1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,920 Hello and welcome to the Arise Church Podcast. 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:09,040 We are so glad you're here and want to thank you for joining us 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:12,080 today for the audio version of our Sunday morning message. 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,520 We want to invite you to join us in person at our Sunday morning 5 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:17,920 celebration every Sunday at 10 AM. 6 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:21,600 We are located on Old Jenks Rd. in Apex, NC. 7 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:25,000 Well, if you have your Bible, why don't you grab it? 8 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,240 I don't know if you came in cold today, but this message is going 9 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:30,120 to warm me up. I'm going to tell you that right 10 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:34,320 now I feel fired up and ready to go. 11 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:37,720 I've been receiving for myself these last few weeks as I've 12 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:41,280 been preparing and just meditating and studying for 13 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,840 these messages and today's message, I'm going to title this 14 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:49,400 the fight for your faith. The fight for your faith. 15 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,080 And if you didn't know you're in a fight, you're probably losing. 16 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,360 That's partly bad news and that's partly good news. 17 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:58,240 The good news is by the time you leave today, you're going to 18 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:00,000 know that there is a fight for your faith. 19 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,720 The good news is as well, you're going to leave with some tools 20 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,800 of how to fight for it. And I love the Kingdom of God 21 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,640 because we fight till we win. Now, I know some people say, 22 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:13,320 well, we've already won. And that's true. 23 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:15,600 In the end, we've already won. Jesus already won. 24 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,240 But there is still a fight for your faith. 25 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,680 But I want to start by reviewing just a little bit out of Hebrews 26 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:23,480 Chapter 11. I don't have it up on the 27 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:27,600 screen, but you can look at it in your Bible or on your Bible 28 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:29,240 app. And I'm going to start in just 29 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:30,960 in Hebrews Chapter 11, verse one. 30 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:33,320 This is what we cover last week. It says now faith is the 31 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:37,400 substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 32 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:40,480 Now faith is the substance of things. 33 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,720 Hoped for the evidence of things not seen now. 34 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,040 Faith is the substance. Faith is tangible. 35 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,360 Faith is something that once you lay hold of it in your heart, 36 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,000 it's there. And if you've ever done that in 37 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:55,680 your own life, you know what I'm talking about. 38 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:02,040 Faith is not some sort of ethereal or kind of foggy kind 39 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:04,360 of belief or Mystic kind of system. 40 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:08,120 Faith is something that has a substance to it, and it's not 41 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,680 just your set of beliefs. Well, you know, yeah, sure, I 42 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,160 have faith. And that's real prominent 43 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:14,680 nowadays. Politicians use it. 44 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:15,920 Oh, yeah. I'm a person of faith. 45 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:19,640 I'm a person of faith. But I want you to view faith a 46 00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:23,120 little differently this morning so that, you know, faith is what 47 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:25,680 everything you receive in God hinges on. 48 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:28,920 And so it's by faith. We're going to we're going to 49 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:31,360 fight. So I want you to look up at the 50 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,120 screen. First Timothy chapter 6, verse 51 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:36,960 12 says this. Fight, the good fight of faith. 52 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:38,280 Turn to your neighbor and say fight. 53 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:41,200 Oh, come on. You got to say it with a little 54 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:42,680 attitude. You can't say fight. 55 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:46,400 You got to say fight. Come on, fight the good fight of 56 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,160 faith. Take hold or lay hold of the 57 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:54,200 eternal life to which you were called and about which you made 58 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,880 the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 59 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,120 Paul is teaching his spiritual son Timothy, and he's telling 60 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,760 him, fight, fight. You have to fight for this. 61 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,880 And the longer you follow the Lord, the more He's going to 62 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,880 call you to fight because the more wins you get in your belt, 63 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,400 the more trusted you are, the more battles He puts you in on. 64 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,560 So if you feel like you've been fighting lately, good news, it's 65 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:22,840 probably because you won some. But the bad news is it's 66 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,680 escalated. The fight has escalated. 67 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,080 Anybody feel like you're in a fight right now for your faith, 68 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,560 where you fight, facing some things right in front of you and 69 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:35,800 they feel challenging? Come on, tell the truth. 70 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:38,080 You're in church this morning. Anybody feel like you're in a 71 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:41,800 fight for your faith right now? If you don't feel like you're in 72 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:43,240 a fight right now, there's one that coming. 73 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:48,680 We don't always know when or how it's going to come, but I've 74 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:50,480 noticed sometimes it catches me off guard. 75 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:52,960 Have you ever been caught off guard by something thrown at you 76 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,720 that you didn't expect, then laid off? 77 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:57,760 Nobody warned you you're going to be laid off. 78 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,080 You've been. You know, diagnosed with 79 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:06,360 something you weren't expecting, had someone close to you have 80 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:08,480 something going on in their heart and their life. 81 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:12,200 Well, all of a sudden you can find yourself in the middle of a 82 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,640 fight. So today's message is for all of 83 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,839 you who are in the fight right now and especially for all of us 84 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:19,640 who will one day be in the fight. 85 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:25,320 Timothy's hearing his spiritual father say, fight the good fight 86 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:28,120 of faith. Fight for it, fight for it, 87 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:30,640 fight for it. And I just fill an assignment 88 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,480 from the Lord this morning to tell every person under the 89 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,720 sound of my voice, whether here or watching online, fight for 90 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,240 your faith. Don't you dare give up, Don't 91 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:42,880 you dare quit. Don't you allow the enemy to lie 92 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:48,400 to you, to discourage you, to whisper his opinions to you. 93 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:50,560 You're going to have to shut that down and you're going to 94 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:54,680 have to get back in the fight in Jesus name, fight the good fight 95 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,080 of faith, fight for it and take hold of eternal life. 96 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:00,880 Some of us the fight is for your soul. 97 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:03,600 Let's just break it down real good. 98 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:06,560 It's. Cute as all y'all are, some of 99 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:10,680 you, the enemy is wearing you down to where your soul is at 100 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:17,240 stake. I'm watching people, even 101 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:22,520 pastors, ministers walk away from the Lord and let me tell 102 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:24,840 you, there is teaching out there that says once saved, always 103 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:26,080 saved. I don't believe that. 104 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:28,600 Now do I believe that your salvation is fragile? 105 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:30,640 No. Do I believe that you send this 106 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:31,760 morning, so now you're going to hell? 107 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:34,760 No, I don't believe that. But can you walk away from the 108 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:38,760 Lord? Yes, you can say never mind. 109 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,880 I reject that. I reject that belief. 110 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:46,680 I reject God, I reject Jesus and you can walk away from the Lord. 111 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,720 If you're worried about your salvation, then this doesn't 112 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,000 apply to you because the people I'm talking about, they, they 113 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,360 don't care. They are so far gone. 114 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:56,840 They're out there like peace out. 115 00:05:56,840 --> 00:05:58,120 I don't want to any part of that. 116 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,040 Paul is telling him, don't you be one of those people. 117 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:05,160 Lay hold of your eternal life. Take it, take it, take it. 118 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:07,520 And I'm watching people that I served. 119 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:13,480 In ministry with walk away from the Lord wild. 120 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:17,400 Somewhere along the line, I don't think it was an 121 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:19,840 instantaneous thing, but somewhere along the line they 122 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:22,080 were in a fight and they didn't know it and they were getting 123 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:26,240 pummeled, pummeled, pummeled until they said I quit, I give 124 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:27,760 up on this thing. But if you. 125 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:29,200 Do some of the things we're going to talk about this 126 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:30,880 morning. You will not be one of those 127 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:31,840 people. Praise the Lord. 128 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:34,160 Come on, you're not going to be one of those people. 