The Corner, the Nail, The Battle Bow, and The Oppressor

Q: What does the Bible say about Jesus as the Cornerstone?

The Bible identifies Jesus as the Cornerstone of faith, the foundation upon which the church is built. In Isaiah, the Lord states, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.' This underscores the vital role Jesus plays as our Savior and the Cornerstone of our faith. He bears the weight of our salvation and serves as the ultimate stability for our souls. Zechariah reflects this truth, portraying Christ as the Corner who upholds and sustains His people, emphasizing that there is no other name under heaven through which we must be saved.

Q: How do we know Jesus is our Deliverer?

The Bible proclaims Jesus as our Deliverer through prophecies and His fulfillment of God's salvation plan. In Zechariah 10:4, it is declared that 'out of Him came forth the corner,' referring to Jesus as the Deliverer who prevails over our enemies. This echoes Hebrew scriptures that establish His credentials and authority as our Savior. Zerubbabel serves as a type of Christ in the Old Testament, pointing to the ultimate deliverance brought forth by Jesus. Moreover, Scripture reinforces that our Deliverer, Jesus Christ, has won ultimate victory over sin and death as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, securing our salvation eternally.

Q: Why is it important to hang our souls on Christ?

Hanging our souls on Christ is vital as He is our only source of hope, salvation, and righteousness. The sermon emphasizes that Jesus is the glorious nail in which our faith and hope should firmly rest. As the triune God has fixed Christ in a sure place, we can depend fully on Him for every aspect of our salvation. This expectation provides security and peace, as illustrated in Isaiah's prophecy, which describes Christ as the one who bears all our burdens. When we hang our souls upon Him, we acknowledge that our help springs solely from Him, contrasting sharply with a reliance on our works or efforts, which ultimately fails.

Q: How does Christ fight our battles?

Christ fights our battles and ensures our victory as the Captain of our salvation. In the sermon, it is declared that the battle belongs to the Lord, emphasizing that Christ is our victorious leader who has already conquered. He equips us with the armor necessary to stand firm, but it is His victory that secures our triumph over sin and the evil one. Romans 8 assures us that in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him. This reality transforms our understanding of struggle; rather than fighting for victory, we stand in His victory, knowing that He has rendered our enemies powerless.

Q: What does Zechariah 10:4 reveal about Jesus' authority?

Zechariah 10:4 reveals that Jesus possesses all authority to deliver us and defeat our enemies. In this verse, the prophet declares that ‘out of Him came forth...the oppressor together,’ signifying that all authority, including that over adversaries, is vested in Christ. He is portrayed as both a source of aid and a conqueror. This understanding reassures believers of Christ's sovereignty over all aspects of life, affirming that nothing can thwart His redemptive plan or separate us from His love. Thus, we can trust fully in His divine authority.

