Bible Text: Obadiah 1-21 | Preacher: Pastor Steve | Series: Abiding in the Lord
Obadiah 1-2 We have heard a message from the Lord that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say, Get ready, everyone! Let’s assemble our armies and attack Edom! The Lord says to Edom, I will cut you down to size among the nations; you will be greatly despised.
Who is our enemy?
We live in a war zone. Life is often like a battlefield. Our enemy is Satan and the evil at work in our world
C. S. Lewis once wrote that we often fall prey to two equal yet opposite errors concerning the Devil. Sometimes we take him far too seriously. Other times we do not take him seriously enough.
OUR GOD REIGNS!
Obadiah 21 And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.
The Edomites and Jews descended from two brothers—Esau and Jacob
Genesis 25:29-34 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry.  Esau said to Jacob, I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!
All right, Jacob replied, but trade me your rights as the firstborn son. Look, I’m dying of starvation! said Esau. What good is my birthright to me now? But Jacob said, First you must swear that your birthright is mine. So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.
Genesis 27:38 Esau pleaded, but do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too! Then Esau broke down and wept.
Genesis 27:40 You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother.
The principle of liberty and freedom from the bondage of sin!
Romans 6:14 Sin is no longer your master…Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
The principle of Holy Spirit power that enables us to overcome and live for Him 24X7!
Romans 8:2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
What Edom perceived as its strengths would be its downfall: 3-14
Arrogance
Pride in their self-sufficiency
Greed
Stolen goods
Violence
Delighting over suffering of others
Worldly Wisdom
Human Understanding
A humble person is more secure than a proud person because humility gives a more accurate perspective of oneself and the world
Louis the 14th of France called himself “the great” I AM THE STATE!
ONLY GOD IS GREAT!
Greatness is not measured in our achievement for our own glory! But in the measure that we glorify God
 
Obadiah 15-16 The day is near when I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads. Just as you swallowed up my people on my holy mountain, so you and the surrounding nations will swallow the punishment I pour out on you. Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger and disappear from history.
All nations and individuals will be judged for the way they have treated God’s (Israel) people.
Obadiah 17-19 But Jerusalem will become a refuge for those who escape; it will be a holy place. And the people of Israel will come back to reclaim their inheritance
This demonstrates the absolute nature of God’s word and of the punishment awaiting all who have mistreated God’s people.
Have Faith! The Lord will establish His Kingdom
20-21 The exiles of Israel will return to their land and occupy the Phoenician coast as far north as Zarephath. The captives from Jerusalem exiled in the north will return home and resettle the towns of the Negev. Those who have been rescued will go up to Mount Zion in Jerusalem to rule over the mountains of Edom. And the Lord himself will be king! 
Nothing can break God’s promise to protect his people from complete destruction. In the book of Obadiah we see four aspects of God’s message of judgment:
Evil WILL BE punished
Those faithful to God have hope for a NEW future
God is sovereign in ALL human history
God’s ultimate PURPOSE is to establish His Kingdom
The Jews will “possess their possessions” without the help of any nation, but only through the help of the Lord their God. Israel has returned to their land and the nation was established in 1948. One day they shall see the Messiah and believe on Him, and the nation will be “born in a day”