If you turn in your copy of God's Word now to Joshua, we'll continue our study there this evening in chapter 10. After about a month off, I believe it's on page 219 of your Pew Bibles, I'm planning on reading the whole chapter. This is a long chapter. If you need to sit, please feel free to do so. Let's give attention to the word of God, Joshua chapter 10. As soon as Adonai Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. So Adonai Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hohem king of Hebron to Piram king of Jarmath to Japhia king of Lachish and to Debir king of Eglon saying come up come up to me and help me and let us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel. Then the five kings of the Amorites, the kings of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmath, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it. And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp of Gilgal, saying, Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us, help us. For all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us. So Joshua went up from Gilgal, and he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the Lord said to Joshua, Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you. So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon. and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth Haran and struck them as far as Ezekiah and Makedah. And as they fled before Israel, they were going down the ascent of Beth Haran. The Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Ezekiah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with a sword. At that time, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Son, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped until the nations took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the book of Jasher? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since when the Lord heeded the voice of a man. The Lord fought for Israel. So Joshua returned and all Israel with him to the camp at Gilgal. These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Machedah. And it was told Joshua, the five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Machedah. And Joshua said, roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them. But do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies. Attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities. For the Lord your God has given them into your hand. When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow until they were wiped out and when the remnant of that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Machedah. Not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel. Then Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out to me from the cave. And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmath, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. And when they had brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, Come near. Put your feet on the necks of these kings. And they came near and put their feet on their necks. And Joshua said to them, Do not be afraid or dismayed. Be strong and courageous, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight. And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees, and they hung on the trees until evening. But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day. " As for Machedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king. With the edge of the sword he devoted to destruction every person in it. He left none remaining, and he did to the king of Makedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho. Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makedah to Libna and fought against Libna. And the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword and every person in it. He left none remaining in it. And he did so to its king, as he had done to the king of Jericho. Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libna to Lachish, and laid siege to it, and fought against it. And the Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libna. Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua struck him and his people until he left none remaining. Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they laid siege to it and fought against it. And they captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and he devoted every person in it to destruction that day as he had done to Lachish. Then Joshua, And all Israel went with him, went up from Eglon to Hebron. And they fought against it, and captured it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king, and its towns, and every person in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and devoted it to destruction, every person in it. Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to Debir and fought against it. And he captured it with its king and all its towns. And they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person in it. He left none remaining, just as he had done to Hebron and to Libna and its king. So he did to Debir and to its king. So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country of the Negev. and the low land, and the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded." And Joshua struck them from Kadesh Barnea, as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon. And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. and Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. Thus far in the reading of God's word. Amen. Please be seated. Would you pray with me? Father and our God, as we have read your word now, we praise you for it. And we ask that you'd add your blessing to it and guide us tonight as your servant seeks to open the word, your word. Holy Spirit, apply it to our hearts. Help this not be a history lesson, but certainly a lesson as to the history of redemption and a conviction of how we are to live before you. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. What is your battle plan? This passage we have tonight before us certainly contains a battle plan. What's yours? If we think about the Lord Jesus Christ as he was tempted if we were just to consider that passage where after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, being hungry, that's exactly the time that the tempter, meaning Satan, the devil, came to him and tempts him three times. At least three times, possibly and probably even more. And each time Jesus' plan was to refer back to the Word of God. He depended upon the Word of God. Think of that. Satan picking the appropriate time to attack Jesus in his weakness. Fasting 40 days, 40 nights. Jesus was hungry. Satan attacks the weak. He's not powerful enough to attack God himself and so he goes after the weak. At least that was his thinking. That's Satan's plan. He attacks at weak points to secure victory or attempt to secure victory over the whole person. And so he attacks Jesus thinking that he is a man, the son of God, a mere servant of God, and he attacks him in order to attack God himself and to attack the kingdom of God. In a sense, that helps us understand our text this evening. We know that the Israelites had been wandering through the wilderness 40 years, and now they've been commanded to cross over the Jordan to go into the promised land, that land that they've been waiting to enter now for 40 years. We know that the Lord God has opened up the Jordan just like He opened up the Red Sea, allowing warriors, 40,000, ready for war to pass through on dry ground. And we know that the commander of the army, of the Lord has appeared to Joshua." We also know that as they begin the battle they begin at Jericho and Jericho is defeated in a resounding supernatural victory as the Lord was with Joshua. We also know that in that victory the Israelites, or at least one of them, defiled the Lord by taking some of the devoted things We know that the Lord responded by causing the Israelite army to flee from those at Ai initially. But as the Israelites repent of their sin against God, now another supernatural victory has been provided over Ai. And this throws, indeed, the nations surrounding the Israelites into despair and dismay. so much so that the Gibeonites have now come to Joshua and sought a covenant with him by and through their deception and now are living amongst the Israelites. That brings us to our text this evening where we see these kings amassing themselves now against Gibeon, not against Joshua, but against Gibeon. We also see that as the Gibeonites cry out to Joshua, the Israelites now come to the rescue of Gibeon and they vanquish all the nations, all the kingdoms that were gathered against Gibeon completely. Even as the sun stands still, Joshua can complete the fight. Tonight we might sum up this text, these 43 verses this way, that those who follow Jesus are called to fight confidently in dependence upon the Lord. Those who follow Jesus are called to fight confidently in dependence upon the Lord. We'll see that in three points tonight. First, the people of God participate in the battle. Secondly, the people of God depend upon the Lord in the battle. And finally, the people of God wait for the complete victory in Christ. Well, as we go throughout this passage tonight, I'd like you to be continuing to ask yourself that question, what is my battle plan? What is my battle plan? First, the people of God participate in the battle. Who are these Gibeonites? They're the center of attention of these kings, these nations that gather themselves together, as we see in the first few verses. Adonai Zedek, the king of Jerusalem, now leads various nations, various kingdoms against the Gibeonites. And so the Gibeonites are, in a sense, center of attention as we open up this particular passage. Well, who were they? They were obviously those who lived in Gibeon. They were part of the Hivites, those that Israel was to drive out from the Promised Land, but as a result of their deception They have now come to live with the Israelites, come to live amongst them, come to live in peace with them, come to live in covenant with them as a result of their deception and as a result of the failure of Joshua and the elders to go to the Lord and ask that question, should they enter into covenant with the Gibeonites. And so now we know that they're the center of attention of these kings. They're going to attack and they are attacking those in Gibeon. And so the question must be asked, why? Why fight the Gibeonites? So Adonai Zedek makes that reason clear. Come up to me, verse 4, and help me. Let us strike Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua. and with the people of Israel. Now, Adonai Zedek had known what has happened to Jericho, what's happened to Ai. He's concerned. He's fearful. And so now he decides to attack Gibeon. The question is why? Why Gibeon? Does he see it as a weak point? One commentator thinks that Gibeon was attacked because they had defected from the rest of the nations. They had left the rest of the nations to go live amongst the Israelites and this commentator sees that as a reason why they were attacked. Traitors gone to the other side. But it seems that those who hate God, those who hate the Lord Jesus Christ, will band together, and instead of a head-on attack of God or Jesus Christ, they will attack, shrewdly attack, at a weak point. And so the Gibeonites were likely to be seen as a weak point, a point at which those with superior power could overtake them and thus weaken the Israelites by dividing its armies. Part of its army might come and seek to protect the Gibeonites. And so that's the plan, it appears. That's Satan's plan, isn't it? He attacks at a weak point to secure victory over the entire person. Isn't that your experience? Listen how Satan attacked Jesus. He attacked him as he is weak, as he's weary, he's fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he's hungry. And that's the point in time when Satan attacks. He was