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Hey everybody, this is Pastor 
John Ewart from Inglewood 

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Baptist Church in Rocky 
Mountain, North Carolina. 

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Thank you so much for tuning 
into our podcast. 

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You're going to hear from God 
today as we share from his word 

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about important issues facing 
your life that can guide you 

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according to the Bible. 
Thank you for joining us live. 

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Those listening online right 
now, you missed a whole bunch of

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info commercials. 
Maybe, maybe they were recorded.

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But thanks for joining us as 
believers. 

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We really do have a mission to 
fulfill. 

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I know I talk about that a lot. 
I use that word a lot. 

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I mean to, but and we also have 
an enemy who wants to stop us 

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from doing that. 
And I want to revisit a passage 

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that I preached about in the 
Seven Essential series. 

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But we're going to look at it 
from a very different angle 

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tonight, as well as some other 
things. 

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So how do we deal with this 
mission and conflict? 

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Mission and conflict are a part 
of our existence as believers. 

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Especially if you're a believer 
who's trying to be the best 

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believer you can be. 
You're constantly going to 

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hopefully be trying to pursue 
what God wants you to do. 

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At the same time, you're 
constantly in conflict because 

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of sin and because you live in a
fallen world, etcetera. 

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So how do we fulfill His plan 
when we're just kind of 

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struggling to get through 
sometimes? 

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How do we become disciples when 
we're just trying to survive? 

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So we we recognize first of all,
that we're not in this alone. 

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So understand that that you may 
have a lot of struggles in your 

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life right now. 
And I'm sorry and I'm sure 

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they're real and painful, but 
you also need to take some hope 

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and joy in the fact that you're 
not alone in these spiritual 

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battles. 
The whole world is struggling 

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and, and you really do need to 
remember that this whole entire 

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world is struggling. 
All of creation is fallen and 

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this world is groaning until the
redemption of its and the 

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restoration at the end of time. 
And so first John 519 says we 

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know that we are from God and 
the whole world lies in the 

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power of the evil. 1 And so in 
God's grace and God's love, he 

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has a permissive will that 
allows us to have choice. 

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And I've talked to you before 
about the problem of evil. 

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And the problem of evil in his 
simplest summary, which is 

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oversimplification, is that it's
the result of our choice to a 

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large degree. 
We make bad choices, other 

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people make bad choices, and we 
have an enemy who helps us do 

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those things. 
And so because of that, we're 

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surrounded by sin and we live in
this fallen creation, but also 

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recognize that other Christians 
struggle. 

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Peter wrote about it in First 
Peter 5. 

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Be sober minded, be watchful, 
your adversary, the devil prowls

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around like a roaring lion 
seeking someone to devour, 

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resisting firm in your faith, 
knowing that the same kinds of 

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suffering or be experienced by 
your brotherhood throughout the 

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world. 
And you can sit there and say 

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well that's a 1st century 
writing and you're right. 

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But last year over 300,000 
Christians were persecuted that 

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we know of, were persecuted for 
their faith. 

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Every year thousands of 
Christians die because of their 

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faith. 
And so we don't often recognize 

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that here thousands more are 
imprisoned and 10s of thousands,

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hundreds of thousands are 
persecuted. 

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So there are brothers and 
sisters all around the world who

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suffer for their faith. 
And it scares me some time 

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because it's awfully easy to be 
content here. 

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It's awfully easy to be 
comfortable here, to think that 

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that doesn't affect us and touch
us, but it does me because I 

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have friends. 
I have friends who've died. 

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I have friends in prison. 
I have friends who are who have 

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lost their homes. 
I have friends who've lost their

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churches and lost body parts. 
I mean, every gruesome thing you

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can think of. 
And so this is a real thing. 

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And so our enemy wants us 
overwhelmed. 

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He wants us overwhelmed by the 
burden of life. 

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I mean, you need to, you need to
hear his voice and think about 

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what he's saying in the sense 
he's going to tell you to focus 

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on your problems. 
He's going to tell you to try to

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do this by your own strength, 
lift your own load by yourself, 

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fix your own problems. 
He's going to try to convince 

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you that you can do this alone. 
You can do this by yourself. 

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And so sometimes we can be so 
focused, or he's going to want 

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us to be so focused upon the 
fears that surround us in this 

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fallenness that we're too 
distracted to commune and to 

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communicate with the Creator 
who's sovereign and who who 

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seeks to strengthen and to guide
us. 

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And that's the whole point of 
prayer. 

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But he says, don't abide in 
prayer. 

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Satan is terrified of prayer. 
And so he doesn't want you to 

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abide in prayer. 
He doesn't want you to pray 

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continually with a sense of 
dependence and anticipation. 

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These are words of the enemy. 
These are not words of the Lord.

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So I want you to listen to a 
passage we've visited before. 

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It's a common passage. 
But again, we're going to take 

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pieces of this, perhaps 
differently than what we've done

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before. 
This Ephesians 6 Finally, be 

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strong in the Lord and in the 
strength of His might. 

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Put on the whole armour of God, 
that you may be able to stand 

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against the schemes of the 
devil. 

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For we do not wrestle against 
flesh and blood, but against the

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rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers, over 

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this present darkness, against 
the spiritual forces of evil in 

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the heavenly places. 
So even though here and here we 

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are at Easter, so here at Easter
we're celebrating Christ's 

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victory. 
And we should, we should do it 

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loudly, we should do it proudly,
we should do it with a sense of 

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great joy and appreciation. 
And so, but here we are at 

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Easter, celebrating that perfect
victory that he accomplishes 

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through the cross, his death, 
burial, resurrection. 

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But at the same time, we 
recognize that the fight isn't 

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over, that the battle continues.
And so Satan and I really need 

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to, I've said this to this part 
to you before, but I really want

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you to grab a hold of this 
because it's going to be 

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important in a minute. 
The word here and your different

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translations will have different
words. 

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But to stand against this 
translation, ESV has schemes of 

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the devil. 
You might have Wiles or you 

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might have strategies. 
All those words are great. 

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The word methodia here is an 
orderly. 

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You can understand how technical
this is. 

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This is an orderly, technical, 
deliberate, ambushing scheme or 

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plan or method. 
This is not some haphazard 

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temptation attack. 
This is a plan for your life 

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that the enemy has. 
It's an orderly plan. 

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He has an ambush strategy for 
you and your family and this 

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church. 
And so we need to understand 

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that and we need to have a 
strategy to stay strong and to 

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fulfil the mission of God. 
So Ephesians 6 tells us our 

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source of strength and, and 
defense. 

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And I talked about that when I 
talked about the seven 

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essentials. 
So we're not going to spend time

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there. 
But what we also recognize is, 

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and I mentioned this before, we 
got to put on the whole armor 

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and you have to put on the 
armor. 

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It doesn't, it doesn't fly on 
you. 

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This is not Iron Man to where 
you can push a button and 

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suddenly the Iron Man suit comes
on. 

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You OK, You, you have to put. 
And some of you understood that,

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some of you have no idea what I 
just said, but but you, you've 

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got to put on the armor all of 
it, not some of it. 

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You don't just put one of the 
pieces on, You got to put it all

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on. 
And you have to do that. 

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It's written in an imperative. 
You must put on the armor of 

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God. 
It's not autopilot. 

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And so we recognize that. 
But I want us to focus on one 

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aspect of this missional 
conflict in which we find 

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ourselves. 
And an additional passage really

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is helpful, and that's the one 
in 2nd Corinthians 10. 

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And so if you want to turn to 
something in your Bibles, I 

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would turn to 2nd Corinthians 
10. 

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And so you know, this passage 
probably, but I want us to 

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really talk about a couple of 
things here because it's very, 

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very important for us. 
I want to talk about conflict 

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and what that means and how it 
affects us and how we relate to 

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it or not. 2nd Corinthians 10 
three says For though we walk in

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the flesh, we are not waging war
according to the flesh. 

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For the weapons of our warfare 
are not of the flesh, but have 

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divine power to destroy 
strongholds. 

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We destroy arguments and every 
lofty opinion raised against the

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knowledge of God, and take every
thought captive to obey Christ. 

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Sometimes when I've listened to 
people teach this passage and 

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I've probably been guilty of it 
myself, we'll emphasize certain 

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parts. 
And I feel like we don't 

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probably emphasize sometimes the
most important parts. 

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And I want to do that tonight, 
and I'll make that make sense in

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a second. 
So it says we need to destroy 

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sinful patterns. 
We we need to destroy sinful 

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habits, we need to destroy 
sinful tendencies, we need to 

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destroy things that become a 
stronghold for Satan. 

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So most of these are going to be
led by some misdirected fear, 

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misdirected love, misdirected 
faith. 

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We love the wrong things, we're 
afraid of the wrong things or we

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believe in the wrong things. 
And that's where, that's where 

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most of our sins going to come 
from. 

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It's this misaligned, 
misdirected fear, love, faith, 

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etcetera. 
And so this gives Satan this 

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opportunity and a, and a place 
for him to tempt us because he 

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has a, he has an orderly scheme.
So he, so he's testing the wall 

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and he's going to find the 
chink. 

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And once he finds that chink, 
he's going to focus on that hole

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and he's going to drill in that 
hole and drill in that hole and 

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drill in that hole because he 
won't sleep. 

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He won't give up, he won't 
relent. 

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He hates us. 
He hates Christ, He hates all of

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this, and he wants it to be 
destroyed. 

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You got to understand what the 
Bible says. 