A few weeks ago, I was stuck
in the Atlanta airport for a few hours. Shelby and I were on the
way home, and so I went and got my shine shoes. My shoes shined.
I asked the fellow who was shining my shoes, just making conversation.
I said, well, are you having a good day? And he was kind of
dancing back and forth to the music he was listening to in
the background, but smiling, speaking. Everybody went by.
He said, man, my day was made when I woke up this morning.
And I was a little tired, been up a long time, a little agitated,
and I was tremendously rebuked. And I thought to myself, my day
was made from eternity and it is well with my soul. How I ought
to be rejoicing as this man who apparently knows not our God
rejoices in nothing. How I ought to rejoice in my
Redeemer. Blessed is that poor weak sinner
in this world, in this world of woe who can lift his heart
to heaven and sing with David. The Lord is my rock and my fortress,
my deliverer, the God of my rock. In Him will I trust. He is my
shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower and my refuge,
my Savior. Thou savest me from violence. Blessed are they who have Christ
as their safety and their shield. In Zechariah 10, verse 4, the
Lord God tells us of His saving grace. He tells us that His saving
grace is sure. Describing our Lord Jesus Christ
as that one who came out of Judah to save His people from their
sins, He assures us that all is well with our souls. He has
made himself our safety and our shield, our rock and our fortress,
our high tower and our refuge. Look at it with me, Zechariah
10, verse 4. Out of him came forth the corner,
out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him the
oppressor together. Look first at the opening three
words of the text. out of him. Those three words
refer back to the house of Judah spoken of in verse three. The
Lord of hosts had visited his flock, the house of Judah. Out of him came forth the quarter. He's speaking then of Judah,
but he tells us in the book of Zechariah and through the Old
Testament scriptures, during those years of 70 years in Babylon,
those years of captivity, the children of Israel, the house
of Judah, had been ruled for seventy years by her enemies. They had been oppressed greatly,
oppressed not so much by her rulers as by her false shepherds,
those priests and prophets who had spoken deceitfully to them
and given them vain comfort. But when she was brought forth
out of Babylon and established again in Jerusalem, out of Judah
itself, the Lord God raised up a mighty deliverer. He raised
up a prince in Judah to build again his temple, to reestablish
his worship, and to honor his name. That mighty prince is Zerubbabel. As you know, Zerubbabel was a
type of Christ raised up specifically by God to be a representative,
a picture and type of our Redeemer. His deliverance of Judah his
reestablishment of that worship of God, his building again of
God's temple, were pictures of our Savior's great work of redemption,
of which Zachariah is a prophecy. I can't remind you frequently
enough because most of what you will read, if you read anything
on Zechariah, most of what you will hear if you hear any preaching
about the book of Zechariah, will tell you that Zechariah
is all about the Jews and their history in ancient times and
in their history in some imaginary millennial day yet to come. Zechariah
is a prophecy about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the accomplishment of redemption by Him. You'll remember that
in Ezra chapter 4, you don't need to turn there, when the
adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the
captivity had returned to Jerusalem and built again the temple of
the Lord God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel with a proposition.
They came to Zerubbabel and said to him and the chief fathers
of Israel, let us build with you, for we seek your God as
you do. And we do sacrifice unto him. Let us help you in this work.
You're doing this great thing, building again the kingdom of
God, building again the house of God, building again the worship
of God. Let us work with you and build
with you in this great endeavor. And to Rubble, flat out, said,
go your way. Your help is not wanted, and
it won't be used. This is exactly what he said.
You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God.
But we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel. You know what their response
was? Because the rubbable would not let them contribute to the
work which God appointed him alone to do. Because the rubbable
would not allow them to put their filthy hands into the work of
building God's holy temple. You know what they did? they
were enraged. I mean mad enough to kill. The
scripture tells us they were so enraged, these cunning, deceitful
men who pretended to worship and do sacrifice to God. They
were so enraged that they hired counselors against the Jews to
frustrate their purpose. But the opposition of all his
did nothing to hinder Zerubbabel. Do turn back to Zechariah chapter
4. Let me show you. Zerubbabel's work could not be
