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Thank you for listening to the 
Riverbend Church Podcast. 

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Riverbend Church exists to lead 
all people to know, love, and 

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live new life in Jesus Christ. 
We hope that you enjoy this 

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message. 
One of the ministry partners 

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that we have, that we so gladly 
support is. 

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Is Moyo Missions you? 
If you've from this area, you 

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may know them by the previous 
name and title. 

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It was Helping Hands Ministry 
couple years ago. 

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A few years ago, I guess they 
they rebranded to Moyo. 

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Here's what I would tell you 
about about Moyo. 

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Several things. 
Number one is we're currently 

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working with them to try to find
opportunities and, and dates to 

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where we can take mission trips 
as as Riverbend Church to serve 

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alongside the people of Moyo #2.
I would tell you that that 

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Brenda, she's the real deal. 
Probably the greatest compliment

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that I could that I could ever 
give anybody is she is the real 

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deal #3. 
Here's what I would say that if 

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you're on the fence about, I 
know that maybe you're in here 

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and there there may be a 
stirring or you're joining us 

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online and there's a stirring 
there to where God is slowly but

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surely giving you a discontent 
over what you have been doing 

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and you just really feel that 
he's moving your heart to 

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serving him and in in vocational
ministry. 

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One of the one of the main 
pieces of advice that I give any

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person, any guy, any girl that 
feels like, hey, I don't know, 

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like what to do with this. 
Like it is God calling me. 

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To step out to serve him in 
ministry. 

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Number one, I always encourage, 
I always say man, that is 

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incredible, continue seeking 
God. 

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Number two, the first prayer 
that you should pray is if you 

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feel that God is calling you to 
step into some form of 

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vocational ministry is God. 
Do you want me to serve you in 

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the capacity of missions 
somewhere overseas, taking your 

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gospel to, to, to, to, to people
that they may not have heard of 

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your of your son. 
They may not have a copy of 

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God's word. 
Maybe they have heard of Jesus 

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and they do have a copy of God's
word, but there's certain things

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that are in their lives that are
prohibited from them really 

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stepping in and surrendering 
that I can I can go and I can be

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their hands and feet. 
In the meantime. 

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Here's what I would tell you is 
Doctor Kowalski. 

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She is she's back there at our 
table team from Moyo missions as

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in that front lobby stop by 
there talk with them get 

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involved sponsor. 
Stay tuned to the the ways in 

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which we're going to be able to 
go serve alongside of them 

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Brazil and Uganda. 
So incredible, incredible 

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ministry. 
Something that if you're looking

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to get involved with a ministry 
and a work, could not recommend 

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Moyo any higher than that turn. 
You may have seen out in the 

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lobby, depending on which lobby 
you walked into. 

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We got a bunch of kids wearing 
neon and glow necklaces. 

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It is glow Sunday so we never 
want you to feel left out. 

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There's a glow necklace. 
Good catch. 

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There's a glow necklace for you 
and also I know that that all 

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the parents out there, y'all are
such super fans of daylight 

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savings time. 
So sorry that your kid woke you 

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up an hour before they had to. 
But you know what? 

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Just take their candy from from 
last week. 

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That'll get them back. 
Anyway, if you are new to 

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Riverbend, my name is Ben. 
If we haven't had the chance to 

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meet yet, we'd love to connect 
with you. 

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We'd love to talk with you. 
I'd love to personally thank you

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for choosing to be here with us.
Probably the best way that we 

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can connect with you is through 
that connect card that came with

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your bulletin. 
We don't make that weird or 

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anything like that. 
We just, that's just kind of our

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tool. 
Just get a snapshot of who you 

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are. 
So whatever info you feel 

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comfortable passing on. 
If you're with us online for the

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first time, just drop in the 
comment section name and then 

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just an address that we can send
a small thank you gift out into 

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the mail to you just for you 
choosing to be here with us. 

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But if you are new to Riverbend,
we are in the middle of a series

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called The Unseen World. 
We're in the middle of a series 

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called The Unseen World, and 
we've been looking at this whole

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world or this whole reality, the
spiritual realm that is 

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happening at this very moment 
that we cannot see. 

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But just because we can't see, 
it doesn't mean that it's not 

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real. 
And just because you may be new 

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to new to church or you may be 
new to Riverbend, or maybe 

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you're just seeking and, and 
when you hear us talk about the 

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spiritual world or this unseen 
world or the spiritual realm 

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there, there's a little bit of 
skepticism. 

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And here's what I would tell 
you. 

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Like we get it. 
We really do. 

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Like, first of all, thank you 
for being here with us. 

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But our hope and our prayer and 
our desire is that you would 

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just be open to, maybe just open
to the possibility of the fact 

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that just because you may not be
able to see it, it doesn't mean 

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that it's not real. 
And just because you may not 

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acknowledge it, it doesn't mean 
that it's not impacting your 

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life. 
You see, we're we're here in 

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week 5 of this series and the 
first four weeks up until this 

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point in time, they have been 
much more informing in nature. 

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So we want to have the right 
information as as as the Bible 

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impacts it For us this morning 
is going to be kind of a hinge 

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and a pivot, A hinge that pivots
us from the informing to the 

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equipping. 
This morning what we're going to

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be concentrating on is this 
whole element of spiritual 

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warfare. 
You see, over the last several 

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weeks we've taken a look 30, 
1000 foot fly over look at key 

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essential elements of the 
spiritual world, elements like 

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God and angels in heaven. 
Last week, if you were with us, 

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we took a look at Satan and 
demons in in hell. 

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This morning we're going to talk
about and we're going to take a 

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look at what the Bible says 
about how these elements, how 

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Satan and God, how demons and 
angels held heaven and hell, how

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there is a war that is raging 
all around us. 

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And we're going to talk about 
kind of the origins of that of 

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that world and how it impacts 
us. 

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So before we get started and 
before we go any further, I just

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want to ask that you join me in 
a word of prayer. 

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God, we thank you for bringing 
us here. 

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And God, we thank you God for 
everything that has LED up to 

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this point. 
God, some of us, we had 

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incredible weeks. 
Some of us had weeks that we 

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would just much rather forget 
about. 

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We got whether they are they are
weeks that we're just incredible

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or weeks that we're we're just 
glad that are over. 

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God, what we know is you. 
You've been faithful and you've 

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never left us. 
You've never abandoned us. 

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God, you work all things to the 
good to those who love you. 

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So God, I pray that as you have 
worked throughout this week to 

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bring us together for this time 
and in this place and in this 

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space, God, whether it's live or
in the room or online, got to 

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pray that you would bring 
clarity. 

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Got to pray that you would 
illuminate your word to us. 

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God, that you would make your 
word come to life. 

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And God, I pray that Lord, that 
you would do the deep work in 

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every single one of us. 
God, where we need to be 

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encouraged, you would encourage 
us. 

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Where we need to be convicted, 
you would convict us. 

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But God, I pray that you would 
always move us, every single one

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of us. 
God, that your Holy Spirit would

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do something within every single
one of us, whether in the room 

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or online, that moves us closer 
to you as a result of being. 

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With you and. 
It's in Jesus name that we pray.

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Amen. 
Just to bring you up to speed. 

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If you're new to Riverbend, 
maybe just new to the series, 

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bring up to speed. 
Make sure that we're all on the 

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same page. 
If you're taking notes with this

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on the back of the bulletin, I 
want to show you the kind of the

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big truth or the main truth, the
big idea that we've been riding 

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along those rails for the for 
this series. 

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And here it is. 
The unseen world is just as real

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as the one I can see and it's 
shaping my life every day. 

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This unseen world is just as 
real as the one I can see. 

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So even though we may not be 
able to see God or see angels or

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see Satan or see demons with 
our, with our, with our physical

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eyes, they are just as real as 
the things that we can see. 

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They are just as real as you and
I are in this room together. 

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They're just as real. 
And not only are they real, but 

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they are shaping our lives 
everyday, every single one of 

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us. 
And whether you, whether you see

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them or not, they're there and 
whether you acknowledge them or 

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not, they're having an impact on
your life. 

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And like I said earlier this 
morning, what I want to do is I 

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want to use this morning in our 
time together kind of as that 

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hinge that pivots us from the 
informing to the equipping. 

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So this morning we're going to 
be talking about spiritual 

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warfare. 
So if you, if you're new to the 

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series, I would highly encourage
you go back to the church's 

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website or the church's app or 
YouTube channel, wherever you 

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listen to podcasts. 
And you can listen to the last 

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four weeks together or last four
weeks. 

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And together they'll give you a 
better foundation of where we're

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going to be heading this 
morning. 

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But here's what I want to talk 
about. 