129 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:36,160 No one a part of our Rise church is going to hell. 130 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:40,080 Amen. That's a great place for it. 131 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,880 Amen. Second Timothy, chapter 4, verse 132 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:46,120 7. Paul's going on now. 133 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:49,000 This is his 2nd letter to Timothy, right? 134 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,600 To the same guy. He says I have fought the fight, 135 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:55,320 the good fight. I have finished the race. 136 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,360 What does he say? I have kept the faith. 137 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,560 I have kept the faith. You know, when I think about the 138 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:06,760 Apostle Paul, he was he, this dude suffered some things. 139 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:11,680 He suffered shipwreck. He got beat up, he got in prison 140 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:13,520 multiple times. A lot of his letters that we 141 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,680 read, he's writing it from prison, that one of his letters 142 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:19,920 where he writes rejoice in the the Lord always. 143 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:22,480 And again I say rejoice, he wrote that in prison. 144 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,360 So this dude knows what he's talking about and he's saying 145 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:32,560 I've fought this fight. And so he's a man telling his 146 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:34,960 spiritual son. So you got to fight it now too, 147 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:38,160 especially some of you who are younger. 148 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,640 You may not have faced all the challenges that life's going to 149 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:43,800 eventually bring you, but there will be a time where you're 150 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,680 going to have to fight this fight out and you're going to 151 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:48,880 have to stand. You're going to do everything 152 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:53,600 you can to keep the faith. Look what Fusions chapter 6 153 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:58,920 says. Fusions chapter 6, verse 10 154 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:02,880 again this. Is Apostle Paul, he's write, 155 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,840 wrote a whole letter to this church in Ephesus and he's 156 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:10,440 saying finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the 157 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:14,440 power of his might. Be strong in the Lord, be strong 158 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:16,120 in the Lord, be strong in the Lord. 159 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,960 See, Paul was very direct. He didn't say feel strong. 160 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:24,200 He didn't say feel the goosebumps. 161 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,840 He was very direct because he was talking to persecuted 162 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,920 churches. Like for them this was do or 163 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:34,679 die. For them, they really were 164 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:37,919 contending to keep the faith because they some of them were 165 00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:41,919 faced with deny Jesus Christ or be executed. 166 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:46,960 So he's having to tell a church who very well could. 167 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,680 Have been a part of that many of them were he's having to tell 168 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:53,280 him be strong in the Lord, be strong in the Lord, be strong 169 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,440 when you're faced with that. If you ever get arrested or put 170 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:58,520 in the arena because it was a Greek culture. 171 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:03,040 If you're ever put in the arena. And they began to throw lions 172 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:06,280 your direction. And they have the gladiators, 173 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:08,160 all of that. Most of the people who 174 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,400 gladiators will kill were Christians, by the way. 175 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:16,560 So these movies glorify it. But don't forget some of them 176 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:18,600 were our brothers and sisters in the Lord. 177 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,720 Paul is writing to them and saying, be strong in the Lord 178 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:25,040 and in the power of his might. Can you imagine receiving a 179 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,160 letter like this from Paul when you know what he's saying to 180 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,560 you? This wasn't OK, let's be strong 181 00:09:31,560 --> 00:09:35,640 because we're facing political persecution or, you know, I 182 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,760 don't like what's going on in Washington or stuff that feels 183 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:41,240 sometimes, you know, hundreds of miles away. 184 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:45,400 For them it was very close. Be strong in the Lord and the 185 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:47,720 power of his might. And then he goes on to say, Put 186 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:52,760 on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against 187 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:55,400 the Wiles or the schemes of the devil. 188 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:02,080 One of the key components of you fighting for your faith is to 189 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:08,200 know there is a real devil. And he has cohorts and minions, 190 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:14,520 we call them demons. And they're, they're not few in 191 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:17,200 number. There's a lot of them. 192 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:21,440 And they're working on every person who's trying to fight the 193 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:24,600 fight of faith. So some of you, the 194 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,240 discouragement you're facing didn't come from you. 195 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:32,680 For some of you, the doctors say, well, it's chemical, but 196 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:37,600 God might say it's spiritual. They could be both. 197 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:41,560 So sometimes you need healing and deliverance. 198 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:45,960 But either way, let's not be ignorant of the devices of the 199 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:50,200 enemy and let's make sure we're strong in the Lord so that we 200 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:54,120 can put on this whole armor of God and stand against every 201 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,200 scheme of the devil. Come on. 202 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:00,200 That's the that's the will of God for my life and for your 203 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:05,560 life, that we would be able to withstand every scheme, every 204 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:08,040 scheme. We shouldn't fall prey or victim 205 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:12,840 to any plan attack of the enemy. That's not the will of God that 206 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:15,560 you or I fall prey to the attacks of the enemy. 207 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:18,200 His will is that we put on the whole armor of God. 208 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,080 Put on the whole armor of God. Why? 209 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,640 So you'll be able to stand. Listen, so you'll be able to 210 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:27,320 stand. So you'll be able to stand. 211 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,120 How will you be able to stand? You have to put on the whole 212 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,520 armor of God. Are y'all seeing this now? 213 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:37,480 There is pop theology out there that says no, whatever the will 214 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:39,160 of God is, it's just going to happen for you. 215 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:42,040 His it's just grace, grace, grace, grace, grace. 216 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:44,400 And I believe in the grace of God, but grace is the 217 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:47,040 supernatural empowerment to do the will of God. 218 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:51,960 So grace being the supernatural will of God, supernatural 219 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:55,560 ability to do the will of God, will empower you to put on the 220 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:58,320 whole armor of God. Put it all on. 221 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:01,040 Come on, turn your and say, put it all on. 222 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:04,520 Every bit of it, every bit of it. 223 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,800 Can you imagine going into war? And it's like, I forgot that 224 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:13,560 darn shield today I'm at the front lines. 225 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:20,760 But can I borrow yours? No, sucker, I need mine or as I 226 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:24,520 got my shield, but man, that sword, where did I put that 227 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:26,080 sword? Where did it go? 228 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:28,480 You know, of course, they're talking ancient Times Now. 229 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:33,200 It'd be guns or missiles or lasers or AI or I don't know, 230 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:37,000 you know, we'd, but you can relate it to us however you 231 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:39,440 want. But either way, you have a 232 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,920 responsibility for the fight, for your faith. 233 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,040 And some of us, I'm just convinced as I've been 234 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:49,840 preparing, some of us, this is a game changer because you didn't 235 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:51,280 know you had a part in this fight. 236 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:56,520 And as soon as you get alerted and you get educated, we're 237 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,640 going to we're going to put a blow to Satan in Jesus name. 238 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,920 Come on. Because once you put on the 239 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:09,080 whole armor of God, now you're able to stand. 240 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,360 So where he's been pummeling, pummeling, pummeling, being able 241 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,440 to have his way in your family and your life and your career or 242 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,800 whatever it may be, Oh no, he doesn't stand a chance. 243 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:21,000 Why? Because he can't take out the 244 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:25,040 armor of God. He's a defeated foe in Jesus 245 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,520 name. So it goes on to say this. 246 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:32,160 Look at this verse 12. For we do not wrestle against 247 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:37,240 flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, 248 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,880 against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against 249 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:44,080 spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places. 