Hallelujah. I was thinking that song, The First Noel. It was 1870 that the French and German War, Franco-Prussian War was going on, they called it. In 1870, there had been tens of thousands of soldier boys killed. And it was Christmas Eve out on the western front, the no man's land, as they called it, because If anybody stood up for a few seconds, they'd be shot. And as I said, thousands had been killed. And it was Christmas Eve and there was kind of silence for a little while. No shooting, no screaming and yelling. And a French soldier walked out from behind the fortifications or out of the foxhole and walked across no man's land and stood on a little rise. in the little knoll there. And the story is that there were plenty of German marksmen that had drew a bead on the boy and he started singing the first Noel. And he sung it all the way through and not one shot was fired. He turned and walked back to the side of the French. In just a few minutes a German soldier comes walking across. Nobody shot him. He stood on that same knoll and he started singing in German the same song, the First Noel. And then when he got to the chorus, both sides joined in and started singing. Hallelujah. That was in 1870. You see, when the Prince of Peace was here, when our Lord Jesus walked this earth, No historian that I've ever found, and no one ever contradicts this either, that there was, as far as anyone could ever tell, there was absolutely no war on the earth in the days that Jesus lived on this earth. The Prince of Peace came. That's the reason it's, this time of year, so wonderful. And this time of year is a good time to celebrate. I believe more and more, as I've researched over the years, and Dr. Larry Spargiomino has done a great job, and reminded me of these truths I studied 25 years ago at least, of that this very, very likely, we have to be in the exact month, not only the month, we're close to the very day, 24th and 25th of the conception of Jesus, when Gabriel spoke to Mary. So there is a special time about this time of year. It stopped that French and German War, and then in 1918, World War I was going on, probably one of the costliest wars ever as far as human life was concerned. The same thing happened. and there's no explanation for it. They had orders from their commanders, you go ahead and start fighting, and nobody would do it. And for several days, there was a, quote, truce that nobody had called for. Hallelujah, aren't you glad for a God whose influence is, you know, we know he's God, but yet it touches hearts, and even in the middle of war, of all things, right in the middle of war, that he can stop it. Praise the Lord, hallelujah. 1 Timothy chapter number four, I'm gonna read you a verse here, then we're gonna jump over to Matthew chapter number 27. Last week I spoke about one of the big lies of the devil is to shame individuals to where they think that they have no option. They can never be quote right with God or right with anybody else. They can never be normal, they can never be what they ought to be, that they've gone too far and they've done too much of this, or their mind is so screwed up that they can't be what they should be and ought to be. That's a lie of the devil. And 1 Timothy 4.1 tells us, forewarns us, of what these things, or what's happening now, that the Spirit itself speaketh expressly that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and the doctrines of devils, that some shall depart from the faith. Now, here in Paul's warning to Timothy, here in his warning to Timothy, and also God's warning to us, Not long before Paul, he writes one more letter to Timothy, and then he's martyred. His head is taken off him, and he's going to heaven. But he's warning, saying, hey, this is what's going to happen, Timothy. and people even in the Christian realm. I'm going to say especially in the Christian realm. Are all these believers? No. But it does say some will depart. There will be many that will depart from the faith. It doesn't mean that these folks are believers who suddenly leave the Christian faith. No. These are folks who have heard some truth, but they're going to believe the lies of the devil and the seducing spirits and the doctrines of the devil. So understand, that's where we are. Now go over to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter number 27, tonight, and let me share some things with you out of this passage. In the 27th chapter of Matthew, in this, we're gonna look at another lie of the devil, and this is a lie that really, I think, affects the church probably as much as anything else. maybe more than anything. And it's not just the church, but it's in our philosophy today. I say our, it's in our society's philosophy. Not so much inside the church, it shouldn't be, but it is in the thinking of our culture. You ever heard this? It's not my fault. It's not my fault. This