1 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:08,200 Thank you for listening to Riverbend Church's podcast. 2 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,560 To find out more about this message or Riverbend Church, 3 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:14,920 connect with us online at Riverbend Church dot live. 4 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,320 We're starting a brand new series, I think probably the 5 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:25,360 best thing that we can. Do on the very front. 6 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:27,480 Edge of this new series is just to. 7 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:29,280 Pray together. So would you pray with me? 8 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,080 God, we thank you for this day and God we thank you for 9 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,360 bringing us here into this place, into the space, into this 10 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:39,120 moment. God, you know that none of us 11 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,800 are here by accident at all, whether in the room or whether 12 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:45,520 online. God, you know all the insurance 13 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:47,320 and outs. God, you know it's inside and 14 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,000 out. God, you know all of all of our 15 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:54,400 all of our giftedness that you have given us to be effective 16 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,520 for you. God, you know all of our 17 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,400 questions and all of our fears and all of our doubts, and God, 18 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,680 we know that you were big enough for all of those things. 19 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:07,400 God, we pray specifically that you would do something over 20 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:12,320 these next 9 weeks together. God that you would open eyes, 21 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:15,120 that you would open hearts. God that you would bring people 22 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,040 closer to you and bring more people to you. 23 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:20,480 And it's in Jesus name that we pray. 24 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,080 Amen. All right, so starting a brand 25 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:26,560 new series this morning, The Unseen World. 26 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:32,920 And as we kick it off, I want to read to you 4 headlines. 4 27 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:38,320 headlines, headline number 1C. Kirk, an American right wing 28 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:41,240 political activist, was assassinated while addressing 29 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:45,400 his audience on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, 30 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:47,840 UT. The outdoor event was the first 31 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:52,000 stop of the fall 2025 season for the American Comeback Tour, a 32 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,400 speaking and debate series planned by Turning Point, USAA 33 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,640 conservative organization that he Co founded. 34 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:04,240 Headline #2A week long undercover operation by the Polk 35 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:08,000 County Sheriff's Office, which is in the Tampa Bay area, led to 36 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,520 the arrest of 246 suspects. The arrest included 230 37 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:16,320 individuals for prostitution related crimes and 16 for 38 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:18,720 attempting to sexually exploit children. 39 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,280 During the sting, authorities identified 10 potential human 40 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,360 trafficking victims and offered them assistance. 41 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:30,840 Headline #3 The DEA or Drug Enforcement Administration 42 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,800 conducted a major surge aimed at dismantling the Jalisto New 43 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:39,520 Generation Cartel. Agents arrested 670 people and 44 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,400 seized millions in cash and assets, along with significant 45 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:48,320 quantities of drugs including 92.4 kilos were over 200 lbs of 46 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:55,320 fentanyl, 22,842 kilos were over 50,000 lbs of cocaine, 6062 47 00:02:55,320 --> 00:03:00,280 kilos were over 13,000 lbs of methamphetamine, and 33 kilos 48 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:06,120 were over 70 lbs of heroin. Headline #4 A man crashed his 49 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,360 truck into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and 50 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:13,240 Grand Blanc Township, MI during the Sunday services. 51 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:16,960 The suspect in Iraq War veteran then began shooting with an 52 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,560 assault rifle before starting a fire. 53 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,080 At least four people were killed and multiple others injured. 54 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:27,720 The shooter was killed in a shootout with police. 55 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,880 What do all four of these headlines have in common? 56 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:36,360 They have in common at least three things #1 all four of 57 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:38,560 these headlines happened within the last four weeks. 58 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:41,840 All four. And there are many, many more 59 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:43,960 headlines that happened over the last four weeks, but these four 60 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:45,240 happened over the last four weeks. 61 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:48,240 That last one happened last week, last Sunday. 62 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,480 Number two things these have in common is all four of these 63 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:57,160 headlines are, are great, just atrocious demonstrations and 64 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:02,680 exhibitions of just pure evil. And #3 all four of these 65 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:06,880 headlines and many, many more leave us asking the overarching 66 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,640 question. Man, what in the world is going 67 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:11,920 on? You found yourself asking that 68 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:14,600 question over the last several weeks, maybe over the last 69 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,279 several years. You, you look back and, and, and 70 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:21,200 you have the you, you, you have the the blessing of a lot of 71 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,480 experience and a lot of life. And you're comparing. 72 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,680 Present day culture and present day cultural norms with maybe 73 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:32,120 what you grew up under and you look and your heart just breaks 74 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,240 and you're just left asking God, what in the world is going on? 75 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,440 That main question right there, what in the world is going on? 76 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,440 That is the main question that we're going to be looking at, 77 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:49,320 exploring and diving into as we begin this brand new series 78 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:54,400 called The Unseen World and Church. 79 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:58,680 I am so convinced. I'm so convinced that this 80 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:04,400 series is going to be so pivotal for us as a church generally and 81 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:08,760 as individuals specifically, that I want to approach this 82 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:13,560 kind of this first week of this series in, in a, in a different 83 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,880 way, if you will. So the way that we're going to 84 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,560 approach this morning is we're going to take a look at OK, so 85 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,840 throughout these nine weeks, where are we going? 86 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,560 Where's our road map? Then we're going to take a look 87 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,560 at, OK, throughout these nine weeks, what am I asked to do? 88 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:35,240 What can I do to prepare for this series? 89 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,960 What can I do to come prepared for this series? 90 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:43,120 And then #3 we're going to take a look at like, what do I need 91 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,480 to know? What do I need to know about 92 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:50,160 this subject, the unseen world? That's going to give me a good 93 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:56,200 foundation for us to build on over the next 9 weeks together. 