I'm going to be showing you tonight the opposite of what I showed you last night. And I trust that you'll follow the scripture because although I only have two points tonight, isn't that amazing? Just two points. But, oh, there's a lot of Scripture. So, you make sure that you follow me, if you would, please, in the Word of God. Look in Proverbs 16 tonight, verse 7. Proverbs 16, verse 7. I want to preach a message tonight which I've entitled, How to Overcome or Overthrow Our Enemies. You'll see it in Proverbs 16, verse 7. The Word of God says, When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Now, it's a short verse. Let's read it again. When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Now, it may surprise you to learn that one of the main prayers and one of the main desires of godly people down through the centuries has been to be delivered from their enemies. Let me give you just a smattering. For instance, in Psalm 13 and verse 2, David asks, How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? In Psalm 25, in verse 2, David prayed, Let not mine enemy triumph over me. In Psalm 59, in verse 1, David prayed, Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemy. In Psalm 59, in verse 12, he prayed, Let me see my desire upon mine enemy. In Psalm 143, in verse 9, he prayed, Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies. And then in Psalm 143, in verse 12, He prayed, and of thy mercy cut off mine enemies. Now, these prayers are just a sampling. I could take you through the Word of God and show you over and over where God's people have prayed to be delivered from their enemies. Now, the amazing and astounding fact is, whether we want to admit it or not, we have enemies. And sometimes we have enemies just simply by virtue of the fact that we're Christians. You say, what are you talking about, Brother Weaver? Well, let me remind you of 2 Timothy 3, verse 12. The Apostle Paul said, This know that all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. You say, well, Brother Weaver, I haven't been suffering persecution. Maybe you're not living godly enough. But He said, if you live godly, you will suffer persecution. Now, if you're suffering persecution, very clearly, you've got some enemies that are persecuting you. If you would hold Proverbs 16, but turn in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 15, let me show you this. John chapter 15, just showing you that we have enemies by virtue of the fact that we're Christians, that we belong to Jesus Christ. In John 15, and beginning there with verse 18, Look what our Lord says. He said, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. Now, wait a minute. Go back. He said, if the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own. But because you're not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I sent unto you the servant is not greater than his Lord if they have persecuted me They will also persecute you if they have kept my saying they will keep yours also But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake? Because they know not him that sent me now Christ is very plain Christ said if they hated me They're going to hate you if they persecuted me. They're going to persecute you so part and parcel of our Persecution just simply rests upon the fact that the world hates Jesus Christ Christ. And since the world hates Jesus Christ, the world will always persecute those who belong to Jesus Christ. Now, it is true that we have enemies. We have enemies just simply by virtue of the fact that we're Christians. But let me go a little bit further. We have enemies of our own making. Now let me explain what I mean by that. I'm not just simply talking about the fact that I get angry and lose my cool and cuss Greg out. And Greg says, well, if that's the way Brother Weaver's going to talk to me, I'm never going to hear him again. I'm never going to have anything to do with him again. And he thus distances himself from me and becomes my enemy. Now that's certainly a way to get an enemy, but that's not what I'm talking about. When I say that we have enemies from our own making, I'm referring to enemies that are sovereignly raised up by God and sent against us from God because of our own sin, our own rebellion, and our own wickedness. Now, the Bible says, listen to me, when a man's ways please the Lord, he make even his enemies to be at peace with him. The opposite is also true. When a man's ways displease the Lord, The Lord raises up enemies against Him, and I'll show you that from the Scripture in just a moment. Do you realize, however, that one of the promises in the Bible that's over and over is a promise of victory over our enemies? Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to begin with to the book of Genesis chapter 22. Genesis chapter 22, and let's begin reading there with verse 15. Let me show you a Bible prophecy of blessing and victory. Genesis chapter 22, beginning there with verse 15. Genesis 22, verse 15. And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy Son, thine only Son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore, and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." Now I want you to hold that phrase, thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. Now you've got to understand that in Bible times, rulers and judges sat in the gates If your seed possessed the gates of your enemies, that means you have control over them. You have power over them. In other words, their government, their existence, everything that they have is now under your control. So here's this blessing, and my seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. Look in Genesis chapter 24 and verse 60. Here's the blessing that was given to Rebekah as she went to become the wife of Isaac. Notice Genesis 24 and verse 60, And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister. Be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. In other words, let your seed have victory over their enemies. Now look in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 49 and verse 8. Genesis 49 and verse 8, and of course this is the blessing where Jacob is giving to his children. And look what he says in verse 8. Genesis 49 verse 8, Judah, Thou art he whom my brethren shall praise. Watch, thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies. Thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Now if you've got your hand on your enemy's neck, You have him under your control. So here then are some blessings and promises of victory. Now, let me clear up a little objection to begin with. Inevitably, someone is going to say, but now, Brother Weaver, first of all, that's in the Old Testament. And I'll cover that more tomorrow night. But then you say, Brother Weaver, secondly, all of these promises were given to the seed of Abraham. That's true. But you've got to ask yourself this question. Who is the seed of Abraham? I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 2. Let me show you several verses before we go any further, just to kind of set the stage tonight. Look in Romans chapter 2, beginning there with verse 28. And by the way, the word Jew here is literally Judahite, which means someone of the tribe of Judah. Watch carefully what he says in Romans 8 in verse 28. For he is not a Judahite who is one outwardly, neither is he that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Judahite who is one inwardly, and circumcision is out of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. So Paul says a real Judahite is not someone who is just simply a fleshly descendant who has been circumcised in a fleshly manner. He says the real Judahite is that one who has been circumcised in the heart, in the spirit, whose praise is not of man but of God. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Romans 9. Now there are many passages. Let me just show you a couple of them. Look in Romans 9, beginning there with verse 6. And you need to ponder this very carefully. Romans 9, verse 6. Paul writes, "...not as though the word of God hath taken none effect." But watch this next statement. "...For they are not all Israel who are of Israel." You say, now, Brother Weaver, there are some folks that might can trace their ancestral line from Abraham. That doesn't matter. Paul says they're not all Israel who are of Israel. In other words, just because you have a direct ancestry doesn't mean a thing. Watch what he says in verse 6. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel. Watch verse 7. Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children. But in Isaac shall thy seed be called." Watch verse 8. If you don't understand verse 7, here it is. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God. But the children of the promise are counted for the seed." Now, what did Paul just get out of his mouth? He says, just because someone is a fleshly descendant does not mean that they're children of God. Why? Because the children are the children of promise. These are counted for the seed. Now, turn in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 3. Let's get it extremely explicit. Notice in the book of Galatians chapter 3, and let's begin reading there with verse, oh, let's say verse 6. Galatians 3 verse 6. Even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now, watch. Know ye therefore that they who are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. Now who are the children of Abraham? They who are of faith. Watch verse 8, And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith preached the gospel unto Abraham, saying, And thee shall all nations be blessed. So then, they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Now, who are the children of Abraham? Those who are of faith. Those who are of the promise. Now, if that's not plain enough, look in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Galatians chapter 3, and let's read verse 16. Now, I want to call your attention to this fact. All of these promises in the Old Testament, help me now, all of these promises in the Old Testament were given to Abraham and his seed. Is that correct? Well, have you ever noticed the word seed is singular? The Apostle Paul tells you why. Look in Galatians 3 and verse 16, he says, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not unto seeds as of many, that is plural, but as of one, and of thy seed, which is Christ. Now would you please tell me who the true seed of Abraham is? Jesus Christ. So all of those promises that were given to Abraham and his seed were given to Jesus Christ. Now look down at verse 29, still in Galatians 3. Look what Paul says, If you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. What does that mean? That means all of those promises that God gave to Abraham are ours in and through Jesus Christ. Do you see that? So he said, if you belong to Christ, then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Now what I want to do tonight is this, having just simply laid that groundwork. Since those promises belong to Jesus Christ, and since those promises belong to us who are in Jesus Christ, I want to take the Scripture and show you how we can overcome and overthrow all of our enemies, including the oppression and persecution and the injustice that they produce. Now, what I'm going to share with you tonight is going to seem like it's too good to be true, but it's a biblical fact. And may I caution you before I even show you these things from the Scripture, may I caution you about a Naaman complex. You know who Naaman was? Naaman was that Syrian. And the little maid said, would to God that my master Naaman was in the land of Israel, for then would the prophet cure him of his leprosy. Well, the king of Syria sent a letter to the king of Israel and said, here's my servant Naaman, and I want you to cure him of his leprosy. And the king of Israel said, you see how this man's trying to seek a war with me? Does he think I'm God? I can't cure anybody of his leprosy. And Elisha heard about it. And he sent a note to the king. He said, you send Naaman down to me and he'll find out there's a prophet of God in the land. So Naaman and his entourage came down to Elisha. Elisha never even got out of the house. He sent his servant out there and said, you go tell Naaman to go and dip seven times in the Jordan River and he'll come out clean. Guess what? Naaman was enraged. He got angry. He said, are not the rivers of Abaddon far, far greater and more pure and cleaner than this river Jordan? Well, he said, I thought surely the man would at least come out and call upon his God and strike me and heal me. And the Bible says he turned and went away in an anger, in a rage. And finally one of his men said, Captain, if the prophet had bid you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? He said, well, of course I would have. He said, how much easier it is to do something simple and be clean. And he said, well, you know, I think I'll do it. And he went and dipped seven times and he came out just as whole and clean and pure. See, what we want is this. We want something complex. We want something complicated. On the one hand, so we can have excuses. On the other hand, so we can pride ourselves that, boy, we really figured this one out. No. It is so simple. Any seven-year-old child can figure it out. How are we to have victory over our enemies? First of all, I want you to look at Proverbs 16, verse 7, and let's look at the source of our enemies before I get to the success over our enemies. Let's look at the source of them. Proverbs 16, verse 7, When a man's ways please the Lord, he make it even his enemies to be at peace with him. Remember now that every positive has a negative. Every negative has a positive. And so when the Bible says, when a man's ways please the Lord, the Lord make it even in his enemies to be at peace with him, the opposite is, when a man's ways displease the Lord, then God sovereignly raises up enemies and sends them against us. Now I want you to understand that this is not an isolated text. This is not an isolated truth. There are a multitude of Scriptures that teach exactly the same thing. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Judges, chapter 2. The book of Judges, chapter 2. There are many passages, but let me just take the book of Judges, and then one or two others, and show you this principle. Judges, chapter 2, and let's begin reading there with verse 14. Now, you see, the children of Israel would sin against God. In fact, in verse 13, the Bible says they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtoreth, okay? Watch verse 14. Judges 2, verse 14. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of the spoilers that spoil them, and He sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whoa, back up. Did I read that right? And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. Watch. And He, that is God, delivered them into the hands of the spoilers that spoil them. And He, God, sold them into the hands of their enemies round about them, so that they could not stand against their enemies. Who raised up the enemies? God did. Who sent the enemies? God did. Who delivered His people unto those enemies? God did. Why did He do it? Because of their sin, their rebellion. Look in the book of Judges chapter 3, beginning there with verse 7. Judges 3 verse 7. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Balaam and the groves. Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He sold them in the hand of Cushan Rishthayim, king of Mesopotamia. And the children of Israel served Cushan Rishthayim eight years. Did you hear that? And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He, God, sold them into the hands of their enemies. Look in chapter 3 and verse 12. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord. Watch. And the Lord strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. What was God doing? Here is God putting strength in the enemies of God's people. He strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, so that he could come over and whip and defeat the Israelites. Look in your Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter 4, beginning there with verse 1. And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead. And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor, the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harasheth of the Gentiles." Note, and the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan. What's God doing? Once again, God is strengthening His enemies and weakening His people and giving the enemies victory over His people. Look in Judges chapter 6 verse 1. and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years." The Lord delivered them. God gave them over into the hands of their enemies. Now, let me show you another passage. I want you to turn to 1 Kings chapter 11. Everyone knows about Solomon, how he had defied God by marrying all of these strange women. The Bible says in 1 Kings 11, look at verse 1, Now skip down to verse 9, And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel who had appeared unto him twice. Now, let's see how God judges Solomon. Let's see what God does. Skip down to verse 14. And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, he was of the king's seed in Edom. What did God do? God raised up an adversary. Look in verse 23, that's not all. And God stirred him up another adversary, Razan, the son of Eliadah, who fled from his lord Hadadezer, king of Zobah. And look in verse 25, "...and he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon beside the mischief that Hadad did. And he abhorred Israel and reigned over Syria." So every time now the people have sinned against God, rebelled, disobeyed God, God has raised up an adversary. God has exalted, God has empowered an enemy to chastise His people. I want to show you some promises in the Bible. I want you to understand that part and parcel of our obedience to God and His Word comes the promise of victory. But I also want you to understand, I'm going to show it to you from the Bible, that part and parcel of our disobedience to God and His Word comes the promise of defeat. and being delivered into the hand of our enemies. Look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 23. I think you can begin to pick out some principles from the Word of God. Exodus chapter 23, and let's begin reading there with verse 22. Exodus 23, verse 22. Watch. God said, but if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, this is the angel of the Lord, and do all that I speak, now look what God tells his people, if you will obey me, then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For mine angel shall go before thee and bring thee into the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I will cut them off. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works. But thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. And you shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread and thy water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. There shall nothing cast there young, nor be barren in the land. the number of thy days I will fulfill, watch, and I will send My fear before thee, and will destroy all the people whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee." Now, what did God say? God said, look, if you obey Me, I promise you something. I promise you that I'm going to be an enemy to your enemies. I'm going to be an adversary to your adversary. If you will obey me, if you will honor me, if you will do what I will tell you, everyone that comes against you, I will cause your enemies to turn their backs to you. If you obey. It's just that simple. But now folks, I'm going to show you the opposite is true. If we disobey, then God's going to raise up those enemies to sin against us. Look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 26. Leviticus chapter 26. And let's begin reading there with verse 3. Leviticus 26 verse 3. Watch carefully now, Leviticus 26 verse 3. God says, if you will walk in my statutes and my commandments to do them. Now what's he asking? He's asking obedience. If you walk in my statutes and my commandments and do them, verse 4, then I will give you rain in due season and the land shall yield or increase and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. and your threshing shall reach into the vintage, and the vintage shall reach into the sowing time, and you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land safely. Watch. And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. Now I will rib the evil beast out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. Watch verse 7. And you shall chase your enemies. and they shall fall before you by the sword, and five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand aflight, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword." Now God said, if you will obey Me, five of you can take care of a hundred. A hundred is going to take care of ten thousand. You'll chase them and they will fall by the sword. He said, you're going to lie down in peace. But now wait a minute. Let's skip down to verse 14. Watch this passage. But if you will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments, and if you shall despise My statutes, or if your soul abhor My judgments, so that you will not do all My commandments, but you break My covenant, I also will do this unto you. I will appoint over you the terror, the consumption, and the burning ague that shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and you shall be slain before your enemies. Watch, they that hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when none pursueth. And if you will not get for all this hearken to me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. Skip down to verse 25. Look at verse 25. God said, and I will bring a sword upon you that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant. And when you're gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. Now isn't that plain? God said, if you obey me, I'm going to take care of all your enemies. You don't have to worry about it. But if you disobey me, God said, I'm going to judge you. And one of my judgments is you're going to be delivered into the hand of your enemy. Now, I want you to