Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications

When God Fights

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2014-01-05

Synopsis: John Weaver expounds Jeremiah 21 to show that God is a warrior who fights against those who spurn His grace. He explains that when God's longsuffering ends, He renders human weapons ineffective and fights either mediately (using means like nations) or immediately (directly). The sermon warns that prayer becomes useless when rebellion persists, and urges believers to submit to God to avoid being His enemy.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bibles today, if you would, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 21. Jeremiah 21. We'll read the entire chapter, since there's only 14 verses. Jeremiah 21. And look, if you would, beginning there with verse 1. Jeremiah 21, verse 1. The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur, the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseah, The priest saying, inquire, I pray thee of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, maketh war against us. If so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works that he may go up from us. Then said Jeremiah to them, thus say you to Zedekiah. Thus said the Lord God of Israel, behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands. wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.

[John Weaver] And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand, and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, said the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, And such as are left in this city from the pestilence, and from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life, and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword, he shall not spare them, neither have pity nor have mercy. And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. He that abided in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.

[John Weaver] But he that goeth out and follows the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord. It shall be given in the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. And touching the house of the king of Judah say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of David, thus saith the Lord.

[John Weaver] Execute judgment in the morning. and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it because of the evil of your doings. Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley and rock of the plains, saith the LORD, which say, Who shall come down against us? Who shall enter into our habitations? But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doing, saith the LORD, and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about."

[John Weaver] The title of the message today is When God Fights. Now, the title of the message should at least excite some thought. When we think of God, we primarily think of his holiness and his love, and therefore we do not even contemplate the idea of God fighting. Moreover, we have been taught by pietistic and pacifistic pastors and preachers that all fighting is wrong and wicked. And we've been conditioned to think that anyone that engages in fighting or in war is practically evil and wicked in and of themselves.

[John Weaver] Of course, such thinking is not only unbiblical, but it is also ungodly and impractical as well. God not only fights, but he also demands that we fight. If we do not resist evil, then evil prevails. There's an old adage that states, all that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. While that adage is undoubtedly true, the truth is that God commands us to fight and he commands us to stand against wickedness. He said in Psalm 97 verse 10, ye that love the Lord hate evil. And then he asked in Psalm 94 and verse 16, who will rise up for me against the workers of iniquity? Who will stand for me against the evildoers? You must remember that the Apostle Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6, verse 12, to fight the good fight of faith, to lay hold of eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast also professed a good profession before many witnesses. He also told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, verse 3, that thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Moreover, you have to remember that right before Paul's death, he said this in 2 Timothy 4 and verse 7, I fought a good fight. I finished my course. Now, if we understand Paul's statements, then we also should understand that the entirety of our Christian life is a fight. It is indeed spiritual warfare. We cannot escape combat. because we are called to be Christian soldiers and Christian warriors. So we are not only to engage in spiritual warfare, but at times there may be, we may be called and it may be necessary to engage in physical combat as well.

[John Weaver] Now, the very fact that the scriptures call God a warrior should tell us something about him. The God of the Bible is not the God of the average professing Christian, because the average professing Christian somehow thinks of God as a senile old man in heaven in a rocking chair who somehow does not like sin and transgression and wickedness, but that he understands and therefore he just kind of leniently winks at our sins. and our indiscretions. Well, the truth of the matter is this, no, God is a warrior. He's not only a warrior, but he's holy and just and righteous. The Bible says in the book of Exodus chapter 15 in verse 3, listen carefully, the Lord is a man of war. That is his name. The Lord is a man of war. The Lord is his name. So when men sin against God, When they trespass against God's law, when they blaspheme Him and disobey Him, in reality, they have no idea who they're messing with. They really do not. For God is a holy, righteous, and just warrior.

[John Weaver] He told his people in Exodus chapter 14 and verse 14, listen carefully, the Lord shall fight for you. And you shall hold your peace. In Deuteronomy, chapter one in verse 30, Joshua told the people as they entered into Canaan, the Lord, your God, which goes before you, he shall fight for you according to all that he did for you in the land of Egypt before your eyes. So obviously, God does indeed fight David, who was a mighty warrior. He learned all of his martial skills from God himself. For he said in Psalm 144 in verse one, Blessed be the Lord, my strength, which teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight.

[John Weaver] So let me just make this exceedingly clear. God does fight. He is a warrior.

[John Weaver] Now, in case some want to deny this truth and try to divide this truth, And we say, well, all this in the Old Testament. May I remind you that the same truth also occurs in the New Testament. And you've heard me say this innumerable times, and I'll say it again. We have one Bible, not two. And we have one God, not two. But you remember the passage in James 4 and verse 6. Listen to this. The Bible says, But he giveth more grace. Wherefore, he saith, God resisted the proud, but He gave the grace of the humble. In 1 Peter 5, in verse 5, you have the same truth. He says, Likewise, you younger submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility. For God resisted the proud and gave the grace of the humble. Now, in James 4 and verse 6, and in 1 Peter 5 and verse 5, the word resisteth is used. It is exactly the same Greek word that occurs in both passages.

[John Weaver] The word is antitoslomai, which literally means to resist, to oppose, to set oneself in battle against. So it literally means that God rises up in battle against the proud. And of course, you have to remember Revelation 19, verse 11, where in reference to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says, and I saw the heaven open and behold, a white horse and he that sat upon him was called fateful and true and in righteousness doth he judge and make war. So obviously, our Lord is indeed a warrior. He is a man of war. He fights. And what I want you to see in Jeremiah chapter 21 is a few truths concerning the reality of when God fights. That's an awesome thought. When God fights. When God fights. The occasion of Jeremiah chapter 21, it's when King Zedekiah sent an embassy to Jeremiah and asked him to pray for Jerusalem and for the people of Judah because Nebuchadnezzar and his armies were beginning to assemble around Jerusalem. So he asked Jeremiah, look at it in verse 2, says to Jeremiah, inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us.

[John Weaver] For Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, maketh war against us. If so be that the Lord will deal with us according to his wondrous works, that he may go up for us. So he is asking, basically, Jeremiah to pray, inquire of the Lord, see if the Lord will have mercy upon us, see if the Lord will send Nebuchadnezzar away. Jeremiah's answer is basically this. It's too late to pray. We should realize there is a time when prayer will not avail and when it is literally useless to pray. Do you realize there is even a time when God is angry with the prayers of His people? He asks in Psalm 80 and verse 4, listen to this question, The psalmist is praying and he says, Oh, Lord, God of hosts, how long will thou be angry against the prayer of thy people? Wow. So there's not only a time when it's useless and in vain to pray. There's a time when God will even be angry with the prayer of his people. You see, the problem is this.

[John Weaver] Most people think that, well, you know, we could just pray any old time. in any old way, and somehow when we pray in any old time, in any old way, we tend to think that God is obligated to hear us. That's the farthest thing from the truth. God is not under any obligation to hear us, especially when we're in rebellion against Him. In fact, David said it like this, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Psalm 66, verse 18.

[John Weaver] I want you to look very quickly, hold Jeremiah because we're coming right back there, but look in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter one. Proverbs chapter one. I want to just show you several passages very quickly. If you tend to think that, well, you can just pray any old time, any old way and God's going to hear you, that's not the case. In fact, Jeremiah telling Zedekiah, it's too late to pray. So notice in Proverbs chapter one, beginning there with verse 28, look what God says about the wicked. Proverbs 1 verse 28, God says, Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer.

[John Weaver] They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Why? For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would have none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof. Therefore, said God, they shall eat of the fruit of their own devices and be filled. They shall eat the fruit of their own ways and be filled with their own devices.

[John Weaver] What did he say in verse 28? They shall call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they're not going to find me. No. God said I'm not going to listen to them. They can pray, but it won't do any good. If you look in Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 11. I'll show you other verses momentarily. But look in Jeremiah 11 and verse 11. Look at what God says. Jeremiah 11 and verse 11. He says this.

[John Weaver] Therefore, thus saith the Lord, behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape. And though they cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them." So there's a time when prayer is useless. There's a time when God will not hear prayer. Zedekiah wanted Jeremiah to pray and inquire of the Lord and see if the Lord by His wondrous works would turn Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army around. Jeremiah answers, no, it's too late to pray. You see, Zedekiah wanted a miracle. Zedekiah wanted deliverance. Zedekiah wanted mercy. What God gave him was justice. And when God fights, all those whom He fights against, only receives justice. So, let's look in Jeremiah chapter 21, and let's try to find several principles concerning when God fights. First of all, I want you to note, the first principle we discern as to when God fights is found in the reality of His spurned grace and mercy. What puts God in a fighting mood? Spurning His grace and His mercy and His goodness.

[John Weaver] Now, I will tell you this. Very few people have ever really seen me angry. Very few have ever seen me really wanting to fight. In fact, I can tell you there's only two times in my life that I was really wanting to fight. I can remember those two times. And one of them I would have thought if I could have gotten a hold of the man because he was driving a semi truck and he tried to pull that entire truck over on Alice and I. We couldn't go anywhere. He was upset. He was angry because he was in a traffic jam. We were barely moving.

[John Weaver] I got news for you. A semi truck could have run over us and four or five others without. I told Alice. If I can stop him, I'll either whip him or he'll whip me. It's just that simple. Only twice that I can remember that I really wanted to fight. And most of us have never, ever. Seen a time. But God really wants to fight. Wow. Have you ever stopped to think about this? When is God ready to fight? Let me show you.

[John Weaver] I want you to hold Jeremiah 21, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 2 very quickly. We've got a lot of scripture to cover, but I want you to look at Romans chapter 2 at verses 4 through 6 and what God says. Romans chapter 2 verses 4 through 6. He's laying down a very excellent principle for us. Romans chapter 2 verse 4, look what God says to these wicked people, or despises thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance, but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasures up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds." Now look what God says. God says, you despise the riches of my goodness, and then what happens? My forbearance comes into play. Then you despise my forbearance, and what happens? Then my longsuffering comes into play. Finally, he is saying, there comes a time when my longsuffering ends, and all you're doing is gathering up and treasuring up in yourself wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

[John Weaver] He says, you're getting yourself in a position for me to fight against you. You have to understand that when you disregard God, In essence, you despise Him. And this is what happens in the book of Jeremiah. God had sent His prophets. God had sent His preachers. God had sent His Word. And over and over, the people refused to hear God's Word. They despised God's preachers. They refused to repent. I want you to look in Jeremiah chapter 8, if you would. We'll look at several passages just to set the stage and show you what these people were really like. Look in Jeremiah chapter 8 and verse 6. Remember now, Jeremiah's been sent to them. He's preached to them. Jeremiah 8 and verse 6. Look what Jeremiah says, I hearken and heard, but they, that is the people, spake not a right.

[John Weaver] No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, what have I done? Everyone turned to his course as the horse rushes into battle. Nobody listened to Jeremiah. Nobody would turn from their sins and wickedness. In fact, they took the attitude, I haven't done anything. I don't see anything wrong with it. What have I done? And they just kept going the straight as they were going. So Zedekiah and the Judahites were refusing to walk according to God's law. They had refused to worship God, and they had turned to idolatry. They had reached the point where God's goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering toward them had been absolutely exhausted. Look in Jeremiah 9, verses 13-16. Jeremiah 9, beginning there, verse 13. Watch carefully. And the Lord saith, Jeremiah 9, verse 13, And the Lord said, Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walk therein, but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Balaam, which their fathers taught them. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink, and I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them until

[John Weaver] I have consumed them." Note, if you would, God is saying, I'm going to wipe them out. You see, there's a truth, and this truth needs to be enunciated. There is a time when God will no longer bear with the sins and the iniquities of the people. I want to show you. I want you to go ahead and turn, hold Jeremiah, but turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 15.

[John Weaver] Let me set the stage for you here. Look in Genesis 15. I'm going to show you. That there is a time when God will no longer bear with the sins and rebellions of a people. He suffered the Amorites for 400 years. You know, the children of Israel went into Egypt for 400 years. Have you ever wondered why they went into Egypt for 400 years? Look in Genesis 15, verse 13. He says this, Genesis 15 and. Notice, if you would please, verse 13, God says that he said to Abram, know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs and shall serve them. They shall afflict them 400 years.

[John Weaver] And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterwards shall they come out with great substance. Now look, he tells Abram, and thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again. Now why did God send the children of Israel into Egypt for 400 years, and in the fourth generation they're going to come forth again? Here's why.

[John Weaver] For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. The Amorites lived in the land of Canaan. Guess what God did when he brought the Israelites out of the land of Canaan? He put a sword in their hand and said, kill every one of them. You know why? His long suffering had come to an end. You know, the same is true of his dealings with Israel. I want you to look in Jeremiah 44 and look at verse 22. Jeremiah 44 and verse 22. I want you to see the exact words that God gave to the children of Israel. Notice, if you would, Jeremiah 44 and look in verse 22. Jeremiah 44 and verse 22, look what he says, because you have burned the incense.

[John Weaver] That's verse 23, verse 22 is what I want so that the Lord could no longer bear Because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you have committed, therefore is your land a desolation and an astonishment and a curse without an inhabitant as it is today. Look what he said, though, in verse 22. So the Lord could no longer bear, and he forbore as long as he could. But now he can no longer bear their sin and their rebellion, and thus he's going to destroy them. Now, I want you to understand something.

[John Weaver] It is not just the wicked that are at times consumed in God's righteous anger. Sometimes. Even Christians lose their lives. Because of their continual and constant disobedience. Listen to what I'm about to tell you. The truth that the Apostle John enunciated in 1 John 5 and verse 16. Has never really dawned upon most Christians. I'm going to show you that verse in just a moment. But all that I want to point out right now is John said.

[John Weaver] There is a sin unto death. Then he's talking to Christians. I want you to turn there to 1 John chapter 5. I want you to see it in the context. Look in 1 John chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verse 13. 1 John 5, verse 13. Here it is. Watch what he says. 1 John 5, verse 13. Just so you can see, this is being written to Christians. He says, These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God.

[John Weaver] I would say that was a Christian, wouldn't you? that you may know that you have eternal life, that's a Christian, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God, that's a Christian. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that's a Christian, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us, that's a Christian. And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desire of him, that's a Christian. If any man see his brother, that's a Christian, a brother sin of sin, which is not of death, he shall ask and he shall give him life for them that sin not of death. There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray for it. What's he saying? There's a sin of death. He said you don't have to pray that people commit that sin, but there is indeed a sin of death.