94 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:00,360 So like I said, we're going to approach this a lot differently 95 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,520 than we have other series in the past. 96 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,360 So I want to go ahead and almost like give you all the answers 97 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:09,360 upfront. And then we're going to be 98 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,600 walking through, we're going to be using those answers, those 99 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:16,920 pre given answers to kind of guide us throughout this next 100 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:19,880 chapter of our church, these next 9 weeks together. 101 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:21,320 And here's where it's going to start. 102 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:26,560 There's a big idea that's going to really become really the the, 103 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,920 the overarching truth or the principle of this series. 104 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:34,960 If you're taking notes with us here is that big idea is what I 105 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:40,720 or the unseen world is just as real as the one I can see and 106 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:45,480 it's shaping my life every day. The unseen world is just as real 107 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,520 is just as real as the one I can see and it's shaping my life 108 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:53,960 every day. There, there's a statement that 109 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:56,880 I wrote that I, there's no blanks to it. 110 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:00,160 Just because I want you to kind of hang on to this statement. 111 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:02,840 There's a statement that I wrote up underneath that big idea on 112 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:06,000 your note sheet that's so important for us to hang on to. 113 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,640 Here it is. Just because you can't see it, 114 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:10,520 that doesn't mean that it isn't there. 115 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:14,240 And just because you may not acknowledge it, it doesn't mean 116 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:16,440 that it's not impacting your life every day. 117 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,080 Just because you can't see it, it doesn't mean that it isn't 118 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:21,880 there. And just because you may not 119 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:24,280 acknowledge it, it doesn't mean that it's not impacting your 120 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:26,640 life. Every day and you may say Ben. 121 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,200 Where do you where where? Are we even coming from on this? 122 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,360 Is this just like thought? Is this conjecture? 123 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,600 Is this is like passed down heritage or tradition? 124 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,280 Where's this coming from? It's coming is it's going to be 125 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:43,160 rooted in an overarching verse that's given to us in the book 126 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,160 of Ephesians. And that verse is on the top of 127 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:48,480 your note sheet. It's Ephesians chapter 6, verse 128 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:50,160 12. Let me go ahead and read it and 129 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:53,240 then I'm going to invite you to do something with me that's 130 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:57,120 going to help us really unpack and digest and to prepare 131 00:07:57,120 --> 00:07:59,200 ourselves for where we're going to be going over the next 9 132 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,480 weeks. Paul wrote in Ephesians 612 For 133 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,280 we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the 134 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:09,320 rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over 135 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:13,160 this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in 136 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:16,720 the heavenly places. Now here's what I want to invite 137 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:18,840 you to do. If you have a Bible with you, if 138 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:21,800 you have like a hard copy of the Bible with you and you like to 139 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,120 underline or highlight or circle whatever you can, you can very 140 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,280 much do it in your own Bible. If you don't have a hard copy of 141 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:29,960 the Bible with, you can use the note sheet. 142 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,280 But I want to invite you to do something with me that's going 143 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:37,520 to help us breakdown not only this verse, but give us a road 144 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,240 map and a clear understanding of where we're going to be going 145 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,120 throughout these nine weeks. Here's the first thing I want to 146 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:45,880 ask that you do with me, Church, I want you to take your note 147 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,240 sheet or your Bible. Underline that phrase, for we do 148 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:51,320 not wrestle against flesh and blood. 149 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:53,720 Underline that phrase at the top of your note sheet. 150 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:57,160 For we do. Not wrestle against flesh and 151 00:08:57,720 --> 00:08:59,240 blood. For we. 152 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:01,040 Do not wrestle against flesh and blood. 153 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:08,480 Flesh and blood is actually referring to mankind, humankind, 154 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,280 humanity. So what Paul is telling us, at 155 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:17,000 the root of our issues, at the root of our problems, at the 156 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:21,760 root of all that we see going on around to us, we do not wrestle 157 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:24,400 with flesh and blood. Actually, what I want you to do 158 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,600 is when you think of flesh and blood, I want you to think back 159 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,240 to those four headlines that we just read together. 160 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,040 Those 4 demonstrations of just absolute pure evil. 161 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:39,200 Whether it's the assassination of a public figure, whether it 162 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,160 is the busting up of of prostitution and child 163 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,960 trafficking, whether it's a drug bust or whether it is it is the 164 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:52,440 brutal shoot, church shooting. What Paul is telling us is we 165 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:56,960 think that our main issue and our main complaint is against 166 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:00,200 the people that perpetrated these acts of evil. 167 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,160 Now listen, when Paul says, for we do not wrestle against flesh 168 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:08,560 and blood, it is not Paul saying, hey, listen, no one is 169 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:11,480 to be held accountable for their evil actions. 170 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:15,040 He is not saying evil people should not be held accountable 171 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,840 for their evil actions. What Paul is saying is there's 172 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:22,600 something far deeper and something far more sinister at 173 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:27,160 play than just evil people doing evil things. 174 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,600 Now he goes on to tell us what that far deeper and far more 175 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:36,080 sinister thing is. You got to continue reading. 176 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:39,800 For we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against the 177 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:42,160 rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers, over 178 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,280 this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in 179 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:47,800 the heavenly places. While you got your note sheet 180 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:49,560 out or your Bible. Open and your pen. 181 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:51,480 Available. I want you to circle several 182 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,080 phrases. Circle the the phrase the 183 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,520 rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers, the spiritual 184 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,440 forces of evil. So underline, for we do not 185 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,640 wrestle against flesh and blood, but circle the rulers, the 186 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:07,680 authorities, the cosmic powers, the spiritual forces of evil. 187 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:12,640 What Paul is telling us here is our true enemy. 188 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:16,800 It is not evil people doing evil things. 