turn to Deuteronomy 28. I want to challenge you when you get home to read this passage. Deuteronomy 28. is the passage where you have the blessings and the curses. Now, most people are not aware of this, but do you realize the presidents of the United States for years, up until just recent times, always took their oath of office with their hand upon Deuteronomy 28? Because they realized it was a covenantal relationship. And they realized God could either bless or curse this country depending upon our obedience. Now, I want you to watch very carefully Deuteronomy chapter 28, and let's begin reading with verse 1. And it shall come to pass that thou wilt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations, or all the earth. And watch verse 2, "...and all these blessings shall come on you and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." Now let me just stop there for a moment. Now God said, if you will just hearken unto me, if you will just listen to me, all I want is your obedience. That's all. God said, if you will obey me, all of these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee. Now let me explain the word overtake. Here you are obeying God, bringing your life into conformity to his word, okay? And here you are running down Wade-Hapton Boulevard as fast as you can run, trying to escape the blessings of God, just trying to get away from them. God said, I got news for you. As long as you obey me, my blessings will chase you down and bowl you over and fall all over you, and you can't stop them. They'll overtake you. They will outrun you. Now, let's look at what some of these blessings are. Well, watch very carefully in verse 3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city. Blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, the fruit of thy ground, the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kind, the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in. Blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. Verse 7. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face. They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and all that thou settest thine hand unto." Now, I want you to note that one of the peculiar blessings, if we obey God, is that God will smite all of our enemies. And if they come out against us one way, God said they will flee seven ways. Now, let's skip down to verse 15. All the way through verse 14 you have blessings. Verse 15, But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day, then all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee. Now let me stop there. The word overtake in verse 15 is exactly the same in verse 2. So here you are sinning against God. Here you are in rebellion. Here you are living wickedly. And you're running down Whitehapton Boulevard trying to escape the curse and the judgment of God. God said, My curses will chase you down and bowl you over and fall all over you, and you can't stop them. Well, let's see what some of these curses are. Of course, they're just the opposite. But he said, Cursed shall thou be in the sitting, Cursed shall thou be in the field, Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store, Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kind. He goes on, Cursed, Cursed, Cursed. Skip down, if you would, to verse 15. He says, not to verse 15, but to verse 25. He says, "...the Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies. Thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them, and shalt be removed all the kingdoms of the earth." God said, if you disobey Me, one of the curses is this. You're going to be smitten before your enemies. You're going to be taken into captivity. You're going to be enslaved. You say, oh, come on, Brother Weaver. That was just Old Testament Israel. Are you free today? You try building a house without a license. You put in a septic tank without a license. You try to work in the city without a license. You try to get married without a license. You try to drive without a license. You try to go to the bathroom without a license. You think I'm joking when I said that last one, but a few years ago in a city that I lived in, they were going to give a man a fine or put him in jail for going to the bathroom on his own land and he had 15 acres. I'm not making that up, that's a fact. Now, look in your Bibles, Deuteronomy 28, verse 43. God says, here is part of the curse now. We're still talking about curses. Now I want you to watch. If you obey, God says, I'm going to give you victory. If you disobey, you're going to be defeated. Here it is. Deuteronomy 28, verse 43. Look what is going to happen as part of the curse. The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high, and thou shalt come down very low. Are Christians in charge in this country? No. Let's go to verse 44. He that is the enemy shall lend to thee. Thou shalt not lend to him. He shall be the head and thou shalt be the tail. Who are the people that are thought the least of in this country? Christians. Are we in control? Are we in charge? Oh no. We're the tail. Why? Because of our disobedience to God. Watch verse 45. Moreover, all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed. Why? Because thou hearkenest not unto the voice of the Lord thy God to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded thee. Now, watch verse 47. Watch carefully. God says, here's why it's going to come upon you. Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things, therefore thou shalt serve thine enemies. Oh, let's stop. Do you realize that God's people, I don't care if they're Old Testament people or New Testament people, God's people have been ordained to be servants. And God says the choice is very simple. You may serve me with joy and gladness of heart. Or you may serve your enemies, but you're going to serve one way or the other. You can't get away from servants. We are ordained to be servants. And God said, you will either serve me or you will serve your enemies, one or the other. Look in your Bibles, Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 27. Here's a passage that I quote. Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 27. I quote this passage every time I get on an airplane. You will understand why. Deuteronomy 33, verse 27, The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Watch, and He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee, and shall say, Destroy them. Now who's thrusting out the enemy? It's God. Who's saying, Destroy them? It's God. God said, If you obey me, then I'll thrust out your enemies." Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua chapter 7. The book of Joshua chapter 7. In fact, I'm not going to take time to read all of this passage, just part of it. And let me just tell you a little bit about it. You remember Jericho had been cursed by God. God said everything in Jericho was under the ban. It was Hormah. It was dedicated to destruction. And God told the people, you better be careful that you don't touch anything. And there was a man by the name of Achan who had stolen a goodly Babylonish garment, a wedge of gold and some silver, and had taken them and hidden them under his tent. Well, after the fall of Jericho, There's a little town called Ai. And the men came to Joshua and said, look, there's a little town up there. It's not very big, not much people there. Don't make all the people go up and fight. Just a few of us will go up. We will be able to take it. And Joshua never checked with God. Joshua never prayed about anything. He said, all right, go ahead. And so a few hundred of the men went up to Ai. And guess what? The men of Ai came out against them and killed 36 Israelites. And the men turned and ran, and they got back to Joshua, and they said, Man, 36 of them are killed. That little village just whipped the socks off us, and old Joshua falls on his face. He said, What in the world is going to happen? I mean, all of our enemies are going to hear that we've turned our backs. They will environ around us, and they'll cut us all off. So Joshua is praying to God. Look what God says. Joshua chapter 7. Let's begin reading there with verse 10. And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up. Wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Why are you laying there crying, Joshua? I'll tell you what the problem is. Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Watch what God says. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were cursed. Watch. Neither will I be with you anymore, except you destroy the accursed from among you. Do you hear what God said? God said, the reason you couldn't whip your enemies, you've sinned and you rebelled against me. God said, if you want my presence, if you want my blessings, if you want my victory, you deal with that evil. You get repentance. You get rid of the wickedness and you get rid of the sin and you'll have my blessing and you'll have my victory, but not until then. Look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua chapter 10. Joshua chapter 10. Verses 24 and 25. And I like these two verses. These ten kings have been caught. They had been fighting against the children of Israel. They had hidden themselves in a cave. Verse 24, And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war, which went with him, Come near, and put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed. Be strong and of good courage. For thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom you fight. Now, what in the world is the significance of the fact that Joshua brought out these kings, made them bow down, and told his men, you come put your feet upon the necks of these kings. What's the significance? If you've got your foot on the neck of your enemy, he is defeated, he is under your absolute control. Do you realize that you can take your foot, and with just a quick, well-placed kick, break the neck of anybody. You know why? It takes about 10 pounds of pressure to break the neck. They have their foot. You can break the neck just that simply. I remember when I was a boy, times were hard. Old timers went possum hunting. Had to eat them to live. You know how you killed a possum? You put your foot on his neck and pulled his tail and broke his neck. Do you realize it is so easy to destroy almost anything at the neck? I taught my wife years ago about dogs. And I told her, I said, sugar, you never turn your back on a dog. And I said, if a dog comes up to you, I said, just take your foot, do a snap kick, break his neck. It's just that simple. Well, we had a pastor friend. They had a little dog by the name of Abraham, very clearly. And that little dog was just about that high. Well, my wife did not know it, but that little dog, Abraham, his food had been being stolen by bigger dogs in the community. Well, Alice walked up to their house. She went through the garage to go up to the back door. Abraham was there eating. She never paid any attention to him. I mean, you know, we'd been there plenty of times before. But Abraham evidently did not hear her until she got right on him. And I guess he thought some dog was trying to steal his food. And he turned around and, man, I mean, he was just eating her ankle up. And next thing I know, man, I've gotten a call at the office. The dogs attacked your wife. You need to get out there, et cetera. And I got out there, and the skin had just barely been broken, scared more than anything else because she was holding our baby. And so finally, I looked at Alice. I said, why didn't you do like I asked you to? Why didn't you just give a snap, kick, and break his neck? She said, I tried. But every time I put my foot somewhere, his mouth was there. Well, usually it works. All right. But here's what Josh was saying. You've got your foot on their necks. This is what God will do to all of your enemies if you obey. Now, let me make some applications. I could give you scripture after scripture. But I think these are sufficient that you can see this principle. God said, if you obey me, I'm going to give you blessings. And one of those blessings is victory. God said, if you disobey me, I'm going to curse you. And one of those curses is being delivered into the hands of our enemies. But listen to these applications. It should be emphasized and you should understand. that when God sovereignly raises up an enemy against us and seeks him on us, only God can call him off. I used to have a bulldog by the name of Jughead, one of the best dogs I've ever had. If you came to my house and I looked at old Jughead and said, get him, you had been God, I can assure you. And you could scream and holler all you wanted. I was the only one that could call him off. And let me tell you something, folks. You and I can scream and cry about all the oppression and injustice and lack of morality and lack of integrity. and lack of everything that's right and good, we can scream and cry all we want, but the truth of the matter is, until we repent of our sins and turn back to God, God will not call Him off. And all of our griping and bellyaching will do no good. Because if God has raised Him up to whip us, if God has raised Him up to chastise us, I can assure you, God will not call him off until the business is done. This ought to also answer another question for you. You say, Brother Weaver, our country's in a bad state. What can I do? Well, I want you to look in your Bibles to Proverbs 28 and verse 4. I could quote this, but I want you to see it. Look in Proverbs 28 and verse 4. You see, I could tell you very piously, well, what you need to do is write your congressman. You know, that doesn't work. Most of the time, they won't even answer you. And when they do, it's amazing how much they can say without ever asking your questions. And I'll tell you what really frosts my cake. It's when I get a letter from one of them saying, well, I appreciate your views on this matter, but I've got to vote my own conscience. I didn't send him up there to vote his own conscience. I sent him up there to represent me. I don't care what he thinks. He is to represent us. I could tell you, well, what you need to do is just go to the court, take it to the courtroom. Hey, if you haven't been in a court lately, you're in for a big surprise. I'm not a communist. I don't sympathize with communism. But there's one communist that made a statement that I agree with, and that's Gus Hall. Gus Hall is a communist. He said concerning our judicial system, the reason we refer to our judicial system as the halls of justice is because the only place you can get any justice is out in the halls. That's about the truth. He said, Brother Weaver, what could I do? I could tell you to vote. Well, let me tell you something, folks. If you vote for Socialist A or Socialist B, you're still getting socialism. It really doesn't matter. You say, well, I'm going to vote for the lesser of