250 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:47,520 What does that sound like? That sounds like the Wiles of 251 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,240 the devil. He's breaking it down. 252 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:52,200 He's saying, let me just break this down for you, in case you 253 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:56,120 didn't know, the person that you just cannot stand at work. 254 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:03,160 They're not your enemy. Your spouse who's on your last 255 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:08,240 nerve is not my spouse. Your spouse. 256 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:16,120 They're not your enemy. No one. 257 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:20,160 Amen. Come on, better say Amen so your 258 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,640 spouse hears it. If you don't have a spouse, say 259 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:24,240 Amen so your future spouse hears it. 260 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:33,640 They're not our enemy. Politicians are not our enemy. 261 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:45,280 The media is not our enemy. The spirits behind all of those 262 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:51,640 entities, now, that's the enemy. For we don't wrestle against the 263 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:53,520 humans that are right in front of us. 264 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:57,160 We wrestle against what's behind them and motivating them 265 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,920 sometimes. And we come after those. 266 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,400 If you're going to come after them and you're going to engage 267 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,680 this fight, you better have the whole armor of God. 268 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:15,400 And I see a lot of Christians walking and talking and trying 269 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:17,760 to get in the fight that have no armor. 270 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:22,560 And that's called stupid. Come on, you, you can say Amen 271 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:28,120 to that. Social media is called flesh and 272 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:30,160 blood. Can I just break it down for 273 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,520 you? Social media is called flesh and 274 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:33,320 blood. You know what? 275 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:37,960 Thank God I haven't had access to social media for 10 years. 276 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:40,440 So guess what? When I see all y'all and I look 277 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:43,320 you in the eyeballs, I have no idea what you have posted this 278 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,760 week. I really don't. 279 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,680 So if you ate coffee or if you ate, you know, cake yesterday 280 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:54,280 that was so delicious from such and such place, I have no idea 281 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:56,200 if you had a birthday last week. I'm sorry. 282 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:58,240 Unless it's on our database, I don't know that either. 283 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:05,680 But I do know that many people engage social media like that's 284 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:07,360 where the fight is, that's where the fight is, That's where the 285 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:08,800 fight is. It is not where the fight is. 286 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:13,000 The fight is in the spirit. And so when you engage those 287 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:15,440 things, you're not engaging the armor of God. 288 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,040 You're in, you're engaging your thumbs. 289 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:22,040 And nowhere in the Scripture do I see the thumbs of God. 290 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,400 I don't see it, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, 291 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,720 but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of 292 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:32,520 this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly 293 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:34,400 places. I think it's fascinating that 294 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:38,080 Paul doesn't minimize the forces that we're fighting against. 295 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:42,520 He doesn't say, hey, there's they're no big deal, don't worry 296 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,040 about them. He's under our feet. 297 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:51,480 And a lot of faith people try to minimize Satan, I think 298 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:54,640 inappropriately because it makes people think like, oh, I don't 299 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:57,440 have to worry about him. But Paul didn't teach that. 300 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:01,320 Paul said you better have the armor of God because there is a 301 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,800 wrestling, there is a fight that you are supposed to engage in 302 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:08,119 and you're in need this army because what you're facing are 303 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:12,640 principalities. These are large forces. 304 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:19,480 Let's keep going. Verse 13 therefore, so now that 305 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:21,520 we know that we know that there are Wiles of the devil, we know 306 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:23,480 that there are principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of 307 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:25,319 this age. Therefore take up the whole 308 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:27,680 armor of God. He said, just in case I wasn't 309 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:32,560 clear, get the armor of God that you may be able again to 310 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:37,760 withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand that 311 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:39,760 you may be able, that you may be able. 312 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:41,640 I love this because you know what, it gives me confidence. 313 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:45,080 Once I take hold of the armor of God, I'm able to stand. 314 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:51,240 So I'm not some feeble minded. Oh, I just am scared of the 315 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:52,760 devil. He's around every corner. 316 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,760 No, I'm aware of his schemes. I'm aware of his principalities, 317 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,080 powers, rulers of darkness. But when I lay hold of the armor 318 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:03,760 of God, something in me stands up and says not one weapon 319 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:05,960 formed against me shall be able to prosper. 320 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:08,480 Why? Because I have the whole armor 321 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,160 of God. Amen. 322 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,800 That you may be able to withstand in the evil day and 323 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:24,560 having done all to stand. Verse 14, stand there for you 324 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:30,880 think Paul's trying to tell us to stand having girded your 325 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:34,880 waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of 326 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,880 righteousness. So girded means that belt, that 327 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:40,520 that belt of truth around your waist. 328 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,760 Having put on the breastplate of righteousness, I am the 329 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,280 righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. 330 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:53,080 That means you know who you are, you have an identity. 331 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:55,840 You know I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. 332 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:58,520 I'm not trying to earn it. I'm not trying to work for it. 333 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:00,880 I'm not trying to appease a vengeful God. 334 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:03,120 No, I've made Jesus Lord of my life. 335 00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:06,560 And so today I put on the breastplate of righteousness 336 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,560 because I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. 337 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:14,080 And so not only do I know I'm the righteousness of God in 338 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,160 Christ Jesus, but I live righteous. 339 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:19,640 I think it's fascinating that it's the breastplate of 340 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:22,320 righteousness. You want Satan to have a keel 341 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:26,440 shot in your life? Open yourself up to unholy 342 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:31,600 things in sin. Fastest way to get right in the 343 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:35,680 heart is to have that wide open. So you have to live holy. 344 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:37,280 You have to live right before God. 345 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:39,800 So yes, it's true, I am the righteousness of God in Christ 346 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:41,520 Jesus, but I have to live like that. 347 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,560 I have to put that on. I have to put on the breastplate 348 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,760 of righteousness. Verse 15 and having shod your 349 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,600 feet or tied your feet, your sandals with the preparation of 350 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:57,200 the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith, 351 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,360 which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts. 352 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:03,360 Look at that. Be able to quench or extinguish. 353 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:06,840 That's another way to say quench, extinguish all the fiery 354 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,640 darts of the wicked one. Look at the way Paul preaches. 355 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,920 He says when you do this, nothing will penetrate. 356 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:17,720 Listen to me. This is how Paul preached. 357 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,280 We don't preach this because sometimes we want to appease 358 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:23,760 people. So we get in conversations and 359 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:27,080 they tell us what's going on in their life and our heart gets 360 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:29,200 tugged. I'm sorry you're going through 361 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:30,360 that. And all of that's good. 362 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:34,360 We, we need to be kind to people, but at some point make 363 00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:38,400 sure we come back to scripture and say, OK, but let's make sure 364 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:41,360 we go back and put on the whole armor of God so we don't get 365 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:46,240 penetrated again. So I don't have an answer for 366 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:50,240 every single circumstance of every person's life because I'm 367 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:53,320 not God. But that's why we need 368 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:56,920 scripture, because Scripture will teach you of how to be 369 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:00,440 impenetrable. Impenetrable. 