I was recently telling my Growth Group how blessed we are in that we live in a place where there are currently no major wars. There certainly are wars taking place in the world, but for most of us here in Batangas we are not affected. Presently there are wars taking place in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Eastern Europe, parts of Africa, and even the southern Philippines. Plus, there is the War on Terror, that is influenced by radical ideologies of Islam. At the time that I wrote this message there was a bombing in Baghdad that killed almost 300 people, a truck driven into a crowd of people in London that killed 5 and injured over 20, and here in Manila a terror cell was arrested that was planning an attack in the city. Then you’ve got the War on Drugs that has most of Mexico and Central America under siege, and has claimed the lives of thousands here in the Philippines (reports vary from 2,000 – 6,000). Several weeks ago, I was taking my daughter to school and coming towards us in Lipa was a SWAT vehicle that had its lights flashing and standing on the back rail was a policeman wearing tactical gear who was frantically waving at the cars to clear the way. As the vehicle passed I glanced into the mirror where I saw a SWAT team member lying in a puddle of his own blood. Another victim of the War on Drugs? Perhaps, or perhaps just another victim of senseless street crime.
Today we will be reflecting on Genesis chapter fourteen. Genesis 14 is the first recorded war found in the Bible. It would not have been the first war ever fought. This will be alluded to as we work our way through the text. But, before we get into the text I want to refresh our memories on what has been covered so far in our study of Genesis. As well, we want to build a platform - based on the context - that will help us understand the reason why the stories of chapter 14 are included in the Bible, the stories’ significance in history, and the examples that we as the Church gain from these stories. The Book of Genesis records the beginnings of our world establishing God as the creator. The Book also establishes the inception of the nation of Israel, a nation that was the focal point from the time after the flood on through its demise in 70 AD. Some schools of theology think that with its demise the nation’s significance has ceased, other schools of theology believe that Israel will have a revamped place in the future – to better understand my teachings you should know that I adhere to this latter theology.
Back in Genesis chapter nine God tells Noah and his descendants: “As for you, be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it” (Genesis 9:7). Yet mankind responded by coming together (rather than scattering outward) and attempted to make a monument for themselves in chapter eleven. One basic law that God applies when dealing with sinful man is that if their heart is controlled by the desire to commit sin, He will turn them over to that desire. Paul states it this way in Romans 1:24 — “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them.” Mankind chose not to worship God in Genesis 11 therefore He forcefully scattered them, by confusing their language, and turned the nations over to be ruled by divine beings (either angelic or demonic). Deuteronomy 32:8 teaches “When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He divided mankind, He fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.” We see this take place in Genesis chapter eleven. But at the same time, we are told that God has separated for Himself one nation that He will govern through. This is found in the verse following Deuteronomy 32:8 — Deuteronomy 32:9 “But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted heritage.”
God began to establish His heritage in Genesis chapter twelve by calling Abram to be the father of the ‘People of Faith.’ Let’s review once more the promises God gave to Abram: Genesis 12:2–3 “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Then in Genesis 12:7 God expands His promise by telling him: “To your offspring I will give this land.” Thus, the promises of God to Abram were threefold:
• God will bring forth from Abram a great nation (Israel) and if any other nation blesses them God will return the blessing but if any nation opposes them God will return the opposition;
• God will give this nation a land (We learn from Genesis 13:15 that this is an unconditioned everlasting promise which the modern-day nation of Israel clings too claiming it as their right to govern their land);
• God will, through Abram, bless all the nations.
This brings us now to our text for today. Genesis 14 is a tale that verifies God has indeed begun fulfilling His promise to Abram. God begins to form within the mind of Abram the confidence that he will become a great nation. It is this mindset that will be passed down to succeeding generations and that will bolster the confidence of the Hebrew people - reinforcing in them that they are indeed a great nation. God forms this mindset by guiding Abram through a series of wars where he will not only be victorious but will also allow him to garner respect from observing kingdoms. Genesis 14 clearly breaks into three sections, The Wars, The Liberation, and The Reverence.
