this is our second Sunday of the new year and uh next week we’ll be back in the Book of Romans uh and and just continuing on back in our expositional teaching but uh I have to believe that it’s the Lord’s will that has led us to this uh message titled the war of 2024 and I’m not talking about uh countries bombs missiles and uh politics uh those things will play themselves out before us this year uh and God knows but I’m talking about uh the war of 2024 regarding you and I the believer as.

Christians and I told you guys and I’m going to say it again um this church uh is a large church I’m not I don’t know if I’m a fan of that I’m not playing with you when I say that most pastors live to have a big church they know not what they do in their request but I’m not interested in numbers I’m interested in listen absolutely delivering this year 2024 uh the necessary Goods that will cause you to grow deeper in your discipleship with Jesus Christ that’s what we must achieve in the year 2024 it.

will not be uh compromise it will not be uh some uh type of effort to get people in I’m going to do my best to do everything to get people out and when I say that truth does that I don’t have to be ugly and mean about it I just have to deliver the truth and if the truth goes out Jesus said my sheep hear my voice they follow me and a stranger they will not follow and so if somebody wants to follow games and and some other kind of a thing this is not the church for you and um I’m not saying that to be any way.

bombastic or or or crude I’m telling you time is quickly running out and you can feel it you can sense it a deep sense of urgency that like never before we need to live out our Christianity and that will be met with opposition just wake up to that reality now and every believer is experiencing that reality now in this era more than any other time I’ve been a Christian now for a very long time coming up on well just shy of 50 years as a Christian and I’m telling you right now now that I have never seen days like we are seeing today.

and yet if I were to judge these days against the days of three years ago that looked like a picnic three years before that we were on cruise control but now we are deep into the war of so many things and so church I’m going to ask you to stand as we read our theme passage together of course all of it’s dialed down to verse 21 but we’ll read read it together I’ll start in verse 14 if you read in verse 15 I got to tell you you guys are first service um but just it’s it’s because I love.

you second and third service had they’ve been reading louder than you guys I know wish you you wish you could be here to experience it but um I don’t want you I don’t want you guys to be outdone because um your first service you’re a special place in my heart for a service um plus first service is what’s broadcast uh on TV so which by the way UPF front be careful what you’re doing up front because it goes on TV I’m serious got to be discreet about things like this we hear it we get.

letters this is the word of God now we exhort you Brethren warn the those who are unruly Comfort the fhe hearted uphold the weak be patient with all see that no one renders evil for evil to anyone what is good and for all that was loud one of the shortest but most power one of the most powerful and certainly the shortest verses in the Bible Rejoice always pray without ceasing in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you do not quench the spirit do not despise prophecies test all things hold fast.

what is good abstain from every form of evil father we pray it in Jesus name and all God’s people said amen amen wow you may be seated I’m impressed that theme that passage of scripture the key verse that comes out for us in this year of 2024 is verse 21 and it’s that verse that says test all things hold fast what is good and we are to be a very Discerning people with Bible Open Eyes Wide Open judging everything according to the word of God as we get into this study uh 2 Timothy chap 2: 4-7 is a very powerful uh.

encourager in fact I just before coming out I just signed a Bible that’s being shipped off I think to Japan to a soldier that has requested uh a one-year Bible and I and I wrote down this uh passage watch this verse four no one engaged in Warfare entangles himself with the Affairs of this life wow that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier and also if anyone competes in athletics he’s not crowned unless he competes according to the rules verse 6 the the hardworking farmer must first be partaker of the crops verse 7 consider.

what I say and may the Lord give you understanding in all things what a great passage of scripture that is regarding our engagement in the year 2024 church this is what we’ve looked at thus far that there’s going to be a war as you know against the truth that was number one a war against the truth last week number two we looked at there’s going to be a war against the facts the truth is the truth facts is what’s being reported what was witnessed what was actually the thing that transpired but.

there’s a war against that thirdly we learned that there’s a war against faith that if you’re going to stand and have true biblical Faith you will be at odds with this world but we learned last week that y ought to Rejoice because Jesus made it clear that if we are living for him we will not be loved by this world can you all get that under your belt it’s just the way it’s going to be and so faith is being waged against in this war we also learned that the church is under attack there’s the the war against the.

church that’s why you’re seeing really what I would consider the public or the visible breakup watch me the breakup of the air quotes church because the air quote Church is being separated separated away from the True Church of God and it’s going on right now all around the world don’t worry about it you don’t need to lose sleep about it but the great thing Jesus says that he being the very salvation of God that the gates of hell would what not Prevail against his church his church will never be defeated you see.