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He wants to destroy us. 
And so he's going to find that 

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little niche and he's going to 
work it and work it. 

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And so we got to be careful not 
to allow him an opportunity 

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time, not to allow the weak 
spot, not to give him a 

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stronghold it there may be a 
moment where we stumble and fail

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and we realize, wow, that wasn't
good. 

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And I, he's a, he's tempted me 
here and I fell prey to that. 

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I need to confess that, get rid 
of that. 

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But then I need to reinforce the
wall. 

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Don't let him come back to that 
spot again, because the idea of 

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a stronghold means that he's 
actually dug in. 

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He he's able to dig in and to 
build and even to divide. 

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So the passage says, and you got
to think about the Corinthian 

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people who are hearing this for 
the first time. 

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They come from such a Pagan 
background. 

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And he's saying, listen, you got
to take every thought captive, 

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but you got to destroy arguments
and every lofty opinion raised 

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against the knowledge of God and
take every thought captive to 

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obey Christ. 
And I want to talk about how do 

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we do that? 
How are we going to destroy 

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these arguments, these lofty 
human opinions, satanic opinions

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that surround us in this world 
today that they're raised 

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against the knowledge of God? 
And then I'm going to take every

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one of my thoughts captive. 
I'm going to I'm going to 

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control my mind and my thought 
life so that I can obey Christ. 

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So, so let's talk about this for
a minute. 

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How, how are we going to do that
now? 

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Now follow me. 
I promise I'm going to circle 

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you back, but follow me for a 
few minutes because I want I 

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want to talk about conflict for 
a minute. 

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So when we face the conflicts of
this world that compete with 

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that distract from, I was in a 
conversation earlier today where

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I believe with all of my heart 
there's a Satan satanic 

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distraction attempt taking 
place. 

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I said that out loud and I 
believe it with all my heart. 

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So when we face these conflicts 
that compete with, distract 

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from, and are seeking to tempt 
us away from God's orderly plan 

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for us, His strategy, His 
mission, and, and they seek to 

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move us toward the strategy, 
this technical, ambushing, 

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orderly planned by the enemy, 
how do we respond? 

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So I want to talk about conflict
for a minute and, and what that 

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means. 
Conflicts with the, with truths 

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00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:51,840
of this world that seem to be 
contrasting or arguing are 

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00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:56,920
against the truth of God's word,
truths of this world that that 

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00:12:56,920 --> 00:12:58,920
it seems everybody else thinks 
is OK. 

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00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:03,640
I talked about this Sunday. 
What used to be wrong not long 

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00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:09,920
ago is now normal. 
Listen, Teresa and I, or maybe 

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00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:13,160
it's me because Teresa doesn't 
do this because she's sweet and 

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kind and Christ like. 
I sit in front of my TV and I 

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00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:18,600
gripe. 
I talk to my TV and I gripe 

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00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:23,240
about it because I I, I may be 
watching what, what is an OK TV 

235
00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,680
program, but then these 
stinking, ungodly commercials 

236
00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:30,160
pop up and I'm about tired. 
I don't need to see the drag 

237
00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,800
queen competition when I'm 
trying to watch Andy Griffith. 

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00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:40,360
You understand what I'm saying? 
But it's OK. 

239
00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,160
It's OK now. 
In fact, it's so OK. 

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00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:47,120
I was reading an article today 
about a young a young lady who's

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00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,080
a student at Boyce College at 
Southern Seminary in Louisville,

242
00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:51,640
KY. 
It's the undergrad program at 

243
00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:54,160
Southern Seminary. 
You just got fired as a barista 

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in a coffee house because one of
the employees that she worked 

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00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,320
with knew she was a Christian 
and a student at that college 

246
00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,760
asked her questions about what 
she thought about sexuality, 

247
00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:05,760
gender, and some of the issues 
of the world today. 

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00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,560
She responds with biblical 
responses and her faith and they

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00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:12,240
fire her because she's being 
oppressive in sharing and 

250
00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:13,960
forcing her faith upon this 
other employee. 

251
00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:18,400
Now there are legal people who 
are trying to remedy that 

252
00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,040
situation because you can't do 
that. 

253
00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,280
But it's just amazing. 
It didn't used to be that way, 

254
00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:28,920
but I promise you it's not going
to get better. 

255
00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:34,680
Read the book. 
It does not get better and so 

256
00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:36,480
we've got to learn how how am I 
going to deal with these 

257
00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:40,200
conflicts with the the truth of 
this world seem to believe that 

258
00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:43,840
contrast with the word of God 
and and and that everybody else 

259
00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,600
seems to be think it's OK. 
They even think it's right. 

260
00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,320
But you know in your heart, you 
know in God's word that it's not

261
00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:51,440
right. 
This is not right. 

262
00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:55,480
And so these conflicts that are 
caused by the brokenness of 

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00:14:55,480 --> 00:15:01,320
humanity and, and our poor 
choices, frankly, our free will,

264
00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:04,640
whether they be our choices or 
those of others that have a 

265
00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:06,520
direct impact upon us, these 
things happen. 

266
00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,240
So the conflict of sin, the 
lives of the devil, the 

267
00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:14,000
devaluation of life that are 
that's often a part of this and 

268
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:16,080
even just basic 
misunderstandings. 

269
00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,160
So in other words, the daily 
life on this planet right now, 

270
00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:21,280
right? 
This is where we live. 

271
00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:27,960
I teach a lot about conflict. 
That was not a goal. 

272
00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:34,200
I I teach everything over the 
years I've taught everything 

273
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:39,040
from certificate level to I just
taught APHD seminar on conflict.

274
00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:42,160
And so I'm kind of known as the 
conflict guy. 

275
00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:46,400
That ought to say something 
about next former member of 

276
00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:54,440
Inglewood needs to be careful. 
I'm going to push that button to

277
00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,520
somebody gets mad at me. 
Just cracks me up. 

278
00:15:57,520 --> 00:15:59,480
I mean, they run all the way. 
She'll tell you. 

279
00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,160
I mean, I'm, you know how you 
know Lowe's, you know, Lowe's 

280
00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:04,600
the store. 
You know how big that is? 

281
00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,080
And I'm like down there against 
that wall. 

282
00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:11,760
The guy comes running from the 
other side of the store just to 

283
00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:14,000
tell me that. 
Well, thank you. 

284
00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:22,920
I'm you're welcome back anytime.
Maybe might be a good reason 

285
00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:26,560
you're a former member need to 
be careful. 

286
00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:31,160
Maybe maybe revival happens by 
attrition as well as addition. 

287
00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:37,640
So you know, anyway, I'll, I'll 
try to stop, but I teach a lot 

288
00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:41,120
about conflict. 
So I, so I've, you know, I've 

289
00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:44,280
read a lot about it and had to 
and all that kind of stuff. 

290
00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:46,840
And here's what I know. 
People respond to conflict in 

291
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:48,400
different ways. 
Churches do this too. 

292
00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:50,560
So over the years, the reason 
I'm known for this is because of

293
00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:52,960
what I did in church life, 
consultation life, not 'cause 

294
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:54,680
conflict, but try to sell solve 
it. 

295
00:16:54,680 --> 00:17:02,740
Although who knows? 
But people respond to conflict, 

296
00:17:02,740 --> 00:17:05,660
especially in their personal 
relationships in very different 

297
00:17:05,660 --> 00:17:06,740
ways. 
Let's see which one of these you

298
00:17:06,740 --> 00:17:09,380
relate to. 
Some people flee. 

299
00:17:10,940 --> 00:17:13,380
They just can't stand to be in 
conflict. 

300
00:17:13,420 --> 00:17:15,579
I mean, they will physically 
leave the room. 

301
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:17,960
They just can't, they just can't
take it. 

302
00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:20,280
They can't stand it. 
They can't stand to be there. 

303
00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:21,920
Same thing happens in church 
life. 

304
00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:24,680
But people flee conflict. 
They just withdraw. 

305
00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:28,000
They can't do it. 
They, they, they may not know 

306
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,920
how to fight fairly or they're 
just afraid to, or frankly just 

307
00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:33,560
worn out and they don't want to 
fight anymore. 

308
00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:40,080
But what they don't understand 
is their absence actually allows

309
00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:44,040
the conflict to continue. 
So it's still a problem. 

310
00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:47,400
Others seek to win in a 
conflict. 

311
00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,240
Kind of the opposite. 
These people get hysterical and 

312
00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:51,720
historical, but they wanted 
that. 

313
00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:55,160
Their goal is to win the debate.
Their goal is to actually win 

314
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,560
the argument, regardless 
sometimes of even the cost. 

315
00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:00,960
And in the end they might win 
the battle, but they often lose 

316
00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:04,240
the war. 
They can end up in damaging, 

317
00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:09,280
abusive, overbearing, often loud
positions seeking to have their 

318
00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:12,760
own way rather than God's way. 
And this can be true in a 

319
00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:15,400
marriage, can be true in a 
church, can be true out in the 

320
00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:20,400
world. 
Others yield, they stick around,

321
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,680
but they give in to get along, 
often to one of those who seeks 

322
00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:27,840
to win. 
They don't believe in what 

323
00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:31,920
they've done necessarily, but 
they just want to end the 

324
00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:36,080
conflict, have peace, and so 
they surrender, but they don't 

325
00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:39,160
necessarily leave. 
Still others seek to compromise.

326
00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:41,440
And we often talk about 
compromise is a good word, but 

327
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:43,880
in conflict it's not always a 
good word. 