Before we get into our story we need to be able to visualize the geography of the story. Picture the Holy Land with Jerusalem slightly Northwest of the Salt (Dead) Sea, the Jordon River coming out of the Sea of Galilee South into the Salt Sea. North of all of this are mountains that separate Lebanon from Syria, Egypt to the South, the Mediterranean Sea to the West, and the desserts of the Arabian Peninsula to the East. Going North and arching East after the mountains of Lebanon is where the story of the Tower of Babel took place just three chapters ago.
The Wars
Located in Babel were four kings that were trying to control all the known inhabited world. Numerous local tribal-sized kingdoms were cropping up all across the land, and these four kings wanted to control them. The four kings, whom I will call the Northern Alliance, was threating war for any kingdom that did not pay them tribute. They likely gained a reputation through the use of force and war. At the same time Lot, the nephew of Abram, settled in the luscious Jordan Valley. This area was being claimed by numerous kings that were controlling their tribes, or clans, out of small cities. After twelve years of paying tribute these kings, whom I will call the Southern Alliance, decided not to pay the thirteenth year’s tribute, and this angered the Northern Alliance. Thus, the Northern Alliance gathered an army and marched from Babel to the location of the Southern Alliance. As they marched they wreaked havoc along the way destroying other smaller kingdoms as they passed through.
I want us to pause our story for a moment and reflect on one of these smaller kingdoms that the Northern Alliance destroyed enroute to the primary battlefield. Genesis 14:5 reads “In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim.” I want us to take special note of the term Rephaim. Who are these people and what is their significance? In the Old Testament, the Rephaim were a clan of people that were giant in size and had some sort of divine (angelic or more-than-likely demonic) origin. They are a well-documented clan and can be found in other ancient writings and are known by several different names, as demonstrated in our text. Here in verse five they are called Rephaim, Zuzim, and Emim. The scriptures do indicate that they were considered “giants” and the best-known descendant of one of the giant clans would be Goliath whom David slayed years later. During the time of Abram, the average height of a male living in Canaan is believed to be 150-160 cm (roughly 5 feet) tall and the giants would have been 200 - 275 cm. Back in Genesis six we see that the Sons of God that intermixed with human females produced clans of giants; thus, it is safe to assume that the sins prior to the flood were still being committed after the flood.
Back in 1994 I was in Megamall with a friend from Negros, and he was maybe 150 cm tall. We were looking at two posters, one of Michael Jordon, and the other of Shaquille O'Neal. On the poster of Michael Jordon was the wording “Life Size.” My friend was impressed as too how tall he was and asked “is this really how tall he is?” I replied “yes.” He then turned to the poster of The Shaq and asked “Then why did they blow this one up?” I informed him that they did not but that is how tall he truly is. The Shaq is a huge muscular man standing 215 cm tall. This would be the size of the giants of the Bible. (Andre the Giant was 224 cm and Robert Wadlow, also known as the Giant of Illinois, was 272 cm). We have on record men who were as tall as the giants of the Bible, but what makes the giants of the Bible unique was not their size but rather their origins.
We can’t be sure what the Bible means concerning the geneses of the Rephaim, or the Nephilim (either another name for the same clan or another clan with the same origin) except that they are a form of demigod created by divine interaction. Demonic beings either took on human form and cohabitated with females, or, they had some type of influence such as the miraculous inception of Isaac by Sarah when God reopened her womb and consequentially received credit for his birth. We do know that angelic beings can take on human form, can eat, walk, and grab a hold of a person and pull them. How they can form a male seed required for conception we do not know - nor can science test any theories as they do not have access to the divine realm thus all theories can never be tested (science can’t reject a hypothesis until after it has failed testing). This act must be left in the realm of the supernatural. Personally, I have no problem with that. What we do know is that this belief was held by humanity at the time of Abram and the writing of the Old Testament and did influence their behavior.
