1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:03,560 Amen. Let's turn again in our Bibles, 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:08,600 this time to 1st Thessalonians chapter 2, and we're going to 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:17,080 read from verse 13 to the end, First Thessalonians chapter 2, 4 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:20,240 verse 13, right through to verse 20. 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:23,280 The words will come up on screen for those online. 6 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,600 The words of course of our reading are from the Authorised 7 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:33,280 Version or properly the King James Bible. 8 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,680 Let's hear God's word First Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 9 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:46,000 13. For this cause also thank we God 10 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:52,680 without ceasing, because when you received the word of God, 11 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:57,160 which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of 12 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:04,160 men, but as it isn't truth, the word of God which effectually 13 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:06,880 worketh also in you that believe. 14 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:12,920 For ye brethren became followers of the churches of God, which in 15 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:18,520 Judea are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like 16 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:23,800 things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews, 17 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:29,640 who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have 18 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:34,560 persecuted us. And they please not God, and are 19 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:39,200 contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, 20 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:43,240 that they might be saved to fill up their sins all way. 21 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:47,000 For the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. 22 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:53,520 But we, brethren, been taken from you for a short time in 23 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:58,120 presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly 24 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:03,240 to see your face with great desire, Wherefore we would have 25 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:08,199 come unto you, even I Paul once and again. 26 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:15,040 But Satan hindered us. For what is our hope, or joy, or 27 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:21,120 crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence 28 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,000 of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? 29 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,720 For ye are our glory and joy. Amen. 30 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,200 We know the Lord is stamped with his own approval and blessing, 31 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:35,960 this reading of his own precious and infallible Word. 32 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:41,480 Amen. Now this morning we're going to 33 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:45,720 continue with our series of expository sermons in the book 34 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:50,600 of First Thessalonians, and my text today is taken from First 35 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,760 Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 17 and 18. 36 00:02:54,760 --> 00:03:00,480 Let's read them together. First Thessalonians, chapter 2, 37 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:04,720 verse 17. But we, brethren, being taken 38 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:09,080 from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, 39 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:13,080 endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great 40 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,800 desire. Wherefore we would have come 41 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:21,600 unto you, even I Paul, once and again. 42 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:26,200 But Satan hindered us. Notice the words. 43 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:32,160 But Satan hindered us. And there you have, I believe, 44 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:38,120 the greatest harassment from the greatest hinderer in the world. 45 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:44,440 Let's remember the context how the Gospel came to Thessalonica. 46 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,280 When the apostle Paul entered the city, he went to the Jew 47 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:53,280 first for three Sabbath days. That's Jewish Sabbath, Friday 48 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:57,120 night to Saturday night. He met with them in the 49 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:01,880 synagogue, and there he preached Christ and the gospel of saving 50 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:06,560 graves unto them. And if you turn to Acts chapter 51 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:12,720 17, and you'll read there in the verses one and two of the 52 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:19,079 message that Paul preached at that time, it says, and Paul 53 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:22,560 first two, as his manner was within unto them. 54 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,520 And three Sabbath days reasoned with the mouth of the Scriptures 55 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,760 opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and 56 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,560 risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach 57 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:42,160 unto you is Christ. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ 58 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:47,360 lay at the heart of God's great plan of salvation. 59 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,920 He is God's anointed prophet, priest, and king. 60 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:56,920 As a result of this preaching, many of the Jews got saved. 61 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:03,160 It says there in Acts chapter 17 and in the verse 4. 62 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,560 And some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas, 63 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,680 and of the devout Jews a great multitude, and of the chief 64 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:16,520 woman, not a few. However, as this always happens, 65 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:21,840 not only were people saved, but many were stirred up and became 66 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:27,360 angry and mad with Paul, it says in verse 5. 67 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:31,960 But the Jews, which believed not, notice what they did. 68 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:36,080 They were moved with envy. They got together, a bunch of 69 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,920 men of the baser sort and set the whole city an uproar. 