The Battle Is Not Yours - Nothing Restrains the Lord — Shane Idleman

We are going to do this Saturday nights through September, God willing. So we decided as a church to meet Westside Christian Fellowship, decided to meet as a church. And it's primarily for Westside, but it looks like some other people came as well.

So good to see you. And as I already mentioned, we will have the prayer area afterwards over here, because I think, guys, this is time we need to press in and pray and seek the heart of God. But I want to encourage you tonight, the title of the message is, The Battle Is Not Yours.

The Spiritual Battle Belongs to the Lord

The battle is not yours. Nothing restrains the Lord. I think we need to be reminded of that often, because we watch the news, and we forget that nothing restrains the Lord. The battle is not ours. This fight that we're fighting is a spiritual battle.

There is no hindrance. There is no battle. There is no power too great that God cannot overcome. And I'm not just saying that as a motivational speaker. That is the Word of God. Who is going to stop God Almighty?

No one is going to stop Him. And I'm just going to look at three scriptures primarily in the Old Testament. The Old Testament, Paul says, was given to us as an example in many areas. There's so many principles that we can pull from there.

No Hindrance Is Too Great for God

Number one, there is no hindrance too great for God. And that word hindrance means that something is in my way. Anyone feel like that right now? As soon as there's some hope, it's stripped away. And something is in my way.

There's a hindrance, God, and we're being prevented in many different areas. But there is no hindrance too great for God. And we find that principle in 1 Samuel. Jonathan said to his young armor bearer, come, let us go over to the outpost of the Philistines.

Now you have to realize something here. The Philistines were fighting the children of Israel. And they were at a standstill. And Jonathan said, no, let's go up. Let's go over. Perhaps, perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf.

And here's that famous line. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. And I've reminded you many times before, I'm going to remind you again. If you leave here, you can tweet this.

You can highlight this. You plus God is a majority. Amen. You plus God is a majority. You in your prayer closet alone before God has more power than the president of the United States, I believe. Because you're pulling down heaven.

God says, I just looked for a man from among them who would build a wall and stand before me on behalf of the land. God is looking for those people who want to be them plus God is the majority. God doesn't need a huge crowd.

He doesn't need massive amounts of marketing and all these things. He just needs a broken, humble heart. That's why I love that song, Dead Bones Arise. Fill this place, God. Fill us with your spirit again.

But I want to pull a few things from here. He said, God has called us. Or he said, come, let's go over. And I want to remind you tonight that God has called us to fight. Amen. Did you know this is an oxymoron?

A cowardly Christian. That's an oxymoron. God has called us to fight. And I really don't like it sometimes. I'm supposed to be on vacation right now if it wasn't for COVID. And our happiness, right? Everything is attached to our happiness, what's happening to us.

But God often, like Jonathan here, he calls us to go out and we battle spiritual warfare. And I believe the American church has become very comfortable lately. And God is breaking us out of that comfort zone.

Gratitude, Humility, and Spiritual Readiness

But I also want to remind you that it's very important right now during the season to have tremendous gratitude. Should we go back to the Old Testament and also find out what God says about grumbling and complaining?

No, and I believe that's hindering a lot of what God wants to do in our lives if we would get back to that thankful heart, that gratitude. I know we like to put down California, but we still live in the greatest nation on the planet.

People would love to live where we live, to enjoy the blessings of God and make no mistake about it. We are fighting for our children right now. This is a spiritual battle. You're seeing hell unleashed like never before.

And this is not the time to cower back and complain. This is time to put on the full armor of God. And having done all, stand. God says, just stand there. This battle is not yours. This battle is mine, but you have to have on the right armor, the right armor for spiritual warfare.

Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. Now, that is a call to some of you that are being passive right now, that you need to get back up and get up early in the morning or late at night and spend that time with God and seek Him and step out in faith and boldly go to battle.

But this is also a call to some of you that you cannot continue to go out in a spirit of pride and rebellion. People are watching the church right now. They're watching our attitudes and that rebellious, prideful, arrogant attitude has to be crushed.

It has to be broken. And we have to be filled with God's spirit through humility. So some of you need to put on the brakes and some of you need to step on the gas and remind ourselves that there is no hindrance right now that is too great for God.