328
00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,880
It might, it might be a good 
first step, it might stop the 

329
00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:50,120
yelling, it might stop the 
bleeding, But in the end, it can

330
00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:53,360
simply be two sides giving in, 
two sides yielding. 

331
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,000
Neither party's happy. 
Neither party's satisfied with 

332
00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,320
what they agreed to. 
And the long term outcome will 

333
00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:02,520
be that they just wanted to get 
out of the immediate conflict 

334
00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:04,960
and they're going to repeat it. 
They'll repeat it and they'll 

335
00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:06,840
repeat it because it's not 
resolved. 

336
00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:10,960
And these responses are very 
common. 

337
00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:15,320
Perhaps you relate to, have 
experienced or you are guilty of

338
00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:17,440
one or more of these. 
We all are probably. 

339
00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:21,360
But but where our ultimate going
conflict is resolution. 

340
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:23,120
And this is what I want to get 
to, and this is going to tie 

341
00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:26,760
back into our passage because we
want to get to this idea of 

342
00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:29,440
resolution. 
And, and and I want to talk 

343
00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,440
about the fact that true long 
term resolution requires 

344
00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:36,960
diagnosing the actual source of 
the conflict, the disease, and 

345
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,200
not simply to treat the 
symptoms. 

346
00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,000
And so many people just treat 
symptoms, they don't deal with 

347
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:48,840
the disease, right. 
And so it's interesting because 

348
00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:54,560
I've said it before, I'll say it
a billion more times, and I'll 

349
00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:57,960
refer to the same passage over 
and over and over and over 

350
00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,240
again. 
But resolution requires 

351
00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:06,720
replacement. 
And so our ability to deal with 

352
00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:12,040
2nd Corinthians 10 does too. 
Resolution requires a change, 

353
00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:16,640
not just stopping something, but
also starting something. 

354
00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:21,480
And you got to recognize that. 
Stopping something, stopping 

355
00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:24,560
your sinful habits, stopping the
area where you gave Satan a 

356
00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:28,600
stronghold is only a temporary 
short term fix. 

357
00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,640
If you don't replace the thing 
that created the hole in the 1st

358
00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:36,200
place, he's just going to come 
back and with his pickaxe and 

359
00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:41,080
he's going to get right back in.
This is the cycle of addiction. 

360
00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:43,560
I'm going to quit, I'm going to 
quit. 

361
00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:45,680
I feel bad. 
I'm going to quit and then two 

362
00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:50,960
weeks later I haven't quit 
because something has to change.

363
00:20:51,120 --> 00:20:54,840
A physical disease is going to 
result in a diagnosis that 

364
00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:57,360
requires medicine. 
It requires treatment. 

365
00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:01,160
It might perhaps even require a 
change in lifestyle habits. 

366
00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:04,120
We got to think physical health 
like that. 

367
00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:06,240
I've got to do something 
different. 

368
00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:13,200
I can't, you know, as a 
diabetic, I can pretend like I 

369
00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:16,360
can eat all the cake I want, but
I can't. 

370
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,160
I just can't. 
Something had to change. 

371
00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:25,240
So now I have a sugar monitor. 
I get slivers of things. 

372
00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:31,760
So I'm talking about Colossians 
3 again. 

373
00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:33,560
Don't turn there. 
But this is that whole passage 

374
00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:35,400
again, and I've shared it with 
you enough. 

375
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:36,960
I preached on it when I first 
got here. 

376
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,080
But Paul says you got to take 
off. 

377
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,040
This stuff has a whole list of 
things, and then you got to put 

378
00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:44,440
on this whole list of things. 
And these are imperatives. 

379
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:48,320
You have to do this, you have to
put on the armor, you have to 

380
00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:50,600
put on these things in your 
life. 

381
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,840
So we recognize that the real 
cause of the conflict, often 

382
00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:58,960
wrapped up in our misplaced 
loves and fears, must be 

383
00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:02,080
replaced by the positive 
resources of the Lord. 

384
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,000
Now let's go back to 2nd 
Corinthians 10. 

385
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,760
For though we walk in the flesh,
we are not waging war according 

386
00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,760
to the flesh. 
For the weapons of our warfare 

387
00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:17,600
are not of the flesh, but have 
divine power. 

388
00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:20,320
And often we don't focus on 
those two words, we focus on the

389
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:24,800
stronghold word. 
They have the divine power to 

390
00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:29,560
destroy strongholds. 
So that's how we destroy 

391
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,120
arguments. 
That's how we destroy every 

392
00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:35,360
lofty opinion raised against the
knowledge of God, and that's how

393
00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:37,600
we take every thought captive to
obey Christ. 

394
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:42,680
We have access to the proper 
spiritual equipment with which 

395
00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:46,400
to equip ourselves to put on the
armor of God, to take off the 

396
00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,000
junk that needs to get taken 
off, and to put on the good 

397
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:53,080
stuff that needs to be put on. 
We have divine power to destroy 

398
00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,760
strongholds. 
You have access to that. 

399
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:04,440
Are you living that way though? 
Do you engage God that way? 

400
00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:09,320
Do you believe that? 
So we have the armor of God. 

401
00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:12,840
But but, but, and these are not 
verses to just read and 

402
00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:14,960
castaway. 
These are instructions. 

403
00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:20,600
This is the guidebook for how 
you implement A discipled life 

404
00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:22,880
on this. 
But we destroy, we take every 

405
00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:24,920
thought captive. 
But you don't do that on your 

406
00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,320
own. 
You're not good enough. 

407
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:32,000
Neither am I. 
I may be an expert on conflict, 

408
00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:33,520
but that doesn't mean I know how
to handle it. 

409
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:40,400
Listen, we have to access the 
divine weaponry. 

410
00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:43,480
Now that this really needs to 
sink in. 

411
00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:48,000
You have to access this divine. 
You have divine power. 

412
00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,040
We walk in the flesh. 
We're humans. 

413
00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:54,880
We're in this mixed up fallen 
crazy world and we're not going 

414
00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:56,840
to be able to deal with it by my
own strength. 

415
00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:59,280
I don't care how good you are, 
how good looking, how smart you 

416
00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:01,720
think you are, how 
self-sufficient you think you 

417
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:04,800
are, what all you've read, what 
all you know, it's not going to 

418
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:08,800
be enough. 
Satan's stronger than you are. 

419
00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:11,680
He's a fallen Angel. 
Don't make him more than that. 

420
00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:13,040
That's all he is. 
And the heaven, hell and the 

421
00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:14,400
hereafter. 
We're going to talk about Satan 

422
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:16,680
and demons and angels and all 
kinds of stuff and don't make 

423
00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:18,720
them more than they are, but 
also don't let them be less than

424
00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,680
they are. 
He's not a mini God. 

425
00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:23,960
He's not omnipresent, He's not 
omniscient. 

426
00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:30,000
He's a fallen Angel, but an 
Angel stronger than I am. 

427
00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:36,640
And so I need to access what's 
stronger than he is. 

428
00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,440
Carnal weapons are not going to 
get the victory done. 

429
00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:44,320
Human ideas, human strategy, 
human methods are not enough. 

430
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,360
This whole adage, you pull 
yourself up by your own 

431
00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:48,040
bootstraps, you don't even know 
where that where that comes 

432
00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:50,040
from. 
Pull yourself up by your own 

433
00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:51,440
bootstraps. 
You know you can't do that. 

434
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,840
You can't do it. 
It's actually a joke. 

435
00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,920
It's satirical. 
You cannot pull yourself up by 

436
00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,880
your own bootstraps. 
And yet it gets used as this 

437
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,000
term of my self-sufficiency and 
my ability to do my own thing by

438
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:06,200
myself. 
You can't. 

439
00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,280
You sit down sometime and pull 
on those bootstraps and see if 

440
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:12,160
you can stand up. 
You can't. 

441
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:17,800
Your brain and your will alone 
are just not enough. 

442
00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:22,680
So there has to be divine 
weaponry that undergirds and 

443
00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,080
empowers us. 
So, so we recognize what some of

444
00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:26,760
these pieces are. 
We've been talking about them. 

445
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:29,040
There's a reason why I'm talking
about what I'm talking about. 

446
00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,880
Everything connects. 
We've been, we, we started the 

447
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:33,800
year by talking about abiding in
the word. 

448
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:38,080
That's a sword. 
That's the sword of the spirit. 

449
00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,800
So one of my divine weapons is 
is the word of God Responding in

450
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,000
worship can be a weapon. 
These seven essentials are 

451
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,600
weapons. 
These 7 essentials are not ideas

452
00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:52,520
created out of thin air so that 
we can make cool artwork on the 

453
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:56,800
wall here at Inglewood. 
These were driven in in days of 

454
00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:58,960
prayer and searching the 
Scriptures. 

455
00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:01,240
They're driven. 
This is how the early church 

456
00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,440
obeyed and exploded with mission
fulfillment. 

457
00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:07,960
But there's one essential that 
we've been discussing in these 

458
00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:13,440
sessions that we're going to 
finish tonight, Ephesians 618, 

459
00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:21,360
praying at all times in the 
Spirit with all prayer and 

460
00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:26,080
supplication. 
To that end, keep alert with all

461
00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:29,880
perseverance, making 
supplication for all the Saints.

462
00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:33,200
So we're finishing our series on
abiding in prayer with 

463
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,480
dependence and anticipation. 
But that has to be more than 

464
00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:38,160
just words. 
Dependence. 