prevented. It was of God. And Christ's work cannot be prevented. It's of God. Zechariah chapter
4, verse 6. Then he answered and spake unto
me, saying, This is the word of the Lord, unto Zerubbabel,
saying, Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord
of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? What mountain is that? Any that
stands in the way. Who art thou, O great mountain,
before Zerubbabel? Thou shalt become a plague, and
he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings crying,
Grace, Grace, unto it. Moreover, the word of the Lord
came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation
of this house. and his hands shall finish it,
and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto
you." But the deliverer spoken of here in Zechariah 10 is not
Zerubbabel. This deliverer who was portrayed
by Zerubbabel is our great Prince and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
that one who came from the house of Judah. Now, the Scriptures
identify him. as the all-prevailing, ever-prevailing
Lion of the tribe of Judah. Hold your hands here and turn
back to Genesis 49. Genesis 49. Throughout the Old
Testament, Judah, the son of Jacob, is represented as being
an imminent type of our Lord Jesus Christ. Brother Bob Ponce
pointed this out to me one time. Back in chapter 42, Reuben offered
to be surety for Benjamin. offered to do the very same thing
that in chapter 43, verse 9, Judah did. But Jacob would not
allow Reuben to be surety for Benjamin, because Reuben was
not ordained as a type of our Savior. But when Judah offered
to do the very same thing, he accepted him because Judah is
indeed the great picture of our Savior among the sons of Jacob. Look here in Genesis 49 and verse
8. as the patriarch gives his prophecy concerning his great
son Judah. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren
shall praise. Thy hand shall be in the neck
of thine enemies. That's a pretty good place for
your hand to be. Thy father's children shall bow
down to thee. Judah is a lion's wealth. From the prey, my son, thou art
grown up. He stooped down, he couched as
a lion, and as an old lion, who shall riles him up? The scepter
shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his
feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering
of the people be." Now watch this, "...binding his foal unto
the vine, and his ass's coat unto the choice vine." He washed
his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes.
His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white like milk."
Are you sure that's talking about Christ? Pretty sure. Turn to
Revelation chapter 5. Pretty sure. Are you sure this
is a picture of our Redeemer? Pretty sure. Revelation 5, verse
5. And one of the elders saith unto
me, Weep not, and behold," has he got it? of the tribe of Judah
hath prevailed." He stooped down, he crouched, he took his prey,
and he rose up again. He's exalted now. The lion of
the tribe of Judah hath prevailed. He always does. To open the book
and to loose the seven seals thereof. And this lion of the
tribe of Judah is the lamb that had been slain. Now, as if to
make certain that we do not fail to understand that this passage
back here in Zechariah 10.4 is a prophecy of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The Holy Spirit tells us plainly
that our Savior was born in Bethlehem of Judah. And he asserts it is
evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah. Now, let's look
here at Zechariah 10.4 and see what the Spirit of God tells
us about our Lord Jesus Christ our great Deliverer. In this
text, Zechariah sits before us three portraits of our Redeemer,
showing us his character as it is commonly held before us in
the Old Testament scriptures. He describes him first as the
corner, and then the nail, and then the battle bow. And then
he shows us a fourth thing, and this fourth thing seems rather
strange, unusual, out of place. He declares, That is, out of
our mighty Judah, who rules over all and always prevails, comes
every oppressor. Now let's look at these four
things together. First, our Lord Jesus Christ is called the Corner.
Clearly, this is talking about Him being the Cornerstone. The Cornerstone of His Temple.
The Church. The Cornerstone of our souls. Isaiah said, Therefore thus saith
the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tried
stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste." He's speaking here of Christ as the cornerstone, but
the word translated corner has the idea of ruler or king, one
who bears everything. on his own shoulders. Neither
is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name
given among men under heaven whereby we must be saved. To the unbelieving, to you who
yet believe not, this One upon whom our souls are built, this
One upon whom we build our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ is a stumbling
stone. and a rock of offense. But to
you who believe, he's precious. Turn to Romans chapter 9. Let
me show you. Like Zerubbabel who typified
him, the Son of God insists on doing the work Himself alone,
without your aid. And that's the thing that's going
