Glimpses of Glory God Delivers

It would be great if you could go to the St Paul's app, open it.

You'll see three main points as we look through today's passage.

The focus of faith, the response of faith, and the life of faith.

Let's pray.

Father God, we ask that you would help us to see you as glorious and as gracious.

We pray that you would give us insight into our own faith and who it is that we are ultimately trusting where our faith lies.

How much of it is relying upon ourselves and how much of it is completely sold out, dependent upon you.

Give us insight and particularly, Lord, that you would change our hearts, that we would see ourselves as we truly are and that we would trust in you.

Amen.

So first of all, the focus of faith in chapter 36, it opens with the Assyrian army, not just breathing down the necks, but actually the very gates of Jerusalem.

What Isaiah does not include in this retelling of the story, which you could also go to two kings and see the same information,

is that King Hezekiah of Judah has already attempted to buy off the Assyrian army by presenting him with treasures that he took from the temple in Jerusalem.

That is, what Hezekiah has already attempted to do is to buy off the king of Assyria by robbing God from the treasury of the temple.

Sennacherib is the king of Assyria, the terrifying king of the nation of Assyria.

We are told here that he is in this moment in Lachish, which is 45 kilometers southwest of Jerusalem.

That's where he is.

Archaeologists in the past discovered a pit in Lachish that is one hole with approximately 1,500 corpses in it attributed to Sennacherib and his conquest of Lachish on his way to Jerusalem.

And so from there, when he is there obliterating that town, he sends a message, he sends a delegation to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem and says,

Guys, it's your turn next.

We're coming for you.

We are told in verse 2 that a meeting of the delegation from the two leaders, two nations, happens at the aqueduct of the upper pool on the road to the Launderer's Field.

And you go, why do we need to know that where it is?

It's because we've already been here before.

That's why we need to know that.

We were here in chapter 7 of Isaiah, exact same place, the aqueduct of the upper pool on the road to Launderer's Field.

This is where Isaiah the prophet had met with King Ahaz, Hezekiah's father, back in chapter 7.

And in that moment, in chapter 7, God had offered to rescue King Ahaz from the threat that he was currently under from the nation of Aram and the northern tribes of Israel.

What did Ahaz do in chapter 7?

Did he turn to God in trust?

No, he made a political alliance with Assyria.

And now Assyria is about to destroy Jerusalem as well.

And the question is, as you come to verse 2, will Hezekiah make the same mistake as his father and go for another political alliance?

Or will he trust in God for his security and deliverance?

In fact, the issue is right there in verse 4 on who is it that Hezekiah trusts.

This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says,

On what are you basing this confidence of yours?

You say you have counsel and might for war,

but you speak only empty words.

On whom are you depending that you rebel against me?

What value is there, Hezekiah, in you trusting in your God who doesn't offer you a battle fleet?

There's no intercontinental ballistic missiles in your arsenal.

You don't have fighter jets parked for the air force in the back of Jerusalem there somewhere.

All you have, Hezekiah, is mere words.

Literally is what that means.

Mere words.

Empty words.

Just words.

That's all you've got.

And what follows from the Assyrian commander in the delegation is a masterpiece of military propaganda.

And he makes two points really in this speech.

The first is don't trust in Egypt.

That has already proven to be true because they've made an alliance with Egypt.

And Egypt hasn't turned up.

So that was pretty stupid.

So don't trust in them.

It's only going to end in tears.

In fact, it already is.

The second point he makes is really the heart of the speech.

He says, don't be deceived into trusting in God either.

Don't trust in God either.

And there's really two points to that speech.

First of all, he says, don't forget Hezekiah has already removed all the high places.

You know, from the perspective of the field commander is actually you shouldn't trust in God because Hezekiah has ticked off God by demolishing all the worship places.

He sees it purely from the perspective of you're actually not worshiping God enough.

God's not on your side at all because you failed him in some kind of way.

Of course, what he doesn't realize is that Hezekiah has done exactly the right thing by removing all the high places of the false gods.

But in verse 13, he says, here's the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.

This is what the king says.

Do not let Hezekiah deceive you.

He cannot deliver you.

Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says the Lord will surely deliver us.

This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Don't trust Egypt.

Don't trust your God.

Who then should you trust?

Verse 16.