70 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:45,080 And their mindset was that Paul had to die. 71 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:52,280 You see, this was a livid and lethal mob who were bent on 72 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:57,960 Paul's death and destruction. So as a result, the brethren and 73 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:04,560 sisters, no doubt at Fest and I, get sent Paul away by night to 74 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,320 the town of Berea. I believe these believers were 75 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,840 loathed to send Paul away, but they did so to help him. 76 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:14,200 They did so to preserve his life. 77 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:16,480 And after he left, this is what happened. 78 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,920 Then the devil used men to spread some wicked lies about 79 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,240 Paul. Here was the first lie he fled 80 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:29,800 to see of his own skin. He is more interested in self 81 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,080 than new seals. More than that, he was the 82 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,560 second lie. He has no intention of coming 83 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,080 back. He he said he would come back, 84 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:40,840 but he has no intention of coming back. 85 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,760 We are sorry that you get carried away with this fellow. 86 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:49,120 You get carried away with a smooth words, but really he, he 87 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:54,680 couldn't care less for you. And now you're suffering public 88 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,040 ridicule. Now you're being persecuted 89 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,320 because you believe the things that he taught you. 90 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:03,560 Listen to us. Here's the third lie. 91 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:08,360 He doesn't care about you. Now in light of these lies, in 92 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:13,560 light of these false allegations, Paul, after Timothy 93 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,680 had returned with the good news of the Thessalonians, faith and 94 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:22,280 love and Christ. Paul explains in part of his 95 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:27,280 letter that he dealt with these lies and false allegations. 96 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,640 Look at verse 17. But we brethren, been taken from 97 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:35,760 you for a short time in presence, not in heart, 98 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:40,080 endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great 99 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,400 desire. He's telling them, My intention 100 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,920 was only to be taken from you for a short time. 101 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:50,120 Look, I endeavoured to see your face. 102 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:54,480 I made repeated attempts to return to you in Fest and Anka 103 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,080 because I greatly desired to see you face to face. 104 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,360 But this is what happened. Notice the words. 105 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:06,760 But Satan hindered us. Literally. 106 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,560 The devil instigated all of this. 107 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,520 He instigated the uproar that forced Paul to withdraw from 108 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,400 Thessalonians. He was behind the lie that Paul 109 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,960 fled to save his own skin. He was behind the lie that Paul 110 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:22,560 had no interest or intention in returning. 111 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:26,480 He spread the lie that Paul didn't care for these people. 112 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:32,320 Now you understand why Paul wrote these words. 113 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:39,000 But Satan hindered us. Let's think for a few minutes of 114 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,640 the greatest harassment of the greatest hinderer in the world. 115 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:46,400 Think of the identity of the greatest hinderer in the world. 116 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:50,800 If you underline the word Satan, understand. 117 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,320 This morning we'll ask the question, Who's the greatest 118 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:57,160 adversary of God's people? Who's the greatest accuser of 119 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,720 the brethren with lies and falsehood? 120 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:03,600 Who's behind every lie? Who's behind every accusation? 121 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,760 Who's behind every falsehood? Well, there's one being that 122 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,080 stands head and shoulders above them all. 123 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:13,840 And it's not a man, it's not a woman, it's not a politician, 124 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,880 it's not a king or a Prince. It's one being. 125 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:25,880 And his name is Satan. But Satan hindered us, young 126 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,440 people. Satan is a real spiritual being. 127 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:33,120 Young people, there's a real personal devil. 128 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:38,760 Young people, there's an invisible, malignant, powerful, 129 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:44,800 unmerciful being who is the real enemy of your soul, the real 130 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:49,200 enemy of God in the world, the real enemy of Jesus Christ, and 131 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:54,720 the real, a real enemy of every aspect of the work of God and 132 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,840 the work of Greece. Let me illustrate how you sit 133 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,920 and predict it. Today he's presented as a 134 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:08,360 cartoon character, a man in a red suit with a fork horns. 135 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:13,960 He's presented to us as some sort of ludicrous monster. 136 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:18,760 Now he is a monster but, but he's presented as a ludicrous 137 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:22,040 monster. But I want to tell you he's not 138 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:26,240 a ludicrous he's a real dangerous monster. 139 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:33,960 He's a real powerful enemy. Satan is a real spiritual being. 