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I want to give us 4 essential 
elements to what is spiritual 

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warfare. 
What is spiritual warfare? 

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If you're taking notes with us, 
here's the first thing that you 

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and I, we need to understand. 
There is an unseen spiritual war

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that's raging all around me. 
There is an unseen spiritual war

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that's raging all around me. 
And here's what I would tell you

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about this unseen spiritual war 
from the time that God created 

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mankind, from the time that God 
created humanity in his image. 

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By the way, the only example or 
the only part of God's creation 

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that the Bible tells us that God
created in his own image is 

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humanity. 
It's, it's mankind as incredible

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as, as, as the animal Kingdom is
as incredible as nature is. 

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None of those are created in the
image of God. 

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Mankind, you and me, all of 
humanity are creating the image 

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of God. 
You see, I believe that after 

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God, soon after God created 
mankind in his image, that's 

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when you have going back time it
back to last week, you have 

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Satan, who in his pride launched
A rebellion against God. 

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Because Satan, as we discussed 
last week, he sought to make 

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himself equal and even above God
himself. 

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I think that Satan was motivated
this pride. 

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He was motivated because of all 
of creation, including angelic 

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creation. 
The only part of creation that 

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God created in his image is 
humanity. 

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And I believe that the Bible 
teaches us that Satan launches 

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this rebellion against God. 
And with Satan, he takes a third

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of the angels and they rebelled 
against God and, and the, and 

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the heavenly hosts. 
And like we talked about several

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weeks ago that that this 
rebellion, Satan was overcome in

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this rebellion and he and his 
angels were exiled from heaven 

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and they were cast down to 
earth. 

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And these angels, they were 
twisted beyond their original 

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form and became demons. 
Now, when they were cast out of 

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heaven and down to earth, this 
spiritual war that once started 

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in heaven began to expand to now
the earth. 

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And like we talked about last 
week, Satan hates most what God 

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most loves. 
And what God most loves is you 

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and me. 
And like we talked about last 

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week, maybe, maybe you need to 
be reminded of that. 

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Maybe you, you, you. 
Come in here and you feel like a

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failure. 
You feel lesser than or lesser 

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loved and you need to be 
reminded that and the God of the

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universe, His most prize and 
treasure possession is you. 

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When he looks at you, he does 
not look at you through the lens

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of anger. 
He looks at you through the lens

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of love. 
And what God loves the most, 

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Satan hates the most. 
So the spiritual war that 

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started in heaven has now made 
its way to earth. 

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Second thing that we need to 
understand about spiritual war, 

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there is no neutrality in this 
spiritual war. 

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There is no neutrality in this 
spiritual war. 

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And you may say, well, Ben, this
whole thing of spiritual war, 

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this is kind of new to me. 
And honestly, it's kind of 

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scary. 
And I'll just be honest with 

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you, Ben, I don't want anything 
to do with it. 

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I didn't sign up to be a part of
a spiritual war. 

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I want nothing to do with it. 
Listen, on the one hand, I get 

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it. 
I really do. 

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But on the other hand, I'm going
to say this as lovingly and as 

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compassionately as a as I 
possibly can. 

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It doesn't matter if you want to
be a part of the spiritual war. 

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The fact of the matter is. 
You are a part of the spiritual 

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war. 
You are part of the spiritual 

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war. 
So you can choose, you and I, we

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can choose whether or not we are
going to be just, we're going to

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be engaged in the spiritual war 
or we're just going to be 

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collateral damage of the 
spiritual war and we're going to

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get to the differences between 
the two in just a moment. 

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But there is no neutrality in 
this spiritual war. 

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The Bible is very, very clear on
the fact that you and I, we are 

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either on the side of God and 
angels in heaven, or we're on 

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the side of Satan, demons and 
hell. 

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And the differentiator, the, 
the, the main decision or the 

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main hinge that that that 
creates that decision or that 

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aligns us on one of those two 
sides is what you and I do with 

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Jesus. 
It's what we do with Jesus. 

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You see, if there's been a point
in time to where you've asked 

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Jesus to forgive you of your 
sins and you have committed to 

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following Jesus for the rest of 
your life, then the Bible tells 

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us that you will be saved, that 
you are saved, that you have the

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Holy Spirit of the living God 
living in you. 

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And that is how you are on the 
side of God and Jesus, God and 

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and angels and and heaven. 
But if you reject Jesus and say 

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I'm, I'm going to do it on my 
own, I don't really believe in 

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Jesus, I don't need Jesus, then 
by default you are going to be 

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on the side of Satan, demons, 
and hell. 

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Here's the thing. 
The span of time in which you 

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and I live and exist. 
What you and I, what we call a 

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lifetime, that span of time, 
that lifetime that is the 

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measure of time that God gives 
us to choose our allegiance. 

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There is no neutrality. 
There is no such thing as 

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spiritually riding the fence in 
this spiritual war. 

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There is no neutrality #3 the 
spiritual war is shaping what I 

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see, what I feel, and what I 
face in this world. 

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Remember that big idea that that
we keep coming back to? 

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This is the fifth week that 
we've come back to it. 

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This unseen world is just as 
real as the one that that I can 

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see. 
And it's shaping my life every 

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single day. 
This is how it's shaping my life

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every single day is when I 
recognize that there's a 

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spiritual war going on, then my 
eyes are open that the things 

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that are going on around me 
actually have spiritual roots to

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them. 
So like we talked about in our 

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first week together, what Paul 
writes in Ephesians chapter 6, 

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verse 12, we do not wrestle 
against flesh and blood. 

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And he goes on to talk about how
our true enemy is spiritual in 

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nature. 
So we look at the evils and we 

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look at the atrocities in this 
world, and it's not about 

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letting anybody off the hook. 
It's not about a lack of 

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accountability for actions, but 
we look at the spiritual roots 

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behind the evil in this world. 
And the more we recognize the 

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spiritual world, the more that 
we will connect those spiritual 

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roots to it. 
You see, this is not a 

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Republican and a Democrat thing.
This is not a race thing. 

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This is not a, this is not a, an
America versus everybody else or

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an everybody else versus America
thing. 

285
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This is a spiritual roots thing.
And the more I recognize the 

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00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,960
spiritual war, the more I will 
start to see those spiritual 

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00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:39,400
roots kind of behind the scenes.
It also tells us that the 

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00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,160
spiritual wars impact how I 
feel. 

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00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:46,520
It impacts how I feel in, in 
other words, that you and I, we 

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00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:49,120
need to understand that one of 
the greatest tactics in 

291
00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:54,000
spiritual war comes in disguise 
as discouragement, comes in 

292
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:58,280
disguise as discouragement or 
frustration or just unhinged 

293
00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:00,720
anger. 
That one of the main tactics of 

294
00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:04,280
spiritual war is if Satan and 
demons and and the forces of 

295
00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:09,000
hell itself can get a hold of 
our emotions, can get a hold of 

296
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,200
our emotions. 
No matter if those emotions or 

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00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:15,760
feelings, we know that they're 
powerful, but what we may not 

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00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:19,920
know is, are they true? 
You see this whole notion, the 

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more I start to recognize the 
spiritual war, the more I see my

300
00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,560
emotions and my feelings as just
another spiritual battleground 

301
00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:32,400
for this war going on around me.
He also tells us not only is the

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00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,920
spiritual war shaping what I 
see, what I feel and what I 

303
00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:37,120
face, but what I face in this 
world. 

304
00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,600
You see one of the things that 
we start to understand, we start

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00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:45,640
to see when we understand and 
recognize the spiritual war is 

306
00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:49,800
one of the main combatants in 
the spiritual war is a or one of

307
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the main battlegrounds of the 
spiritual war is a war over my 

308
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,000
priorities. 
It's a war over my priorities 

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00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,520
and it is a war that every 
single one of us we face every 

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00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:01,240
single day. 
Am I going to choose comfort? 

311
00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,000
Am I going to choose the easy 
way or am I going to choose 

312
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:08,200
obedience to God? 
And a lot of that has everything

313
00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:12,760
to do with what you and I will 
face in this world. 4th 

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00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:14,560
essential element of spiritual 
war. 

315
00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,160
What's at stake in the spiritual
war is not temporary, it's 

316
00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:20,280
eternal. 
What I would tell you is this is

317
00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:22,960
this is the most important 
component of spiritual war. 

318
00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:25,520
It's the most important 
component of spiritual war 

319
00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,520
because spiritual warfare, yes, 
it is true. 

320
00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:31,520
It's shaping every single one of
our lives each and every day. 

321
00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,040
It is having an effect on my day
tomorrow. 

322
00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,840
It will have an effect on my day
next week, next month, next 

323
00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:40,520
year, next season. 
But the stakes are actually so 

324
00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:44,720
much higher than affecting next 
month. 