seeking to destroy, access to the kingdom of God, for he knew that access would be through this one. What better way to destroy the kingdom of God than to destroy the way to the kingdom of God? And so he attacks at a weak point. That's his plan. And that seems to be what Adonai, Zedek, and the kings were doing, attacking at a weak point. Well, how did the Israelites respond Did they ignore the call from Gibeon? Did they wait? No, they joined the battle. It's so clear to us. The call goes out, do not relax your hand from your servants, come up to us quickly, save us, help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us. The very next verse we read, so Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him. There's no waiting. There's no scratching of the head. There's no wondering. There's no ignoring. They go. Indeed, later on in the passage we read in verse 19, "...pursue your enemies, attack their rear guard, do not let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand." They were participating. The battle was going on. Those that they had entered into covenant with were under attack. They were under siege. And so the Israelites now participate. They go and they fight. They engage the battle. If you're following Jesus tonight, you will be attacked. In John's Gospel, he writes the words of Jesus, Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. The followers of Jesus are under attack. As Paul writes to Timothy in the second letter, indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. There will be a fight. Again, if you're Following Jesus, there will be a battle to be engaged in and not just one. And if you're weak, Satan is going to attack you in and at your weakness. Think of David, the great king of Israel. In 1 Chronicles chapter 21, we have recorded for us, then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel, to do a census, to count. And David succumbed to that. He was weak. He wanted to know, how many people am I king over? In his pride, he's weak. And Satan attacks him right there. And not only will you be attacked, but you're called to participate. If you're following Jesus, you are called to participate in the battle. It's exactly what Peter wrote to the dispersed Christians. Be sober-minded. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion. Resist him. That's a call to battle. It's a call to arms. Resist the devil. He wants to devour you. Resist him. You're called to participate. Or as we read that passage in Ephesians about the armor of God. Do you remember that? Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Well, why would God give you armor unless He wants you to participate in the fight? Are you using it? I think that's the question for us tonight. He's calling you to participate. The question is, are you using the armor he's giving you? Are you participating? You might be thinking to yourself, well, how? How am I to participate in the spiritual battle? Well, Ephesians 6 is such a wonderful place to begin your battle plan. stand therefore having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness." What is that? I think it's this idea of thinking and meditating and speaking and acting in accordance with the Word of God, the breastplate of righteousness, following Jesus' steps. Peter puts it this way, having a good conscience so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. Breastplate of righteousness. It's part of the battle plan, isn't it? Are you using it? given by the gospel of peace. Those are the shoes for your feet. Readiness given by the gospel of peace. Be ready. In your hearts, honor Christ, the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Readiness given by the gospel of peace. And then there's the shield of faith. Just think of that, a shield, that's something to knock down those darts, those arrows, those fiery arrows that are coming at you from Satan, the shield of faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Or from Hebrews 11, now faith is the assurance of the things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. The Lord gives you faith to put to use. And then there's the sword of the spirit, meaning the word of God, you're to take it up and use it. And finally, there's prayer, praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication, the armor of God. That's a great place for you to meditate upon tonight, throughout this week. How do I participate in the spiritual battle? Well, start by knowing these different articles that the Lord has given you and then to use them. It brings us to our second point, the people of God depend upon the Lord in the battle. In a sense, this particular chapter begins with the men of Gibeon crying out to Israel because they recognized they needed help. They recognized that Adonai Zedek, as he recounts the men of Gibeon, he refers to them as the men being warriors. And you might think, well, why are you going to attack warriors? Well apparently Adonai Zedek thought that that was a weak point. A point where he could achieve victory. And apparently even these men knew that they needed help. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us for all the kings of the Amorites are gathered against us. They knew they needed help and so they call out for it. And Joshua does the same. Look at verse 12. In the midst of the battle, what happens? Joshua needed more time. At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel. He said, in the sight of Israel, sun stand still at Gibeon and moon in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still. Did you notice in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, they were winning the battle. Joshua just needed more time to finish. And so he knows that we need the Lord. And so this is a prayer, this is a cry of Joshua out to the Lord, help us. We depend upon you, he speaks, he prays. The Israelites needed more time to complete the task that was given to them to complete the victory and thus the master of time provides that which Joshua and the army needed. The Lord heeded the words of a man. Do you contemplate that in the midst of your battles, your spiritual battles? that the Lord hears and heeds if you're asking in accordance with his will? Whatever it is, Lord, give me more strength to fight against these temptations of Satan. Lord, give me a compatriot to come alongside me and give me counsel and guidance in this particular situation, a godly man, a godly woman to help me He listens. He heeds a request if they're in accordance with his will. Joshua knew that victory was impossible without the Lord. The only way for the Israelites to defeat their foes was by and through the Lord. The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. It's been no day like it before or since. The Lord heard. and the Lord acted here in a unique, supernatural way. Isn't that the way he always does in response to our requests? Our spiritual requests to bind up Satan, keep his temptations away from us, and if one of those fiery darts gets through to help us find that exit route, it's all supernatural. We think this was a unique event, and it was unique, but it's not unique in the way the Lord responds to our request for help. The Lord was at work. Verse 10, the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon, chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth Haran. Lord was at work, but the warriors needed to be reminded. Isn't that why Joshua calls for the warriors now to come as he brings the kings out of the cave? He says, come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings. They needed to be reminded. of what the Lord was doing amongst them, in their midst. Then they came near, they put their feet on their necks, and Joshua said to them, do not be afraid or dismayed, be strong and courageous. They were in the midst of winning a battle, and they still needed to be reminded, they still needed to be shown that the Lord was fighting for them, and that they were being victorious, why? For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight. They needed that encouragement, they needed to know that the Lord was fighting for them, and it needed it very tangibly. Put your foot on the neck of these kings that you have vanquished by and through the power of the Lord. Sometimes we think, well, that was just for them. It's not a unique event. Remember the Exodus? Remember how the Lord fought for his people as they remained silent? As the Egyptians were coming, they'd changed their minds, and now they'd come after the Israelites. And they cry out, and the Lord tells them, be quiet. I'll fight for you. And he leads them through on dry ground, and he vanquishes the Egyptian army in the sea. But that's not the only place we see it. We see it throughout the Psalms. Consider Psalm 124. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, let Israel now say, if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, then the people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive. Blessed be the Lord. Psalmist knows that even in the midst of spiritual battle, that the Lord was with them. Our help, we say this every time we come to worship, our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. What do you do when you're under attack? What do you do? What did Jesus do? He didn't go alone, did he? He received spiritual help. Think about before he really begins his earthly ministry, what happens? He's baptized by the Holy Spirit. He's filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn't go alone. The Spirit was abiding constantly, came to rest upon him, descended like a dove upon him. And then when he was tempted, As the devil leaves him, what happens? Angels came and ministered to him. He wasn't alone. And he leaned upon the Word. If you review that passage wherein Jesus is tempted every single time, he's going to the Word, he's going to the Word, he's going to the Word, he's depending upon the Word. He's not alone. And what happens when he's about to go to the cross in the Garden of Gethsemane? He's praying to his father, asking him to remove the cup. And yet, not my will, but your will be done, he's entering into communion with his father. What do you do? Do you seek to break out of that tempting situation in your own strength? Don't. It doesn't work. Think of Eve. If we can think of a tempting situation on a human level, we think of Eve as she's tempted by Satan. As she's engaged in conversation about the word of God with the adversary of God, Satan. Eve never sought nor depended upon the Lord as she was in a grave battle. She depended upon her eyesight and her what had become corrupt human reasoning. She didn't go to the Lord. She didn't depend upon Him. Don't attempt to break out of a tempting situation in your own strength and by your own reason. The Spirit abides. If your heart's been regenerated, the Spirit abides. Seek help, depend upon the Spirit. Isn't that what Paul wrote to those at Philippi? Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you. Yes. The call tonight is to depend upon the Lord in each and every battle. Pray. Ask for the Spirit's leading and guidance every time. That brings us to our third point, the people of God wait for the complete victory in Christ. A significant portion of this chapter that we have before us this evening, beginning at verse 29 through the end of the chapter, is all about the complete victory of the Israelites over those kings, over those kingdoms, over those nations that attacked Gibeon. At least seven kingdoms mentioned, Makada, Libna, Lachish, Gizir, Eglon, Hebron, Debir, each one of them devoted to destruction. Time and again At least eight references in those verses to He left none remaining, every person in it, devoted every person in it to destruction, devoted to destruction all that breathed. At least eight, probably more. Summed up in verse 40, He left none remaining, but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded. It's a picture of total devastation, complete destruction of all those who opposed God. Just like the flood. And all flesh died that moved on earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth and all mankind, completely devastated. Why? Because the Lord saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and every intention of the thought of his heart was only evil continually. We have the same picture here for us tonight as the Israelites are now pushing out everyone who hates God. I'm giving the same picture in Revelation. Revelation 19, that I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse, the one sitting on it is called faithful and true. And in righteousness, he judges and makes war. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. You see the progression throughout scripture? We're seeing it here tonight, that Jesus Christ will be completely victorious. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses and will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. Psalm 110. Jesus Christ will be completely victorious. We're seeing it time and again, and here in chapter 10 of Joshua, there will be no sin in glory. None. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death shall be no more. There shall be no mourning, no crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. That's a description of glory of heaven. of the complete victory of Jesus Christ. All things will be new. Behold, I am making all things new, he said. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, all liars, their portion will be that lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is a second death. Isn't that what we see here in Joshua chapter 10? Joshua struck them down, captured all their kings, devoted to destruction all that breathed. The Heidelberg Confession, as we read tonight, asks that question about the second petition, Thy Kingdom Come. And as they open it up, they write this. Thy kingdom come would mean this, to rule us by the word and spirit that we may submit ourselves more and more to you. Preserve and increase the church. That's what's happening here in Joshua 10. The church is being preserved and increased. Destroy the works of the devil. Yes. And all violence which would exalt itself against God. and all wicked counsel devised against thy holy word, exactly what we see here in Joshua 10, till the full perfection of the kingdom take place wherein thou shalt be all in all. See how that helps us understand this passage and what's going on here? Did you notice that the fighting was not over for the Israelites? They captured all the kings and their land at that one time because the Lord God fought for Israel. Joshua returns to camp. Why? So they can continue fighting, continue the battle. You see, even though the tomb was empty, even though Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death in the tomb, even though He has risen from the dead, even though we know that the final victory is His, We know that Jesus has already won. And yet you're waiting tonight. The complete victory will become a reality in time, but it's not yet. So you're called tonight to wait upon the Lord. Depending upon him as you fight. Because you're still in the battle, aren't you? And so as you fight, you're called to wait. Even as you fight, even as you're actively engaged, using all of your spiritual armor, you're also called to actively wait. And to wait confidently. Just like Joshua, who continued to fight while the sun remained still. He was confident. just like the Israelite warriors who came and put their feet upon the necks of those kings and they came near and were reminded that the Lord was fighting for them. And just like Joshua who by the hand of the Lord returned to the camp, he's the only one, he's the only warrior, he's the only leader of a nation that returned to his camp that day. Jesus is returning. He's gonna return in his glory. with angels as he sits on his glorious throne. But until he does, the call is to fight. Do not be afraid or dismayed. Be strong and courageous, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight. Do you take confidence in that? You should. Those words are not just for Israel and that day. They're for you tonight as you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that he will return, but you're waiting upon him and you're actively engaged in the battle, putting on all that spiritual armor. He's fighting for you. He will do everything to ensure your salvation on the day that he returns. Yes, those who follow Jesus are called to fight confidently in dependence upon the Lord. Jesus was weak, and that's exactly when Satan attacked. But Jesus wasn't alone. He brought the Word with him. Indeed, God was overseeing him as he had filled him with his spirit. And then he sent ministering angels. That's not just for Jesus, though. It's for you. Tonight, this week, because the fiery darts will fly. And the call is to put on that armor, to participate in the battle, to engage in it confidently in dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and to wait, waiting for his complete victory, your salvation. Amen. Oh, Father, we thank you for this passage. What a graphic description it is of how you work, of how you cause the battle to be won. Even as Satan, as powerful as he is, won't win. While he may tempt, Lord God, you give us an exit route. While He will try to separate us from Christ, we know that Christ's love is too powerful, and we know that He has actually secured the victory. And yet, Father, You call us to fight. Help us, Lord, in the spiritual battles that are ahead this week, to depend fully and wholly upon You in Christ, and to remember that he is returning upon the clouds with his angels in complete victory. So help us to wait patiently and yet to be strong in the strength of Christ as we continue the spiritual battle that you've placed us in. We ask all these things in Jesus's name. Amen.