140 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,760 Do you know that Satan was created by God? 141 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:42,160 Ezekiel, chapter 28, Isaiah 14. I haven't time to turn to that 142 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:46,480 this morning. Did you know that Satan rebelled 143 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:51,120 against God in eternity past being full of pride? 144 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:56,000 He led 1/3 of the angels in heaven in that rebellion and God 145 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,840 cast them out of heaven. You could read that Isaiah 28 146 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:02,600 Ezekiel or Ezekiel 28 Isaiah chapter 14. 147 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:09,320 He's a very powerful being. Now, he's not God's equal, He's 148 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:13,880 not almighty, He's not all powerful, but he is very 149 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:15,720 powerful. He is seductive. 150 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,760 He is very subtle and he's very dangerous. 151 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:23,560 And in fact, we read there in the book of Matthew, in Matthew 152 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:29,160 chapter 25 verse 41, these words depart from me. 153 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:32,440 You curse it into everlasting fire. 154 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:39,040 Notice these words prepared for the devil and his angels. 155 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:44,520 God prepared hell for the devil and the fallen angels. 156 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,600 Now what's the devil like? Well, we read there in the 157 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:55,000 Gospel of John in John chapter 8 and in the verse 44. 158 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:59,400 The Lord Jesus said this, Speaking of Satan. 159 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,880 Listen to these words, John 8 and 44. 160 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:07,240 Ye are of your father the devil and the lust of your father. 161 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,200 Ye will do. He was a murderer from the 162 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:15,440 beginning. See, you've got to remember the 163 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:20,200 murder of Abel by Key and his brother, who was the instigator 164 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:24,440 behind that murder. And abode not in the truth, 165 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:28,760 because there's no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he 166 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:33,360 speaketh of his own, for he's a liar and the father of it. 167 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:40,040 Read over here in first John chapter 5 and in the verse 19 168 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:45,080 first John 5 and 19 and we know that we are of God and the whole 169 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:49,360 world lieth in wickedness. The the idea is of lying in the 170 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:54,440 lap of the wicked. 1 and over in first Peter and chapter 5 and 171 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:57,880 verse 8 we read be super vigilant because your adversary 172 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:01,080 the devil is a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom you 173 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:08,480 may devour. You think of a roaring lion and 174 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:12,720 a roaring lion stalking the streets for food, seeking to 175 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:15,520 devour. And that's a picture of the 176 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:20,360 devil and one other reference in Revelation chapter 12 and in the 177 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:24,760 verse 9 we read, and the great dragon was cast out, that old 178 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:28,160 serpent called the devil in Satan, which deceiveth the whole 179 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:30,560 world. He was cast out into the earth, 180 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:34,120 and his angels were cast out with him. 181 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:38,960 Now there's 13 different names for Satan in the Bible. 182 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,880 This is one of them, Satan. And every one of those names 183 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:47,920 reveal a very specific aspect of his character. 184 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,760 Notice we've read here who's a murderer from the beginning. 185 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:57,480 We've read in John 844 that he was the father of lies, and the 186 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,200 devil is very good at spreading lies. 187 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,840 He's very good at sowing seeds of doubt and sowing seeds of 188 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:08,400 confusion. And he'll charge God and his 189 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,160 people with being unfair and unreasonable. 190 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:14,920 And at times he'll appear in the world as a roaring lion, and 191 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,080 other times he'll come as a subtle serpent. 192 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:21,640 And other times he'll come as he's doing today as an Angel of 193 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:23,760 light. And he's different guises. 194 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:26,800 And of course he uses guile and subtlety. 195 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:32,480 One of the things I can say about the devil is this, that 196 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,360 Satan hates God. He hates truth and 197 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:39,240 righteousness. He hates the person and work of 198 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:43,000 the Lord Jesus with every favour of his being. 199 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:46,960 He's consumed with that hatred in his pride. 200 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:51,480 He's full of hatred now, even hatred for carried off FPC and 201 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:53,120 every other true Reformed Church. 202 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:56,960 He's full of hatred 24/7. Young people, there's no let up. 203 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,400 Young people, there's no mercy shown young people, there's no 204 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:05,080 quarter given. He does everything that he can 205 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:11,600 to hinder the work of God. And that activity has been going 206 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,560 on since the Garden of Eden. It's going on now. 207 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:18,400 It's going on day and night. If we can only grasp this, 208 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:22,000 here's the number one arch enemy of God. 209 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:28,960 He's an actual evil being. He's behind all the evil in the 210 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:33,280 world. He is holy evil WHOLLY. 211 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,240 He is completely evil and deprived. 