We look at our economy, we look at the virus, we look at everything that's going on and we say, is there any hope? But again, nothing is too great for God. And then I love number .2, but my favorite's .3, I'll get there in a minute.

No Battle Is Too Great for God

There is no battle too great. So not only is there no hindrance too great, this is a perfect example, is it not? Right here. We were given six days notice. I told JetHawk Stadium, probably expect 400, not 2 ,000.

We didn't know because God, no hindrance. Nothing can stop God Almighty. When God says, I'm going to do something, God does it. And you allow him to do it. I just told my wife, I've been trying to do this for 10 years.

And you just get out of the way and let God do what he does. There's no hindrance, nothing. I believe that we are seeing the greatest amount of darkness we have ever seen in our nation in a short amount of time.

But you're also going to see the gospel shine brighter than ever before. You're also going to see God moving because God's plans will not be thwarted. His plans will not be stopped. I love that song, Who Can Stop God Almighty?

No one. What nation is going to put him down? What army is going to conquer God? No battle is too great. 2 Chronicles, it opens with this word, listen, listen. I'm going to stop there for a minute. When the Bible says listen, it's really not talking about this.

It's talking about this. Listen, obey my word. Listen, do what I've commanded you to do. Do not just hear my word, but obey my word or you'll live in deception. And my concern is for so many Christians today.

They know what God's word says, but they don't apply it. And the power of scripture is in the application. Do you realize that? I can preach my heart out and it will not matter if the word is not applied to our hearts.

It's in the application. So he says, listen, this is what the Lord God Almighty says. Do not be afraid or discouraged. I think some of you need to hear that tonight. Amen. I do. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.

That tells me I can become afraid and I can become discouraged. Do not become afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but the battle is God's. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

Did you know that fear and discouragement are Satan's greatest weapons? Look at what he does. He polarizes the church with fear right now and he gets us so discouraged and that's how he works. But it does beg the question, how many of us are fueling fear and discouragement by what we're watching, what we're viewing, what we're posting on Facebook, and we're feeding that, that we're fueling that fear and that discouragement.

But God reminds us right now, right here, do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. And back to what I said earlier, what ruler can conquer God? Think about this for a minute. What nation can overpower him?

What leader will tell him what to do? What politician outranks God? What pandemic has him worried? What crisis has him second-guessing himself? What catastrophe causes God to tremble? Nothing. He actually told Job, were you there when I created the heavens and the earth?

Were you there when I told the Atlantic and the Pacific to come no further? Were you there when I hung the moon and the stars? Who are you to offer counsel to God Almighty? And it's the power of the gospel.

It's the power of the word of God. Nothing can stop God Almighty. No battle is too great. So I don't know what you're going through. With so many people here, there's people going through so many different things, from illness, to financial struggles, to fear and anxiety.

I just looked recently, and prescription drug prescriptions are at an all-time high. Xanax, Vicodin, Valium, alcohol abuse, skyrocketing. Why is that? Because we forget that God Almighty is still on the throne, and we need to look to Him.

Cast your cares upon me, Jesus said, for my burden is easy. So we realize that no hindrance is too great. No battle is too great. And then my third point, and actually this is probably my favorite, there is no power too strong.

Crying Out to God in Desperation

There is no power too strong. Psalm 107. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble. Listen, here's the key here. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress, and He sent out His word, and He healed them.

He rescued them from the grave. Did you know it's okay to cry out to God? Amen? Men, it's okay to cry out to God, and say, God, I need you. You cry out, you see your kids running in the street. Hey, hold on, come back.

Or you see a little toddler about ready to walk in the pool, you cry out. The same thing, God's people have to get back to crying out to God. Why? Because our emotions are a reflection of our desperation.

If we're desperate, we'll do anything. If we're really desperate to hear from God, we would do a lot more. And I'm not talking about works-based and trying to get God's favor. I'm talking about hearts seeking after the heart of God.

And I did want to ask that question. Why isn't there a desperate call to God? I pray this is not the case, but I don't know if America is humble yet. She's afraid, but she's not broken. She's fearful, but she's not yet humbled herself.

