The band For King and Country sing this song called “It’s Not Over Yet.” Some of the lyrics are “You got a voice that says, You won't get past this one You won't win your freedom It's like a constant war And you want to settle that score But you're bruised and beaten And you feel defeated This goes out to the heaviest heart Oh, to everyone who's hit their limit It's not over yet It's not over yet And even when you think you're finished It's not over yet It's not over yet” And life is a race we run So run till the race is won Don't you ever give up (here we are) Oh no never give up (here we are) Life is a race we run So run till the race is won Don't you ever give up (here we are) We will never give up (here we are) And oh, to everyone who's hit their limit And even when you think you're finished It's not over yet.”
                Today we are half way through our Lenten Journey of Confession. On this day I had planned to write this to help us stay focused on the finished line. Even when it looks bleak, don’t give up but wait on God to provide a way. He promised us Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” So if you have not seen the promises fulfilled yet, yet hang on because it is not over yet. Joshua was told Joshua 23:14 “You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” Joshua also said Joshua 23:8 “But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.” So as we confess we know that God will hear our cry and we will take the land just as Joshua did. Joshua 21:43 “So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44 The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”
                The reason we are confessing is to have the power once again to take back the land. Because we have sinned against God we have lost the power Jesus gave us to defeat our enemies. He said, Luke 10:19 “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” Revelation 12:10 “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” Because God has turned his face from shining on us, we do not have the power or the authority to defeat satan. When Jesus told Peter Matthew 16:18 “and I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it,” that meant if you followed and kept His word wholeheartedly. It did not apply if you were following a false gospel. So here the church sits in desolation because they follow a false gospel, void of power yet will not turn back to our Saviour and His word, which is life. As Moses said Deuteronomy 32:47 “They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
                As we continue on this journey back to the Promised Land, don’t give up but have great hope. God said 2 Chronicles 15:2 “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. 7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” Jeremiah 29:12 “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 30:3 “The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.” Jeremiah 31:27 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord.”
                Solomon said 1 Kings 8:52 “May your eyes be open to your servant’s plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you.” David said, 2 Samuel 22:7 “In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.” 1 Chronicles 16:34 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” 36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”
                Let us this day give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His love endures forever. Today we cry out save us God our Savior.