212 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:44,920 He's powerful, yes. He is seductive, yes, but he's 213 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:50,080 also dangerous, very dangerous. He's called the God of this 214 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,600 world. We've already read in first John 215 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:58,640 5 and 19 that the whole world lies in the lap of wickedness. 216 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:05,560 And the idea behind that is of a of a child in the arms of its 217 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:10,240 mother. And the whole world lies in the 218 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:15,120 lap of the wicked one, the world of unconverted souls. 219 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:21,320 And one of the things that the devil does is he he wages a war 220 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:25,560 against the Lord and his people. The devil, as I've said, hates 221 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:28,760 God. The devil opposes the triune 222 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:30,920 God. He opposes the part of the work 223 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:32,800 of Christ. He opposes the preaching of the 224 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:35,560 gospel. He opposes the preacher of the 225 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:39,920 word of God in the pulpit and on the street corner. 226 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:46,760 He opposes the people of God. Brothers and sisters, let's 227 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:52,280 learn something this morning. We are in a spiritual war. 228 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:59,680 There's a spiritual battle going on and this battle began when 229 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:04,200 man fell into sin and the state of sin and mystery. 230 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:11,920 It began in heaven. The devil or Satan is a real 231 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:18,000 being, and the devil is the adversary of every true born 232 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,440 again Christian, the adversary of every church, the adversary 233 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,599 of every preacher and evangelist, youth worker, Sunday 234 00:17:25,599 --> 00:17:30,920 school teacher, the adversary of every St and is your adversary 235 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:38,400 today the identity of the great accuser of the people of God. 236 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:42,080 Secondly, and very quickly, I want you to think of the 237 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,920 strategy of the greatest hinder in the world. 238 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:50,920 If you come to our text that says, but Satan hindered us, 239 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:55,280 look at that word hindered. It's very important that you 240 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:59,960 understand this. In the Greek New Testament, the 241 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:05,360 idea is the word hindered means to break up the road. 242 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,720 Now you, you think of an advancing army, it's coming to 243 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:15,680 attack the enemy position and the enemy breaks up the road to 244 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:20,920 make it difficult to advance to, to stop a smooth progress. 245 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:25,480 Think of Modern Warfare. They they bomb the road to slow 246 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:27,520 down the advance of the attacking troops. 247 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:31,480 They'll bomb bridges and key strategic points. 248 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,920 Think of a road that's full of holes, big holes and small holes 249 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,480 making it impossible for smooth progress. 250 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,840 Big holes that would break the wheels of a chariot in the 1st 251 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:47,400 century. Big holes that would break the 252 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:52,320 spring of a car in in today's modern era. 253 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:56,600 That's the picture of the word hindered to break up the road, 254 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:00,920 to make it difficult to advance. There's another picture here in 255 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:04,520 the word hindered and you think of a race. 256 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:07,680 Think of somebody running hard. He's got a tie in the finish 257 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:13,720 line and someone just cuts in, someone elbows them out of the 258 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:19,760 way, and that cut in as so severe that you're elbowed off 259 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:24,040 course. That's the picture, and that's 260 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:28,200 what the devil does, Paul says. I was coming to see you in 261 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:32,360 Thessalonica. Unfortunately, the devil put 262 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:37,280 roadblocks in the road. Unfortunately, the devil cut in 263 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,240 and elbowed me out to stop me coming to see you. 264 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:47,120 And I tried repeatedly. I made several attempts, but 265 00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:49,840 each time I tried, the roadblocks were there. 266 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:53,960 Each time I tried, I was being elbowed off course. 267 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:58,480 Yes, I know God is sovereign. Yes, I know the Lord allowed the 268 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:00,520 devil to do it for his own purpose. 269 00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:04,640 But the real culprit behind my hindering and coming to see you 270 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:11,800 face to face is Satan. I want you to notice something. 271 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:16,120 If you read Acts 17 very carefully, think of the Jews of 272 00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:22,280 Paul's day. They didn't dismiss or reject 273 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:26,800 Paul's sermon about Christ and preaching the gospel on 274 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:30,800 theological grounds. They they didn't pick up the Old 275 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,920 Testament Scriptures and say, now hold on Paul, you're 276 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,040 preaching out of the Scriptures. You've taken that out of context 277 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:39,360 or this is not right or that's not right. 278 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,120 No, they didn't respond theologically. 279 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:47,320 They didn't respond doctrinally. How did they respond? 280 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:52,440 They accused Paul on political grounds. 281 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:54,280 You're turning the world upside down. 282 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,480 They accused Paul using a political argument. 