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This is the end of this series, 
guys. 

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And since it's the end, why 
don't you turn to the Book of 

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Revelation? 
We'll start in Chapter 12 in 

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just a moment. 
While it's the end of this 

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series, I do have two more 
series on this spiritual warfare

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topic that are coming up, and 
the next one is centered around 

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the Holy Spirit. 
Which will begin when I come 

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back from Guatemala. 
Very grateful that Jared, who's 

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our youth minister and, and 
honestly wears like 15 other 

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hats here that he's going to be 
covering for me next Sunday. 

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I'll send a message from the 
team. 

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I'll be keeping you all updated 
on social media how we're doing 

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as well. 
But we're going to be doing a 

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deep dive into the Holy Spirit, 
who he is, how he operates, what

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he's like, how to hear the voice
of God. 

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What about tongues? 
We'll be covering all this kind 

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of stuff, the baptism, Holy 
Spirit by the end. 

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And it's going to be a pretty 
extensive time that we spend 

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learning about this really 
forgotten nature of God. 

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People sing about the Holy 
Spirit, but we really don't give

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him the same amount of attention
that we give to the father and 

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to the Son, but that's more for 
two weeks from now over the last

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three weeks, especially if you 
are are are here for the first 

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time today. 
We've been exploring a part of 

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the Christian faith that a lot 
of us. 

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Believe in theory, but really 
rarely. 

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Practice. 
We believe that there's a 

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spiritual world. 
We believe that angels exist and

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demons exist, and we believe 
that Satan is real. 

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But normally we reserve that 
name for like when we spill hot 

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coffee on ourselves and we say, 
not today, Satan, no, you were 

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just clumsy. 
If that is the best he's got, I 

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mean, what are we? 
Afraid of right? 

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But we believe that there are 
things happening around us that 

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physical eyes can't see. 
And so three weeks ago we 

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discovered there's a war 
happening all around us, whether

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we recognize it or not. 
If you remember the the unseen 

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battle, we talked about this 
incredible moment in the Book of

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Second Kings where Elisha's 
servant wakes up and sees that 

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the armies and the Chariots of 
heaven are in the sky around 

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him, and he had no clue how much
was around him in the spiritual 

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realm until Elisha prayed that 
the Lord would open his eyes. 

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That became the starting point 
for everything that we've talked

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about since then, because we 
learned that our struggle really

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ultimately isn't against flesh 
and blood. 

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There are spiritual forces at 
work in this world. 

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In Week 2, we talked about the 
enemy. 

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Week 2, we went all the way back
to the Garden of Eden, and we 

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discovered that Satan's strategy
really hasn't changed very much.

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He's an accuser, he's a 
prosecutor, and he's really good

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at deception. 
And the dirtiest thing about 

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him, if you remember, is that 
he'll tempt you into something 

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and then as soon as you fall or 
you cave to it, then he accuses 

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you of it. 
It's like. 

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Do you want a cupcake? 
And you're like, oh, thanks. 

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I can't believe you just ate a 
cupcake, but it's normally worse

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than eating a cupcake, right? 
You have to remember our 

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challenge in that week was not 
to become an expert on Satan. 

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That's a weird thing to put on 
your LinkedIn. 

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It's just to become so familiar 
with Jesus that you can 

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recognize the counterfeit. 
And to be honest with you, I've 

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had moments like this over the 
last two weeks where I'll feel 

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something and I'll just think 
doesn't feel like the Lord and I

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can't put my finger. 
On it right away, but I 

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recognize that it's false. 
I hope that you're getting some 

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greater discernment there, too. 
And last Sunday we pulled that 

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curtain back even farther and we
got real weird. 

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We talked about the unseen 
hosts, and we talked about some 

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of those scriptures that a lot 
of Christians have read for 

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years without having any idea 
what to do with them. 

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So we talked about the Lord in. 
Genesis 6 we talked about the 

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understanding of certain fallen 
angels called the Watchers and 

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the Nephilim, and we talked 
about the tower of. 

