You have two choices when trials,
heartache, and troubles come. You can give up, sit down and
quit, or you can press on and look upward. When bitter, strong,
cold winds of adversity are blowing against you, you have two choices. You can sit down in some place
where you get out of the wind a little bit and quit and give
up. Or you can turn your collar up
around your neck and bow your back and pull your hat down over
your face and move forward. Always it is best for you and
best for those around you for you to press on and look upward. bow your back and turn your collar
up and pull your hat down over your face and move on. The way of the weakling, the
way of him who is less than a man, the way of this generation when
adversity comes is to find an easy place to sit down and quit. And it's never good for you,
Never good for your soul, never good for those you influence.
I took the time this past week to look up a friend. I hadn't seen or heard from him
or spoken to him in over 40 years. He was in the church with Shelby
and I, he and his family. in Winston-Salem, where Brother
Daniel Park's father was our pastor. And after I left and
started pastoring at Lookout, I had a problem with cancer,
as you all know. And when I was 26 years old,
I was, I'd finished up chemotherapy, or cobalt treatments, and I was
in the middle of chemotherapy treatments, and I was sapped. I'd always been strong as an
ox, and suddenly I was weak, wore out, wore down physically,
wore down mentally, and wore down somewhat emotionally as
well. And I got a card from my friend,
Brother Bill DeBusque. He opened it up, had his address
on the outside of the envelope, but didn't have a thing on it,
blank front page, Nothing on it at all. It opened up right
in the middle of it. It had a text of scripture. A
text of scripture that I had forgotten. And when I turned
to it and read it, I've never forgotten it since. It's a text
that God has graciously brought to my heart and mind many, many
times throughout the day, almost every day for 42 years. That's my text this morning.
Romans chapter 16 and verse 20. Romans 16 and verse 20. May God the Holy Ghost be pleased
to burn this text upon your heart as it has on my own. And every
time you're inclined to be cast down, Every time you're inclined
to just stay in bed, wrap your covers around you and shut the
world out. Every time you're inclined to
quit. Every time you're inclined to
feel sorry for yourself and expect the world to stop because you
do. May God graciously, effectually apply these words to your heart. Romans 16, 20, and the God of
peace shall brew Satan under your feet shortly. That word shortly might be translated
soon, it might be translated suddenly, it might be translated
without expectation. The God of peace shall brew Satan
under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all, amen. Here the Lord God announces the
devil's doom. And he promises victory over
the prince of darkness to all his people. This is God's promise
to every saved sinner, to every believer. If you're in Christ,
redeemed by his blood, Born again of His Spirit, made partaker
of the first resurrection and the new birth. God makes this
promise to you. No matter what your trial might
be, no matter what temptations you may endure, no matter what
adversities may come against you, no matter what falls you
may experience, God our Savior will crush Satan under your feet. The devil's doom is sure. Yes, Satan is in a rage. He goes about as a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour. His rage is directed against
God's elect. That is against the Lord Jesus
Christ and his church. But as Martin Luther well expressed
it, his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. Now let's back up to verse 17.
I'm going to give a little repetition from last week. I know that,
but I want us to get our text in its context and see how the
spirit of God here instructs us. Now I beseech you, brethren,
mark them, which calls divisions and offenses. That is strife,
division, scandals, contrary to the doctrine which you have
learned, the doctrine God has taught you, the doctrine of Christ,
the doctrine by which God has saved you, and avoid them. Always beware of those who cause
divisions in the church of God, seeking to turn your hearts and
your minds away from Christ, the gospel of God's grace, and
away from the church of Christ. Those who leave the gospel, those
who leave Christ, those who leave his church, I have found this
my experience, and obviously Paul did as well, are never content
to leave and go alone. They're never content with that.
