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#1196. The heavenly war (2/12/24)

Community Church Putney Sermons

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  1. #1196. The heavenly war (2/12/24)

  2. Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional as we begin our Christmas series, Emmanuel, where we are reflecting on the promises regarding God coming to us in Jesus.

  3. Today, from Genesis 3:15, we reflect on the spiritual war that we are engaged in - a war that will be won because God has come to us in Christ.

    Genesis 3:15

  4. To watch this devotional, select the link below

  5. https://youtu.be/7X-fxOOzv08

  6. ‘“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”’ (Genesis 3:15)

    Genesis 3:15

  7. Our world is filled with immense beauty and wonder; do you know that there are approximately 17,500 species of butterflies worldwide! However, it’s also filled with great suffering. Christmas itself is a season of so much joy and promise whilst also being, for many, the most miserable period of the year! Our world and all that is in it has been affected by The Fall of mankind into sin. Paul speaks of our experience of suffering, and the fallen conditions of the world and our great hope:

  8. ‘I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.’ (Romans 8:18-21)

    Romans 8:18–21

  9. Added to creation’s ‘frustration’, we must also understand that the spiritual realm has also undergone a breakdown in order. Along with Satan, hordes of angels rebelled against God and are now treacherously working together against all that bears the glory and goodness of God.

  10. Today, I want us to remember that Christmas was the moment that God came into this broken world in order to begin its restoration. Christmas doesn’t end at the stable, but it ends with the restoration of all things, and the end of all sin and the causes of sin. The gift of Jesus is the harbinger of the gift of The New Heavens and The New Earth.

  11. Until that day, when we are promised that, ‘the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God’, we are involved in the holy war. Whilst we are on the earth, we are to join with Jesus to bring people out of the Kingdom of Darkness and In The Kingdom of Light.

  12. Let’s pray together as we finish

  13. “Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into this fallen world. You are the creator and yet you died to redeem creation. Help me to be alert and prayerful against spiritual forces of evil whilst also being filled with the joy and hope that you give. Amen”