It is this influence that is important for us to note. These Rephaim and Nephilim had their beginnings, be it actual or mythical, in the area surrounding the Sea of Galilee in what is modern day Southern Syria and the Northern part of modern Israel, a region known as the Golan Heights. Back during the timeframe of the Book of Genesis, these giants spread throughout the Land of Canaan (Israel). It was this divine race of not-fully human beings that Israel was tasked to eradicate once they entered the Promised Land. In later years, when the Hebrew people were told to kill all of the inhabitants, it was these demonically crafted beings whom they were tasked to destroy. The kill order given by God was issued to be executed on beings that He never created and were of demonic heritage. This is spiritual warfare in its material form. King David himself ended this phase of spiritual warfare when he finally terminated these giants. What is interesting to note is that we garner a precedence here in that God will use warring factions to help aid His people. The Northern Alliance did destroy the Rephaim that they encountered. Once God chose Abram the divine creators could have manipulated the Rephaim to pester Abram in an attempt to goad the King of Kings. For now, just keep in mind that this all took place around the northern part of the Sea of Galilee – we will come back to this later.
Resuming our story, the Northern Alliance is wreaking havoc as they make their way South in an effort to punish the Southern Alliance - who quit paying tribute. Once they reached the area of the Salt Sea, they hooked around the Jordan River and entered the western side of the Jordan Valley where they waged their war with the Southern Alliance. They defeated the inhabitants of the Jordan Valley with its numerous tribes and small cities taking captive the people of the land. This included Lot the nephew of Abram. In victory, they then began their march back to the city of Babel.
The main battle-fields of Genesis 14 began around the Sea of Galilee, then proceeded southward East of the Jordan River, and then after the army hooked around the Salt Sea the battles were waged just Northwest of the Salt Sea. Over the centuries many battles have been fought in these areas. As a matter of fact, where the campaign begins, North of the Sea of Galilee, wars are being fought there today. This is modern day Syria and just a month or so ago Israel bombed Hezbollah sites that were being used to smuggle arms into Lebanon. Then we discover further in our biblical studies that in the days to come more wars will be fought in this same area. On the East side of the Jordan River the “Invasion from the North,” which is unfulfilled prophecy that is recorded in Ezekiel 48-49, will take place. Then cross over to the western side of the Jordan and here will be the beginning of the Battle of Armageddon that is recorded in the Book of Revelation.
At times, I am standing outside of my house enjoying the coolness of the evening and wonder if ever there have been lives taken in this spot due to some war. I suspect World War Two passed through Rosario. ‘Have any other battles been fought here’ I wonder? If we were living in Israel, we would not need to wonder, and the answer would be an astounding “Yes!” We are blessed here in Batangas.
But why so many wars in Israel? Why all the bloodshed? Why there? Israel and the surrounding nations, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and even portions of Saudi Arabia, are the location of the Garden of Eden – the place where God walked with man. Also, Israel is the nation, and thus the location, that God has claimed as His inheritance. During the 2nd Jewish Temple Period, including the Time of Christ, and just North of the Sea of Galilee, modern day Golan Heights, was a temple (one of many) for the Greek god - King of the gods - Zeus. At this temple, the worship of Pan took place. Where this one particular temple of Zeus stood is the same location that ancient Jewish scholars believed was the place where the Rephaim and Nephilim had their beginnings. If you ever studied western civilization you will know Zeus, but what you may not know is that his origins may possibly be traced back to this same location where the wars of Genesis 14 had their beginnings.
The Garden of Eden; check. The land promised to Abram that would be the land of God’s inheritance; check. The location also believed to be the place where the spiritual realm came upon this earth and is, at least in part, claimed to be a holy place for Zeus the king of gods; check. Can you picture the battle lines being drawn? This desire for Satan to lay claim to the same place where God placed the Garden of Eden and Jerusalem, the city from which He will reign, is why there are so many wars in this region.
The Liberation
Back to our story of Genesis 14; we left off with Lot and all the other captives being carried off towards Babel. Yet from the battlefield a survivor escapes and informs Abram of all that has taken place. Abram then solidifies his local alliance and forms a small army. The purpose of the army was to rescue the captives. Abram’s army pursues the captors and overtakes them in Northern Israel due West of where the series of battles began. Abram splits his army to form a hammer and anvil style of attack and engages the invaders, at night. Abram is victorious. After the triumph, Abram releases the captives and insists on giving the glory to God for the victory.