[John Weaver] That is what he's talking about. God is just simply saying there comes a time when God will no longer endure the disrespect and the dishonor of a person or a people. In fact, we'll read about it a little bit later today, God did take the lives of a number of Christians in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Because in verse 30, the Bible says there, for this cause, many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep. Many sleep, sleep refers to death. Many sleep, that is. Many have their lives taken because of their sins. Now, listen, if God will judge his people and he will. For we read that judgment must begin at the house of God. If God will judge his people, do you not think that God will also judge the wicked?

[John Weaver] Well, of course he will. The Bible tells us in Psalm 7 and verse 11 that God judges the righteous and that God is angry with the wicked every day. One may arrive at the point where he is beyond the reach of prayer. Zedekiah And the people of Judah reach this point. I want you to go back to Jeremiah. I want you to look, if you would, please, beginning in Jeremiah, chapter seven. I want to take you very quickly through three passages. I want you to see what God tells Jeremiah.

[John Weaver] He is so intent on destroying the Judahites. In Jeremiah, chapter seven and verse 16, Of course, you remember Jeremiah as the weeping prophet. He wanted to pray for these rebellious, wicked people. So God tells him in Jeremiah 7 and verse 16, Therefore, pray not for this people, neither lift up crying or prayer for them, neither make intercession to me, for I will not hear thee. God says it doesn't do you any good to pray for them, Jeremiah. Because I'm not going to hear you. I'm just not going to hear you. Look at Jeremiah chapter 11. and verse 14, because Jeremiah still wanted to pray for the people. So in Jeremiah 11 and verse 14, again, God tells Jeremiah, therefore, pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them, for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. Now, don't you know what God said? Jeremiah, I'm not going to hear you if you pray for them, and I'm not going to hear them if they pray for themselves.

[John Weaver] I'm not going to do it. If you look in Jeremiah chapter 14 at verses 11 and 12, finally God consents to allow Jeremiah to pray for the people. But I want you to notice what God tells him to pray. Jeremiah chapter 14 beginning there with verse 11, Then the Lord said unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry.

[John Weaver] And when they offer burnt offering and oblation, I will not accept it, but I will consume them by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence. What did God say? Pray not for this people for their good. In other words, Jeremiah, if you want to pray for them, I'll let you pray. But here's what you pray. You pray that I'll destroy them because that's exactly what I'm going to do. Wow. I want you to mark this down.

[John Weaver] Put this down in your mind. God is gracious. and kind and merciful and long-suffering. But there comes a time when His long-suffering ends. And when His long-suffering ends, He will fight. He will fight. And the very first thing you learn from Jeremiah 21 is when God fights, it's when His goodness His mercy, His grace, His forbearance, His long-suffering has been spurned and neglected.

[John Weaver] They refuse to acknowledge Him. They refuse to bow to Him and worship Him and obey Him. And He reaches the point that He'll fight. Wow. When God fights. The second principle I want you to know is this. When God fights, we discern when God fights, His fighting is found in the inability of warriors and the ineffectiveness of their weaponry. Look at it. Jeremiah 21 and verse 4. After Zedekiah sends to Jeremiah and says, pray for us. Jeremiah says in essence, no, too late to pray. Look in verse 4. Here's what Jeremiah tells Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them in the midst of the city. What? What did he say to Zedekiah and all the men of Judah? I will turn back your weapons. You will not have any fighting ability. Your weaponry will be ineffective.

[John Weaver] And moreover, he said, I will bring Nebuchadnezzar into the gates. I want to ask you a question. Have you ever experienced days when absolutely nothing went right? How about those days that everything you worked for and everything you endeavored to accomplish failed and fell through. Do you remember how frustrated you became, how discouraged, how downhearted and how depressed you became just because nothing worked?

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. Suppose now. In one of those days. That your life. And the life of your family and the life of your friends depended upon your effectiveness and your abilities. Wow. Do you realize if God can defeat us so easily? It's just as easy for God to defeat an entire army. The truth is, it is God that makes our weaponry effective. And it is also God that renders our weaponry ineffective.

[John Weaver] How do you think David overcame Goliath. Goliath would have had all of the modern day weaponry. Moreover, he was much larger, he was much stronger, he was more experienced. I mean, he had all the combat armor, he had the sword, he had the spear, he had the shield, he had everything. David had nothing but a little sling. You see, we tend to think that just because someone is powerful and strong and they've got modern day weaponry and maybe even secret weaponry, then they're bound to win the battle. They're bound to win the fight. That's not the case. That's not necessarily the truth. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 9 in verse 11, the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Proverbs 21 in verse 31 tells us, The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord. Do you realize how easily David killed Goliath? All God did was make David's sling effective and Goliath's weaponry ineffective. Just that simple. Do you realize?

[John Weaver] I'm going to show you this. I want you to turn to 2 Kings chapter 7. I can quote it, but I want you to see this. 2 Kings chapter 7. It is simple and easy for God not only to overthrow our plans, but also the plans of entire armies. Just because you have what you think is the best military plan available unto man, that does not mean that you're going to win anything.

[John Weaver] The Syrians, had conquest on their minds. They had surrounded Samaria. If you went out of Samaria, then the Syrians would kill you. If you stayed inside Samaria, you're going to starve to death because famine stalked the city. Pestilence was in the city. You would die either way. Well, How did God get rid of the Syrian army? I want to show you what he used. Here's how he totally frustrated the military plans of the Syrian army.

[John Weaver] Look in Second Kings, chapter seven and verse six. Watch carefully. 2 Kings 7 and verse 6, So the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host. And they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to come upon us. Wherefore, they arose and fled in the twilight and left their tents and their horses and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their lives.

[John Weaver] And what did God do? He just allowed them to hear a noise. And they interpreted that noise as the great host coming against them. And all of their military plans were just instantly crushed. You see, our sovereign God may easily turn back the weaponry and the plans of those whom he is against. Let me just quote some verses in Job 34 and verse 24. The Bible says this, he shall break in pieces mighty men without number. In Psalm 76 and verse 5, which I used a couple of weeks ago and explained it, he just said this, the stout hearted are spoiled. They have slept their sleep and none of the men of might have found their hands. Wow. In Isaiah 3, in verse 25, he said this, Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty men in war.

[John Weaver] God's going to kill them. I want you to look in Jeremiah chapter 51. Let me show you this. Jeremiah 51, because God is here still speaking about how easy it is for Him to destroy the might and the effectiveness of men and their weaponry. But look in Jeremiah 51 and verse 25. And here he's going to be fighting against the Babylonians. Let's see, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah. I'm in Isaiah. OK. Jeremiah, chapter 51, and look, if you would please, at verse 25, look what he says. God said to Babylon, Behold, I'm against thee, O destroying mountain. Set the Lord, which destroy all the earth, and I will stretch out my hand upon thee and roll thee down from the rocks and will make thee a burnt mountain. So this is what God is going to do. Now, what I want you to notice and how God does this. Skip down, if you would, to verse 30. Look what he says about the mighty warriors of Babylon. He says the mighty men of Babylon have have foreborn to fight.

[John Weaver] Oh, they didn't fight. They have remained in their holes. Watch, their might failed, they became as women. They have burned their dwelling places, their bars are broken. What did God do to the mighty Babylonian host? He turned them into women.

[John Weaver] Now, not literally, but he made them afraid. He made them weak. They wouldn't even get out of their places of protection to fight. While it is true that God oftentimes gives His strength and protection for battle, it is equally true that when God fights, He turns the effectiveness of the weapons of those whom He's fighting against back against those against whom He fights. They cannot function. They cannot fight. They cannot be effective.

[John Weaver] I want you to understand, in our modern day, multitudes fear the power of our enemies. And it is true that we have great and powerful enemies. It is also true that our enemies have great and powerful weapons and they hate Christ and they hate his followers. However, we've got to remember this. The greatest power of all. Is the sovereign God of heaven and earth. Amen. Do you remember what the Apostle John wrote in First John?

[John Weaver] Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. King Abijah of Judah gave some stern words of warning to King Jeroboam of Samaria. Here's what he said in 2 Chronicles 13 and verse 12. Listen. King Abijah said, And behold, God himself is with us for our captain and his priests with sounding trumpets to sound an alarm against you, O children of Israel. Fight you not against the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper. It's useless and it's vain to fight against God.

[John Weaver] He's capable of turning back every weapon. And He's capable of turning back every warrior. In light of His great power, there is indeed a special promise that God gives to those who obey Him. I want you to look in Isaiah 54. Go to Isaiah 54, and let's begin reading at verse 14, and read through verse 17. Isaiah 54. Watch this promise. Watch this blessing. Just to show you how powerful God is. In Isaiah 54, beginning there with verse 14, the Bible says this.

[John Weaver] In righteousness shalt thou be established. You ought to want to be more righteous than ever. In righteousness shalt thou be established. Thou shalt be far from oppression. For thou shalt not fear and from terror, for it shall not come near thee. Watch carefully. Behold, they shall gather together, but not by me. Whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Watch what God says. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals and the fire. and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work, and I have created the waster to destroy. Now look what God says to those who have their righteousness in him, those who obey him. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.

[John Weaver] This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousnesses of me, saith the Lord." Wow. I don't know about you, But I'm kind of glad God is capable of turning back every weapon the enemy has. And when God fights, he makes them ineffective. And he makes them all tremble. Here's the third principle, if you look in Jeremiah chapter 21 again. You're going to find the third principle is we discern that when God fights, He fights either immediately, immediately, or both. I'll explain that, but look in verses four and five. Jeremiah 21, verses four and five, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith you fight against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them in the midst of the city. Ah, verse five.

[John Weaver] And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and in fury and in great wrath. Wow.

[John Weaver] Now, here's the third principle. When God fights. He may fight immediately. Immediately or both.

[John Weaver] Now, allow me to define those terms. Theologically speaking, When we use the word immediate, it refers to the use of means. Theologically speaking, when we use the word immediate or immediately, it has no reference to time, but it refers to the fact that God acts directly and personally without the use of means. So when we use the word immediate, it means God uses means. When we use the word immediate, it means God does not use means. So creation was an immediate act of God.

[John Weaver] He spoke the world into existence. He did not use means. Providence may be an immediate act of God, such as when he gave the manna from heaven, or it may be immediate when God uses individuals to supply needs. When God sent Nebuchadnezzar against the Judaites, it was a immediate act. He was using means. So, providentially, He gave victory to the Babylonian Empire. When God destroyed the Judaites that fled to Egypt, after Nebuchadnezzar had already destroyed Judah, He did so by giving Egypt into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.

[John Weaver] Let me just quote it. In Jeremiah 44 in verse 30, God says this, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hathorah, king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of them that seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah, king of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, his enemy that sought his life. So what is God doing? God used Nebuchadnezzar. That is a immediate act of God. He used means. And when God was going to subdue those Judahites that fled to Egypt against the word of God, God said, all right, you're afraid of the king of Babylon. Fine, wonderful. I'm going to send him down to Egypt and he's going to conquer Egypt and he's going to take care of you down there. Do you realize when God used hornets to drive the Canaanites, the Amorites, out of the land, that was an immediate act of God. God said in Exodus 23 and verse 28, And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before thee.

[John Weaver] So theologically speaking, that was just simply an immediate act of God. Now, please understand this. Immediate acts of God are still acts of God. He just simply used means. So it means when God fights, He just uses men, or nations, or countries, but it is still that it's God that is doing the fighting. Look in Jeremiah 22, if you would, in verses 7 through 9. I'm going to show you this. It's still God that's doing the fighting. Look in Jeremiah chapter 22, and here it is in verses 7 through 9. Jeremiah 22, verse 7. Look what God tells the people, and I will prepare destroyers against thee. God will. I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons, and they shall cut down like choice cedars and cast them into the fire.

[John Weaver] And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say, every man to his neighbor, wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city? Then they shall answer, because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worship other gods and serve them." Notice what God said. God said, I will prepare destroyers against you. And then He said, men's going to pass by and say, why has the Lord done this? Now, God used men. But it was God who did it.

[John Weaver] In Jeremiah 46 and verses 15 and 16, listen to this. Why are thy valiant men swept away? They stood not, because the Lord did drive them. When God uses means, it means that God is just simply fighting immediately. And when God fights immediately, it is still God's fighting. For instance, if you look very quickly in Jeremiah 47, and I love this passage, look in Jeremiah chapter 47. And notice, if you would, please, verses six and seven, because God is using means. And the Bible says this, Jeremiah, chapter forty seven, beginning there with verse. Fifteen, Jeremiah, forty seven, verse fifteen. Well, Jeremiah, forty seven, no pardon. I said, Jeremiah, forty seven, it's not Jeremiah, forty seven, is it? Hmm. Well, I can quote the scripture.

[John Weaver] I've got it right here. It may be Isaiah, but it doesn't matter. O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? Put thyself up in thy scabbard and rest and be still. And then the question is answered. How can it be quiet? seeing the Lord have given it a charge against Ascalon and against the seashore hath he appointed it. So once again, God says, no, it's not going to be quiet. It is God's sword that he has raised. God says it's not going to be quiet and it's not going to be put back in the scabbard until I'm finished with it. So it's still God's work.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. I want you to turn to Isaiah 10. Isaiah 10. And you know that God used the Assyrians To destroy Samaria, the northern empire of Israel. Notice in Isaiah chapter 10 and look at verses 5 and 6 at what God says. Jeremiah 10 verse 5. Look if you would. God says, O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. Now watch.

[John Weaver] I will send him against the hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets." Note, if you would, in verse 5, God calls the Assyrian the rod of His anger, and He calls the staff in their hand as His indignation, and then if you look at verse 6, God says, I will send him, and I will give him a charge. Now, let me just put it to you like this. God sent the Assyrians. God sent the Chaldeans. Obviously, the Assyrians destroyed Samaria and conquered the Israelites easily.