189 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:20,640 Our true enemy is something that's far deeper and far more 190 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:28,000 sinister, an unseen spiritual force of evil behind the works, 191 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:33,400 the evil works of evil people. So as followers of Jesus, our 192 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:39,160 main adversary, our main enemy is spiritual in nature, not 193 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,560 physical in nature. And this spiritual enemy, the 194 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:48,680 spiritual adversary that you and I face, it is unseen to us. 195 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:53,360 It is, it is existing there existing in a what we would call 196 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:58,360 the spiritual realm or the unseen world. 197 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,440 Do me a favor, pop that big idea back up on the screen for us 198 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:06,880 just kind of as a reporter, part of point of reminder, the unseen 199 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,400 world, the spiritual adversaries, the spiritual enemy 200 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:16,080 is just as real. The rulers, the authorities, the 201 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:19,400 cosmic powers of over this present darkness. 202 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:23,440 The unseen world is just as real as the one I can see and it's 203 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:28,960 shaping my life every day. It's shaping my life every day. 204 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:34,920 So again, whether or not you can see it, it doesn't matter if you 205 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,960 can't see this unseen world, it is there. 206 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:41,200 It doesn't matter if you acknowledge this unseen world or 207 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:44,520 not. It is impacting your and my life 208 00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:47,560 every single moment of every single day. 209 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:50,680 So I want to walk through, and I gave this to you in your note 210 00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:52,720 sheet. I want to walk through just kind 211 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,840 of where we're going to be going over the next 8 weeks together, 212 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,880 over these nine weeks together and over the next 8 weeks 213 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:01,520 together. If you look down at your note 214 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,240 sheet, there's kind of like a roster, a calendar of, of where 215 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,080 we're going to be going today, October 5th, we're talking about 216 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:09,400 the spiritual realm. We're talking about just the 217 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:12,880 nature and the very reality of this unseen world. 218 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,640 Next week, October 12th, we're going to be talking about cosmic 219 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:18,960 war. Basically asking this question, 220 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,760 where did it all go wrong? If God created everything in 221 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,680 absolute perfection, and He did, where did it all go wrong? 222 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:28,840 What is the war in heaven all about? 223 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:32,080 What happened in this war in heaven? 224 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:35,680 How do we get from God creating everything in absolute 225 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:39,480 perfection to just the brokenness and the foulness of 226 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:43,440 sin that we see around us? It all stems from the results of 227 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,400 this war in heaven. October 19th, we're going to be 228 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:49,840 taking a look at God, angels, and heaven. 229 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:51,600 Who are they? What are they? 230 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:56,960 What are their desires for us? The next week, finishing out 231 00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:59,280 October, we're going to be taking a look at Satan, demons, 232 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,080 and hell. Who are they? 233 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:05,000 What are they, and then what are their strategies against us? 234 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,200 What are their desires for us? And then what are their 235 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:11,640 strategies that they typically employ to keep us far from God? 236 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:14,720 Starting off in November? We're going to start November 237 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:18,160 talking about spiritual warfare, talking about the very fact that 238 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:21,800 there is a spiritual war that is raging all around us. 239 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,040 Whether or not we can see it or not, it is still raging all 240 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,880 around us. And you have God and angels, and 241 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,640 you have Satan and demons, and you have the spiritual war that 242 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:38,200 is a war for our souls. So what does that look like? 243 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,840 Then from there, we're going to take a A2 week look, November 244 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,760 9th and 16th, we're going to talk about how you and I, we can 245 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:48,480 prepare for battle. Because whether or not you 246 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:51,680 acknowledge that we're in spiritual war or not, it only 247 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:55,640 takes one side of an equation to, to, to say that we're at 248 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,760 war, right? If you only have one side of an 249 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,920 equation, let's say, for example, let's say that Sweden 250 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,080 decides to go to war against the United States. the United States 251 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:08,640 goes, no, we're not. Sweden's still going to be 252 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:10,080 launching troops and missiles, right? 253 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:13,400 So we're at war. It only takes one side of the 254 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,040 war to declare war. So whether or not you 255 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,640 acknowledge we're in a spiritual war or not, we are in the midst 256 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:22,640 of a spiritual war. And we're not just, we're not 257 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:27,440 created just to be bait. We can actually prepare for 258 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,920 battle. How do we daily prepare for 259 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:32,920 battle? We're going to take a A2 week 260 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:34,640 look at that. And then we're going to be 261 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,960 finishing out this series, the last two weeks in November. 262 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,040 We're going to be looking at something that the Bible calls 263 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,120 spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts. 264 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:45,840 I don't know if you know this or not, but every single person 265 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,880 that has surrendered their life, his or her life, to Jesus Christ 266 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:54,760 has been uniquely equipped to be uniquely effective for the for 267 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:58,800 the cause of Jesus and devastatingly effective against 268 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,800 our enemy and adversary, you and I. 269 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,880 If we've surrendered our life to Jesus, we have been given a 270 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:07,840 spiritual gift or spiritual gifts. 271 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,320 So we're going to talk about what is a spiritual gift? 272 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:13,680 What is your spiritual gift? What is my spiritual gift? 273 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:17,120 And then how do we use that spiritual gift giftedness for 274 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:21,560 the cause of Jesus and then also to be devastating to our enemy 275 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:26,240 and to our adversary. So this is going to be just a, 276 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:30,680 an incredible, incredible series that I very much look forward 277 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,440 to. Now I want to transition or 278 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:35,880 before I transition, I want to get you to do something. 