325
00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,520
You see, the stakes are eternal 
in nature. 

326
00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:51,200
The stakes are eternal in 
nature. 

327
00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,080
And again, going back to the 
second component, there is no 

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00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:58,200
neutrality in the spiritual war.
What I choose to do with Jesus, 

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that is the only litmus test 
that determines eternity. 

330
00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:04,880
You see, every single one of us,
one day we will die. 

331
00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:08,160
Every single one of us, we, we, 
we are. 

332
00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:12,360
We are created as temporary 
beings with bodies that will age

333
00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:15,520
and and and breakdown and, and, 
and one day die. 

334
00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,560
But our soul, that part of us 
that is made in the image of 

335
00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:23,880
God, that deep part of us that 
makes us, us, will go on and 

336
00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:27,320
live forever. 
God created our soul to live for

337
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:29,920
eternity. 
I had the honor and privilege of

338
00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:35,440
being able to, to, to, to speak 
at A at a dear lady's funeral 

339
00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,720
yesterday. 
She passed away at the age of 93

340
00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:41,120
and here's why. 
I would tell you not a doubt in 

341
00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:44,400
her mind that she was ready, 
that she was ready to, to to 

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00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:45,880
meet. 
Jesus face to face. 

343
00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:50,520
So as we're in this Chapel and 
as we are yesterday, as we're in

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00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:54,320
this Chapel and as there are 
tears in the room, there are 

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00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:56,560
more, There are no more tears 
for her. 

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00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,520
You see, she lived her life 
devoted to Jesus. 

347
00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:05,000
She gave her life to Jesus. 
And, you know, for a while there

348
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,240
were stories being shared about 
this woman and how incredible 

349
00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,400
she was and how loving she was 
and, and, and what a great 

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00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:15,920
example she was to her family. 
But make no mistake about it, 

351
00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,320
when she took her last breath 
here on earth and opened her 

352
00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:23,520
eyes for the very first time in 
the presence of God, God did not

353
00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:27,280
ask her, hey, how good of a 
woman were you? 

354
00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:31,360
How good of a wife were you? 
How good of a of a mother were 

355
00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:33,400
you? 
How good of a of a grandmother 

356
00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:35,680
and a great grandmother? 
How good of a church member? 

357
00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:39,840
How many times out of out of 52 
weeks a year, how many of those?

358
00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:41,720
What was your church attendance?
Average. 

359
00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:45,080
All those things are really, 
really important. 

360
00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:46,880
Make no mistake about it. 
All those things are really 

361
00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,440
important. 
The number one question is this.

362
00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:53,240
What did you do with Jesus? 
That's the litmus test. 

363
00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:58,280
Every single one of us, our 
bodies will break down, but we, 

364
00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:03,440
we will die one day, but we will
stand face to face with God. 

365
00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:07,040
And the number one question is, 
what did you do with Jesus? 

366
00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:09,920
You see? 
What we're talking about in 

367
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:13,040
spiritual warfare, it does 
affect today and it does affect 

368
00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:15,880
tomorrow and next week, next 
month, next year, next season. 

369
00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,560
But the stakes are so much 
higher than this temporary. 

370
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:24,720
The stakes are actually eternal.
So with the stakes so high and 

371
00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:26,840
you and I facing spiritual 
warfare. 

372
00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:32,000
What we need to know kind of the
tactics of our enemy. 

373
00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:34,400
I want to show you something 
we've gone through back to this 

374
00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:36,960
verse before. 
This is what first Peter 58 

375
00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:38,960
reminds us. 
Be sober minded. 

376
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,640
He's talking to the church, he's
talking to followers of Jesus. 

377
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:45,600
Be sober minded, be watchful. 
Your adversary of the devil, he 

378
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:50,160
prowls around like a roaring 
lion seeking someone to devour. 

379
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:53,720
Seeking someone to devour. 
So here's the main question in 

380
00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,560
front of us. 
It would do us a lot of good to 

381
00:21:56,640 --> 00:22:01,000
understand what are the primary 
tactics that Satan, demons and 

382
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,720
the forces of hell use against 
us. 

383
00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,480
Because if you were with us last
week, we talked about the number

384
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:10,640
one objective is to keep you and
I to keep people, to keep the 

385
00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,280
things, the people that God 
loves the most away from the 

386
00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:16,760
heart of God. 
So how does he do that? 

387
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,400
What we're about to walk through
today or in just a few moments, 

388
00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:25,520
is not an exhaustive list. 
This is really probably the six 

389
00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:29,640
most prominent tactics, tried 
and true tactics across time and

390
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:35,160
history that Satan and his 
demons employ to use and deploy 

391
00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:38,800
to keep people away from the 
heart of God. 

392
00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:41,320
If you're taking notes with us, 
I want to show you the first 

393
00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:44,240
one. 
The first one is keeping us 

394
00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:48,160
ignorant to His existence. 
Satan is Satan and his demons 

395
00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:53,040
would love nothing more than for
you and I to sit there and go. 

396
00:22:55,040 --> 00:23:01,360
Man, what a great fairy tale. 
2000 year old ruse is just 

397
00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:05,000
trying to control the masses. 
It's not really real. 

398
00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:11,560
To keep us ignorant of his 
existence, How do we see? 

399
00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:17,200
How do we see this tactic being 
deployed in in in our lives in 

400
00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:19,880
in, in our world? 
I think it's several ways there 

401
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,800
there is an increased sense of 
skepticism and mockery. 

402
00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:26,640
There's a there's an increased 
sense of skepticism and mockery.

403
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:30,920
We see this in in comical 
depictions of Satan. 

404
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:34,440
The more. 
Casual We, we, we, we, we. 

405
00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:38,320
We think about Satan in terms of
like cartoonish characters or 

406
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:42,000
bumbling idiot in A, in a, in a 
red suit with horns in A, in a 

407
00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:47,360
tail and pitchfork. 
There there's a inherent 

408
00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:52,800
skepticism and sense of mockery.
I think that there's also a 

409
00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:59,640
tactic of distraction, that the 
more Satan can keep us busy, the

410
00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:04,560
more that his demons can keep us
busy, the less time that we have

411
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,000
to really think about and 
meditate on like the deep 

412
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:08,760
matters and the deep questions 
of life. 

413
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,960
There's an old saying to go 
something like this, that if 

414
00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:15,920
Satan can't destroy you, he'll 
distract you. 

415
00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:20,240
If Satan can't destroy you, 
he'll distract you. 

416
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,080
What's that all about? 
It's keeping you ignorant of his

417
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,880
existence, and it's keeping you 
ignorant of his activities in 

418
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,560
our lives. 
The second effective tactic that

419
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:35,080
Satan and his demons use is to 
keep us paralyzed by fear. 

420
00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:39,360
You see Satan and his demons, 
really, really crafty masters of

421
00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:43,080
swinging that pendulum from 
wanting to keep you ignorant of 

422
00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:48,560
their existence to trying to get
you to attribute everything to 

423
00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,240
their activity. 
And that that keeps you 

424
00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:54,360
paralyzed by fear. 
If you're always fearful, you're

425
00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:56,920
going to hunker down and, and 
you're just going to, you're 

426
00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:00,920
going to become isolated to kind
of like a, an ecosystem and a 

427
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,680
ecosystem of your own. 
And there's going to be a 

428
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:09,320
paralysis of fear that goes on. 
This whole notion that maybe, 

429
00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:11,600
maybe you've been a part of 
church for a while and you've 

430
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,440
heard the phrase like somebody 
trying to see a demon under 

431
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:18,880
every rock, you know, 
attributing all, all things to 

432
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,640
demonic activities and sit there
and go, man, Satan and his 

433
00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,760
demons, they are everywhere and 
they're, they're in full force 

434
00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:27,960
and they, they, they are doing 
everything. 

435
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,560
And there's a paralysis that 
comes over us. 

436
00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:33,320
There's a fear that comes over 
us. 

437
00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:37,240
How about this one? 
I am the master at this is 

438
00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:41,800
getting us in our minds to play 
out all the what if scenarios. 

439
00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:46,320
Anybody there with me like if 
you're if you're if you are a 

440
00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:51,080
what if master, we should have 
like a contest, right? 

441
00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:57,000
I can what if I can out what if 
anybody and you know what it 

442
00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:03,160
always leads to fear. 
It always leads to fear if if 

443
00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,600
you're one of those if you're in
the what if master club with me.

444
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:09,880
Have you ever noticed that you 
can what if something to death 

445
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:11,840
and you become more and more 
fearful? 