465
00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:40,400
These words were chosen very 
carefully. 

466
00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:46,280
Dependence, anticipation. 
Do you live that way? 

467
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:48,160
Is that how you pray? 
Is that, Is that what you're 

468
00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:49,640
doing? 
Are you recognizing his 

469
00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,080
authority? 
Are you recognizing his ability?

470
00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,560
Are you recognizing his divine 
weaponry? 

471
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,200
And then you have this assured 
hope that that he listens and he

472
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:00,960
acts. 
It's called faith. 

473
00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:06,400
So we connect to God's divine 
power in prayer. 

474
00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:11,000
We understand that as we pray, 
we're allowing Him. 

475
00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:14,080
We're allowing him, asking him, 
begging him. 

476
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:18,200
I pray to align our thoughts 
with his we're We're asking and 

477
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,960
allowing Him to transform my 
mind so that we can destroy 

478
00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:25,160
arguments and every lofty 
opinion raised against the 

479
00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,640
knowledge of God and take every 
thought captive to obey Christ. 

480
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:38,800
God can empower us through to a 
personal prayer strategy, just 

481
00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:42,280
just like Satan's got a strategy
he's got, he's got a technical, 

482
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,720
orderly ambush plan for you. 
He's waiting to trip you up. 

483
00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:50,720
He's looking for that, looking 
for that little hole, prodding, 

484
00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:56,440
poking, probing. 
We better have a strategy for 

485
00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,960
protection as well as not just 
defense, but offense. 

486
00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,080
So how do I develop a personal 
prayer strategy? 

487
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:04,160
Let's talk about that for a 
minute. 

488
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:05,920
Let's just talk about this verse
for a few minutes. 

489
00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:08,720
So we developed this personal 
private prayer plan by 

490
00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:10,880
incorporating a few of the 
things that we've discussed in 

491
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:12,960
this whole series. 
We go back to verse 18, praying 

492
00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:15,680
at all times in the Spirit. 
So the first thing we see is we 

493
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:19,280
pray continually. 
Nothing new here, nothing 

494
00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,000
radical. 
These are things you've probably

495
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,480
heard before, but we got to 
recognize, and Chuck Lawless 

496
00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,440
told you this a few weeks ago, 
prayer needs to be proactive and

497
00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:30,240
not simply reactive. 
This is an offensive effort, not

498
00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:34,000
just a defensive effort. 
We pray for protection, great. 

499
00:28:34,120 --> 00:28:35,880
We pray for the protection of 
others, great. 

500
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,240
But I'm just, I'm not only going
to pray for protection, I'm 

501
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,680
going to pray that they are 
empowered and possessed by the 

502
00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:49,480
Holy Spirit to go out and move. 
See, go on the offensive. 

503
00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:53,200
Don't just sit back and allow 
this world and our enemy to beat

504
00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:56,560
you into submission and 
recognize that prayer. 

505
00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:59,200
I said this last time, prayer 
is, is more than something you 

506
00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:01,400
do. 
Prayer must be who you are. 

507
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:04,320
This is this is a part of your 
being. 

508
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:09,200
God answers you, not necessarily
your ritualistic words. 

509
00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:12,920
He's answering you. 
So live in that constant 

510
00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,880
communication, that constant 
communion with the source, the 

511
00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:22,240
owner of divine power. 
I mean, it's really amazing to 

512
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:25,360
me when I think about that, if I
could really wrap my brain 

513
00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,920
around that and recognize that I
have access to the greatest 

514
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:32,920
power in the universe at my 
disposal, who wants me to come, 

515
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,440
wants me to access it, wants to 
give it to me. 

516
00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:39,800
And you know, I'm too busy. 
I don't have time to pray. 

517
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:45,800
I wish I prayed more. 
Those kinds of things. 

518
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,360
First Thessalonians 5, you know 
this passage, Pray without 

519
00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:53,480
ceasing, give thanks in all 
circumstances, for this is the 

520
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,600
will of God in Christ Jesus for 
you. 

521
00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,400
Now often we just talk about the
praying without ceasing and 

522
00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:01,800
giving thanks in all 
circumstances and how hard that 

523
00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:04,800
second part is, but we need to 
recognize that this is the will 

524
00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,320
of God. 
There's no debate. 

525
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:09,680
I don't have to wonder. 
This is not some Gray area. 

526
00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:12,000
This is not some brownie, this 
is black and white. 

527
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,920
This is the will of God in 
Christ Jesus that I pray this 

528
00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:19,120
way. 
Do not quench the Spirit. 

529
00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:23,360
Verse 19 says, so we have to be,
we must be, we're commanded to 

530
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:28,280
be in this continuing prayer 
mindset, this continuing prayer,

531
00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:31,760
heart set, always going to the 
Father, first, second, third, 

532
00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:33,760
fourth and last, always going to
the Father. 

533
00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:40,040
So when a thought occurs, when a
sight is seen, when an attack is

534
00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,640
experienced, when a person's 
encountered who runs all the way

535
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:55,520
across Lowe's pray. 
My wife's laughing. 

536
00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,840
She was there when a thought 
occurs. 

537
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:06,960
You got to take a captive. 
So ask God to fill our day, to 

538
00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:12,200
fill us with divinely empowered 
prayer prompts and thoughts. 

539
00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:14,880
See that's what I need. 
I need, I need, I need that 

540
00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:17,400
replaced. 
You got to replace this. 

541
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:20,840
God help me to replace this. 
I'm going to share my testimony 

542
00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:23,560
and a couple of weeks and I'm 
going to talk about replacement,

543
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:28,200
a miraculous divine replacement 
that took place in my own life. 

544
00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:31,120
People can argue with me all day
long about whether there's a 

545
00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:32,920
God. 
I know there's a God. 

546
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:39,400
He saved me, changed me. 
And so that thought is locked 

547
00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:41,960
up. 
That one's secure. 

548
00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:44,720
But we're also supposed to pray 
in the Spirit. 

549
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:48,720
That's what that that passage 
says, praying at all times in 

550
00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:51,360
the Spirit. 
So we, we pray prayers both 

551
00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:54,480
again, this communion and this 
communication with the commander

552
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:56,720
for the conflict. 
And we've got to stay in touch 

553
00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:58,920
with him. 
We abide in prayer with this 

554
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:03,520
sense of dependence. 
We, we, we, we live there, we 

555
00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:08,680
dwell there, we pitch our tent 
there, we rest there in the 

556
00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:11,520
Spirit. 
So you have to ask yourself, am 

557
00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:15,120
I truly dependent upon the Holy 
Spirit's power, or am I trying 

558
00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:19,040
to handle most of life on my 
own? 

559
00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:24,240
And then I only really reach out
to him reactively when there's a

560
00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:28,080
crisis. 
There's a real problem now it's 

561
00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,840
time to talk to God. 
I don't proactively talk to God.

562
00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:35,920
I reactively talk to God when 
there's a big crisis that all of

563
00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:37,400
a sudden I realize I can't 
handle. 

564
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:45,040
It's too much for me. 
So we got to recognize that that

565
00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:47,080
that misses the whole point of 
prayer. 

566
00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:48,560
Prayer. 
Prayer is not some spiritual 

567
00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:52,240
911. 
I mean, it can be that I I 

568
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:54,120
certainly am not saying don't 
cry out to God in Christ. 

569
00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:56,600
It's certainly you do that, but 
that's not all it is. 

570
00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:59,120
That's not even the the most of 
what it is. 

571
00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:04,360
It's a constant abiding walk and
talk with God. 

572
00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:08,320
We're dependent upon the Holy 
Spirit to reveal to us what we 

573
00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:10,960
ought to pray and to convict us 
about those things. 

574
00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,400
How do I know how to pray 
according to God's will? 

575
00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:18,040
He gives us the proper words to 
understand God's Word and will. 

576
00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:21,760
How do I know that I'm going to 
get a guaranteed positive 

577
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,320
reception from God? 
Well, God's Word and God's 

578
00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:29,040
Spirit are here to help us with 
that, to help us pray the right 

579
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,560
things. 
So the Creator God of the 

580
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:33,760
universe calls us to come. 
God the Son paves the way. 

581
00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:37,000
The Holy Spirit intercedes and 
allows to know how it's an 

582
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:40,440
amazing trinitarian, wonderful 
thing. 

583
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,680
And by the way, that's unique to
biblical Christianity. 

584
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:53,560
So we engage in relationship 
with him and you know that a 

585
00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:56,360
relationship can't remain 
healthy or grow without close 

586
00:33:56,360 --> 00:34:02,280
proximity and communication. 
You have to talk and and here he

587
00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:06,280
is giving us all the time we 
need undivided attention. 

588
00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:09,199
I mean, prayer really is 
amazing. 

589
00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:14,440
Prayer really is a privilege and
we need to enjoy the privilege. 

590
00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:18,440
He'll help us to enjoy it if we 
seek him. 

591
00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:23,320
But there's more that verse 18 
says we we pray at all times in 

592
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:26,800
the spirit and then it it the 
second part says to that end, 

593
00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:28,639
keep alert with all 
perseverance. 

594
00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:32,760
So, so we need to pray with 
alertness and perseverance too. 

595
00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:37,239
So there's, there's still this 
battle plan involved, there's 

596
00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:40,520
still this, this defensive 
protection involved. 

597
00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:43,800
It's not just offensive, it is 
defensive as well. 