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Babylon, the division of the 
nations. 

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And if you have no idea what I'm
talking about, you might want to

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check that one out. 
We talked about the heavenly 

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council that God employs. 
We talked about angels and 

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demons, rulers and authorities 
and principalities. 

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Michael the Archangel and the 
Prince of Persia. 

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Not the video game, but the 
point that we. 

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Were trying to make was not so 
that everybody would leave 

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church and wonder where the next
demons hiding it was so that you

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would remember this. 
They're all created beings and 

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there is one Creator and his 
name is Jesus. 

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So the unseen world might be 
complicated, but we have to 

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remember that the throne in the 
heavens is not contested. 

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And after three weeks of this, 
those of you who have been here 

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know considerably more about the
unseen realm than you did when 

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we started. 
And if this is your first Sunday

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with us, welcome. 
Let's get weird. 

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But I wanted you to know 
something as well. 

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We're learning a lot, but even 
knowledge itself about spiritual

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warfare can become its own 
distraction. 

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I'm going to ask for. 
Some good friends of mine, 

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Abigail and Benjamin if they'd 
come up here for a moment. 

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Darling, could you hand me my 
jacket? 

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Yeah, I said something nice. 
I'd do that. 

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Why'd you sound so surprised? 
Thank you. 

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Sorry. 
I know it's August. 

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It just gets so cold. 
You know, so anyway, thank you 

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for helping me out. 
I'm excited that you guys are 

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helping me out. 
You've not helped me in an 

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illustration yet. 
And thanks for volunteering for 

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it, because I already told you 
what you're signing up for. 

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This is Abigail. 
She's not asked. 

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Me to do this, but not so 
subtle. 

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Plug, she owns Heavenly Grounds 
coffee truck. 

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Amazing coffee. 
Yeah, don't just cheer for her. 

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Buy some coffee when you see 
her. 

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OK Right. 
Feel so much better. 

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Anyway, I asked her if she'd be 
willing to be a demon today. 

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So thanks for being a demon, 
Benjamin said. 

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Oh, yeah, that makes complete 
sense. 

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I'm just kidding. 
I end up putting up with the 

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words in his mouth here. 
Go ahead and take that one, and 

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you can take this one, too. 
So Abigail's going to be a demon

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today. 
And give me a second. 

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Are you having fun? 
No. 

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All right. 
I'm sure she was. 

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Just not yet. 
I'm sure she was just getting 

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used to what the ropes were 
like. 

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What I want you to know is that 
there are unseen forces that 

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work here. 
Hang on. 

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Are you having fun now? 
A little bit. 

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Why am I doing this in church? 
There is. 

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There is a story to this. 
All right, hang on. 

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We're going to do something 
different. 

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Benjamin, she's being too nice 
to you. 

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She's being too nice to me. 
Probably. 

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It's OK. 
I went to the chiropractor this 

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week. 
Can you tell me something? 

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Sure. 
OK. 

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Where was where was Abigail 
born? 

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Minnesota. 
Minnesota. 

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On purpose. 
OK, I'm just kidding. 

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All right. 
What did she have, like a 

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favorite food? 
No, no. 

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She likes all of it. 
That's great. 

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I'm so happy for her. 
Does she have, like, a favorite 

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show or something? 
Something you want to say in 

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church? 
No. 

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OK, that means it's Game of 
Thrones. 

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I'm. 
Just kidding. 

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I'm just kidding. 
Anyway, is is she always like 

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this? 
Mostly. 

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Are there other people like her?
Yes. 

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Are there like, hierarchies of 
different Abigail's? 

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Absolutely. 
Yeah. 

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That's scary. 
How do you get her to stop this?

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I don't know yet. 
OK. 

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You know, there is there is one 
thing that I haven't considered.

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Now, why don't you try to take 
my Apple Watch? 

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There we go. 
OK, here's the thing that I want

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you to think about with this. 
All too often. 

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There are good Bible believing 
Christians that are under attack

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by the enemy, and the enemy 
knows your weaknesses and the 

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enemy comes and pulls your 
strings. 

