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All right, let's get straight into this. So last week I preached on the topic of vaccinations and I mean everything that I said in that sermon, okay? But I believe it's important for me to also preach this sermon which will help balance our thoughts around how we deal with difficult situations, that there are people that would like to battle and fight the powers that be. And I can understand where they're coming from and you know the Bible, I mean read the Bible, the Bible is full of battles. I mean constantly battling, the nation of Israel is constantly battling. And there's chapter, Numbers 14 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible just because there's so much to learn in this chapter, okay? And let's pick it up there in verse number six. Numbers 14 and verse number six, it says, And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes. Let me pick you up in the story here. So we know that Moses sent these 10 men to get out there, to look at the land, to see the land of Canaan and say, hey, is this a place that we ought to go in? Let's buy it out. And the Lord's saying, look, go there. It's time for the Canaanites to be judged. It's time for you to go in and take that promised land that I've given you. And we have two great men here, Joshua and Caleb who said, yeah, you know what? God's given us the land. Yeah, the people might look big, they might look powerful, but you know what? With the Lord on our side, we can win this battle. The Lord's leading us. Let's go. Let's take the land for ourselves. But the other spies, they came with a bad report. They were saying, well, there's no way. These guys are too powerful. There's no way that we can win this. And so they start, people start to murmur. And so this is where we pick up the story here. People are murmuring and they're getting upset that they want to go back to Egypt. Things are starting to fall apart for this nation of Israel. And then it says in verse number seven, And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we pass through to search it is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us a land which flow with milk and honey. I want you to notice how they view the situation of going into a land and fighting the people. You know, the Lord needed them to go and take and have a battle, to have a fight, to go to war, to defeat the Canaanites. But you see how Canaan and Joshua answer, let's say it's the Lord that's going to give us victory. He's the one who's able to deliver the people into our hands. So that's something you need to understand. When we go to war as Christian people, it's the Lord that is doing the fighting for us. Okay. And look at verse number nine. It says, Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bred for us. The defense is departed from them and the Lord is with us. Fear them not. Now that's true. The Lord is with them. The Lord is guiding them. The Lord is telling them, go to this land. Verse number 10. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones and the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel. And so the people are so angry that these two are saying, yeah, we can take this land. They want to stone them. You know, stone these two great men of God. And so what I want you to notice here as we start looking at this chapter, there is definitely a battle to be fought. Okay. There is definitely an enemy to win. The Lord is definitely with them. He's going to help them in this battle. I have no doubt that they would have gone into Canaan and wiped out the Canaanites. No doubt with the Lord on their side, they were able to do that. Okay. But the people are murmuring. They even want to kill these two spies that are trying to encourage them to go to war. Drop down to verse number 29. So obviously the Lord is angry at the nation. The nation don't want to go to war. They don't want to battle. Right. The Lord is angry with them. And so you know the story. The Lord tells them basically you're going to wander in the wilderness for 40 years and then your children that are 20 years and under, they're the ones that are going to be entering into the land. Okay. But look at verse number 29. The Lord says, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness and all that were numbered of you according to your whole number from 20 years old and upward which have murmured against me, doubtless ye shall not come into the land concerning which I swear to make you dwell therein save Caleb the son of Japuni and Joshua the son of Nun. So the Lord says anyone that is 20 years and over will not go into the land except for, save for, Joshua and Caleb. Okay. So God's past judgment on this nation, you don't want to go to war, then you're not going to war. You're not going to war in the wilderness. You're not going to have the spiritual victories that I would have given you in the land. In fact, it's your children that are going to benefit from that in the future. Alright. So the Lord now has changed his mind. Instead of taking him to go and fight the war, he goes, alright, that's not what you want to do? Fine. This is your judgment. He passes judgment. Alright. Let's drop down to verse number 39. So obviously the people of the Israelites, they're not happy to have heard that. They're not happy to hear, well, now God's telling us we're going to die in the wilderness. So after hearing these words, they decide, well, let's go to battle anyway. I mean, it's a righteous battle, isn't it? They're going to war against the Canaanites, they're taking the land that God has given them and they decide, well, let's go to war. Well, let's look at verse number 39. And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel and the people mourned greatly and they rose up early in the morning and gat them up on the top of the mountain saying lo, we be here and we'll go up unto the place which the Lord have promised for we have sinned. And Moses said, wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord, but it shall not prosper. So they recognize, we've sinned against God, alright? Let's go into the land. And now Moses is saying, well, you're sinning now, again, you're transgressing against the Lord again because the Lord says he's passed judgment, you're not going to the land. And they had no, we've got to go into the land, okay? Now again, are they coming from the right place? Well, yeah, because that's where God wanted them to go. That was the whole purpose of the exodus, you know, the promise of the land. So there's a righteous battle, but it's not time to fight it, okay? One thing we learn here is, yes, it's good to fight, but if you're fighting at a time when God is not asking you to fight, then you're transgressing against the Lord. Even if the battle is righteous, okay? Let's keep going there in verse number 42, Moses says, go not up, for the Lord is not among you, that ye be not smitten before your enemies. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you. As I said when we started this sermon, when we go to fight, when we fight God's battles, we have to make sure the Lord is with us. It's him that gives us the victory, okay? But now the Lord is not with them, but they're still trying to fight the battle that God asked them to fight. Verse number 44, and they presume to go up unto the hilltop, nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses departed not out of the camp. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites, which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah. So they go and fight. Oh, these brave men of Israel, they've gone to fight, no, they weren't brave men, they were stupid men. The Lord said, I'm not with you. Moses their leader, the spiritual leader said, we're not going to, I'm going to stay behind, I'm not going with you. You want to go fight? Well, that's your problem, I'm going to hang around here, because the Lord is not involved in that fight, okay? And what happens? They lose. They lose the battle. Don't forget, these are real wars. People lose their lives as they go and fight, okay? These people that, you know, they didn't want to lose their lives in the wilderness, they ended up losing their lives in battle, okay? The Lord was not with them. And so the title for the sermon this evening is knowing when and what to fight. Knowing when and what to fight. The reason I said, you know, it's kind of like to balance out the vaccination sermon is because we ought to, I believe we ought to fight that. You know, I don't believe it's right for anybody to come in and just inject whatever they want into your body, okay? And we've looked at that, okay? But what's important for us, and I'm not just thinking about vaccination, I'm talking about any kinds of battle. Because we're living in strange days. We're living in, I guess Sunshine Coast is not so effective, but I feel it down in Sydney. I feel, you know, that they're just, you know, people are removing your freedoms, they're trying to tell you what you can and cannot do. You know, they're taking a power that does not belong to them, and they're enforcing people to do things, and it's frustrating. Things they're asking you to do is frustrating and annoying, and I can understand why so many groups have, you know, decided to protest and to fight and to get involved in battles. And you know, in and of themselves, it may seem like righteous battles. You know, in and of themselves, it may not seem as something wrong, but my question is, is God in that battle? Is God in that fight? Because if he's not, you're just wasting your time. You know, if he's not, you're just going to lose, okay? You can be wiped out, you can be hurt. And so it's important to make sure we know when and what to fight. Can you please turn to Ephesians chapter 6? Ephesians chapter 6. Your Old Testament is full of war, full of battles, okay? Now we're Bible-believing Christians, amen? So let's take up the sword right now and let's just go fight some foreign nation or something. Let's go find the Canaanites, and that's everybody. You know, fellow Australians, the Canaanites these days, right? They're living right next door to you. Is that what we're called to do, though? Well, something that you need to remember is that there was a change in the covenant. In the old covenant, there was a physical nation of Israel, meaning their wars, yeah, were largely physical, okay? There was largely swords and shields and spears and bows and arrows, all those kinds of things, and God would lead these people to fight many, many wars, all right? We don't operate under the old covenant anymore, okay? We're under a new covenant, okay? The New Testament, since Jesus Christ has come, you know, our battles are spiritual. We fight spiritual battles. Hey, what's the point of all those battles in the Old Testament? To teach us how to fight spiritually, okay, to teach us how to fight spiritually. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse number 10, Ephesians chapter 6 and verse number 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. So we see straight away an enemy that we're fighting, it's the devil. Can you see him physically? I haven't heard you swimming yet, brother, on the devil, but he's not here physically. We can't literally take up a sword and chop off his head as much as we would like to, okay? To take down the devil, it's going to take spiritual weapons, okay? A spiritual fight, and then it says in verse number 12, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Brethren, do we live in an evil day? Absolutely. Are we called to stand? To be soldiers for God? To fight a battle? Yes, we're called to fight, okay? But it's a spiritual fight. We're not wrestling against flesh and blood. As much as so many of our flesh and blood, you know, powers that be, our governments and the powers that, as wicked as they are, and as much as we want to take them down, that's not our battle. That's not our fight, okay? Let's have a look. What is the armor of God? I've taught in this. Have I taught in this before? I can't remember. But verse number 14, it says, stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, okay? So there's something that we need to fight the battle, the truth. So then what are we fighting? Lies. That's what we're fighting. We're fighting lies because we come with the truth. And having on the breastplate of righteousness, all right. That's how we need to fight with righteousness. If we're fighting with righteousness, what are we fighting against? Unrighteousness, wickedness, sin. This is the battle that we're called to fight, very clearly in the Bible. Verse number 15, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. So we need to be