This is what the great king of Assyria says.

Make peace with me.

Trust in me.

Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern.

Until I come and take you to the land like your own.

A land of grain and new wine.

A land of bread and vineyards.

Sennacherib, through his delegation here, is offering Judah the exact same salvation that God has already offered them.

In Egypt.

Put your trust in me and I will take you to the promised land of land flowing with milk and honey.

With vineyards and everything that you could imagine.

And so Sennacherib comes in through his delegation and says,

Don't trust in your God.

Trust in me.

I can deliver it for you.

Come and I will take you to the promised land of mansions and a solid career and influential friends with a big superannuation account.

Trust in me and I will deliver the great life where you can have your ski holidays.

Where you can sun yourself on tropical islands.

Come to me and you'll eat the choices of food.

The wagyu steak.

And come to me and I will offer it to you.

The good life.

The Syrian commander here uses the word trust seven times in his speech.

It's the key issue.

And in this context, the word means to throw oneself down on one's faith.

To lie extended on the ground.

It means deep, deep and entire dependence.

It means coming to an end of yourself.

In other words, come to Sennacherib.

Total submission to him and he will give it all to you.

He'll give it all to you.

Just bow before me.

Of course, ultimately, that leads to some form of a slavery, doesn't it?

And so the question is, is King Hezekiah so crazy that he would confront such a great army with mere words?

Why doesn't he just trottle off and just submit himself to Sennacherib and have the good life?

Is faith in the promise of God and the gospel enough?

Is God's word enough?

Does it contain everything necessary in life and salvation?

That's the question of the first 39 chapters of Isaiah.

And the answer to that question, it depends on who you think God is.

If you think he's just another version of Sennacherib, just a greater one, then no, he's not.

The answer on who God is, we get that in Hezekiah's prayer in chapter 37.

Chapter 37, verse 16.

Firstly, we read that this God that he trusts in is the almighty God.

You know, Sennacherib might be the great king of Assyria, but this is the almighty God.

There is no limitations to his power.

The Lord Almighty is the Lord of hosts, which means that he has an angelic army at his disposal.

Again, in verse 16, we see, secondly, that he is the only God.

He is not just one king amongst the member of kings of the universe around the world, sorry, at the time.

He is the only God.

Unlike every other deity in the world at its time, Hezekiah's God is not a national God.

He's not like one of the gods of the nations that Sennacherib has already destroyed.

He's the God over all the kingdoms of the earth.

Even we see at the end of chapter 37, Sennacherib's own God could not save him from the hand of almighty God.

Thirdly, and again, in verse 16, he is the living God.

Hezekiah's God is the one who made the heaven and the earth.

Other gods are made.

Assyria has defeated all these other gods of all these other nations, verse 19.

But it tells us they're not gods at all.

They're only wood and stone fashioned by human hands.

They're nothing but idols.

But fourthly, unlike Sennacherib, the almighty, the great king of Assyria,

Hezekiah's God is a merciful God.

Verse 16 again.

We read that this Lord, this God, his God, is enthroned between the cherubim.

This is more than a claim that this God is in heaven surrounded by angels.

This is a very specific location we are told here is between the cherubim.

Between the cherubim.

The ark of the covenant in the temple had two cherubims sitting on top of it.

And the ark contained the word of God, God's word, his presence amongst his people.

And the ark shared the same dimensions as the footstool of the royal throne.

In the palace of Jerusalem.

In other words, what it's saying here is that God's throne where he ruled the nations was in heaven

and his presence in the world was his footstool.

We see that, in fact, at the end of Isaiah chapter 36.

Isaiah 36 · chapter mention

66, sorry.

At the end of Isaiah.

That the earth is his footstool.

In other words, it's his presence.

The ark of the covenant is his presence in the world.

His word is his presence in his world and how he rules and navigates his world.

But between the cherubim.

Between the cherubim was not only the place of divine rule.

It was also the place of divine mercy.

Because in Exodus 35 verse 12.

Exodus 35:12

Between the cherubim.

Was the atonement cover.

The place where the atonement for sin was made.

By the high priest.

On the day of atonement for the sins of the nation.

In other words, this God of Hezekiah is not just greater than Sennacherib.

He is also a merciful God.

Who forgives the sins of his people.