283 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:00,840 You have another king. You you reject Caesar. 284 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,080 You bow the need of Jesus Christ. 285 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,880 And you see what followed using that political argument was 286 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:14,120 physical persecution. And I want you to see that 287 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:20,680 that's how they hindered him. They cited and used physical 288 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:23,800 persecution. There was a riot in 289 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:30,640 Thessalonica. Read Acts 17 and don't we see 290 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,640 that today? Very same argument used against 291 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:38,480 the Bible believing church. Same argument used against Bible 292 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:42,320 believing preachers. Preachers today who preach in 293 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:45,240 the streets, especially in England, are accused of hate 294 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,480 crimes. They're accused of hitting the 295 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:54,240 LGBTQ plus community. They're accused of teaching 296 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:56,760 things that don't fit in with the modern world. 297 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:01,240 Because we're anti evolutionist. Because we're anti abortionist. 298 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:04,280 Why? Because the Bible teaches that. 299 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,680 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 300 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:11,240 Because the Bible teaches that thou shall not murder. 301 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:15,480 And we and we condemn the murder of the innocent and condemn the 302 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,160 murder of the unborn. We point out that God hates the 303 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:23,720 hands that shed innocent blood. And yet we're told, oh, but you 304 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,320 don't fit in with the modern world. 305 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:31,320 And what do they do? They resort to lies, hate crime. 306 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,440 They, they, they resort to function charges. 307 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:41,360 And when that's not enough, then they resort to violence, even 308 00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:44,040 murder. You, you think of the context 309 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:49,720 here that the murder of dear Charlie Kirk, why was Shirley 310 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,600 Kirk murdered? They didn't come with 311 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,160 theological debate. They they didn't come with a 312 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:57,480 doctrinal reasoning. They didn't come with the 313 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:01,920 Scriptures in hand and say Charlie, but the Bible says no. 314 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,040 They they couldn't answer him. So they came with what? 315 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:09,440 They came with physical violence. 316 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,520 They came with murder in their mind and in their heart because 317 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:15,800 they couldn't debate Charlie Kirk, because they had no 318 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:18,600 answer. So they resorted what to to 319 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:22,160 murder him. And that's exactly what the 320 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,360 world does. And that's exactly 1 of the 321 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:29,680 tactics of the devil. And of course, we know that at 322 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:33,720 this time there was a period of intense persecution against the 323 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:37,400 Christian Church, and the whole import was to wipe it out and 324 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,440 destroy the church all together before it really got off the 325 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:42,960 ground. And that's one of the devil's 326 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:48,040 subtle movements. He's behind it. 327 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,520 Remember what we read in Acts 16 and in the verse sorry at 328 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:57,680 Matthew 16 and the verse 18, we have the Lord Jesus on his 329 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,040 promise. And he says this in Matthew 330 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:04,320 chapter 16 verse 18, a tremendous promise. 331 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:09,720 He says, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I'll build my 332 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:14,400 church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 333 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:19,520 In Ephesians 6 and 12, we're told, for we wrestle not against 334 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:24,480 flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, 335 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:27,120 against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against 336 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:29,760 spiritual wickedness in high places. 337 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,240 And we see this more and more happening in the UK. 338 00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,040 And the Christian Church is vulnerable to this. 339 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:42,520 And this persecution will continue to grow and be pursued. 340 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,360 And we need to be prepared to withstand that. 341 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,960 Here's Paul. And he's urged to flee from his 342 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:50,880 life because his life was in danger. 343 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:54,440 And if they could, they would have murdered Paul. 344 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:59,560 Let me just point out very quickly, the devil uses doubt. 345 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,120 Hath God said the Garden of Eden? 346 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:06,640 There's a battle going on in the mind. 347 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,880 There's a battle going on for the Bible today. 348 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:19,760 Doubt about God, doubt about the blood atonement, doubt about the 349 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,680 scriptures of truth, doubt about heaven, doubt about hell, doubt 350 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:26,840 about who Christ is, who, who's behind all this doubt? 351 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:29,560 What would? The answer is? 352 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:34,160 The devil himself. And you know that one time when 353 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:38,640 Campbell Morgan, I think, was about 19 years of age, he was 354 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:43,600 reading books by Charles Darwin, Thomas Huckley, Herbert Spencer, 355 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:49,560 all to do with evolution, all to do with a different world view 356 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:51,960 than what he had. And he doubted the Bible. 