done it, that done it, you done it. It's not my fault. I did that because it's my environment that I'm in. Get me out of this environment and I won't do them things. I won't rape and rob and kill and do all this. You get me in a better place to live, I won't do this. I won't destroy, I won't be evil if you take me out of that because it's not my fault. Now, what I'm going to read to you tonight is a group of people who said, it's not my fault. But it was their fault. And it was their fault as much as it was the fault of a fellow by the name of Judas, whom we know. And we most often point a finger at Judas ourselves and say it's Judas' fault. Pastor Josh just a couple of weeks ago said in a sermon that at the Last Supper, Satan was there too, in Jesus. We see the painting of the Twelve and the Lord Jesus, but you don't see that figure, that is Satan himself sitting at the table, in Judas. You don't see that, but he was there. And so, when we look at this tonight, we are not going to point the finger at Judas, but there's some others involved that it was their fault, as much as it was Judas' fault. But they said, it's not my fault. And let's look at this tonight, Matthew chapter number 12. Let's just read verse 3 through 10. And, well, let's start in verse one. When the morning was come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And when they had bound him, they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. So Jesus has been taken, and he's gone through that night of illegal trial before the high priest. And look at verse three. Something's happened to Judas now. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders." Judas has had a, Satan has moved out in one sense now. He was in him at the time he was at the Last Supper. This was only hours before. And now he's moved out in that influence. But he's still influencing Judas strongly. But Judas realizes, I have made a horrible mistake here. This is the worst thing I could ever do. So he takes the money back, the 30 pieces of silver. He throws it down at the feet of the chief priest and the elders there in that polished temple. He gives it to them, throws it down, and he says, I've sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And look at this, look at this statement. What is that to us? That's not our fault. That's your fault. You did it. What is that to us? See, out of that, it's not my fault, it's your fault. Now notice something. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself. You see the influence of Satan here. And before we get through a lot of these messages on Sunday nights, I'm going to give you a biography of Judas. And it's a striking biography, not because I've studied it out, but just because it's things you never thought of about him. But in this in Judas, you see a heartbroken fella, you see one that's overwhelmed, and he goes back and he tries to right a wrong. And when he goes to these folks and they say to him, that's not our fault, you did it. They didn't try to relieve the pain. They didn't say, well, you know, Judas, let's see if we can't do something to change these circumstances here. You've brought the money back, and we'll see if we can't change that. No, no, no, no. No, they just pointed the finger and say, it's your fault. It's not our fault, when that is a total lie of the devil. Demons lie. Satan lies. And that's what these fellows was believing. They had as much guilt as Judas had in what happened that night. Matter of fact, Judas could not have accomplished any of that himself. The 30 pieces of silver was the price of a slave, so it wasn't the money. That wasn't what Judas was after. He was after the position. He was hoping that he could force the hand of Jesus and force his hand to stop the Roman government. He could force his hand, you know, this one that could raise the dead, why he could just speak and the Sanhedrin court would fall back dead. Matter of fact, when those guards came to get Jesus. when he had just left his praying in the garden and they came to get him. Jesus asked these words, whom seek you? And they said, we seek Jesus. He said, I am. And there was such force in the statement that he made that those thousands of guards just fell down flat. because the voice of God spoke, scared them to death, and they fell down flat. You'd think there'd be enough sense in their old noggins that they wouldn't do that, wouldn't you? They'd get up and say, oh my goodness, let's get out of here, this guy is God. Judas witnessed this, and Judas realizes, I made a mistake, but he says, he's thinking, man, if he just speaks and these guys are knocked down, I'm going to force his hand, I'm going to force him to set up his kingdom and I'm going to sit with him. But no, that wasn't Satan's plan. That wasn't the plan of these fellas. They had as much a part in the crucifixion and the work and even more so