two evils. You're still getting evil. What can I do? Look in Proverbs 20 and verse 4. They that forsake the law, that's God's law. They that forsake the law, praise the wicked. But such as keep the law, contend with them. Do you realize one of the most important things that you can do by God's grace is this. You can be just as obedient and just as holy and just as godly as you can be by the grace of God. You say, Brother Weaver, what good would that do? Have you ever stopped to think, as wicked as Sodom and Gomorrah were, God was willing to spare those cities if He only found ten righteous people? Just ten. You see, folks, one of the great truths is this. If we obey God, we're not praising the wicked. If we disobey God, we're holding them up. We're praising them. We are giving them what they want. So here's the source of our enemies. God sovereignly raises them up against us because of our sin and our rebellion. I hope somebody's already thought about 2 Chronicles 7.14. Do you know the problem in this country is really not our Congress? It's really not our president. It's really not our judicial system. It really isn't. It's not even the sodomites. The problem in this country is God's people. God said, if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways and seek my face, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land. The problem is not with the wicked. The problem is God's people who are living wickedly. So here is the source of our enemies. Secondly tonight, I want to show you the success over our enemies. In Proverbs 16, verse 7, the Bible says, When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Do you realize the only thing that we really have to do to win is to please the Lord, to be obedient. It's just that simple. Do you see, folks, God can get rid of our enemies one of three ways. First of all, He could get rid of our enemies by converting them, and then they would no longer be our enemies, they'd be our friends, they'd be one of us. Secondly, he could get rid of our enemies by subduing them. That is breaking their power. Listen, God put them up, God can take them down. It's just that simple. What do you think it means when David is praying in those imprecatory prayers and he says, break their arm, oh God, smite their teeth out of their cheek? What is he saying? If your arm is broken, you've lost your power. If your cheek is broken, you've lost your power. So God may convert them if He pleases, God may subdue them if He pleases, or thirdly, God may eradicate them if He pleases. He may kill them. That's up to Him. He may do any one of those three things or use all three of them. I want you to see something. I want you to turn to two passages in your Bible. I want you to turn to Proverbs 21 and Exodus chapter 34. Watch carefully. We'll read Proverbs 21 first, and then we're going to Exodus chapter 34, and I will show you a good, clear illustration. Proverbs 21. Look, if you would please, at verse 1. The Bible says, The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. As the rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever he will. Do you realize God can turn a civil ruler's heart either to us or against us? I don't know about you, but I'm really glad to know Bill Clinton's not in charge in this country. I'm really glad to know Congress is not in charge in this country. God is in control, and God is able to turn the heart of the king or the civil ruler any way He pleases. Now, let me show you a good illustration. God not only has that control over the king and the civil rulers, He has that control over anyone and everyone. Look in Exodus chapter 34. Now, remember, God demanded that all the men children of the children of Israel appear before Him in Jerusalem three times a year to celebrate those seven annual feasts. Three times a year, all the men had to appear. Now, the women didn't have to, but usually they did. But the men had to be there. Now, I want you to remember that when the children of Israel went into the land, what were they doing? They took their swords and their bows, and they killed the Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Habites, and all the otherites. And the ones they didn't kill, they made them their slaves. They took their property. They took their farms. Now, I've got a question to ask you. When all these men are up at Jerusalem worshiping God, what is to stop those remaining slaves from rebelling and arming themselves and killing the women and the children that are left behind and taking their farms back? What is to stop them? I want you to watch. Exodus chapter 34, beginning there at verse 23. God says, Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. Three times a year they've got to be there. Watch verse 24. God says, For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders. Watch, neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to a pier before the Lord God thrice in the year. God said, Let me assure you something. I'm in such sovereign control that not only will there not be an uprising, there will not be a rebellion, they won't even want their farms back. They will not desire to have their land back. God said, if you obey me, if you worship me, I will take care of your enemies. Now, let me show you something. This may surprise you. In 2 Kings chapter 2. Go ahead and turn there. 2 Kings chapter 2. You remember Elijah is going to be translated. He's going to be taken up into heaven. He's got his servant with him, and that happens to be Elisha, the prophet. But Elisha was not a prophet at this time. Elisha was known as he that poured water upon the hands of Elijah. And so Elijah asked Elisha, ask what thou wilt before I be taken up. Elisha said, here's what I want. I want a double portion of the spirit that's upon thee. Elijah said, if you see me when I'm taken up, it's going to be done. But if not, you're not going to have it. So Elisha stuck with Elijah the whole time. And finally, when God translated Elijah, Elijah saw it. And look in verse 12 at what Elijah cried. He cries an amazing thing. And Elijah saw it and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. Isn't that amazing? What an odd thing to cry. When the prophet is taken up, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. Well, look in your Bible to 2 Kings chapter 13 and verse 14. Let me show you something even stranger. And that is when Elisha dies, Joash the king says the same thing about Elisha. 