279 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:39,840 I want you to draw a bracket. While we're kind of in the note 280 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:44,440 taking stage October 5th to November 2nd, draw a bracket out 281 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:46,480 beside that bracket. I want you to write the word 282 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:51,240 informing, informing. These first five weeks are all 283 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:55,840 are all going to be about what the Bible says about the unseen 284 00:16:55,840 --> 00:17:00,440 world and spiritual warfare and the cosmic war and God and 285 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:04,200 angels in heaven and Satan and demons in hell and the the the 286 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:06,440 very nature and reality of spiritual warfare. 287 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:11,800 It's going to be informing. And then after that last four 288 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,920 weeks, draw a bracket November 9th through the 30th and out 289 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,440 beside that, I want you to draw a write the word equipping 290 00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:20,800 equipping. So this series we're going to 291 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:24,079 like kind of chop it up into halves, if you will. 292 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:28,000 The first series is like, listen, we want to be right in 293 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:33,160 our information, but then we also want to look to apply right 294 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:35,840 information. You see, God never gives us 295 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:39,360 something in his word for us just to sit back and go, huh, 296 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,160 that's interesting. And to do nothing with it. 297 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:47,640 He gives us truth in his word for us to apply to our lives. 298 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,040 So the first five weeks of the series, we're going to be look 299 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,760 at informing the second four weeks of this series. 300 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:57,440 The next final four weeks of the series, we're going to be 301 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,400 looking at equipping. Now here's what I want to do. 302 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,520 I want to go ahead and just ask a question. 303 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,760 What is required of me? You may be sitting here going, 304 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:09,680 OK, Ben, this is where we're going. 305 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,880 Kind of fascinated by this. What is required of me? 306 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:16,720 What are you asking me to do? I'm so glad that you asked. 307 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,040 Thank you so much for asking. There are four things on the 308 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,400 very front edge of the series that I want to ask of each and 309 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:25,720 every one of us. Four things. 310 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:29,280 Here's the first one. I want to ask that you pray for 311 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,000 clarity and that you pray for protection. 312 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:36,520 I want to ask that you pray for clarity and that you pray for 313 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:38,760 protection. Let's take that first one first. 314 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:43,640 Clarity you may have, you may have grown up in church and you 315 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:47,800 may be familiar with the unseen world and spiritual warfare and 316 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,200 all this sounds very familiar to you. 317 00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:54,080 My prayer for you, if that's you, whether you're in the room 318 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:58,920 or online with us, if that's you, my prayer for you is that 319 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:02,400 you have a right understanding, that we have a right 320 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:06,960 understanding of what the Word of God really teaches us about 321 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:10,560 the nature of the unseen world and its impact on our lives and 322 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:14,520 what is offered to us and how God wants to equip us and 323 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:17,560 empower us. That that's my prayer, my hope. 324 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:19,720 For you if. If if all this kind of sounds 325 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:22,040 vaguely familiar. But I also. 326 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:23,200 Understand that there's some of us. 327 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:24,880 We may be new to church. Or. 328 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:27,760 We may just be highly skeptical of the fact. 329 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,080 Like, hey, Ben, I just got to be honest with you. 330 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,360 Not to sound rude. I just, I just don't know. 331 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:35,520 I don't know, man. I don't know if any of this is 332 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:37,200 real. I don't know if any, if any of 333 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:41,400 this is true or not. If that's you, here's what I 334 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,600 would tell you, man. Thank you so much for being here 335 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:47,000 with us. We're, we're never going to come 336 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,320 down on any type of fear or doubt or skepticism that you may 337 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:53,480 have, but you do need to know how I'm praying for you. 338 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:58,160 If, if, if you're, if you're doubtful or skepticism of even 339 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,920 the overall reality or the notion of this unseen world. 340 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:04,600 I want to pray and I want you to pray. 341 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,080 God, would you, would you open me? 342 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:09,440 Would you open my heart and open my mind to. 343 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:12,480 Receive your truth. God, I don't want, I don't want 344 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:15,800 any of my heart or any of my mind or any of my life to be 345 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,160 filled with, with, with falseness. 346 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:21,560 But would you open my eyes to truth and would you make it 347 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:23,560 clear? Because we're going to be wading 348 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,040 through and sailing through some pretty tricky and some pretty 349 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:30,040 deep waters that I think every single one of us in the room and 350 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:32,720 online, we need to pray at the very. 351 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,360 Beginning for clarity. And here's kind of like a, we'll 352 00:20:36,360 --> 00:20:40,120 call it like a, a spiritual hack, if you will, a spiritual 353 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:43,800 hacker, a spiritual shortcut. Can I tell you how to grow? 354 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:49,280 Most on Sunday mornings come prayed up, come prayed up, come 355 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:54,880 pre prayed, pre prayed. God, would you when you wake up 356 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:58,720 in the morning, God, would you, would you open my heart and open 357 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:01,080 my eyes and open my mind to your truth? 358 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,040 Would you open me to your truth to receive it? 359 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,880 Second thing that we should pray is for protection. 360 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,360 Is for protection. Here's why it's so important 361 00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:13,560 that we should pray for protection. 362 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:17,120 What we're about to talk about. If you're if you're familiar 363 00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:20,400 with this whole issue of the spiritual realm and that our 364 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:24,240 enemy is not flesh and blood but spiritual in nature, then you 365 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:29,200 know that our enemy, our main spiritual adversary, loves to 366 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:33,040 lurk around in the dark and in the shadows and absolutely hates 367 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,200 to have the light of truth shone upon him. 368 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:41,320 And when the light of truth is shown upon him, that's when he 369 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,440 typically launches out in some of his most vicious attacks. 370 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:47,360 So go ahead and pray for protection. 371 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,360 So just kind of let y'all know. Some of you may know. 372 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:53,640 Some of you you probably don't know because there's no reason 373 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:57,560 that you would know. For the most part I have like. 374 00:21:57,680 --> 00:21:59,880 Where we're going to be? Going in terms of our series, 375 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:02,640 our sermon series and our messages and our text, I have it 376 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:06,280 planned out well in advance. And I remember talking with 377 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:09,880 Julie, this is probably the very beginning of the summer or late 378 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:12,120 spring. And she was like, Hey, I know 379 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:14,560 that you're doing Joseph starting back from from school, 380 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:15,760 talking about the life of Joseph. 