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And to be honest with you, she's
real nicer than the demons I've 

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encountered. 
I don't think you're probably a 

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demon. 
Probably not. 

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It'd be really weird if you had 
heavenly grounds coffee trucks. 

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So yeah. 
Thank you guys. 

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How many times have? 
You and I have been under 

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spiritual warfare. 
We hear a message, We Google 

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something. 
We try to learn more about the 

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demonic. 
We learn more about the 

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spiritual realm, but we're not 
getting rid of what they hold 

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onto. 
I went over to Benjamin and I 

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said, teach me about Abigail. 
Tell me about her. 

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Where is she from? 
Are there other people like her?

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Why is she doing this? 
And you can learn all these 

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different things, but just 
knowing these things isn't going

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to get rid of the handles that 
the demonic have on your life. 

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I would rather get to such a 
place that when the demonic 

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tries to attack me, there's 
nothing to grab a hold of. 

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So what are the handles? 
What are these? 

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Ropes, well, I mean, to be 
honest, a lot of us are carrying

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their own baggage and these 
ropes here, I'd venture to say 

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these represent things like 
past. 

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Wounds, these, these are our 
baggage, right? 

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These are the the things that we
struggle to get rid of, the 

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things that we struggle to let 
go of, the ways that we're 

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insecure, that we see ourselves.
These. 

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Ropes represent people that have
abandoned you. 

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These ropes represent the time 
that you thought you were safe 

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with somebody and then they. 
Betrayed you. 

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And if you were to go and talk 
to them, they would say I didn't

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betray you, I was just being 
honest or whatever. 

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And you're like, yeah, but you 
were, you were using. 

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Information you had about me 
behind my back. 

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These are the things that make 
us unsure of who we are. 

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And so often I'm just, I'm just 
wondering if we're trying to 

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learn about the things that are 
pulling our strings when really 

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we could just be getting healed.
Here's the thing. 

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We're going to be in. 
Revelation 12 in just a moment, 

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but I want you to understand 
something. 

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You can't see all of the 
spiritual realm. 

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We've covered this very well 
over the last three weeks now. 4

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And in the same way that you 
can't see the enemies or the 

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angels, the messengers of the 
Lord, you can't see the full 

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victory of Jesus. 
You just can't, and anybody who 

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tells me they can is wrong. 
Now we sing about it. 

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We sang about it this morning. 
I'd hazard a guess to say we'll 

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sing about it again this 
morning. 

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If you could see the full 
victory, you would live 

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completely differently. 
You would pray differently. 

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You would love people 
differently. 

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You would open yourself up to 
other people. 

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Differently. 
Not because you would think that

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you're never going to get hurt 
by people. 

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People end up hurting people. 
I've just shortened the saying 

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for you. 
Remember that saying. 

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Hurt people hurt people. 
I can make it quicker for you. 

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People hurt people. 
It happens. 

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You know why? 
Because we're flawed. 

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Every time we say that, we say 
that it comforts somebody who's 

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been wounded by somebody else. 
But everybody who's ever said 

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that sentence has also wounded 
somebody, haven't they? 

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So. 
People hurt people. 

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We've got to learn to manifest 
the grace to deal with it. 

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I want you to know this. 
You can learn the names of 

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demons and never deal with your 
bitterness. 

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You can study spiritual 
hierarchies while protecting 

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your addiction still. 
You can learn everything there 

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00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,120
is to know about generational 
curses and generational patterns

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and still refuse to forgive 
somebody. 

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It's another rope. 
You can become fascinated with 

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deliverance ministry while still
continuing to feed the very 

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thing you've been asking God. 
To deliver you from and you can 

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spend hours trying to determine 
whether something in in your 

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life is demonic while refusing 
to repent of something that you 

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already know God has told you to
stop doing. 

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Some of us are wondering why God
lets the enemy keep pulling the 

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same attacks on us, but we're 
still wearing the jacket. 

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Spiritual warfare is not always 
as dramatic as we make it seem. 

