Revealed Strategies

Note: When we are walking in fear, we are anticipating the plans of the devil will succeed. When we are walking in faith, we are anticipating God’s plan to succeed.

The first principle in any warfare is to know who your enemy is and of what they are capable. And the most powerful enemy is one that is there that you do not think is there.

If you have an enemy that you do not believe exists but he is there, then he may have already won.

Essentially there are 3 enemies that we all face: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

·        The world is the world system, its values, and principles that all disregard God.

·        The flesh. This is your flesh and is our fallen nature due to sin.

And those two enemies wouldn't even have a foothold or power without a third enemy, which is the devil.

The devil uses both our flesh and the world to attack us.

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

John Phillips: “Our enemies are not people. We must see beyond people. Satan may use people to persecute us, lie to us, cheat us, hurt us, or even kill us. But our real enemy lurks in the shadows of the unseen world, moving people as pawns on the chessboard of time. As long as we see people as enemies and wrestle against them, we will spend our strength in vain.”

The more we know the tactics of any enemy, the better able we are to prepare a defense so that we may remain unmoved. Scripture details many examples of our enemy’s strategies.

Ø Our Enemy: The Great Deceiver

Revelation 12:9 refers to him:  “He who deceives the whole world.”

He does this by camouflaging and counterfeiting, by trying to imitate the work of God and he often does it very effectively.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (KJV)  ^“whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe.”

The devil is a liar and a deceiver. He uses the same tactics he used in the Garden when he tempted Adam and Eve to disobey the commands of God.

Satan came to Adam and Eve and called into question God’s command regarding the eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17).

He misquoted God, Gen 3:1 “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

Eve corrected that misquote, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

Satan tried again, telling them they would not actually die—that God had lied in an effort to keep them from becoming as wise as God Himself (Genesis 3:4-5). He deceived them!

Satan operates by pointing out the things we don’t have.

The devil doesn’t remind you of all the blessings you do have or the wonderful promises of God.

He makes you think if you had this or that you would be complete.

If you are not careful, he can create desires within you that will never make you happy, make you feel complete, or content. You will just go from one thing to another in an endless search for satisfaction.

The devil wants nothing more than for you to worship anything other than God.

Ø Our Enemy is The Great Divider:

Satan’s purpose is to divide and conquer. He wants to split marriages, split friendships, sow division through racism, and politics, etc...

Satan has always been a divider.

·        Revelation 12 tells us when he was cast out of heaven, he even divided the angels as he took a 3rd of them with him.

·        In Genesis 4 he instigated division in the first family, pitting Cain against Abel.

What the devil has done throughout the Bible is what he wants to do with every person. That is to separate us from God and separate us from each other.

He is the opposite of Christ who said,  (Mark 12:30-31) “love the Lord your God and love your neighbor”.

The devil does not know the meaning of unity and has no concept of it. His entire strategy is one of causing division.

He is the great deceiver, the great divider, and the great destroyer.

Ø Our Enemy: The Great Destroyer

In the Book of Job when God allowed satan access to the life of Job, what did he do?

What did satan do when he was given free rein on Job and his family?

·        He destroyed everything.

·        He destroyed his servants, his livestock, his children, his family

·        satan is the destroyer!

With the Bible, we have been handed a playbook for how satan operates. The New Testament warns us to “watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6), to “gird up the loins of your mind, be sober” (1 Peter 1:13), and “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Lions roar to establish their identity, presence, and dominance. But when it comes to the attack, they creep silently through the tall grass or lie patiently in wait for hours, until they are within striking distance of their prey.

Lions are nocturnal and do most of their hunting under the cover of darkness, and they don’t pounce until they have separated their prey from the protection of the herd.

Lions roar when they’re walking around, but when they attack, it’s always a surprise to the one being pursued.

As believers we should not think because satan is not roaring and drawing attention to himself that he is not there. He has roared throughout history. His presence is known even if not seen.

It is when we are wounded and alone that we become especially vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks. Satan chooses his timing and knows when we are our most vulnerable.

He knows exactly how to attack us, when to attack us, and he knows all our weakest points. That is how he operates.