[John Weaver] Likewise, Babylon did the same to Judah and Jerusalem. The Hornets did a fine job on the Canaanites. But here's my question. If God uses means so successfully, when he fights immediately. And those whom he sins cannot be defeated, cannot be overthrown, and cannot be turned back. How do you think one will fare when God rises up to fight against him personally? I want you to go back to Jeremiah 21. I want you to look at this.

[John Weaver] I don't know about you, but this is scary. Look in Jeremiah 21, verse 5. What did God say through Jeremiah to Zedekiah and the people of Judah? He said, and I will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and in fury and great wrath. God said, I myself will fight.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. What does it mean When God says he's going to fight against you with an outstretched hand and with an outstretched arm. Well, let me show you, I want you to hold Jeremiah 21, but look in your Bibles very quickly to Exodus chapter six and verse six, Exodus six and verse six. You remember this passage, God is going to deliver his people out of Egypt and God is going to destroy the Egyptians and destroy Egypt. So in Exodus chapter 6 and verse 6, here's what God tells the children of Israel. He says, Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord. I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments. Ah. I will redeem you with a stretched out arms and great judgments." Now, when you go back to Jeremiah 21, God says, I'm going to fight against you, in verse 5, with an outstretched hand and a strong arm, even in anger and in fury and great wrath.

[John Weaver] You've got to remember it was that outstretched arm That was God's great deliverance and redemption, which he wrought in delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt. He fought against the Egyptians and brought the children of Israel out. He fought against Pharaoh and all of his false gods. He destroyed them. He drowned Pharaoh and all his soldiers in the Red Sea. His great power was used in delivering his people.

[John Weaver] But now what God says is. My great power is going to be used to destroy you. You can expect no aid. You can expect no help. You can expect no mercy. You can expect no grace. You can expect no quarter. Because I wholly and completely and absolutely intend to destroy you. We have to understand God is a warrior. He is an implacable warrior. And when He fights, He fights.

[John Weaver] I want you to look in Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32. And let's begin reading there with verse 39. Watch, if you would, Deuteronomy 32 and verse 39. We'll have to hurry. Deuteronomy 32, verse 39, look what God says. Deuteronomy 32, verse 39, see now that I. Even I am He, and there is no God with Me. I kill, and I make alive. I wound, and I heal. Neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand. For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say, I live forever." Watch what he said.

[John Weaver] If I went, that is, if I sharpened my glittering sword, and My hand take hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, and reward those that hate Me. I will make Mine errors drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh. And that with the blood of the slain of the captives from the beginning of revenges upon the enemies." What did God say? If I have to draw out my sword, if I have to fight, I'm going to destroy you. When God fights, He will make an end. Do you remember what he told Samuel when he was going to fight against the house of Eli in 1 Samuel 3 and verse 12? He said in that day, I will perform against Eli all the things which I've spoken concerning his house. And when I begin, I will make an end. He said in the book of Nahum 1 in verse 9, what do you imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end.

[John Weaver] Listen, affliction shall not arise a second time. God says when I fight, I will not need a second blow. One is quite sufficient because he is the sovereign, powerful man of war, God of gods and king of kings. Just a couple of quick applications. The first one is this. It should be obvious. that when God fights, that victory is absolutely certain for God and defeat is absolutely assured for His enemies. Who can resist God successfully? The answer is no one. He said in Isaiah 42 and verse 13, listen to this. The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man. He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war.

[John Weaver] He shall cry, yea, roar. He shall prevail against His enemies. What's God going to do? He's going to go forth like a mighty man to battle. He'll prevail against his enemies. Listen, if we believe that God is a God of war, if we believe that He fights as He said in His Scripture, why do we not cry to Him to fight against His enemies now? Why do we not cry as David did in Psalm 68 in verse 1? Arise, O Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered.

[John Weaver] Let them drift away as smoke before the wind. If we believe that God fights, why do we not cry upon Him to fight against His enemies and our enemies?

[John Weaver] Secondly, God has power to preserve and defend, but God also has power to destroy. If we wish to secure God's protection, we must not become His enemies. We must seek to submit to Him and obey Him at all times. And the third application is this, God's faithful servants, like Jeremiah, must always speak according to God's Word and according to truth, no matter how difficult that truth is. Jeremiah did not look at Zedekiah and say, everything's going to be alright, you just trust. No! He said, God's going to kill you. and everybody surrounding you. That's what God says. False prophets may speak smoothly and may prophesy smooth things, but God's men must proclaim the truth no matter how difficult and no matter how hurtful it is. And you're going to find it's God's Word and God's truth that separates God's preachers from the false prophets. And as God says, what is the chaff to the wheat is not my word like as a fire set the Lord and like a hammer that breaketh rock in pieces.

[John Weaver] God is a warrior and he fights. You just need to make sure you do not spurn his mercy, grace, goodness, forbearance and long suffering. You must need to make sure that you're not his enemy, that you're not on the receiving end, that he neither fights against you immediately or immediately, because you recognize the Lord is a man of war. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your love, for your mercy, for your truth, for your goodness and grace. And Lord, we're thankful that thou art fully and absolutely capable of destroying not only all of your enemies, but our enemies. And you're absolutely and totally capable of protecting thy people.

[John Weaver] And you've given us this wonderful promise that no weapon that is formed will prosper against us. Give us grace to trust thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

When God Fights

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	92914958589
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2014-01-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 141: Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications — Chapter 8
Source Timed Segments	77

Formatted Transcript

Opening

Well, let's open our Bibles today, if you would, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 21. Jeremiah 21. We'll read the entire chapter, since there's only 14 verses. Jeremiah 21. And look, if you would, beginning there with verse 1. Jeremiah 21, verse 1.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 21:1-14

"The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur, the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseah, the priest, saying, 'Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, maketh war against us. If so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.' Then said Jeremiah to them, 'Thus say you to Zedekiah. Thus said the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.'" "And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand, and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, said the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, and from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life, and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword, he shall not spare them, neither have pity nor have mercy. And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." "But he that goeth out and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord. It shall be given in the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. And touching the house of the king of Judah say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of David, thus saith the Lord." "Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it because of the evil of your doings. Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley and rock of the plain, saith the Lord, which say, Who shall come down against us? Who shall enter into our habitations? But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doing, saith the Lord, and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about."

Introduction: The Reality of God as a Warrior

Weaver challenges the common view of God as only loving and holy, asserting that Scripture presents God as a warrior who fights and commands His people to fight.

The title of the message today is "When God Fights." Now, the title of the message should at least excite some thought. When we think of God, we primarily think of his holiness and his love, and therefore we do not even contemplate the idea of God fighting. Moreover, we have been taught by pietistic and pacifistic pastors and preachers that all fighting is wrong and wicked. And we've been conditioned to think that anyone that engages in fighting or in war is practically evil and wicked in and of themselves. Of course, such thinking is not only unbiblical, but it is also ungodly and impractical as well. God not only fights, but he also demands that we fight. If we do not resist evil, then evil prevails. There's an old adage that states, "All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." While that adage is undoubtedly true, the truth is that God commands us to fight and he commands us to stand against wickedness. He said in Psalm 97:10, "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil." And then he asked in Psalm 94:16, "Who will rise up for me against the workers of iniquity? Who will stand for me against the evildoers?" You must remember that the Apostle Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12 to "fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." He also told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

Moreover, you have to remember that right before Paul's death, he said this in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course." Now, if we understand Paul's statements, then we also should understand that the entirety of our Christian life is a fight. It is indeed spiritual warfare. We cannot escape combat, because we are called to be Christian soldiers and Christian warriors. So we are not only to engage in spiritual warfare, but at times there may be—we may be called and it may be necessary to engage in physical combat as well.

Biblical Evidence that God Fights

Old and New Testament passages are cited to prove that God is a man of war, including Exodus 15:3, Revelation 19:11, and James 4:6.

Now, the very fact that the scriptures call God a warrior should tell us something about him. The God of the Bible is not the God of the average professing Christian, because the average professing Christian somehow thinks of God as a senile old man in heaven in a rocking chair who somehow does not like sin and transgression and wickedness, but that he understands and therefore he just kind of leniently winks at our sins and our indiscretions. Well, the truth of the matter is this: no, God is a warrior. He's not only a warrior, but he's holy and just and righteous. The Bible says in the book of Exodus 15:3, listen carefully,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 15:3

"The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name."

So when men sin against God, when they trespass against God's law, when they blaspheme him and disobey him, in reality, they have no idea who they're messing with. They really do not. For God is a holy, righteous, and just warrior.

He told his people in Exodus 14:14, listen carefully, "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." In Deuteronomy 1:30, Joshua told the people as they entered into Canaan, "The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in the land of Egypt before your eyes." So obviously, God does indeed fight. David, who was a mighty warrior, learned all of his martial skills from God himself. For he said in Psalm 144:1, "Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight." So let me just make this exceedingly clear. God does fight. He is a warrior.

Now, in case some want to deny this truth and try to divide this truth, and we say, "Well, all this is in the Old Testament." May I remind you that the same truth also occurs in the New Testament. And you've heard me say this innumerable times, and I'll say it again. We have one Bible, not two. And we have one God, not two. But you remember the passage in James 4:6. Listen to this. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — James 4:6

"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."

In 1 Peter 5:5, you have the same truth. He says,

Scripture Reading — James 4:6

"Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."

Now, in James 4:6 and in 1 Peter 5:5, the word "resisteth" is used. It is exactly the same Greek word that occurs in both passages.

The word is antitassomai, which literally means to resist, to oppose, to set oneself in battle against. So it literally means that God rises up in battle against the proud. And of course, you have to remember Revelation 19:11, where in reference to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Revelation 19:11

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war."

So obviously, our Lord is indeed a warrior. He is a man of war. He fights. And what I want you to see in Jeremiah chapter 21 is a few truths concerning the reality of when God fights. That's an awesome thought. When God fights. When God fights. The occasion of Jeremiah chapter 21, it's when King Zedekiah sent an embassy to Jeremiah and asked him to pray for Jerusalem and for the people of Judah because Nebuchadnezzar and his armies were beginning to assemble around Jerusalem. So he asked Jeremiah, look at it in verse 2, says to Jeremiah, "Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us.

The Occasion of Jeremiah 21: Zedekiah's Request

King Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to pray for deliverance from Nebuchadnezzar, but Jeremiah declares it is too late to pray because of persistent rebellion.

For Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, maketh war against us. If so be that the Lord will deal with us according to his wondrous works, that he may go up from us." So he is asking, basically, Jeremiah to pray, inquire of the Lord, see if the Lord will have mercy upon us, see if the Lord will send Nebuchadnezzar away. Jeremiah's answer is basically this: it's too late to pray. We should realize there is a time when prayer will not avail and when it is literally useless to pray. Do you realize there is even a time when God is angry with the prayers of his people? He asks in Psalm 80:4, listen to this question. The psalmist is praying and he says, "O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?" Wow. So there's not only a time when it's useless and in vain to pray, there's a time when God will even be angry with the prayer of his people. You see, the problem is this.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 80:4

Most people think that, well, you know, we could just pray any old time, in any old way, and somehow when we pray in any old time, in any old way, we tend to think that God is obligated to hear us. That's the farthest thing from the truth. God is not under any obligation to hear us, especially when we're in rebellion against him. In fact, David said it like this, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Psalm 66:18. I want you to look very quickly, hold Jeremiah because we're coming right back there, but look in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter one. Proverbs chapter one. I want to just show you several passages very quickly. If you tend to think that, well, you can just pray any old time, any old way and God's going to hear you, that's not the case. In fact, Jeremiah telling Zedekiah, it's too late to pray. So notice in Proverbs chapter one, beginning there with verse 28, look what God says about the wicked. Proverbs 1:28, God says, "Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer.

Principle 1: Spurned Grace and Mercy Provoke God to Fight

God's longsuffering has limits; when people continually despise His goodness, He eventually fights against them, as seen in Jeremiah's day and in Romans 2:4-6.

Now, I will tell you this. Very few people have ever really seen me angry. Very few have ever seen me really wanting to fight. In fact, I can tell you there's only two times in my life that I was really wanting to fight. I can remember those two times. And one of them I would have thought if I could have gotten a hold of the man because he was driving a semi truck and he tried to pull that entire truck over on Alice and I. We couldn't go anywhere. He was upset. He was angry because he was in a traffic jam. We were barely moving.

I got news for you. A semi truck could have run over us and four or five others without—I told Alice, "If I can stop him, I'll either whip him or he'll whip me. It's just that simple." Only twice that I can remember that I really wanted to fight. And most of us have never, ever seen a time. But God really wants to fight. Wow. Have you ever stopped to think about this? When is God ready to fight? Let me show you.

I want you to hold Jeremiah 21, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 2 very quickly. We've got a lot of scripture to cover, but I want you to look at Romans chapter 2 at verses 4 through 6 and what God says. Romans chapter 2 verses 4 through 6. He's laying down a very excellent principle for us. Romans chapter 2 verse 4, look what God says to these wicked people,

Scripture Reading — Romans 2:4-6

"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds."

Now look what God says. God says, you despise the riches of my goodness, and then what happens? My forbearance comes into play. Then you despise my forbearance, and what happens? Then my longsuffering comes into play. Finally, he is saying, there comes a time when my longsuffering ends, and all you're doing is gathering up and treasuring up in yourself wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

He says, you're getting yourself in a position for me to fight against you. You have to understand that when you disregard God, in essence, you despise him. And this is what happens in the book of Jeremiah. God had sent his prophets. God had sent his preachers. God had sent his Word. And over and over, the people refused to hear God's Word. They despised God's preachers. They refused to repent. I want you to look in Jeremiah chapter 8, if you would. We'll look at several passages just to set the stage and show you what these people were really like. Look in Jeremiah chapter 8 and verse 6. Remember now, Jeremiah's been sent to them. He's preached to them. Jeremiah 8:6. Look what Jeremiah says, "I hearkened and heard, but they," that is the people, "spake not aright.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6

No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle."