370 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,000 And you know what, y'all, up to this point, I'm not 371 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,760 impenetrable, but I want to be. Come on. 372 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,000 But I want to be and I want God to show me how through His word. 373 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,040 But what I'm not going to do is roll over and be like, well, 374 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,040 that's just this life. It's just the way it is till we 375 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:17,960 get to heaven. Apparently Paul didn't get that 376 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:22,440 memo. He got the teaching that was, 377 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:27,200 oh, when you have the shield of faith, you're able to quench all 378 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:33,040 the fiery darts of the wicked. 1 So this message of faith that I 379 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:35,600 started last week, I'm going to continue for the next bit here. 380 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:40,240 It literally can make you impenetrable to every attack 381 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:46,760 from Satan. And some of us, our faith just 382 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,040 being challenged. Mommy's saying it because our 383 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:53,680 experience says, well, you've been shot before and you thought 384 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:55,880 you were good, but that just caught you off guard or you 385 00:21:55,880 --> 00:22:00,960 didn't know. Then we come back to the Word 386 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:05,560 and say no, that shield of faith will quench all the fiery darts 387 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:09,640 of the wicked one and verse 17 and take the helmet of salvation 388 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,480 and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 389 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:16,920 Few weeks ago I talked about reading our Bible every day in 390 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,200 2026. For some of us, it'll literally 391 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:21,680 save your life. Why? 392 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:26,520 Because it's a weapon, it's how you're able to stand, it's how 393 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,840 you're able to quench every fiery tart, it's how you're able 394 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:34,360 to pull down strongholds. It's how we're able to take down 395 00:22:34,360 --> 00:22:36,840 principalities of powers. All of those things is right 396 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,960 here in Scripture, verse 18, praying always with all prayer 397 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,600 and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with 398 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,960 all perseverance and supplication for all the Saints. 399 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:52,320 So he's saying one of the pieces of this armor of God is praying. 400 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:55,640 Praying. You say, well, it's not really 401 00:22:55,640 --> 00:23:01,240 my thing to pray. Well, good luck because what if 402 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:05,720 you need that in the fight? It's all right that I'm a little 403 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:07,160 honest today. Is that OK with you all? 404 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,880 Part of it is not because I'm trying to be snarky. 405 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,640 It's that I'm trying to interrupt thought patterns and 406 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:18,160 habits and religiosity that has discounted the fight that you 407 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:22,640 and I are in. And I have the distinct honor of 408 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:25,680 pastoring this congregation. And I get the distinct honor of 409 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:29,400 having many, many conversations with many people who are in this 410 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,760 room or watching online. And I know you're in a fight. 411 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,160 And many times people confide in me, fights they're in that they 412 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:40,720 don't tell anybody else. So when I preach, I'm preaching 413 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:45,360 from a position of I know, I know the fight that you're in 414 00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:48,920 and everything in me wants to give you the tools and the 415 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:52,240 resources according to Scripture necessary for you to win that 416 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:56,040 fight. And I know, I'm very aware that 417 00:23:56,040 --> 00:24:00,600 I'm limited as a pastor of how much I can actually do to cause 418 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:02,680 you to win. But everything that is in my 419 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:07,000 power, I'm going to do it because it's sometimes your soul 420 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,760 is on the line, your family's souls are on the line, your 421 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,120 health is on the line, your future is on the line. 422 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:15,520 And I'm aware of that. So sometimes I come strong to 423 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:19,760 help breakthrough some of just the old patterns and habits. 424 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,800 And may the Spirit of God partner in that as well. 425 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:29,920 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in Jesus name. 426 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:34,560 Verse 20, He says, For I am an ambassador in chains, that in it 427 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:39,840 I may speak boldly as I ought to speak, that I may speak boldly 428 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:43,800 as I ought to speak. This is very, very powerful. 429 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:51,200 Romans chapter 4, verse 19 again, the apostle Paul writing 430 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:55,240 to the church in Rome, he said, and not being weak in faith, he 431 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,360 meaning Abraham. He's talking about Abraham right 432 00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:01,000 here, did not consider his own body already dead since he was 433 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,520 about 100 years old and the deadness of Sarah's womb. 434 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:08,640 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was 435 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:13,920 strengthened in faith, giving glory to God and being fully 436 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,000 convinced. Look at that, being fully 437 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,360 convinced that what he, what God had promised, he was able to 438 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:26,160 perform and therefore it that faith was accounted to him for 439 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:30,160 righteousness. Paul is explaining, he's saying 440 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:34,360 Abraham thousands of years before Jesus ever came and 441 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:38,280 provided a different way outside the law towards salvation. 442 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:40,960 He said Abraham got saved. How did he get saved? 443 00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:43,720 Through faith? What was his faith? 444 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:47,440 That he was fully convinced that what God had promised, he was 445 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:51,360 able to perform it. That is how powerful faith is. 446 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,040 So when you're standing and you're putting on the whole 447 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:56,760 armour of God and you're going to bat and you're going to fight 448 00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:59,640 for your family, even what we were singing earlier, and you're 449 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,040 putting it on so that you're fighting and contending for all 450 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:05,400 the promises of God to come to pass in your life. 451 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,440 Once you lay hold of that faith and you become fully convinced 452 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:13,960 you are unstoppable. Listen to me, you are 453 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:19,560 unstoppable. When you become fully convinced 454 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:23,440 that what God has promised to you, he is able to perform it, 455 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:27,040 you become unstoppable. You say, well, it's the Lord, 456 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:28,520 absolutely. Of course it's the Lord. 457 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:33,080 But if you don't believe, then now anything can stop you. 458 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:39,000 Anything can stop you. Any road bump, any speed bump in 459 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:43,200 the in the in this freeway of life in this highway of life can 460 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:45,760 stop any one person just depending on your level of 461 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:51,400 faith, any opposition, any friction, any relational issues. 462 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:53,440 It could be like never mind, never mind must not be the will 463 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:57,720 of God and you just watch people take they just they take the off 464 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:02,640 ramp of this life of faith because the going gets tough. 465 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:06,960 But those of us who get fully convinced? 466 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:10,840 That. He who promised is able to 467 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:12,960 perform it. You become unstoppable. 468 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:19,920 I want to give you 6 ways of how to fight in faith. 469 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:22,320 Are you ready? This is where it gets good. 470 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:24,880 I was just laying the groundwork. 471 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:30,240 Praise the Lord #1 How to fight in faith #1 Discern the 472 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:34,280 circumstances. Discern the circumstances. 473 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:41,000 Of course, all of these presuppose that you're in a 474 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,320 fight and you know first of all that you're in a fight, but 475 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,000 first of all, discern the circumstances. 476 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:50,080 Look at Luke chapter 22, fascinating verse or fascinating 477 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,440 conversation between Jesus and Peter. 478 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:58,040 He said in Luke 22, verse 31 and the Lord said Simon Sidon, 479 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:02,800 indeed Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as we but I 480 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,800 have prayed for you that your faith should not fail. 481 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,320 And when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren. 482 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:15,400 Now Can you imagine Jesus showing up and he's like a by 483 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:20,840 the way, that pesky Satan, he's asked for you and Jesus didn't 484 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:22,880 say, so I rebuked him and you don't have to worry about it. 485 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,480 He didn't say that. He says Satan asked for you. 486 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:30,240 So I pray for you that your faith not fail and you have to 487 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,440 discern and you have to hear from the Lord. 488 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:36,960 Here's what's going on in your life, because sometimes we'll 489 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:41,720 call something the will of God when really is Satan, and 490 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:43,840 sometimes we'll call something Satan. 