“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm136:1-3)

God has been so faithful and good to us this week, hasn’t he? This week has been epic—there’s no other word for it. Duels of the highest fever-pitch intensity were waged on the battlefield. Arrows flew and shields were raised. Cacti sang, wagons rolled, evil bread was toasted. Marriage alliances were formed with imaginary children, and more than a few imaginary wives gave their lives for the cause. Skits and plays were performed with gusto; sumptuous meals were served to us by heroes in the kitchen who fought bravely against the Neverending Dishes; songs and ballads were sung at the top of our lungs.

And yet, what has been the connecting thread that has tied it all together? God’s steadfast love. His eternal, unbreakable, infinite covenant love that He pours out on our lives simply because He is GOOD. He is GOOD! Amen?

For our final chapel message, I decided that rather than teach you anything new, I would serve up a summary of all the messages that have come before, and even some of our Bible study material that emerged as we spent time in the Word together. Don’t think of this as reheated leftovers—not that the Count’s reheated leftovers aren’t delicious!!! Think of this as us unrolling the map of all our travels in God’s Word this week. Let’s retrace our steps, so we can see how much ground we’ve covered, and hopefully remember what we’ve learned and take it home with us as part of our memories of our time here. Let’s get into it, shall we?

First Message Wrap-Up

In our first message, we looked at the beginning of all recorded conflict, that is, when Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the garden. We talked at length in Bible study about how that fateful interaction led to the fall, and God’s curse being placed on all creation. But we also talked about two things in particular that I wanted to remind you of. First, Eve seemed to add a rule to the list of commandments that God had given her. And while it’s good to know your limits and set healthy boundaries for yourself, we must never add to what God had said by raising our own commandments to the same level as God’s commandments. The Pharisees loved to do this:

“They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” 

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees by quoting the prophet Isaiah to them:

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:8-9)

The Apostle John says the same thing even more strongly in Revelation 22:18-19:

“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

So be wise. Have good boundaries and wise guidelines for yourself. But never, ever add to God’s commandments.

We also had a wonderful discussion about what it means that Satan is commanded to go on his belly, eat dust, and have his head crushed. And many of you pointed out something interesting that I had never considered before. In Scripture, the exact same fate befalls a number of Satan’s representatives, if you will!

Abimilech was a wicked son of Gideon who killed seventy of his brothers on a single stone. His plans were for the conquest of Israel, to become King, which he did for three years. And what happened to him? His head was crushed by an upper millstone thrown by some buff woman up in a tower. The usurper’s head was crushed. Or what about Goliath? He defied the ranks of the Lord’s army, and in doing so he defied God Himself. And what happened to him? His head was crushed by a sling stone thrown by the Lord’s anointed. Satan’s champion, the one who threatened Israel with slavery, had his head crushed and fell face first on his belly, just like his master. And then there’s the statue of Dagon, the idol god of the Philistines. When the Philistines captured the ark, they placed  it next to their statue of Dagon, and in the morning, it was lying face down with its head and hands broken off. This idol god not only ate dust, but broke into dust. There’s even Jael, the Israelite woman who “crushed the head of Sisera” in Judges 5:26…

The point is, God doesn’t forget His promises! Every one of these events was a way of God reminding His people that He has not forgotten what He declared would happen to the serpent back in Genesis 3. It may take longer than we think it should take for Him to fulfill what He has spoken, but He always fulfills it! Praise God for these glimpses of grace, and praise Him even more that In Christ, the head of the evil one HAS BEEN crushed!

