A Church of Refuge

The Kind of Church God Builds
A Church of Refuge

I. Introduction

A. Numbers 35:11 (NAS)  Then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, that the manslayer who has killed any person unintentionally may flee there.

B. Deuteronomy 23:15 (NLT)  “If slaves should escape from their masters and take refuge with you, you must not hand them over to their masters.”

C. Psalm 9:9 (NLT) The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

D. Psalm 46:1 (NLT)  God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

E. John 17:11-15 (NLT)   ¹¹“Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. ¹²During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold. ¹³Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. ¹⁴I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.”

1. It’s very important that we have a about the world we live in!

F. John 17:15 (NLT) “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.”

1. The healthiest response about this evil world is to see spiritual warfare and conflict as a part of our lives!

2. Biblically, the way we ought to think about these kinds of things is that the world, the devil, and our flesh play into bad things happening.

3. Just about everything God wants from us requires a !

G. Mark 1:39 (NAS) And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.

1. There’s nothing that Jesus did more than deliver people from demonic forces!

2. Jesus brought a of (the age to come)—in His own person—into this world—into our time!

3. There is from the war between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan!

4. In this war, Satan’s main objective is to from turning to Jesus Christ.

5. But, if Satan isn’t successful in that, then his next goal in your life is to make you completely as a Christian.

II. Where Do We Find Refuge?

A. In the of Christ

1. Revelation 12:11a (NLT) And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.

2. The only way to deal with sin, or failure, is to (confess) that you have sinned or failed!

3. I John 1:9 (NAS) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

B. In the

1. One of our problems regarding prayer is that we almost always pray for each other when there’s a problem!

2. Have you the Church in your life?

C. By to God

1. James 4:7 (NAS) Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

2. Is there an area of your life you need to to in?

III. Conclusion