So, friends, I want to ask you to think about your own life for the moment.

Think of the things that give you cause for worry and anxiety.

Think of the things that wake up.

That maybe cause you to not sleep.

But also bring you awake in the morning.

The first thought of the day.

Think of the people.

Or the circumstances you fear.

The things you can't control in your life right now.

And you've been trying to control them.

And so anxiety and worry is building up.

Maybe it's people whose acceptance that you crave.

Or it might be people whose rejection that you really fear.

Think of the threats to Christianity and the church in our society.

Or of the nations right now.

Who are persecuting God's people around the world.

In such a way that they can't meet like we're meeting this morning.

Now compare them to the God of the Bible.

The Lord Almighty.

God over all.

The maker of heaven and earth.

The God of atoning mercy.

He and he alone is the antidote to fear.

His perfect and powerful love drives out fear.

And so the question that is posed for Hezekiah right now and for Judah is also our question.

In whom do you trust?

Where do you look?

Where are you looking?

So let's move on to the second point.

The response of faith.

Hezekiah makes his move.

He makes his choice.

He responds in faith.

We see that at the beginning of chapter 37.

Verse 1.

When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes.

He put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord.

Hezekiah here, what he does here is an act of public self-humiliation.

The king is meant to wear the finest of clothes.

He's meant to maintain his dignity.

And here he rips off those clothes and he covers himself with sackcloth publicly.

But this is not a man wallowing in self-pity.

Because we are told he goes straight to the presence of God in the temple of God.

Goes straight there.

In fact, he goes into the presence where the Ark of the Covenant is.

He goes straight there.

Straight to the temple.

And to his lasting credit in this moment, what we see is that Hezekiah gets real with God.

He understands in this moment that what really matters is not his relationship with Sennacherib,

the king of Assyria.

The great king of Assyria.

What matters is his relationship with the almighty God, the king of heaven.

That's what matters.

We also see in this moment that he sends off his prime minister and his bishops with a message to Isaiah.

Verse 3.

This is the scenario.

This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace.

As when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.

What that statement is, it's an admission of complete personal failure and powerlessness.

What Hezekiah is acknowledging there is that his alliance with Egypt, his foreign policy has just, all it's done is angered Assyria and it's also brought the Lord's rebuke.

Notice the statement there.

It's disgrace and it's rebuke.

Jerusalem is so hopeless in this moment.

It is compared to a baby whose mother doesn't even have the energy to deliver her.

This baby is about to die.

There's nothing left.

There's no alternatives.

He is helpless.

Judah is helpless.

They are out of options and Hezekiah is personally humiliated.

He has come to an end of himself.

And he finds his deliverance in God alone.

Verse 36.

Right at the end of the chapter.

The deliverance comes.

God secures the victory and rescues his people as he said he would.

Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 in the Assyrian camp.

And when the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies.

Jerusalem didn't lift a finger.

They didn't even know it happened.

They just simply woke up the next morning and the Assyrian army's been decimated.

That's it.

It was done.

And the chapter ends with Sennacherib himself assassinated by his sons in his temple.

His God could not save him.

His misplaced trust was a deeply misplaced trust.

The enemy of God and his people are defeated.

They're defeated.

It's a spectacular display of divine glory, power and majesty.

And why did it happen?

Why did it happen?

We're given only one clue in these chapters as to why it happened.

Chapter 37 verse 21.

Because you prayed.

Because you prayed.

Hezekiah prays for the victory of God.

That's what he prays for.

And God responds by killing 185,000 soldiers and rescuing his people miraculously.

Was the content of his prayer, God, I call you now to kill 185,000 Assyrian soldiers?

Because that will bring the victory.

No, it wasn't at all.

Save us, God, from these people.

What was the content of his prayer?

Verse 4.

It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander,

whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God,

and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard.

The essence of his prayer is God pursue your glory.

Pursue your glory.

Your name is being mocked.

Can you put up with that?

If God was to rescue his people,

it will not be because the people deserved it in any way whatsoever.

It's not because Hezekiah deserved it in any way whatsoever.

But because God's honour demands it.

And Hezekiah has got to that point.

A complete end to himself.

Commenting on verse 4, John Oswald in his commentary on Isaiah,

Isaiah 1 · chapter mention

chapters 1 to 39, says this.