to get you. That's the thing that's going
to get you. He says to all men, You have nothing to do with me
to build a house under God. I will build under the Lord God
of Israel. Let me give you the New Testament
rendering of that. Upon this rock I will build my
church. Except the Lord of hosts build
a house, they labor in vain that build it. And men are in rage. by the fact that he will not
allow them to contribute anything to the saving of their souls.
Now, nobody says it just like that. Nobody says it just like
that. Oh, no, we wouldn't want to take
his place. No. No, we wouldn't put our work
with his. Oh, no, we would never imagine
to think that we can produce righteousness of our own But
don't you tell me we don't do anything. Don't you tell me my will determines
nothing. Don't you tell me my faithfulness
means nothing. Don't you tell me my sacrifices
count for nothing. Why, if that's true, my grandma's
in hell, and I know she's not in hell. Let's see. Let's see. Romans chapter 9, beginning verse
31. Let's see if this is not the
problem. Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness,
hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Some of you
here have been trying your best to find some way to make yourselves
righteous before God, some way to give peace to your conscience.
Some way to give peace to your heart. Some way to give yourself
a means by which to silence that screaming, condemning conscience
that torments you day and night. And you can't find it. And I'll
tell you why. Verse 32. Wherefore? Why? Because they sought it not by
faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled
at that stumbling stone. As it is written, Behold, I lay
in Zion a stumbling stone, and a rock of offense, and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed." That word is translated
variously throughout the scriptures. Shall not be confused, shall
not make haste, shall not be ashamed, shall not be confounded,
shall not be put to shame. Those who believe are at ease. And those who work never can
be. It's just that simple. It's just
that simple. Verse 1, Chapter 10. Brethren, my heart's desire
and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.
I want you to know him. I bear them record. They have
a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. I can say that
about most people I know. Unlike you, it's been a long
time since I've worked in a public area anywhere. And most of the
people I know are people I know in churches, family members.
Most of the people I know are very religious folks. They have
a zeal for God. Some of them are very devoted, very devoted. Some of them have labored with
great sacrifice in many different fields of the world. Very, very
devoted. They have a zeal of God, but
they don't know God from a gourd. Oh, but he lives so good. That
don't mean anything. That doesn't mean anything. How
many times, Brother Ramsey, you're an old man now. Forgive me, but
you're an old man. How many times in your life,
mind, preaching, you start to preach something and somebody
says, well, you can't think. She's so good. They've revealed
what they really believe. Why? Just because she's Catholic,
that doesn't mean anything. Just because she worships a stump
covered over with gold, that doesn't mean anything. She's
so good. Well, I know Brother Don is a saved man because he
used to be drunk and rambler, used to fight and cuss and carry
on. He's been a changed man ever
since. I know he's a saved man because I know what he wasn't
for. You told me what you really believe. You told me what you
really believe. Not by faith, but by works. And presume that that's the only
way men can ever be saved. Surely! It just stands for reason. My works must count for something. You can't say that man's good
works are the equivalent of a man's bad works. Oh, they are. They are indeed. They are indeed.
Look here. Verse 3. They being ignorant
of God's righteousness, not His righteous character, every human
being on this earth is fully convinced of God's righteous
character. He's born that way, and he's
more and more convinced of it every day he lives. Now, there
are some folks who like to call themselves atheists, because they suppress the knowledge
of God. But throughout history, in every
part of the world, the most barbaric as well as the most refined The
most ignorant as well as the most educated, the poorest as
well as the richest of men all display a consciousness that
they must meet God who is righteous and they've got to have a righteousness
to match His. Everybody knows that. But what
does this mean then? They being ignorant of God's
righteousness. They're ignorant of the fact
that it's fully satisfied, fully established, and freely given
in the person of his son. They're ignorant of Christ, who
of God is made unto us righteousness. They're ignorant of Christ, whose
name is Jehovah Sikhinu, the Lord our righteousness. Therefore,
they go about to establish their own righteousness, not understanding,
having never been convinced by God the Holy Spirit, of righteousness. having never had the righteousness