going with the gospel of peace, you know, the gospel that brings reconciliation between God and man, that brings peace between God and man. That's what we take to go to the battle. So what are we fighting? False gospels. Okay? We're fighting things that does not bring peace between God and man. We're fighting against false gospels, false doctrine. That's what we're fighting, brethren. Okay? What else? Let's keep going. Verse number 16, above all, taking the shield of faith. So if we need to fight with faith, what are we fighting against? Unfaithfulness. When you're unfaithful to God, that's a battle that you need to fight. You know, the unfaithfulness of our nation, you know, the lack of fear that I have toward God, that's something we're fighting. It says, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. So salvation, our salvation, we're fighting for salvation, okay? Because our people, our nation, are dying and going to hell, they're dying without Jesus Christ, and it's our job to show them salvation, the sword of the spirit, the word of God, meaning this is what we use, this is our weapon, God's word, all right? You protest, you know, no mask wearing, I'm not wearing, I hate wearing masks. That's not my, that's not my sword. That doesn't win anything. That's not what God has called me to fight, okay? This is my weapon. We take this, okay, this is the word of God, we memorize this word, we preach God's word, it's a spiritual fight, brethren. Verse number 18, praying always, and that sounds pretty spiritual, with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto, with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Now notice the sentence has not finished, okay? So Paul is saying, put on the whole armor of God, and now he says, in verse number 19, and for me, so pray for me, that utterance may be given unto me, so what kind of fight is Paul fighting? I mean if we tie it into all of this, he says that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for look, for which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak, you know? Why is Paul in bonds? Why is he in prison? Because he protested against the masks, no mask we're in, we're against the lockdowns, I'm fighting the spiritual fight here, no he's not. He's in bonds for preaching the gospel, he's in bonds for standing on God's word, he's in bonds because he engaged in a spiritual warfare, and that ended him up in prison, okay? You know, if you end up in prison for some other stupid reason, or maybe not even a stupid reason, even something that I think, hey, that's pretty good, you know what, I'm not going to really feel sorry for you, because we've not been called to fight that battle. That's why, okay? We've not been called to fight that battle. Our fight is a spiritual fight, we're not wrestling against flesh and blood. Can you please turn to 2 Timothy chapter 2, 2 Timothy chapter 2? If you're in prison, even for a stupid reason, I'll still visit you, I'll still pray for you, don't worry, I'm commanded to do such things, alright, from God's word. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse number 1, this is a great passage, it says, thou therefore my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also, verse number 3, thou therefore endure hardness, listen, there's a therefore, okay, this verse is not by itself, what was Paul commanding Timothy as a pastor to do? To teach faithful men, to pass on the knowledge, right, then it says, thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. So what battle are these men involved in? The battle for God's word, okay, the teaching of others, that's what they're fighting. This is the battle, this is the, you know, the good soldier that God wants you to be is a soldier for his word, okay? Verse number 4, now this is really important, no man that warreth and tangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who have chosen him to be a soldier, and if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully. When we strive, when we go to battle, we need to do it lawfully in accordance to God's laws, according to God's ways, okay? But I really want you to pay attention to verse number 4, if we're going to war, if we're going to fight, okay, for the Lord, we are not to entangle ourselves with the affairs of this life. Now some people, I understand, they may look at this passage and think that's about sin, oh, you don't get entangled in sin, well, amen, if you want to apply it that way, that's okay, that's not really what it's about though, you know, the affairs of this life are not necessarily sins, the affairs of this life are things that are in this world that may frustrate us, but it'll get us off the spiritual fights, it'll get us distracted, it's other battles, it is other entanglements that are things that God has not asked us to fight. When I think about being entangled, I merely think of a spider web, I think of a fly in a spider web, if you get entangled, you're going to get stuck and you're not going to be able to get out and then you'll be eaten by the spider, okay, you'll be eaten by the devil or whoever it is that has caused you to become entangled, you know, sometimes I think about things, when I think about affairs of this life and affairs of this life, you know, it could be like a sporting team, you know, go the Western Sydney Wanderers, is that why you went to Western Sydney back there, to support the team, I don't want to get entangled with the affairs of this life, but some people, you know, their life revolves around the sporting team, alright, you know, they basically, their life, when are they playing, alright, I can't be in church that week, I can't do it because my team is playing, hey, that's been entangled with the affairs of this life, you know, video games, look, these things in and of themselves are not sinful, you need to understand, okay, but don't people battle for these things, I mean, like, I've got to get the high score and I've got to be number one and I've got to, whatever, accomplish this and this, you're entangling yourself in battles that are not sinful and wrong in and of themselves, but it will get you off the spiritual fight that God wants you to fight, protesting. Is there anything wrong with protesting? Is there anything sinful with protesting? No, it's like it's sinful in and of itself, alright, getting your