381 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,200 Where are you going after that? And I said, we're going to be 382 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:19,800 talking about the the spiritual realm. 383 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:21,960 We're going to be talking about the unseen world and spiritual 384 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:23,680 warfare. And I'll never forget what she 385 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:27,520 said. She goes, thanks a lot here. 386 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:32,120 Here's why she said that is, did you know that Satan and demon 387 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:36,040 and all demons and all of hell itself, they would love nothing 388 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:38,240 more than for us to not talk about this. 389 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,680 They would love nothing more than to stay hidden in the dark 390 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,520 and in the shadows. And here's one of the things 391 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:46,360 that we're going to come back and talk about. 392 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:51,080 This series is not about fear. This series is about victory. 393 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:58,520 This series is not about fear. This series is so much about V1 394 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:01,720 of the things that we'll see later on is how the end is 395 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:05,160 already written in this battle in spiritual warfare. 396 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:10,040 But I want to ask you as your pastor, I want to ask, I want to 397 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:12,600 ask that you pray for clarity and pray for protection 398 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:16,960 throughout this entire series. Here's a way here's a sneaky way 399 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,400 that Satan here's one of the reasons that we need to start 400 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,600 praying for protection now, because here's a sneaky way that 401 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:27,000 Satan will entice us, that all of hell itself will entice us to 402 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,800 stay away from this series. And it goes. 403 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:34,360 With my ask as your pastor for #2 prioritize being here. 404 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:40,040 Prioritize being here. Here's why this series, even 405 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,680 though I gave you the rundown, this series is not like, hey, I 406 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:46,080 really want to be here for that. I don't need to be here for 407 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:47,760 that. This series is not like an A la 408 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:51,280 carte series. There's something so powerful 409 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:56,760 about actually being together. Being together and experiencing 410 00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:01,360 prayer and worship and the word of God together, That's that's 411 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:03,360 one of the reasons. And listen, I'm not coming down 412 00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:04,720 on you. I'm just being completely honest 413 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:07,440 and transparent. Some of us feel like. 414 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:09,280 We're, we're, we're. We're lacking a sense of 415 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:13,560 connectivity to, to, to one another as the body, as the 416 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:15,240 church. And I just want to pose a 417 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,680 question to you. Could you be lacking a sense of 418 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,640 connectivity because there's an infrequency or an inconsistency 419 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,640 of you being here? And listen, I'm not, Again, I'm 420 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:27,480 not coming down on you. I'm just throwing this into the 421 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:30,760 spiritual realm because I'll go ahead and tell you, if you and 422 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:36,200 I, if we don't prioritize being here each week of this series, I 423 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:41,360 have no doubt whatsoever that we will have no shortage of options 424 00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:44,160 and opportunities to be somewhere else, doing something 425 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:48,440 else or excuses not to be here. Like I said, our spiritual 426 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,840 enemy, our spiritual adversary does not want us going through 427 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:56,480 this, does not want you to hear this, does not want your family 428 00:24:56,480 --> 00:25:00,160 to walk through this. So if he can distract you from 429 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:04,040 not being here, not being a part of what God's doing here, he has 430 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:07,480 won a minor victory there. So on the front end of it, I 431 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,360 want to just ask as your pastor, that you pray and make a 432 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:17,040 commitment to prioritize being here #3 is put what I learn into 433 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:19,480 practice. Put what I learn into practice. 434 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,040 Every week we're going to be walking through. 435 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,440 And this week, no is no exception. 436 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:28,040 We're going to be walking through some key truths and key 437 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:31,560 principles, whether it is informing or equipping. 438 00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:36,320 I should always be looking not just to be a hearer of truth 439 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:40,080 only, but a doer of truth. And here's what that means. 440 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:43,840 That means that at the end of every service, at the end of 441 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,280 every service throughout this series and series later on down 442 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:49,520 the road, our prayer should be something like this. 443 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:53,320 God, will you show me what to do with what I just learned? 444 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:56,920 It's a simple prayer like that. God, will you show me what to do 445 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:01,000 with what I just learned? When you and I, when we pray 446 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:04,560 like that, God, will you show me what to do with what I just 447 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,560 learned? Did you know that for many of 448 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,280 us, we take our first step onto that spiritual battlefield? 449 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:12,320 You may go. I don't know if I want to take a 450 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:13,720 step on that spiritual battlefield. 451 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,200 Well, the battles raging around you and we either engage in the 452 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,160 battle or we're bait. There's no, there's no 453 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,800 neutrality there. God, would you? 454 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,280 Show me what to do with what I just learned. 455 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:30,080 And then here's the 4th ask that I have for you as your pastor is 456 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,800 bring someone with me for for for, for. 457 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:37,200 You to look down and go Who can I bring with? 458 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:41,600 Me church. I've shared this before and I. 459 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,120 Talk, we talk. As a as a staff about this 460 00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:47,360 frequently and I hope that we're not the only ones feeling I 461 00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:50,360 think that you can look around and you you would agree that we 462 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:54,120 sit where we are right now October 2025. 463 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,720 There is there. There seems to be this openness 464 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:02,680 like. Never before to people being 465 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:06,480 open to spiritual things. Do you, do you feel that a 466 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,800 rejection like this openness and a lot of times it's happening 467 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:13,520 among the younger generation, like 30 and below, it's a 468 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:17,360 rejection of just going through the motions and it's asking the 469 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:19,480 question. It's an openness, what is real, 470 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,120 what is true, what is going to be life changing and life 471 00:27:22,120 --> 00:27:25,720 giving. There's this openness to it and, 472 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,720 and here's what we've said from the very beginning is that 473 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:32,400 openness, that void will either be filled by the truth of God's 474 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:35,880 Word or it will be filled by the filth of the world. 