“The price was paid, your sin is forgiven, the grave is empty; now fight for the love you’ve been given.

I want to talk about a story of a man whom many people think made the worst mistake in history.

His name is Judas Iscariot.

Now, his last name indicates that he is ‘Judas from Kerioth,’ which I think is weird considering that all other 11 disciples were from Galilee.

And this is why! When this is taking place, Kerioth area is occupied by the Edomites, descendants of Esau, who married the daughter of Ishmael.

What’s weird here?

The Edomites are against Christianity.

And what I see when I was studying this is that Satan tried having a foothold in this situation and in Jesus’ ministry.

But what the enemy meant to be used for evil, God will always use for good.

And yes, Jesus died, but three days later, He rose again in triumph, and the grave is now empty, and our sins are now forgiven.

That ought to make you want to shout, church.

Without Judas, they wouldn’t have found Jesus, and the greatest love story that ever took place in the world wouldn’t have happened.

Yes, this story could have happened without Judas in the situation, but everything that happens is in the plan of God, and that mistake pointed itself to the cross that held a Savior that has saved an innumerable amount of people.

Because scripture says He cares more for the one than the ninety-nine, safe because He’s constantly looking for one more.

And another thing I’m saying is, though Judas made an incredible mistake, it was used to glorify the Lord.

A man that most people think should never have lived because he was no good turned out to be in the best love story that has ever been.

And that’s when Jesus died for you and for me, for our sins, that we should make heaven our home, and that we have the free option to do so.

Why are you saying this, preacher?

And my answer will be that when Judas betrayed Jesus, something terrible happened.

Judas killed himself.

And I come here to tell you that every day you will sin.

And there will be times you betray Jesus, but church, get back up.

Because what happened this day is Satan got in the mind of Judas because Judas, yes, made the worst mistake ever.

He still did not have to kill himself.

You do not have to end your life over the mistakes you make because Jesus loves you, church.

I’m coming to tell you that Jesus loves you, that Jesus died for you and wants the best for you and wants you to spend eternity with Him.

But church, we’ve been attacked by Satan who has come into our church and our mind and tried to kill us, and now it is time that we begin to fight.

Fight, church.

FIGHT.

2 Chronicles 20:15:

“15 And he said, ‘Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’”

Jeremiah 1:19:

“19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”

Church, it’s time we begin to fight for the word of God, for our beliefs.

Satan has tried so long to silence us.

And there have been so many times that we have let him, but church, aren’t you tired of being bullied?

Being pushed left and right.

Being called a racist.

Saying that we hate gays and that Jesus wasn’t a God of hate but love.

And I’m not saying that against nobody either because I wish the best for them that they would find Jesus and know who God is.

I pray for them daily that they would turn their lives around to Jesus.

But all I’m saying is this generation has had one of the biggest voices ever, but it’s been in the wrong way.

And it’s time that Christians arise.

And we begin to have John the Baptist arise in churches.

We need forerunners to show the way, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And say, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; Jesus is about to come back, change your lives.

Make heaven your home because Jesus loves you and He wants you.

The kingdom of God needs you.

Turn from your evil way.

THE WHOLE ARMOR. Can we read just a little bit more, church?

Ephesian 6: 10-20:

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [b]wiles of the devil.

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand, therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Church, it is time that we put on the whole armor of God.

We have to be strong in His power to fight the evilness of this world and the darkness therein.

Because the church, we need a belt of truth.

Because we know who our God is, that He is the God of truth, that He knows everything, all evil or good.

Everything about us, He knows.

He knows what you go through, and He will tell you the truth on how to get out of it through His word.

Which brings me to my next point: we need the sword of the Spirit and the helmet of salvation to be able to fight against and stand strong against the works of the enemy.

For whenever someone tries to come up to you and say your God can’t do this or that.

But you know your word enough, your sword enough, that you can pinpoint exactly where God did it.

Because God is the God of the impossible who loves you and will do anything for you like sending His son to die for your sins.

Church, it’s time we put on the breastplate of righteousness.

Church, we no longer need to be wishy-washy with God because now is not the time to do so, but it is time that we build our relationship with Jesus Christ so we can be strong and ready for the attacker, and we can fight back.

Church, it’s time to fight.

It’s time we put on those gospel boots and go out into the world, walking with our feet done, talking with our mouths boldly, like verse 19 states, and praising with our whole being, saying, “Jesus is Lord, church. I want to be a forerunner for Jesus Christ.”

But church, this world will not go down without a fight, and neither will the church, for we do not wrestle with flesh and blood. Don’t wrestle with your neighbor, even the ones who do us wrong because we don’t wrestle with them.

We don’t wrestle with denomination.

But church, it’s time we bring Jesus back to church and fight for the love He gave us on the cross.

So we can fight against the fiery darts of the enemy with the shield of faith.

Because the reason they are fiery is that he is too scared to miss you, knowing what you are capable of, church. And if the dart misses you, he hopes the fire will catch.

Oh, but you have that shield that protects you. JESUS PROTECTS YOU.

I like what verse 18 says because it is time that we begin to pray more than we ever have before and get closer to Jesus than we have because He’s about to come back for His bride.

How do I fight for my family? PRAY.

How do I pass this test and trial? PRAY.

We NEED TO PRAY MORE THAN EVER, CHURCH.

BUT NOT ONLY THAT, WE NEED TO GET IN THE WORD AND EAT SO WE HAVE STRENGTH FOR THE BATTLE.

It’s time, church, that we fight.

**ALTAR CALL**

Is this you, church? Are you tired of being attacked?

Maybe you’re even personally facing a battle in your life that you can’t seem to get past.

You may be in here lost, needing Jesus to save you. HE WILL.

Maybe you come broken in here tonight. I love that song that says I come broken to be mended; I come wounded to be healed. Give Jesus everything, let Him take that battle, that burden, that secret no one knows about. Give Him everything.

And never quit fighting for the love God gave you. AMEN.