And when you see churches, and this is encouraging because you see people coming together hungry for more of God. There's a desperation. When you're desperate to save your marriage, don't you do anything?

When you're losing all of your finances, you get desperate. Desperate people do desperate things. We have to get back to being desperate for more of God and seeking the heart of the Father. All night prayer meetings, falling on our face before God and worshiping, not caring about what other people think, a desperation for God.

And God says, I will look for that person who's desperate for me, who's seeking me with all of their soul, with all of their strength, and with all of their mind. Boy, we like to quote that verse, but it sure is hard to follow.

Seeking God with all of our heart, with all of our strength. He also says something very interesting here. He sent out his word and it healed them. His word healed them. Now, it could mean a couple things.

It could mean he sent his word and healed them physically, of course, but also he sent out his word and it healed them because the people followed his word, which is wisdom. And when you follow wisdom, God will heal you in many different areas.

I'm not necessarily talking about physical healing, but when you begin to obey God's word, there's power in the application of that. Give God your best hour of every day. Oh God, wouldn't you like to ask that?

Oh God, wouldn't you send your word again? God, send your word again. We need your words into our school districts. We need your word back in our churches. Did you know that? We need God's word back in his churches.

The Power of God’s Word and the Call to Repentance

Gone are the days of fluff sermons. We need the power of God Almighty to fall on our congregations and change the heart from the inside out. Oh God, send your word. And I reminded the Old Testament when the prophet said, the days are coming where there's going to be a severe famine, not of food and drink, but of hearing of the word of God.

When there's a famine of hearing from God, people become desperate and they do wrong things and they begin to drift from God. God says, my people perish because they lack wisdom. They lack my word. My word will not return to me void.

Is not my word like a hammer? One of my favorite scriptures, if you listen to me long enough, he tells Jeremiah, is not my word like a hammer? The hammer of God's word. Is not my word like a fire that devours?

And he told Jeremiah, your words are like fire and the people are like chaff. What does he mean by that? Because God's word should bring fire into our souls. They should convict us or build us up or strengthen us.

It should not cuddle us and coddle us in our sin where we do not seek repentance. He sent his word and delivered him all the power of the word, the power of the word of God. Kings have been conquered.

Armies have been destroyed. The powers of darkness have been shaken all by the word of God. Gone are the days of flowery, watered down sermons. Paul said, my preaching was not with wise and persuasive words.

He said, but with the demonstration of the spirit's power. So Paul's saying there, I can't preach with persuasive words. We can't come and give you a theological framework and a great inductive study and all that's great.

But at the end of the day, it has to be infused by the spirit of the living God. That's how hearts change. That's how lives change. And I wonder, could it be that God is closing down many silent churches because they lack spiritual power?

Think about this. Many churches today are not talking about the things that put Jesus on the cross. And I believe God saying, I've had enough. I've had enough. We need to get back to the old paths of sin and repentance.

And it's okay to mention the judgment of God and the love of God and the mercy of God, but also talk about all of his attributes that he calls sinners to repent and have that relationship with him. Listen, the reason I'm preaching with some type of passion is because I've been radically changed by the gospel.

God has changed my heart. He's changed my life. I remember the 1990s. I remember 1990s right here, not even knowing how I got home because I had too much alcohol, sitting up in those sky booths, distant from God, mocking God.

A big man, right? That's a strong man and getting in fights and living this worldly life, but I was dying inside. And God changed my heart. He changed my life. Amen. That's a good spot for an amen. But it's sad, but it's true.

But many people have religion and they don't have a relationship with God. You ask somebody, they say, well, I belong to this religion or I belong to this denomination. I belong to this. But do you truly know God?

That's why they lack the fire of God, the fervency of God. That's why the Bible is boring. That's why they really don't want to go to church. They lack that intimate relationship with God. The fire of the Holy Spirit is not burning in the hearts of many people.

That won't get me an amen, but that will get me some conviction. And you'll think about that as you drive home. But I love this last part he said here, he rescued, he rescued them from the grave. He rescued them from the grave.

