Open—Ted Allan
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I'll be brief, I just wanted to share a few verses that I felt like the Lord put on my heart.
A little bit in line with what our brother Don mentioned in first verse I'd just like to read is in Deuteronomy chapter one.
And verse 30.
The Lord your God, which goeth before you, He shall fight for you.
According to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes.
And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen, how that the Lord thy God bear thee.
As a man to bear his son in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.
First Samuel.
Chapter 8.
In verse 4.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel unto Rama.
And said unto him, Behold, thou art old in thy sons, walk not in thy ways.
Now make us a king to judge us, like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel when 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 in all that they say unto thee.
For they have not rejected thee, 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 unto this day wherewith they have forsaken me and served other gods, so do they also unto thee Now therefore hearken unto their voice.
And then over in Numbers, chapter 14.
Actually just read a verse or two from chapter 13 first.
Verse 31.
But the men that went up with him said we be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger.
Then we and they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel. Chapter 14, verse one. And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, And the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron and the Lord, and I'm sorry in the whole congregation said unto them.
Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt, or with God we had died in those wilderness?
And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey?
Were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, let us make a captain and let us return into Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the Congregation of the Children of Israel.
What I would like to say is that.
It is the Lord who wants to fight for us.
I believe it was the Lord's intention that we.
Look to him for every answer in detail in life.
I believe that it was his desire that we gather around him in his person and have no one reign over us.
Than himself.
And if ever there was a time in history where there is a feeling amongst young families and young people to say let us have a captain over us and go into Egypt, today is that day. But young people and young fathers, young mothers, they truly believe with all of my heart, it was the Lord's intention.
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That he was to be the sole resource that we turned to.
For everything.
And so we have the wonderful privilege to be gathered to his name, to be gathered around his person and look to him.
For every answer and for the leading of His Spirit to bring out in our local assemblies just what we need.
Yes, there are difficulties.
When the people heard the evil report.
It filled them with fear. It made mention of their wives and their little ones as they heard about the giants that were in the land, and they were afraid.
And I stand as one before you that has felt that for my own children, for my own family. We feel as parents the deepest needs.
Of those that are close to us.
But the Lord would still have himself to be the ultimate resource to go to for every care and every need.
It is true that the Lord hearkened to the people when they wanted to make for themselves a king.
Because he knew that they were insistent upon their own way.
To be like the nations around.
If we look around to the culture, if we look around to what is around us, that will be the natural response. But we've had before us in these meetings the life of Abraham, the life of a man who walked by faith in a very difficult day. Do you think that that was easy for him to leave his family, his kindred, his father's house?
To go to a land he knew not where.
But it was a life that was marked by faith.
And as the culture continues to deteriorate.
It's going to require a life marked by faith, like Abraham to follow the Lord through the midst of the most difficult times.
And the Lord will honor that faith, and He'll give us the courage to endure whatever we have to endure. It's going to be a life that's not easy, young people.
Young father, young mother, each person in this room, we don't know how much longer the Lord's going to leave us here, but there is a path.
Marked by faith.
Where the Lord will be that resource that we need to meet.
In the hour of need, whatever it may be, whether it's in the local assembly, whether it's in your local situation, in your school and college, in the workplace, the Lord will help you.
My son came to me the other day. He just started a new job and he said, dad, pray for me.
He said I just started working with somebody who's transgender and he said I know it's going to be difficult to know how to interact with them. What should I say? What should I do?
And so these are the real challenges that we have as to walk a life marked by faith in the midst of a day where there's a lot of confusion.
And confusion of balance.
But let's not give up.
As difficult as the day may be, I know that there's some probably sitting here today who are perhaps on the verge of giving up and saying it's no use.
But the Lord desired that He would reign over us. He is the one that will fight for us.
And defend us and help us to meet whatever challenge we may face. As long as we cast ourselves upon Him, may He give us the courage to do so.