voice heard, I disagree, you know, I'm not necessarily against it, okay, but if I'm going to war, if I'm going to battle, if I'm going to fight God's battles, I'm not going to get myself entangled in that because I promise you this, you might go, I'm just going to represent, I'm just going to make a number in the protest, go, you are going to get caught up into it, you are going to start attending all the protests, you are going to join up all the Facebook groups that support this and support that, you are going to be the one that fills out all the petition forms and you're going to get distracted, brethren, look, is there anything wrong with those things? No, okay, but there's a battle that God has asked us to fight, we better fight it, okay, and it has to do with getting God's word out, number one, the gospel out, number two, just preach to other people, the people of God, what God's word says, there's a truffle movement, I like the truffle movement, I like a lot of the stuff that's out there, but people get entangled and involved in these things, you know, concerned about every little conspiracy that's out there, okay, and they're trying to, you know, expose those things, you know, is there wickedness in those, you know, is there wickedness that they're trying to expose, is there some merit in those things, yeah, there can be those things, but that's not our battle, that's not our fight, I mean, when you looked at the armour of God, was that pointing you to all these other things, brethren, like when you looked at the armour of God, yep, that's going to, yep, I've got to go and join that protest, that's what God means, alright, I would love to burn down all the abortion clinics, I would like to burn down all the clinics that do sex change operations, I would love to do that, brethren, in fact, if someone does it, I'll be like, well done, but it's not the battle that we've been called to fight, okay, I'm not going to stand out there at an abortion clinic with science, rethink your decisions, look, are they doing a good thing, yes, are they committing a good thing, no, okay, but it's not the battle that God has called us to fight, okay, God's word, the righteousness of Jesus Christ, okay, leading people to Jesus, them receiving the imputed righteousness of Christ, people having the new man, the new creature revived in them, then they can actually read God's word and understand God's word, that's what's going to change our nation, it's not who you vote in politics now, look, it's up to you, okay, I feel like it's a waste of time, it's up to you, but that's not going to change our nation, who you vote for in politics is not going to get our nation right with God, it's us going with God's word with the sword of spirits, alright, and slain the weakness, slain the sin, slain the false gospels that are out there, that's going to change our nation, if our nation was more righteous, with the righteousness of Christ, yeah, we would see immediately a change in the direction that we're going, can you please turn to Exodus, chapter 1, Exodus chapter 1, now are there some physical fights that we should get involved in, there are some physical fights, okay, and the reason why we should get involved in these fights is because they are of a spiritual nature, okay, our approach to these physical things have to do with a spiritual fight, it's not separate, Exodus chapter 1, Exodus chapter 1, and verse number 15, Exodus chapter 1, verse number 15, the Bible reads, and the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name was the one, was Sheparah, and the name of the other, Puah, and he said, when ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools, if it be a son, then ye shall kill him, but if it be a daughter, then she shall live, but the midwives feared God, and did not, as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive, so Pharaoh says to the midwives, kill the Hebrew men children, the male children, kill them when they're born, what do they do, the midwives, we've got a fear of God, we can't do such things, so what are they doing, they're disobeying the authority, they're disobeying the government, okay, they're disobeying the power that God put in place with Pharaoh there, okay, verse number 19, verse number 18, and the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said unto them, why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive, and the midwives said unto Pharaoh, because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women, for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them, therefore God dwelt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and waxed very mighty, did you notice that the midwives lied to Pharaoh, they lied to Pharaoh, pastor Kevin, lying is a sin, yes, it is, okay, but what do we learn here, we learn that if an authority is asking you to commit murder, or to facilitate murder, the answer is no, I'm going to fight that to the death, you're better putting a bullet through my head than getting me to murder somebody, or be involved in murder, okay, and what, they lied, you know what, this is a time where God deals well with someone for lying, okay, because obviously the greatest sin is murder, okay, so they were justified in their lies, the Lord looked down well upon them when they had lied, can you please turn to Joshua chapter 2 and verse number 1, Joshua chapter 2 and verse number 1, so murder or facilitating murder is definitely a fight that we ought to fight to the death, this has spiritual issues, murdering people, okay, taking that life that God has given a human being, that is extremely wicked, okay, it's an extreme wicked sin, Joshua chapter 2 and verse number 1, Joshua chapter 2 and verse number 1, and Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying go view the land, even Jericho, and they went and came into an harlot's house named Rahab and lodged there, and he was told the king of Jericho saying behold there came men in Hiddar tonight of the children of Israel to search out the country, and the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab saying bring forth the men that have come to thee which are entered into thine house for they have come to search out all the country, and the woman took the two men and hid them, is she disobeying her authority, absolutely, why do they want these spies, they want to