491 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:47,400 That's really the will of God. And how do you discern the 492 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,000 difference? You need the Lord to tell you, 493 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:54,760 don't you? Because if you start fighting 494 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:59,920 against God, you will lose. Come on, save into that. 495 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:04,280 If you start rebuking the Lord, ain't nothing going to change 496 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:08,200 and not one thing's going to happen. 497 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:10,840 Not one thing will happen. You have to discern what's 498 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:14,720 happening here. And the Lord Jesus told Peter 499 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:19,320 exactly what his remedy was. Your faith, I pray that your 500 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:21,440 faith not fail. I pray that your faith not fail. 501 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:25,000 Many times when I'm praying for y'all individually, I'm praying 502 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:30,480 that your faith not fail because I know my prayer even for your 503 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:35,440 specific circumstances, if it's not attached to your faith being 504 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:38,280 strong in the Lord, it not going to work. 505 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:41,880 So what do we do? I pray that your faith not fail. 506 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,280 May your faith stay strong. May your faith be in the Lord. 507 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,240 May your faith be in the power of His might in Jesus name Amen. 508 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:56,240 I remember earlier last year, 2025, I just started to notice a 509 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,680 few people were leaving the church and mostly for good 510 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:02,520 reasons. People have, you know, family 511 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,440 that they wanted to move towards and just different stuff. 512 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:09,640 But as a pastor, you don't like to see anybody leave, you know, 513 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:12,800 kind of like you to stay. And I kind of, I kind of like 514 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:16,160 our community being built and seeing what the Lord's doing 515 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:18,440 here. And you know, we all have 516 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:20,240 insecurities. You're like, well, did I say 517 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:22,920 something, did something happen? Was it something I preached? 518 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:26,160 Was it because you know the faith message, whatever it could 519 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:28,680 be? And so you just wonder, but I 520 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:31,520 felt the Lord speak to me and said, you're being pruned. 521 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:34,960 And he took me to John chapter 15. 522 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:38,280 And in John chapter 15, the Lord says that when you bear fruit, 523 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:42,880 he prunes you that you may bear more fruit. 524 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:48,600 But, you know, if I took his pruning personal and 525 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:52,680 misunderstood it, then I could get all in my head, get all 526 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:56,120 kinds of discouraged. I could start putting pressure 527 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:57,960 on all the team. We need to change things so 528 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,000 people feel more comfortable. Mary Beth, make the coffee 529 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:05,840 hotter. You know, I could say kids team, 530 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:07,880 make sure it's more fun for the kids. 531 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,400 I can make sure that we've got some smoke lights or something, 532 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,000 you know, whatever. We could just start doing stupid 533 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:20,560 stuff, right? When all the while, if God's 534 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:24,080 pruning you, nothing you do will stop his shears from clipping 535 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:26,560 you. Hello. 536 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:34,840 And he's a good sniper. His shears are sharp. 537 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:37,800 And just clip here and clip here, clip here. 538 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:39,120 But you know what I love about him? 539 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,320 He's precise. He's. 540 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:47,280 Precise and his pruning for us and I believe for many of the 541 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,440 folks who left there, it was pruning for them. 542 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:52,680 And my prayer for them is that they bear more fruit. 543 00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:57,840 But I know for a fact we're going to bear more fruit because 544 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:01,640 at that time I discerned the circumstances and I said yes to 545 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,080 the pruning. I didn't resist it. 546 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,520 I even told our team at the time, I said, hey, I'm not going 547 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:10,760 to tell the church this because, you know, part of it is I don't 548 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:13,920 want people to hear old pastor said you were pruned. 549 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:16,800 You know, you're part of the pruning. 550 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:18,440 Guess you had to go. You must have done something 551 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:19,680 wrong. You know, we just say stupid 552 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:21,800 stuff. And I didn't want anybody to 553 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,280 misunderstand because it was the Lord at work. 554 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:28,400 So why would I give room for the enemy when it was him he was 555 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:29,440 doing it? So I would. 556 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:31,640 But I told the team, I said I just sensed that we're going 557 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:33,880 through a pruning. But the good news is once we get 558 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:36,920 through it, we'll bear more fruit because that's his word. 559 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:39,240 That's what he said. And he told me you're being 560 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,720 pruned. So I was just so thankful for 561 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:43,480 that. But you know, if I would have 562 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,360 gone through that and been like, I don't understand why this is 563 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:48,600 happening. God, I thought you said this and 564 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:51,280 this was the vision. And now I'm in the flesh and I'm 565 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:52,800 out of faith. I'm in a belief. 566 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:57,760 But because I heard him, I got to discern the circumstances and 567 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:01,640 I could stay in faith. And I really believe in 2026 568 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:03,320 that this is a year of more fruit. 569 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:08,280 Come on, say Amen, more fruit. And you know, what I love is 570 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:10,880 that if we as a church are experiencing more fruit, that 571 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:15,160 means every individual here is going to be bearing more fruit 572 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:19,040 in Jesus name, Amen. All right, so that was #1 573 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:22,680 discern the circumstances. Discern the circumstances #2 574 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:26,840 imitate faith filled promise getters. 575 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:31,840 It's a very southern point. Get her done. 576 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:34,720 Imitate faith filled promise getters. 577 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:39,520 Imitate faith filled promise getters. 578 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:42,840 Don't imitate people who don't inherit promises. 579 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:48,880 Hello. This thing's basic, but it's 580 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:53,080 amazing how many people talk like unbelievers. 581 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:56,760 What does that mean? That means you're imitating 582 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,080 unbelief. And James says when you're 583 00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:03,720 double minded, in other words, you talk out of two sides of 584 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:06,120 your mouth. He says don't let that person 585 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:08,679 suppose that they'll receive anything. 586 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:11,719 So I don't know about you. I'm like, I want to imitate 587 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:16,600 promise getters. Look at Hebrews chapter 6, verse 588 00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:18,760 9. But beloved, we are confident of 589 00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,520 better things concerning you. Yes, things that accompany 590 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:24,600 salvation, though we speak in this manner. 591 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:27,800 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, 592 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:31,360 which you have sown shown toward His name, and that you have 593 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,560 ministered to the Saints and do minister. 594 00:34:34,159 --> 00:34:38,320 And we desired that each one of you show the same diligence to 595 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:41,360 the full assurance of hope until the end, That you do not become 596 00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,560 sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience 597 00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:52,000 inherit the promises. I want to imitate faith, get or 598 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,480 promise getters. I do. 599 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:57,720 So you know who I listen to when I listen to preaching, I listen 600 00:34:57,720 --> 00:35:02,280 to people who inherit promises. I don't listen to people who are 601 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:04,680 just trying to tell me all the doom and gloom of what's going 602 00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:07,800 on in the world. If I wanted that, I would turn 603 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:10,720 on the news. Hello. 604 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:14,600 I don't listen to people who just go through the scripture 605 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,200 and intellectually want to tell me all the reasons why what God 606 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:23,800 really said isn't true or it was misinterpreted or if you you got 607 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:29,680 to read it this way or you got to do doctrinal twister to 608 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:32,520 misread it. And I'm like, I don't have the 609 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:35,400 time for that. And my faith is vulnerable to 610 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:37,400 being drained when I listen to that. 611 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:42,120 So I want to get around faith promise getters. 