Satan’s only plan for our life is to try to destroy us. He wants to destroy our influence and the impact we make for the Kingdom of God.

Ø We Have Assurance Against satan’s Attacks

Because we know that satan will try to attack us in secret and in scheming ways, we have no reason not to be prepared.

(We Defend Ourselves)

Ephesians 6:13-17 (NKJV) 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.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which, you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation.

These first 5 pieces of armor are all defensive pieces. These armaments defend us against our spiritual attacks.

Putting on the armor of God demonstrates our trust in God, Hs love for us, and His power over our lives.

(Our Offensive Weapons)

Ø We Fight our Enemy With Prayer:

Ephesians 6:18 (NLT) You must pray at all times as the Holy Spirit leads you to pray. Pray for the things that are needed. You must watch and keep on praying. Remember to pray for all Christians.

Prayer is more powerful than we may realize. When we pray, we’re entering the throne room of God and stepping onto the battlefield.

Over and over in Scripture we see proof of answered prayer.

Elijah prayed fervently seven times for God to end the drought plaguing Israel, and on the seventh time God sent rain. (1 Kings 18:41-45)

James tells us, “The prayer of faith will save the sick,” and “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5: 15, 16)

·        If we’re not seeing answers to our prayers, maybe it’s because we’re giving up too soon.

·        If we don’t believe our prayers are effective against our enemy, then they probably won’t be. If we don’t believe, how will our faith ever grow.

·        Faith comes before a prayer is answered or before an individual has received what he or she has requested from God.

Prayer takes discipline and it requires persistence and perseverance. An un-prayed prayer is an unanswered prayer.

We need to pray every day in advance that satan would have no place in our lives. He operates by attacking our weaknesses first. 

In prayer we need to acknowledge the areas we struggle with and our vulnerabilities.

We must submit these things to Christ before the devil uses them against us because he comes to deceive, he comes to divide, and he comes to destroy you. 

 

Ø We Fight our Enemy with God’s Word (Sword of the Spirit):

The only piece of armor that is offensive is the sword of the Spirit (God’s Word). God’s Word commands us, tells us how, and is our most powerful weapon.

In Matthew 4, Jesus demonstrates this when Satan tempts him in the wilderness. Weak and vulnerable, the Son of God takes up this weapon with the words “It. Is. Written.”

·        Matthew 4:3-4 “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

·         Matthew 4:6-7 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’

·         Matthew 4: 8-10 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’

Three times Jesus repeats “it is written,” quoting Scripture in the aftermath of temptations, fighting satan’s lies with truth. And then the enemy left.

Jesus responded to temptation from the devil by doing the same thing we can do. He quoted scripture.

“Take that devil, “IT IS WRITTEN.”

God’s book is enough. Jesus overcame temptation, not with special voices or some supernatural sign but by remembering and quoting scripture. We have to read it, rehearse it, receive it, and recite it.  

Closing: God’s word is an essential weapon in the same way prayer is essential in our ongoing warfare remembering:

1 John 4:4  But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

Takeaways:

1.   Know that satan’s plan for your life is to deceive you, divide you, and to destroy you. Don’t live in fear. Fear is expecting the devil to move, and it is our faith that is expecting God to move.

2.   Be prepared every day. Putting on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shod your feet, grab your shield of faith, your helmet of salvation, and the sword of the truth.  

3.   You Pray! You enter into the throne room of God and step onto the battlefield. You take on the fight in advance and you pray!

Jesus Never Changes

 Let’s all turn to Hebrews 13. The book of Hebrews is interesting in that we do not know who wrote it. Not only do we not know who wrote it, we also don’t know who it was written to. However, by reading the text, we can tell that the letter was written to Jewish believers. In fact, these Jewish believers had gone through suffering and persecution for their faith in Christ. Things got so difficult that they began to consider going back to their former way of life in Judaism. This included things like following festivals, eating certain foods, offering animal sacrifices, etc.