475 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,040 And we do not want to waste this strategic time. 476 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:43,560 So I guarantee you that there are people in your life right 477 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:47,120 now that they need to hear that they are open maybe for the 478 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:51,400 first time, or they are most open to spiritual truth and what 479 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:53,480 is real and what is true and what is authentic. 480 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,000 What is life giving and life changing. 481 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:00,320 There are people like that in your life that maybe God lays a 482 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:04,360 a a name or a face. Right there in your in your 483 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:06,400 mind, do we sit there and go, You know what? 484 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:09,120 I'm going to invite that person to come to church with me. 485 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,560 It's an easy invite, whether you're tomorrow or Tuesday or 486 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:17,840 Thursday at work or in school or or or on the golf course or at a 487 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:21,080 restaurant. Just say, hey, I don't know if 488 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,720 y'all have any plans on Sunday, but I think you would, you'd 489 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,600 really enjoy coming to church with me. 490 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:29,440 And even after that, like if you have to sweeten the deal, you 491 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:31,240 can tell them that we got Donuts and they're free. 492 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:34,000 And if you really need to sweeten the deal, you can say, 493 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,400 listen, we'll take you out to lunch afterwards. 494 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:39,480 We, we would love for you and your family to find what me and 495 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:42,080 my family have found. It's an easy invite. 496 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:46,520 So bring somebody with me. So that's where we're going. 497 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:50,040 That's what I need to do to prepare for where we're going. 498 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,640 And then as we head down the home stretch, there are 4 499 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:56,440 foundational truths that I need us to walk through to give us a 500 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:00,120 solid foundation and understanding of this unseen 501 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,680 world or this spiritual realm. If you're taking notes with us, 502 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,480 here's the first one. Is the physical and the 503 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:10,400 spiritual or different realms that form and affect the same 504 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,600 reality? The physical and the spiritual. 505 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:18,080 They are different realms, but they form and affect the same 506 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:21,680 reality. Now I completely understand if 507 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:25,280 you think that sounds really far out there, Ben, that sounds 508 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,360 really far out there. And that's kind of seems like 509 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,560 really like, I don't know, been watching like way too many like 510 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,760 Marvel multiverse movies out there. 511 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,680 But if you think, if you think about it, it's not such a far 512 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:41,320 out there idea that there is a physical reality that we can see 513 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:44,400 in a in an unseen reality that we can't see. 514 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,840 But they all form the same reality and they affect one 515 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:50,280 another. Let me give you an example of 516 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:52,840 something that's happening right now in this room, even though 517 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,080 none of us can see it. Did you know in this room right 518 00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:01,160 now there are radio waves that are all throughout this room 519 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:06,200 that you and I cannot harness unless we have a compatible 520 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:12,400 device and we have the right login info or password? 521 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:16,840 And then from this compatible device and from that login info, 522 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:21,680 we can access the Internet. These radio waves, even though 523 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:25,860 we can't see them, if we're able to tap into them, it's called 524 00:30:25,860 --> 00:30:27,720 Wi-Fi. It's something that every single 525 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:31,600 one of us use every single day. You see, there is a physical 526 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,000 reality that we can see, and there's a there, there, there's 527 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:37,280 an unseen reality, a realm that we can't see in these radio 528 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:39,000 waves. And they all come to form the 529 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,400 same form and affect the same reality. 530 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:43,480 Spiritual and physical, same thing. 531 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:45,480 And here's one of the things that we're going to see is what 532 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:48,560 happens in one reverberates and affects the other. 533 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:51,720 What happens in the physical, what happens in the spiritual? 534 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:56,120 Whatever happens in one is going to reverberate and affect the 535 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:57,800 other. Second thing that we need to 536 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:00,840 know, foundational truth is what we see and experience as good 537 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:04,360 and evil in our lives is rooted in the spiritual world. 538 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:07,640 What you and I see and experience. 539 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,960 And you can even interchange this word, what you and I see 540 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:14,480 and experience as good and evil in our world or you can even say 541 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:17,760 in our lives or you can even say world or or culture what you and 542 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:19,720 I see and experience as good and evil. 543 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,160 They're all rooted in the spiritual world. 544 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:29,080 Now do not get this miss mistaken as like we're talking 545 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:32,840 about some cosmic biblical yin Yang arrangement. 546 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:34,600 That's not what we're talking about. 547 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:40,040 What we are saying is all good is rooted in the goodness of of 548 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:42,320 God. Check out what the half brother 549 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:46,800 of Jesus James said about God. Every good gift and every 550 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:50,440 perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of 551 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:53,600 lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to 552 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:56,160 change. So all good things, all great 553 00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:59,040 things, everything that we see that is good experience, that is 554 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:03,080 good, its origins are rooted in the goodness of God. 555 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:07,480 On the flip side of that, check out what Jesus said about our 556 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:09,840 spiritual adversary. He's talking to a group of 557 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:13,280 Pharisees, religious leaders that are trying to entrap Jesus. 558 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:16,600 Their hearts are dark as coal, and this is what he says. 559 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:20,320 He says you are of your father the devil, and your will is to 560 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:22,560 do your father's desires, and then he's going to talk about 561 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,880 what the devil's desires are. He was a murderer from the 562 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:28,920 beginning, and he does not stand in the truth because there is no 563 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:31,480 truth in him. When he lies, He speaks out of 564 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:36,880 his own character, for he is a liar and the father of law. 565 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:41,160 So all things that we see and experience as evil in this 566 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,840 world, all four of those devastating headlines and many, 567 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:47,920 many more that we could have cited, they are rooted. 