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Sometimes it is repentance or 
confession for just. 

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00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:53,880
Open free forgiveness. 
Sometimes it's deleting 

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something from your phone, 
sometimes it's ending a 

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relationship that keeps pulling 
you away from Jesus, and 

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00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,600
sometimes it's admitting to 
another Christian that you've 

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00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,760
been hiding. 
Sometimes it's putting down the 

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00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,840
bottle. 
Sometimes it's turning off the 

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00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:11,040
screens. 
Sometimes it's dealing with the 

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anger. 
Issues that you've been putting 

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00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:14,560
up with your whole life because 
your dad was angry and you're 

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00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:16,240
just an angry guy and that's 
just who you are. 

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And I want to be careful here 
because I don't want you to hear

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something I'm not saying. 
The Bible does not teach that 

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every spiritual attack means 
you've just opened a door for 

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00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:25,640
the enemy or given him 
permission. 

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00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:28,200
You're going to get tempted no 
matter how pure your life is, 

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00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,760
and the evidence of that is that
Jesus was tempted by the enemy 

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in the wilderness. 
And Jesus didn't sin. 

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00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:36,720
Every time you feel tempted to 
do the wrong thing, you need to 

255
00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:38,840
remember that it is not a sin to
be tempted. 

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00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:42,640
When you're tempted, you just 
have a golden opportunity that's

257
00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,440
been laid out in front of you. 
And you can use that temptation 

258
00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:49,320
as an opportunity to glorify God
and worship Him, or you can use 

259
00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:51,880
it as an opportunity to sin. 
But the choice is yours. 

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00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:57,720
But the greatest unseen truth. 
That we have encountered this 

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00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:00,160
entire series is not that there 
are demons around us or 

262
00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:01,400
temptations that are going to 
come. 

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00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,080
It is that there's a decisive 
battle that's already been won, 

264
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and we're going to take a look 
at that starting in verse 7. 

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00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,280
Here's what it says it says. 
Then there was a war in heaven. 

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Michael and his angels fought 
against the dragon and his 

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00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,240
angels. 
Remember, angels means 

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00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,080
messengers, and the dragon lost 
the battle. 

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00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:21,600
I mean, you could just end it 
there. 

270
00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:24,880
But it says, And he and his 
angels were forced out of 

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00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:28,800
heaven, this great dragon. 
The ancient serpent called the 

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00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:33,040
Devil or Satan, the one 
deceiving the whole world, was 

273
00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:35,280
thrown down to the earth with 
all his angels. 

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00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,640
Then I heard a loud voice. 
Shouting across the heavens, it 

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00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:42,880
has come at last salvation and 
power and the Kingdom of our God

276
00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:46,480
and the authority of his Christ.
Christ, the Messiah, the 

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00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,800
Anointed One for the Accuser of 
our brothers and sisters, has 

278
00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:54,000
been thrown down to earth, the 
one who accuses them before our 

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00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:55,200
God. 
Day and night. 

280
00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:00,200
And they have defeated him by 
the blood of the Lamb and. 

281
00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:05,960
By their testimony, and they did
not love their lives so much 

282
00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:09,360
that they were afraid to die. 
Therefore rejoice, O heavens. 

283
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:11,320
And you who? 
Live in the heavens, rejoice, 

284
00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,720
but terror will come on the 
earth and the sea, for the devil

285
00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,920
has come down to you in great 
anger, knowing that he has 

286
00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:22,840
little time. 
Nobody understands all of the 

287
00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:25,440
Book of Revelation, and if they.
Tell you that's a lie too. 

288
00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:28,680
But we do understand some 
concepts there. 

289
00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:30,920
The timelines get a little hazy,
they get a little muddy, but 

290
00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:33,360
they're not really for you to 
figure it out as much as they 

291
00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:35,240
are for you to adhere to and 
learn from. 

292
00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,520
By this point in the series, I 
think almost everybody here in 

293
00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:41,680
in this. 
Story that we just read is going

294
00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:44,480
to hear names that were familiar
to us, right, Michael? 