The writer of Hebrews was writing to encourage them and reveal to them that Jesus was “better” than anything and everything that was required in Judaism. He was better than Moses, better than the priest lineage, better than any required sacrifice, any festival, and more. While all of those things were very important to any Jewish family, the writer wanted them to know that Jesus, whom these Jewish Christians were following, was greater than all of them. He wanted them to know that Jesus was the ultimate purpose for all of those things. Therefore turning back to those things would be pointless.

The writer also encouraged the believers that just as they were suffering, Jesus had suffered as well. Jesus was betrayed and mistreated. So He was able to sympathize with their struggle.

Eventually in chapter 13, the writer switches gears and begins to encourage his readers on how they are to live this life as believers. There is a way that we are called to live as believers. We can’t just say that we are Christians but then live how we want. Once we are born again, our life is not our own. He purchased our life on the cross and we belong to Him. The writer kind of goes all over the place here, but then right in the middle of his instructions, he makes a statement that connects back to what he was saying about Jesus being better. This is a scripture that you have probably heard before if you grew up in church at any time. Let’s go ahead and read it.

Hebrews 13:8

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

This statement seems to be a bit out of nowhere at first glance. The writer continues on after this verse with his original train of thought as if the statement was never made. At first glance, it seems random! But there is nothing random in God’s word. Every word, every letter, every stroke in the word of God have purpose and are placed with intention. So why did the author include this right in the middle of his instructions to his fellow Jewish believers? My thought is that this truth is vitally important to the everyday life and faith as a believer. The writer wanted his readers to know and understand that Jesus was the same yesterday, today, and forever.

God’s Immutability

So what is this passage of scripture saying? Here in this room today, we can all be separated into two groups of people: those who like change and those who do not. Personally, I prefer change. I don’t like the same thing over and over again. I don’t like doing the same thing over and over again. Maybe there are some of you who are watching who also prefer change. However, some of you do not. You prefer things to stay the same. There is comfort in knowing that you can predict what is coming next.

Regardless of which you prefer, it doesn’t change the fact that things are always changing. You are changing, your relationships change, the weather changes (especially in Southeast Texas), public opinion changes, culture changes, politics change, the economy, stock market, value, interest rates, we can keep going but ultimately the point is that everything in life changes. However, while there are many things in life that change, Jesus does not change. In theological terms, this is called “immutability.”

Immutable = Unchanging over time or unable to be changed

Scriptures on God’s immutability:

Malachi 3:6

"I, the Lord, do not change.”

James 1:17

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Job 23:13

“But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does.”

Change happens over time. Value is increased or decreased over time. The impressions we make change over time. Our body changes over time...we hope for the better of course. But Jesus is eternal, therefore He exists outside of time. He existed before time and He will exist after time. Everything within time has a beginning and an end. God does not. He is not limited by the same time constraints we are limited by. He created time! He stands outside of it and is therefore unaffected. Jesus, who is God, does not, cannot, and will not change.

Jesus Doesn’t Change with the Culture

This was an important point for the writer of Hebrews because he was reminding his Jewish readers that Jesus was God! He was not just a good man like any other, He was God. The Jewish non-believers of that day were trying to convince the Christians of that time that Jesus was something less than God. This is no different from today.

The culture of our day tries to decide what it means to follow Jesus and who Jesus is all together. They tell us to “speak your own truth.” They say that following Jesus is only “one” of the ways to Heaven. Some even say that Jesus sinned and repented!! That is straight up a lie from the devil!! When we hear these things we must realize that the devil is trying to confuse, deceive and mislead people into believing in a different Jesus. But the truth is that Jesus has not changed!! Who He is in the word of God is who He is today!! Don’t allow culture to change your perspective on Jesus! He is still on the throne, meaning He is in control! He is the only way! He is the only truth! He is life! He is your provider! He is your protector! He is your God!