Nobody listened to Jeremiah. Nobody would turn from their sins and wickedness. In fact, they took the attitude, "I haven't done anything. I don't see anything wrong with it. What have I done?" And they just kept going the straight as they were going. So Zedekiah and the Judahites were refusing to walk according to God's law. They had refused to worship God, and they had turned to idolatry. They had reached the point where God's goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering toward them had been absolutely exhausted. Look in Jeremiah 9, verses 13-16. Jeremiah 9, beginning there, verse 13. Watch carefully. "And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:13-16

I have consumed them." Note, if you would, God is saying, I'm going to wipe them out. You see, there's a truth, and this truth needs to be enunciated. There is a time when God will no longer bear with the sins and the iniquities of the people. I want to show you. I want you to go ahead and turn, hold Jeremiah, but turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 15. Let me set the stage for you here. Look in Genesis 15. I'm going to show you that there is a time when God will no longer bear with the sins and rebellions of a people. He suffered the Amorites for 400 years. You know, the children of Israel went into Egypt for 400 years. Have you ever wondered why they went into Egypt for 400 years? Look in Genesis 15, verse 13. He says this, Genesis 15 and—notice, if you would please, verse 13, God says that he said to Abram, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.

And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance." Now look, he tells Abram, "And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again." Now why did God send the children of Israel into Egypt for 400 years, and in the fourth generation they're going to come forth again? Here's why. "For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." The Amorites lived in the land of Canaan. Guess what God did when he brought the Israelites out of the land of Canaan? He put a sword in their hand and said, "Kill every one of them." You know why? His longsuffering had come to an end. You know, the same is true of his dealings with Israel. I want you to look in Jeremiah 44 and look at verse 22. Jeremiah 44 and verse 22. I want you to see the exact words that God gave to the children of Israel. Notice, if you would, Jeremiah 44 and look in verse 22. Jeremiah 44:22, look what he says, "Because you have burned incense—"

That's verse 23, verse 22 is what I want: "So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day." Look what he said, though, in verse 22. "So that the Lord could no longer bear," and he forbore as long as he could. But now he can no longer bear their sin and their rebellion, and thus he's going to destroy them. Now, I want you to understand something. It is not just the wicked that are at times consumed in God's righteous anger. Sometimes even Christians lose their lives because of their continual and constant disobedience. Listen to what I'm about to tell you. The truth that the Apostle John enunciated in 1 John 5:16 has never really dawned upon most Christians. I'm going to show you that verse in just a moment. But all that I want to point out right now is John said,

"There is a sin unto death." Then he's talking to Christians. I want you to turn there to 1 John chapter 5. I want you to see it in the context. Look in 1 John chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verse 13. 1 John 5:13. Here it is. Watch what he says. 1 John 5:13. Just so you can see, this is being written to Christians. He says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God."

I would say that was a Christian, wouldn't you? "That ye may know that ye have eternal life," that's a Christian, "and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God," that's a Christian. "And this is the confidence that we have in him," that's a Christian, "that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us," that's a Christian. "And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him," that's a Christian. "If any man see his brother," that's a Christian, "sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it." What's he saying? There's a sin unto death. He said you don't have to pray that people commit that sin, but there is indeed a sin unto death.

That is what he's talking about. God is just simply saying there comes a time when God will no longer endure the disrespect and the dishonor of a person or a people. In fact, we'll read about it a little bit later today, God did take the lives of a number of Christians in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Because in verse 30, the Bible says there, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." Many sleep—sleep refers to death. Many sleep, that is, many have their lives taken because of their sins. Now, listen, if God will judge his people—and he will, for we read that judgment must begin at the house of God—if God will judge his people, do you not think that God will also judge the wicked?

Well, of course he will. The Bible tells us in Psalm 7:11 that God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. One may arrive at the point where he is beyond the reach of prayer. Zedekiah and the people of Judah reached this point. I want you to go back to Jeremiah. I want you to look, if you would please, beginning in Jeremiah chapter 7. I want to take you very quickly through three passages. I want you to see what God tells Jeremiah.

He is so intent on destroying the Judahites. In Jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 16, of course, you remember Jeremiah as the weeping prophet. He wanted to pray for these rebellious, wicked people. So God tells him in Jeremiah 7:16, "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee." God says it doesn't do you any good to pray for them, Jeremiah, because I'm not going to hear you. I'm just not going to hear you. Look at Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 14, because Jeremiah still wanted to pray for the people. So in Jeremiah 11:14, again, God tells Jeremiah, "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble." Now, don't you know what God said? Jeremiah, I'm not going to hear you if you pray for them, and I'm not going to hear them if they pray for themselves.

I'm not going to do it. If you look in Jeremiah chapter 14 at verses 11 and 12, finally God consents to allow Jeremiah to pray for the people. But I want you to notice what God tells him to pray. Jeremiah chapter 14 beginning there with verse 11, "Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry. And when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." What did God say? "Pray not for this people for their good." In other words, Jeremiah, if you want to pray for them, I'll let you pray. But here's what you pray: you pray that I'll destroy them, because that's exactly what I'm going to do. Wow. I want you to mark this down.

Put this down in your mind. God is gracious and kind and merciful and longsuffering. But there comes a time when his longsuffering ends. And when his longsuffering ends, he will fight. He will fight. And the very first thing you learn from Jeremiah 21 is when God fights, it's when his goodness, his mercy, his grace, his forbearance, his longsuffering has been spurned and neglected.

Principle 2: Ineffectiveness of Human Weapons When God Fights

God can turn back the weapons of those He opposes, making warriors ineffective, as He did with the Syrians in 2 Kings 7 and promised in Isaiah 54:17.

They refuse to acknowledge him. They refuse to bow to him and worship him and obey him. And he reaches the point that he'll fight. Wow. When God fights. The second principle I want you to know is this: when God fights, we discern when God fights, his fighting is found in the inability of warriors and the ineffectiveness of their weaponry. Look at it. Jeremiah 21:4. After Zedekiah sends to Jeremiah and says, "Pray for us," Jeremiah says in essence, "No, too late to pray." Look in verse 4. Here's what Jeremiah tells Zedekiah, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city." What? What did he say to Zedekiah and all the men of Judah? "I will turn back your weapons. You will not have any fighting ability. Your weaponry will be ineffective.

And moreover, he said, I will bring Nebuchadnezzar into the gates." I want to ask you a question. Have you ever experienced days when absolutely nothing went right? How about those days that everything you worked for and everything you endeavored to accomplish failed and fell through? Do you remember how frustrated you became, how discouraged, how downhearted and how depressed you became just because nothing worked?

Now, let me ask you a question. Suppose now, in one of those days, that your life and the life of your family and the life of your friends depended upon your effectiveness and your abilities. Wow. Do you realize if God can defeat us so easily, it's just as easy for God to defeat an entire army? The truth is, it is God that makes our weaponry effective. And it is also God that renders our weaponry ineffective. How do you think David overcame Goliath? Goliath would have had all of the modern day weaponry. Moreover, he was much larger, he was much stronger, he was more experienced. I mean, he had all the combat armor, he had the sword, he had the spear, he had the shield, he had everything. David had nothing but a little sling. You see, we tend to think that just because someone is powerful and strong and they've got modern day weaponry and maybe even secret weaponry, then they're bound to win the battle. They're bound to win the fight. That's not the case. That's not necessarily the truth. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 9:11, "The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong." Proverbs 21:31 tells us, "The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord." Do you realize how easily David killed Goliath? All God did was make David's sling effective and Goliath's weaponry ineffective. Just that simple. Do you realize?

I'm going to show you this. I want you to turn to 2 Kings chapter 7. I can quote it, but I want you to see this. 2 Kings chapter 7. It is simple and easy for God not only to overthrow our plans, but also the plans of entire armies. Just because you have what you think is the best military plan available unto man, that does not mean that you're going to win anything. The Syrians had conquest on their minds. They had surrounded Samaria. If you went out of Samaria, then the Syrians would kill you. If you stayed inside Samaria, you're going to starve to death because famine stalked the city. Pestilence was in the city. You would die either way. Well, how did God get rid of the Syrian army? I want to show you what he used. Here's how he totally frustrated the military plans of the Syrian army.

Look in 2 Kings chapter 7 and verse 6. Watch carefully. 2 Kings 7:6, "For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their lives." And what did God do? He just allowed them to hear a noise. And they interpreted that noise as the great host coming against them. And all of their military plans were just instantly crushed. You see, our sovereign God may easily turn back the weaponry and the plans of those whom he is against. Let me just quote some verses. In Job 34:24, the Bible says this, "He shall break in pieces mighty men without number." In Psalm 76:5, which I used a couple of weeks ago and explained it, he just said this, "The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands." Wow. In Isaiah 3:25, he said this, "Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war."

God's going to kill them. I want you to look in Jeremiah chapter 51. Let me show you this. Jeremiah 51, because God is here still speaking about how easy it is for him to destroy the might and the effectiveness of men and their weaponry. But look in Jeremiah 51 and verse 25. And here he's going to be fighting against the Babylonians. Let's see, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah. I'm in Isaiah. OK. Jeremiah chapter 51, and look, if you would please, at verse 25, look what he says. God said to Babylon, "Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain." So this is what God is going to do. Now, what I want you to notice is how God does this. Skip down, if you would, to verse 30. Look what he says about the mighty warriors of Babylon. He says, "The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight.

Oh, they didn't fight. They have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken." What did God do to the mighty Babylonian host? He turned them into women. Now, not literally, but he made them afraid. He made them weak. They wouldn't even get out of their places of protection to fight. While it is true that God oftentimes gives his strength and protection for battle, it is equally true that when God fights, he turns the effectiveness of the weapons of those whom he's fighting against back against those against whom he fights. They cannot function. They cannot fight. They cannot be effective.

I want you to understand, in our modern day, multitudes fear the power of our enemies. And it is true that we have great and powerful enemies. It is also true that our enemies have great and powerful weapons and they hate Christ and they hate his followers. However, we've got to remember this. The greatest power of all is the sovereign God of heaven and earth. Amen. Do you remember what the Apostle John wrote in 1 John?

"Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." King Abijah of Judah gave some stern words of warning to King Jeroboam of Samaria. Here's what he said in 2 Chronicles 13:12. Listen. King Abijah said, "And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper." It's useless and it's vain to fight against God. He's capable of turning back every weapon. And he's capable of turning back every warrior. In light of his great power, there is indeed a special promise that God gives to those who obey him. I want you to look in Isaiah 54. Go to Isaiah 54, and let's begin reading at verse 14, and read through verse 17. Isaiah 54. Watch this promise. Watch this blessing. Just to show you how powerful God is. In Isaiah 54, beginning there with verse 14, the Bible says this.

"In righteousness shalt thou be established." You ought to want to be more righteous than ever. "In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." Watch carefully. "Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake." Watch what God says. "Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy." Now look what God says to those who have their righteousness in him, those who obey him. "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." Wow. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of glad God is capable of turning back every weapon the enemy has. And when God fights, he makes them ineffective. And he makes them all tremble. Here's the third principle, if you look in Jeremiah chapter 21 again. You're going to find the third principle is we discern that when God fights, he fights either mediately, immediately, or both. I'll explain that, but look in verses 4 and 5. Jeremiah 21:4-5, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city." Ah, verse 5.

Principle 3: God Fights Mediately, Immediately, or Both

God uses means (mediate acts) like nations or hornets, or acts directly (immediate acts). In Jeremiah 21:5, He declares He Himself will fight with outstretched hand.

"And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath." Wow. Now, here's the third principle. When God fights, he may fight mediately, immediately, or both. Now, allow me to define those terms. Theologically speaking, when we use the word "mediate," it refers to the use of means. Theologically speaking, when we use the word "immediate" or "immediately," it has no reference to time, but it refers to the fact that God acts directly and personally without the use of means. So when we use the word "mediate," it means God uses means. When we use the word "immediate," it means God does not use means. So creation was an immediate act of God.

He spoke the world into existence. He did not use means. Providence may be an immediate act of God, such as when he gave the manna from heaven, or it may be mediate when God uses individuals to supply needs. When God sent Nebuchadnezzar against the Judahites, it was a mediate act. He was using means. So, providentially, he gave victory to the Babylonian Empire. When God destroyed the Judahites that fled to Egypt, after Nebuchadnezzar had already destroyed Judah, he did so by giving Egypt into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.

Let me just quote it. In Jeremiah 44:30, God says this, "Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life." So what is God doing? God used Nebuchadnezzar. That is a mediate act of God. He used means. And when God was going to subdue those Judahites that fled to Egypt against the word of God, God said, "All right, you're afraid of the king of Babylon. Fine, wonderful. I'm going to send him down to Egypt and he's going to conquer Egypt and he's going to take care of you down there." Do you realize when God used hornets to drive the Canaanites, the Amorites, out of the land, that was a mediate act of God. God said in Exodus 23:28, "And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee."

So theologically speaking, that was just simply a mediate act of God. Now, please understand this. Mediate acts of God are still acts of God. He just simply used means. So it means when God fights, he just uses men, or nations, or countries, but it is still that it's God that is doing the fighting. Look in Jeremiah 22, if you would, in verses 7 through 9. I'm going to show you this. It's still God that's doing the fighting. Look in Jeremiah chapter 22, and here it is in verses 7 through 9. Jeremiah 22:7. Look what God tells the people, "And I will prepare destroyers against thee." God will. "I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.

And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city? Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them." Notice what God said. God said, "I will prepare destroyers against you." And then he said, "Men's going to pass by and say, 'Why has the Lord done this?'" Now, God used men. But it was God who did it. In Jeremiah 46:15-16, listen to this. "Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the Lord did drive them." When God uses means, it means that God is just simply fighting mediately. And when God fights immediately, it is still God's fighting. For instance, if you look very quickly in Jeremiah 47, and I love this passage, look in Jeremiah chapter 47. And notice, if you would please, verses 6 and 7, because God is using means. And the Bible says this, Jeremiah chapter 47, beginning there with verse—fifteen? Jeremiah 47:15? Well, Jeremiah 47—no, pardon. I said Jeremiah 47, it's not Jeremiah 47, is it? Hmm. Well, I can quote the scripture.

I've got it right here. It may be Isaiah, but it doesn't matter. "O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still." And then the question is answered. "How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it." So once again, God says, no, it's not going to be quiet. It is God's sword that he has raised. God says it's not going to be quiet and it's not going to be put back in the scabbard until I'm finished with it. So it's still God's work.

Now, let me show you. I want you to turn to Isaiah 10. Isaiah 10. And you know that God used the Assyrians to destroy Samaria, the northern empire of Israel. Notice in Isaiah chapter 10 and look at verses 5 and 6 at what God says. Isaiah 10:5. Look if you would. God says, "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation." Now watch.