The Reverence
We now come to an interesting point in the story. One of the Canaanite kings, Melchizedek, who was not affected by the series of battles that took place, approaches Abram and offers him a congratulatory meal, and then pronounces a blessing towards Abram. The blessing is found in verses 19-20 and states: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” This blessing continues, up until today, to echo in the minds of the Hebrew people, giving them a foundational basis for their faith that the land of Israel belongs to them, and that God indeed has called Israel His inheritance.
This is an important concept for us as Christians to understand. Faith requires an object to believe in. For the Jewish people, they were asked to believe the Abrahamic Covenant; for us as Christians, we are asked to believe in the Gospel. The Abrahamic Covenant was to the Jew what the Gospel is for us the Church. They had to believe and respond in order to receive the blessing. One-hundred-year-old Abram had to believe that God was going to make him into a great nation. This belief compelled him to form a small army in order to chase down a larger army. Abram had to believe the land that was invaded by the Northern Alliance was his to defend. The same is true for us as Christians.
Allow me to ask you a question; is President Duterte going to heaven? I heard him myself say on the news the other night that he is going to hell. We may like him as president, and hope that he stops the problem of drugs in our nation, but by his own accord he believes that he is going to hell. He does not believe the Gospel (that his sins are forgiven). What about us? Anyone guilty of sin is going to hell. Anyone who has had their sins forgiven because Jesus died for the penalty of their sin, and truly believes that statement, their sins are forgiven - and they will go to heaven. The object of the Christian faith is that our sins have been forgiven based solely on the completed work of Jesus Christ. But, again, I want to come back to this thought. Before I move towards the conclusion of this message I want us to make a critical observation found within the text concerning Melchizedek.
In Genesis 14:18 we read “Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.” Often, we think, hear taught, or maybe even teach, that Melchizedek is an appearance of God, mostly likely Jesus Christ before He became man. Many times, in the Old Testament, God does appear in one form or another. In the very next chapter of Genesis God will appear to Abram in a vision. Then four chapters from now God will appear again in the form of a man with two other men who happen to be angels. God will wrestle with Jacob and appear as a burning bush to Moses. Over and over God will appear to Old Testament saints, but never does He remain nor appear with a title such as a king or a priest. The Angel of the Lord, yes; king or priest, no! Melchizedek had several titles, such as king and priest. Melchizedek had a location from where he ruled – Salem. Yes, it is true that Salem eventual becomes known as Jerusalem, but this does not prove that Melchizedek is God pre-incarnate. He is considered a type of Christ, but he is not Christ Himself. To develop a history of being a king and priest requires that the person exists, and remain in existence for a period of time. It is true that God, including Christ, has been from everlasting, but God only took on the permanent form of a physical man at the inception and birth of Jesus. Before that He was wholly a spirit who could, in part, manifest Himself in a physical form (Angel of the Lord, Burning Bush, etc.) and who could, again in part, take on the form of a man such as He will in Genesis 18. As for Melchizedek being a king and priest, this simply means that he was a tribal king that ruled from the small city of Salem and who was leading his kingdom in worshiping the one true God. This desire to worship God is what motivated him to bless Abram. Melchizedek’s desire to worship God is also what lead Abram to give him a portion of the booty.
One reason we misunderstand Melchizedek is that we misunderstand what the writer of Hebrews was saying when he used Melchizedek as a type of Christ. The writer of Hebrews only stated that like Melchizedek we know nothing of the priestly line of Jesus. Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, and they are not the Israeli priests. We know nothing of Melchizedek being priest, and we know nothing of anyone from the tribe of Judah being priests. The comparison ends there.