598
00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,560
We have both. 
And so we recognize this isn't 

599
00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:49,560
just about frequency, although 
we're supposed to pray at all 

600
00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:51,719
times. 
It's not just about frequency. 

601
00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:56,920
This is also about intensity. 
So you can stand on the street. 

602
00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:01,000
Corner like Jesus would condemn 
and chant prayers all day long 

603
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:05,360
and they they don't mean 
anything but but when prayers 

604
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,960
done with a sense of intensity 
and a sense of communion and a 

605
00:35:08,960 --> 00:35:13,040
sense of, of abiding, it will 
heighten your spiritual senses. 

606
00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:17,320
That's why I'm such an advocate 
about praying for lost people by

607
00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:19,720
name. 
This is why in our reach 

608
00:35:19,720 --> 00:35:22,600
ministries and our connect 
groups, we need to not just pray

609
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:24,360
for one another and people in 
the church. 

610
00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,640
We've got to be reaching out 
into the community and praying 

611
00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:34,400
for lost people by name. 
What happens is our spiritual 

612
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:35,960
senses. 
Get heightened and we're more 

613
00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:38,720
aware of God, but we're also 
more aware of the enemy. 

614
00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:41,160
You can see him and. 
Smell him. 

615
00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:43,840
You're not getting you. 
You're not getting away with it.

616
00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:46,960
This time I I fell for. 
That last time. 

617
00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:53,000
But no more sucker, you don't. 
Get it this time. 

618
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:56,440
God gets it this time, because, 
because. 

619
00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:59,560
I I I can sense. 
You abiding in prayer, We're 

620
00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:01,840
more discerning about truth. 
We're more discerning about 

621
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:05,520
lies. 
We see the deception. 

622
00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:08,120
Of this world more clearly. 
Just because the world says 

623
00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:10,920
something is cool and right and 
has and has a bunch of followers

624
00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:16,600
doesn't mean it's right. 
I follow Jesus and my. 

625
00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:19,960
Wife and I don't. 
Need any other followers? 

626
00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:24,080
Following me, I hope they follow
Jesus, but I find this whole 

627
00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:27,960
phenomenon. 
And I'm around it a lot. 

628
00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:30,880
I mean, I'm a guy who's 
developed massive 

629
00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:35,240
technologically driven platforms
for training and education used 

630
00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:38,520
all around the world, so I'm not
out of tune of technology, but 

631
00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:42,640
the narcissism of social media I
find fascinating. 

632
00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:46,960
I want to be an influencer, just
think. 

633
00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:50,000
About what you just said, be 
careful about what you mean by 

634
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,640
that. 
You mean an influence for Jesus?

635
00:36:53,720 --> 00:36:57,080
Knock yourself out if you mean 
an influencer so you can get 

636
00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:59,240
your own followers. 
You're a cult leader. 

637
00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:04,400
But it makes us more aware to 
discern. 

638
00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:07,200
We see the deceptions. 
We we also become more burdened 

639
00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:09,320
for the lost. 
It's like a fog that gets 

640
00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:12,120
lifted. 
And so we abide in prayer with a

641
00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:15,960
sense of anticipation. 
Show me God, show me God, let me

642
00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:18,720
see God. 
And so I expect and I'm alert 

643
00:37:18,720 --> 00:37:22,720
enough to be aware of how and 
where God is working as well as 

644
00:37:22,720 --> 00:37:25,200
where Satan, what he's up to 
slinking around. 

645
00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:27,880
And I I say this is where God's 
working, and I have the 

646
00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:33,200
sensitivity and the drive to 
join God in what he cares about.

647
00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:38,000
So will you persevere in? 
Prayer or not. 

648
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:41,480
I've shared this with you 
before, but not. 

649
00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:42,640
All of you have ever heard this 
story? 

650
00:37:42,640 --> 00:37:44,200
I was asked this just the other 
day. 

651
00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:51,320
Why do I like bears? 
If you go to my inner office, 

652
00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:53,880
which very few people go in 
there, it's a little scary in 

653
00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:59,360
there, a little messy, lots of 
bears in there. 

654
00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:01,480
The whole room is decorated in 
bears. 

655
00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:04,920
But but it comes from this quote
from William Carey. 

656
00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:08,400
Believe it or not, it's not 
about bears really. 

657
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:11,880
It's about perseverance, about 
strength and endurance. 

658
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,920
It's about not giving up. 
The American grizzly bear can 

659
00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:17,680
smell you miles away, and he's 
just going to keep coming and 

660
00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:20,280
keep coming and keep coming and 
keep coming. 

661
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:22,760
That's where that imagery comes 
from. 

662
00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:26,960
William Carey was asked after 40
years on the mission field with 

663
00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:31,760
very little quantitative result,
how did you survive that? 

664
00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:36,080
And one, a part of his answer 
is, I can persevere through any 

665
00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:38,040
definite pursuit. 
To this I owe everything. 

666
00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:40,920
He just. 
Kept on coming and. 

667
00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:46,160
Kept on coming and never quit. 
Do we grow too weary? 

668
00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:51,520
Do we grow too bored? 
Do we grow too frustrated? 

669
00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:56,720
Do we grow too pessimistic to 
keep praying and going to God? 

670
00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:59,520
Remember the story of Luke 
chapter 18. 

671
00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:04,080
And he told them a parable. 
And notice it's a parable to the

672
00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:06,880
effect that they ought always to
pray and not lose heart. 

673
00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:10,000
And he said, in a certain city 
there was a judge who neither 

674
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:12,600
feared God nor respected man. 
And there was a widow in that 

675
00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:15,280
city who kept coming to him, 
saying, Give me justice against 

676
00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:17,960
my adversary. 
For a while he refused, but 

677
00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:20,480
afterwards he said to himself, 
Though I neither fear God nor 

678
00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:24,160
respect man, yet because this 
widow keeps bothering me, I will

679
00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:27,640
give her justice, so that she 
will not beat me down by her 

680
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:31,760
continually coming and the Lord.
Said Hear what the unrighteous. 

681
00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:35,440
Judge says and will not. 
God give justice to his A. 

682
00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:39,680
Leg to cry to him day and night 
will he delay over long over 

683
00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:41,880
them. 
I tell you He will give justice 

684
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:44,560
to them speedily. 
Nevertheless, when the Son of 

685
00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:47,480
Man comes, will he find faith on
earth? 

686
00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:52,040
God answers prayer in his way. 
And his time. 

687
00:39:53,240 --> 00:39:57,360
But he seeks faith. 
It's what Jesus did too, in his 

688
00:39:57,360 --> 00:39:58,520
earthly. 
Ministry Throughout His 

689
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:01,560
ministry, if you pay close 
attention to Jesus, often times 

690
00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:04,360
you'll see Him working or 
healing on behalf of others who 

691
00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:08,440
demonstrated a belief in Him. 
Your faith has made you what 

692
00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:16,160
well they believed. 
Will He find us faithful when He

693
00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:18,600
comes again? 
Praying. 

694
00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:19,880
Communion. 
Communing. 

695
00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:22,880
With him, communicating with 
him, expecting from him, 

696
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:26,960
anticipating from him, depending
upon him, still pursuing. 

697
00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:31,040
Will he find us that way when he
takes us? 

698
00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:36,240
Home, either through our death 
or through his second coming. 

699
00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:47,120
So one of these days, remain 
faithful, remain thankful no 

700
00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:49,680
matter what. 
And when his answer comes, 

701
00:40:50,240 --> 00:40:53,040
remember His motive is always 
going to be the best end result 

702
00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:55,800
for us, regardless of whether we
agree with him or liked it or 

703
00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:57,960
not. 
You got to trust in Him. 

704
00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:02,840
You don't get to have your way. 
We need to find His way. 

705
00:41:04,320 --> 00:41:06,840
Believe in him. 
So again. 

706
00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:10,320
This passage goes. 
On in Ephesians 6 that he also 

707
00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:13,240
says to in the middle. 
To that end, keep alert with all

708
00:41:13,240 --> 00:41:16,440
perseverance, making 
supplication for all the Saints 

709
00:41:16,440 --> 00:41:19,720
and also for me, verse 19, that 
words may be given to me, and 

710
00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:21,920
opening my mouth boldly to 
proclaim the mystery of the 

711
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:24,880
Gospel. 
So we pray with supplication. 

712
00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:26,840
How are you praying for one 
another? 

713
00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:31,160
Not just some generic prayer. 
For all the Christians in the 

714
00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:34,600
world, but specifically for 
them, one of the reasons you saw

715
00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:36,960
the video tonight wasn't just 
because we didn't have time to 

716
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:39,360
show it on Sunday. 
We're going to show the UUPG 

717
00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:42,960
video every Sunday night again 
because I have a fear. 

718
00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:45,840
We talk about it as a staff 
because we worry about it 

719
00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:48,520
amongst ourselves. 
Do I even remember the name of 

720
00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:50,760
the people group by the end of 
the worship service on Sunday 

721
00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:53,080
morning? 
And so. 

722
00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:55,760
We want to reinforce that. 
And here you are, the prayer 

723
00:41:55,760 --> 00:41:58,520
people, the prayer team. 
And so every Wednesday night, 

724
00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:01,160
we're going to reshow the video 
that we show on Sunday morning 

725
00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:05,520
most weeks. 
How are you praying for your 

726
00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:08,200
connect group? 
I harp on it. 

727
00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:15,040
I know I won't stop either. 
Next time, a former member of 

728
00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:18,760
Inglewood. 
I'm just going to ask him if 

729
00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:20,280
they were ever in the Connect 
group anyway. 

