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THE
I.
History
A. 1836….Texas
decided to sever relations with
B. Santa Anna,
Mexican general, approaching
with 5,000 men!!
C.
Colonel William
Travis….Jim
150 men in all
D. Travis sent
plea for help “I shall never surrender or retreat.”
E.
Colonel J. W. Fannin, with volunteers from his company….
came to help - increase
to 400 men…..
Others coming with more men & equipment
F. Final siege
lasted from February 23 ‘til March 5
Things now bleak - Jim Bowie is sick – many
survivors wounded
– Hope of victory is all but gone
Now only 180 men…low ammo….
Col. Travis drew line….. only
one didn’t cross over
G. Could no
longer return fire…out of ammo…
H. Fought with
fists & musket butts….no survivors
Gave strength – Courage – Reason to Continue
II. We
are in a battle
A.
All faithful Christians
with Jesus…..
vs…The Devil and his
followers
1. We,
too, are outnumbered – never a problem for God
2. Our
ammo, however is quite different
a.
All
that we will ever need - won’t run out
b.
It
is totally in our control
3. Fear
different from those at the
a.
They
feared death – loss of territory
b.
We
are told:
Mat
4.
Greater
cause….not freedom of state; but of souls
5. Our
battle cry not “Remember the
“REMEMBER THE CROSS!”
III. Paul knew we were in a fight – Not a metaphor
A. WE ARE IN A FIGHT!
1 Tim. 1:18-20 This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with
the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, (19) keeping faith and a good conscience,
which some
have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. (20) Among these are Hymenaeus
and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught
not to blaspheme.
1 Tim. 6:12
Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you
were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many
witnesses.
2 Tim. 2:1-3 You therefore,
my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2) The things which you have heard from me in
the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able
to teach others also. (3) Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of
Christ Jesus. (REMIND: COL. TRAVIS DRAWS LINE) (4) No soldier in active service entangles
himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who
enlisted him as a soldier.
B. Just as
Col. Travis drew a line …. we must choose
God has
always demanded we choose – choose Him
1. Choose to “faithfully” serve – abundant
life; now & in eternity
2. Or choose “half-hearted” service; still
dabbling in sinful worldly
pleasures; and going to church – frustrated life here;
eternal punishment and separation from God
James 4:4 You
adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility
toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself
an enemy of God.
Gen. 3
– Eve had to choose; … Adam had to choose
Exodus
32:19; 25-26a – Israelites had to choose
“Who is on the Lord’s side?”
3. Or choose not to even enter into His
service; not becoming a Christian
– follow Satan to the torment that God has awaiting him – eternal damnation….
Acts 9….Saul of
Deut. 30:19-20 "I call heaven
and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and
death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live,
you and your descendants,
(20)
by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His
voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your
days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."
WHAT HAVE
YOU CHOSEN?
WE NEED TO
CONSIDER THE ENEMY…..
A. 1 Pet. 5:8
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the
devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
B. Acts
C. John 8:44
"You are of your father the
devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in
him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar
and the father of lies.
“Go
ahead, take that drink, it won’t hurt you”
“Don’t
go to services tonight, you’ll have more fun watching TV”
“It’s
better to stay home than to try to worship God in the wrong spirit.”
“Don’t
tell your neighbor about the gospel…already committed… (OR) too worldly….won’t listen, etc.
“Don’t
study now…you can do it later”
IF WE
DECIDE TO FIGHT WE ARE WELL ARMED:
THE
AMUNITION:
A. Travis
ran out …. ours is unlimited if we continue in faith
Rom 1:16-17 For I am not
ashamed of the gospel, for it is the
power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek. (17) For in it
the righteousness of
God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written,
"BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY
FAITH."
Our ammo is more powerful – TRUTH
John 8:31-32 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; (32) and you will know the truth, and the truth
will make you free."
OUR
Eph 6:10-17 Finally, be strong
in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
(11)
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm
against the schemes of the devil. (12) For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of
this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
(13)
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done
everything, to stand firm. (14) Stand
firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE
BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, (15) and having
shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; (16) in addition to all, taking up the shield of
faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the
evil one. (17) And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the
sword
of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
IF WE ARE
ON THE LORD’S SIDE WE HAVE
MARCHING
ORDERS:
A. Mark 16:15-16
And
He said to them,
"Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. (16) "He who has
believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall
be condemned.
B. Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying,
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth.
(19) "Go therefore
and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
(20) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always, even to the end of the age."
1. Everyone taught is a VICTORY for the Lord
2.
Every soul saved is a DEFEAT for Satan
NO TRUCE HAS
BEEN DECLARED!!
Col. Travis - 180 men – line drawn – what side would
you be on?
Mat 12:22-30 Then a
demon-possessed man
who was
blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man
spoke and saw.
(23) All the crowds were amazed, and were saying,
"This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?" (24) But when the Pharisees heard this, they said,
"This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the
ruler of the demons." (25) And
knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them,
"Any kingdom divided against itself
is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.
(26) "If Satan casts
out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?
(27) "If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast
them out? For this reason they will be your judges. (28) "But if I cast
out demons by the Spirit of God, then the
“Who is on the Lord’s side?” – Ask yourself, “What am
I doing to fight for Him who died for me? – OUR BATTLE CRY “Remember the
cross!”
THE
BATTLEGROUND
A. Turn to
Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43 “Parable of the Tares”
Just
tell the parable….
Mat 13:37-40 And He said,
"The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
(38) and the field is the
world; and as for
the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the
tares are the sons of the evil
one; (39) and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is
the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. (40) "So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire,
so shall it be at the end of the age.
B.
Battleground
in the Heart
Rom 7:14-25 For we know that
the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. (15) For what I am doing, I do not understand; for
I am not practicing what I
would
like to do, but I am
doing the very thing I hate. (16) But if I
do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law,
confessing that the Law is good.
(17)
So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in
me.
(18) For I know that nothing good dwells in me,
that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the
good is not. (19) For the good that I want, I do not do, but I
practice the very evil that I do not want.
(20)
But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one
doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
(21) I find
then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. (22) For I
joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, (23) but I see a different law in the members of
my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the
law of sin which is in my members. (24) Wretched
man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? (25) Thanks be to God
through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind
am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
BE LIKE PAUL….
2 Tim. 4:7 I have fought
the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
CLOSE:
Joshua 24:13-15 'I gave you a land on which you had not
labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you
are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.' (14)
"Now,
therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put
away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in
TODAY:
God has blessed you; your home; family, etc.
Put away those sins that stand between you and Christ
----
DON’T FOLLOW THE WAY OF WORLDLINESS!
If it seems wrong to you to serve Christ ---- CHOOSE
TODAY WHO YOU WILL SERVE!! – BUT FOR ME AND MY HOUSE__
_(ANSWER?)____?
NOTE: THE BATTLE
IS RAGING OUTSIDE – there are members of the church (the Lord’s Army) who stay
inside the safety of their homes – homes the Lord has provided for them and
their families –
There are Christians who have chosen to not be a part
of the war – they run in the face of battle --- YOU MUST CHOOSE….
WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?
Mat
James 4:4 You
adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility
toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself
an enemy of God. ---- NOW YOU MUST
CHOOSE---
If you want to join – or rejoin…. come forward right
now!!