2 Kings 13, verse 14, Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness, wherewith he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over him, and said, O my father, my father, the charity of Israel and the horsemen thereof. Isn't that interesting? Why in the world Would Elisha say, my father, my father, the charity of Israel and the horsemen thereof? Why would Joash say that when Elisha died? Let me tell you what they were saying. They were telling us... that our protection is not in our armies, it's not in our congressmen, it's not in our military might, it's not in our readiness. Our protection is in our God. And why were they calling the preacher of God, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof? Remember, a chariot was a defensive weapon. Horses were defensive weapons. Here the preacher is called the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. Why? Because the preacher preached and taught the Word of God. And the people realized as long as they obeyed God's Word, they were defended and protected. But when they disobeyed, they were judged. And that's why both Elijah and Elisha were referred to as the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. Did you know the Bible said in Psalm 33 and verse 17 that a horse is a vain thing for safety, neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. You could paraphrase that. You could say an A1 tank is a vain thing for safety. neither shall it deliver any by its great strength." You could say an F-14 is a vain thing for safety. Neither shall it deliver any by its great firepower. Did you know the Bible says in Proverbs 21 and verse 31, the horse is prepared for the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord? Let me tell you something, folks. You could have in your home 20 M-14s, 100 M-16s, hand grenades, pistols coming out your ears, but the truth is if God doesn't protect you, you're not protected. We could have the largest standing army in the world. That's nothing. If God doesn't protect us, we are not protected. We've got to understand that our protection is in God. Now, let me get ready to show you a passage, I hope, that will not only challenge your thinking, but I hope it will just blow your mind tonight. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter 1. Get ready. The book of Luke, chapter 1. You see, folks, every time you begin to talk about victory, someone says, well, Brother Weaver, we're going to have the victory when our Lord returns. May I remind you of something? We do not have to wait until our Lord returns to have victory. We may have victory now. It is true we will only have the perfect victory when He returns. But may I remind you that the first coming of Christ, the very first coming, was for one main reason that is specified here, and that is to give us victory. You don't have to wait until the second coming. He came the first time. Look at it in Luke chapter 1 beginning with verse 67. This is called the Benedictus. This is the song of Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist. Look what he's saying. Luke 1 verse 67, And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, So here's a man that's prophesying under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Here's what he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath redeemed and visited his people. Verse 69, "...and have raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David." Now he's talking about the Lord Jesus. Watch verse 70, "...as He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began." Here's why it came the first time, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all them that hate us. to perform the mercy promised our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore unto our father Abraham, that He would grant unto us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life." What's Zechariah saying? Zechariah is saying, look, Jesus Christ is coming. And why has He come? That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all of them that hate us. that He would grant that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life. Christ came the first time to give us victory. Now, let me just challenge you to read some of these passages. Let me call a couple of them out. I'll tell you what they say. But in Luke 20 and verse 43, in Acts 2, verses 34 and 35, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 25, Hebrews 1, verse 13, Hebrews 10, verse 13, guess what the Bible says. In every one of these passages, I quoted them fast, you can get the tape, but in every one of these passages, listen, it says, that he is seated at the right hand of God the Father till all of his enemies are made his footstool. All of Christ's enemies shall be made his footstool. If you have your feet on your enemies, they are defeated. Now, look in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Hebrews chapter 2. Let me give you an argument from the Bible. This is called an argument from the greater to the lesser. Look in the book of Hebrews, chapter 2. The book of Hebrews, chapter 2. And note, if you would, beginning there with verse 14. Hebrews 2, verse 14. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he, that is Christ, Also himself likewise took part of the same that he that is that Christ through death He might deliver or might destroy him that had the power of death That is the devil and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject under bondage now what? Was our two greatest enemies the devil and death The devil has already been defeated. It is a done deal. Death has already been defeated. It is a done deal. That's why the Apostle Paul can cry, O grave, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? Because Christ has already delivered us from the devil and delivered us from death. Now, the Bible says in Romans 16, verse 20, that the God of all peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. Now, how can He bruise him under our feet? Now, everyone in here knows this, that Christ is the head and we're the body, right? Let's suppose, just for illustration, let's suppose that Mark is the newest, weakest Christian in the world. He's just been converted. He's the newest one. He's the weakest. And let's suppose that God sovereignly placed him in the body as the bottom of the foot. You can't get any lower down than that, can you? But do you realize even the bottom of the foot has authority over Satan and over death? So if we're in the body of Christ's head and we're the body, and God is going to bring Satan under our feet, no matter how weak we are, we still have power and authority over the worst and over the strongest of our enemies. Now, listen to me, folks. If Christ has delivered us from our two greatest enemies. Shall He not deliver us from lesser enemies? You could give the same argument that Paul did in Romans 8 in verse 32. He that spared not His own Son for us, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? If God has given us His Son, Christ, to die in our place on the cross, if Christ has suffered and purchased the greatest, is God not going to give us the lesser through Christ? Well, of course He is. You see, He came the first time that we would have victory over our enemies. We have victory over the devil, we have victory over death, and we have victory even over our political enemies through Him. Now listen carefully. Our problem is not insufficient strength, because we have the omnipotence, the all-powerfulness of God behind us. Our problem is not lack of wisdom, for we have the Word of God. He said, Brother Weaver, what is our problem? Listen, our problem is we want victory under an alien law system. You say, what are you talking about? Well, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 8. As you turn there, let me give you a quote, and then I'll give you an illustration. I Samuel chapter 8. As you turn there, I Samuel 2.30 says this, Them that honor me will I honor, saith the Lord. Now the opposite is also true. Those that dishonor God, God shall dishonor. Those that honor me will honor," said the Lord. Now, I just got out of my mouth saying that our problem is that we want victory under an alien law system. Here's my illustration. Let's suppose I'm driving down Whitehapton on my way home tonight, and a policeman pulls me over. May I see your license, please? He takes my license. He says, Mr. Weaver, Do you realize you