jug yeah but what there’s people being burned to death in Africa and killed and yes but that doesn’t mean they’re defeated that’s only in this world and then last time we saw the war against marriage we didn’t spend much time on that but there’s elements of these coming points that we’ll touch on that the war against marriage marriage is being mocked ridiculed kids today listen there are more people now living together in the United States without marriage than any other time in our.

this but I do believe the um that the legal establishment uh was first made in California and I’m losing the term in my mind right now but it’s uh easy easy say it again no fault marriage fault divorce no fault divorce sorry yes no fault divorce I believe that was created in California if I if my memory serves me right and uh no fault no fault and listen that might be fine if you’re running a business but when children are involved and when others are involved but most importantly because it’s.

marriage God is involved we talked about how it’s a holy institution created by God no matter what man tries to do to it God will not change his mind no matter what any Court says so number six here’s where we jump in everybody you ready for this you’re not believe me the war of 20 24 is against the husband yep uh he says ohoh Ephesians chapter 5 verse 25 we uh we referenced this verse last week but we’ll look at it again because it applies to this sixth Point husbands listen uh how many of you Christian guys.

first of all just men men men only uh men raise your hands if you’re a Christian if you’re not don’t put your hand up if you’re not I’m going to see any lightning strikes in the sanctuary here um how many of you men raising your hands are husbands raise your hands wow okay put your hands down so listen husbands love your wives is that an option nope it’s a command just as Christ and here’s the example just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her the husband is to give.

himself for his wife and all the women said that he might s watch this he might sanctify her and cleanse her with the washing of the Water by the word the husband is to wash his wife with the Bible say wash his wife with the Bible what does that mean the husband is to lead the home in the word of God now I know that scares a lot of men away a lot of men are maybe they’re not public speakers they don’t have the personality to to be outgoing has nothing to do with that if you can read and even if you can’t read if you could point.

to the word listen to Simply pick up a scripture or a chapter in the Bible and read it to your wife or better yet for you and your wife to go to bed like this or to spend a moment in your morning like this where you’re going through a book let’s say John’s gospel and chapter 1 verse one husband read verse one out loud wife read verse Two Out Loud husband read verse three out loud wife read verse four outline I think you you get where I’m going with this and um just try that as of today starting now.

start doing that Watch What Happens it’s quite remarkable quite powerful verse 27 that he might present her to himself a glorious church so notice how God mingles the relationship between a husband and his wife with Jesus Christ and his church it’s it’s remarkable because according to the scripture what is implied is that there’s no greater example on Earth of Christ’s relationship to the church than the husband in relationship to his wife no wonder why marriage is under attack Billy Graham once.

said if a Christian couple gets a divorce then he said I would understand why the unbeliever would not come to faith in Christ that’s a terrifying statement and yet the damage that a broken home does now I’m very partial to this argument about husbands I’ll tell you why in a moment but that verse goes on to say for her to have having uh no spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that she should be holy and without blemish he’s talking about the church so husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies he who.

loves his wife loves himself that’s not a carnal statement of course it’s coming from the lips of Jesus it means that if you want to have a good life treat your wife well if you don’t have a good life with your wife it’s probably because you’re not treating her well now I know some of you are going to try to tackle me after service and say you don’t know who I’m living with I just know this that if you’re a Believer husband the Holy Spirit dwells in you he has granted you the power.

listen to conquer your wife’s fears or her doubts or even her atheism by love love covers a multitude of sins you could be married to Satan’s sister and still winner to Christ is it tough is it hard absolutely but we have no option no option at all by the way men regarding no options in Proverbs 18: 21 the Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue on Friday I was talking to a young woman and she had mentioned the fact that uh regarding their marriage and they’ve got a 10-month-old child and.

it got onto the conversation about a friend of hers married very depressed very browbeaten uh not physically touched but verbally dismantled by her husband and I I told this person I said you know being involved in Ministry you can spot an abused wife an abused woman a mile away you can see it without even them saying a word you can see it how they walk their posture their eyes their demeanor sometimes by even how they keep themselves they’re completely completely withered away and we want to search our hearts in.

this year to ask ourselves as husbands am I giving out life or death with the power of my tongue our tongue has the ability to transform a person’s life to transform a person’s life you tell somebody listen you tell somebody you can do this you know just work hard at it you can do this there’s a young girl and I’ll be quot I’ll be I’ll be quick on this this was a young girl who grew up here in The Homeschool Network and uh now she’s an adult and all but she was by her own confession she was never exceptionally.

smart but she worked hard she always just got by the test she passed just passed and then she just passed in junior high and then she just passed in high school and then she just passed at Liberty University then she just passed at Regent University and then she just passed her California bar exam she just passed getting to be a federal prosecutor for the United States government and then she just passed now moving out of the work of the government to work for a nonprofit organization that defends the US Constitution she never gave.