"I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets." Note, if you would, in verse 5, God calls the Assyrian the rod of his anger, and he calls the staff in their hand as his indignation, and then if you look at verse 6, God says, "I will send him," and "I will give him a charge." Now, let me just put it to you like this. God sent the Assyrians. God sent the Chaldeans. Obviously, the Assyrians destroyed Samaria and conquered the Israelites easily. Likewise, Babylon did the same to Judah and Jerusalem. The hornets did a fine job on the Canaanites. But here's my question. If God uses means so successfully, when he fights mediately, and those whom he sends cannot be defeated, cannot be overthrown, and cannot be turned back, how do you think one will fare when God rises up to fight against him personally? I want you to go back to Jeremiah 21. I want you to look at this.

I don't know about you, but this is scary. Look in Jeremiah 21:5. What did God say through Jeremiah to Zedekiah and the people of Judah? He said, "And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath." God said, "I myself will fight."

Now, let me ask you a question. What does it mean when God says he's going to fight against you with an outstretched hand and with an outstretched arm? Well, let me show you. I want you to hold Jeremiah 21, but look in your Bibles very quickly to Exodus chapter 6 and verse 6. Exodus 6:6. You remember this passage, God is going to deliver his people out of Egypt and God is going to destroy the Egyptians and destroy Egypt. So in Exodus chapter 6 and verse 6, here's what God tells the children of Israel. He says, "Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments." Ah. "I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments." Now, when you go back to Jeremiah 21, God says, "I'm going to fight against you," in verse 5, "with an outstretched hand and a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath."

You've got to remember it was that outstretched arm that was God's great deliverance and redemption, which he wrought in delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt. He fought against the Egyptians and brought the children of Israel out. He fought against Pharaoh and all of his false gods. He destroyed them. He drowned Pharaoh and all his soldiers in the Red Sea. His great power was used in delivering his people.

But now what God says is, "My great power is going to be used to destroy you. You can expect no aid. You can expect no help. You can expect no mercy. You can expect no grace. You can expect no quarter. Because I wholly and completely and absolutely intend to destroy you." We have to understand God is a warrior. He is an implacable warrior. And when he fights, he fights.

The Certainty of God's Victory

When God fights, victory is certain for Him and defeat assured for His enemies; He needs no second blow (Nahum 1:9).

I want you to look in Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32. And let's begin reading there with verse 39. Watch, if you would, Deuteronomy 32:39. We'll have to hurry. Deuteronomy 32:39, look what God says. Deuteronomy 32:39, "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever." Watch what he said.

"If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy." What did God say? "If I have to draw out my sword, if I have to fight, I'm going to destroy you." When God fights, he will make an end. Do you remember what he told Samuel when he was going to fight against the house of Eli in 1 Samuel 3:12? He said, "In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end." He said in the book of Nahum 1:9, "What do ye imagine against the Lord? he will make an utter end.

Listen, affliction shall not rise up the second time." God says when I fight, I will not need a second blow. One is quite sufficient because he is the sovereign, powerful man of war, God of gods and King of kings. Just a couple of quick applications. The first one is this. It should be obvious that when God fights, that victory is absolutely certain for God and defeat is absolutely assured for his enemies. Who can resist God successfully? The answer is no one. He said in Isaiah 42:13, listen to this. "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war.

Applications: Cry to God, Submit, and Speak Truth

Believers should cry to God to fight enemies, submit to avoid becoming His enemy, and faithfully proclaim difficult truth like Jeremiah.

He shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies." What's God going to do? He's going to go forth like a mighty man to battle. He'll prevail against his enemies. Listen, if we believe that God is a God of war, if we believe that he fights as he said in his Scripture, why do we not cry to him to fight against his enemies now? Why do we not cry as David did in Psalm 68:1? "Arise, O Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered. Let them drift away as smoke before the wind." If we believe that God fights, why do we not cry upon him to fight against his enemies and our enemies?

Secondly, God has power to preserve and defend, but God also has power to destroy. If we wish to secure God's protection, we must not become his enemies. We must seek to submit to him and obey him at all times. And the third application is this: God's faithful servants, like Jeremiah, must always speak according to God's Word and according to truth, no matter how difficult that truth is. Jeremiah did not look at Zedekiah and say, "Everything's going to be alright, you just trust." No! He said, "God's going to kill you and everybody surrounding you. That's what God says." False prophets may speak smoothly and may prophesy smooth things, but God's men must proclaim the truth no matter how difficult and no matter how hurtful it is. And you're going to find it's God's Word and God's truth that separates God's preachers from the false prophets. And as God says, "What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?"

God is a warrior and he fights. You just need to make sure you do not spurn his mercy, grace, goodness, forbearance and longsuffering. You must need to make sure that you're not his enemy, that you're not on the receiving end, that he neither fights against you mediately or immediately, because you recognize the Lord is a man of war. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your love, for your mercy, for your truth, for your goodness and grace. And Lord, we're thankful that thou art fully and absolutely capable of destroying not only all of your enemies, but our enemies. And you're absolutely and totally capable of protecting thy people.

Study Guide

Major Themes

God as a Warrior

Summary: God is not only loving but also a holy warrior who fights against sin and rebellion, as seen throughout Scripture.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'The God of the Bible is not the God of the average professing Christian... God is a warrior.' He cites Exodus 15:3, 'The Lord is a man of war.'

Limits of God's Longsuffering

Summary: God's patience has an end; when people continually reject His grace, He eventually fights against them.

Evidence: Weaver explains Romans 2:4-6 and says, 'There comes a time when my longsuffering ends, and all you're doing is gathering up... wrath.'

Ineffectiveness of Human Strength Against God

Summary: When God opposes someone, He can render their weapons and plans useless, as with the Syrians in 2 Kings 7.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise... and all of their military plans were just instantly crushed.'

Mediate and Immediate Acts of God

Summary: God fights either through means (mediate) like nations or directly (immediate), but both are His sovereign acts.

Evidence: Weaver defines the terms and says, 'When God sent Nebuchadnezzar against the Judahites, it was a mediate act. He was using means.'

The Certainty of Divine Judgment

Summary: When God decides to fight, His victory is absolute and His enemies cannot escape.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Nahum 1:9, 'he will make an utter end... affliction shall not rise up the second time.'

The Necessity of Faithful Proclamation

Summary: God's servants must speak difficult truth like Jeremiah, not smooth words, because God's Word is like fire and a hammer.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'False prophets may speak smoothly... but God's men must proclaim the truth no matter how difficult.'

Key Arguments

God fights against those who spurn His grace

Summary: When people persistently reject God's goodness and forbearance, He eventually becomes their adversary.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'What puts God in a fighting mood? Spurning his grace and his mercy and his goodness.'

Prayer becomes useless when rebellion is unrepented

Summary: There is a time when God will not hear prayer, as seen in Proverbs 1:28 and Jeremiah's instruction not to pray for Judah.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'There is a time when prayer will not avail and when it is literally useless to pray.'

God can neutralize any human weapon or plan

Summary: God's sovereignty means He can turn back weapons and make warriors ineffective, as He did with the Babylonians in Jeremiah 51:30.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'He turned them into women... He made them afraid. He made them weak.'

God's mediate acts are still His fighting

Summary: When God uses nations or means to judge, it is still God Himself who fights, as in Isaiah 10:5 where Assyria is called the rod of His anger.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Mediate acts of God are still acts of God. He just simply used means.'

God's personal fighting is terrifying and absolute

Summary: When God says 'I myself will fight' (Jeremiah 21:5), it means He will use His great power to destroy without mercy.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'You can expect no aid. You can expect no help. You can expect no mercy.'

Believers should cry to God to fight their enemies

Summary: If God is a warrior, believers should pray for Him to scatter His enemies, as David did in Psalm 68:1.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If we believe that God fights, why do we not cry upon him to fight against his enemies and our enemies?'

Scripture References

Jeremiah 21:1-14

Context: The entire chapter is read as the sermon text, describing God's judgment against Zedekiah and Jerusalem.

Psalm 97:10

Context: Cited to show God commands hatred of evil: 'Ye that love the Lord, hate evil.'

Psalm 94:16

Context: Quoted to ask who will stand against evildoers.

1 Timothy 6:12

Context: Paul's command to 'fight the good fight of faith' is cited to show the Christian life is a fight.

2 Timothy 2:3

Context: Paul's exhortation to endure hardness as a good soldier.

2 Timothy 4:7

Context: Paul's statement 'I have fought a good fight' is used to illustrate lifelong spiritual warfare.

Exodus 15:3

Context: Quoted to prove God is a warrior: 'The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.'

Exodus 14:14

Context: God's promise to fight for Israel while they hold their peace.

Deuteronomy 1:30

Context: Joshua's reminder that God goes before them to fight.

Psalm 144:1

Context: David's praise that God teaches his hands to war.

James 4:6

Context: Cited to show God resists the proud, using the Greek word antitassomai meaning to set in battle array.

1 Peter 5:5

Context: Parallel passage to James 4:6 about God resisting the proud.

Revelation 19:11

Context: Christ on a white horse judging and making war, showing He is a warrior.

Psalm 80:4

Context: Question about God being angry with the prayer of His people.

Psalm 66:18

Context: David's statement that if he regards iniquity, the Lord will not hear.

Proverbs 1:28-31

Context: God's warning that He will not answer when the wicked call in judgment.

Jeremiah 11:11

Context: God declares He will not hearken when they cry in evil.

Romans 2:4-6

Context: Explains how despising God's goodness leads to treasuring up wrath.

Jeremiah 8:6

Context: No man repented; everyone turned to his own course.

Jeremiah 9:13-16

Context: God's judgment because they forsook His law and walked after Baalim.

Historical References

King Zedekiah

Context: Last king of Judah who sent messengers to Jeremiah asking for prayer against Nebuchadnezzar.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon

Context: The Babylonian king used by God as a mediate instrument to judge Judah.

The Amorites

Context: Their iniquity was not yet full in Abraham's time; God later used Israel to destroy them.

The Syrians' siege of Samaria (2 Kings 7)

Context: God caused the Syrian army to hear a noise and flee, illustrating His power to frustrate military plans.

Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt

Context: God gave him into the hand of his enemies as He did Zedekiah (Jeremiah 44:30).

The Assyrians

Context: Called the rod of God's anger (Isaiah 10:5) to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel.

David and Goliath

Context: Used as an example of God making one weapon effective and another ineffective.

King Abijah of Judah

Context: Warned Jeroboam not to fight against God, for they would not prosper (2 Chronicles 13:12).

Important Quotes

The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.

Significance: Direct scriptural proof that God is a warrior, foundational to the sermon's thesis.

All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

Significance: An adage used to argue that God commands fighting against evil.

There is a time when prayer will not avail and when it is literally useless to pray.

Significance: Highlights the sobering reality that persistent rebellion can close the door to prayer.

I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.

Significance: The key verse (Jeremiah 21:5) showing God's personal, terrifying involvement in judgment.

When God fights, he will make an end.

Significance: Summarizes the finality and completeness of God's judgment.

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.

Significance: A promise of protection for the righteous, contrasting with the judgment on the wicked.

If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies.

Significance: Vivid imagery of God's readiness to execute judgment, from Deuteronomy 32.

Discussion Questions

How does the biblical portrayal of God as a warrior challenge common modern perceptions of God?

Context: Weaver argues that many Christians see God only as loving and senile, not as a holy warrior.

What does it mean that there is a 'sin unto death' for Christians, and how should that affect our view of God's discipline?

Context: Weaver references 1 John 5:16 and 1 Corinthians 11:30 to show God may take the lives of disobedient believers.

In what ways might we be guilty of spurning God's goodness and forbearance today?

Context: The sermon warns that despising God's goodness leads to treasuring up wrath (Romans 2:4-6).

How should the truth that God can render human weapons ineffective shape our response to national or personal threats?

Context: Weaver uses the Syrian army's flight and Isaiah 54:17 to show God's protective power.

What is the difference between God fighting mediately and immediately, and why does it matter?

Context: Weaver defines mediate (using means) and immediate (direct) acts of God in judgment.

Why is it important for God's servants to speak difficult truth rather than smooth words?

Context: Weaver contrasts Jeremiah's faithful message with false prophets who prophesy smooth things.

How can we practically 'cry to God to fight against his enemies' in our prayers?

Context: Weaver urges believers to pray like David in Psalm 68:1 for God to scatter His enemies.

Applications

Cry to God to fight against His enemies

Summary: Believers should actively pray for God to scatter His enemies, as David did in Psalm 68:1.

Evidence: Weaver asks, 'If we believe that God fights, why do we not cry upon him to fight against his enemies and our enemies?'

Submit to God to avoid becoming His enemy

Summary: To secure God's protection, we must not become His enemies by disobedience; we must submit and obey.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If we wish to secure God's protection, we must not become his enemies. We must seek to submit to him and obey him at all times.'

Speak God's truth faithfully, no matter the cost

Summary: Like Jeremiah, God's servants must proclaim difficult truth rather than smooth, comforting lies.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God's faithful servants... must always speak according to God's Word and according to truth, no matter how difficult that truth is.'