than Judas did. But who ended up committing suicide? Judas. Now, demons lie, I've said that. The devil lies, he is a liar. The choice was made by these chief priests just as much as Judas. And the choices we make are choices, my friend, that we have to see as our responsibility. We, one of the biggest things that I've always had to overcome when speaking to people, trying to help them out of a habit or out of some addiction is to get them to realize you've got a choice here. You've got to make it. And I've had some says, well, preacher, I cannot just make up my mind to do better. I said, that's not my choice. That's not what I'm telling you. You got a number one, make a choice. Do you want different. Do you want to be different? Do you want to be? And if there's no want to be, if there's no desire, if they're flipping about it, I send them on their way. What do you mean preacher? I'm thinking of a young lady right now. She was a teenager. probably 19 at the time. Her mother brought her in one time for a counseling session, and the girl was involved in drugs and the lifestyle with it, and she was, you know, she wasn't really, she wasn't having the problem, her mother was. Her mother says, we gotta get her out of this, it's wiring her out, I can tell what it's going to do. And I looked at the girl and I said, do you want to get out of this? And she looked at me and said, well, Mother does. Mother wants me out of it. And I said, and you don't want it? She said, no, Mom's got the problem with it. And I said to her, I said to the Mother, I said, Mother, if you would just step outside here for a minute. And I had also, I always had someone in there with me, too. I said, I want to talk to her just by herself. So Mom stepped out for a minute, and I said to her, now listen. We've got the Bible, and the Bible is guaranteed to give you a 100% success rate if you'll follow the scriptures. 100%. We bat a thousand in here if you'll follow what I tell you to do. Will you do it? And she looked at me and said, probably not. And I said, but you know you've got a problem. I know, but it's not a big deal. Mom thinks it is. So I said, well, I can't help you. She said, that's OK. I said, it's not that it won't work with you. It's that you don't want to make the choice. And you're making a choice in the wrong direction. So I called Mom back in. I said, Mom, you want it more than her. I could counsel you and you'd follow my counseling. And my counseling to you, Mother, is this. Help her to see where she is. Give her the truth. She's believing these lies. Now what lies would she believe? What lies are you believing when you're listening to the devil? He's telling you that it's It's more enjoyable over here doing these things, it's more fun over here doing these things, and you have to have this, and you have to go in this direction, and you don't have a choice, and you're pulled into it, and you just have to do it. No, that's a lie of the devil. That's a choice that was made. And all of us are sinners, not only by birth, but we're sinners by choice. Amen. We all are. And there's always consequences to our sins. Always. It affects a lot more than just us. As this dear mother was so overwhelmed with it, and the daughter, I don't know Well, I did hear a year later of some things that had happened there, and she went way down real quickly, which normally happens. But there's consequences to our sin, and it affects other people. And with Judas, it ended up, of course, the crucifixion of Christ, the betrayal of Jesus, the scattering of the disciples. I mean, in one sense of the word, their whole world was turned upside down. Their whole world was turned upside down. and because of Judas. Judas didn't realize he was going to do that much. He didn't realize what he was doing was going to cause that much problem. He thought he'd just force the hand of Jesus and get Jesus to set up the government right then and there and set up his kingdom, kick Rome out, and Judas would be one of those that'd be the leaders, because he had the brains in the group, and that's what he felt like. He thinking, you know, his thinking is, it's not going to, them boys will thank me for this later. They'll appreciate me for this. But no, the opposite happened. Notice something else. These chief priests here, they represented the nation of Israel. In representing the nation of Israel as the chief priests, did their sin of saying, it's not my fault, it's yours. Did that take that guilt off of them? No. And it wasn't just them. The entire nation of Israel is still suffering today. Of all, and here we are over 2,000 years later, they're still suffering today because of these high priests and this group who said, it's not my fault. It's yours. But no, it was their fault and the nation. And Jesus said so as he walked up Calvary's Hill and was going there to be crucified. There was a