295
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:46,800
And he's an Archangel, and we're
talking about the angels of the 

296
00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,000
Lord, and we're talking about 
Satan and then the demonic 

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00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,080
forces that follow him. 
And we're talking about the 

298
00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:53,080
Lord, and we're talking about 
Christ. 

299
00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,360
These are all names that we know
but. 

300
00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:58,920
This morning, I don't want to 
spend our time identifying 

301
00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:00,320
everybody on the battlefield 
again. 

302
00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:03,800
We've already done that 
something else that John writes 

303
00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:05,960
in the Book of Revelation that I
think might be even harder for 

304
00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:08,760
Christians to. 
Truly believe, and it's this. 

305
00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:13,280
God sees the victory. 
We sing it. 

306
00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,520
We understand it theologically. 
But that is one of the strangest

307
00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:19,800
problems that we have when it 
comes to spiritual warfare, 

308
00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:23,480
because we don't see the 
victory. 

309
00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:25,200
We don't act like we're walking 
in it. 

310
00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:27,800
I've said this before. 
I've said it not long ago. 

311
00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,640
How many of you heard a preacher
say we don't fight for victory, 

312
00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:34,000
we fight from victory? 
Oh man, that sounds great. 

313
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,760
Put it on a bumper sticker. 
What does that mean? 

314
00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:39,840
How do you live that out? 
How do you understand that in 

315
00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,760
your mind and in your spirit and
your heart? 

316
00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:45,400
Because you can't see the 
victory of Jesus with your 

317
00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:46,920
physical eyes. 
You don't live as though it's 

318
00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:49,440
real. 
We live like the enemy's got the

319
00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:51,560
upper hand. 
We don't know when that child. 

320
00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:53,920
Of ours will come home, we don't
know when that relationship will

321
00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:55,360
be restored. 
We don't know when we'll be 

322
00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:57,000
fully healed. 
We don't really know what it's 

323
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:58,720
going to look like when we step 
into glory. 

324
00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:02,520
But I want you to know John is 
being allowed to see the story 

325
00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:06,120
from a perspective that you and 
I almost never get from Earth. 

326
00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:08,800
They're still suffering, and 
there's opposition, and there's 

327
00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:10,840
an enemy who's furious because 
his time is short. 

328
00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,360
I can't help but wonder what 
would happen if we lived like we

329
00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:18,000
believed this victory was that 
decisive. 

330
00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,280
How differently would you walk 
into the thing you're afraid of 

331
00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:22,880
if you could see the victory 
first? 

332
00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,280
How differently would you pray 
if you could see what God sees 

333
00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:29,840
while you're praying? 
And how differently would you 

334
00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:33,080
respond when temptation came 
your way, or forget temptation? 

335
00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:35,720
How differently would you handle
suffering or disappointment or 

336
00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:38,840
accusation or spiritual 
opposition if the victory of 

337
00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:41,960
Jesus felt every bit as real as 
the battle that you're walking 

338
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,120
through? 
I think we've got some things to

339
00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,800
look at this morning, and we 
can't go much further without 

340
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:50,320
looking at Jesus and seeing his 
scars. 

341
00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:54,040
I'll tell you why that matters. 
We'll be in John chapter 19 in a

342
00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:56,440
moment. 
There's something about scars 

343
00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,000
that makes them different from 
almost every other mark on our 

344
00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,360
our body, right? 
Because if you have a wound, A 

345
00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:05,920
wound tells you what's happening
right now, but a scar tells you 

346
00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:07,240
what happened. 
Before. 

347
00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:10,160
A scar is also a reminder that 
you are healed. 

348
00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:12,960
You may be different now, but 
the wound says you're bleeding. 

349
00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:15,000
A scar says you bled, but you 
made it through. 

350
00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:18,440
Scars are the history of your 
life written on the body. 

351
00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:20,839
When you think about it, they 
tell stories about accidents or 

352
00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:24,599
surgeries or fights or moments 
that you tripped and fell down 

353
00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:27,160
the stairs but you told somebody
that it was something else. 