568 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,840 Those exhibitions of pure evil are rooted in the spiritual 569 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:55,360 world. Third foundational truth force 570 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:58,560 this morning. There is a God who fiercely 571 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:01,440 loves me, and there's an enemy who fiercely hates. 572 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,600 Me. There is a God who fiercely 573 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:09,000 loves me and an enemy who fiercely hates me. 574 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:12,360 One of the most most well known. My favorite verse in the entire 575 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:16,000 Bible, and I would argue with anybody, the deepest verse in 576 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,720 the entire Bible is John 316. This is what Jesus said. 577 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:23,800 He said, for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, 578 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:26,240 that whoever believes in him should not perish but have 579 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:29,720 eternal life. This is the fierceness and the 580 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:33,640 ferocity in which our heavenly Father God loves you. 581 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:38,320 He gave everything. He gave his only Son for you and 582 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:42,160 for me to die in our place, to take on the penalty of our sins 583 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:44,800 so that we could be made right with Him. 584 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:49,240 Man not only how great is his love for us, how fierce is his 585 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:53,840 love for us, but as much as God fiercely loves me and as much as 586 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:58,120 God fiercely loves you, we have an enemy, Satan, that fiercely 587 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:01,160 hates us. Check out what the apostle Peter 588 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:06,000 wrote in first Peter 58. Be sober minded, church, be 589 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:06,960 watchful. Why? 590 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:11,320 Because your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a 591 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:15,679 roaring lion seeking someone to devour. 592 00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:18,199 In weeks to come, we're going to talk about what that phrase 593 00:34:18,199 --> 00:34:22,440 prowling around means. There are, there are some very 594 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:27,920 subtle yet time tested improving techniques and strategies that 595 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:34,719 our adversary Satan and his demons employ all the time to 596 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:39,520 keep us from the heart of God at all points and times. 597 00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:43,159 There is a roaring lion. As much as God fiercely loves 598 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:47,280 us, Satan fiercely hates us and Jesus very clear to where he 599 00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:50,719 says the thief. Talking about Satan the thief, 600 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:54,480 he comes to steal and kill and destroy. 601 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:58,400 He is not a punchline. He is our enemy. 602 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:03,120 He is our adversary that hates you and that hates me and wants 603 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:07,520 to wreck your life and not just wreck your life, wreck 604 00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:11,400 generations after you. He hates you. 605 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:17,280 But the 4th foundational truth this morning is this. 606 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:21,920 The war is real, but the end is written. 607 00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:27,760 God wins. The war is real, but the end is 608 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:30,960 written. God wins. 609 00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:34,120 It's not cheating to read ahead in the Bible. 610 00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:39,560 I would recommend it to anybody. Read the last couple chapters of 611 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:44,120 Revelation. God wins and those with God win. 612 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:51,040 The end is written, the outcome is secure, God wins. 613 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:53,560 And guess what? It won't even be close. 614 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:56,400 It won't even be close. It's not like God's going to 615 00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:59,320 like eke it out with one second on the clock. 616 00:35:59,880 --> 00:36:01,920 And I shared this with y'all a couple weeks ago. 617 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:04,200 We were at a conference a few weeks ago and there was a pastor 618 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:06,480 there who made this statement. And it's never law. 619 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:10,560 It's never left me since then. The Bible describes Jesus coming 620 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:17,240 back wearing robes of white and all those with him are in white. 621 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:20,480 And he asked this question. Who shows up to a fight wearing 622 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:22,880 white? Someone that knows that the 623 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:26,560 battle is certain, the victory is certain, and it's not even 624 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:29,360 going to be close. So here's a. 625 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:34,600 Question that we should all be asking church if the war is real 626 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:40,040 and the end is written, why does God still allow Ain't God wins. 627 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:43,160 Why does God still allow the war to continue happening? 628 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:48,520 Why does God still allow the war to where there's so much pain 629 00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:52,600 and hurt and loss Why does he allow it to keep happening? 630 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,920 These four headlines, we, we should, we should be asking the 631 00:36:56,920 --> 00:36:59,600 question God, what in the world is going on? 632 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:02,120 And then follow that question up with God. 633 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:04,880 If you win in the end, why are you allowing this to continue to 634 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:08,280 happen? Listen, if you, if you didn't 635 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:10,960 pay attention to anything that I said, please lean into this. 636 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:16,760 The reason that God continues to allow the war to rage, even 637 00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:19,160 though the outcome is certain is this. 638 00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:24,680 He is patient. He is patient. 639 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:27,280 Let me kind of unpack what I mean by that. 640 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:30,880 Again, going back to Peter, second, Peter 39, the Lord is 641 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:33,680 not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness. 642 00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:35,840 God, where are you? Why don't you speed things up? 643 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:38,400 Seems like you're behind. Don't you even see these 644 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:41,040 headlines going on? The Lord is not slow to fulfill 645 00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:44,840 His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward 646 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:48,640 you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should 647 00:37:48,640 --> 00:37:49,880 reach repentance. Do you? 648 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:52,960 Do you want to know why even though the war is real and the 649 00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:55,040 outcome is secure, God wins? Why? 650 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:57,160 He allows the war to continue even now. 651 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,600 To give you one more chance to surrender your life to Him. 652 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:04,640 That's it. To give you one more chance to 653 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:07,440 surrender your life to Him. Listen, there will be a day to 654 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:11,000 where God goes, OK, it's done, it ends. 655 00:38:11,240 --> 00:38:14,560 After that, there is no more chances to surrender your life 656 00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:17,800 to Jesus. And I believe me when I tell you 657 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:22,920 eternity hell will be full of men and women that would give 658 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:26,440 everything. We give everything just for one 659 00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:29,960 more moment, just for one more chance to surrender their life 660 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,960 to Jesus. If you want to know why God is 661 00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,800 patient while he is allowing things to continue happen, 662 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:38,840 happening even though we see evil around us and devastation 663 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:41,640 and pain and loss and grief around us is because He is 664 00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:44,680 patient. So with that in mind, can I ask 665 00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:48,680 you a very pointed question? Has there been a point in time 666 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:51,520 to where you have surrendered your life to Jesus, that you've 667 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:55,240 asked Jesus to forgive you of your sin and to take control of 668 00:38:55,240 --> 00:38:57,800 your life? Has there been that point in 669 00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:01,560 time? Do not say, well, I grew up in 670 00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:05,760 church or my grandfather was a pastor or I hear this often. 