Second Message Wrap-Up

In our second message, we talked about how we need to be saved from a number of different things: enemies, distress, hardships, danger, death, hell, even sin. But most of all, we need to be saved from God, specifically, God’s wrath. We talked in Bible Study about how God is holy and how we (apart from Christ) are not. This means we cannot come into God’s presence or see His glory without being consumed. Not even Moses, the most humble man on all the earth, could see God’s face. Why? Because, as Hebrews 12:29 says, “Our God is a consuming fire.” Isaiah 33:14 says the same thing: “Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”

Answer: “He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly” (Isaiah 33:15). People who are perfect and holy, who have no sin in them and love God will all their hearts. In other words, people who are fireproof! Obviously this won’t be fully true of us until we pass from this world into the next, when the only nature we have is the Spirit nature. But I want to encourage all of you here today that you can become slightly more fireproof in this life as you grow in holiness! The process of sanctification—that is, becoming more holy—is a slow one, and is only accomplished bit by bit. But to the degree that you are pure in heart, you will have the blessing of being able to see God at work in your life.

One of the worst things about sin is that it has a deadening or hardening effect on our hearts and on our souls when it comes to the things of God. When we are in the thrall of sin, we lose sight of who God is and who we are. Even after we sin, it is often harder to see God clearly with eyes of faith because of the aftermath that impurity leaves behind it. So, seek to be as pure as you can be in this life! “Strive for…holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14) And may your vision of God become ever clearer, ever brighter.

Third Message Wrap-Up

In our third message together, we considered our second greatest enemy: Satan, the Devil. He is an ancient being of immense power and intelligence and craftiness. He also rules (in air quotes) over the earth, but even that is temporary. He hates us with all his heart, wants us to suffer forever in hell, and will stop at nothing to get us condemned by God.

We also talked about how he  prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. He uses deception, guilt, shame, temptation, and sin itself as weapons against us. But God has not left us defenseless. He has given us the armor of God, with which we can take our stand against the spiritual forces of evil that preside over the present darkness of our world.

First of all, we are to gird ourselves with the belt of truth. The belt is central, and helps keep all our armor in the correct place. Without a firm grasp on the truth, we will trip all over ourselves. Every obstacle will be impassible, every foe will be invincible, because we are unable to stand firm. But when we walk in the truth, we walk in the light as He is in the light.

The breastplate of righteousness likewise protects our vital organs. It keeps us alive when we get pelted by a barrage of Satan’s flaming arrows. But remember that it is Jesus’ righteousness, not your own, that protects you! If you’re trusting in your own righteousness, you will find it full of holes and even less effective than Adam’s fig leaf underpants. But Jesus’ righteousness is impenetrable. Nothing can kill you when you’re wearing that breastplate, not even the most devious and vicious of Satan’s poisoned darts!

We also must have our feet made ready for action by the gospel of peace. Without God’s peace in our hearts, every battleground will feel like a minefield, every minor impediment will feel like an earthquake. But when we are in Christ, we have a firm foundation on which to build our lives and fight the good fight. On Christ the Solid Rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand! 

But what about Satan’s flaming darts? We extinguish them not by our own wisdom or intellect, but with the shield of faith. And remember that shields are most effective when they are part of a wall! Don;t get caught out in the field all by yourself, staring down the hosts of hell all by yourself. Fight alongside your friends, your family, your church members, your pastor. Keep that shield wall together and don’t break rank!

For those of Satan’s darts aimed squarely at your thinking, take up the helmet of salvation. Don’t let the Devil poison your mind with wicked nonsense. Protect your noggin with a true understanding of what salvation is! Also, remember that your helmet has a place on it to put a plume, either for battlefield communication or for the victory parade that is coming soon!

Lastly, take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This is the only offensive weapon that God has given us, and it is powerful! It is “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) Jesus used it against Satan in the wilderness, and so should we.

And as we fight with this armor on, praise God that Satan is a caged lion! He is in chains, and cannot destroy you if you are in Christ. So stand firm, fight bravely and rejoice in God’s salvation for you! So don’t die! (don’t die, just keep yourself alive…)

Fourth Message Wrap-Up

In our fourth message together, we explored how the natural or unconverted person has a single nature: the sin nature, aka the flesh. This “flesh” is hostile to God, unable to do His will or submit to Him, and is hell-bent on doing what is wrong. Christians still have this same nature as well, and it can be just as powerful for us as anybody else. But we also have a second nature—the Spirit nature. By means of the Spirit, Christians are able to do things they could never do on their own, such as to desire to do God’s will or delight in God’s commandments. And these two wage war in our hearts, the flesh against the Spirit and the Spirt against the flesh. This war can be confusing, discouraging, and downright maddening. But it’s all part of being a true Christian with a real and lively faith.