They seek to divide brethren. They seek to divide you from
the Savior. Beware of such evil, wicked,
vile men. In verse 18, the apostle tells
us about the wickedness of such men. False teachers are not usually
easy to spot. They don't often come in wearing
a red devil's costume with horns and a pitchfork. They don't often
come like that. They don't often come in like
that buffoon that came in here a few weeks ago, looked like
Cory Booker with his eyes all bulged out in anger, thumping
on his chest, saying I am Spartacus. They don't often behave like
that. Usually they're subtle, crafty. Usually they come with
smooth talk and sweet words of blessing. make you just certain
they've come to do you good. They're not innocent men taken
up with intellectual error, rather they're positively wicked men
with wicked designs. What Paul says here, I beseech
you, brethren, mark them, which cause divisions and offenses,
contrary to the doctrine which you have learned and avoid them. Mark them, stick a letter on
them, Stick a badge on them, mark them. Put a streak down
their face, mark them so you can identify them. And every
time you see them, turn and go the other way, avoid them. These
self-serving men are self-serving devils. They're motivated by
nothing but bondage to their own lust. Then in verse 19, Paul
tells us that we must carefully avoid those deceivers and their
doctrine. for the honor of our God, for
Christ's sake. For your obedience has come abroad
unto all men. People everywhere know of your
faith. People everywhere know how firmly
you have stood in the gospel. People everywhere talk about
your faith and your obedience to the gospel. I'm glad therefore
on your behalf, but I would have you be wise under that which
is good. and simple concerning evil. Be vigilant, careful. You who are known for your faith,
if you should turn from the gospel, if you should depart from Christ,
if you should abandon the things of God for some foolish thing,
for some absurd thing, something contrary to the gospel, the scandal
is all the worse. So you have a great responsibility
In the light of all this, Paul says, I would have you to be
wise under that which is good and simple concerning evil. Now, this is what he's saying.
Behave like you have good sense. Behave like you have good sense.
Cling to good doctrine and don't even give an ear to anything
contrary to. or detracts from, or turns your
mind from the doctrine of Christ. Don't even listen to it. Here
you are, you're feasting on a nice, rare, prime rib steak. And somebody comes along and
offers you some Brussels sprouts. Don't even look at it. Don't
even look at it. Go ahead and feast. Go ahead
and feast. Or they come along and offer
you something that's bitter. and poisonous. Well, I wonder
why they're giving me that. I ought to look into that. No!
Dip it in the au jus sauce and eat your prime rib. That's just
what, it's foolish to even concern yourself about those things.
Anything that would turn your mind, your heart, your attention,
your thoughts away from Jesus Christ crucified, that's of the
devil. That's of the devil. In recent
few months, I've had a few calls from somebody local. I don't
have any idea who it is. And he and his wife and children
and parents and some other folks, aunt and uncle, looking for a
church. They apparently go to one of
these big B Baptist churches around here. And he keeps asking
me if I won't reconsider landmark doctrine. No. No, I said to him
on the call this week, you won't hear anything like that nonsense
from this pulpit, but wouldn't you be willing to consider it
again? No, no, I considered that when
I was foolish enough to consider it when I was a child. I put
it away and I'm not interested in any argument, any presentation
anybody has to make, I won't even listen. How come? Because I've got something better.
I've got something better. What could be better than thinking
of and adoring and worshiping Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Paul says, learn and know everything
you can about Christ and Him crucified. And don't even begin
to think about any doctrine that turns you away from that doctrine
you have believed. Now, Paul has addressed the evils
we face and must deal with in this world. False doctrine, false
prophets, divisions, offenses, and all the trials and temptations
we endure from our adversary, the devil. Now look at verse
20, and, and. Don't lightly read over those
small little words in Scripture. And there's another thing we
must never forget, not for a moment, in the midst of these adversities,
in the midst of the trials, in the midst of the assaults, in
the midst of the temptations, and the God of peace shall brew
Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you, amen. I'm sometimes asked, aren't you
afraid of this? Aren't you afraid of that? And
I try to answer without sounding like a braggart. I don't want
to be that, but the answer is no. No, no. Since God saved me, I have yet
to meet the man that causes me fear. I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. Why should I
be? Why should I? I can take a little
injury. I can take a little pain. I've
had a little. I can take somebody popping me
on the cheek if they want to. I've had a little bit of that.
I understand those things. Nobody's gonna harm you, not
if you're God's. Nobody's gonna harm me, nothing,
nothing. So why should we fear? I can
smile at Satan's rage, for lo, his doom is sure. Don't be tricked
or lured into any evil, any false doctrine, or in any evil way. Don't be intimidated by any vile
thing. The great head of all evil, Satan,
is going to be crushed by our God beneath our feet. Press on. The battle is yours. The victory is yours. Our text
is a broad, general, glorious promise about the triumph of
Christ and his church over Satan and all who aligned themselves
with him. The God of peace shall brew Satan
under your feet shortly. Now that's not a promise referring
to some specific trial or some specific battle or some specific
temptation. Rather, it is a promise referring
to every situation, every trial, every opposition, every foe,
every battle, every difficulty. The God of peace shall brew Satan
under your feet shortly. Let me call your attention to
three things in this text. and I pray God will write them
on our hearts afresh. First, the apostle calls our
attention to the God of peace, then to the crushing of Satan,
and then to the grace of Christ. Let's look at them in that order.