This kind of admission of helplessness is frequently a necessity before divine help can be received.

So long as we believe we only need some assistance,

we are still treating ourselves as the lords of the situation.

And that latent pride cuts us off from any help that God would give us.

Only when we have admitted our complete bankruptcy are we able to receive what He has for us.

The response of faith,

the response of faith in God,

is not needing some assistance from God.

You know, God, I've got most of the way there.

You know, look at the good things I do.

Look at the things I've done.

I'm generally a good person.

Don't forget, I go to church and I give money and I help the poor.

I just need a bit extra from you.

It's not some assistance.

It is admitting complete bankruptcy,

complete helplessness.

Hezekiah here has a remarkable,

he is a remarkable example of faith in God despite the circumstances.

He comes to an end in himself and he trusts in nothing,

but God's promise to pursue his glory in the nations.

So just reflect on a moment,

your prayer life in the last week.

Is it like Hezekiah's?

Well, I mean, in the content of your prayers,

particularly think about it if you're not prayed at all.

Because the content of your prayers

or the lack of your prayers

would be an indication as to whether or not

you've completely come to yourself,

end of yourself,

in all things.

Too often I hear in prayers,

and myself as well,

I need your help, God,

just get this thing over the line.

Got a great plan lined up here?

Just tick it over the line for me.

Just push it over the edge so that,

you know,

God, bring glory to yourself by bringing success to my plans.

God, I want you to fix this thing.

Because in my mind,

when you fix that thing,

then you'll be honoured.

That's not what Hezekiah does.

He is a remarkable example of faithfulness in this moment,

of coming to an end of himself

and putting his trust in Almighty God.

And so be like Hezekiah.

See your powerlessness in all situations,

trust the Word of God,

and pray.

This is a case study of faith,

of genuine faith in God,

so have the faith of Hezekiah.

If I left it there,

all I've done is I've just lumbered you

with a bunch of guilt

to pull up your socks and try a lot harder.

Try a lot harder.

And burden you to have more faith.

The central basis of our relationship with God

is not how much our hearts are set on God by faith,

but how unshakably His heart is set on us.

That's the central issue of the Christian walk,

of the walk of faith.

How much His heart is set on us.

And Judah's only hope here

is not the faith of Hezekiah,

but God's heart for His people.

That's it.

And the situation here of Jerusalem

that it's found itself in

points to a much bigger issue

for all of humanity

that the Bible and the Christian faith reveals

that we need deliverance from,

that we are powerless in.

It's so big,

we can do nothing about it at all.

No amount of negotiation with God

can fix this problem.

Ephesians 2 says that every single human need

needs deliverance from sin

and God's wrath.

I'll read it out to you.

As for you,

you were dead in your transgressions and sins

in which you used to live

when you followed the ways of this world

and the rule of the kingdom of the air,

the spirit who is now at work

in those who are disobedient.

All of us

also lived among them at one time,

gratifying the cravings of our flesh

and the following its desires and thoughts.

And like the rest,

we were by nature

deserving of wrath.

What that says there

is that all of humanity

is dead in sin and transgressions

and deserving of God's judgment.

Dead means,

dead people can't help themselves.

We are powerless for our own deliverance.

Every human being,

according to the Bible,

has lived life

doing what the commander of Assyria has done

and it has mocked,

mocked the living God.

Every human being

has done exactly what Sennacherib has done

and sought his own gods

for his salvation.

Every human being.

And Ephesians 2 says

the battle lines are drawn

between us individuals

and the creator God.

And when you put the almighty

and only God,

the creator of all that is,

against you,

the human being,

your powers.

You've got nothing.

We are helpless,

we are hopeless,

we have no power

to rescue ourselves

or deliver ourselves.

We need help.

We need someone to deliver us.

Did you notice that in the text

as it was read through?

The residents of Jerusalem

are on the wall

watching this,

listening to this delegation go out

and they were observers to it all.

Notice as well

that they themselves

did not rip off their clothes

and put on sackcloths.

Hezekiah did.

Notice that they didn't go

to the temple.

Hezekiah did.

In the end,

they were saved

by the intervention

of their king.

That's why they were saved.

Not because they were worthy,

but because of the intervention

of their king.

The king went in

to the place of God

and mediated

on their behalf.