612 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:44,320 I do. So, you know, a lot of the 613 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:46,720 friends that we have in the ministry, they're people who are 614 00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:49,880 inheriting promises and the promises that God has made to 615 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:55,120 them, our souls, regions, countries, cities, they're 616 00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:57,920 taking territory for God. So I like just to get around 617 00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:03,760 people who when I when I hear them, they talk faith, they talk 618 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:09,000 miracles, they share testimony. And when they need prayer or 619 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,320 they need support, they'll come and say it, but they'll say it 620 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:15,240 from a point of view of knowing the will of God hasn't changed. 621 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:17,840 But I'm in the fight of faith. Will you partner with me in the 622 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:19,960 fight of faith? And to that we say, yes, of 623 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:25,920 course. But the writer of Hebrews is 624 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:28,520 here saying, don't become sluggish. 625 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,120 Just turn to your neighbor and say, don't be a slug. 626 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:39,920 Don't be a slug. Have you ever watched? 627 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:42,960 Is it Zootopia that has the sloth? 628 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:46,920 Our kids, you know, our kids age. 629 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:50,120 So there's this like cartoon movies, you know, called 630 00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:53,040 Zootopia and thus the the sloths. 631 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:57,760 Guess where they work The DMV in the movie. 632 00:36:57,760 --> 00:36:59,680 I didn't make it up. If you work at the DMV, please 633 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:05,240 don't take it personal. It's the movie, but I'm fairly 634 00:37:05,240 --> 00:37:08,400 certain these sloths were from North Carolina because the DMV. 635 00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:18,000 But you know, they just move so slow. 636 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:20,800 This Kingdom. Don't be a slug. 637 00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:24,880 Don't be a sloth. Imitate those who, through faith 638 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:27,320 and patience, inherit the promises. 639 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:30,520 Imitate them. Imitate them. 640 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:33,960 That's why you can't just go to any old church, because you can 641 00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:36,520 go to churches that are not inheriting promises. 642 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:40,080 They'll sing great songs. They'll have great, you know, 643 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:45,840 inspirational messages. But if you're not careful, if 644 00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:51,880 you don't see people inheriting God's promises, be weary, be 645 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:54,280 leery, I guess. Be leery of that. 646 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:59,040 Get around people who are taking God's promises, who are going 647 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:02,280 after it in faith in Jesus name. Hebrews 13, seven says, Remember 648 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:05,160 those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to 649 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:09,920 you, whose faith follow considering the outcome of their 650 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:13,360 conduct, considering the outcome of their conduct. 651 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,040 It's all right to do a little inspection. 652 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:18,640 How things been going. I can't wait. 653 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:21,800 We're having a member meeting for everybody who's officially a 654 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:24,000 member of a Rice church. We're having it on February the 655 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,600 1st at 6:00 PM. If you didn't get an e-mail, it 656 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:30,480 means you're not a member, but I guess there's still time you can 657 00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:33,720 officially become a member. But guess what we get to do? 658 00:38:33,720 --> 00:38:37,360 We get to do a little inspection of how faithful God's been to 659 00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:39,760 our church and how we've been inheriting promises. 660 00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:43,600 Glory to God. And I can't wait to show the 661 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:47,520 reports to see how much we've done with how much has come in. 662 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,240 And we have big faith for bigger things. 663 00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:55,560 So I'm like inspect, absolutely. I haven't perfected this fight 664 00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:58,800 of faith, but thank God we've seen some victories and we're 665 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:04,520 going to see more victories. So he says, whose faith follow? 666 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:08,120 Whose faith follow considering the outcome of their conduct. 667 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:12,800 Some of us, we need to humble down and follow someone else's 668 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:18,280 faith because if you want to just do it your way and just 669 00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:21,720 take all the licks and the bumps and the bruises because you 670 00:39:21,720 --> 00:39:23,840 didn't learn from anyone else's faith, you just want to figure 671 00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:25,840 it out on your own, you can do that. 672 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:29,040 But why would you do that when the Bible is like, one of the 673 00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:33,040 ways to fight this fight and to win is to follow someone else's 674 00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:35,880 faith whose outcomes look like the Word of God? 675 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:41,800 Amen. These are keys to victory. 676 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:46,080 These are keys to fighting in such a way where you win #3 fill 677 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:47,960 yourself with the hearing of God's Word. 678 00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:51,400 Fill yourself with the hearing of God's Word. 679 00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:56,320 Romans 10/17 So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the 680 00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:59,800 word of God. Faith comes by hearing and 681 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:02,600 hearing by the word of God. When you listen to preachers, if 682 00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:05,280 you leave with less faith, stop listening to them. 683 00:40:06,880 --> 00:40:08,560 Nobody wants to say it then, but it's true. 684 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:11,720 If you listen to someone ministering the word of God and 685 00:40:11,720 --> 00:40:14,400 you leave with less faith, it means you didn't hear the word 686 00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:17,320 of God. It means you heard opinion and 687 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:20,280 you might have heard a couple jokes and a couple stories and a 688 00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:23,640 couple quotes or whatever. But if you didn't hear the word 689 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:26,440 of God, the word of the Lord being ministered and preached, 690 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:28,840 then you're going to leave with less faith than when you came 691 00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:30,680 in. And I don't know about you. 692 00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:33,920 I don't have time to just come and listen to somebody talk. 693 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:38,040 I need somebody who's going to pump me up with the faith of 694 00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:40,040 God's Word. Amen. 695 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:43,320 And that's a, that's a prayer. When I walk around the property 696 00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:45,680 of this church, there's four different corners. 697 00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:48,480 And one of the corners is that this would be a House of the 698 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:51,080 word of God. And I pray every time I go to 699 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:52,760 that corner. This is the House of the word of 700 00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:53,840 God, the House of the word of God. 701 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:57,280 And I pray over this platform and I pray that may every person 702 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:00,160 who stands on this platform preach the word of God, 703 00:41:00,720 --> 00:41:05,240 unadulterated, unfiltered, in Jesus name. 704 00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:07,480 May they preach that word from here. 705 00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:09,760 Why? Because I have no confidence in 706 00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:13,560 our flesh. I have no confidence in my 707 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:15,360 skill. I have no confidence in the 708 00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:17,800 degrees I've gotten. I have no confidence in the 709 00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,960 Bible study skills and the exegesis and the hermeneutics 710 00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:24,400 and all of that which are helpful to assist me. 711 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:27,840 But unless I'm preaching the actual Word of God, I have no 712 00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:31,480 confidence. Why? 713 00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:33,840 Because your faith is on the line. 714 00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:38,240 So when you're coming in here, my aim is that your faith get 715 00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:41,640 stronger and built up so that throughout your life you can 716 00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:45,160 take these words to the bank because they're not ties words. 717 00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:47,000 They're the word of God. That's why I use so many 718 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:50,440 scriptures. Some, some people are like, why 719 00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:53,800 do you use so many scriptures? Because my words aren't going to 720 00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:56,600 help you. You can't take my words to the 721 00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:59,920 bank. You can't take my words to 722 00:41:59,920 --> 00:42:02,440 spiritual warfare. If you do, you'll lose. 723 00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:07,000 Amen. You need the Word of God, and by 724 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,760 the Word of God you'll be able to yield that sword of the 725 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:16,880 Spirit and take out the enemy #4 to fight for your faith. 726 00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:18,880 We have to gather with believers. 727 00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:24,680 Hebrews chapter 10, verse 22. Let us draw near with the true 728 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:27,320 heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts 729 00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:30,520 sprinkled from an evil conscience in our bodies washed 730 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:33,440 with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession 731 00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:37,880 of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 732 00:42:38,560 --> 00:42:42,920 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and 733 00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:45,560 good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves 734 00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:49,120 together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, 735 00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:52,040 and so much the more as you see the day approaching. 736 00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:55,320 We're not supposed to gather less. 737 00:42:55,320 --> 00:42:57,840 We're supposed to gather more as we see the day of the Lord 738 00:42:57,840 --> 00:42:58,400 coming. Why? 739 00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:03,440 Because the Bible prophecies that many will stray, even the 740 00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:05,280 elect. Well, stray. 