were going 55 in a 45-mile-an-hour zone? No, sir, I didn't realize that. In fact, my speedometer said I was doing 45. Well, Mr. Weaver, I'm going to have to give you a ticket. Well, sir, you should not give me a ticket, for I was not speeding. Well, now, Mr. Weaver, don't argue me. I'm just doing my job. Everybody's heard that, hasn't they? So what does that mean? Shut up, or I'm going to arrest you if you go any further, all right? So I just shut up, and I take the ticket. And I get so aggravated, I drive off and say, huh, he thinks he's got me. I know a thing or two about the law. And so I go back to my home in Georgia, and I go get my Georgia code book out, and I draft all these wonderful motions based on Georgia law, motion to quash, motion to dismiss. And I cite Georgia law left and right. And I come down here to my court date, and I walk into the courtroom, and I file these before the judge, and I say, chew on these a while, buddy. And the judge looks at these things and says, Mr. Weaver, do you realize you're in South Carolina? Georgia law doesn't apply here. You see, all of my arguments, no matter how good they are, if they're based upon Georgia law, Georgia, according to South Carolina, is an alien law system. South Carolina doesn't recognize Georgia law. I want you to look in 1 Samuel, chapter 8, and listen to me carefully. If you will study this passage when you get home, The key to understanding this passage is to see it as a transition from one law structure to another. In 1 Samuel chapter 8, the people trade God for a man. They trade God's law for man's law. Verse 5. And they said unto him, that is to Samuel, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. Verse 6, But the thing displeased Samuel. And they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people and all that they say unto thee. For they have not rejected thee, watch, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. according to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even in this day, wherewith they have forsaken me and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore, hearken unto their voice, howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. Now watch. I want you to see this transition from one law system to another. Since they traded God for a man, God said, I'm going to let them have what they want. But you show them what kind of man they're going to have. Now, there's one word that I want you to underline in your Bibles as I read through this with you. I will emphasize that word with my voice. I want you to watch it. Verse 10, And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that ask of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of king that shall reign over you. He will take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots to be his horsemen, and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands and captains over fifties, and will set them to ear his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his instruments of war and his instruments of chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries and to be cooks and to be bakers, and he will take your fields and your vineyards and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give to His servants. And He will take the tenth of your seed of your vineyards and give to His officers and His servants. And He will take your men's servants and your maidservants and your goodly shunned men and your asses and put them to His work. And He will take the tenth of your sheep and you shall be His servants." Why? Because when they rejected God and traded God for a man, They rejected God's law and took man's law. Let me show you. Here are the four consequences for rejecting God and His law. You tell me if these are not apparent in our country. The very first result of rejecting God and His law, according to 1 Samuel chapter 8, is totalitarianism. What's the king going to do? He's going to take, take, take, take, take. And you can't stop him. The second thing is oppression. Let me tell you something, folks. When you are taken, you are oppressed. The third thing is loss of liberty. When things are taken from you and you are oppressed, you lose your liberty. And the fourth thing is increased cost of civil government. Now, what has happened in 1 Samuel 8? Men have traded God and His law for a king, for a man and his law. By the way, let me show you how bad it was for the children of Israel. And may I remind you it will be equally as bad for us. Look at verse 18. God said, and you shall cry out in that day because of your king which you shall have chosen you, and the Lord will not hear you in that day. God said, you want a man instead of Me? You want man's law instead of My law? God said, I'll give it to you, and you're going to get so sick of him and so sick of his law that you'll would to God you never chose him. Now what am I talking about? Christ is not going to honor a God-forsaking, Bible-denying people. If you and I want victory, it's going to have to be, folks, on God's terms, in obedience to His Word, in obedience to His law. I want to tell you something, folks. You're not going to win anything by rebelling against God. You're not going to win denying the validity of His law. You say, Brother Weaver, I've got this plan, I've got this plan. If it's not biblical, you might as well forget it. is not going to honor an alien law system. One last passage tonight and we'll close. Look in Psalm 81. Look in Psalm 81 and let's begin reading at verse 11. Folks, this to me is one of the saddest And yet at the same time, one of the most profound verses in the Bible. In fact, let's read verse 10 of Psalm 81. We'll read all the way through, verse 16. But watch what God says. Psalm 81, verse 10. God says, I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Open thy mouth wide and I'll fill it. Boy, isn't that a blessing? I'm the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the... Open thy mouth wide and I'll fill it. Verse 11. But my people would not hearken to my voice, and Israel would have none of me. They wouldn't listen. They wouldn't obey. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust. and they walked in their own counsels. Look what God says. Oh, that My people had hearkened unto Me, and Israel had walked in My ways, I should soon have subdued their enemies and turned My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto Him, but their time should have endured forever. He should have fed them also with the finest of wheat, and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee. Did you hear what God said? If My people had only obeyed Me, If they had hearkened to Me, if they had walked in My ways, I should soon have subdued their enemies and turned My hand against their adversaries. And their enemies, the haters of the Lord, should have submitted themselves to Me." The only success that we're going to have over our enemies is on God's terms. in obedience to His law. For when a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ tonight that You would impress upon our souls that obedience brings blessing and victory. and disobedience brings curses and defeat. May we understand Your law, Lord. May we understand what Thou dost demand of us so that we could apply Thy truth to our lives and obey Thee and bring honor to Thy name. Deliver us from our enemies. as we obey Thee. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.