First, Paul was inspired to call our attention to the fact that
he who is our God, is the God of peace, not the God of confusion. It's certainly true that the
gospel of God always causes division among men. I'm aware of that.
I've seen that. I see it almost everywhere I
go. No man can preach the gospel
of Christ and not have to deal with that fact. Preach free grace,
folks who oppose God are going to oppose you. You preach the
gospel, folks who oppose the gospel are going to oppose you.
I've had men and women stand up in the middle of services
when I was preaching and oppose what I was saying. Will worshipers
despise free grace? Flesh adorers despise total depravity. Free will work monger Armenians
are enraged at the notion of unconditional election as it's
set forth in scripture. God-hating religionists, men
who trample the blood of Christ under their feet as a common
unholy thing, something that's utterly useless, it's just there
if you want to take advantage of it. Men who trample the blood
of Christ under their feet despise and are enraged by any declaration
of effectual accomplished redemption, limited atonement, particular
redemption, the redemption of our Lord Jesus Christ by which
our sins were put away. That declaration, nothing offends
men like the truthful declaration of Jesus Christ and him crucified.
The preaching of God's irresistible grace is a call to war in almost
any church. Men everywhere talk about God's
sovereignty, but let a man get up and declare God in his sovereignty,
and you will find folks who wear the name of Jesus and pretend
to be faithful Christians and are sincerely respected men in
the religious world. You'll find it in Baptist churches
and every other kind. They'll stand up and put you
to death if they could because men hate God. You can't preach
the gospel and not cause division among men. Our Lord Jesus, when
he preached those things in John chapter six, you remember he
fed the multitudes. There's a reason why the scriptures
are given to us in the order they are. He fed thousands with
a few loaves and fishes. You remember that? And they ate
the loaves and fishes and their bellies were full and said, I
believe I'll stick with him. Boy, it's a good thing to follow
him. Stay with him and he'll feed you. He'll make you rich.
He'll take away all your troubles. He'll make you comfortable. You
won't ever have to worry about anything anymore. I'll follow
him. And he began to preach to them faith and divine sovereignty
and God's free election. He began to preach to them about
his sin atoning accomplishments. And they turned and walked no
more with him. So it was with our Savior, so
it is now wherever the gospel is preached. Among men who don't
know God, but want to use religion to their advantage, you will
find division. Yes, the truth of God causes
division among men, but not in God's house and not among God's
people. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
14. I want you to see this. 1 Corinthians 14. Verse 33. God is not the author of confusion,
but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. God is not the
author of confusion, but of peace, in all the churches of the saints.
He who is our God is the God of peace. Satan seeks to destroy
peace. Satan causes scandalous divisions
among the saints of God. He does so more than any other
way by perverting the truth. Not by openly denying the truth,
by perverting the truth. By adding something to the gospel. Yes, we believe the doctrines
of grace. We believe unconditional election.
We believe limited atonement. We believe divine sovereignty.
But! That's a great big goat word. But! Gotta believe this, gotta
believe that, gotta do this, gotta do that, gotta feel this,
gotta feel that. As soon as somebody adds something
to the gospel, they have utterly denied the gospel. or by taking
something from it. Taking some aspect of the revelation
of the redemptive work of Christ, his accomplishments, God's saving
grace, away from the gospel and attributing that to you is an
utter perversion of the gospel. He who is our God, the God of
peace, is distinctly our God. He has undertaken our cause.
And if God's undertaken my cause, there's no need for me to. If
God's undertaken my cause, there's no need for me to. And in the
end, he will accomplish peace for us. Whenever difficulties arise,
whatever they are, wherever they come from, our natural inclination
is to retaliate and protect ourselves. That's our natural inclination.