group of women that came mourning and weeping following Jesus. And he turned around and he said, don't cry for me. cry for your children, cry for the descendants, cry for the others because of the choice of these high priests who said it's not my fault, I didn't do it. The choice of them has brought them to this place, and brought you ladies to this place, and on the entire nation to this place. You see, no man is an island. We don't sin to ourselves, we don't, you know, live to ourselves, we don't die to ourselves. No man is an island. And so, we all understand that when we reach this point where we're going to listen to the devil and we always place the blame somewhere else, it's not my fault, it's not my fault, it's that one's fault or that one's fault, that is really the devil whispering in your ear, to keep you from facing the truth because if you can once face the truth and understand what it is and what's happening and get reality around you. We live in a fantasy world. Do you realize that? We live in a fantasy world. That's part of this post-modern system. Folks don't know what's real anymore. And we're living in that kind of a realm, and they're, you know, they can watch their TV programs on their iPhones, and they can watch their headsets, you know, with those things, and they can see, and they're out there, and they're really thinking, you know, this is fantasy, this is not a big deal. The boy that done the shooting down in Florida, it was Florida, Texas, we're out, went in there and shot up that elementary school. Texas wasn't, I said Florida, Texas. He was living, according to what I understand, reading something about him, he was living in a fantasy world. In his mind, this wasn't actually taking lives, but it was living out fantasies that he had embedded in his brain, in his mind. But let me say, it affected a lot more people than just him. So, if Satan is continuing successfully to get us to the point when we say, it's not my fault, it's somebody else's, and as these high priests did say, it's your fault, Judas, and in so doing, He went out under this kind of guilt and shame, and we're going to talk a little more about that in a minute, and committed suicide. Now let me go to the next question. Why do people still believe it then? Why do they still believe and use this lie today, and why is it more, I see it more today than ever before. First of all is an indifference. In Judas' situation here, these high priests said, we could care less about your burden of guilt or plight. They had no compassion at all for Judas. They had nothing for him. They just wanted somebody else to point the finger to and put the blame on. And they're saying, in total indifference, it doesn't matter to us, doesn't matter what happens, whether you live or die, Judas, that makes no difference to me. Maybe that's one of the great sins of the church. We can't live in indifference. We cannot live in indifference. No, no, that's what we're here for tonight, is we're going to run interference, and only Christians can claim the blood of Christ and plead the power of the blood of Jesus and rebuke the demons and the hierarchy of devils. That's over Bristol and over our region. And ask God to rebuke them and bring to, bring to a reality these folks that suicide is wearing them out. Bring them to a place where they realize, wait a minute, I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. You know what, I've been told that Folks that went in with a mentality like Judas here. And they end up, not in repentance, but in total self-inwardness, regret, and remorse. When they get that in their heart, they look inward and they don't look outward. And they're convinced that this is the only thing. And most of them, I'll tell you how far out they're thinking, They have on their calendar, I've read, I've talked to people actually whose loved ones were caught in this lie of the devil to commit suicide. And they said they actually had on their calendar things to do after they pulled the trigger. Now why would you think of that? How could you ever get to the place where you'd put down on your calendar, you know, 9 o'clock, got this appointment, 10 o'clock, this appointment, 11 o'clock, got to be here, 12 o'clock, got to be there, 1 o'clock, go over here and kill myself, 2 o'clock, I've got this, 3 o'clock, you see where they're thinking? You see how inward their thoughts have turned, and how irrational, and that's where we are in this. But the indifference that people are filled with today, this indifference of, it's not my fault, it's not my fault, that right there is one thing that adds to the guilt that many people are feeling. But let me say this to us. Another thing that got these guys here is the ambition, the greed. that was eating them up, because they were so ambitious, they were so greedy themselves, they were so full of arrogance and