741 00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:07,800 Well, how do you not stray? How do you not lose your faith? 742 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:11,200 Like some that I've talked about before is one of the ways is you 743 00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:14,640 gather with believers. So of course, here we're 744 00:43:14,640 --> 00:43:17,520 gathering this morning, you get to be seen. 745 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:20,400 You get to interact with people who are like faith and they're 746 00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:23,160 holding us accountable and they're encouraging us. 747 00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:26,440 But home groups, we're going to do home groups in a few weeks 748 00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:28,840 here. So gathering throughout the 749 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:31,360 week, gathering a more intimate space where you can really do 750 00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:35,400 life and open up life together. And there'll be other things 751 00:43:35,400 --> 00:43:38,080 even that I share at our Vision Sunday on February the 8th. 752 00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:42,000 And I can't wait to show just what God is stirring up in the 753 00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:44,680 hearts of people. And it's all around gathering 754 00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:54,240 with believers so powerful #5 praying in the Spirit, praying 755 00:43:54,240 --> 00:43:57,160 in the Spirit. Jude only has 1 chapter, so 756 00:43:57,160 --> 00:44:00,920 we'll say verse 20 says, But you beloved, building yourselves up 757 00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:03,840 on your most holy faith, building yourselves up on your 758 00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:06,440 most holy faith, praying in the Spirit. 759 00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:09,360 When you're in a fight, pray in the Spirit. 760 00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:15,120 Bible also says, for we do not know what to pray for as we 761 00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:20,200 ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with 762 00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:21,720 groanings which cannot be uttered. 763 00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:25,240 So when you're praying in the Spirit, it is the Spirit of God 764 00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:28,280 praying through you. And the Bible says when you're 765 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:30,200 doing that, you're praying the perfect will of God. 766 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:34,040 So I don't know about you, but if I know as I'm praying the 767 00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:35,960 Spirit, I'm praying the perfect will of God. 768 00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:37,840 Guess what's being built my faith? 769 00:44:39,240 --> 00:44:42,720 Because there are sometimes where I don't have English words 770 00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:46,600 for what needs to be prayed. I don't know enough of what's 771 00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:48,280 going on. I don't know the insurance and 772 00:44:48,280 --> 00:44:49,840 outs. I don't know the full 773 00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:52,200 circumstances. So guess what I get to do? 774 00:44:52,360 --> 00:44:53,840 I get to start praying in the Spirit. 775 00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:56,440 And when I start praying the Spirit, something in me starts 776 00:44:56,440 --> 00:44:58,840 to shift and my faith gets built. 777 00:44:59,160 --> 00:45:01,160 And I'll do what the old Saints used to call. 778 00:45:01,160 --> 00:45:04,120 I'll pray through it. You know what pray through it 779 00:45:04,120 --> 00:45:05,760 means? It means you pray until you're 780 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:09,360 through it. And you, how do you know you're 781 00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:11,880 through it? You'll know, you'll feel a 782 00:45:11,880 --> 00:45:14,000 release and you'll feel like, OK, it's done and you'll just be 783 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:15,880 able to go go along in your business. 784 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:19,880 But there are many times where I don't know it, even church wise, 785 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:22,640 I don't know what to pray for, but I'll pray through it and 786 00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:25,200 I'll pray in the Spirit and I'll pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, 787 00:45:25,200 --> 00:45:27,080 pray, pray, pray. Sometimes it can be done in 5 788 00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:29,640 minutes, sometimes it takes 30 minutes, sometimes it takes an 789 00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:31,160 hour. It just takes as long as it 790 00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:33,360 takes. But I'll tell you what, I'm 791 00:45:33,360 --> 00:45:36,480 going to engage that fight. Even if I don't know what to 792 00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:38,840 pray for, I'm going to click in and I'm going to pray in the 793 00:45:38,840 --> 00:45:39,920 Spirit. Amen. 794 00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:46,320 Praise the Lord number six. Last one, strengthen yourself in 795 00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:51,320 the Lord. Strengthen yourself in the Lord. 796 00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:56,800 I want to close with this particular example of King 797 00:45:56,800 --> 00:46:01,360 David. It's one of the most startling 798 00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:04,520 passages in Scripture because it's David at probably one of 799 00:46:04,520 --> 00:46:09,600 his lowest points. Let me read just out of verse 800 00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:13,040 one of First Samuel chapter 30. Now it happened when David and 801 00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:15,800 his men came to Ziklag on the third day that the Amalekites 802 00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:19,160 had invaded the South and Ziklag attacked Ziklag and burned it 803 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:22,440 with fire and had taken captive the women and those who are with 804 00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:25,680 their, who are there from small to great, they did not kill 805 00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:28,280 anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 806 00:46:28,560 --> 00:46:31,360 So David and his men came to the city and there was burned with 807 00:46:31,360 --> 00:46:32,880 fire. And their wives, their sons and 808 00:46:32,880 --> 00:46:34,800 their daughters have been taken captive. 809 00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:37,480 So think of this. David's fighting the, the, the, 810 00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:40,800 the battles of the Lord. And while he's fighting the 811 00:46:40,800 --> 00:46:43,640 battles of the Lord, his own home gets ransacked. 812 00:46:47,080 --> 00:46:50,160 And anybody who's ministered before been in ministry, 813 00:46:50,160 --> 00:46:53,120 sometimes you can feel like I'm out doing the, the, the, the 814 00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:56,880 ministry for the Lord and my own home feels like it's on fire. 815 00:46:58,760 --> 00:47:02,560 This is what happened to David. So they come back and I'll just 816 00:47:02,560 --> 00:47:04,080 paraphrase a little bit, they come back. 817 00:47:04,080 --> 00:47:06,240 All his men turned on him. They were ready to stone him and 818 00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:08,720 kill him because he they were like, it's your fault. 819 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:11,960 This is your fault. We followed you. 820 00:47:11,960 --> 00:47:14,360 You said God was with us. You said we were fighting the 821 00:47:14,360 --> 00:47:16,640 battles of the Lord. We trusted you. 822 00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:21,240 And now look, our wives, our kids are all taken captive. 823 00:47:21,240 --> 00:47:24,000 Our homes are burned with fire, and it's your fault. 824 00:47:24,760 --> 00:47:28,520 That's where we find David. Verse 6 says, Now David was 825 00:47:28,520 --> 00:47:31,280 greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, 826 00:47:31,520 --> 00:47:34,880 because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man 827 00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:39,040 for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself 828 00:47:39,040 --> 00:47:41,920 in the Lord. But David strengthened himself 829 00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:44,720 in the Lord. But David strengthened himself 830 00:47:44,720 --> 00:47:45,760 in the Lord. He. 831 00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:52,440 Did what no one else was doing. Everyone else was grieving. 832 00:47:52,720 --> 00:47:54,560 David strengthened himself in the Lord. 833 00:47:56,680 --> 00:47:58,560 Everyone else was blame shifting. 834 00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:01,080 David was strengthening himself in the Lord. 835 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:04,880 This sound familiar to anybody? Have you ever gone through a 836 00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:08,840 time like that where you felt like this? 837 00:48:08,840 --> 00:48:15,160 This could not get worse. This is the time where you 838 00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:20,160 strengthen yourself in the Lord. This is the time you go back to 839 00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:22,080 the one who called your name in the beginning. 840 00:48:23,920 --> 00:48:26,920 This is the one where you go where David says I go to the 841 00:48:26,920 --> 00:48:32,880 rock that is higher than I. This is why David says over and 842 00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:36,080 over and over in the Psalms that he is his, that God is his 843 00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:40,320 refuge in his shelter. Because he knew what he was 844 00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:43,840 talking about. He found that shelter in the 845 00:48:43,840 --> 00:48:45,880 Lord. When everything seemed like it 846 00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:49,200 was falling apart, when the battle was fiercest, he 847 00:48:49,200 --> 00:48:51,680 strengthened himself in the Lord. 848 00:48:53,480 --> 00:48:56,960 Then David said to Abiathar, the priest, him elect's son, bring 849 00:48:57,160 --> 00:48:59,720 the ephod here to me. And Abiathar brought the ephod 850 00:48:59,720 --> 00:49:01,480 to David. So David inquired of the Lord, 851 00:49:01,480 --> 00:49:03,920 Look at that. The strengthening came through 852 00:49:03,920 --> 00:49:06,360 inquiring, and he asked the Lord what to do. 853 00:49:07,200 --> 00:49:09,720 Now most of us would just assume what to do. 854 00:49:10,840 --> 00:49:13,400 We got to run. We got to go take back what was 855 00:49:13,400 --> 00:49:15,240 stolen from us. We got to chase down the enemy. 856 00:49:15,240 --> 00:49:17,800 We got to find our kids and our wives. 857 00:49:19,080 --> 00:49:22,600 But David took the pause to inquire of the Lord. 858 00:49:23,400 --> 00:49:26,800 He went back to what he has been doing all along, and he asked 859 00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:28,960 the Lord, Shall I pursue this troop? 860 00:49:29,520 --> 00:49:32,920 Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, God 861 00:49:32,920 --> 00:49:36,600 answered him, Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them, and 862 00:49:36,600 --> 00:49:42,480 without fail recover all. In the midst of one of the 863 00:49:42,480 --> 00:49:46,560 darkest times of his whole life, he received the word of the Lord 864 00:49:47,920 --> 00:49:54,560 as a leader, but also for his own family to pursue the troop. 865 00:49:54,680 --> 00:49:58,720 Pursue them, overtake them, and you shall surely without fail, 866 00:49:58,720 --> 00:50:02,440 recover all. Some of us, we haven't been 867 00:50:02,440 --> 00:50:05,560 fighting up to this point. We haven't deployed any of the 868 00:50:05,560 --> 00:50:06,840 things that I've mentioned today. 869 00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:08,800 Some of you haven't realized it was a fight. 870 00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:10,320 You were in a fight for your faith. 871 00:50:11,200 --> 00:50:15,480 But there's good news. You get back in this fight and 872 00:50:15,480 --> 00:50:20,000 you inquire of the Lord and you ask Him what to do now, and he 873 00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:24,240 won't be any different to you than he was with David. 874 00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:28,680 And his intent for you and your family and your life is that you 875 00:50:28,680 --> 00:50:33,320 shall surely overtake what was stolen from you and you shall 876 00:50:33,320 --> 00:50:36,080 surely overtake and you shall surely recover. 