The king humbled himself,

took on sackcloth,

was publicly humiliated.

He emptied himself.

He prayed for the deliverance

of his people

and the people of Jerusalem

did nothing.

Nothing.

It was a,

on Hezekiah's behalf,

it was a spectacular display

of faith

in God.

In that sense,

Hezekiah rebukes us.

But like us,

Hezekiah

had only fleeting moments

of faithfulness.

He'd already tried

to buy off

Assyria.

He'd already

attempted

to align

himself

to Egypt.

And after this,

in the chapters

that follow

in 38

and 39,

especially 39,

he again

gets really

chummy

with Babylon

and makes a deal

with Babylon.

He's a flawed,

flawed king.

So don't be like Hezekiah

because you and I

already are.

We already are

in our faithlessness.

Our faith in God

wavers.

We have our alliances.

We trust in our

superannuation fund.

We trust in our

connections.

We trust in our

psychologists.

We trust in

everything else

except in the

living God

who is more

mighty over all

things.

Even while we

say we trust

in Him.

In chapter

Hezekiah,

what this section

does for us

is that

Hezekiah

points us to

a greater king.

We need

a greater

Hezekiah.

And Hezekiah,

the descendant

of King David,

ultimately

points us to

Jesus Christ,

the greatest

descendant

of King David.

The New Testament

doesn't just tell us

that Jesus Christ

is from the

royal bloodline

of King David

and Hezekiah,

but that Jesus

Christ is divine

Himself.

He's God.

He didn't go,

and Jesus Christ

didn't go into

the presence of

God to mediate

for His people.

He came from

the presence of

God.

to mediate

for His people.

Philippians chapter 2

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

tells us that

Jesus Christ

did not consider

equality with God

something that He

would use for

His own benefit,

but that He

humbled Himself

and took on

human form.

And when His

ministry finally

went public

after His baptism,

He went into

the wilderness

and He starts

immediately doing

battle with the

enemy of God,

the greatest

enemy of God,

Satan himself.

and Satan

says,

come,

come to me,

follow me,

just bow down

and prostrate

yourself in front

of me,

and I will

give you all

the nations

of the world.

The very thing

that Jesus

has come to

win for God,

Satan says,

you can have it

all,

just align

yourself with

me.

come to an

end of

yourself,

enter yourself

and bow

yourself down

and worship

me.

And what did

Jesus do in

that moment?

He fought

Satan with

mere words.

Not mere

words,

the word of

God.

But the

battle was

ultimately won

when Jesus

went lower

still.

Not just

that He

became a

man,

but He

went lower

still.

It wasn't

just that God

took on

human form,

He went

lower still.

The eternal

God,

the one who

has been

from everlasting

to everlasting,

the one who

never ever had

a beginning,

came to an

end on the

cross.

He went

to death

on a cross

publicly,

the cross,

the crucifixion

of shame

and humiliation

on the

outskirts of

Jerusalem.

Just on the

outskirts of

Jerusalem where

everyone in

Jerusalem could

see.

And He went

to the cross

and He paid

the punishment

for our sin

because we

have robbed

God of His

glory just

like Assyria

is doing

right now.

And in

going to

the cross

He satisfied

God's just

anger.

There's no

more debt

to pay.

God's just

anger was

not poured

out upon us

who deserve

His judgment.

He poured

it out upon

Himself.

God didn't

obliterate

humanity.

He didn't

obliterate

the Roman

Empire.

He didn't

obliterate

everyone.

God

obliterated

Himself on

the cross.

He turned

His anger

upon Himself

to satisfy

His judgment.

He allowed

Himself to

be killed

so that His

enemies could

be His

friends.

God

will

be

saved.

That is

the great

victory that

God has

won for

us.

And in

His

resurrection

Jesus

defeated

death so

that those

who put

their faith

in Him

have

completely

all sin

or failure

removed

and live

forever in

His presence.

So the

two greatest

enemies of

humanity,

sin and

death,

have been

defeated by

Christ on

the cross and

through His

resurrection.

And this is a

victory that

is over

everything that

is broken,

evil, wrong,

corrupt and

unjust in our

world.

It is a total

and universal

victory.

And as

Christians,

we wait

for Jesus

to return

to seal

that final

victory and

take us

into His

land of

plenty

forever.