Jesus Doesn’t Change with Circumstances

The writer of Hebrews also encouraged the Jewish believers to not allow their current circumstances to change their position on Christ. Between the cultural shaming, the societal pressure, and threatening persuasion, the Christians of that day were challenged with the temptation of walking away from their faith and going back to their old way of life in Judaism. It would have just been easier. There would be less pressure and they could just fit in. But the writer wanted them to know that the same Jesus who was also persecuted and crucified for their sake, and the same Jesus who rose from the grave ascended in to Heaven, that same Jesus was still on the throne and would one day return. He was giving them hope that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

There are times in life where we just feel like throwing in the towel. Things are difficult and we just get tired and exhausted. Situations in life become harder and harder to deal with. We get overwhelmed, stressed, afraid, anxious, depressed, angry, etc. Our attention and focus get set on the things that are right in front of us. Yet the writer of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. The same God who delivered Israel out of Egypt through Moses can also deliver you. The same God who defeated the enemies of David can defeat the spiritual enemies in your life as well. The same God who overcame the obstacles of sin, death, hell, and the grave will help you overcome your obstacles. We can look to Jesus!!

So how do we respond to this truth?

Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB

“Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us…”

Let us remove every weight, that is anything slowing us down. Let us disregard anything that is standing in our way. Let us get rid of any sin in our life that continues to trip us up. Let us do these things so we can run the race and follow the call that God has marked out for us. You may think, that is easy to say, but how?

“…looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

For the joy set before him… what does that mean? That joy was not about Jesus Himself sitting at the right hand of God. It wasn't just about Him becoming Lord over all. What was that “joy” that was set before Him? It was you. You were the joy that was set before Jesus. He endured the cross for you!! So that you could one day spend eternity with Him!!

We sing a song called ‘Same God’ that sings about how God never changes.

“I'm calling on the God of Jacob

Whose love endures through generations

I know that You will keep Your covenant

I'm calling on the God of Moses

The one who opened up the ocean

I need You now to do the same thing for me

 

You heard Your children then

You hear Your children now

You are the same God

You are the same God

 

You answered prayers back then

And You will answer now

You are the same God

You are the same God

 

You were providing then

You are providing now

You are the same God

You are the same God

 

You moved in power then

God, move in power now

You are the same God

You are the same God

 

You were a healer then

You are a healer now

You are the same God

You are the same God

 

You were a savior then

You are a savior now

You are the same God

You are the same God”

I love this song! It speaks of the unchanging nature of God. No matter what comes our way we can trust that Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, will be there for us. We can count on Him! Therefore, let us look to Jesus!! We overcome by looking to Jesus!! He is our hope! We can look to Jesus.

Takeaways:

1.       Do not allow culture to change your perspective on Jesus.

2.       Do not allow your current situation to discourage your hope in Jesus.

3.       Look to Jesus as the answer for the problems of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

When Jesus Comes

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There has been a dilemma throughout history concerning the doctrines of grace and works. One camp relies heavily on the words of the Apostle Paul while the other often quotes from James or the elder John. These two doctrines however are not contrary to one another but are rather complimentary. 

There is a presumption however in the collective mind of the holy scriptures, that a person who is born-again will and will not do certain things. This is accepted due to the transformation which takes place in a person’s life when they first believe and receive Jesus into their heart as Lord and Savior.  

Let’s allow the scriptures to speak for themselves. 

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Ephesians 2

8  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

9  not of works, lest anyone should boast.

2 Corinthians 6:1  We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

James 2:26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

1 John 3:10  In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 

The Bible clearly teaches two complimentary truths:

1.   Works are not the roots of our salvation.

2.   Works are the fruits of our salvation.

From the volume of scripture we clearly understand that: We are saved by grace to work for God.

There is a strong and growing belief among various groups today that we are nearing the end of this age and the return of Christ. The increase of the awareness of devastating earthquakes, floods, fires, and pestilence along with the social violence, sexual depravity, and political turmoil, leaves us as A world filled with conflict and crisis. Senseless killings, war, famine, and the injustice of it all reveals we are positioned in a generation that is out of control.

There is no doubt in heaven or on earth that the end of the world is closer today than it has ever been. If Jesus does not come soon, I will be surprised. And, if He comes for no one else in my lifetime, He is still coming for me!

I hope and I pray that we will be the generation to see the return of the Lord in all His glory. The question I want to answer today is:

What will happen when Jesus comes?

No one makes the answer to this question clearer than Jesus Himself. Why should I try to preach it when we can hear it straight from His own words. Let’s simply read what He said as recorded by Matthew in:

Matthew 25 NKJV

31 ¶  “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.