of God, Jesus Christ crucified, revealed in them, they still
think they've got to do something to make themselves righteous.
For you who are without Christ, that's your problem. You will
not give up your righteousness. That's it. Oh, but brother Don,
I do too. I know I'm not righteous, but
I know that I've got to. I've got to feel different than
I do now. What did you call that? But I know I've got to know more
than I do now. What did you call that? But I
know a man can't be saved and have such a heart as I have,
but I've got to change that. Going about to establish your
own righteousness. Watch this. Have not submitted,
have not bowed themselves to the righteousness of God. convinced
of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. This is what he
does. This is what faith is. He vows
to the righteousness of God. He casts all his own righteousness
off as filthy rags. But these have not submitted
themselves to the righteousness of God, for this is the thing
men don't yet see. Christ is the end. I preach this. I try my best
to preach it so clear you can't possibly misunderstand it. But
honestly, every time I preach it, I don't have that problem
here, thankfully. It doesn't matter where I go
in the world. Every time somebody says, come up to me, I want to
get there. Now, how far do you carry that to the end? The word
is terminus. Shelby and I took a train. We
were in England. First time we'd ever ridden a long train. We
sat on a train for about three hours. It must have been several
hundred miles. I don't have any idea. Beautiful
ride. But I knew when to get off. Brother
Ian Potts put me on the train and said, you get off at Waterloo
Station. I said, how will I know where that is? He said, that's
the end. Now, if I had known where the end was, we'd still
be sitting on that train. But when that thing bumped the
wall, I knew it's time to get off. That's the end. That's the
word right here. That's the word used here. finishing,
the termination, the completion, the purpose, the E-N-D of the
law for righteousness. He fulfilled it. He fulfilled
it. We preach Christ crucified to
the Jews, to the self-righteous, a stumbling block, to the smart
folks, the Greeks, foolishness. But to you who believe that which
enrages the reprobate, is precious. Here's the corner. Here's the
foundation. Here's the rock on which I have
been built of God and on which I build my soul. Here is the
thing upon which everything rests. Here is the thing that forms
the building. Here is the thing that gives
the glory to the building. The cornerstone in most buildings
is not an ornament. It's just a vital stone. That
which holds everything together, but in the building of God, in
the temple of God, in the building of our souls, the cornerstone
is the only ornament. He bears all the luster and all
the glory of His building. All right, let's move on. Our
Lord Jesus next is called the nail. The nail. The nail upon
which we hang our souls. Turn, if you will, to Isaiah's
prophecy, chapter 22. Look at verse 23. God speaks and says,
I will fasten him. I will fasten him. I will with
my own hammer and my own hand drive him in firmly as a nail
in a sure place. And he, this nail, shall be for
a glorious throne to his father's house. And they, his father's
house, shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house,
the offspring and the issue, all the vessels of small quantity,
from the vessels of cups even to all the vessels of wagons."
The triune God has fixed Christ the nail in a sure place. in
the everlasting covenant of His grace. And when He did, He hung
everything on His Son. Everything. And we, believing
on His Son, hang all our souls' weight upon Him. He is all our
hope, all our trust, and all our glory. As the builder of
his temple, Christ is the nail that bears all the glory. Back
in chapter 6 of Zerubbabel, verse 13, he shall build the temple
of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory. It's only right that
he should. Everything hangs on this nail. Now, I told you a few weeks ago,
the word nail here refers to one of two kinds of nails. It's
used in both ways. Sometimes it refers to the kind
of nail you'd refer to if you had a tent nail or a tent peg. You know, you pitch a tent, you
folks who have done any camping, you pitch a tent, you stretch
your canvas out over top of the frame and you drive a nail down
here, drive one down here, drive one down here, drive one down
here, and it holds everything together. Picturing for us that
which was portrayed in the Old Testament in the building of
the temple, the tabernacle rather. The tabernacle in the wilderness,
every time it was pitched, was stretched out and held together
by these nails. John Gill tells us that the Church
of God's elect is the tent, and Christ is the nail to which its
cords are fastened. He is the nail that gives stability
and security to the tent. But there was another nail, another
kind of peg. pitch his dwelling, which is
a tent, or build a house, in the center pole of the tent,
right in the middle of that tent, or on the wall of the house in
some prominent place, he would drive a nail, a large peg, and