Repentance, Judgment, and Full Surrender

Now you need to know something that when you turn from sin and turn back to God and you begin to obey God's word, obviously, there are some sins that can lead to death, physical death. The Bible is clear on that, but I believe he's talking here about spiritual death.

He sent his word and it healed them and delivered them from destruction. What delivered them? Repentance. Repentance is a wonderful word. Why don't we hear about it very often? Because the devil hates this word.

Repentance means I'm changing my mind about sin and I'm changing my mind about how I view God and I'm repenting. I'm turning toward the one true and living God. Jesus says, he who has the ear, let him hear what the spirit of God says.

He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. What is the second death? Well, the Bible is also clear that the first death is when we die. Physically, our body dies. But the second death is when there's a judgment.

And many pastors will not tell you this because they want to win a popularity contest or they want to be liked. I want to be liked. I want to be liked too. But we have to tell people the truth. The second death is the judgment that is to come.

And I believe right now we're facing the greatest battle that we've ever seen for the soul of our nation and for the souls of many people out there. This is the battle. This is where the rubber meets the road.

Have you ever noticed those who read the Bible that there's always an urgency? Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day of salvation. Turn now. Turn to God. Fully commit your lives to God now. And there's many of you I know out there.

I'm talking to many of you that have not fully surrendered your life. Maybe somebody dragged you here and you thought I was going to be more inspirational and more hopeful. But there's no one more filled with hope that's in right relationship with God.

Amen. When you have that intimate relationship with God, you're filled with tremendous hope. There's a change in your heart. There's an excitement. Fear is drowned out by hope. Anxiety is drowned out by anticipation of meeting God again or for the first time.

Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He goes on to say, come to me all who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest. My burden is easy and my yoke is light. If you believe on me as the scriptures say, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water.

If you seek me, you will find me. There's these promises in the Bible that it's like living water. Just come and take freely of the living water and be satisfied. Jesus told the woman, I have water in which if you drink, you will never thirst again.

This is living water that changes your soul. This isn't just pixie dust and stuff from Disney. This is truth. In a culture saturated by fake news, we need some truth, don't we? I was reading some of, I love reading old books and stumbled across some things and I think I saw this on Facebook as well.

Christ’s Return and the Urgency of the Gospel

When Jesus returns, his coming, his coming will both be wonderful and terrible. Have you thought about that? When God comes, wonderful and terrible. Like the old pastor said, I've got good news and I've got bad news.

The good news is God is here. The bad news is God is here for those who don't know him. See, there's a call. Jesus was always had that call. We've made Jesus out to be this kind of mild, meek, mannered, Clark Kent.

But no, he goes and puts on that Superman robe often and calls people, he calls them to himself. He says, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Disciples go and preach repentance for the love of God compels us to share all of his truth.

I like what A. W. Tozer said, I love him because he is my savior. Amen. I love Jesus because he is my savior, but I fear him because he is my judge. And I wasn't sure what to expect this first night, but I just want to share just a brief story from my life growing up here, born at the hospital, right down the street here.

All of my life, kind of running from God in my teenage years. And then my 20s, I'm still running from God, right? Because religion's for women. Let's be honest, man. Right? That's what we think. Guys are into weightlifting, drinking beer, watching sports, doing what guys do, tough guy.

But I knew there was an emptiness. I was dying inside. I didn't have control of my life. My life had control of me. And I thank God every day that he brought the prodigal son home. But I don't, I don't, I don't say that for just to say that my encouragement is for some of you, primarily, maybe some of you men, you need to fully surrender your life.

You cannot live your life with a question mark here. Do you truly know God? Do you have that relationship with him? And when I say things like this, do you say, Amen? Or, Oh, no. Do you know that's a really good indicator of what's where a person's heart is?

This is why they want to stop the gospel in America. Do you realize what's going on by shutting down churches with the upcoming election and different things? What are they trying to do? Silence the voice of truth.

Silence the gospel. Unless you believe the God of the media, this God that just welcomes everyone, except doesn't embrace absolute truth. They're trying to silence that voice of truth, silence the pulpits, silence the schools, and silence the courthouses from saying anything about Jesus.

And I'm often reminded that scripture, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. So if we believe what the Bible truly says, why are we not living it out?