446
00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:15,040
But have you ever noticed that 
all those really bad what ifs, 

447
00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,600
they never come to fruition? 
What is that? 

448
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:22,040
That that that is a That is a 
sense of. 

449
00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:28,040
A paralysis by by fear. 
That's a sense of paralysis by 

450
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:33,680
fear. 
I would tell you that this takes

451
00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:36,720
place in different stages of our
lives too, right? 

452
00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:41,280
Like if you if, if you're, if 
you're young or you're single in

453
00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:44,880
here with us, you know those 
what if games of what if I never

454
00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:48,440
found a spouse? 
If it, if you, if you, if you 

455
00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:49,480
get. 
Married what? 

456
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:51,640
What if my spouse doesn't stay 
faithful to me? 

457
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:56,160
If you have kids. 
What if this really bad thing 

458
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:58,080
happens to my kids if you have 
grandkids? 

459
00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:00,080
What if this really bad thing 
happens to my kids or my 

460
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:02,600
grandkids? 
I don't think that the what if 

461
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:08,040
game is exclusive to any single 
person or any stage of life, but

462
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:11,120
all of it is a tactic to keep us
paralyzed by fear. 

463
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:13,960
Here's the third very effective 
tactic. 

464
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:18,480
If he can't keep us paralyzed by
fear, wants to keep us chained 

465
00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,600
in sin. 
So what is sin? 

466
00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:25,680
Sin is living in a way that is 
counter to God's ways for us. 

467
00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:28,920
It's living in a way that are 
count that are counter to God's 

468
00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:31,800
ways for us. 
Typically we think of sin as 

469
00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:33,640
doing things that God tells us 
not to do. 

470
00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:36,440
That's true, we call those sins 
of Commission. 

471
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:40,840
But sin is also not doing the 
things that God tells us to do, 

472
00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:43,880
though we call those things of 
sin of omission. 

473
00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:48,080
But Satan want and his demons, 
they want to keep us chained in 

474
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:50,640
sin. 
They want to keep us chained in 

475
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:52,080
sin. 
Because here's one of the things

476
00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:55,640
that I would tell you when you 
and I, when we give into 

477
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,320
temptation, by the way, 
temptation and sin, 2 totally 

478
00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:02,720
different things. 
We're all tempted, but we don't 

479
00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,520
have to sin. 
Jesus was tempted. 

480
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,680
Yet we know that Jesus lived a 
sin, a sinless life, right? 

481
00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:14,400
So temptation is is is the 
opportunity to do things our 

482
00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:16,680
way. 
Sin is actually giving in to the

483
00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:19,360
temptation. 
But here's what sin always does.

484
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:24,280
Sin always comes with a cost. 
Sin always builds a wall up 

485
00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:29,200
between US and our heavenly 
Father and and these. 

486
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:34,560
Tactics, these temptations of 
sin, they're they're deployed 

487
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:40,040
in, in in several different ways
There there's kind of the the 

488
00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:47,640
quiet whispers, Hey, nobody will
ever find out how many marriages

489
00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,120
and relationships have been 
blown apart because people 

490
00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:53,280
listen to the lie. 
Nobody will ever find out. 

491
00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:59,240
How about this whisper? 
Hey, you deserve it. 

492
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:03,640
You've been working. 
Really hard, man. 

493
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:05,200
Those kids have been really 
stressful. 

494
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,640
You deserve just another, just 
another drink, just another hit.

495
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:15,000
You deserve it. 
And what ends up happening is 

496
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,440
the more and more that we give 
into temptation, the more we 

497
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:22,160
find ourselves chained by 
addiction, to where we're 

498
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:26,560
controlled by something, by 
substance that we have a hard 

499
00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:30,680
time seeing our Savior. 
And when we give. 

500
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:34,120
Into temptation and cross the 
line from temptation to sin. 

501
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:38,280
That's when hell swoops in and 
attacks us with this next tactic

502
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:43,120
is to keep us isolated by shame.
You see, shame always happens on

503
00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,120
the backside of giving into 
temptation. 

504
00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,480
Can I tell you something? 
I think that we're in a room 

505
00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:54,400
full of people. 
People join us online that when 

506
00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:56,920
we start talking about being 
chained by sin or having a 

507
00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,840
secret sin struggle, there's a 
sense of shame that starts to 

508
00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,280
like creep over us and and 
overlay. 

509
00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:10,240
And we're so fearful of people 
finding out to where we have to 

510
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:14,840
create this alternate version of
us because if we revealed the 

511
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,040
true us to the people around us,
we feel that they would reject 

512
00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,560
us. 
That's what shame does. 

513
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:24,920
Shame whispers to us, You're a 
failure. 

514
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,160
You're a loser. 
Here you are again. 

515
00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:31,520
If only the people around you 
knew. 

516
00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:36,920
So what ends up happening is we 
withdraw and we isolate 

517
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:40,280
ourselves in shame. 
We create the. 

518
00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,920
Shell version of our self that 
may look happy and joyful on the

519
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:48,400
outside, but on the inside man, 
we are crying. 

520
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:50,160
It's almost like. 
We're, we're, we're. 

521
00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,200
In the fetal position, in the 
corner, crying. 

522
00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:55,600
Why? 
Because of shame. 

523
00:30:56,600 --> 00:31:00,480
And if Satan and his demons can 
keep you locked in shame, you 

524
00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:04,120
will never and I will never, we 
will never experience the 

525
00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:09,840
victory that God has for us. 
This is why, This is why one of 

526
00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:13,400
the greatest things that we see 
all throughout Scripture is 

527
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:17,040
God's command that when we do 
crossover from sin, from 

528
00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:19,400
temptation into sin. 
One of the. 

529
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:22,200
Greatest tools at our disposal 
is confession. 

530
00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:26,040
Is confession, and I'm not 
talking about airing out all of 

531
00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:29,760
our dirty laundry for everybody,
but having a trusted person in 

532
00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:33,360
our lives to, to where we say, 
listen, I'm struggling with 

533
00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:35,400
this. 
Can you pray for me? 

534
00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:39,320
I just, I, I know that it's sin 
and I don't want it to be 

535
00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:43,160
present and have its grip on my 
life anymore, but I'm, I'm 

536
00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,160
struggling. 
That's confession. 

537
00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:50,440
You know what confession does? 
Confession drags the sin out of 

538
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:54,000
the dark into the light. 
Shame. 

539
00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:59,360
Shame is that part of us that 
wants to keep sin actually in 

540
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,280
the dark. 
Shame will call sin to, to, to, 

541
00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:07,960
to be drug kicking and screaming
into the light, kicking and 

542
00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:09,400
screaming. 
Into the light and we're going 

543
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,480
to come back to, in just a 
moment, a key truth that you and

544
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:16,440
I need to understand about sin 
and confession and shame. 

545
00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:20,360
But then there's a fifth 
component or 5th tactic. 

546
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,720
And this kind of goes into shame
is Satan and his demons in the 

547
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:26,920
force of hell want to keep us 
prideful in ourself. 

548
00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:31,960
I think that this tactic right 
here, this tactic is so evident 

549
00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:36,400
and so prominent in our nation 
and in our culture, in a nation 

550
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:39,640
and culture to where there's 
there there's opportunities for 

551
00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:43,680
upward mobility and a nation and
culture that is that is far 

552
00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:47,960
wealthier than way over 99% of 
the world around us. 

553
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:52,040
And in a nation and culture that
prides itself on the American 

554
00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:59,040
dream, it is this pride in self 
is hey, I got this, I got this. 

555
00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:03,760
How do the forces of hell, how, 
what is their way? 

556
00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:07,840
What are the mechanisms that 
they use to keep us prideful in 

557
00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:10,800
self? 
I, I think it's several, I think

558
00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,720
it's number one. 
I think that one of the major 

559
00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:18,560
tactics there is, is, is that is
that spirit within us that, that

560
00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,680
temptation, that fault that that
creeps into our minds. 

561
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:24,640
And, and, and make no mistake 
about it. 

562
00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:26,880
If you were here with us last 
week, we talked about how Satan 

563
00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:30,920
and demons, they can't read your
thoughts, but they do know your 

564
00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:33,480
patterns. 
They do know your ways. 

565
00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:37,560
Like if Facebook and Instagram, 
if the algorithm has you pegged,

566
00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:39,920
make no mistake about it, Satan 
and demons know you. 

567
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:42,960
So they're going to be, they're 
going to know what temptations 

568
00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:45,120
are going to be most effective 
in your life. 

569
00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:48,000
And one of the major temptations
is a sense of pride. 