730
00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:23,120
I'll be no sure. 
Yeah, I'm going to let it go. 

731
00:42:27,840 --> 00:42:29,200
It'll happen again tomorrow, 
though. 

732
00:42:30,720 --> 00:42:31,440
I'm not. 
Kidding. 

733
00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:33,280
They doesn't go by I. 
Don't hear something about a 

734
00:42:33,280 --> 00:42:36,800
former member of Inglewood. 
It's amazing y'all could have 

735
00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:42,040
10,000 people in this church. 
How are you praying for your 

736
00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:45,440
connect? 
Group your leaders, your 

737
00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:48,400
neighbors, your family. 
How are you praying for the 

738
00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:50,000
people who ought to be here for 
Easter? 

739
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:52,280
How are you praying for the 
city? 

740
00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:58,040
Pray for alertness. 
Pray for perseverance. 

741
00:42:58,800 --> 00:43:02,920
Pray that you would abide in 
prayer, and then it would it 

742
00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:05,360
would be in the prayer of one 
another, of each other as you 

743
00:43:05,360 --> 00:43:08,680
join together, praying for one 
another's dependence and 

744
00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:11,000
anticipation. 
Praying that you grow as 

745
00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:13,720
disciples. 
Praying that that that that 

746
00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:16,760
struggling, straying church 
member would come back. 

747
00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:24,920
Teresa met. 
A member who didn't claim former

748
00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:28,720
but who hadn't been here in a 
long time says he'll be here 

749
00:43:28,720 --> 00:43:31,000
Sunday. 
I don't I. 

750
00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:34,800
Don't know, we'll see. 
If he does, I'll hug him hard. 

751
00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:41,320
Do you pray for me? 
Do you pray for my preaching and

752
00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:43,560
teaching? 
If you don't like it, pray 

753
00:43:43,560 --> 00:43:47,800
harder. 
Do you pray for your Connect 

754
00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:51,240
group leaders teaching for their
facilitation of the group that 

755
00:43:51,240 --> 00:43:53,640
they're working with? 
What about the leaders of our 

756
00:43:53,640 --> 00:43:54,920
students? 
You know, one of the things 

757
00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:57,320
we're focusing upon every week 
now is a ministry area. 

758
00:43:57,960 --> 00:43:59,960
Do you pray for our children? 
Do you pray for our 

759
00:43:59,960 --> 00:44:03,720
preschoolers? 
We need the undergirding of 

760
00:44:03,720 --> 00:44:08,560
divine weaponry. 
And as we pray for one another, 

761
00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:11,040
we can. 
Help and then. 

762
00:44:11,040 --> 00:44:13,920
Ephesians 619. 
And 20 again it says, and also 

763
00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:16,240
for me, that words may be given 
to me, and opening my mouth 

764
00:44:16,240 --> 00:44:19,640
boldly to proclaim the mystery 
of the gospel, for which I'm an 

765
00:44:19,640 --> 00:44:23,280
ambassador in chains, that I may
declare it boldly as I ought to 

766
00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:24,600
speak. 
Chuck Lawless mentioned this 

767
00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:26,200
passage. 
We need to pray for bold 

768
00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:30,280
witness. 
When people intercede for one. 

769
00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:34,560
Another and they begin to 
intercede for the unchurched. 

770
00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:39,960
Their hearts can become more 
sensitive to God's desire to see

771
00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:45,520
people saved. 
Burden is developed and and, and

772
00:44:45,520 --> 00:44:49,160
and we don't just interpret this
as simply praying for lost 

773
00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:50,960
people, though we we must do 
that. 

774
00:44:51,120 --> 00:44:53,680
This is also a prayer for fellow
believers. 

775
00:44:54,960 --> 00:44:56,400
This is a. 
Prayer that the fellow. 

776
00:44:56,400 --> 00:45:00,400
Believers would step up and 
testify that they do boldly, 

777
00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:04,040
that we'd accept the 
responsibility of being his 

778
00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:09,480
ambassadors, to speak out there 
like we ought to. 

779
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:12,680
And so are we doing that? 
Are you in a connect group that 

780
00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:15,080
does that? 
There's an opportunity over 

781
00:45:15,080 --> 00:45:19,440
these next few weeks, like very 
few times in the year people 

782
00:45:19,440 --> 00:45:20,840
come to. 
Church on Easter. 

783
00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:24,880
Who don't even want to come to 
church on Easter, but they come 

784
00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:27,040
to church on Easter because 
grandma wants them to come, or 

785
00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:29,440
Mama wants them to come, or 
somebody wants them to come and 

786
00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:32,600
they'll be here and they're 
going to hear about Jesus, the 

787
00:45:32,600 --> 00:45:34,840
gospel, and the resurrection. 
Some of them probably think it's

788
00:45:34,840 --> 00:45:37,280
the only sermon that ever gets 
preached in church because it's 

789
00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:38,880
the only one they ever hear once
a year. 

790
00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:44,240
But but what a, what a? 
Prayer, that would be. 

791
00:45:44,240 --> 00:45:47,360
What an opportunity we have. 
Grab these cards, invite 

792
00:45:47,360 --> 00:45:48,840
everybody. 
You know, we're going to go door

793
00:45:48,840 --> 00:45:50,760
to door in our neighborhood and 
invite everybody. 

794
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:53,200
And I'm praying for something 
more. 

795
00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:56,320
I'm praying that Easter becomes 
a catalyst for so much more. 

796
00:45:57,200 --> 00:46:00,160
I'm praying that Easter at 
Inglewood becomes a powerful 

797
00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:04,200
movement of the Spirit not only 
in our midst, but that overflows

798
00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:07,200
into this community. 
It's time for this church to be 

799
00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:11,000
the United spiritual force in 
this community that it's 

800
00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:14,040
intended to be. 
We're to be the church. 

801
00:46:14,040 --> 00:46:17,160
That prays for the. 
Souls of this community and 

802
00:46:17,160 --> 00:46:20,640
loves them as ourselves. 
And so the power of prayer and 

803
00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:25,440
the power of the Gospel combined
as allies in this war against 

804
00:46:25,440 --> 00:46:28,440
the present darkness, pray in 
such a way that Satan and his 

805
00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:32,560
demons know our names. 
Let's 'cause him concern. 

806
00:46:32,720 --> 00:46:36,120
Let's cause him to worry. 
Instead of falling, sitting back

807
00:46:36,120 --> 00:46:38,680
and falling prey to him, letting
us worry and causing us to 

808
00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:44,800
worry, let's give it to him 
dependent, anticipating, abiding

809
00:46:44,800 --> 00:46:48,280
prayer. 
So very practically then 

810
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:56,560
everything that we've talked 
about in in our series together.

811
00:46:58,200 --> 00:47:00,720
Here's some application. 
Let's create a personal prayer 

812
00:47:00,720 --> 00:47:05,560
plan you should know most of. 
This, but let me just put. 

813
00:47:05,560 --> 00:47:07,040
It together for you. 
First you got to make a 

814
00:47:07,040 --> 00:47:10,000
commitment and that's the 
biggest part probably. 

815
00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:13,760
Are you committed to actually 
doing this? 

816
00:47:14,360 --> 00:47:16,960
Ask the Holy Spirit to help and 
convict you. 

817
00:47:17,120 --> 00:47:18,560
Ask him to give you the 
strength. 

818
00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:21,920
Ask him to give you the focus 
that you need so that when you 

819
00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:24,320
prayer you're not drifting off 
everywhere in the world. 

820
00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:27,560
Ask him to place on your heart a
burden. 

821
00:47:27,560 --> 00:47:29,000
Ask him to give you a specific 
prayer. 

822
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:31,000
Request things that you care 
about to pray for. 

823
00:47:31,160 --> 00:47:33,880
You got to budget and make time.
It's not going to happen by 

824
00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:35,920
accident. 
There must be great 

825
00:47:35,920 --> 00:47:40,200
intentionality and a passage 
that gets misinterpreted 

826
00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:43,160
greatly, especially in the 
prosperity. 

827
00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:45,960
Gospel. 
Movement is Psalm 37. 

828
00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:49,520
You know these verses. 
Delight yourself in the Lord and

829
00:47:49,520 --> 00:47:51,440
He will give you the desires of 
your heart. 

830
00:47:52,120 --> 00:47:55,200
Commit your way to the Lord, 
trust in Him, and He will act. 

831
00:47:55,760 --> 00:47:59,720
Here's what this this passage 
does not mean and has never 

832
00:47:59,720 --> 00:48:02,880
meant and will never mean. 
It doesn't mean I can get 

833
00:48:02,880 --> 00:48:05,680
whatever I want. 
That is not. 

834
00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:08,560
What this passage is? 
Talking about it means that if I

835
00:48:08,560 --> 00:48:12,080
abide with him and I commit my 
way to Him closely, love Him 

836
00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:15,640
more than anything else, God 
will provide what my heart and 

837
00:48:15,640 --> 00:48:20,000
my mind should seek. 
He will give me that desire. 

838
00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:24,160
He will put that in me. 
That's not my wish list. 

839
00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:27,320
That's the things I ought to be 
thinking about and praying for. 

840
00:48:27,600 --> 00:48:31,760
And so He's going to make my 
heart's desire the same as his. 