That's just natural as it can be. It's dumb. Did you hear me? It's dumb. You'll mess up. You'll mess up. I'll tell you
how many situations I have been able to straighten out in my
life. I'll tell you how many I've been
able to straighten out. Not one. Every time I stick my hand in
it, I just make the mess worse. Have you ever straightened out
any mess? You know it's not so. Every time
you get involved, you just make it worse. Best thing to do is
wait and watch God work. If God's undertaking my cause,
no need for me to. In the end, he will accomplish
peace for us. He made peace for us by the sacrifice
of his son when he reconciled us to himself by the death of
his son at Calvary. He gives us peace by reconciling
us to him in the new birth, giving us faith in Christ so that we
receive peace, the peace of atonement of reconciliation. And he sustains
us in peace, assuring us of his wise and good providence. Turn to Philippians four, this
will be worth reading again. Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four. Now listen to me, I wouldn't
offend you who are gods for the world. I don't mind offending
folks who hate God. If the truth of God offends folks,
then they just have to be offended. But I wouldn't offend you who
are gods for anything in the world. But if you could heed
what you read here in Philippians 4, You could throw away your
psychiatrist appointment book, and you could spit the pills
out, flush the pills they give you, and try to keep you doped
up all the time. Are you listening? Are you listening? We live in this stupid, stupid,
stupid, mamby-pamby age when folks are taught not to have
to face any trouble or deal with anything. Live with it. Live
with it. They're just things you, what
do you do? Live with it. That's what you do. And don't
talk about it all the time. Just live with it. Just live
with it. Listen to what Paul says. Philippians 4.4. Rejoice
in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. Let
your moderation. That word's only used one other
time in the entire book of God. And there it's translated gentleness.
Speaks of the gentleness of Christ. let your gentleness, oh, gentleness,
gentleness, your ease, that's the word, tranquility, that's
the word, your unruffled spirit, that's the word, your gentle
determination, your gentle resolve, Be known to all being the Lord's
at hand. God is at your elbow. He's right
here all the time. The Lord's at hand. He's with
you all the time. And be careful for nothing. Don't
worry about a thing. But in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known
unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding. Boy, I just don't understand
his peace. I do. I don't understand how
she could handle that with such peace. I do. The peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep. The word is guard,
like a sentinel keeping guard over the camp. The peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds,
your emotions and your thoughts through Christ Jesus. Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there
be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.
Well, whoa, that's a big list. What's that talking about? Everything
concerning Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That's what it's talking
about. Everything about Him. Think on these things. Keep your
mind on these things. Keep your mind on the priorities. Leave the other things alone.
Those things which you have both learned and received and heard
and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you. All right, back to our text.
Second, the apostle, writing by inspiration of God the Holy
Ghost, assures us that the God of peace shall bruise Satan under
your feet shortly. Our adversary, the devil, is
a beaten foe. He is a beaten foe. He's going to be defeated. He
is a defeated foe, a defeated enemy, a defeated enemy. He can never injure you. I don't mean he's contained,
I mean defeated, so that we are more than conquerors through
him that loved us. Let's get the larger picture
of what the New Testament teaches about Satan's defeat. You remember
in Genesis 3.15, God promised that the seed of the woman, that
is Christ Jesus, the woman seed, would crush the head of the serpent. When our Lord Jesus was crucified
at Calvary, his heel was bruised. But in the bruising of his heel,
he crushed the serpent's head. Now, I'm not real fond of snakes. They don't bother me like they
do with the wrecks, but I'm not fond of them. But I promise you,
I promise you, you can give me any snake you want to. Throw
him at me, won't bother me a bit, long as his head's crushed. Just
won't bother me. Just won't bother me. His head's
crushed. There's nothing he can do. His head's crushed. Satan
has his head crushed by the Son of God, so that we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us. God sent his Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, into this world to fulfill that promise in Genesis
3.15. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he
might destroy the works of the devil. For as much then as the
children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise
took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that
had the power of death, that is the devil. Now, the work of
Christ in destroying Satan may be observed in four things. four
mighty conquests of our Savior. Number one, Satan was crushed. His head was crushed at Calvary
when the Son of God died. He said, now is the prince of
this world cast out. He said, I, if I be lifted up,
will draw all men unto me. What does that mean? We read
about it in Revelation 20. Christ is that angel who comes
down from heaven with a great shape and he cast Satan in the
bottomless pit and set a seal on the pit. And at the end of
the thousand years, that is, at the end of the kingdom of
his grace, at the end of this gospel age in which we now live,
whatever that is, he'll be loosed for a little season to deceive
the nations again, but he's still bound. bound on a long chain
by Jesus Christ, our mighty King, our mighty Savior, so that he
does nothing except what our Lord Jesus, our God and Savior,
the God of peace, has ordained, decreed, and uses for his glory
and our good. Now listen to what it says about
how he crushed the serpent's head. He blotted out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us. which was contrary to us.