Knowing that he is coming again, knowing that there is a day of reckoning, there is a day of repentance and understanding, and we get fear and anxiety, what's going on? But we have to remember, nothing can stop God Almighty.

Standing Firm in God’s Truth

What we just read, he said, nothing can restrain the Lord. Nothing can stop the Lord. What hindrance, what army, God who creates the heavens and the earth, who holds the span of the universe in the palm of his hands, when he says, you go out, you go out in my power and my authority and my spirit.

But Lord, they're not listening to me. It doesn't matter. Having done all, stand. Aren't you glad that God doesn't ask you to go and fight his battles? He just says, having done all, stand. In other words, having done everything that you can do, praying and fasting and putting on the breastplate of righteousness and the belt of truth and the garment of praise, having done all, just stand there.

Shana, hold the ground. You're going to get insults. You're going to get negative emails. You're going to get people that hate you. You're going to get people that want you killed when you stand up for the truth.

But when you go home, having done all, just stand there and hold up my truth. Hold up the gospel. Hold up Jesus Christ. Let the true and one living God be exalted high and on the throne. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.

I was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. I believe God wants to open some of your eyes this evening. Spiritual blindness, they call it spiritual pride. Sometimes I'm asked, what is my biggest regret?

My biggest regret is that I didn't surrender my life completely at 12 years old. I played loose and fast with God's grace and I'm concerned that many of us are confusing his patience with his approval.

There's a big difference. God is patient. God is long suffering, but we cannot take advantage of that grace. So I want to encourage you tonight as we go into closing worship here in just a minute, that I don't care if that prayer area is full.

I don't care if there's a line. I want to pray with you. Our prayer team wants to pray with you. If you need to come back to Jesus Christ, if you're hooked to crystal, if you're hooked to Coke, if you're hooked to alcohol, if you're hooked to prescription drugs, whatever pornography, if you're, if you have suicidal thoughts, if you've drifted from God, if you don't truly know what you believe, we want to pray with you.

So I'm going to ask the prayer team. They can begin making their way over to the prayer tents there. We've got the whole grass area, the prayer area. We believe in a God who answers by prayer. Does he not?

God says, ask and you shall receive. Ask of the nations and you shall receive. Let the, you go through the whole Old Testament and the New Testament. God answered by fire when Elisha prayed. He answered Moses when Moses prayed.

When Ezra prayed, there was protection. When Nehemiah prayed, the wall was rebuilt. When David prayed, oh, armies would fall down. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that's going to defy the armies of the living God?

When David prayed, armies would fall. When Elisha and Elisha and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Daniel and Hosea and Obadiah and Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zechariah, Haggai, Malachi, all the prophets would pray, they would pull down heaven.

When the disciples would pray, they would pull down heaven. That's how you change our culture, church. You become a church that prays and seeks the heart of the Father. We've got to be awakened from our boredom.

We've got to be awakened from our sleep. We've been lulled to sleep. We need the fire of God again in our pulpits and in our pews, in our homes. I run to people, sometimes I'll preach on the power of the Holy Spirit, having this feeling mightily of the Holy Spirit.

People say often, well, that's good, you need that, you're a pastor. I would say, well, you're a mom, you're a dad, you're trying to live in this nation and raise children. You don't think you need the power of the Spirit in your life?

Revival as the Church’s Only Hope

That is our only hope. Let me give you a wake-up call. Our nation is not going to be by some man winning in November of 2020. As a matter of fact, all hell could break loose. Our only hope, our only hope is in God reviving His people and bringing a national awakening.

What is revival? It's not weirdness. It's God awakening the dead, church. Would you arise again? Would you be awakened from your sleep and from your slumber? Would you worship God again with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength?

Revival is our only hope. That's it. Not a stimulus package. Everybody's, you know, the next election, this, and I'm all for that. But without a sovereign move of God awakening His church, there is no hope.

Why? Because that church becomes an army engaging in spiritual warfare. Then there'll be all-night prayer meetings. There'll be stadiums filled. Yes, darkness will be wreaking havoc on our nation, but the light will be shining brightly when God brings revival.