kill them, maybe torture them for information, okay, Rahab goes I'm not going to be involved in this, okay, what does she do, she hides the two spies and said thus there came men unto me but wist not whence they were, she lied, verse number 5 and it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gates that it was dark that the men went out whither the men went I what not pursue after them quickly for ye shall overtake them, so Rahab says yeah I saw the men they came but I sent them this way, they went that way go and chase them, but really she was hiding them in her house, okay, she lied again, okay, alright, now I'm going to read to you quickly from James chapter 2 verse 25 which addresses the topic of Rahab, okay, James chapter 2 verse 25 says likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified, justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way, Rahab you lied, God says you know what by her works she justified herself, you know what there is a time to lie and it's justified, okay, she did not want to be involved in the murder of these two spies and we know if you know the story of Rahab she feared the Lord, okay, she feared the Lord and when the Lord came and destroyed the city she was saved, okay, she survived the destruction of the city, can you please turn to Daniel chapter 3, Daniel chapter 3, so what do we learn there, what do we fight to the death, even misleading, even deceiving, even lying, okay, is when authority, when the governments are asking you to murder, okay, or they're asking you to give up people to destroy them, to murder them, to torture them, all those kinds of things, okay, it is a greater sin to be involved or to facilitate murder than to tell a lie, God will justify you by your works, okay, now that's not the only story, okay, because we also have, and I don't have time to go through this, but don't we have the story of the wise men that came to see the Lord Jesus Christ, they passed through Jerusalem, King Herod, the authority of the land, said hey when you find Jesus and you worship him, come back and tell me because I want to worship him also, did Herod want to worship Christ, no, we know that he wanted to kill Christ, in fact that's what he attempted to do, all the children that were two years old and under were killed by his soldiers, okay, and then as the wise men departed from seeing Jesus Christ, the Lord came unto them and said look don't return back to Herod, so they, well they obeyed the Lord, but they disobeyed Herod, they disobeyed the authority that's in the land, okay, because he would have led to murder, he would have led to the death of baby Jesus, so there are three stories in the Bible, very clearly where you've rebelled against the authority, okay, because they would have murdered the people that you know, you're trying to protect or you know, that are kind of under you, okay, I will never murder, you know, you just might as well just kill me, I mean if I'm asked to do such a thing, I'm just going to, just kill me, if that's what you want to do, okay, but as we see in these stories, many times the Lord comes in and protects people anyway, okay, for standing up against such wicked behaviour, okay, now Daniel chapter 3, what's the second reason, what's the second reason why we ought to disobey authorities, what's another fight that we ought to fight to the death, Daniel chapter 3 verse number 10, thou O king has made a decree, the king that's been referenced is Nebuchadnezzar, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornets, flute, harp, sack-butt, sultry and dulcimer and all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the golden image and who so falleth not down in worshipeth that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, so you know the story, King Nebuchadnezzar sets up a statue of gold and he basically commands everybody to, when they hear the music to bow down and worship a false god, that's another battle that we fight to the death, okay, I will never bow down and worship a false god, again put a bullet in my head if that's your only answer, okay, I will never bow down and worship some stupid idol, I don't care if it's made of gold, okay, never do it, I think burning fiery furnace, you know the story, verse number 12, there are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Sadduck, Meshach and Abednego, these men O king have not regarded thee, they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up, then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Sadduck, Meshach and Abednego, then they brought these men before the king, Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, is it true O Sadduck, Meshach and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods nor worship the golden image which I have set up, now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet flute, harp, sackbut, sultry and doltima and all kinds of music ye fall down and worship the image which I have made well, so he gives another chance, you hear it again, yeah I'm giving you another chance, you bow down, things are going to be well with you, okay, but if ye worship not ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands, Sadduck, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter, you know what they're saying, Nebuchadnezzar we're not going to sugar coat this answer, we don't care if we offend you King Nebuchadnezzar with the way we're going to respond, now these men had a respectful authority but not if that authority is asking them to worship some false god, okay, verse number 17, if it be so our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king, but if not be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up, so these three men, alright, we're not going to worship that golden image, okay, you sent us to the fiery furnace, God may save us, okay, but maybe God, that's not God's will for us, maybe we will perish in the furnace, regardless, whatever the situation is, we're still not going to bow down and worship that stupid idol, we're not careful to answer you Nebuchadnezzar, okay, so hey, these guys were ready to die for this, okay, again this is a spiritual fight, it has to do with who you're worshipping, the only god I'm going to worship is Jesus Christ, okay, there is no other god that I will worship, especially an image, okay, this is something that we should die