357 00:25:52,120 --> 00:25:53,880 He doubted God. He doubted Christ. 358 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:55,360 He doubted the plan of salvation. 359 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:57,880 You know what he did? He locked those books along with 360 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:00,560 his own Bible in a cupboard, turned the key. 361 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,560 He says he could hear the click. And he went to the bookshop and 362 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,240 he bought himself a new Bible. And for quite a number of months 363 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:10,680 he locked himself away with his Bible and all he had, he had no 364 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,480 books, no commentaries. He he didn't read anything else 365 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:15,800 but the Bible. And he became absolutely 366 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,440 convinced of the veracity and truth of the Holy Scriptures. 367 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,280 And he says in 1883, the Bible found me. 368 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:29,480 And he continued with that mindset right up to 1938 until 369 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:31,640 he died. You see, the devil uses doubt. 370 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:33,720 He doubted. He got that young preacher of 371 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:37,840 doubt about the the, the truthfulness of what the Bible 372 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:41,680 was teaching. The devil uses discord and how 373 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:45,280 often he can sow siege of discord among the brethren. 374 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:50,680 The devil uses deception. Think of Luke chapter 8 and 375 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:52,720 verse 12. Remember the parable of the 376 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:58,080 sore, the seed that fell on the Stony ground. 377 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:02,640 Remember the fowls of the air came and took away the seed. 378 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:06,080 And the Lord Jesus used that as an illustration. 379 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:11,800 And this is what he says in Luke chapter 8 and verse 12 those by 380 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:14,680 the wayside are they that hear then cometh the devil and take 381 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:17,800 of the way the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe 382 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,000 and be saved. You see, every time there's a 383 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,520 gospel mission, you're trying to get people out under the sound 384 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:26,200 of the gospel. You're trying to get them into 385 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:29,440 the meeting and they're they're they're not interested. 386 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:31,520 They haven't got any intention of coming. 387 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:33,760 Why? Because there's an interference 388 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:35,840 going on. And when they hear the word of 389 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,920 God preached to them and they're told about their sin and their 390 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:41,800 need of a saviour, then immediately there's fearance in 391 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:43,920 their mind. The devil comes and takes it 392 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:45,560 away from them. Why? 393 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:47,280 Because he doesn't want them to be saved. 394 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:50,600 He doesn't want them to believe. And that's what I mean, he uses 395 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:54,880 deception. People don't know what's going 396 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:58,280 on, that they're not fully aware of what is taking place in their 397 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:00,360 heart and mind. They're not conscious that the 398 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:04,320 devil is the back of this. The devil also uses destruction 399 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:08,440 and already mentioned that the devil felt threatened here by 400 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:15,080 Paul and his ministry. He acted as he desired. 401 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:22,680 He resorted to a destructive tactic that let's murder Paul, 402 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:27,320 let's take Paul out of the road. And of course, he forgot that 403 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:31,840 Matthew chapter 16 verse 18 undergirds the work of God. 404 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:37,000 And there is a real work for God going on around the world today. 405 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,560 And the devil is seeking not only to sow doubt, to not work 406 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,520 and sow discord and bring about distraction, but the devil is 407 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,040 using a destructive tactic when he feels threatened. 408 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:52,880 And he felt threatened by Paul, then he adopted the destructive 409 00:28:52,880 --> 00:29:00,840 tactic. Here's the man of God, and he 410 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:04,520 was a threat to Satan, and every praying man of God is a threat 411 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:07,360 to Satan, and every preaching man of God who's preaching 412 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:09,840 Christ in the gospel is a threat to Satan. 413 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:13,800 And every man who practises true religion to the glory of God is 414 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:16,560 a threat to Satan. Paul and sailors were a threat 415 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:21,080 to the devil's Kingdom, so their lives were threatened by the 416 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:24,720 devil. And sadly, although Paul's life 417 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:29,600 at this time was spared, some lives have been taken and were 418 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:33,720 taken. We're conscious of that today. 419 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:35,960 See, the devil fears a praying St. 420 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,440 He fears A preaching ministry. The devil fears A practising 421 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,280 Christian. The devil rejects a life of 422 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:44,680 fear, the love and joy in the Holy Ghost. 423 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:50,320 Remember it was said of the sons of Sceva Jesus. 