570
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:54,760
This thought of hey, you got it.
This notion of hey, you're not 

571
00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:57,640
being prideful, you're not being
prideful, you're just being 

572
00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:02,200
strong. 
No, this pride or distorting 

573
00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:07,880
pride as weakness, hey, a real 
man or a real woman, they 

574
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:11,000
wouldn't need anybody else. 
They wouldn't need this church 

575
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:12,159
thing. 
They wouldn't need, they 

576
00:34:12,159 --> 00:34:14,120
wouldn't need religion. 
They wouldn't need Jesus. 

577
00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:16,639
They wouldn't need the Bible. 
They get through this on their 

578
00:34:16,639 --> 00:34:20,080
own. 
Here's another pride one by 

579
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:25,639
trapping us by comparison and 
whispering to us and causing 

580
00:34:25,639 --> 00:34:31,280
many of us to become convinced 
this this whisper of they don't 

581
00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:33,480
deserve that. 
If anybody deserves that, I 

582
00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:35,639
deserve that. 
What did they do? 

583
00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:38,679
I've been working so hard. 
I've been putting in the hours. 

584
00:34:38,679 --> 00:34:41,840
I've kind of laid the 
groundwork. 

585
00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:45,040
I've paid my dues, yet they're 
the ones with the. 

586
00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:48,360
With the bigger house and the 
nicer truck and you know the the

587
00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:52,320
the kids that take good 
pictures, they don't deserve 

588
00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:55,280
that I deserve that you know 
what that is That's that's 

589
00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:58,160
that's pride. 
That's pride. 

590
00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,840
Here's that 6th tactic. 
I think this is probably the 

591
00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:07,840
most effective is to keep us 
doubtful of God's goodness is to

592
00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:09,320
keep us doubtful of God's 
goodness. 

593
00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,840
You go back very beginning, 
Genesis chapter 3. 

594
00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:16,640
God creates Adam and Eve, puts 
them in the midst of paradise, 

595
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:19,800
gives them one commandment. 
Do not eat the fruit of that one

596
00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:21,840
tree. 
And what do we know that they 

597
00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:23,320
do? 
They eat at the fruit of that 

598
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:25,440
one tree. 
But if you go back to. 

599
00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:30,480
Genesis chapter 3 In verse one, 
Satan comes on the scene in the 

600
00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:34,280
form of a serpent. 
And did you ever notice how 

601
00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:35,840
Satan started the conversation 
with? 

602
00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:39,680
Eve, he didn't say. 
Eve, you look hungry. 

603
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,160
Man, that fruit looks really 
good. 

604
00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:44,800
Have you tasted? 
I know that you've tasted all 

605
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,000
the other fruits. 
But you haven't tasted that one.

606
00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:52,720
If you read Genesis chapter 3 
verse one, Satan approaches Eve 

607
00:35:52,720 --> 00:35:56,600
and he says several just simple 
words. 

608
00:35:57,240 --> 00:36:00,680
Did God really say that's how 
the conversation? 

609
00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:05,000
Started did God really say don't
eat of the fruit? 

610
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:11,760
And we when when Satan said that
to Eve, what he triggered in 

611
00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:16,520
Eve's mind was this notion that 
God was somehow holding 

612
00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:20,760
something good back from her, 
that God was holding, holding, 

613
00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:25,920
holding out on. 
Her and Satan tempted Eve, and 

614
00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:30,520
Eve gives into the temptation. 
He tempts Eve into questioning 

615
00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:34,080
the goodness of God. 
Now here's the question. 

616
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:36,880
Was Satan was God holding 
something back from Eve? 

617
00:36:37,240 --> 00:36:40,200
Absolutely he was. 
But what was he holding back 

618
00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:44,240
from Eve? 
A sense of shame and guilt and 

619
00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:46,840
sin. 
You see what God held back from 

620
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:48,320
Eve. 
He wasn't withholding his 

621
00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:51,280
goodness. 
He was withholding undue 

622
00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:55,640
suffering from Eve. 
But the tactic of Satan was to 

623
00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:58,600
get Eve to question God's 
goodness. 

624
00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:04,160
That tactic is so used today. 
I think that that tactic is is. 

625
00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:11,200
Used in ways like getting you 
and I to really focus in on what

626
00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:16,320
we don't have and getting us to 
think, God, if you were really 

627
00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:18,880
good, then I would have this in 
my life. 

628
00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:22,120
God, if you were really good, 
I'd have a husband or a wife. 

629
00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:23,520
God, if you were really good, 
we'd have kids. 

630
00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:25,640
God, if you were really good, 
I'd have a solid job. 

631
00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:28,440
If you were really good, then I 
wouldn't struggle with this, 

632
00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:31,080
with this emotional or this 
mental issue. 

633
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:35,520
That I'm struggling with. 
And, and getting us to think 

634
00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:39,240
that what we don't have is 
sometime, sometimes a type of 

635
00:37:39,240 --> 00:37:43,560
evidence that God isn't good, or
many times he'll, he'll get us 

636
00:37:43,560 --> 00:37:47,640
to to question God's goodness. 
He'll get us to question God's 

637
00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:51,480
goodness by by causing us to 
focus. 

638
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:57,600
In on our pain and twisting our 
thoughts into thinking if God 

639
00:37:57,600 --> 00:37:59,640
was really good, then you 
wouldn't have to go through 

640
00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:01,960
that. 
If God was really good, your, 

641
00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:04,320
your, your son, your daughter 
wouldn't have to face that. 

642
00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:07,720
If God was really good, all 
these bad things wouldn't be 

643
00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:10,160
happening. 
And I think a lot of times what 

644
00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:13,720
Satan and his demons, what they 
do is they try to fool us and 

645
00:38:13,720 --> 00:38:18,560
they try to trick us into 
focusing in on the temporary and

646
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:20,600
making us think that the 
temporary is permanent. 

647
00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:23,280
You. 
Want to know one of the reasons 

648
00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:27,760
that one of our most treasured 
treasures, and I know that 

649
00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,960
that's redundant, but it's true.
One of our greatest treasures 

650
00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:33,560
here at Riverbend. 
You know who you know what it is

651
00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:36,080
or who they are. 
It's our senior adults. 

652
00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:39,680
You want to know why? 
Because our senior adults have 

653
00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:43,080
lived enough life and walked 
long enough with God to where 

654
00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:44,720
they can give a perspective that
what? 

655
00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:46,360
You may be. 
Going through right now. 

656
00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:49,560
It stinks, it hurts, it stings, 
but it's not forever. 

657
00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:54,160
You see Satan and his demons, 
they want you to think that the 

658
00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:56,520
that all the bad that you're 
going through right now, it is 

659
00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:57,480
forever. 
And if you. 

660
00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:59,960
Think that what you're going 
through right now is forever. 

661
00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:04,200
Then you'll start to question 
God's goodness in the time we 

662
00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:09,280
have left this morning, I want 
to pivot because these tactics 

663
00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:11,160
are very real and they seem 
very. 

664
00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:14,680
Scary. 
But you and I, we do not have to

665
00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:19,160
be bait to these tactics. 
So what can you and I do? 

666
00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:23,000
What can we have in our lives, 
what can we institute in our 

667
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:28,080
lives to make sure that we are 
not bait or just mere casualties

668
00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:32,600
of the spiritual war, but we're 
actually offensive forces in the

669
00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:34,720
spiritual war. 
And here's why I would tell you 

670
00:39:34,720 --> 00:39:36,440
it's going to start with our 
defense. 

671
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:39,200
And over the next 4 weeks 
together, we're going to talk 

672
00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:42,040
about how you and I engage in 
the spiritual war. 

673
00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:47,000
But I want to give you 4 quick 
items and four quick essentials 

674
00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:49,520
to our defense. 
Here's the first one taking 

675
00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:51,600
notes with us. 
We've got to maintain parallel 

676
00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:53,360
vision. 
Here's what I mean by parallel 

677
00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:55,760
vision. 
My weakness, God's power. 

678
00:39:56,640 --> 00:40:00,160
The first part of that parallel 
vision is I've got to know 

679
00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:03,280
myself. 
I've got to be aware of where I 

680
00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:07,280
am weak, and I've also got to be
aware that where I'm weak, God 

681
00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:09,800
is strong. 
Let me show you a passage that 

682
00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:12,360
the Apostle Paul writes in 
Second Corinthians. 

683
00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:15,200
He goes so to keep me from 
becoming conceited because of 

684
00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:18,400
the surpassing greatness of the 
revelations, we kind of jump 

685
00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:20,400
straight in midstream mid 
thought with Paul. 

686
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:22,000
Let me kind of explain what he's
talking about. 

687
00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:24,640
The apostle Paul, greatest 
missionary that the earth is 

688
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:28,640
ever known, he got to see God do
some incredible things, some 

689
00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:32,800
awesome things, raise the dead 
to to back to life, heal the 

690
00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:37,160
sick, bring families together, 
start revivals in cities. 