for, this is something that we ought to fight for and say no, we're not going to do that even if it's to the death, these are hills that I will die on, that's the term that people like to throw around, right, this is the hill that I'm going to die on, this is not the hill worth dying on, these are hills worth dying on, okay, you die on these hills, you'll be someone great in heaven, I promise you this, okay, please turn to Acts chapter 5 and verse 26, Acts chapter 5 verse 26, it's becoming a longer sermon, I better hurry up, Acts chapter 5 verse 26, then went the captain with the officers and brought them without violence for they feared the people that they should have been stoned and when they had brought them, they set them before the council and the high priest asked them saying, did not we straightly command you that you should not teach in this name, that's the name of Jesus by the way, and behold ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon us, then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men, that's a great, that's a powerful statement, it's a powerful statement, is it not, we ought to obey God rather than men, I've been hearing that a lot since Covid, okay, and I know people mean well, I know people want to go to fight, okay, you can't just take that and you know put it wherever you want, what's the context, they're asking them to not preach the name of Jesus, don't speak of Jesus, don't speak of your God, don't preach in his name, if we're soul winners, if we're meant to preach the gospel which is the battle that we're meant to fight, how can you preach the gospel without mentioning Jesus, it's impossible, alright, so this is a battle that we fight, I don't care who says it, I don't care what religious pope, I don't care if it's some Baptist pastor, I don't care who, if someone says don't preach in the name of Jesus, I'm going to do it anyway, okay, no matter what happens, I mean that's what I'm left to do, if I can't preach Jesus, then God might just take me to heaven now, I'm not here to amass wealth, I'm not here to make a name for myself in this world, we're here to serve God, and look, I want you to notice, at the end of verse number 9, we all obey God rather than men, so what do they do, verse number 30, the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree, him have God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a saviour, for to give repentance to his Israel, and forgiveness of sins, and we are his witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God had given to them that obey him, when they heard that they were cut to the heart and took counsel to slay them, so what, we all obey God rather than men, what are they doing, what's the next things that happen, they went to protest the masks, that's what they did, they went to protest the vaccinations, that's what they went to, immediately out of their mouth they're preaching the Gospel, immediately out of their mouth they're preaching the death, the burial, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, this statement, this phrase is not some carte blanche, right, of anything you're ever inconvenienced with. Last year we took a break of church, right, 6 weeks, whatever it was, because of the COVID thing, I'm not supposed to open up, right, and I'm happy about that, I'm happy we did that, right, I'm happy, oh, we all obey God rather than men, listen, the government has been given authority over some issues of health, lockdowns, ok, the government does have authority, to obey God many times is to obey governments, it's not one or the other, many times, ok, just because you obey government in certain areas doesn't mean oh no I've disobeyed God, right, we couldn't have church for a while, did we sin, did we sin, you know, what is sin, what is sin, and this is something that I've discovered, and this is something I've been preaching in this church, I've been preaching this stuff down in Sydney, because people have crazy, like, people have all kinds of idea what sin is, ok, what do we learn in these battles, if someone is asking you to sin, you say no, ok, and specifically, 3 major battles that I will die on, die for, ok, preach in the name of Jesus, I'm going to keep preaching no matter what, that's number 1, oh, number 3 in my list, number 2, you ask me to go and murder someone, I'm not going to do it, I'll die instead, and the second one, the third one in this list is bowing down and worshipping some false God, ok, I will fight that to the death, alright, that's what I'm going to fight, ok, remember, we want to fight battles that God is asking us to fight, that we need to get involved in, can you please turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 9, 1 Corinthians chapter 9, and while you're turning there, I'm going to read to you from 1 John chapter 3 verse 4, which says, whosoever commit of sin transgresseth also the law, now pay attention to these words, for sin is the transgression of the law, what is sin, the transgression of the law, sin is not what you think is wrong, sin is not what you think is bad, sin is not I'm being inconvenienced, ok, sin is only known through God's word, you look at God's laws, you know, God says thou shalt, and you do the opposite, you've sinned, God says thou shalt not, you do the opposite, you've sinned, that's what sin is, ok, now look, I love church, I want to be in church every week, I want to be in church three times a week, I get to be in church multiple times, at least four times a week, with my schedule, ok, I love church, ok, but if we don't have church for a week, because of virus, whatever, some concerns even, we may personally not have those concerns, but we've been asked to not do that for that reason, that's not a sin, there is no commandment, thou shalt have church services on a Sunday morning, a Sunday afternoon, and a Wednesday night, and if you don't do that you're in sin, there's nothing like that, ok, why do we have church three times a week, why do we meet for church on Sundays, tradition, patterns that we see in the Bible, but mainly tradition, because we don't work on the weekends, generally speaking, right, this is why we do it, you know, there's no commandment in the Bible, this is how often you meet, this is how you preach, this is the structure, you start with song services, then you go to prayer, then you sing