Do not presume upon God's patience

Summary: Recognize that God's longsuffering has limits; persistent rebellion can lead to judgment.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'You just need to make sure you do not spurn his mercy, grace, goodness, forbearance and longsuffering.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:10:27Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:49:24Z

Clean Transcript

When God Fights

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Well, let's open our Bibles today, if you would, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 21. Jeremiah 21. We'll read the entire chapter, since there's only 14 verses. Jeremiah 21. And look, if you would, beginning there with verse 1. Jeremiah 21, verse 1. "The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur, the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseah, the priest, saying, 'Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, maketh war against us. If so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.' Then said Jeremiah to them, 'Thus say you to Zedekiah. Thus said the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.'"
#1 | 0:14 to 1:15 | cleaned
"And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand, and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, said the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, and from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life, and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword, he shall not spare them, neither have pity nor have mercy. And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence."
#2 | 1:16 to 2:05 | cleaned
"But he that goeth out and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord. It shall be given in the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. And touching the house of the king of Judah say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of David, thus saith the Lord."
#3 | 2:06 to 2:28 | cleaned
"Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it because of the evil of your doings. Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley and rock of the plain, saith the Lord, which say, Who shall come down against us? Who shall enter into our habitations? But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doing, saith the Lord, and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about."
#4 | 2:28 to 2:59 | cleaned
The title of the message today is "When God Fights." Now, the title of the message should at least excite some thought. When we think of God, we primarily think of his holiness and his love, and therefore we do not even contemplate the idea of God fighting. Moreover, we have been taught by pietistic and pacifistic pastors and preachers that all fighting is wrong and wicked. And we've been conditioned to think that anyone that engages in fighting or in war is practically evil and wicked in and of themselves.
#5 | 3:00 to 3:39 | cleaned
Of course, such thinking is not only unbiblical, but it is also ungodly and impractical as well. God not only fights, but he also demands that we fight. If we do not resist evil, then evil prevails. There's an old adage that states, "All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." While that adage is undoubtedly true, the truth is that God commands us to fight and he commands us to stand against wickedness. He said in Psalm 97:10, "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil." And then he asked in Psalm 94:16, "Who will rise up for me against the workers of iniquity? Who will stand for me against the evildoers?" You must remember that the Apostle Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12 to "fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." He also told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."
#6 | 3:39 to 5:00 | cleaned
Moreover, you have to remember that right before Paul's death, he said this in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course." Now, if we understand Paul's statements, then we also should understand that the entirety of our Christian life is a fight. It is indeed spiritual warfare. We cannot escape combat, because we are called to be Christian soldiers and Christian warriors. So we are not only to engage in spiritual warfare, but at times there may be—we may be called and it may be necessary to engage in physical combat as well.
#7 | 5:01 to 5:45 | cleaned
Now, the very fact that the scriptures call God a warrior should tell us something about him. The God of the Bible is not the God of the average professing Christian, because the average professing Christian somehow thinks of God as a senile old man in heaven in a rocking chair who somehow does not like sin and transgression and wickedness, but that he understands and therefore he just kind of leniently winks at our sins and our indiscretions. Well, the truth of the matter is this: no, God is a warrior. He's not only a warrior, but he's holy and just and righteous. The Bible says in the book of Exodus 15:3, listen carefully, "The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name." So when men sin against God, when they trespass against God's law, when they blaspheme him and disobey him, in reality, they have no idea who they're messing with. They really do not. For God is a holy, righteous, and just warrior.
#8 | 5:46 to 7:16 | cleaned
He told his people in Exodus 14:14, listen carefully, "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." In Deuteronomy 1:30, Joshua told the people as they entered into Canaan, "The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in the land of Egypt before your eyes." So obviously, God does indeed fight. David, who was a mighty warrior, learned all of his martial skills from God himself. For he said in Psalm 144:1, "Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight."
#9 | 7:17 to 8:08 | cleaned
So let me just make this exceedingly clear. God does fight. He is a warrior.
#10 | 8:09 to 8:15 | cleaned
Now, in case some want to deny this truth and try to divide this truth, and we say, "Well, all this is in the Old Testament." May I remind you that the same truth also occurs in the New Testament. And you've heard me say this innumerable times, and I'll say it again. We have one Bible, not two. And we have one God, not two. But you remember the passage in James 4:6. Listen to this. The Bible says, "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." In 1 Peter 5:5, you have the same truth. He says, "Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." Now, in James 4:6 and in 1 Peter 5:5, the word "resisteth" is used. It is exactly the same Greek word that occurs in both passages.
#11 | 8:16 to 9:35 | cleaned
The word is antitassomai, which literally means to resist, to oppose, to set oneself in battle against. So it literally means that God rises up in battle against the proud. And of course, you have to remember Revelation 19:11, where in reference to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." So obviously, our Lord is indeed a warrior. He is a man of war. He fights. And what I want you to see in Jeremiah chapter 21 is a few truths concerning the reality of when God fights. That's an awesome thought. When God fights. When God fights. The occasion of Jeremiah chapter 21, it's when King Zedekiah sent an embassy to Jeremiah and asked him to pray for Jerusalem and for the people of Judah because Nebuchadnezzar and his armies were beginning to assemble around Jerusalem. So he asked Jeremiah, look at it in verse 2, says to Jeremiah, "Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us.
#12 | 9:36 to 11:18 | cleaned
For Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, maketh war against us. If so be that the Lord will deal with us according to his wondrous works, that he may go up from us." So he is asking, basically, Jeremiah to pray, inquire of the Lord, see if the Lord will have mercy upon us, see if the Lord will send Nebuchadnezzar away. Jeremiah's answer is basically this: it's too late to pray. We should realize there is a time when prayer will not avail and when it is literally useless to pray. Do you realize there is even a time when God is angry with the prayers of his people? He asks in Psalm 80:4, listen to this question. The psalmist is praying and he says, "O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?" Wow. So there's not only a time when it's useless and in vain to pray, there's a time when God will even be angry with the prayer of his people. You see, the problem is this.
#13 | 11:19 to 12:39 | cleaned
Most people think that, well, you know, we could just pray any old time, in any old way, and somehow when we pray in any old time, in any old way, we tend to think that God is obligated to hear us. That's the farthest thing from the truth. God is not under any obligation to hear us, especially when we're in rebellion against him. In fact, David said it like this, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Psalm 66:18.
#14 | 12:39 to 13:12 | cleaned
I want you to look very quickly, hold Jeremiah because we're coming right back there, but look in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter one. Proverbs chapter one. I want to just show you several passages very quickly. If you tend to think that, well, you can just pray any old time, any old way and God's going to hear you, that's not the case. In fact, Jeremiah telling Zedekiah, it's too late to pray. So notice in Proverbs chapter one, beginning there with verse 28, look what God says about the wicked. Proverbs 1:28, God says, "Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer.
#15 | 13:14 to 13:52 | cleaned
They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Why? For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would have none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore, said God, they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."
#16 | 13:52 to 14:14 | cleaned
What did he say in verse 28? "They shall call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they're not going to find me." No. God said I'm not going to listen to them. They can pray, but it won't do any good. If you look in Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 11. I'll show you other verses momentarily. But look in Jeremiah 11 and verse 11. Look at what God says. Jeremiah 11:11. He says this.
#17 | 14:15 to 14:44 | cleaned
"Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them." So there's a time when prayer is useless. There's a time when God will not hear prayer. Zedekiah wanted Jeremiah to pray and inquire of the Lord and see if the Lord by his wondrous works would turn Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army around. Jeremiah answers, no, it's too late to pray. You see, Zedekiah wanted a miracle. Zedekiah wanted deliverance. Zedekiah wanted mercy. What God gave him was justice. And when God fights, all those whom he fights against only receive justice. So, let's look in Jeremiah chapter 21, and let's try to find several principles concerning when God fights. First of all, I want you to note, the first principle we discern as to when God fights is found in the reality of his spurned grace and mercy. What puts God in a fighting mood? Spurning his grace and his mercy and his goodness.
#18 | 14:45 to 16:21 | cleaned
Now, I will tell you this. Very few people have ever really seen me angry. Very few have ever seen me really wanting to fight. In fact, I can tell you there's only two times in my life that I was really wanting to fight. I can remember those two times. And one of them I would have thought if I could have gotten a hold of the man because he was driving a semi truck and he tried to pull that entire truck over on Alice and I. We couldn't go anywhere. He was upset. He was angry because he was in a traffic jam. We were barely moving.
#19 | 16:23 to 17:09 | cleaned
I got news for you. A semi truck could have run over us and four or five others without—I told Alice, "If I can stop him, I'll either whip him or he'll whip me. It's just that simple." Only twice that I can remember that I really wanted to fight. And most of us have never, ever seen a time. But God really wants to fight. Wow. Have you ever stopped to think about this? When is God ready to fight? Let me show you.
#20 | 17:13 to 17:48 | cleaned
I want you to hold Jeremiah 21, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 2 very quickly. We've got a lot of scripture to cover, but I want you to look at Romans chapter 2 at verses 4 through 6 and what God says. Romans chapter 2 verses 4 through 6. He's laying down a very excellent principle for us. Romans chapter 2 verse 4, look what God says to these wicked people, "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds." Now look what God says. God says, you despise the riches of my goodness, and then what happens? My forbearance comes into play. Then you despise my forbearance, and what happens? Then my longsuffering comes into play. Finally, he is saying, there comes a time when my longsuffering ends, and all you're doing is gathering up and treasuring up in yourself wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
#21 | 17:48 to 19:02 | cleaned
He says, you're getting yourself in a position for me to fight against you. You have to understand that when you disregard God, in essence, you despise him. And this is what happens in the book of Jeremiah. God had sent his prophets. God had sent his preachers. God had sent his Word. And over and over, the people refused to hear God's Word. They despised God's preachers. They refused to repent. I want you to look in Jeremiah chapter 8, if you would. We'll look at several passages just to set the stage and show you what these people were really like. Look in Jeremiah chapter 8 and verse 6. Remember now, Jeremiah's been sent to them. He's preached to them. Jeremiah 8:6. Look what Jeremiah says, "I hearkened and heard, but they," that is the people, "spake not aright.
#22 | 19:02 to 19:59 | cleaned
No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle." Nobody listened to Jeremiah. Nobody would turn from their sins and wickedness. In fact, they took the attitude, "I haven't done anything. I don't see anything wrong with it. What have I done?" And they just kept going the straight as they were going. So Zedekiah and the Judahites were refusing to walk according to God's law. They had refused to worship God, and they had turned to idolatry. They had reached the point where God's goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering toward them had been absolutely exhausted. Look in Jeremiah 9, verses 13-16. Jeremiah 9, beginning there, verse 13. Watch carefully. "And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till
#23 | 20:00 to 21:28 | cleaned
I have consumed them." Note, if you would, God is saying, I'm going to wipe them out. You see, there's a truth, and this truth needs to be enunciated. There is a time when God will no longer bear with the sins and the iniquities of the people. I want to show you. I want you to go ahead and turn, hold Jeremiah, but turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 15.
#24 | 21:28 to 21:55 | cleaned
Let me set the stage for you here. Look in Genesis 15. I'm going to show you that there is a time when God will no longer bear with the sins and rebellions of a people. He suffered the Amorites for 400 years. You know, the children of Israel went into Egypt for 400 years. Have you ever wondered why they went into Egypt for 400 years? Look in Genesis 15, verse 13. He says this, Genesis 15 and—notice, if you would please, verse 13, God says that he said to Abram, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.
#25 | 21:55 to 22:41 | cleaned
And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance." Now look, he tells Abram, "And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again." Now why did God send the children of Israel into Egypt for 400 years, and in the fourth generation they're going to come forth again? Here's why.
#26 | 22:42 to 23:07 | cleaned
"For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." The Amorites lived in the land of Canaan. Guess what God did when he brought the Israelites out of the land of Canaan? He put a sword in their hand and said, "Kill every one of them." You know why? His longsuffering had come to an end. You know, the same is true of his dealings with Israel. I want you to look in Jeremiah 44 and look at verse 22. Jeremiah 44 and verse 22. I want you to see the exact words that God gave to the children of Israel. Notice, if you would, Jeremiah 44 and look in verse 22. Jeremiah 44:22, look what he says, "Because you have burned incense—"
#27 | 23:08 to 24:05 | cleaned
That's verse 23, verse 22 is what I want: "So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day." Look what he said, though, in verse 22. "So that the Lord could no longer bear," and he forbore as long as he could. But now he can no longer bear their sin and their rebellion, and thus he's going to destroy them. Now, I want you to understand something.
#28 | 24:06 to 24:40 | cleaned
It is not just the wicked that are at times consumed in God's righteous anger. Sometimes even Christians lose their lives because of their continual and constant disobedience. Listen to what I'm about to tell you. The truth that the Apostle John enunciated in 1 John 5:16 has never really dawned upon most Christians. I'm going to show you that verse in just a moment. But all that I want to point out right now is John said,
#29 | 24:42 to 25:33 | cleaned
"There is a sin unto death." Then he's talking to Christians. I want you to turn there to 1 John chapter 5. I want you to see it in the context. Look in 1 John chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verse 13. 1 John 5:13. Here it is. Watch what he says. 1 John 5:13. Just so you can see, this is being written to Christians. He says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God."
#30 | 25:34 to 26:10 | cleaned
I would say that was a Christian, wouldn't you? "That ye may know that ye have eternal life," that's a Christian, "and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God," that's a Christian. "And this is the confidence that we have in him," that's a Christian, "that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us," that's a Christian. "And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him," that's a Christian. "If any man see his brother," that's a Christian, "sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it." What's he saying? There's a sin unto death. He said you don't have to pray that people commit that sin, but there is indeed a sin unto death.
#31 | 26:11 to 27:05 | cleaned
That is what he's talking about. God is just simply saying there comes a time when God will no longer endure the disrespect and the dishonor of a person or a people. In fact, we'll read about it a little bit later today, God did take the lives of a number of Christians in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Because in verse 30, the Bible says there, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." Many sleep—sleep refers to death. Many sleep, that is, many have their lives taken because of their sins. Now, listen, if God will judge his people—and he will, for we read that judgment must begin at the house of God—if God will judge his people, do you not think that God will also judge the wicked?
#32 | 27:05 to 28:11 | cleaned
Well, of course he will. The Bible tells us in Psalm 7:11 that God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. One may arrive at the point where he is beyond the reach of prayer. Zedekiah and the people of Judah reached this point. I want you to go back to Jeremiah. I want you to look, if you would please, beginning in Jeremiah chapter 7. I want to take you very quickly through three passages. I want you to see what God tells Jeremiah.
#33 | 28:12 to 28:47 | cleaned
He is so intent on destroying the Judahites. In Jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 16, of course, you remember Jeremiah as the weeping prophet. He wanted to pray for these rebellious, wicked people. So God tells him in Jeremiah 7:16, "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee." God says it doesn't do you any good to pray for them, Jeremiah, because I'm not going to hear you. I'm just not going to hear you. Look at Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 14, because Jeremiah still wanted to pray for the people. So in Jeremiah 11:14, again, God tells Jeremiah, "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble." Now, don't you know what God said? Jeremiah, I'm not going to hear you if you pray for them, and I'm not going to hear them if they pray for themselves.
#34 | 28:48 to 29:56 | cleaned