pride, you know, indifference, greed, ambition, arrogance, pride, no affection or love for anybody but themselves, that's all they could think of, this high priest group, that's all they could think of is their positions, their power, their greed, and Judas as a person meant nothing. They could just be wasted. Boy, we're watching that. Brother Tom Hicks down there on the southern border, old brother Tom, he said, preacher, he said, you wouldn't believe what our churches down here are facing, what we're seeing. He said, it just breaks your heart. He said, drugs, the drug cartel. He said, we thought that was bad. But he said, now the human trafficking is the worst thing I've ever seen in my life. He said, it's more horrible than anything I ever saw with drugs. is the human trafficking taking over. Because it literally is this same thinking right here of these high priests. You know, they're thinking of their own positions, their power, their greed. That's all they're thinking. That's not the life of these folks. These folks from Latin America that's given every penny they could ever rake and scrape together trying to send their kids to America where they can have a little better life because they know down there they're liable to starve to death So let's rake and scrape, let's do anything possible and pay these drug cartels and they'll get them there. Yeah, they'll get them there. But who knows what kind of condition they'll be in when they get there. And it's such a similar picture here is what we see in these high priests that says, not my fault. these dear ones, a lot of those in human trafficking. Suicide is a huge, high number among that group. Also a very high number, matter of fact, your, what was, recent studies said if you're part of the transgender group, you're nine times more likely to commit suicide than anybody else. Nine times more likely. Who's lied to them? The devil. How'd they get so deceived, Satan, to where they thought there's no help? Now, let me look at another question here. Judas went to these folks out of a broken heart, there's no doubt about it. His heart was broken. He saw the, and we know this, he says, I have betrayed the innocent blood. Jesus was not guilty. that he was dying for the guilty. This man is innocent. You guys have no reason to charge him like you have, don't you? I didn't know you were going to do that. Did Judas know all the plans? No, he didn't know all the plans. That's one of the tricks of the devil is to get you wrapped up, get you and I wrapped up into thinking something that's totally untrue, thinking something that's not right at all according to the scriptures. And if we get to the point where we're believing the lie and taking it in, he doesn't have to tell us much. We just keep taking the bait and going in the direction. And we never know the end of it. Not until it's too late as it was with Judas. You see, Judas thought, man, this guilt, and here I want to point out something. Judas felt the horrible shame of this. It wasn't a repentance, and I've got to clarify this, it wasn't a repentance in the heart of Judas that made him want to come. It is a regret, a remorse, and a shame that covered the guy. I mentioned last week, I believe it was, that Judas was the most educated of all the disciples. There's no doubt about it. Where he was from was like being from Boston, being from Harvard or Yale, and the rest of the fellows were rednecks, okay? And we all can identify as rednecks, right? Amen? And so the rest was rednecks, but he was the only really blue blood in the whole group. He was the smartest, he was the treasurer. They thought, man, this guy's got it. He's got degrees that long. Let's just put him in. He knows what he's doing. Oh, he did. but he had too many inward thoughts instead of what was going on, and now his thoughts turned inward, and when his thoughts turned inward, all he could see was this horrible shame, and at the same time, hey, the only way to get out of this, could be a way, is go back and convince these people, I can convince them that I betrayed the innocent blood, he's not guilty, let him go. But no, no, no, no, that's not gonna happen. They wouldn't have it. And Judas could convince a lot of people. He'd fooled the other disciples. I mean, he'd been with them three years, three and a half. He'd fooled them. He couldn't fool Jesus. That's one of the big problems. He knew Jesus knew that he had taken a loan out of the bag of money and hadn't repaid it. He thought it was just a loan, but Jesus knew, and John tells us later, he was a thief. and Judas knew that Jesus knew. Now you'd think, when we know that we've hurt God's feelings and we've sinned against God, that we'd be the first to say, Lord, you're right. I agree with you, so I repent. That's what repentance is. It's when you agree with God. Lord, you're right, you're exactly right, I make