691
00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:40,840
And basically Paul is saying, 
hey, to keep me from thinking 

692
00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:43,920
that I had anything to do with 
that and that I'm something 

693
00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:48,280
bigger than I really AM because 
I got to be a part of this and I

694
00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:50,400
got to see it. 
That's what he's saying to keep 

695
00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:52,600
me from becoming conceited 
because you're passing greatness

696
00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:55,480
of the revelations. 
A thorn was given me in the 

697
00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:58,360
flesh. 
Now, most scholars believe this 

698
00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:01,800
was not a physical thorn. 
This is not a physical thorn. 

699
00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:04,240
It's a metaphorical thorn. 
It's a it's a struggle. 

700
00:41:04,240 --> 00:41:06,160
It was a lifelong struggle for 
Paul. 

701
00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:10,520
And nobody really knows what 
that thorn in the flesh really 

702
00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:12,640
was. 
Some would say that that that it

703
00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:14,920
was poor eyesight. 
Some would say that it was poor 

704
00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:17,320
health. 
Some would say this or that, but

705
00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:22,200
it was a it was a it was a very 
real impediment to Paul. 

706
00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:25,000
But check this out. 
He says a thorn was giving me in

707
00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:28,800
the flesh a messenger of Satan 
to harass me, to keep reminding 

708
00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:31,280
me. 
Paul, you're not really all that

709
00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:35,000
you people say that you are to 
harass me, to keep me from 

710
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:37,320
becoming conceited. 
Check this out verse 8. 

711
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:40,760
Three times I pleaded with the 
Lord about this, that it should 

712
00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:43,720
leave me. 
He went to God and pleaded 3 

713
00:41:43,720 --> 00:41:46,400
different times. 
God, I believe you are who you 

714
00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:48,240
say that you are. 
You are all knowing, all 

715
00:41:48,240 --> 00:41:51,800
powerful, everywhere present. 
It is nothing for you to remove 

716
00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:54,200
this thorn from my flesh to 
remove the struggle. 

717
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:57,560
God, if you remove the struggle,
I can be so much more effective 

718
00:41:57,560 --> 00:41:59,040
for you. 
I feel that this struggle is 

719
00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:03,320
holding me back from serving you
in a way that I know and that I 

720
00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:07,960
can and that I really want to. 
Three times he prayed that to 

721
00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:09,520
God. 
Check out God's response. 

722
00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:14,080
But he said to me, My grace is 
sufficient for you, for my power

723
00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:18,840
is made perfect in weakness. 
He goes on to say, therefore I 

724
00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:22,480
will boast, I will brag all the 
more gladly of my weaknesses, so

725
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:24,320
that the power of Christ may 
rest upon me. 

726
00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:26,880
For the sake of Christ then I am
content with weaknesses, 

727
00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:29,240
insults, hardships, persecutions
and calamities. 

728
00:42:29,480 --> 00:42:31,400
For when I am weak, then I am 
strong. 

729
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:34,960
This maintaining parallel vision
is understanding. 

730
00:42:35,240 --> 00:42:39,360
I have to be honest with myself 
enough and self aware to where I

731
00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:42,880
realize where I'm weak. 
I have to own those weaknesses. 

732
00:42:42,880 --> 00:42:45,600
I have to then turn those 
weaknesses over to God and then 

733
00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:50,280
rely on God's power to fill 
those areas, to fill those areas

734
00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:52,520
with His power. 
Can I go ahead and tell you 

735
00:42:52,720 --> 00:42:56,600
probably your most effective 
area of ministry is going to be 

736
00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:59,000
your most personal weakness. 
Why? 

737
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:02,120
Because it's not your strength, 
it's God's power in you. 

738
00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:05,040
What is the aim of God of using 
our weakness? 

739
00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:08,400
The aim of God is for the people
that know you best and know that

740
00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:11,600
you struggle in those areas of 
weaknesses to look at you and 

741
00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:14,600
look at what God's doing in and 
through you and go, I don't get 

742
00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:16,200
it. 
I don't get it. 

743
00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:18,880
I knew that guy back in middle 
school and high school, and he 

744
00:43:18,880 --> 00:43:23,120
could barely read, and yet he's 
telling people about Jesus. 

745
00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:25,920
I don't get it. 
We've got to know our 

746
00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:28,640
weaknesses, own our weaknesses, 
turn our weaknesses over to God 

747
00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:32,760
by prayer, and then expect God 
to use those weaknesses for His 

748
00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:36,560
glory and His power. 
Second area defense is we've got

749
00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:39,160
to stay fueled by Scripture and 
let Scripture shape my life. 

750
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,640
I've got to, you've got to, 
We've got to stay. 

751
00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:46,880
Fueled by scripture and let 
scripture shape our lives. 

752
00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:49,400
I didn't write this in your 
notes, but you may want to jot 

753
00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:54,960
this out to the side. 
If I want to grow closer to God,

754
00:43:56,600 --> 00:44:03,600
I have to read my Bible. 
We make it so hard so many 

755
00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:07,120
times, don't we? 
If I want to grow closer to God,

756
00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:10,400
I've got to read my Bible. 
He may say, well, Ben, I've 

757
00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:11,680
tried. 
And then I got stuck in 

758
00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:14,600
Leviticus. 
Don't start in Leviticus. 

759
00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:22,480
If I want to grow closer to God,
I've got to read my Bible. 

760
00:44:22,480 --> 00:44:25,280
Here's why. 
I have got to know what God's 

761
00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:29,720
Word says about me, about Him, 
about the spiritual world, about

762
00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:34,520
life around me and my purpose. 
And I've got to know it and I've

763
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:38,920
got to read it to where it makes
its way from here into the deep 

764
00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:40,800
parts of me. 
Here's why. 

765
00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:44,800
Most of us in this room, we know
that if you really want to know 

766
00:44:44,800 --> 00:44:49,440
what a man or woman is truly 
made of when they're squeezed, 

767
00:44:49,720 --> 00:44:51,360
pay attention to what comes out 
of them. 

768
00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:55,760
Listen, I'm not telling you 
something that you don't already

769
00:44:55,760 --> 00:44:57,760
know. 
You and I, some of us will sit 

770
00:44:57,760 --> 00:44:59,480
there and go, I'm already there.
I'm ahead of you. 

771
00:44:59,680 --> 00:45:03,000
We will be squeezed by life and 
here's what we want. 

772
00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:06,360
We want when we are squeezed, we
want the Word of God to come out

773
00:45:06,360 --> 00:45:10,480
of us. 
That cannot become a reality if 

774
00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:14,200
we are simply fueled weekly. 
We've got to be fueled on the 

775
00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:17,200
daily. 
We've got to be fueled on the 

776
00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:20,600
daily, but check this out. 
That's not where it ends. 

777
00:45:20,760 --> 00:45:24,000
Our goal is not to become 
champions, world champions of 

778
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:27,720
Bible trivia because the Bible 
tells us we do not want to 

779
00:45:27,720 --> 00:45:30,560
simply be hearers or readers of 
the word only. 

780
00:45:30,560 --> 00:45:34,360
We also want to be doers. 
That means that I've got to take

781
00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:36,960
the word of God and I've got to 
read it and I've got to digest 

782
00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:41,360
it and I've got to lay my life 
up beside the word of God and go

783
00:45:41,560 --> 00:45:44,560
where are the inconsistencies in
my life and what the word of 

784
00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:45,320
God. 
Says. 

785
00:45:46,360 --> 00:45:49,200
So when it comes to the issues 
of marriage, I've got to do 

786
00:45:49,200 --> 00:45:50,960
marriage the way that God 
defines marriage. 

787
00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:53,840
When it comes to the issue of 
raising a family, I've got to do

788
00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:55,480
family. 
When it comes to the issues of 

789
00:45:55,480 --> 00:45:58,720
finances, I've got to manage my 
finances the way that God's word

790
00:45:58,720 --> 00:46:00,040
says. 
When it comes to the issue of 

791
00:46:00,040 --> 00:46:04,920
friends and what God's word says
about the the core group of 

792
00:46:04,920 --> 00:46:10,760
people that are our most primary
influencers, I've got to follow 

793
00:46:10,760 --> 00:46:14,680
the words of God there because 
they are for my good. 

794
00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:19,440
I've got to be fueled by 
Scripture and to allow scripture

795
00:46:19,760 --> 00:46:25,160
to change and shape my life. 
Third, I've got to establish 

796
00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:26,800
wise and godly boundaries in 
life. 