I'm not going to do it. If you look in Jeremiah chapter 14 at verses 11 and 12, finally God consents to allow Jeremiah to pray for the people. But I want you to notice what God tells him to pray. Jeremiah chapter 14 beginning there with verse 11, "Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry.
#35 | 29:56 to 30:22 | cleaned
And when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." What did God say? "Pray not for this people for their good." In other words, Jeremiah, if you want to pray for them, I'll let you pray. But here's what you pray: you pray that I'll destroy them, because that's exactly what I'm going to do. Wow. I want you to mark this down.
#36 | 30:23 to 30:46 | cleaned
Put this down in your mind. God is gracious and kind and merciful and longsuffering. But there comes a time when his longsuffering ends. And when his longsuffering ends, he will fight. He will fight. And the very first thing you learn from Jeremiah 21 is when God fights, it's when his goodness, his mercy, his grace, his forbearance, his longsuffering has been spurned and neglected.
#37 | 30:48 to 31:30 | cleaned
They refuse to acknowledge him. They refuse to bow to him and worship him and obey him. And he reaches the point that he'll fight. Wow. When God fights. The second principle I want you to know is this: when God fights, we discern when God fights, his fighting is found in the inability of warriors and the ineffectiveness of their weaponry. Look at it. Jeremiah 21:4. After Zedekiah sends to Jeremiah and says, "Pray for us," Jeremiah says in essence, "No, too late to pray." Look in verse 4. Here's what Jeremiah tells Zedekiah, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city." What? What did he say to Zedekiah and all the men of Judah? "I will turn back your weapons. You will not have any fighting ability. Your weaponry will be ineffective.
#38 | 31:31 to 32:58 | cleaned
And moreover, he said, I will bring Nebuchadnezzar into the gates." I want to ask you a question. Have you ever experienced days when absolutely nothing went right? How about those days that everything you worked for and everything you endeavored to accomplish failed and fell through? Do you remember how frustrated you became, how discouraged, how downhearted and how depressed you became just because nothing worked?
#39 | 33:00 to 33:42 | cleaned
Now, let me ask you a question. Suppose now, in one of those days, that your life and the life of your family and the life of your friends depended upon your effectiveness and your abilities. Wow. Do you realize if God can defeat us so easily, it's just as easy for God to defeat an entire army? The truth is, it is God that makes our weaponry effective. And it is also God that renders our weaponry ineffective.
#40 | 33:50 to 34:46 | cleaned
How do you think David overcame Goliath? Goliath would have had all of the modern day weaponry. Moreover, he was much larger, he was much stronger, he was more experienced. I mean, he had all the combat armor, he had the sword, he had the spear, he had the shield, he had everything. David had nothing but a little sling. You see, we tend to think that just because someone is powerful and strong and they've got modern day weaponry and maybe even secret weaponry, then they're bound to win the battle. They're bound to win the fight. That's not the case. That's not necessarily the truth. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 9:11, "The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong." Proverbs 21:31 tells us, "The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord." Do you realize how easily David killed Goliath? All God did was make David's sling effective and Goliath's weaponry ineffective. Just that simple. Do you realize?
#41 | 34:48 to 36:06 | cleaned
I'm going to show you this. I want you to turn to 2 Kings chapter 7. I can quote it, but I want you to see this. 2 Kings chapter 7. It is simple and easy for God not only to overthrow our plans, but also the plans of entire armies. Just because you have what you think is the best military plan available unto man, that does not mean that you're going to win anything.
#42 | 36:08 to 36:38 | cleaned
The Syrians had conquest on their minds. They had surrounded Samaria. If you went out of Samaria, then the Syrians would kill you. If you stayed inside Samaria, you're going to starve to death because famine stalked the city. Pestilence was in the city. You would die either way. Well, how did God get rid of the Syrian army? I want to show you what he used. Here's how he totally frustrated the military plans of the Syrian army.
#43 | 36:41 to 37:20 | cleaned
Look in 2 Kings chapter 7 and verse 6. Watch carefully. 2 Kings 7:6, "For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their lives."
#44 | 37:20 to 37:54 | cleaned
And what did God do? He just allowed them to hear a noise. And they interpreted that noise as the great host coming against them. And all of their military plans were just instantly crushed. You see, our sovereign God may easily turn back the weaponry and the plans of those whom he is against. Let me just quote some verses. In Job 34:24, the Bible says this, "He shall break in pieces mighty men without number." In Psalm 76:5, which I used a couple of weeks ago and explained it, he just said this, "The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands." Wow. In Isaiah 3:25, he said this, "Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war."
#45 | 37:56 to 38:50 | cleaned
God's going to kill them. I want you to look in Jeremiah chapter 51. Let me show you this. Jeremiah 51, because God is here still speaking about how easy it is for him to destroy the might and the effectiveness of men and their weaponry. But look in Jeremiah 51 and verse 25. And here he's going to be fighting against the Babylonians. Let's see, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah. I'm in Isaiah. OK. Jeremiah chapter 51, and look, if you would please, at verse 25, look what he says. God said to Babylon, "Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain." So this is what God is going to do. Now, what I want you to notice is how God does this. Skip down, if you would, to verse 30. Look what he says about the mighty warriors of Babylon. He says, "The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight.
#46 | 38:50 to 40:08 | cleaned
Oh, they didn't fight. They have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken." What did God do to the mighty Babylonian host? He turned them into women.
#47 | 40:09 to 40:27 | cleaned
Now, not literally, but he made them afraid. He made them weak. They wouldn't even get out of their places of protection to fight. While it is true that God oftentimes gives his strength and protection for battle, it is equally true that when God fights, he turns the effectiveness of the weapons of those whom he's fighting against back against those against whom he fights. They cannot function. They cannot fight. They cannot be effective.
#48 | 40:28 to 40:58 | cleaned
I want you to understand, in our modern day, multitudes fear the power of our enemies. And it is true that we have great and powerful enemies. It is also true that our enemies have great and powerful weapons and they hate Christ and they hate his followers. However, we've got to remember this. The greatest power of all is the sovereign God of heaven and earth. Amen. Do you remember what the Apostle John wrote in 1 John?
#49 | 40:59 to 41:31 | cleaned
"Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." King Abijah of Judah gave some stern words of warning to King Jeroboam of Samaria. Here's what he said in 2 Chronicles 13:12. Listen. King Abijah said, "And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper." It's useless and it's vain to fight against God.
#50 | 41:32 to 42:14 | cleaned
He's capable of turning back every weapon. And he's capable of turning back every warrior. In light of his great power, there is indeed a special promise that God gives to those who obey him. I want you to look in Isaiah 54. Go to Isaiah 54, and let's begin reading at verse 14, and read through verse 17. Isaiah 54. Watch this promise. Watch this blessing. Just to show you how powerful God is. In Isaiah 54, beginning there with verse 14, the Bible says this.
#51 | 42:15 to 42:54 | cleaned
"In righteousness shalt thou be established." You ought to want to be more righteous than ever. "In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." Watch carefully. "Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake." Watch what God says. "Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy." Now look what God says to those who have their righteousness in him, those who obey him. "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.
#52 | 42:56 to 43:45 | cleaned
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." Wow. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of glad God is capable of turning back every weapon the enemy has. And when God fights, he makes them ineffective. And he makes them all tremble. Here's the third principle, if you look in Jeremiah chapter 21 again. You're going to find the third principle is we discern that when God fights, he fights either mediately, immediately, or both. I'll explain that, but look in verses 4 and 5. Jeremiah 21:4-5, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city." Ah, verse 5.
#53 | 43:45 to 44:53 | cleaned
"And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath." Wow.
#54 | 44:53 to 45:04 | cleaned
Now, here's the third principle. When God fights, he may fight mediately, immediately, or both.
#55 | 45:06 to 45:16 | cleaned
Now, allow me to define those terms. Theologically speaking, when we use the word "mediate," it refers to the use of means. Theologically speaking, when we use the word "immediate" or "immediately," it has no reference to time, but it refers to the fact that God acts directly and personally without the use of means. So when we use the word "mediate," it means God uses means. When we use the word "immediate," it means God does not use means. So creation was an immediate act of God.
#56 | 45:17 to 46:02 | cleaned
He spoke the world into existence. He did not use means. Providence may be an immediate act of God, such as when he gave the manna from heaven, or it may be mediate when God uses individuals to supply needs. When God sent Nebuchadnezzar against the Judahites, it was a mediate act. He was using means. So, providentially, he gave victory to the Babylonian Empire. When God destroyed the Judahites that fled to Egypt, after Nebuchadnezzar had already destroyed Judah, he did so by giving Egypt into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.
#57 | 46:02 to 46:49 | cleaned
Let me just quote it. In Jeremiah 44:30, God says this, "Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life." So what is God doing? God used Nebuchadnezzar. That is a mediate act of God. He used means. And when God was going to subdue those Judahites that fled to Egypt against the word of God, God said, "All right, you're afraid of the king of Babylon. Fine, wonderful. I'm going to send him down to Egypt and he's going to conquer Egypt and he's going to take care of you down there." Do you realize when God used hornets to drive the Canaanites, the Amorites, out of the land, that was a mediate act of God. God said in Exodus 23:28, "And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee."
#58 | 46:51 to 47:56 | cleaned
So theologically speaking, that was just simply a mediate act of God. Now, please understand this. Mediate acts of God are still acts of God. He just simply used means. So it means when God fights, he just uses men, or nations, or countries, but it is still that it's God that is doing the fighting. Look in Jeremiah 22, if you would, in verses 7 through 9. I'm going to show you this. It's still God that's doing the fighting. Look in Jeremiah chapter 22, and here it is in verses 7 through 9. Jeremiah 22:7. Look what God tells the people, "And I will prepare destroyers against thee." God will. "I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
#59 | 47:57 to 48:56 | cleaned
And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city? Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them." Notice what God said. God said, "I will prepare destroyers against you." And then he said, "Men's going to pass by and say, 'Why has the Lord done this?'" Now, God used men. But it was God who did it.
#60 | 48:56 to 49:24 | cleaned
In Jeremiah 46:15-16, listen to this. "Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the Lord did drive them." When God uses means, it means that God is just simply fighting mediately. And when God fights immediately, it is still God's fighting. For instance, if you look very quickly in Jeremiah 47, and I love this passage, look in Jeremiah chapter 47. And notice, if you would please, verses 6 and 7, because God is using means. And the Bible says this, Jeremiah chapter 47, beginning there with verse—fifteen? Jeremiah 47:15? Well, Jeremiah 47—no, pardon. I said Jeremiah 47, it's not Jeremiah 47, is it? Hmm. Well, I can quote the scripture.
#61 | 49:26 to 50:32 | cleaned
I've got it right here. It may be Isaiah, but it doesn't matter. "O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still." And then the question is answered. "How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it." So once again, God says, no, it's not going to be quiet. It is God's sword that he has raised. God says it's not going to be quiet and it's not going to be put back in the scabbard until I'm finished with it. So it's still God's work.
#62 | 50:32 to 51:12 | cleaned
Now, let me show you. I want you to turn to Isaiah 10. Isaiah 10. And you know that God used the Assyrians to destroy Samaria, the northern empire of Israel. Notice in Isaiah chapter 10 and look at verses 5 and 6 at what God says. Isaiah 10:5. Look if you would. God says, "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation." Now watch.
#63 | 51:12 to 51:46 | cleaned
"I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets." Note, if you would, in verse 5, God calls the Assyrian the rod of his anger, and he calls the staff in their hand as his indignation, and then if you look at verse 6, God says, "I will send him," and "I will give him a charge." Now, let me just put it to you like this. God sent the Assyrians. God sent the Chaldeans. Obviously, the Assyrians destroyed Samaria and conquered the Israelites easily.
#64 | 51:47 to 52:27 | cleaned
Likewise, Babylon did the same to Judah and Jerusalem. The hornets did a fine job on the Canaanites. But here's my question. If God uses means so successfully, when he fights mediately, and those whom he sends cannot be defeated, cannot be overthrown, and cannot be turned back, how do you think one will fare when God rises up to fight against him personally? I want you to go back to Jeremiah 21. I want you to look at this.
#65 | 52:28 to 53:10 | cleaned
I don't know about you, but this is scary. Look in Jeremiah 21:5. What did God say through Jeremiah to Zedekiah and the people of Judah? He said, "And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath." God said, "I myself will fight."
#66 | 53:11 to 53:36 | cleaned
Now, let me ask you a question. What does it mean when God says he's going to fight against you with an outstretched hand and with an outstretched arm? Well, let me show you. I want you to hold Jeremiah 21, but look in your Bibles very quickly to Exodus chapter 6 and verse 6. Exodus 6:6. You remember this passage, God is going to deliver his people out of Egypt and God is going to destroy the Egyptians and destroy Egypt. So in Exodus chapter 6 and verse 6, here's what God tells the children of Israel. He says, "Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments." Ah. "I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments." Now, when you go back to Jeremiah 21, God says, "I'm going to fight against you," in verse 5, "with an outstretched hand and a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath."
#67 | 53:38 to 54:51 | cleaned
You've got to remember it was that outstretched arm that was God's great deliverance and redemption, which he wrought in delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt. He fought against the Egyptians and brought the children of Israel out. He fought against Pharaoh and all of his false gods. He destroyed them. He drowned Pharaoh and all his soldiers in the Red Sea. His great power was used in delivering his people.
#68 | 54:51 to 55:19 | cleaned
But now what God says is, "My great power is going to be used to destroy you. You can expect no aid. You can expect no help. You can expect no mercy. You can expect no grace. You can expect no quarter. Because I wholly and completely and absolutely intend to destroy you." We have to understand God is a warrior. He is an implacable warrior. And when he fights, he fights.
#69 | 55:23 to 56:12 | cleaned
I want you to look in Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32. And let's begin reading there with verse 39. Watch, if you would, Deuteronomy 32:39. We'll have to hurry. Deuteronomy 32:39, look what God says. Deuteronomy 32:39, "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever." Watch what he said.
#70 | 56:13 to 56:52 | cleaned
"If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy." What did God say? "If I have to draw out my sword, if I have to fight, I'm going to destroy you." When God fights, he will make an end. Do you remember what he told Samuel when he was going to fight against the house of Eli in 1 Samuel 3:12? He said, "In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end." He said in the book of Nahum 1:9, "What do ye imagine against the Lord? he will make an utter end.
#71 | 56:52 to 57:51 | cleaned
Listen, affliction shall not rise up the second time." God says when I fight, I will not need a second blow. One is quite sufficient because he is the sovereign, powerful man of war, God of gods and King of kings. Just a couple of quick applications. The first one is this. It should be obvious that when God fights, that victory is absolutely certain for God and defeat is absolutely assured for his enemies. Who can resist God successfully? The answer is no one. He said in Isaiah 42:13, listen to this. "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war.
#72 | 57:51 to 58:39 | cleaned
He shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies." What's God going to do? He's going to go forth like a mighty man to battle. He'll prevail against his enemies. Listen, if we believe that God is a God of war, if we believe that he fights as he said in his Scripture, why do we not cry to him to fight against his enemies now? Why do we not cry as David did in Psalm 68:1? "Arise, O Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered.
#73 | 58:39 to 59:11 | cleaned
Let them drift away as smoke before the wind." If we believe that God fights, why do we not cry upon him to fight against his enemies and our enemies?
#74 | 59:11 to 59:22 | cleaned
Secondly, God has power to preserve and defend, but God also has power to destroy. If we wish to secure God's protection, we must not become his enemies. We must seek to submit to him and obey him at all times. And the third application is this: God's faithful servants, like Jeremiah, must always speak according to God's Word and according to truth, no matter how difficult that truth is. Jeremiah did not look at Zedekiah and say, "Everything's going to be alright, you just trust." No! He said, "God's going to kill you and everybody surrounding you. That's what God says." False prophets may speak smoothly and may prophesy smooth things, but God's men must proclaim the truth no matter how difficult and no matter how hurtful it is. And you're going to find it's God's Word and God's truth that separates God's preachers from the false prophets. And as God says, "What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?"
#75 | 59:24 to 1:00:54 | cleaned
God is a warrior and he fights. You just need to make sure you do not spurn his mercy, grace, goodness, forbearance and longsuffering. You must need to make sure that you're not his enemy, that you're not on the receiving end, that he neither fights against you mediately or immediately, because you recognize the Lord is a man of war. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your love, for your mercy, for your truth, for your goodness and grace. And Lord, we're thankful that thou art fully and absolutely capable of destroying not only all of your enemies, but our enemies. And you're absolutely and totally capable of protecting thy people.
#76 | 1:00:55 to 1:01:44 | cleaned
And you've given us this wonderful promise that no weapon that is formed will prosper against us. Give us grace to trust thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#77 | 1:01:45 to 1:01:58 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:10:27Z