877 00:50:36,600 --> 00:50:38,920 All of it. Come on. 878 00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:43,680 Every single bit of all of it, all of it, all of it in Jesus 879 00:50:43,680 --> 00:50:46,360 name. All of it in Jesus name. 880 00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:49,280 You know, through the years I've met many people, you know, 881 00:50:49,280 --> 00:50:52,840 they'll go through the different recessions and different things 882 00:50:52,840 --> 00:50:55,440 will happen in their life. And you know, if you remember 883 00:50:55,440 --> 00:50:59,640 2008, 2009, I knew many friends who lost their houses during 884 00:50:59,640 --> 00:51:02,720 that time because they got different mortgages and 885 00:51:02,720 --> 00:51:06,760 different things that just, you know, later on bit them. 886 00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:11,720 And of course we can money morning quarterback that and 887 00:51:11,720 --> 00:51:13,080 well, you should have done this and none of the other. 888 00:51:13,080 --> 00:51:17,040 I don't know all the circumstances, but all I know is 889 00:51:17,040 --> 00:51:20,000 that it's in those moments where you got to go back to the Lord 890 00:51:20,520 --> 00:51:24,320 and ask him, What do I do? What do I do? 891 00:51:24,480 --> 00:51:26,440 Because Satan will have you defeated. 892 00:51:27,200 --> 00:51:30,040 He'll let you wallow in defeat. He'll let you wallow in your 893 00:51:30,040 --> 00:51:31,680 debt. He'll let you wallow in all the 894 00:51:31,680 --> 00:51:37,720 life circumstances that He created for you, and he'll blame 895 00:51:37,720 --> 00:51:38,760 you. It's your fault. 896 00:51:38,760 --> 00:51:40,720 You shouldn't have done this. And he'll just condemn, condemn, 897 00:51:40,720 --> 00:51:44,000 condemn, condemn. But the Lord, he'll start to 898 00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:46,680 direct your steps in your path. And what's He directing you back 899 00:51:46,680 --> 00:51:49,920 towards? Toward recovery, toward 900 00:51:49,920 --> 00:51:54,000 restoration, toward taking back everything that the enemy's 901 00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:56,680 stolen. So when you get in the fight of 902 00:51:56,680 --> 00:51:58,720 faith, guess what? You're not just maintaining 903 00:51:58,720 --> 00:52:00,840 territory or ground, You're taking ground. 904 00:52:01,840 --> 00:52:04,640 You're recovering things that were lost or taken from you, 905 00:52:04,640 --> 00:52:07,600 stolen from you. This is all throughout 906 00:52:07,600 --> 00:52:08,960 Scripture. I'm just choosing a couple 907 00:52:08,960 --> 00:52:11,280 different examples because I don't have the time to go 908 00:52:11,280 --> 00:52:13,360 through all of them. But we could go through 909 00:52:13,360 --> 00:52:15,880 scripture after scripture after scripture where it was the will 910 00:52:15,880 --> 00:52:18,720 of God for his people to basically do this, to go 911 00:52:18,720 --> 00:52:22,800 overtake and recover all, go overtake and recover all, go and 912 00:52:23,320 --> 00:52:25,880 overtake and recover all. And I just feel like for some 913 00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:29,800 this morning, you need to write this down On this date, January 914 00:52:29,800 --> 00:52:32,480 the 18th, 2026. This was the day where God gave 915 00:52:32,480 --> 00:52:35,880 you permission, go take it back. Come on. 916 00:52:36,560 --> 00:52:38,120 Oh, I feel it strong, some of you. 917 00:52:38,320 --> 00:52:40,960 This is the day where you determine I'm going to take my, 918 00:52:41,160 --> 00:52:43,800 my, my, my children back. As of today. 919 00:52:44,360 --> 00:52:47,440 I may have made mistakes, I may have done some things where it 920 00:52:47,440 --> 00:52:50,640 may have caused them to get all wonky on me right now. 921 00:52:50,640 --> 00:52:53,560 But as of today, I take them back in Jesus name. 922 00:52:54,240 --> 00:52:55,760 Why? Because I'm not wrestling with 923 00:52:55,760 --> 00:52:57,520 flesh and blood. You don't need to call them and 924 00:52:57,520 --> 00:52:59,360 say, guess what? The pastor, I'm taking you back 925 00:52:59,360 --> 00:53:01,000 today in Jesus name. Don't you do that. 926 00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:03,880 That's not what this is about. This is a spiritual fight. 927 00:53:04,360 --> 00:53:07,120 This is a fight of your faith. And once your faith is back, 928 00:53:07,120 --> 00:53:11,520 Satan and his cohorts, his demons have no chance, no shot 929 00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:15,200 to take advantage of you or your family any longer. 930 00:53:15,480 --> 00:53:20,320 And it's just a matter of time before you pursue and you catch 931 00:53:20,320 --> 00:53:23,160 back up with them and you take it all back in Jesus name. 932 00:53:23,520 --> 00:53:25,320 This isn't me just preaching hype. 933 00:53:25,320 --> 00:53:28,080 This isn't me preaching some sort of skewed gospel. 934 00:53:28,080 --> 00:53:32,640 This is me actually preaching the Bible, glory to God. 935 00:53:32,640 --> 00:53:36,560 And I just sense very strongly that some of us, as your faith 936 00:53:36,560 --> 00:53:39,520 rises, some of you are going to remember words that God spoke 937 00:53:39,520 --> 00:53:43,600 over your life even years ago, promises he spoke to you, 938 00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:47,800 visions he gave to you. But unbelief clouds all that. 939 00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:51,400 It gets it all pressed down and sometimes it gets so bad you 940 00:53:51,400 --> 00:53:54,240 forget it. But when faith starts to stir 941 00:53:54,240 --> 00:53:55,560 back up in your heart, guess what? 942 00:53:55,560 --> 00:53:57,840 Your memory comes back and you start to remember. 943 00:53:57,840 --> 00:54:01,280 Oh, I remember, I remember when God spoke to me this, this 944 00:54:01,280 --> 00:54:04,600 message a few years ago. And I haven't seen recovery of 945 00:54:04,600 --> 00:54:05,880 all that. And guess what that is? 946 00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:08,600 That's that is faith rising back up in you. 947 00:54:09,200 --> 00:54:12,480 And you start to do that and you start to lay hold and put on the 948 00:54:12,480 --> 00:54:15,640 whole armor of God and you start to do these things of how to 949 00:54:15,640 --> 00:54:17,360 fight the faith. I'm telling you, we're going to 950 00:54:17,360 --> 00:54:21,680 have more testimonies in 2026 than in any previous time of 951 00:54:21,680 --> 00:54:27,520 this church history in Jesus name, in the name of Jesus. 952 00:54:28,480 --> 00:54:32,600 First, John 54 says this is the victory that has overcome the 953 00:54:32,600 --> 00:54:36,760 world, our faith. That's how powerful. 954 00:54:36,760 --> 00:54:45,400 Faith is it overcomes the world. Your faith could literally be so 955 00:54:45,400 --> 00:54:51,720 potent it overcomes the world. Glory to God, glory to God. 956 00:54:52,320 --> 00:54:55,400 Thank you Lord. Let's stand to our feet and 957 00:54:55,400 --> 00:55:03,770 let's say some things. Glory to God. 958 00:55:04,050 --> 00:55:06,970 I was listening to a minister and he said he was going to the 959 00:55:06,970 --> 00:55:09,010 Lord because he was facing all kinds of trouble. 960 00:55:10,130 --> 00:55:11,730 And he asked God, God, what do I do? 961 00:55:11,730 --> 00:55:14,530 And the Lord told him, stand. So he shot back at the Lord. 962 00:55:14,530 --> 00:55:19,000 He said, I've been standing and the Lord told him we'll keep 963 00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:21,000 standing. He says, but what do I do after 964 00:55:21,000 --> 00:55:23,400 that? He says, he said if you knew 965 00:55:23,400 --> 00:55:26,040 what I knew, you would be rejoicing. 966 00:55:27,080 --> 00:55:29,240 And the minister said, well, what do you know that I don't 967 00:55:29,240 --> 00:55:31,160 know? He says, what I know that you 968 00:55:31,160 --> 00:55:34,840 don't know is that Satan just shot his best shot and you're 969 00:55:34,840 --> 00:55:38,120 still standing. Glory to God. 970 00:55:38,760 --> 00:55:42,120 And something when I heard that shot up in me and I'm like, 971 00:55:42,120 --> 00:55:43,960 that's true. That's true. 972 00:55:43,960 --> 00:55:46,800 And for some of you, the fact that you're in this sanctuary 973 00:55:46,800 --> 00:55:50,760 today ought to give you a great confidence that you can stick 974 00:55:50,760 --> 00:55:52,880 with it and fight the fight of faith. 975 00:55:53,320 --> 00:55:55,680 Glory to God. I didn't warn y'all for this, 976 00:55:55,680 --> 00:55:57,200 but Robin joined. Do you mind coming up? 977 00:55:57,200 --> 00:55:59,680 Yeah. Thank you. 978 00:55:59,680 --> 00:56:01,160 Thank you. Glory to God. 979 00:56:02,160 --> 00:56:04,320 Glory to God. Some of us you just need to 980 00:56:04,320 --> 00:56:07,880 close your eyes where you're at and start remembering What are 981 00:56:07,880 --> 00:56:10,760 some of the promises that feel like they got stolen from you, 982 00:56:12,040 --> 00:56:13,960 where you feel like you lost ground. 983 00:56:14,720 --> 00:56:16,400 Maybe you feel like the enemy did it. 984 00:56:16,400 --> 00:56:19,360 Maybe it's you just need some discernment on what's really 985 00:56:19,360 --> 00:56:22,280 going on. But as of today, the late the 986 00:56:22,280 --> 00:56:27,240 Lord saying either way ask me what to do, ask me what to do, 987 00:56:27,480 --> 00:56:32,560 talk to me about it, stop Googling, stop AI ING it and ask 988 00:56:32,560 --> 00:56:36,600 me ChatGPT has nothing on the Spirit of God. 989 00:56:37,560 --> 00:56:42,640 Hello, glory to God, close your eyes right where you're at and 990 00:56:42,640 --> 00:56:45,080 just begin to ask the Lord, Lord, where does this apply to 991 00:56:45,080 --> 00:56:47,360 me? Where does this apply to me? 992 00:56:49,240 --> 00:56:51,880 Start committing saying, Lord, I'm ready to jump back in this 993 00:56:51,880 --> 00:56:54,680 fight. I'm ready to be strengthened 994 00:56:54,680 --> 00:56:56,680 again. I'm ready to put on the whole 995 00:56:56,680 --> 00:57:02,000 armor of God again. I'm ready to wield this sword of 996 00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:05,000 the spirit. I'm ready to raise my shield of 997 00:57:05,000 --> 00:57:09,360 faith so that I'm able to quench every fiery dart of the wicked 998 00:57:09,360 --> 00:57:12,880 one. Glory to the name of Jesus. 999 00:57:14,280 --> 00:57:18,080 Glory to the name of the Lord, Glory to the name of God. 1000 00:57:18,080 --> 00:57:21,440 Lord, I pray that you'd start just releasing new dreams and 1001 00:57:21,440 --> 00:57:23,960 visions in this place, in this atmosphere of faith. 1002 00:57:24,160 --> 00:57:27,000 I pray that you just start dropping in to the hearts of 1003 00:57:27,000 --> 00:57:31,320 people what it is that you have for their life, dreams and 1004 00:57:31,320 --> 00:57:34,920 visions that far outweigh anything that they have thought 1005 00:57:34,920 --> 00:57:38,520 or imagined up to this place. I pray that you would start 1006 00:57:38,520 --> 00:57:42,600 increasing our faith so that we would literally go from faith to 1007 00:57:42,600 --> 00:57:46,040 faith and glory to glory. I pray that you would help us 1008 00:57:46,040 --> 00:57:50,760 Lord that all unbelief would drain out of us in Jesus name. 1009 00:57:51,040 --> 00:57:54,600 I pray that we would be fully convinced that he who promised 1010 00:57:54,760 --> 00:57:59,960 is able to complete it, able to bring it about 100%. 1011 00:58:00,760 --> 00:58:04,440 Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God. 1012 00:58:04,440 --> 00:58:08,000 In fact, I just say what King David said, which is let God be 1013 00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:11,760 true and every man a liar. And so, Lord, I just declare 1014 00:58:11,760 --> 00:58:15,880 that wherever circumstances seem to compete with your promise, I 1015 00:58:15,880 --> 00:58:21,040 say, let God be true, and every man a liar, every philosophy a 1016 00:58:21,040 --> 00:58:25,680 liar, every other religion a liar, every other gospel a liar, 1017 00:58:25,800 --> 00:58:29,840 Let God be true and every. One of those things, be a liar. 1018 00:58:30,160 --> 00:58:33,320 Glory to the name of the Lord, Glory. 1019 00:58:33,320 --> 00:58:35,320 To the name of the Lord. Some of us, we just need to 1020 00:58:35,320 --> 00:58:38,200 commit. Lord, I'd rather die in faith 1021 00:58:38,200 --> 00:58:43,720 than live in unbelief. Lord, I'd rather die in faith 1022 00:58:43,720 --> 00:58:47,840 than live in unbelief. I'm committing myself to this 1023 00:58:47,840 --> 00:58:50,400 fight of faith. I will not give up until the 1024 00:58:50,400 --> 00:58:53,880 very last breath that I breathe. And I'm with Jesus in heaven. 1025 00:58:54,400 --> 00:58:58,960 Glory to the name of the Lord. Thank you, Lord. 1026 00:59:00,160 --> 00:59:03,440 Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. 1027 00:59:04,840 --> 00:59:07,560 Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. 1028 00:59:08,320 --> 00:59:12,920 Glory to God. We want to thank you again for 1029 00:59:12,920 --> 00:59:14,960 joining us for the Arise Church podcast. 1030 00:59:15,200 --> 00:59:17,360 We hope you were encouraged by what you heard today. 1031 00:59:17,680 --> 00:59:20,920 You can find us.online@arisechurchn-c.com and 1032 00:59:20,920 --> 00:59:25,120 on Instagram at Arise Church NC. If you need prayer or support or 1033 00:59:25,120 --> 00:59:28,200 are interested in learning more about Arise Church, we encourage 1034 00:59:28,200 --> 00:59:31,600 you to connect with us online or in person at our Sunday morning 1035 00:59:31,600 --> 00:59:33,680 service. Thank you and God bless.