to stand there with your
spouse or kids
god will judge each of us on our own
the truth is that if you don't repent
you carry no one else's sin but your own
you will answer for no one else's
actions but yours
you will answer to god about your life
your deeds and no one else's
and if you really think of it there is
no one without sin among us
and god is holy and cannot accept sin in
his presence
but oh how we should rejoice and be glad
that god made a way for us to be saved
he sent jesus to be our representative
where our nature is sinful which leads
to sinful actions
jesus nature is perfect which leads to
perfect actions
he never sinned but was punished as if
he did
while on the cross he took the judgment
we deserve on judgment day in our place
he satisfied the wrath of god
imagine you're in a courtroom and put on
trial for the worst of crimes
you lay out your case on why you should
not be punished
however the judge isn't buying it and
honestly neither are you
he picks up his gavel and sentences you
to life in prison
matter of fact he senses you to death
row
the bailiff comes to put shackles on you
to take you away
as soon as he starts to cuff your feet a
man from the crowd steps forward you
barely know him
it ends up that he is the father of one
of the people you killed
he states that he did not take part in
your murdering spree
however
he is willing to take the punishment for
you he allows the bailiff to carry him
out of the courtroom
later that day he is killed on death row
on your behalf
you get to walk out of the courtroom
scotch-free
this is precisely what jesus did for you
and i
he was willing to die in our place for
our sins so that on judgment day we
plead the life of jesus instead of our
own
for those who by grace through faith
trust in jesus
they will be able to be judged as not
guilty on that day
think back to the courtroom illustration
how would you feel when you walk out of
that courtroom not guilty when you
should be condemned
you would be overjoyed because you just
received a free life
the rest of your life would be lived
devoted to the man who died in your
place
the same is true for christians
once you realize that jesus took your
place you live a life devoted to him
that is why we should repent
that's why we should turn away from sin
out of joy for the love we received
and if i may say
if you are not filled with joy that
leads to repentance then you may not
have really realized what jesus has done
for you on the cross
it's not that you're not trying hard
enough or being good enough to receive
forgiveness
it's that you don't realize how great
god's love is in forgiving you so you
don't have true repentance
take time to imagine yourself in front
of god on judgment day
remember it will simply be you answering
for yourself
as you stand before god seated on his
throne he lays out your sin
you're guilty of lying stealing
hating murder in your heart adultery in
your heart and a list that goes on a
mile long
what are you gonna say
you can try to lay out a list of good
things you've done
but that does not erase your sin
you can try to bring help in to defend
you such as a parent or a friend but
nobody is in that room but you and god
you can even lay out your church
attendance record but that does not
clean the stain of sin
the only way that you can be saved is if
while you are still living today while
you are still breathing
accept jesus christ as lord and savior
over your life and repent so that his
precious blood can cleanse you
and i'll end with this note
once you realize the magnitude of jesus
dying on the cross for you
it leads to you living a life of
repentance here on earth
ephesians 6 13 says
therefore take up the whole armor of god
that you may be able to withstand in the
evil day
and having done all
to stand
i would like to take a moment to
deconstruct this verse
and what it means to us as children of
god
the bible says therefore take up the
whole armor of god
the first thing to notice
is that this is an instruction
we are told
to take up
the whole armor of god
it's not a question
of whether you can or cannot take this
up no
it's a clear instruction
this is something you need to do the
second thing
is that you only need armor if you're in
a war
you only need armor in battle
you only need armor
when there is an opposing force that's
coming against you
and when the bible says the whole armor
this says to me that there are multiple
parts that need to be taken up
anything other than the whole armor
would leave you vulnerable so it's
important
that we follow this instruction
and not only take up parts of the armor
but the whole armor of god
now the second part to this verse says
that you may be able to withstand in the
evil day
this statement has a level of certainty
to it
you need to take up the whole armor of
god
so that you can withstand
in the evil day
now in this part of the verse
i get the impression that the bible is
warning us
the bible is warning us
that there will be an evil day
a day when we will have to fight
the forces of evil
and the forces of evil
they can attack in many forms
however
if we are wearing the whole armor of god
then we will be able to withstand
anything the devil aims in our direction
now that we have a better understanding
of this verse
i want to encourage you
and i want to rally you up
yes
you are in a war
if you are a true disciple of christ
you will be at war
you're at war against the rulers
against the authorities
against the powers of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms
now in these few moments
i want to remind you that the word is
central to your defensive stance as well
as your offensive stance as a christian
when you face the evil day
remember 2 thessalonians 3 verse 3
but the lord is faithful
who will establish you
and guard you
from the evil one
remember deuteronomy 31 verse 6
be strong and of good courage
do not fear nor be afraid of them
for the lord your god
he is the one who goes with you
he will not leave you nor forsake you
when you face the evil day
psalm 46 verse 1 says
god is our refuge and strength
a very present help in trouble
the lord is with you
and the promises of god
should give you the confidence
to be bold
in the face of evil
when it comes to our christian lives
one thing that we need to realize is
that every day
from the moment that you wake up
to the moment that we sleep
we are involved in a battle
involved in a fight
one fight that we're involved in is
detailed in ephesians chapter 6
verse 12
and the bible reads for we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood
but against the rulers
against the authorities
against the cosmic powers
over this present darkness
against the spiritual forces of evil in
the heavenly places
that's the first fight
now another fight that we're involved in
can be found in galatians chapter 5
verse 17
for the desires of the flesh are against
the spirit
and the desires of the spirit are
against the flesh
for these are opposed to each other to
keep you from doing the things you want
to do
there is a struggle that we all face
we wrestle in the spirit realm
and then we also wrestle against the
flesh
and the carnal
sinful desires of our bodies
now in order to win this fight
this fight between good and evil
we need to be covered in prayer
and i say prayer because second
corinthians chapter 10
verse 4 says
for the weapons of our warfare are not
of the flesh
but have divine power
to destroy strongholds
meaning that when we wrestle against
these rulers and authorities
when we wrestle against the spiritual
forces of evil
when we wrestle against our flesh
the weapons that we use are not physical
weapons
but they are divine in nature
the weapons we use are prayer
the word of god
worship
the word of our testimony
and of course our faith
and i encourage you today
to make the decision that you will
become a prayer warrior
and as prayer warriors everything we
love
everything we are associated with must
be covered by prayer and the blood of
jesus
that means our family and loved ones
our friends and our lives should be
placed under the umbrella
of prayer
and the blood of jesus christ
it's only when we become prayer warriors
that we can defeat this unseen enemy
lurking in the dark
it's only through prayer that we can
experience god's true power and might in
our lives
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only then can we experience what it's
like to live under the divine protection
of god almighty
psalm 91 verse 1 to 4 says
he who dwells in the shelter of the most
high
will abide under the shadow of the
almighty
i will say to the lord my refuge and my
fortress
my god in whom i trust
for he will deliver you from the snare
of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence he will
cover you
with his opinions
and under his wings you will find refuge
his faithfulness is a shield
and buckler
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you