two other hymns, there's nothing like that, ok, we are commanded to be in church, ok, now if we suspend church for a period of time, we have not sinned, ok, we're not breaking God's commandments, we're not transgressing the law, but you know what, something I've discovered with some Christians, they look at that and say yeah, you've sinned, but again it's their opinion of what a sin is, sin is the transgression of the law, so you better give me the law to show me what a sin is, it's not your opinion, ok, so there are some things that some people consider sin and they'll be like we ought to obey God rather than men, are you sure, are you sure that's a battle that God has asked you to fight, are you 100% sure about that, because the Bible also commands us to obey governments, so you have to, what are you going to do, ok, and these are the things, you know, this is why this stuff needs to be preached, I'm not trying to have a go at anybody, you know, and if you have different opinions than me, I'm not having a go at you, all I want to make sure for you that when you decide what a sin is, that you've got God's commandments, you've got his law to be able to determine this is definitely a sin, this is what God says, this is a sin, ok, it's not just you tell me well I'm inconvenienced, you know, that's not a sin, you're in 1 Corinthians 9 26, you know, our fight is against sin, our fight is against sin, 1 Corinthians 9 26, I therefore so run, not as uncertainly, so fight I, not as one that beat off the air, what is Paul fighting, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway, what is Paul fighting, he says I fight, he's fighting against his own body, that's what he's fighting, he's keeping his flesh subject to the new man, to the word of God, he says look when I go and sin, I'm disobeying God, right, and so I don't want to sin, I'm going to keep my body, I'm going to give my flesh under subjection, that's a battle that we fight every day, you know, people out there protesting, marching, lockdowns, making, like, just making a bad situation worse in my opinion, in my opinion, maybe you don't think that, okay, but then they're not keeping their bodies under subjection, they're not living the righteous life, the holy life that God has called us to live, it's worthless, it's vain, it counts for nothing, you know what, us keeping our bodies under subjection is going to count so much more for eternity, God will be able to use us in such a more powerful way in this life than any kind of protest or march or petition or whatever, you know, that you may feel is necessary to be part of, these are the battles that God has asked us to fight, okay, you have to fight the devil, we put on the armour of God, you fight the flesh, your flesh, you are constantly at war, okay, with this flesh, can you please turn to Deuteronomy chapter 22 please, Deuteronomy chapter 22 and verse number 23, this is where I'm going to tie it into things like vaccinations, because I believe it's a sin to be involved in that, now let me just quickly say, vaccinations are not the worst sins to be part of, okay, I haven't got time to go through this right now, but you may recall when Christ did not wash his hands before eating and then was being criticised by the Pharisees, oh you've broken our laws, you've broken tradition, right, and Christ says look, the stuff that enters within doesn't defile a man, it's what comes out of the heart and then you list a whole bunch of sins, okay, so I'm not trying to say, oh just take vaccination, I'm not saying that, okay, but I want you to understand there is a higher priority over the sins that are in your heart than what corrupts this flesh, okay, there's a much higher priority in God's eyes, okay, I'm going to fight every vaccination, I'm not going to, I don't vaccinate my kids, you guys know that, but I'm going to fight this stuff and no matter what, you know, I'm going to die on this, but then your heart's filled with sin, wickedness, you know, looking upon women with adultery in your heart, you know, you have hatred for your brother, you have all these other things, these are the things that actually God wants you to fight, this is the main battle that God wants you to fight, keeping your body under subjection and so it's important for me to talk about this because as we said, we've seen this push for vaccinations, right, and it's not mandatory, it's not like, I was preaching down in Sydney, I said mandatory by accident, I don't know why I said mandatory, I keep thinking of mandatory vaccinations, that term just together, right, it's not mandatory, you don't have to take it, well actually some people have to take it or they can lose their jobs apparently, but anyway, you know what I'm saying, like at the moment, no one's going to strap you down in a chair and just inject you, okay, we're not facing that situation, but my question is, what if we did, what if we did face that situation, okay, would you fight for it? Now for some people in their conscience, they will fight it no matter what, they would say, I'd rather you put a bullet in my head than inject this stuff into my body, listen, if your conscience bothers you and that's your issue, you know, I'm not going to ask you to do something contrary to your conscience, all I'm asking you, all I'm challenging you with is, is that the battle that God has us to fight? Now I might get forced vaccine, right, I might live a day before I die from the vaccine damage, all right, but you know that one day that I lived, I'm probably able to give the gospel to a few people, I'm actually effective rather than actually having a bullet in my head, therefore not taking the vaccination, okay, there's less that I can do for the Lord in that situation, all right, now Jeremy chapter 22 verse 23, what do we do if you're forced? And look, I think for us, we have different responsibilities, okay, for those that are single, you're not going to think like a married man who's commanded to provide for his family, who's commanded to love his wife and look after his wife and raise his children, okay, now if something like vaccinations was ever forced to the type, to the sense where you literally, if you don't take it, you're going to die, we're going to kill you or you know what, we're going to take you and imprison you, you know what, if I'm in prison, I can't provide