Let’s go back and resume our discussion regarding faith requiring an object and how the faith of the Israeli nation was formed, in part, through the stories of Genesis 14. Abram was given three promises by God that he had to believe. He had to believe that God would bring forth from him a nation, and this required that he have an offspring. Though the process was a little turbulent at times – Sara laughing, Abram using a proxy for Sara – God did indeed give Abram and Sara Isaac, their offspring. God also promised that through Abram all the nations will be blessed. This happened primarily through Jesus Christ. But God also promised Abram that He would inherit the Promised Land. This happened, in part during the time of David and his son Solomon, but has never fully been realized. Yet Abram had to grasp and hold onto the promises that God made to him. When the Northern Alliance took captive his nephew Lot, Abram was at a point of decision. He had to believe that the recently made promises were indeed true and that to be a great nation he needed to garner respect from the other local tribes. For this to happen he realized that he would need to release those taken captive. If he were to be a blessing to the nations, he would need to lead the army. Genesis chapter fourteen is the only time we ever see Abram act as a military leader, and it is also one of the times that the Lord did not appear to him. He had to step out in faith and believe the promises. And indeed, he did! Because of his faith, he led others to help those who were captive to freedom. Because of his faith, he became a blessing to the surrounding nations. And because of his faith, he received blessings from those nations. Abram believed the promise. The promise was the object in which Abram placed his faith.
Abram is an example for us the Church to live by. We have an object of our faith, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news that Jesus Christ became the replacement for us when it comes to us paying for the guilt of our sin. We have the good news that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but gains eternal life. Furthermore, like Abram, we need to step out in faith and be the deliverers that the world needs us to be. We have the good news that can set the captives free. But we must march into the battlefield to help the captives be free by giving them the Gospel. It is the Gospel that is the power of God for salvation. Abram brought together several other small nations in verse 13, that he allied with, and that had to be united for battle. Abram also had to bring together his trained men for battle. I ask you Church, are we united for battle? Are we those trained warriors ready to go to battle and give the Gospel of salvation?
Paul tells us in Ephesians four that Christ has given to us, the Church, gifts. These gifts are the leaders of the Church that equip us to do the work of service. As we together do the work of service, we are unified as one. We have been commissioned by our Lord to take the gospel wherever we can go and to set free those still being held captive by the guilt of sin.
Often, we are filled with fear when it comes to sharing the Gospel to the lost. This is understandable! Israel was fearful to enter the Promised Land! Why is that? Because there were giants in the land. But we need to realize that God often goes before us to clear out much of the opposition. At the beginning of the battles of chapter fourteen we saw the Northern Alliance wipe out some giants who were in the land. There is no record of these giant-clans located near the Sea of Galilee not paying tribute. But that mattered not! The Northern Alliance did not want these clans to take sides against them and thus preemptively neutralized them from becoming a threat. But that also aided Abram when he engaged the Northern Alliance in that same proximity. God in His providence was lessening the opposition. During the forty years that Israel wandered in the dessert, because of fear of the giants reported by the twelve spies, God had the sons of Esau and Lot kill off many of those giants. This we learn in Deuteronomy two. God went before His people preparing the way. The same is true in our evangelism, but we will never see how God has prepared the way until we step out in faith and share the Gospel.
Several times earlier I mentioned that I wanted to come back to some of the geographical features of our story and uncover some of its significance. Who can recall where exactly did Jesus rest His head many nights during His three years of ministry. Most of us recall that He was from Nazareth, but where did he relocate too after He was almost thrown off a cliff and then driven out of His hometown? By-and-large Jesus stayed in the small fishing city on the Northshore of the Sea of Galilee named Capernaum. Capernaum was a multicultural city where Galilean fishermen, such as four of the Apostles, would sell their catch to buyers who would come from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Galilee. Capernaum was also located near what was called the King’s Highway that stretched from the Euphrates River in the North to the Nile of Egypt in the South. This would have been the same route that the Northern Alliance took centuries before the time of Christ. Just North of Capernaum was another small city named Caesarea Philippi located at the foot of Mount Hermon. Mount Hermon is the tallest range of mountains located in this part of the world. Located on Mount Hermon was a Temple of Zeus (during the time of Jesus’ ministry Zeus was thought to be incarnate in the person of Caesar Augustus). Now for all of you who are searching your memory banks trying to recall what took place at Caesarea Philippi allow me to refresh your memories. This was the location where Jesus asked His disciples who do the masses think that He is, and likewise who do they think that He is. Peter responded that he was the anointed one and the son (exact image of) the living God. Jesus then blessed Peter after which he pronounced “You are Petros and upon this Petra I will build My Church, and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail.”