He's

promised us

that.

And make

no mistake,

you, I

and every

other Christian

throughout

humanity,

we have

not lifted

a single

finger for

that victory

to be ours.

Not a

single finger.

it is

entirely of

His.

Entirely.

So what

does it

mean to

live by

faith?

What are

we to

do?

We are

to look

to Jesus

for our

eternal

deliverance

as Hezekiah

looked to

God in

the temple.

We are

to look

to the

same God

for our

eternal

deliverance.

We are

not to

try harder

to be

like Hezekiah

for our

deliverance.

We look

to the

God that

He

himself

looked

to.

To

quote Tim

Keller

who died

this last

week,

if you

are falling

off a

cliff,

strong

faith in

a weak

branch

is

fatally

inferior

to weak

faith in

a strong

branch.

It's

not the

amount of

your faith

that matters.

It's the

object of

your faith

that matters.

To

continue

your

color.

Salvation

is not

finally

based on

the strength

of your

faith,

but on

the object

of your

faith.

Come to

Jesus and

put your

faith in

him.

Weak

faith is

enough

because he

is a

mighty

deliverer.

Secondly,

what does it

look to

live by

faith day

by day,

trusting

in him?

Hebrews

12,

so if

you're a

Christian,

sit in

the room,

Hebrews

12 tells

us to

look to

Jesus,

the author

and the

perfecter

of our

faith.

He's

done it

all.

He doesn't

just

describe for

us or reveal

to us what

actual faith

is.

He's

completed it

for us.

He's

completed our

faith.

He is the

one, the

glorious and

powerful and

patient and

merciful one

who we are

told is

risen from

the dead

and always

lives to

make intercession

for us.

So not

only has

he made

intercession

mediating

between us

for our

salvation,

he mediates

for us now

in our

faithlessness.

He's in the

throne room

taking my

weak prayers.

Father, what

Steve really

means is

this.

he's

interceding

for me

now in

my faith.

Father, don't

forget he's

with us.

He's one of

ours.

We love

him.

Therefore, I

want to call

you to

confidently,

boldly pray

for the

victory of

God in

your life

and in

this world.

Pray for

his name to

be honoured

by you in

your heart,

in your

mind.

Pray for

his kingdom

to rule

you,

that his

will will

be done

on earth

as it is

in heaven.

Pray that

he would

open the

door to

the gospel.

Pray that

he will

give boldness

to you,

that he

will save

Chatswood

for his

glory.

And as

we do

that as

his people,

remember that

today the

enemies of

the church

of Jesus

Christ,

they're not

political,

they're not

ethnic,

they're not

national.

Ephesians

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

tells us

that our

struggle is

not against

flesh and

blood,

but against

the rulers

and against

the authorities,

against the

powers of

this dark

world and

against the

spiritual

forces of

evil in

the heavenly

realms.

note as

a disciple

of Jesus

if you

are,

that this

is an

enemy that

is too

great for

you.

And until

our king

comes from

heaven to

bring his

total and

complete renewal

of all

things,

we will

waver

in our

faith.

and note

too that

we don't

desire the

destruction of

a single

human being.

We don't

pray for the

enemies to

be crushed

like Assyria

was crushed.

As

Christians,

we do not

kill our

enemies,

we pray for

our enemies.

We pray that

God would

rule in it,

they would

come to an

end to

themselves and

that God

would rule

in their

life just

as Jesus

taught us

to.

The great

battle today

that God

is fighting,

the miraculous

work that

he's doing

in this

world is

a battle

that's not

fought with

swords,

it's not

fought with

political

force,

it's not

fought with

alliances,

it's fought

with words.

Mere

words,

as the

Assyrian

commander

said,

but more

than mere

words,

but with

the good

news of

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

crucified

and risen

for our

deliverance

and the

deliverance

of all

people.

It's a

battle that's

fought for

the souls

of all

people,

it is

fought in

the power

of the

Holy Spirit,

it is

fought with

the words

of the

truth

and with

deeds of

love and

justice.

And all

of that,

all of that

is shrouded,

backed up

by prayer

as we

plead for

his glory

and his

grace to

be revealed

to the

nations.

And the

victory will

come and

it will

come through

word and

prayer.

Thank you.