He took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. Brother Lindsey
taught this morning concerning the commandments, last few weeks
have been in Exodus 20, how we ought to be constantly aware
of the commandments and of our breaking the commandments all
the time. that we may constantly look to
Christ our Redeemer, our substitute, who fulfilled all the law on
our behalf. And having fulfilled the law,
this is what he did with it. He took it and said, there, nail it to the
tree. Nail it to the tree! He took
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us out of the
way, and he nailed it to his cross, so that there is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Satan has
no accusation with which to charge and condemn God's elect. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather than is risen again, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also maketh intercession for us. Not only did he nail
the commandments, the ordinances to the cross, having spoiled
principalities and powers, that is having spoiled Satan and his
forces. He made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them in his cross. Our Lord Jesus has arranged things
in his sacrifice so that Satan has nothing to raise up against
his Joshua's. Zechariah chapter three. In one
day, he took away our sins. And Satan can't even raise an
accusation. Now the accuser of the brethren
has no accusation to raise. No sin to raise, no offense to
raise, no guilt to raise. And so the angel of the Lord
just stands by. Our mighty intercessor and effectually
pleads for his fallen Joshua's at all times. Dress them upright. I see no iniquity in him. I see
no sin in him because there is none. I've taken it away. So
Satan has been crushed by our Lord's accomplished redemption. Second, Satan is conquered by
our mighty Savior every time one of his elect is saved by
omnipotent mercy and irresistible grace. I love those words. I know people say, well, you
ought not use irresistible grace. People don't understand that.
No, the reason they don't like it is because they do understand
it. They really do. You mean preacher God saves sinners
against their will? Of course I do. Of course I do. That's what the book teaches,
isn't it? Where do you ever find in the scriptures a man willed
to come to the Savior? Find me an example. Show me one.
Show me one. I'll sit down and let you preach
for next year. Show me one. No. Thy people shall be willing
in the day of thy Our Lord came to Zacchaeus, he said, Zacchaeus,
come down for today, I must abide at thy house. And Zacchaeus made
haste and came down. There was a Gadarene in the Gospels
that made much of. We read about him this week,
wasn't it Mark 8? And he dwelt in the cemetery among the tombs.
and folks put chains on him. They tried to keep him out of
society, but he'd break the chains and he scared people to death.
He was a madman. And the Lord Jesus came by one
day and cast the devil out of him. And folks came from all
over and they saw that Gadarene sitting clothed and in his right
mind. I don't, gospel preachers don't. We try to trick folks into religion.
We don't try to massage you mentally and psychologically and get you
to pretty please accept Jesus as your Lord. We don't beg folks
to make a profession of faith. Matter of fact, we're more inclined
to say, wait a little while, we'll see. We'll see. Just wait,
we'll see what God does for you. How come? because salvation doesn't
come by you or me. It comes by almighty, omnipotent,
irresistible mercy, by God conquering your will, by God graciously
giving you life and faith in his dear son, by God settling
you at the feet of the Savior. How does he do that? He comes
into the strong man's house and binds the strong man and cast
him out, and he spoils his house. When Christ comes in, he doesn't
come knocking at your heart's door, begging you to pretty please
let him in. He knocks the door down, bolt
and bar, and brings his welcome with him. You ever have guests
come to your house who bring their welcome with them? I have
had over the years some folks who've come up and you almost
want to turn the lights out and lock the door and pretend you're
not home because you really don't want them around. But then there
are you folks who come. You come. Man, I see one of y'all
drive up. I make sure the door's open.
How come? Because when you come, you bring your welcome with you.
You're welcome to sit there, buddy, no matter when. You're
welcome. How come? There's something akin to you
and me. And when Christ comes in, our
elder brother sets up his throne in your heart, and first thing
you know, you're delighted he's there. You're delighted he's
there. He comes in with omnipotent mercy. Satan is being defeated now by
our great Savior through saved sinners who believe and speak
the word of God wearing the whole armor of God. He comes and graciously
works in us, causing us to overcome by the blood of the lamb and
by the word of our testimony. The victory is Christ. It's his
work. We embrace it. We apply the victory
by faith in Him. And in our battles, the devil, by believing and wielding the
word of truth, falls before us. And we're victors over our enemy.