32  “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

33  “And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

34  “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35  ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;

36  ‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

37  “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?

38  ‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?

39  ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

40  “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

41  “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

42  ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;

43  ‘I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44  “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

45  “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

46  “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Jesus gives us a clear picture of faith and works. By faith we become a child of God. Jesus characterizes the righteous as sheep and the unrighteous as goats. The righteous are blessed and enter heaven to inherit the kingdom which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world.

In contrast, the unrighteous will be cursed and will be sent away into an everlasting fire as punishment prepared for the devil and his angels.

The volume of scriptures confirms the same two truths we spoke of earlier:

1.   Works are not the roots of our salvation.

2.   Works are the fruits of our salvation.

Matthew 7:20  “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

When we are born-again and become a child of God, our life goals become more about others than only about ourselves. More about our spouse, our children, our parents, our friends, and even our enemies. We are all destined to be fruitful … it’s in our DNA. We inherit this nature from God.

You know, it takes less than 3 seconds to get saved.

It takes less than 3 seconds to get right with God.

It takes less than 3 seconds to be forgiven of your sins by God.

But feeding the poor, clothing the naked, giving water to the thirsty, visiting those sick and in prison, takes a lot longer … it will somehow be a part of the rest of your life. You will never get to the end of the line. All we can hope to do is to be like Jesus and help the next one we find.

A person does not have to help others to be saved, however a person does have to help others to hear “well done” from the Master.

Today I encourage you to take 3 seconds and give your life to Jesus.

Then, take a portion of the rest of your time on planet earth to make a living, make a life, and make a difference. 

You can begin making a difference today by helping us to feed the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, clothing to the poor, providing lodging to people you may never know in this life, and ministering to the medical and emotional needs of those who feel afraid and alone.

The best way to help is to give. Give of your time, your strength, and your money. If you are saved, God is expecting you to help. When you help even one of the least, you are meeting the personal needs of Jesus. And when He comes, He will not forget what you have done!

If I Do Not Stop …

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Luke 10 NKJV

25 ¶  And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

26  He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

27  So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

28  And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

29  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30  Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31  “Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32  “Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.

33  “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.

34  “So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35  “On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’

36  “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

37  And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

 

If you were to drive through any city in the United States and you would most likely find a major thoroughfare named “Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.” Some may have no idea as to why there are so many streets named MLK Blvd or MLK Dr. They are everywhere! Why?

 

Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He entered Morehouse College at the young age of 15 where he favored studies in medicine and law until his senior year when he decided to enter into the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After graduating with his BA in 1948, he went on to Crozer Theological Seminary and graduated with a Divinity Degree in 1951, and on to Boston University where he received a doctorate in 1955. 

 

Dr King was the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on public transport and move to the back of the bus in 1955. He was chosen to lead the protest and the boycott. He told those gathered at the protest:

 

“We come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice.”

 

Dr King also led the famous “March on Washington” in 1963. He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, a sad day for all Americans.

 

Dr King is rightly credited with holding our nation together during one of the most tumultuous times in America by advocating a peaceful approach to achieving civil rights for all people without regard to their race, culture, custom, or color. He had a dream, a dream for which he lived, a dream for which he died, and a dream for which he is remembered today: He said so many things worth us remembering and working towards. Here are but a few: (Quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church  - https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/martin-luther-king-jr-quotes) 

 

“We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.”

 

“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

 

“We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools.”

 

“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

 

“It is always the right time to do the right thing.”

 

In recognition of February being Black History Month in America, I salute Pastor Martin Luther King Jr for his contribution to the civil rights movement, and for his lasting legacy of peaceful protests against those things that divide us as a nation, as a community, and as brothers and sisters in Christ. May we all take a lesson from history today.

 

One more quote from Pastor King:

 

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'” 

Back to our text for today …

 

Luke 10

25 ¶  And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

26  He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

27  So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

28  And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

29  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

 

Jesus was very plain. He revealed the truth that Your neighbor is not the person you may need; your neighbor is the person who needs you.

 

It is always the right time to do the right thing. 

 

Jesus is still saying to us today: “Go and do likewise.”