When God Fights

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver expounds Jeremiah 21 to show that God is a warrior who fights against those who spurn His grace. He explains that when God's longsuffering ends, He renders human weapons ineffective and fights either mediately (using means like nations) or immediately (directly). The sermon warns that prayer becomes useless when rebellion persists, and urges believers to submit to God to avoid being His enemy.

Opening

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 21:1-14

"The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur, the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseah, the priest, saying, 'Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, maketh war against us. If so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.' Then said Jeremiah to them, 'Thus say you to Zedekiah. Thus said the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.'" "And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand, and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, said the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, and from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life, and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword, he shall not spare them, neither have pity nor have mercy. And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." "But he that goeth out and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord. It shall be given in the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. And touching the house of the king of Judah say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of David, thus saith the Lord." "Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it because of the evil of your doings. Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley and rock of the plain, saith the Lord, which say, Who shall come down against us? Who shall enter into our habitations? But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doing, saith the Lord, and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about."

Introduction: The Reality of God as a Warrior

Weaver challenges the common view of God as only loving and holy, asserting that Scripture presents God as a warrior who fights and commands His people to fight.

Biblical Evidence that God Fights

Old and New Testament passages are cited to prove that God is a man of war, including Exodus 15:3, Revelation 19:11, and James 4:6.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 15:3

"The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name."

Scripture Reading — James 4:6

"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."

In 1 Peter 5:5, you have the same truth. He says,

Scripture Reading — James 4:6

"Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."

Now, in James 4:6 and in 1 Peter 5:5, the word "resisteth" is used. It is exactly the same Greek word that occurs in both passages.

Scripture Reading — Revelation 19:11

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war."

The Occasion of Jeremiah 21: Zedekiah's Request

King Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to pray for deliverance from Nebuchadnezzar, but Jeremiah declares it is too late to pray because of persistent rebellion.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 80:4

Most people think that, well, you know, we could just pray any old time, in any old way, and somehow when we pray in any old time, in any old way, we tend to think that God is obligated to hear us. That's the farthest thing from the truth. God is not under any obligation to hear us, especially when we're in rebellion against him. In fact, David said it like this, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Psalm 66:18. I want you to look very quickly, hold Jeremiah because we're coming right back there, but look in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter one. Proverbs chapter one. I want to just show you several passages very quickly. If you tend to think that, well, you can just pray any old time, any old way and God's going to hear you, that's not the case. In fact, Jeremiah telling Zedekiah, it's too late to pray. So notice in Proverbs chapter one, beginning there with verse 28, look what God says about the wicked. Proverbs 1:28, God says, "Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer.

Principle 1: Spurned Grace and Mercy Provoke God to Fight

God's longsuffering has limits; when people continually despise His goodness, He eventually fights against them, as seen in Jeremiah's day and in Romans 2:4-6.

Scripture Reading — Romans 2:4-6

"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:6

No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:13-16

I have consumed them." Note, if you would, God is saying, I'm going to wipe them out. You see, there's a truth, and this truth needs to be enunciated. There is a time when God will no longer bear with the sins and the iniquities of the people. I want to show you. I want you to go ahead and turn, hold Jeremiah, but turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 15. Let me set the stage for you here. Look in Genesis 15. I'm going to show you that there is a time when God will no longer bear with the sins and rebellions of a people. He suffered the Amorites for 400 years. You know, the children of Israel went into Egypt for 400 years. Have you ever wondered why they went into Egypt for 400 years? Look in Genesis 15, verse 13. He says this, Genesis 15 and—notice, if you would please, verse 13, God says that he said to Abram, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.

Principle 2: Ineffectiveness of Human Weapons When God Fights

God can turn back the weapons of those He opposes, making warriors ineffective, as He did with the Syrians in 2 Kings 7 and promised in Isaiah 54:17.

Principle 3: God Fights Mediately, Immediately, or Both

God uses means (mediate acts) like nations or hornets, or acts directly (immediate acts). In Jeremiah 21:5, He declares He Himself will fight with outstretched hand.

The Certainty of God's Victory

When God fights, victory is certain for Him and defeat assured for His enemies; He needs no second blow (Nahum 1:9).

Applications: Cry to God, Submit, and Speak Truth

Believers should cry to God to fight enemies, submit to avoid becoming His enemy, and faithfully proclaim difficult truth like Jeremiah.

When God Fights

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	92914958589
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2014-01-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 141: Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications — Chapter 8
Source Timed Segments	77

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Reality of God as a Warrior: Weaver challenges the common view of God as only loving and holy, asserting that Scripture presents God as a warrior who fights and commands His people to fight.
Biblical Evidence that God Fights: Old and New Testament passages are cited to prove that God is a man of war, including Exodus 15:3, Revelation 19:11, and James 4:6.
The Occasion of Jeremiah 21: Zedekiah's Request: King Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to pray for deliverance from Nebuchadnezzar, but Jeremiah declares it is too late to pray because of persistent rebellion.
Principle 1: Spurned Grace and Mercy Provoke God to Fight: God's longsuffering has limits; when people continually despise His goodness, He eventually fights against them, as seen in Jeremiah's day and in Romans 2:4-6.
Principle 2: Ineffectiveness of Human Weapons When God Fights: God can turn back the weapons of those He opposes, making warriors ineffective, as He did with the Syrians in 2 Kings 7 and promised in Isaiah 54:17.
Principle 3: God Fights Mediately, Immediately, or Both: God uses means (mediate acts) like nations or hornets, or acts directly (immediate acts). In Jeremiah 21:5, He declares He Himself will fight with outstretched hand.
The Certainty of God's Victory: When God fights, victory is certain for Him and defeat assured for His enemies; He needs no second blow (Nahum 1:9).
Applications: Cry to God, Submit, and Speak Truth: Believers should cry to God to fight enemies, submit to avoid becoming His enemy, and faithfully proclaim difficult truth like Jeremiah.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

God fights against those who spurn His grace

When people persistently reject God's goodness and forbearance, He eventually becomes their adversary.

Weaver says, 'What puts God in a fighting mood? Spurning his grace and his mercy and his goodness.'

Prayer becomes useless when rebellion is unrepented

There is a time when God will not hear prayer, as seen in Proverbs 1:28 and Jeremiah's instruction not to pray for Judah.

Weaver says, 'There is a time when prayer will not avail and when it is literally useless to pray.'

God can neutralize any human weapon or plan

God's sovereignty means He can turn back weapons and make warriors ineffective, as He did with the Babylonians in Jeremiah 51:30.

Weaver says, 'He turned them into women... He made them afraid. He made them weak.'

God's mediate acts are still His fighting

When God uses nations or means to judge, it is still God Himself who fights, as in Isaiah 10:5 where Assyria is called the rod of His anger.

Weaver says, 'Mediate acts of God are still acts of God. He just simply used means.'

God's personal fighting is terrifying and absolute

When God says 'I myself will fight' (Jeremiah 21:5), it means He will use His great power to destroy without mercy.

Weaver says, 'You can expect no aid. You can expect no help. You can expect no mercy.'

Believers should cry to God to fight their enemies

If God is a warrior, believers should pray for Him to scatter His enemies, as David did in Psalm 68:1.

Weaver says, 'If we believe that God fights, why do we not cry upon him to fight against his enemies and our enemies?'

Scripture References

Jeremiah 21:1-14: The entire chapter is read as the sermon text, describing God's judgment against Zedekiah and Jerusalem.
Psalm 97:10: Cited to show God commands hatred of evil: 'Ye that love the Lord, hate evil.'
Psalm 94:16: Quoted to ask who will stand against evildoers.
1 Timothy 6:12: Paul's command to 'fight the good fight of faith' is cited to show the Christian life is a fight.
2 Timothy 2:3: Paul's exhortation to endure hardness as a good soldier.
2 Timothy 4:7: Paul's statement 'I have fought a good fight' is used to illustrate lifelong spiritual warfare.
Exodus 15:3: Quoted to prove God is a warrior: 'The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.'
Exodus 14:14: God's promise to fight for Israel while they hold their peace.
Deuteronomy 1:30: Joshua's reminder that God goes before them to fight.
Psalm 144:1: David's praise that God teaches his hands to war.
James 4:6: Cited to show God resists the proud, using the Greek word antitassomai meaning to set in battle array.
1 Peter 5:5: Parallel passage to James 4:6 about God resisting the proud.
Revelation 19:11: Christ on a white horse judging and making war, showing He is a warrior.
Psalm 80:4: Question about God being angry with the prayer of His people.
Psalm 66:18: David's statement that if he regards iniquity, the Lord will not hear.
Proverbs 1:28-31: God's warning that He will not answer when the wicked call in judgment.
Jeremiah 11:11: God declares He will not hearken when they cry in evil.
Romans 2:4-6: Explains how despising God's goodness leads to treasuring up wrath.
Jeremiah 8:6: No man repented; everyone turned to his own course.
Jeremiah 9:13-16: God's judgment because they forsook His law and walked after Baalim.

Historical References

King Zedekiah: Last king of Judah who sent messengers to Jeremiah asking for prayer against Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon: The Babylonian king used by God as a mediate instrument to judge Judah.
The Amorites: Their iniquity was not yet full in Abraham's time; God later used Israel to destroy them.
The Syrians' siege of Samaria (2 Kings 7): God caused the Syrian army to hear a noise and flee, illustrating His power to frustrate military plans.
Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt: God gave him into the hand of his enemies as He did Zedekiah (Jeremiah 44:30).
The Assyrians: Called the rod of God's anger (Isaiah 10:5) to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel.
David and Goliath: Used as an example of God making one weapon effective and another ineffective.
King Abijah of Judah: Warned Jeroboam not to fight against God, for they would not prosper (2 Chronicles 13:12).

Important Quotes

The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.

Direct scriptural proof that God is a warrior, foundational to the sermon's thesis.

All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

An adage used to argue that God commands fighting against evil.

There is a time when prayer will not avail and when it is literally useless to pray.

Highlights the sobering reality that persistent rebellion can close the door to prayer.

I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.

The key verse (Jeremiah 21:5) showing God's personal, terrifying involvement in judgment.

When God fights, he will make an end.

Summarizes the finality and completeness of God's judgment.

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.

A promise of protection for the righteous, contrasting with the judgment on the wicked.

If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies.

Vivid imagery of God's readiness to execute judgment, from Deuteronomy 32.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the biblical portrayal of God as a warrior challenge common modern perceptions of God?

[Context]

Weaver argues that many Christians see God only as loving and senile, not as a holy warrior.

[Question]

What does it mean that there is a 'sin unto death' for Christians, and how should that affect our view of God's discipline?

[Context]

Weaver references 1 John 5:16 and 1 Corinthians 11:30 to show God may take the lives of disobedient believers.

[Question]

In what ways might we be guilty of spurning God's goodness and forbearance today?

[Context]

The sermon warns that despising God's goodness leads to treasuring up wrath (Romans 2:4-6).

[Question]

How should the truth that God can render human weapons ineffective shape our response to national or personal threats?

[Context]

Weaver uses the Syrian army's flight and Isaiah 54:17 to show God's protective power.

[Question]

What is the difference between God fighting mediately and immediately, and why does it matter?

[Context]

Weaver defines mediate (using means) and immediate (direct) acts of God in judgment.

[Question]

Why is it important for God's servants to speak difficult truth rather than smooth words?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts Jeremiah's faithful message with false prophets who prophesy smooth things.

[Question]

How can we practically 'cry to God to fight against his enemies' in our prayers?

[Context]

Weaver urges believers to pray like David in Psalm 68:1 for God to scatter His enemies.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:49:24Z