Spiritual Warfare at its Fullest
What exactly are the “Gates of Hell?” What would have been the thought that rushed through Peter’s mind upon hearing the phrase “the Gates of Hell?” This story is taking place in 1st Century Israel in a location that was promised by God to be a part of the Promised Land. This same portion of land is even today disputed as belonging to either Israel or Syria. This is the Golan Heights. And here just above the city of Caesarea Philippi was a temple, that would have been idolatrous in the minds of a Jew, and the gateway to the temple of Zeus was known by the Jews as “the Gates of Hell.” Furthermore, when Jesus changed the masculine form for the word meaning either ‘rock’ or ‘Peter’ (Petros) to the feminine form (Petra) what was He doing. Evangelicalism believes that when Jesus stated “upon this rock I will build my Church” that he was referring to the statement made by Peter. This maybe the case. But it may not have been fully the case as well. Jesus may have been referring to Mount Hermon and the rock on which the temple of Zeus was built. After all they were standing in a place where they could see the temple. Jesus may have been saying that at this place, where built upon a large rock is the largest temple of idolatry in Israel, it is here where I will begin the process of building my Church. In other words, He may have been saying that I will commence my global movement here at the location that is the stronghold of demonic influence. This all sounds sensational, and we won’t know what truly happened until we can ask the Lord Himself. But either way, this statement of Jesus’ had to be upsetting in the minds of the demonic forces that were observing what was taking place; and it does not end here.
A week later Jesus went to a high mountain with several of His disciples. Now the highest mountains in the whole region was right there at Mount Hermon (Mount Hermon is a range of mountains with many high peaks, some of which are covered with snow year-round). It is likely that Jesus ascended one of these mountain peaks, and there He was transfigured, revealing the full glory of God. [Some scholars even suspect that Mount Hermon is where the third temptation of Christ took place. In both cases, we cannot be certain. All we can be certain of is that a week before the transfiguration Jesus was at Caesarea Philippi.] Mount Hermon, location of one of Zeus’s temples. Mount Hermon, the location where 1st Century Jews, including the disciples, believed the sons of God descended in Genesis chapter six to cohabitate with the daughters of Adam. Mount Hermon, the vicinity where the Northern Alliance of Genesis 14 engaged the giants of divine origins and killed off a clan.
Mount Hermon, the likely location where the third failed temptation of Christ took place. Mount Hermon, the location where Peter declared the deity of Jesus Christ. Mount Hermon, the likely location of the transfiguration. When Jesus came down from the Mount after the transfiguration, what did He do next? Cast a demon out of a young girl. For three years now Jesus has been casting out demons, but this time He sealed the truth that He, because He is God, has power over the Evil One.
Soon after all this Jesus travels to Jerusalem where this time He will be crucified. It took demonic anger to stir the masses to cry out crucify Him, crucify Him. Even Jesus’ human judges, Pilate and Herod, knew that He did nothing that merits crucifixion. Yet crucifixion was what was required to pay for the sins of humanity. If the demonic forces only understood what was taking place they would not have had Jesus crucified. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:8 “None of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” The rulers of this age are Satan and his minions. Jesus went into their house and baited them to anger, anger that enticed them to do what they never should have done if they wanted to win the war. The forces of evil followed Jesus from Mount Hermon to Jerusalem and then they stirred the masses to cry out for the crucifixion of our Lord.
The wisdom of God had Jesus wage the greatest spiritual warfare - that began right in the den of the enemy. The battle has been won. Abram believed the promises of God, that he was to inherit the land and to become a great nation, and thus he stepped out in faith setting captives free, and thus became a blessing to his neighbors. God assisted Abram, and the Hebrew nation, by overseeing the killing of the giants that instilled fear into His children. Jesus Christ promised us, His Church, that the spiritual force that pass through the Gates of Hell shall not prevail. He demonstrated His power by the casting out of demons. Yes, He angered the demonic hordes who witnessed these events and thus they incited the masses to cry out for His crucifixion, yet it was all a part of His plan to die for the sins of the world. Now it is our turn to unify, equip ourselves by embracing the leadership gifts that He has given us, and fulfill His commission to take the gospel to every person.
If we are fearful, He will calm our fears. If we have not, we ask not. Let us now ask in prayer.