We also learned that the Bible teaches us to “put off” the flesh ( or the “old self,”), to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and “put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” We talked about the importance of setting our minds on the things of the Spirit, not the things of the flesh.

And this putting off and putting on is not a one-and-done deal! No, this is a lifelong struggle. Remember the walkie-talkie analogy? I would venture to say that for most of us, we wake up with our walkie talkies tuned to the wrong  channel. We need to be intentional every day about putting off the old self and putting on the new man by setting our minds on the things of the Spirit. Only then will we be fighting the good fight, tuned in to hear the voice of our God and Savior urging us onward.

Will you have days when you get stuck in your old ways? Absolutely. Will you sometimes slide back into old sinful patterns and behavior? You can count on it. But if you are a Christian, you will not be able to live in sin because in Christ, you have already died to it. Sooner or later—hopefully sooner—you will repent, meaning you will change course and do a 180 degree turn back towards the God you love. Be who you are in Christ.

Fifth Message Wrap-Up

In our fifth message, we talked about how God calls us to never avenge ourselves on wrongdoers, because God said, “vengeance is mine, I will repay.” After all, God is in perfect control of the universe. He is the one sitting on the throne, who does whatever He pleases. And no amount of effort on our part can ever change that.

We talked about how, when we try to judge others and punish them for their sins, all we succeed in doing is proving how sinful WE are. Just like Asaph in Psalm 73, it can be hard for us to live in a fallen world where wicked people prosper and good people suffer. But God is in control! He is the righteous judge who will render perfect justice to everyone. For those who are trusting in their own righteousness, He will repay them according to what they’ve done. But for those resting in Christ and trusting Him for salvation, He will repay them according to what CHRIST has done.

We also talked about the importance of forgiveness. In Bible study we looked at the parable of the unforgiving servant, who was forgiven a dept of–according to my best and most scientific calculations–17 whoopta-gwabillion dollars. And yet, he showed no mercy to his fellow servant who owed him only a few thousand dollars. We talked about how the forgiveness of God humbles us, and enables us to be less like Inigo Montoya and more like Christ. After all, God repaid us good for evil. How could we repay evil for evil? On the contrary, we are called to overcome evil with good, because in the cross, mercy triumphs over judgement.

Sixth Message Wrap-Up

And in our sixth message, we looked at what causes fights and quarrels among us—namely, our desires  that are at war within us. These desires—or pleasures—make it impossible for us to get along with others because we see them as obstacles that get in the way of what we really want. Part of the reason we don’t have what we want is that we don’t ask God, and part of it is that we ask with wrong motives, to spend His blessings on our sinful pleasures. This creates a war within us, with—surprise!—the flesh warring against the Spirit.

The solution to this conflict comes in the form of contentment—being happy with what God has given us as well as with what He has not given us. We talked in Bible study about how we can be content even when we are hungry, even when we are hot or cold, even when we are poor, because in Christ we have everything we need. And we talked about how God is not a heavenly vending machine that dispenses paneled houses and nice cars whenever we want them. We read from Haggai 1 and talked about how perilous it can be to focus all your time and energy on building up your own house while neglecting the Lord’s house.

And on the topic of whether or not it’s possible to get along, we talked about how in and of our sinful selves it’s impossible. But with God’s help we can grow in faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and ultimately love. And with those in ever-increasing measure, we can be peacemakers who help to bring the peace of God’s kingdom down to earth, one act of forgiveness at a time.

Whew! We’ve covered a lot of ground this week, haven’t we? Thank you for coming on this journey with me. I can’t think of a better way to close our time together than to bless you by putting God’s name on you, as the Lord commanded Moses:

“May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you,
May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you peace.”

Amen. Let’s pray.