So that trust in Christ, we win. Trust in Christ. I have a lot
of friends. I have a lot of friends right
now going through horrible trials. And this is my word to you. This
is God's word to you. The God of peace shall brew Satan
under your feet shortly. He'll do it. Yeah. Okay. That's enough. The God of peace shall brew Satan
under your feet shortly. And you have foes you have to
deal with in this world. As a preacher, I have my own
set, but you've got yours. Folks who just When your name's
mentioned, they grind their teeth. We've all got it, we've all got
it. The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. Leave him alone. Ignore him. It's kind of fun
to make him know you know him, but ignore him, ignore him. Temptations. I don't know what you're gonna
face tomorrow. Are you listening to me? I don't
know what temptation you'll face tomorrow. It's around the corner,
I promise you. Temptations. Temptations that
will drag you away from Christ. The God of peace shall brew Satan
under your feet shortly. And even your falls. If your
gods The Lord will raise you up and the God of peace will
brew Satan under your feet shortly. And then finally, Satan will
be vanquished and thrown over into the lake of fire, never
to torment or even trouble us again. Romans 16, 20 is a glorious promise
to beleaguered saints in all times and places and circumstance,
where it seems as if evil has the upper hand. And Satan is
not only a roaring lion, but a devouring lion. Don't give
up, my brother, victory is sure. Christ is going to win, and when
Christ wins, we win. Satan has been put under our
Redeemer's feet, and he shall be put under our feet. Christ has crushed the serpent's
head, and we will stand with Christ upon the defeated foe's
head. Say, but Pastor, when? Lead the next line. In the meantime,
while we're waiting, or we're still involved in the conflict,
we're assured of the grace of Christ we must have. Grace for
the battle is ours. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you. It arrives every day in just
the right amount for the battle we face. It's new every morning. Great is his faithfulness. But
pastor, when will victory come? Shortly. Shortly. Won't be long. Won't be long.
Shortly. But this promise was written
in the book of God 2,000 years ago. But 1,000 years with the
Lord is just as, how long? One day. One day is 1,000 years. Our light affliction which are
but for a moment. Don't tell me this is just gonna
be going on for years. Just a moment. Just a moment. Just a moment. Work for us a
far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Just imagine. When you can put your feet on
his neck and smile. The God of peace shall brew Satan
under your feet shortly. Whatever the trial, Whatever
the temptation, whatever the heartache, suddenly, unexpected,
when you least expect it. When you're expecting anything
else, the God of peace will brew Satan under your feet shortly. And of course, he's referring
as well to the second coming of our Savior. when he shall
publicly, manifestly, brew Satan under your feet. Shelby asked
me this one day this week. She had been reading Hawker or
Spurgeon, one of the old writers she likes to read. And she said,
now when we were coming back from Sylacauga, we were talking,
she had asked me about it. She said, it looks like faithful
men have always thought they lived in the last days of time. Now I said it does, doesn't it?
Looks like every faithful man I read after, I don't care what
you're talking about in the 1500s or 1600s or 1700s, 1800s, 1900s,
2000s, every faithful man I've ever read after with regard to
anything concerning the last days and the second coming of
Christ has just been dead sure. But this is it. This is it. I
hope so. I hope so. But why is that? God has so arranged things that
nobody knows when. But as it was in the days of
Noah, so shall it be in the days of coming of the Son of Man.
What were they doing in Noah's day? When you go out to lunch
this afternoon, the same thing you'll be doing. What are we
doing? Eating and drinking and marrying
and giving in marriage. Now, giving in marriage is not
talking about adultery and fornication, though that's common as hen's
teeth these days. It's talking about giving to
yourself, to one another in marriage. Well, that's just natural. That's
the way men live, isn't it, though? Everything's gonna go on. just
like it is right now until Christ comes again. And the God of peace
shall bruise Satan under your feet suddenly when you least
expect it. Behold, he cometh, and every
eye shall see him. And they also which pierced him
shall wail because of him. And the God of peace shall bruise
Satan under your feet. And you will never, never, never,
never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never
regret anything again. Never, never. You'll find everything. has been done exactly as the
God of peace ordained for you from eternity for your everlasting
joy in his darling son and his everlasting glory in your praises. Amen. All right, let's.