HOW GOD DEALS WITH A WAYWARD NATION LESSON 8 JoLynn Gower Summer 2019 217-493-6151 jgower@guardingthetruth.org

VERSE FOR THE JOURNEY 1 Corinthians 11:27-30  Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. Unworthy: anaxios: irreverently or carelessly, without the intention of commemorating the death of Christ and in non-compliance with the commitments our faith requires

THE NEW COVENANT Jesus’ death made our confession/ forgiveness possible 1 Corinthians 11:25  In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” Luke 22:38  They said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them, "It is enough." Luke 22:41-42  And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." John 18:10-11  Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, "Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS We have been thinking about times when discipline comes our way because of wrong actions Judges 2:10  All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. WHAT DID GOD DO? Judges 3:1-2 Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan; 2  only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly). WHY? SO THAT THEY WOULD LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE ENEMY! on

TRAINING FOR WARFARE Preparing for war involves specific areas: 1. identifying the enemy 2. learning where the enemy can go 3. learning what sorts of weapons the enemy has 4. intelligence gathering to determine actions Christians are in spiritual warfare Many believers don’t know anything about the enemy 2 Corinthians 10:3-5…though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ… Speculations: logismos: the things we think/imagine

SATAN’S STRATEGY Deception, Distortion Wrong interpretation of events Perversions of truth 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The battle begins in the mind…but it may become very physical Philippians 4:8-9  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence, if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

FORGIVENESS Forgiveness is crucial in fighting the battle Spiritually immature people hold grudges long term Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (ezcor) to bring to mind Hebrews 10:17  "AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE." (mimneskomai) to bring to mind This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t know that you sinned in a particular way This does mean that God doesn’t keep mentioning the sin; He doesn’t bring it up anymore WHO DOES? The enemy!

CONFESSING SIN 1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. 1 Peter 2:24 …and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. We all sin; we all need to confess that sin to God so that it is removed from our account with Him Confess: homologen from homologeo: to say the same thing as someone else

GOD’S INSTRUCTION God trains, educates, instructs and teaches those whom He loves God disciplines those He loves who have gone the wrong way We can avoid discipline by positioning ourselves to hear from God and to respond appropriately When there are trials, we must meet them quickly and biblically; otherwise, the enemy has an opportunity Peace will be a guide to let us know when we are going the wrong direction or believing something that is incorrect; absence of peace = presence of trouble God’s Word is applicable; the message doesn’t change even though the methodology for presenting it will

QUESTIONS FOR THE JOURNEY When the world looks at you, does it see the sufficiency of His grace working through your life? Are you a living epistle? What sorts of things hinder our national relationship with God? What has been neglected that could be helped with your input? (or your church’s input?) What things have you allowed to mar your relationship with God? Trials? Past disappointments? Failures?