for my family, I'm also commanded to provide for my family, okay, or you know, if you don't take it, you're going to take your kids away from you, God has given me my kids, I'm commanded to raise my kids, okay, you know what I'm going to do, if it comes to something like that, that's serious, I would say just give me the stupid vaccine, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, this body is not going to heaven, remember that, this body is not going to heaven, it's corrupt already, there's much more corrupt, corruptness in your flesh already than whatever vaccine, whatever DNA alteration or metals or viruses that are in that vaccine, your body's already more corrupt, I'll tell you why it's, it's going to, your body's dying, as soon as you're born, you're dying, it's, you've got a sinful nature, okay, God promises us a new body, God promises us a resurrected body, okay, that is, that is, that is powered by the same resurrection that lifted Christ from the grave, all right, that body will take to heaven, guess what, that body will never be vaccinated, that body will never be corrupted in any form, okay, that, and that's forever, that's for all eternity, I'm saying, and you can disagree with me with this, that's fine, okay, I'm going to give you a biblical principle here to go with it though, not just give me my opinion, all right, if you are being forced and it comes to this point, I'm not going to die on that hill, if you choose to, you choose to, okay, but there is a biblical principle that we can use to consider this, it's in Deuteronomy chapter 22 and verse number 23, Deuteronomy chapter 22 and verse number 23, it says, if a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband and a man find her in the city and lie with her, then ye shall bring them both out unto the gates of that city and ye shall stone them with stones that they may die, the damsel, because she cried not, that's important, being in the city and the man because he have humbled his neighbor's wife, so that shall put away evil from among you, so you can see adultery, you can see there's a death penalty for adultery, specifically because this damsel, this woman did not cry out, she did not say stop, no, she did not cry out for help, meaning she was involved, that's what she wanted to do, she participated in that sin, voluntarily she participated in that sin, you see, so they're both guilty, all right, let's keep going, verse number 25, but if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field and the man force her and lie with her, then the man only that lay with her shall die, so a great sin takes place as well, okay, but now do you notice that the only one that's actually guilty is the one that forced the woman, okay, verse number 26, but unto the damsel thou shall do nothing, there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death, for as when a man rides off against his neighbor and slayeth him, even so in this matter, for he have found her in the field and the betrothed damsel cried and there was none to save her, so this is rape, you know, rapists are to be put to death, okay, that's another clear commandment of God, all right, but we take the principle then, what's the principle, well if you voluntarily get involved in sin, you're as guilty as the person that's trying to make you commit that sin, okay, but if you're forced to do it, what do you command it to do in this situation, if you're being forced to commit some type of sin, you cry out, you say no, I'm not going to participate in this, all right, I'm being forced to do this, all right, I'm being blackmailed or whatever other ideas, you know, other thoughts, I'm being coerced to this kind of sin, all right, and again, if they literally grab me, strap me down, force it into me or say hey, we're going to kill you or going to imprison you or take your kids away, I'll be like, I'll scream out, I'll say no, at the end of the day, give me the stupid thing, okay, after I've cried out, okay, after I've shown that I'm not voluntarily part of this, you know, you are forcing me to do this, you know, and that's it, and guess what, there is no sin found in that person because you're a victim, you're a victim of the crime, you're a victim of the sin, you're a victim of being forced. Now, I'm saying this just for you to think about these things, okay, I don't have an answer to every single fight that you might find yourself getting involved in but I think it's important because I don't know, we may see a time when there is a forced vaccination program, okay. Now, different story to the mark of the beast because some people try to align a forced vaccination or being pressured to vaccinate as taking the mark of the beast, don't forget, I had a passage here, I don't have time to go through it, don't forget, taking the mark of the beast has to do with you worshipping the beast and the dragon, you cannot take the mark of the beast without having that, we've already seen that we're not going to bow down and worship some idol or some false god, I will die on that hill and because I will die on that hill and faithful Christians will die on that hill, it's because, you know, that's what God commands for us, like to only worship Jesus Christ, I'm happy to die on that hill and because we won't do that, guess what, they're not going to give you the mark of the beast anyway if we're that generation that lives there, okay, but what if I'm hungry, God's going to provide, that's his job, seek you first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you, it's Christ's job to feed you, to clothe you so long as you are putting the kingdom of God first, okay, so mark of the beast is a different story because that's associated, tied in with worshiping a false idol, okay, so in summary, are we called to fight? Yes, okay, make sure your fight so is the spiritual fight and when you go and fight, you better put on the armour of God or you're going to lose, you better make sure God wants me to fight this fight or you're going to lose, okay, and when you decide well this is a sin, make sure, make sure you have the law of God where you can show clearly, not your opinion, but clearly this is a sin, okay, therefore I'm going to say no, if it's not a sin brethren, then relax, relax and make sure you just fight the fights that God wants us to fight, let's pray, heavenly father.