there he would hang everything of valuable and beauty that he
wished to display to others. So that anybody who walked in,
first thing they'd see, right in the middle of the room, hanging
with all the bitches and distinguishing qualities by which that man set
himself apart from others, just as a woman would hang the cooking
utensils on a nail in such ancient times. But our God's utensils
are His glory. Everything in the tabernacle,
everything in the temple, All the pots and saucers and pans
and vessels were instruments by which God accomplished our
redemption in type. Instruments by which he showed
forth the great glorious work of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what Christ is. See him crucified, buried, risen
again. Can you see what John did? when he was in the Spirit on
the Lord's Day on the Isle of Patmos, and he was called up
to heaven, he said, I looked, and behold, a lamb as it had
been slain in the midst of the throne. There's all God's glory. All of it. All of it. All the
whole character of God is revealed in the sacrifice of His darling
Son and the redemption of our souls by Him. Hang everything
on Him. Hang everything on Him. Hang everything on Him. Oh, God help you. Hang your soul
on Christ. But you know what? It's impossible
for you to hang yourself on this now. Shelford, I was watching
a movie, an old movie, old movie about Frank James, one of the
Pinkerton men finally caught up with him. And Frank's little
brother, and he managed to take the Pinkerton man. And you know
what they did with him? Silliest looking thing you ever
saw. They took that little man. and hung him on a nail and shut
him up in the closet. And when somebody came, heard
him beating on the walls, opened the door, and there hangs a little
man with a nail. Absolutely impossible for him
to get off. He had been picked up and hung
on the nail, and wiggled and squirmed and jumped all he wanted
to. He couldn't get off. That's kind of like what God
did with me. He picked me up in His omnipotent hands of grace.
and hung this little nothing on this nail in the sure place. The only difference between me
and the illustration, I'm happy I'm hanging there. I wouldn't
trade places with anybody. But brother Don, you mean you
don't place any confidence, any trust in anything you have ever
done? Your walk with God doesn't give
you hope? Well, what about your prayer
life? You called it that, I didn't. Well, what about your devotion
life? My God, what devotion? What about the great strength
of your faith? Strength? Nothing. I hang my helpless,
wretched soul on Jesus Christ alone. who of God is made unto
me wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Tell you what got me started
thinking about this passage of scripture. Back on March 21st, Brother Robert
Hawker had a devotional reading out of Isaiah 22 about this nail. Let me give you what he said
that my heart echoes. Thou glorious, almighty Mediator,
founded on such authority, and possessing in Thyself such eternal
principles, evermore will I hang my soul and body and spirit,
with all I have and all I am, or hope to be, in time and to
all eternity on Thee. Never can too great a stress
be laid upon Jesus, nor too great a confidence be placed in Him.
How can a soul perish that hangs on God's Christ? Hail, blessed nail. Third, our
Savior is called the battle bow. This One who comes, the Lion
of the tribal Judah, He's the battle bow. He is the One who
has fought and won our battles. He is the one who fights our
battles, by whom we always prevail. Not occasionally, always. Even,
Bobby, when it looks like we fell flat down under the feet
of the enemy. He made us more than conquerors. More than conquerors. is someone who is more than a
conqueror. Brother Harry Graham and I were discussing that passage
of scripture in Romans 8 one night. I was 19 years old, sitting
on his hearth. And I said, Harry, what on earth
does that mean? He said, a fellow who is more
than a conqueror has so thoroughly whipped his enemy that his enemy
can never rise again. And he is so thoroughly a conqueror
that he can never be whipped. That's a pretty good description.
Christ has so thoroughly conquered death, hell, sin, and the grave,
so thoroughly routed Satan, that there is no danger for us all. He is called the Captain of the
Lord's Host, the Captain of our salvation. He is described, the
Lord of Hosts, as a man of war. By Him we prevail. Always. And by Him we shall prevail
in the end. Well, aren't we supposed to fight
this battle? No. No. No. He specifically says
don't fight this battle. The battle is the Lord's. You
just ride along for the conquering. That's all. Well, what about
that great challenge in Ephesians 6 where we're supposed to take
the armor of the Spirit, the armor of God, and fight the battle? He didn't say fight, he said
stand. He said stand. Let me give you a summary of
that. He calls us to take seven pieces of armor by faith. Seven
pieces of armor. Like a great soldier going out
to battle. Seven pieces of armor. Seven
signifying his grace. Seven signifying perfection. Seven signifying the work of