797
00:46:28,560 --> 00:46:31,560
I've got to establish wise and 
godly boundaries in life. 

798
00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:35,720
All right, every single one of 
us in this room, does it matter 

799
00:46:35,720 --> 00:46:38,760
if you're a male or female, 
young or old, veteran of church,

800
00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:42,440
new to church, We all struggle 
and in some way, right? 

801
00:46:42,640 --> 00:46:46,240
We may not struggle in the same 
way, but we all struggle. 

802
00:46:47,560 --> 00:46:50,560
But we all struggle. 
Like I said, Satan can't. 

803
00:46:50,560 --> 00:46:52,400
Satan and his demons, they can't
read your thoughts, but they 

804
00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:54,320
know your ways, they know your 
habits. 

805
00:46:54,320 --> 00:46:56,080
They know what? 
Temptations are going to be most

806
00:46:56,080 --> 00:47:01,400
effective against you. 
We have got, we have got to 

807
00:47:01,400 --> 00:47:05,200
establish wise and godly 
boundaries in our lives because 

808
00:47:05,200 --> 00:47:08,160
some of us some of the time. 
We are making it way. 

809
00:47:08,160 --> 00:47:10,600
Too easy for Satan and his 
demons. 

810
00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:14,560
Here's why we're fearful of 
establishing wise and godly 

811
00:47:14,560 --> 00:47:17,040
boundaries. 
We're fearful of establishing 

812
00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:19,640
boundaries because somehow we 
think that boundaries are 

813
00:47:19,640 --> 00:47:22,440
legalistic. 
They're not legalistic. 

814
00:47:22,840 --> 00:47:27,200
They're wise. 
So if you struggle, if you 

815
00:47:27,200 --> 00:47:30,240
struggle with alcohol, don't go 
to a bar. 

816
00:47:31,240 --> 00:47:35,440
If you struggle with 
pornography, do not use your 

817
00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:38,040
phone or your tablet or your 
laptop in your bedroom. 

818
00:47:38,400 --> 00:47:41,960
If you struggle with lust, do 
not be alone with someone of the

819
00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:44,440
opposite gender behind closed 
doors. 

820
00:47:45,200 --> 00:47:48,400
If you struggle with 
materialism, stay off Amazon. 

821
00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:55,840
Like, listen, we have got to 
make it harder for Satan and his

822
00:47:55,840 --> 00:47:59,160
demons. 
And I'll go ahead and tell you, 

823
00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:02,840
many of the people around you, 
they won't get it. 

824
00:48:03,360 --> 00:48:05,040
That's why you're establishing 
these boundaries. 

825
00:48:05,040 --> 00:48:07,040
But the people that truly love 
you, they will. 

826
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:12,880
The people that truly love you, 
they will. 4th and final a 

827
00:48:12,880 --> 00:48:16,600
central tired offence. 
Hell cannot handle a unified 

828
00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:20,000
church. 
Hell cannot handle a unified 

829
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:28,000
church. 
God will not heal What? 

830
00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:31,560
You keep hiding. 
Let me say that again. 

831
00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:34,080
God will not heal what you keep 
hiding. 

832
00:48:34,080 --> 00:48:36,560
I didn't say he can't heal. 
Of course he can't. 

833
00:48:36,640 --> 00:48:40,840
He will not. 
God will not heal what you and 

834
00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:44,280
I, what we keep hiding. 
That's where confession comes 

835
00:48:44,280 --> 00:48:45,800
in. 
Who do we confess to? 

836
00:48:46,120 --> 00:48:52,360
A godly brother or godly sister?
Maybe not literal bio family, 

837
00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:55,840
the spiritual family, The 
church. 

838
00:48:57,120 --> 00:48:59,800
You want to know why? 
We could probably go on and on 

839
00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:02,320
and on about war stories of 
different churches that we may 

840
00:49:02,320 --> 00:49:05,120
have been a part of. 
Three hour yelling, screaming, 

841
00:49:05,120 --> 00:49:08,080
fighting business meetings and 
you sit there and go, Oh my 

842
00:49:08,080 --> 00:49:10,600
goodness, like this was not in 
the book of Acts. 

843
00:49:11,240 --> 00:49:15,560
You want to know why Satan 
attacks the local church so with

844
00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:19,160
such vigor and ferocity? 
Because the local church 

845
00:49:19,160 --> 00:49:22,200
matters. 
The local church matters. 

846
00:49:23,200 --> 00:49:25,400
Let me let me say this as clear 
as I possibly can. 

847
00:49:25,640 --> 00:49:29,560
There's not a single one of us, 
me, you, none of us in the room 

848
00:49:29,640 --> 00:49:32,400
online that does not need the 
local church. 

849
00:49:33,560 --> 00:49:38,160
We need one another. 
We need one another. 

850
00:49:39,480 --> 00:49:43,240
But I want to show you something
that that is actually. 

851
00:49:43,240 --> 00:49:47,040
An even bigger deal than the 
local church. 

852
00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:48,880
And when we say local church, 
we're talking about like 

853
00:49:48,880 --> 00:49:52,160
Riverbend Church. 
This past week I had the 

854
00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:55,600
opportunity to, to, to do last 
week was discover Riverbend and 

855
00:49:55,600 --> 00:49:58,720
we had the opportunity to to sit
down here with several families 

856
00:49:58,720 --> 00:50:01,400
and walk through membership 
class and had just great 

857
00:50:01,400 --> 00:50:05,160
discussion there. 
As important, as good as that 

858
00:50:05,160 --> 00:50:08,840
is, man awesome Jesus. 
Actually, when he's talking 

859
00:50:08,840 --> 00:50:12,000
about the church, he loves 
Riverbend Church, but he's 

860
00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:13,800
talking about a capital C 
church. 

861
00:50:14,800 --> 00:50:17,440
Do you realize that the only 
thing that the Messiah, the 

862
00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:20,560
Christ, the Son of God ever 
started, founded or instituted 

863
00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:23,560
was the church? 
The church is the only thing. 

864
00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:28,200
This capital C church, which is 
all people of all languages, of 

865
00:50:28,200 --> 00:50:30,280
all cultures, all throughout 
time and history, who've 

866
00:50:30,280 --> 00:50:33,520
surrendered their life to Jesus 
Christ and have been forgiven of

867
00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:36,240
their sins by Jesus. 
They belong to this, to this big

868
00:50:36,240 --> 00:50:40,240
C church, this capital C church.
I want to show you where Jesus 

869
00:50:40,240 --> 00:50:42,800
starts this church. 
There's a conversation between 

870
00:50:42,800 --> 00:50:46,040
Jesus and his disciples back in 
Matthew 16 to where he's saying,

871
00:50:46,040 --> 00:50:47,720
Hey, who do people say that I 
am? 

872
00:50:48,280 --> 00:50:50,120
And his disciples give him 
several answers. 

873
00:50:50,120 --> 00:50:51,960
And then he turns it to the 
personal and says, but who do 

874
00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:55,080
you say that I am? 
Peter said this, you are the 

875
00:50:55,080 --> 00:50:56,400
Christ, the Son of the living 
God. 

876
00:50:56,400 --> 00:50:59,160
And Jesus answered him, Blessed 
are you Simon Barjona, or 

877
00:50:59,280 --> 00:51:02,080
blessed are you son of John or 
son of Jonah, For flesh and 

878
00:51:02,080 --> 00:51:04,240
blood has not revealed this to 
you, but my Father, who is in 

879
00:51:04,240 --> 00:51:08,200
heaven, and I tell you, you are 
Peter, and on this rock I will 

880
00:51:08,200 --> 00:51:11,680
build my church in the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against. 

881
00:51:11,680 --> 00:51:13,280
It. 
Now let me tell you what Jesus 

882
00:51:13,280 --> 00:51:17,400
wasn't talking about. 
Jesus wasn't saying, hey, 

883
00:51:17,560 --> 00:51:21,160
blessed are you Peter. 
And on this rock and pat him on 

884
00:51:21,160 --> 00:51:22,640
the chest, I'm going to build my
church. 

885
00:51:23,000 --> 00:51:25,320
You see, the Church of Jesus 
Christ was not built. 

886
00:51:25,320 --> 00:51:26,920
The foundation of the church is 
not a man. 

887
00:51:27,160 --> 00:51:30,000
It's a confession. 
It's a confession. 

888
00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:33,680
What's the confession? 
That you are Jesus. 

889
00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:34,760
You are the Christ. 
The. 