424 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:52,080 I know Paul. I know who are you? 425 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:57,760 She's the devil, you Paul and the devil felt threatened by 426 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:02,080 Paul and the devil moved to destroy him, not by doubt and 427 00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:05,400 discord and deception, but by destruction. 428 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:09,320 A perilous Christians no threat to the devil preaching a false 429 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:12,080 Christ and another gospel. There's no threat to the devil. 430 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:16,560 The devil smiles at that and I'm practising Christian. 431 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:24,040 Well, it's what it is, a non practising Christian. 432 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:28,640 It's absolutely no threat to the devil, but a life of faithful 433 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:35,040 service, a life of joy and peace in the Holy Ghost is a real 434 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:38,760 threat to the devil. Could I also suggest that the 435 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:43,720 devil uses distraction? Remember Peter, one of Christ's 436 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,240 disciples? He's full of good intentions. 437 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,720 The Saviour spoke about going to the cross to die. 438 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:51,480 What did Peter say? Not so, Lord, that's not going 439 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:53,240 to happen. We're not going to allow that to 440 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,080 happen. And what did the Lord Jesus say 441 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:58,880 to Peter? Read it there in Matthew chapter 442 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:04,760 16, verses 20 and following. Get thee behind me, Satan, for 443 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:07,440 thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things 444 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,840 that be of man. See, Peter was not conscious, I 445 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:12,520 believe, of Satan at work in his life. 446 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:16,280 He was not conscious that he was a tool in the hand of the devil, 447 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:20,120 but he was. The devil used Judas to destroy 448 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:24,200 Christ due to a love of money. The devil influenced Judas. 449 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:29,160 He entered into Judas and the devil was allowed to attack Paul 450 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:34,000 physically. Remember the thorn in the flesh, 451 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,560 the impairment of the eyes, a messenger of Satan to buffet 452 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:40,600 him, and the devil used it to attack him to hurt Paul. 453 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,840 God doesn't love you, Paul. God doesn't care for you. 454 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:46,000 Why would he allow you to be like this? 455 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:49,320 He was all a lie but but that was the devil's tactic. 456 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,600 He was using distraction. He was using this means to get 457 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:58,880 Paul away from focusing on God's tasks for him. 458 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,680 He prayed about it. Remember 3 times and God says my 459 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:07,480 grace is sufficient for you. Paul was the most useful bald 460 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:11,920 headed man with a defective speech, with poor eyesight, and 461 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,800 yet that was the very man that God used, one of the most 462 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,920 prominent men in the New Testament beside the Lord Jesus 463 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:23,600 Christ. 17 chapters in the book of Acts are given to Paul. 14 464 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:28,720 letters in the New Testament are from this man's pen according to 465 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:31,960 the mind of God. I'll tell you one other thing, 466 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:35,760 the devil uses disruption. He tries to disrupt the 467 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:39,720 Christian Church in his work. His aim is to shut down 468 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,520 Christian fellowship. His aim is to distrust, disrupt 469 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:45,040 the life and witness of the church. 470 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,120 He'll get Christians to fall out. 471 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:49,720 He he'd cause a misunderstanding. 472 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:53,800 He'd spread a falsehood. He he'll use pride, he'll use 473 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:55,520 jealousy. He'll use envy. 474 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,080 He'll use a wrong word. He'll use a wrong look. 475 00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:01,440 See, it doesn't take much to wreck a church. 476 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:05,960 Sure. It doesn't doesn't take much to 477 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,360 destroy a work takes takes a lot to build it up, but it doesn't 478 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:13,240 take much to wreck a work. And see the devil is at work in 479 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:16,960 these things. And the devil hates the gospel, 480 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:19,760 hates the church, hates the preacher, the people of God. 481 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:24,400 He hates church fellowship. He hates Sunday worship, he 482 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:27,000 hates faithful Christian service. 483 00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:30,240 So we need to be on our guard and that's why we need to be in 484 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:33,360 our place in the Lord's Day, and that's why we need to be filled 485 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:36,560 with a love for the Saints as well as a love for the Saviour. 486 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:43,880 Make sure that the devil doesn't use us as one of his tools to 487 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:54,920 sow doubt, discord, or to sow distraction or sow distortion or 488 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:58,160 certainly to be destructive in any one way. 489 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:02,480 That's the strategy of the devil very quickly. 490 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:04,280 And with this, we'll finish this morning. 491 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:09,040 Think of the victory over the greatest hinderer in the world, 492 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,840 Paul says if we look back at her text. 493 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:20,560 But Satan hindered us. How was that possible? 