841
00:48:32,320 --> 00:48:35,040
And so that means engaging His 
word, abiding in prayer, and 

842
00:48:35,040 --> 00:48:38,520
growing in all the other five 
essentials that we need to in 

843
00:48:38,520 --> 00:48:41,520
order to be a disciple. 
So we need to fall in love with 

844
00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:44,960
Jesus on an even deeper level, 
and prayer can guide us to that.

845
00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:50,280
So covenant with God, pursue him
in this commit your way, your 

846
00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:52,600
daily life. 
That's what it would mean to 

847
00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:55,840
him. 
Commit your faith, trust fully 

848
00:48:55,840 --> 00:48:57,760
in him. 
Commit your prayer life to him. 

849
00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:00,920
Dedicate yourself to spend time 
alone with him every single day.

850
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:03,840
So then we need to come up with 
a plan. 

851
00:49:05,400 --> 00:49:06,920
So you. 
Need to develop a practical. 

852
00:49:06,920 --> 00:49:10,040
Schedule plan you need to make a
daily appointment with God that 

853
00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:13,040
you honestly seek to keep that 
you're committed to now for me 

854
00:49:13,040 --> 00:49:16,640
right now and and it is very 
because of my travelling life 

855
00:49:16,640 --> 00:49:20,040
usually because sometimes 
morning and night we're all over

856
00:49:20,040 --> 00:49:23,760
the place. 
But right now for me this is. 

857
00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:27,280
Early in the morning when I'm 
alone and I I can have my daily 

858
00:49:27,280 --> 00:49:29,880
Bible study as well as when I'm 
exercising. 

859
00:49:29,880 --> 00:49:32,680
I have my Bible study and then I
go and I exercise. 

860
00:49:32,680 --> 00:49:34,200
That's almost every single 
morning. 

861
00:49:34,200 --> 00:49:36,880
I know I don't look like it, but
if I didn't do this you would be

862
00:49:36,880 --> 00:49:42,320
shocked at how I would look. 
So I go to bed earlier than. 

863
00:49:42,320 --> 00:49:43,800
I probably ever have in my 
entire life. 

864
00:49:45,080 --> 00:49:48,080
I think that's true. 
I probably go to bed earlier 

865
00:49:48,080 --> 00:49:52,040
right now than I ever have in 
order to get up early so I can 

866
00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:54,920
do this, you know, Gee, and I'm 
not saying morning's the only 

867
00:49:54,920 --> 00:49:56,920
time to do it. 
That's often suggested. 

868
00:49:56,920 --> 00:49:59,920
But you know, Jesus rose very 
early in the morning and mark 

869
00:49:59,920 --> 00:50:02,600
one while it was still dark and 
he departed and went out to a 

870
00:50:02,600 --> 00:50:04,280
desolate place and there he 
prayed. 

871
00:50:04,600 --> 00:50:07,840
But for you. 
And in this morning and our 

872
00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:10,760
staff devotions, John Rosal was 
sharing. 

873
00:50:10,960 --> 00:50:13,880
And because of the little kids 
in his house, he has to have his

874
00:50:13,880 --> 00:50:15,760
time at night after they're in 
bed. 

875
00:50:16,640 --> 00:50:17,960
So life. 
Might. 

876
00:50:17,960 --> 00:50:20,760
Dictate this for you. 
They're up early in the morning 

877
00:50:20,760 --> 00:50:22,840
jumping all over him so he can't
it's hard for him to have prayer

878
00:50:22,840 --> 00:50:26,560
time and so he puts them to bed 
and he loves his kids. 

879
00:50:26,560 --> 00:50:29,240
In fact, one of his kids came up
to him this morning, says, 

880
00:50:29,240 --> 00:50:31,320
Daddy, why are you always 
reading the Bible when what a 

881
00:50:31,400 --> 00:50:35,240
what a thing, what a thing. 
But. 

882
00:50:35,280 --> 00:50:36,640
You may have to wait until your 
hat you. 

883
00:50:36,640 --> 00:50:38,440
Have the house to yourself in 
peace and quiet. 

884
00:50:38,440 --> 00:50:41,240
But you need to schedule a 
normal set aside time. 

885
00:50:41,480 --> 00:50:43,960
You have to make time, not try 
to take time. 

886
00:50:43,960 --> 00:50:46,520
You got to make it. 
You got to set this. 

887
00:50:47,480 --> 00:50:49,160
Something else is always going 
to come up. 

888
00:50:49,200 --> 00:50:50,680
I promise you. 
You got an enemy, He'll 

889
00:50:50,680 --> 00:50:52,320
distract, he's going to 
interfere, he's going to do 

890
00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:55,800
everything he can. 
And so keep this time like you 

891
00:50:55,800 --> 00:50:57,480
would your most important 
appointment. 

892
00:50:57,680 --> 00:51:00,240
If you really need to go see a 
doctor, you try to keep that 

893
00:51:00,240 --> 00:51:01,600
appointment. 
Now, you may sit in the waiting 

894
00:51:01,600 --> 00:51:02,760
room for an hour and a half, but
you got to. 

895
00:51:02,760 --> 00:51:04,040
You go sit right and see the 
doctor. 

896
00:51:06,080 --> 00:51:10,000
Or you go see the dentist. 
Or whoever it is, keep this 

897
00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:14,040
appointment, calendar it, 
outlook it, set an alarm for 

898
00:51:14,040 --> 00:51:17,520
whatever it takes. 
So if we do that, if it's 

899
00:51:17,520 --> 00:51:20,120
humans, you, you don't, you 
know, heaven forbid I missed 

900
00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:22,440
that lunch date or I missed that
appointment with the boss or 

901
00:51:22,440 --> 00:51:24,120
whatever I've got to go to. 
I wouldn't miss that for 

902
00:51:24,120 --> 00:51:25,840
anything. 
What are we doing with God? 

903
00:51:28,680 --> 00:51:30,280
And then I recommend you 
organize the. 

904
00:51:30,280 --> 00:51:32,760
Place. 
Maybe this is just me. 

905
00:51:32,760 --> 00:51:37,800
I I need things to be in a 
certain place for me, but I want

906
00:51:37,800 --> 00:51:39,680
to organize the place that's 
going to help me to pray. 

907
00:51:39,680 --> 00:51:42,440
I need to be quiet and conducive
for focus, but I need my Bible. 

908
00:51:42,440 --> 00:51:45,000
Maybe you need some music. 
Maybe you need a journal. 

909
00:51:45,040 --> 00:51:47,280
Whatever tools you need ready to
go. 

910
00:51:49,120 --> 00:51:50,760
I have a little book light that 
I. 

911
00:51:50,760 --> 00:51:54,120
Use almost every morning that my
wonderful wife bought me because

912
00:51:54,120 --> 00:51:56,920
I don't turn on all the lights 
early in the morning necessarily

913
00:51:56,920 --> 00:52:01,080
and it helps me then you need. 
To follow up. 

914
00:52:01,400 --> 00:52:05,480
A personalized system or method 
for prayer that that works for 

915
00:52:05,480 --> 00:52:07,240
you if it. 
I know this is a great 

916
00:52:07,240 --> 00:52:08,920
statement. 
I think I wrote this down for 

917
00:52:08,920 --> 00:52:10,720
you. 
If it doesn't work for you, it 

918
00:52:10,720 --> 00:52:15,560
will not work for you. 
So you can. 

919
00:52:15,560 --> 00:52:18,280
Try other people's methods and 
maybe you'll figure it out, but 

920
00:52:18,880 --> 00:52:21,520
you're going to have to find one
that really is good for you. 

921
00:52:22,520 --> 00:52:25,280
Now, there's all kinds of things
I've listed here that might be 

922
00:52:25,280 --> 00:52:27,560
helpful to you. 
And so you, these are pretty 

923
00:52:27,560 --> 00:52:33,200
standard things that you can 
read, but then commit and you 

924
00:52:33,200 --> 00:52:37,640
think I'm going to leave it 
alone because I believe so 

925
00:52:37,640 --> 00:52:39,800
strongly and I don't just 
believe in this. 

926
00:52:39,800 --> 00:52:45,800
This is based on studies and 
statistical evidence and 4000 

927
00:52:45,800 --> 00:52:49,400
hours of whatever her consulting
I've done, you know, whatever it

928
00:52:49,400 --> 00:52:51,960
is more than that probably, but 
you got to commit to being in a 

929
00:52:51,960 --> 00:52:54,240
connect group that prays for and
with one another. 

930
00:52:54,320 --> 00:53:00,840
You need the accountability of 
being together in being helpful 

931
00:53:01,560 --> 00:53:03,440
to help other people in 
discipleship. 

932
00:53:03,560 --> 00:53:05,360
So you need to pray through our 
Reach ministry. 

933
00:53:05,360 --> 00:53:08,120
You need to experience the 
prayer support of an intimate 

934
00:53:08,120 --> 00:53:10,960
church family group where you 
can share burdens. 

935
00:53:10,960 --> 00:53:12,840
And they're going to pray for 
you, and they're really going to

936
00:53:12,840 --> 00:53:16,720
pray for you, and you're going 
to pray for them because it 

937
00:53:16,720 --> 00:53:18,080
matters. 
You're going to be much more in.

938
00:53:18,080 --> 00:53:20,360
Tune and you're going to want to
know about their answers to 

939
00:53:20,360 --> 00:53:22,240
prayer. 
You know, tell me about we last 

940
00:53:22,240 --> 00:53:24,640
week we prayed for John. 
Tell me about you're going to be

941
00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:26,160
engaged in that. 
You're going to be thinking 

942
00:53:26,160 --> 00:53:27,600
about that. 
It helps you and it's going to 

943
00:53:27,600 --> 00:53:30,000
help you in your personal prayer
time by doing that. 