890
00:51:34,760 --> 00:51:38,320
Son of the living God throughout
all time, throughout all 

891
00:51:38,320 --> 00:51:40,560
language, throughout all 
cultures, we're going to have 

892
00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:43,600
denominational differences. 
But at the core of it all, the 

893
00:51:43,600 --> 00:51:47,200
Church of Jesus Christ is 
made-up of men and women all 

894
00:51:47,360 --> 00:51:50,560
over the globe, all throughout 
language and cultures that have 

895
00:51:50,560 --> 00:51:52,920
said, I believe that Jesus is 
the Christ. 

896
00:51:52,920 --> 00:51:55,440
He is the Messiah. 
He is the only way to God. 

897
00:51:55,440 --> 00:51:58,320
He is the Son of God, and he is 
the only way that I can be 

898
00:51:58,320 --> 00:52:02,160
forgiven to my sins. 
And on that confession, the very

899
00:52:02,160 --> 00:52:06,200
gates of hell shudder. 
They cannot advance against it. 

900
00:52:07,480 --> 00:52:10,800
Can I ask you a question? 
Are you a part of that church? 

901
00:52:11,680 --> 00:52:13,160
I'm not asking. 
Are you a member of? 

902
00:52:13,160 --> 00:52:16,160
Riverbend Church, Are you a part
of that church? 

903
00:52:16,160 --> 00:52:18,240
Are you a part of like the 
Capital C Church to where you 

904
00:52:18,240 --> 00:52:20,840
say, Ben, I know that there's 
been a point in time to where 

905
00:52:20,840 --> 00:52:23,720
Jesus has forgiven me of my sins
because I asked him to, and he's

906
00:52:23,720 --> 00:52:26,040
taking control of my life 
because I asked him to. 

907
00:52:27,080 --> 00:52:31,120
Are you a part of that church? 
In just a moment, we'll give you

908
00:52:31,120 --> 00:52:33,040
an opportunity. 
If you have questions about that

909
00:52:33,040 --> 00:52:36,200
or, or doubts about that, I 
would love to talk with you down

910
00:52:36,200 --> 00:52:40,000
here at the front. 
I think that many of us in the 

911
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:43,000
room are online that we would 
say, you know, praise God, I'm a

912
00:52:43,000 --> 00:52:46,040
part of that church. 
Like I, I gave my life to Jesus 

913
00:52:46,040 --> 00:52:49,000
maybe last year, last month, 
maybe when I was younger. 

914
00:52:50,920 --> 00:52:52,400
Praise God that I'm a part of 
that church. 

915
00:52:52,520 --> 00:52:55,040
Let me ask you a question for 
you. 

916
00:52:55,640 --> 00:52:59,480
What are the effective tactics 
that Satan and his demons are 

917
00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:03,720
utilizing against you? 
Can I tell you our first line of

918
00:53:03,720 --> 00:53:07,200
defense prayer? 
Hand them over to God. 

919
00:53:07,800 --> 00:53:10,760
I hope one of the things that 
you get out of this last section

920
00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:13,800
that we just walked through is 
there's not a single one of us 

921
00:53:13,800 --> 00:53:17,880
that has enough within us to 
combat hell itself head on. 

922
00:53:18,760 --> 00:53:21,080
Some of us, we sit there and go,
man, I wanted, I just want to go

923
00:53:21,080 --> 00:53:23,120
charge Satan in hell with a 
water pistol. 

924
00:53:23,240 --> 00:53:24,440
You're going to end up being 
bait. 

925
00:53:25,960 --> 00:53:29,360
You will become overcome. 
But if you rely on God's power 

926
00:53:29,360 --> 00:53:32,480
and God's strength in your life,
the gates of hell can't move 

927
00:53:32,480 --> 00:53:35,640
against that. 
So in just a moment, we're going

928
00:53:35,640 --> 00:53:37,640
to give you an opportunity. 
We'll pray together, give you an

929
00:53:37,640 --> 00:53:39,600
opportunity. 
Is there something that you're 

930
00:53:39,600 --> 00:53:42,160
facing in your life that you 
just need to ask for God's 

931
00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:45,560
protection on you? 
Maybe ask for God's protection 

932
00:53:46,160 --> 00:53:49,920
for someone else? 
Before we enter into this, I 

933
00:53:49,920 --> 00:53:52,400
just want to say and I know 
trying to be very cognizant of 

934
00:53:52,400 --> 00:53:55,240
time. 
A lot of times when we get to a 

935
00:53:55,240 --> 00:53:59,360
time like this, an invitation, I
think there's a misnomer out 

936
00:53:59,360 --> 00:54:02,480
there that I only come forward 
and I only pray when there's 

937
00:54:02,480 --> 00:54:05,640
something wrong. 
Can I tell you as your pastor, 

938
00:54:05,800 --> 00:54:09,680
when you come down and when you 
pray, I know that there's 

939
00:54:09,680 --> 00:54:12,840
something right. 
I know that there's something 

940
00:54:12,840 --> 00:54:16,400
right. 
In other words, that you realize

941
00:54:16,400 --> 00:54:20,320
that the only way to engage in 
this spiritual war, not to 

942
00:54:20,320 --> 00:54:22,720
become bait, is to hand it over 
to God. 

943
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:28,400
So I don't want there to be any 
walls, any hesitancy there, any 

944
00:54:28,400 --> 00:54:32,400
any pride that crops up to where
you start to think, well, I just

945
00:54:32,400 --> 00:54:35,240
don't know what people are think
or people are going to like talk

946
00:54:35,240 --> 00:54:38,040
or gossip or whatever. 
That's their problem and they're

947
00:54:38,040 --> 00:54:40,760
wrong. 
You be obedient. 

948
00:54:40,760 --> 00:54:42,720
To what God's calling you to do,
Let's pray. 

949
00:54:42,720 --> 00:54:45,880
God, we love you and we thank 
you for the clarity of your 

950
00:54:45,880 --> 00:54:48,120
word. 
God, you don't tell us about 

951
00:54:48,120 --> 00:54:51,720
spiritual warfare and Satan and 
demons in hell to to frighten us

952
00:54:51,720 --> 00:54:55,200
or to scare us. 
But God to, to, to inform us, 

953
00:54:55,960 --> 00:54:58,480
God, you want us to know what 
we're up against. 

954
00:54:59,960 --> 00:55:02,680
And God, every single person in 
this room, whether we are 

955
00:55:02,680 --> 00:55:05,840
cognizant of it or not, we're in
the thick of it. 

956
00:55:07,120 --> 00:55:09,000
We're in the midst of the 
spiritual war. 

957
00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:12,600
And the more you move in our 
lives and the more that you move

958
00:55:12,600 --> 00:55:16,520
in Riverbend Church, the bigger 
the target we have on us. 

959
00:55:17,160 --> 00:55:19,400
But God, that just simply means 
that we get to experience the 

960
00:55:19,400 --> 00:55:23,400
bigness of you. 
So God, I pray if there's anyone

961
00:55:23,400 --> 00:55:27,440
in this room or online, as we 
talked about this Capital C 

962
00:55:27,440 --> 00:55:31,880
church that is doubting or 
wondering if there really has 

963
00:55:31,880 --> 00:55:34,720
been a point in time to where 
Jesus has forgiven them of their

964
00:55:34,720 --> 00:55:37,640
sins and that they are following
him. 

965
00:55:37,920 --> 00:55:40,120
God, I pray that they would step
out and they would come down and

966
00:55:40,120 --> 00:55:45,160
pray for the pastor God for 
those that have made that step 

967
00:55:45,160 --> 00:55:49,960
and they, they know they have 
the, the, the secure sureness of

968
00:55:49,960 --> 00:55:53,880
that decision. 
God, we know that the attacks 

969
00:55:53,880 --> 00:55:58,000
don't stop there. 
God, so many of us, we feel 

970
00:55:58,000 --> 00:56:01,720
bombarded by these tactics of 
Satan and his demons and the 

971
00:56:01,720 --> 00:56:05,520
forces of hell. 
God, and we admit in this time 

972
00:56:05,520 --> 00:56:08,120
that we are not big enough to 
stand up against any of it. 

973
00:56:08,640 --> 00:56:11,320
We need you. 
So God, I pray that this would 

974
00:56:11,320 --> 00:56:15,120
be a time to where we would 
release our pride and that we 

975
00:56:15,120 --> 00:56:17,160
would surrender the battle over 
to you. 

976
00:56:17,920 --> 00:56:19,480
And it's in Jesus name that we 
pray. 

977
00:56:20,040 --> 00:56:24,920
Amen. 
Thank you for listening to the 

978
00:56:24,920 --> 00:56:27,920
Riverbend Church Podcast. 
Learn more about who we are as a

979
00:56:27,920 --> 00:56:30,080
church and how to connect. 
You can head over to our 

980
00:56:30,080 --> 00:56:32,240
website, Riverbend Church dot 
Life.