The Open Word (Audio)

The Lord assured the Israelites that the battles they would fight would not be their battles. He promised He would fight for them. They would be His battles! But, what about our battles? In today’s message, Pastor David encourages us to remember that the battles we face are not our battles any more than Israel’s were theirs. Just as God fought for Israel, He will fight for us as well. God promised He would never leave us nor forsake us – least of all in the midst of a spiritual battle. Are you trusting God to fight your battles for you?

Christian influence in our country is becoming less and less. Today, Christians are largely looked down upon. In today’s message, Pastor David talks about how standing for righteousness today can cause you to lose your business. People who want to stand for righteousness are decreasing because they don’t want their businesses threatened. We are living in a country that is increasingly anti-Christian. Still, we can stand knowing our God will never leave us nor forsake us.

In life’s battles we can become discouraged and wonder how we are going to get through them. Jesus promised that we would have tribulation, so when tribulation comes, how do you respond? In today’s message, Pastor David encourages us to remember how God responded in Israel’s battles. If God can cause the sun to “stand still”, if He can part the Red Sea, if He can defeat 165,000 Midianites with only 300 men, then He can defeat our enemies as well. And He will if we will only trust Him.

Jesus promised that in this world we would have tribulation. Loss of loved ones, sickness, financial difficulties, persecution…all prove Jesus’ words right. And if we look to this world for peace and happiness, we will be disappointed. In today’s message, Pastor David reminds us that we can’t look to this world for peace. We must transfer our trust from the fleeting things of this life and put our faith, hope, and trust in God if we would be truly happy and fulfilled. Only God is the Rock which cannot move.

All of us have had problems in our lives. And some of them are of our own making! Poor decisions, sin, failing to seek the Lord…all of these things can lead to difficult circumstances. But, in today’s message, Pastor David encourages us to keep our eyes not on the problem but the God of our problems. God has made tremendous problems to us. And He WILL fulfill them even in the midst of consequences from our poor decisions. If we keep our eyes on Him and His promises, He will carry us through life’s problems.

We can learn many things from the failure of Israel with the Gibeonites. We all have our personal “Gibeonites” – those decisions we’ve made in the past that have lingering consequences in our lives. In today’s message, Pastor David teaches us to use these things in our lives as reminders that we are not perfect. The Bible says that without Him we can do nothing. We need to let these things remind us of that. Will you let the “Gibeonites” in your life remind you of your need of Him?

We often tend to live independently of God and follow our own wisdom and logic. And we can do this even as believers! In today’s message, Pastor David reminds us of the importance of NOT following our own logic and wisdom! Highlighting the mistakes of Israel in trying to follow their own wisdom rather than seeking the Lord, he reminds us that we also can get into great trouble by not seeking the Lord. Our own logic and wisdom is a poor substitute for the Spirit of God in our lives!

Imagine writing down all the words of the law! Joshua, after defeating the enemies at Ai, wrote the law out on stones! In today’s message, Pastor David highlights the importance of slowing down and taking time to remind ourselves of what God has said. Such a thing shows that it is God in whom we trust and where our strength and hope lie. What are you doing in the midst of the busyness of your life to remind yourself that your life, your hope, and your source are in God alone? Will you take time to do that today?

Though we may think that we have God all figured out...that's just our pride talking. :) God has provided so much revelation about Himself in His Word and throughout history. But, there are many mysteries about God that we won't be able to fully comprehend in this life. Our sin nature simply gets in the way. We know there's a time coming that we will know as we are known.

We need to acknowledge our sin. We need to call it what it is and turn from it. But, in today’s message, Pastor David encourages us to not let the enemy get an upper-hand in our life by listening to his condemnation of us. God convicts, but Satan condemns. There is a big difference! God will tell us the truth – what we did was sin. But He will also tell us He loves us and can still use us! Satan will condemn us and tell us we are worthless and cannot be used by God because of our past sin. Who will you listen to?