no excuses. You remember David in Psalm 51? Lord, against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. Wait a minute, David, man, you did more evil to others, too. You had a man killed, literally, and I mean, my goodness, you've done all this evil, but David, he was right. He took it to the very source, and he said, it's me and Lord, I've sinned against you, and that is so very important. If Judas had went to Jesus, And there, and he was close enough, he could have, if he had just went to Jesus and shouted out the words, or even mouthed out the words, or just said, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. He wouldn't have killed himself. Jesus would have forgiven him. How do you know that? Because John chapter number 17, Jesus says in John the 17th chapter in that great high priestly prayer, Jesus says about Judas He says I've not lost But one is a heartbreak to Jesus that Judas Didn't come and repent There's a heartbreak to him that that happened. He's I just lost one just one I Had no intention My desire was not to lose him if he had just agreed with me if it had just repented I But you see what happens so many times, Satan throws that shame, shame, shame on you. And no need to talk to God here. No need to be like David and repent and in true repentance just say, Lord, you're right. I agree with you, Lord, you're right. Forgive me, cleanse me. That's the greatest feeling in all the world, when you agree with God. Because what He does, He floods your soul with that wonderful peace of, you've agreed with me. We can walk together now. First John, chapter number one. I almost went there to preach tonight, but I'll be there later. But First John, chapter number one. He says that if we have fellowship with Him, we have fellowship one with another, And then he goes on to say that if we continue in this sinfulness and we reach the point where we say, I don't have any sin. No, no. I don't have any. One fellow told me that one time. I hadn't sinned for several weeks now. And I said, boy, you're better than me. He said, no, I'm telling you the truth. I know how you Baptists believe. I said, I know how you believe. And you just sinned. And he said, what do I do? I said, you lied right there. If you say you have no sin, you've reached a point there. You've lied to yourself. And you might as well, if you lie to yourself, it's still a lie. And here in this place, poor old Judas had every opportunity. He went to the wrong people. They just said, it's your fault. It's your fault. It's your fault. And folks, listen, I won't close right now in just a minute. But today, poor old sinners, poor folks, and not just the unsaved, but folks that stray away from God, that the Lord is drawing them, wanting them to come back, wanting them to come and repent and just get right with Him, wanting them to do that. And their minds are filled with the lies of the devil, and before long they begin following him when they had never intended to. And they won't agree with God. Thoughts turn inward, and as I said earlier, on their calendar, their mind is so messed up, they actually mark, I have this appointment, I have this to do at this hour and this hour. I'll stop and shoot myself, then the next hour I'll do this. Why would you do that? Because the mind is so twisted looking at lies. Now, let me say something here tonight. I have those that says, well preacher, if a person does commit suicide, then they're going to hell no matter what. I remember Romans chapter number eight as we were in it this morning. What can separate us from the love of God? neither life, nor death, nor principalities and powers, and he goes on to name so many things, shall be able to separate me from the love of God. As I've spoken to you tonight, folks that get under this guilt, it's not a guilt, well it is in some ways, but it produces shame instead of repentance. And when shame comes in, it usually pushes them away from God and says, don't go to Jesus. I had to wonder, I know it was close where Jesus was. He was just in the next room from where these high priests were. Now you understand this. He was that close and Judas went to the wrong room. Isn't that sad? When he could have just went and said, And the Lord would. How do you know it could have been different? Well, look at Simon Peter. He denied the Lord three times. Says he went out and wept bitterly, and the Lord looked at him. Simon was Simon Peter. The difference was that Simon Peter was true repentant. Lord, I want to be right with you. And that's, and he was, he was. How wonderful. Now, let me leave you with this tonight. We as the church, we're so very important. We don't understand how important we are to our neighborhood, to our city, to our family. That we're the ones that pleads the power of the blood of Christ. We're the ones that are really fighting hell on behalf of them, we really