God. He tells us to take the girdle
of truth. The girdle of truth. has girded us about with truth
by which he strengthens our souls. He has put on us the breastplate
of righteousness, not ours, but his. And that's the armor for
our hearts. He's put on our feet the strong,
gripping boots of the gospel of peace. While we were in the Roman Museum
a few weeks ago anyway, I happened to see a pair of those old Roman
sandals, those hobnail sandals. You've seen something similar
to them in these days when fellows do work and have to walk on ice
a lot? They're just spikes to hold the ground. The Lord Jesus
has shod the feet of His own with shoes that hold the ground
and never slip. It's called the gospel of peace. Peace. Several years ago, Brother
David Fletcher was preaching out in California, Rescue, California. Somebody asked him, said, how
can you be so sure of what you preach? He said, I'm sure of
it. It's the gospel of God. He said,
but how do you know that your doctrine is not going to change?
He said, I ain't looking for anything. I'm looking for the
thing. I found it. I have peace with
God. He has given us the shield of
faith with which we quench the fiery darts of the wicked. Satan
hurls his accusations. Men hurl their accusations. And
our hearts, by nature, find accomplices to Satan to accuse and condemn. Have the shield of faith. Don
Fortner, you sinful wretch. Take it up with him. Don, look
what you've done. Take it up with him. How do you
claim that you could possibly be a child of God? Take it up
with him. He's everything. Everything. And he put on us the helmet of
salvation with his own gracious hands. He's given us and continually
causes us to take for our soul's defense the sword of the Spirit,
the Word of God. And He, our great man of war,
puts a prayer in our hearts, causing us and enabling us to
seek mercy and grace and help from Him in time of need. He casts us down and makes us
weak. then in our weakness we may look
to him for strength. And then this fourth thing, I
just have to touch on it, come to it another time, the oppressor. Out of him, now watch what it
says, out of him, out of our great Judah, out of our great
man of war, out of him who is the corner, the nail in the battle
bow, out of him, every enemy together. Did he say every enemy
of God, every enemy of Christ, every enemy of our souls comes
from Christ our God, our Savior, our man of war. That's what he
said. That's what he said. Was it not our great God who
stirred up Satan against his servant Job? Read the book. Was it not our great God who
raised up Pharaoh that he might dump him in the river glorify
himself and deliver Israel? Was it not God who sent a lying
spirit into the hearts and mouths of false prophets that they should
prophesy deceitfully? Is it not our God who speaks
of the Antichrist as that one by whom he shall send a strong
delusion that men should believe a lie to demonstrate his grace
in preserving his own? Is it not our God, the Lord of
hosts, who in the days of judges raised up nation after nation
after nation, and kingdom after kingdom after kingdom, raised
them up to take His people captive so that He could raise up a judge
and deliver them? Did He not, this Lion of the
tribe of Judah, choose His own betrayer? Out of him, out of
him, every enemy, together, he forms light and he makes darkness. He makes peace and he creates
evil. He declares himself the ruler
of all things, especially his enemies. Especially. Turn to Psalm 124,
and I'll wrap this up. Shall there be evil in the city,
and the Lord hath not done it? Every time I hear news folks
reading what they're supposed to read on television, or see
the reports, especially the ones who have a tinge of religion,
they're worse than the blatant liberals. If it happened, God did it. That's
just all there is to it. Shall there be evil in the city,
and the Lord hath not done it? Impossible. Oh, but what about
all the evil that attacks us from above and beneath and all
around and from within? If it had not been, Psalm 124,
the Lord of hosts who was on our side, now may Israel say,
Now may God's princes say, if it had not been the Lord of Hosts
who was on our side when men rose up against us, they had
swallowed us up quick when their wrath was kindled against us. But blessed be His name, the
Lord of Hosts is on our side. That means it is well with my
soul. Amen.

The Corner, the Nail, The Battle Bow, and The Oppressor

What does the Bible say about Jesus as the Cornerstone?

How do we know Jesus is our Deliverer?

Why is it important to hang our souls on Christ?

How does Christ fight our battles?

What does Zechariah 10:4 reveal about Jesus' authority?

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The Corner, the Nail, The Battle Bow, and The Oppressor

What does the Bible say about Jesus as the Cornerstone?

How do we know Jesus is our Deliverer?

Why is it important to hang our souls on Christ?

How does Christ fight our battles?

What does Zechariah 10:4 reveal about Jesus' authority?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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