671 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:08,440 I've always been a Christian. No, you haven't. 672 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:13,040 Has there been a point in time? Has there been a place and a 673 00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:15,760 date? Those are the 2 main pieces of 674 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:18,320 ammo in fighting spiritual war against doubt. 675 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:20,720 Place and date. Has there been a place and date 676 00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:23,200 where you've surrendered your life to Jesus, asked Him to 677 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:26,680 forgive you of your sins, and asked Him to guide you? 678 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:32,080 If not, can I let you in on something? 679 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:34,120 God is being patient with you right now. 680 00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:37,480 The reason that you are here now? 681 00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:40,000 The reason that you're joining us online now? 682 00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:43,000 Is because he's patient with you, he's giving you one more 683 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,520 chance. He's giving you one more chance 684 00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:47,640 in just a moment. We're going to give you the 685 00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:49,920 opportunity to respond to that one more chance. 686 00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:54,680 But you know what some of us would say, Ben, I can go back to 687 00:39:54,680 --> 00:39:56,280 that. Praise God, I can go back to 688 00:39:56,280 --> 00:40:00,760 that for for me, I can go back 4th grader, month of May 689 00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:04,320 football stadium in the East End zone talking to a family friend 690 00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:07,200 of ours, praying to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. 691 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,240 I can go back to that. But you know what's on my mind 692 00:40:09,240 --> 00:40:12,440 right now? The names in the faces of people 693 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:15,520 that I'm pretty sure God's being patient with right now. 694 00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:20,280 Listen, I think that we are so, so apprehensive because we don't 695 00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:21,720 want to come across as judgmental. 696 00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:23,800 Listen, this is not being judgmental. 697 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:26,800 This is just being discerning. Is there anybody in your life 698 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:29,800 that you are fairly sure that God's being patient with right 699 00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:31,960 now? Is there anybody that you've 700 00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:35,360 discerned in your life by the way in which they live, that 701 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:38,920 you're pretty sure that they have not surrendered their life 702 00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:41,920 to Jesus? You may say, Ben, I do. 703 00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:44,040 I have that person. All right, I'm going to ask that 704 00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:46,200 you do something really gutsy this morning. 705 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:48,400 I want to ask. Would you be? 706 00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:51,680 Willing to come down here in just a moment and pray for that 707 00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:58,360 person by name. How broken are we for people? 708 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:02,640 You see, I think hell has that person on their on their list. 709 00:41:04,560 --> 00:41:08,880 How incredible it is to be able to lift up another person by 710 00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:12,280 name to say been they are not here, they're far from church. 711 00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:15,880 There is something supernatural about praying for somebody by 712 00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:20,280 name and asking the Holy Spirit of God to invade their heart and 713 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:22,560 their mind exactly where they are right now. 714 00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:25,360 If they're in bed, if they're at Waffle House or if they're at a 715 00:41:25,360 --> 00:41:29,520 bar that he invades their heart, invades their mind, maybe wakes 716 00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:32,680 them up from their sleep. Do you believe that he can do 717 00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:34,360 it? I do. 718 00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:36,120 So here's what we're going to do. 719 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:38,160 We're going to pray. We're going to pray closeout in 720 00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:41,080 prayer. If this morning is the morning 721 00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:44,920 to where you say, Ben, I have got to nail it down that I've 722 00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:47,920 I've surrender my life to Jesus. I would love for you to come 723 00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:49,240 down. You can either talk to me or 724 00:41:49,240 --> 00:41:51,880 Pastor Todd. You can bring somebody with you 725 00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:54,160 to pray. We'd love to pray with you. 726 00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:57,440 Or you guys say, Ben, I'm just so thankful that I can go back 727 00:41:57,440 --> 00:41:58,600 to that. But there's somebody in my 728 00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:01,000 family, there's somebody in my home, there's somebody in my 729 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:03,760 workplace, my classroom, There's a there's a close friend of 730 00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:05,640 mine. I'm pretty sure that they're far 731 00:42:05,640 --> 00:42:07,760 from God. I want to come down and I want 732 00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:10,960 to kneel down at this altar and I want to pray for them by name. 733 00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:12,720 We want to give you the opportunity to respond. 734 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:16,640 So God, we love you and we thank you for being here with us. 735 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:20,160 God, again, there is not a single one of us who is here in 736 00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:23,480 the room or joining us online that is here by accident or 737 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:26,680 coincidence. God, you are either. 738 00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:32,600 You are either giving us one more chance to accept you as our 739 00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:38,840 Lord and Savior, one more chance, or you've brought us 740 00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:43,240 here to confront the reality that we have someone that is 741 00:42:43,240 --> 00:42:46,840 near and dear to our hearts. That is, that we are close to in 742 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:51,520 our lives, that we discern that they're far from you and God. 743 00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:55,200 We want to pray for them. We want to pray on their behalf 744 00:42:55,200 --> 00:43:01,560 for them that your Holy Spirit would transcend location and 745 00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:05,120 space and God, that you would invade their hearts and their 746 00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:09,080 minds and their lives even now to bring them to a point of 747 00:43:09,080 --> 00:43:11,800 conviction to draw them close to you. 748 00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:15,240 God, I pray that whatever you are asking of us, God, that we 749 00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:18,200 would be faithful and obedient to step out and to respond to 750 00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:20,240 that call. And it's in Jesus name that we 751 00:43:20,240 --> 00:43:21,320 pray. Amen. 752 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:28,880 Thank you so much for listening to Riverbend Churches podcast. 753 00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:32,560 Riverbend Church exists to bring people to Jesus, grow 754 00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:36,280 generations in Jesus, and send disciples for Jesus. 755 00:43:36,280 --> 00:43:38,280 We hope that you enjoy this message.