are. The spiritual warfare around us is unbelievable. We're in the most horrific battle that we've ever been in in America. And there's demonic presence that we have never experienced in this land like we're experiencing now. I mean, it is everywhere. I used to experience these things when I'd go to some third world country. in on a mission trip and feel that demonic presence and be around even those that were in total demonism and all of these things I could feel that and I expected it and I was prayed up and armored up and these days it's such a constant thing that we feel a pressure on us. Now ladies and gentlemen here's these Sunday night services is to get you and I full of the armor of God, armor all over us, prayed up, seeking God, knowing the truth, and praying and interceding on behalf of others. And our city, we don't know them. We may never even know who individuals are. Makes no difference. God knows. And our Lord wants His church to fight this battle. That's what we're doing. We're the only ones that can. So tonight, let's end in prayer and let's pray. Oh Lord, I ask you to bind all the devils of hell, rebuke them. I'm not gonna listen to the lies of the devil. I will not fall into this trap of it's your fault, it's somebody else's fault. If I'm indifferent and I've got the same problem these guys have, I'm gonna confess that, Lord, I've been indifferent. I really didn't understand what's going on. Lord, I'm indifferent, I agree with you. And I've lost my love, I've lost my affection, I've lost my care for anybody else, and forgive me for that. They didn't want to be bothered. That's up to you, they said. And Judas just threw it down. Hey, that's your problem. You're the one, it's your fault. And that's your problem. If we've got that attitude, God help us. We cannot have it. Let's pray. Lord, we love you tonight. We thank you for your Holy Word. Thank you, Father, for the lessons we learned. Thank you, Father, for showing us here it wasn't just Judas that was responsible. These others that were part of that group of the high priest and the Sanhedrin court and all of them, Lord, they were as guilty as Judas. We point the finger at Judas just like they did many times and we let them off, but they were just as guilty. And so much so were they guilty that the entire nation of Israel, the entire Jewish race has suffered because of their decision. And Lord, I pray tonight, you cleanse us as the church, cleanse us of all indifference, forgive us. If we've been indifferent where we have, forgive us for a lack of affection and love. where we haven't cared for those around us, whoever they are and wherever they are, we may never know them. but forgive us, but here we are as the church right here in Bristol, Virginia, and I pray tonight, and I agree together with my brothers and sisters in Christ, we ask you, Lord, to bind the devils of hell. We ask you, Lord, to rebuke all the demons of hell that might be a hierarchy of demons over our city. Rebuke them through the blood of Jesus. through the resurrection power of Jesus, rebuke the hierarchy of demons that's over the city, the hierarchy of demons that's over Washington County, Virginia, or Abington, Virginia, or our region here. rebuke them in the name of Jesus. And we as the church here at Antioch, we agree together to bind the devils of hell, rebuke the demons of hell. Father, right now we, we ask you as we read in the book of Jude that Michael the archangel, when contending with Satan over the body of Moses, he said these words, The Lord rebuke you. So we say the same words that Michael the archangel say. We say that as a church family tonight, Lord. We're agreeing together. The Lord rebuke you, Satan, for your attack against our church families, against our church, our sister churches, against all of the work that's going on here, the spiritual warfare here in Bristol and Bristol, Virginia, and in our region of this nation. And Father, we pray out further than that. We pray over the nation. We ask you to bind and rebuke that hierarchy of demons that's over this nation tonight, that's in Washington, D.C., and other places, rebuke them in the name of Jesus. Through the blood of Christ Jesus, give great victory, Father, to those angel warriors that are fighting now. Give great victory, because Jesus has already won and destroyed the works of the devil. Rebuke the demons of hell over the Ukraine, over Russia, over Europe, Rebuke them, Father, we pray, as the Church of the Living God. We have every right to do it. Not only the right, we are called to do it. And we ask you, Father, help us. to see in these days how important our prayer life, how important our knowledge of your word, and how important to know our place as the warriors of God in rebuking Satan and all the demons of hell. In the name of Jesus, through the blood of Christ, we pray. Hallelujah. Amen and amen.