944
00:53:31,960 --> 00:53:33,520
And so you agree with one 
another to. 

945
00:53:33,520 --> 00:53:37,360
Pray and and to help one another
and then you share with each 

946
00:53:37,360 --> 00:53:39,240
other about the way God answers 
prayer. 

947
00:53:39,440 --> 00:53:41,360
And then I think you ought to 
attend midweek, which is a 

948
00:53:41,360 --> 00:53:43,800
little ironic to share with you 
also for those you listening 

949
00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:46,440
online. 
But each week we're going to 

950
00:53:46,440 --> 00:53:48,080
pray together for reach 
requests. 

951
00:53:48,080 --> 00:53:50,440
We're going to pray for UUPGS. 
We're going to pray for 

952
00:53:50,440 --> 00:53:52,400
missionaries. 
We're going to pay for mission 

953
00:53:52,400 --> 00:53:54,280
trips. 
We're going to pray for our core

954
00:53:54,280 --> 00:53:56,960
church ministries and we're 
going to pray for upcoming 

955
00:53:56,960 --> 00:53:59,040
church events. 
And we're going to study the 

956
00:53:59,040 --> 00:54:03,480
word of God and seek his seek 
the access that we need to his 

957
00:54:03,480 --> 00:54:07,400
divine weaponry. 
We're going to do that together.

958
00:54:11,280 --> 00:54:14,360
But God doesn't answer prayer. 
Simply for us to hide His 

959
00:54:14,360 --> 00:54:18,480
Amazing Grace and power. 
Prayer ought to lead to 

960
00:54:18,480 --> 00:54:22,840
testimony. 
Prayer ought to lead to US 

961
00:54:22,840 --> 00:54:26,000
sharing with others about what 
He's done. 

962
00:54:26,520 --> 00:54:31,560
Got to put it into action. 
I didn't know it. 

963
00:54:34,280 --> 00:54:36,600
When I share my testimony with 
you and I'm not going to say too

964
00:54:36,600 --> 00:54:39,600
much right now, but my testimony
is really fairly embarrassing to

965
00:54:39,600 --> 00:54:43,320
me in many parts now The end 
result is great glory to Christ.

966
00:54:43,320 --> 00:54:48,240
I pray it's the way I want to 
share it, but but there's 

967
00:54:48,320 --> 00:54:54,080
there's a massive prodigal thing
in there embarrassing for me. 

968
00:54:54,640 --> 00:55:01,360
I failed miserably and when God 
got me back, so to speak, 

969
00:55:02,440 --> 00:55:07,440
dramatically. 
I didn't know it at the time, 

970
00:55:10,320 --> 00:55:15,960
but sometimes even. 
Years later, some just a few 

971
00:55:15,960 --> 00:55:20,760
days and weeks later, I I. 
I found out that. 

972
00:55:20,760 --> 00:55:23,000
There was a whole lot of people 
praying for me. 

973
00:55:25,600 --> 00:55:30,680
I didn't know it, and I might 
not have even appreciated it in 

974
00:55:30,680 --> 00:55:34,480
the frame that I was in at the 
time. 

975
00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:41,200
But I look back at it now and I.
Think back to my Christian life.

976
00:55:43,040 --> 00:55:46,960
When I was first saved. 
I had two senior adult men. 

977
00:55:49,040 --> 00:55:53,120
I don't know why they did this. 
I'll be honest with you. 

978
00:55:53,120 --> 00:55:54,240
I stand here right now and I 
can't. 

979
00:55:54,240 --> 00:55:56,080
I can see their faces. 
I can't remember their names, 

980
00:55:56,080 --> 00:55:57,960
which is horrible. 
That's horrible of me. 

981
00:55:59,600 --> 00:56:01,000
But. 
They met with me every single 

982
00:56:01,000 --> 00:56:02,000
week. 
And prayed over me. 

983
00:56:03,880 --> 00:56:07,760
Because they knew I was alone. 
That my family wasn't a part of 

984
00:56:07,760 --> 00:56:11,800
the journey and every single 
week they had me come and meet 

985
00:56:11,800 --> 00:56:16,160
them and they laid hands on me 
and prayed for me every single 

986
00:56:16,160 --> 00:56:20,400
week. 
And then I rejected everything 

987
00:56:20,400 --> 00:56:21,720
and I'll. 
Talk about this when I share my 

988
00:56:21,720 --> 00:56:26,800
testimony and came back. 
And I realized that those. 

989
00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:33,440
Two men, much older, much older,
were still praying for me. 

990
00:56:34,640 --> 00:56:36,320
They came up to. 
Me and they. 

991
00:56:36,320 --> 00:56:41,280
Still met together every week 
just to pray for me. 

992
00:56:43,360 --> 00:56:45,720
Don't ever underestimate divine.
Weaponry. 

993
00:56:47,480 --> 00:56:51,040
We need to, we need to seek it. 
We need to embrace it. 

994
00:56:51,680 --> 00:56:55,240
We need to appreciate it 
greatly, Father. 

995
00:56:55,240 --> 00:57:01,040
Thank you that you don't leave 
us alone, Father. 

996
00:57:01,040 --> 00:57:02,320
It would have been. 
Better just to save. 

997
00:57:02,320 --> 00:57:05,520
Us kill us and take us home. 
But but that's not the plan. 

998
00:57:06,640 --> 00:57:08,280
You leave us. 
Here for a reason. 

999
00:57:08,400 --> 00:57:11,000
And there there are multiple 
reasons you leave us here so we 

1000
00:57:11,000 --> 00:57:14,160
can bring you glory, We can 
worship you, we can walk with 

1001
00:57:14,160 --> 00:57:18,280
you, we can we can know you. 
You also leave us here so we can

1002
00:57:18,280 --> 00:57:22,920
tell other people about that. 
And Father, I pray that. 

1003
00:57:23,080 --> 00:57:27,440
We won't take lightly the access
that we have to you. 

1004
00:57:29,200 --> 00:57:34,280
It's so easy in our comfort. 
So easy in our contentment, 

1005
00:57:36,040 --> 00:57:40,800
perhaps even our laziness, for 
us to just take spiritual 

1006
00:57:40,800 --> 00:57:42,800
disciplines and church for 
granted. 

1007
00:57:44,520 --> 00:57:45,960
Little. 
Father, I just wish people. 

1008
00:57:45,960 --> 00:57:49,600
Understood that all around the 
world right now, brothers and 

1009
00:57:49,600 --> 00:57:53,120
sisters in Christ are hurting, 
desperate, desperate for you, 

1010
00:57:53,760 --> 00:57:58,920
seeking you, wishing they had 
access to tools and resources. 

1011
00:58:01,360 --> 00:58:04,920
So, Father, I pray that we will.
We will take. 

1012
00:58:04,920 --> 00:58:07,000
The mantle of. 
Responsibility of the 

1013
00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:11,080
stewardship of where we live and
how we live and the mantle of 

1014
00:58:11,080 --> 00:58:14,680
the the stewardship. 
Responsibility of discipleship 

1015
00:58:14,680 --> 00:58:19,400
that we have to grow so that we 
can we can share with others and

1016
00:58:19,400 --> 00:58:22,240
we can send people to those 
brothers and sisters in Christ 

1017
00:58:22,240 --> 00:58:27,240
to encourage them. 
Lord, we need your divine 

1018
00:58:27,240 --> 00:58:31,000
weaponry. 
We need to be able to take every

1019
00:58:31,000 --> 00:58:34,120
thought captive that is not 
according to your will. 

1020
00:58:35,600 --> 00:58:39,640
Lord, I pray, I pray. 
For the movement of. 

1021
00:58:39,640 --> 00:58:43,720
Your spirit that I'm begging you
for every day, begging you for 

1022
00:58:43,720 --> 00:58:45,680
it. 
God that Easter becomes a 

1023
00:58:45,680 --> 00:58:49,160
catalyst that Easter. 
Begins a movement. 

1024
00:58:49,200 --> 00:58:52,840
Like that we've never seen a 
movement of your spirit of 

1025
00:58:52,840 --> 00:58:56,240
revival and spiritual awakening,
not only in this church, but in 

1026
00:58:56,240 --> 00:59:00,000
this community, this entire area
that Father, not only would you 

1027
00:59:00,000 --> 00:59:03,800
bring people here who you will 
save the Father, we will take 

1028
00:59:03,800 --> 00:59:07,840
seriously our growth and our 
responsibility to serve. 

1029
00:59:07,840 --> 00:59:13,520
Father, help us forgive us. 
Lord, we want to abide with you 

1030
00:59:13,520 --> 00:59:19,800
in prayer, independence and with
great anticipation. 

1031
00:59:20,960 --> 00:59:22,520
Thank you for. 
That in Christ's name. 

1032
00:59:23,280 --> 00:59:25,000
Amen. 
God bless you all. 

1033
00:59:27,640 --> 00:59:29,320
Thank you so much for listening 
today. 

1034
00:59:29,320 --> 00:59:30,600
And I also hope that you'll go 
to 

1035
00:59:30,600 --> 00:59:34,400
ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com 
as well as our app and find many

1036
00:59:34,400 --> 00:59:36,800
other resources that will bless 
you and your families. 

1037
00:59:36,920 --> 00:59:38,000
Thank you once again.