494 00:34:22,199 --> 00:34:24,560 How could he elbow Paul out of the road? 495 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:29,639 How could he set up roadblocks from Paul entering into the 496 00:34:29,639 --> 00:34:33,159 Church of Thessalonica? Surely Paul was the Lord's 497 00:34:33,159 --> 00:34:35,760 servant. Well, you see, I have to say 498 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:38,800 this. I believe the Lord allowed it. 499 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:45,080 I believe the Lord permitted it. I believe the Lord is sovereign 500 00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:49,280 and the Lord overruled. The Lord had a double purpose 501 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:51,719 here. He allowed Satan to do what he 502 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:54,480 did, but he had a greater purpose. 503 00:34:57,520 --> 00:34:59,520 Satan only did what he did under God. 504 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:05,720 We think of the move of Satan against Job and what God allowed 505 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:09,120 him to do against Job and he was allowed to inflict them with 506 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:12,560 boils and ill health, but he wasn't allowed to take his life. 507 00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:20,040 You see, under God, when Paul was absent from a face to face 508 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:24,080 fellowship with the Church of Theft and Anka, whenever we 509 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:26,720 Timothy come back with a faithful report of how the 510 00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:29,600 Saints were getting on, they were full of faith and full of 511 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:31,760 love and full of joy in the Holy Ghost. 512 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:39,040 What did God lead Paul to do? Wrote 2 letters to the church. 513 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:42,680 First Thessalonians. Second Thessalonians. 514 00:35:43,240 --> 00:35:50,320 Oh, Paul's ministry was over his, his voice was long since 515 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:54,520 silent. And yet we have what Paul wrote 516 00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:58,160 and he wrote it to the Church of Thessalonica. 517 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:03,240 The Thessalonians received this word in the 1st letter and also 518 00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:06,960 in the second letter. You see, they've got the written 519 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:10,320 word or they hadn't got the man of God face to face. 520 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:13,840 The man of God's voice was silent, but they had something 521 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:15,600 better, something more wonderful. 522 00:36:15,720 --> 00:36:20,280 They had the written word. He does love us. 523 00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:23,720 He does care for us, He does feel for us. 524 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:27,480 Look, He's written us a message and He's explained it all to us, 525 00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:32,240 how he couldn't come face to face because Satan hindered him. 526 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:39,520 But the Lord is sovereign. The Lord has overruled. 527 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:45,920 If you turn in closing to turn to this passage in Second Peter 528 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:49,600 and we'll look at this here as we finish in Second Peter 529 00:36:49,600 --> 00:37:01,410 chapter 1. Here's Peter and it says verse 530 00:37:01,410 --> 00:37:05,810 19. We have also a more sure word of 531 00:37:05,810 --> 00:37:09,050 prophecy. Where unto you do well, that you 532 00:37:09,050 --> 00:37:12,050 take heed is unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until 533 00:37:12,050 --> 00:37:16,490 the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. 534 00:37:16,930 --> 00:37:22,440 You see, this was Peter and he's saying to those to whom he was 535 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:26,200 writing verse 16. We haven't followed Conley 536 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:30,280 devised fables whom we made known unto you the power and 537 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:34,040 coming of our Lord Jesus. He says, but we were 538 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:38,320 eyewitnesses of His Majesty. Look at verse 17, For he 539 00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:41,080 received from God the Father honour and glory, when there 540 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:44,240 came such a voice unto him from the excellent mind, the 541 00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:47,160 excellent glory. This is my beloved Son in whom 542 00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:49,200 I'm well pleased. He says in verse 18. 543 00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:52,520 And this voice which came from heaven, we heard when we were 544 00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:57,680 with him in the holy mind, He's saying, look, listen to us, the 545 00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:01,040 mount of Transfiguration, we were there, we saw the power and 546 00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:04,480 glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We were eyewitnesses of His 547 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:09,720 Majesty, but we're not depending on that as an eyewitness. 548 00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:11,720 We're not just presenting that to you. 549 00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:15,960 We have something more. We also have a more sure word of 550 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:18,440 prophecy. For unto you do well heed. 551 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:22,040 And of course, what is referenced here is the written 552 00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:29,120 word of God. Paul didn't leave them fables or 553 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:31,200 myths. Are we stories? 554 00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:36,600 Paul, led by the Holy Ghost, penned these two letters to this 555 00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:38,560 church. They did only visit it for about 556 00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:43,160 3 weeks or maybe 4. Paul hadn't forgotten them. 557 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:50,880 The devil was a liar, Paul. It was a lie to say couldn't 558 00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:56,880 care less because in the end the people got the eternal abiding 559 00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:00,560 word of God. The people were left with a more 560 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:07,120 sure word than even from the lips of Paul himself, words that 561 00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:12,360 came inspired by God. And that's the victory of the 562 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:16,920 greatest hinderer in the world. It is written in the Word of 563 00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:19,520 God. I trust and pray this morning 564 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:21,720 that what I've shared will be helpful. 565 00:39:22,040 --> 00:39:26,280 And I pray that we'll get a glimpse of the great hinderer in 566 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:29,280 the world. Remember his identity, remember 567 00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:35,000 his strategy, and let's remember how we can be victorious over 568 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:36,400 him today.