354
00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:32,360
Christianity is built around 
scars. 

355
00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,160
The central symbol of our faith 
is not something that you would 

356
00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:37,720
normally associate with a 
victory. 

357
00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,200
And I want to challenge you with
some things that we don't think 

358
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,800
very deeply on because of our 
faith, because we see it all the

359
00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:44,280
time and we hear about it all 
the time. 

360
00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:47,760
The central symbol of our faith 
is not something we would 

361
00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:49,640
associate with victory. 
If we lived in the days of 

362
00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:51,240
Jesus. 
It's a cross. 

363
00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:53,680
We've got one right there on the
wall. 

364
00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:56,480
Is there anybody here who's got 
one on their jewellery today or 

365
00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:58,120
on their shirt? 
Anybody got a cross that they're

366
00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:00,440
wearing? 
Do you have any idea how weird 

367
00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:04,760
that would be to a Christian? 
About a week or maybe a day 

368
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:08,880
after Jesus was crucified, or 
even before Jesus was crucified,

369
00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:11,520
if you walked around wearing the
shape of a cross, they would 

370
00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:14,000
have been like, you're morbid, 
you love death, no. 

371
00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:16,800
No, no, To us it's not a symbol 
of death, but we know what that 

372
00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:21,640
cross accomplished for us. 
I think a lot of times we forget

373
00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,040
how strange that might have 
sounded to the early Christians.

374
00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:27,600
But even though this scripture 
is normally spoken closer to 

375
00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:29,840
Easter, or Resurrection Sunday 
as we call it. 

376
00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:33,280
I want you to listen to this 
from John chapter 19 as I read a

377
00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:38,160
lot of these verses. 
Read it and listen to it like 

378
00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:39,640
you're hearing it for the first 
time. 

379
00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:44,960
They took Jesus away, carrying 
the cross by himself. 

380
00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,800
He went to the place called the 
place of the Skull in Hebrew, 

381
00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,800
Golgotha, where they nailed him 
to the cross. 

382
00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:56,360
Two others were crucified with 
him, one on either side, with 

383
00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:59,840
Jesus between them. 
And Pilate posted a sign on the 

384
00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:01,840
cross that read Jesus of 
Nazareth, the. 

385
00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:05,560
King of the Jews, he, he is a 
king. 

386
00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:10,320
He's kind of a king of a lot 
more than that. 

387
00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:13,280
Verse 21 says the leading priest
subjected and said to Pilate, 

388
00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,640
change it from the king of the 
Jews to he said I'm king of the 

389
00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:20,080
Jews. 
Pilate said, no, what I've 

390
00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:24,360
written, I've written. 
When the soldiers had crucified 

391
00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:27,160
Jesus, they divided his clothes 
among the four of them and they 

392
00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,920
took his robe, but it was 
seamless, woven in one piece 

393
00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:32,680
from the top to the bottom. 
So they said rather than tearing

394
00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:34,120
it apart, let's throw a dice for
it. 

395
00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:36,520
This fulfilled the scripture 
that says they divided my 

396
00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:39,040
garments among themselves and 
threw dice for my clothing. 

397
00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:46,240
So that's what they did. 
Verse 28 Jesus knew that his 

398
00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:48,360
mission was now finished and to 
fulfil the scripture. 

399
00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:53,080
He said I'm thirsty and a jar of
sour wine was sitting there. 

400
00:19:53,520 --> 00:20:02,010
It's probably Boone's farm. 
I'm sorry, it's getting real 

401
00:20:02,010 --> 00:20:04,090
heavy. 
I can't believe you guys know 

402
00:20:04,090 --> 00:20:09,210
what Boone's farm is. 
So they soaked a. 

403
00:20:09,210 --> 00:20:13,210
Sponge in it, put it on a hyssop
branch and held it up to his 

404
00:20:13,210 --> 00:20:15,290
lips. 
When Jesus had tasted it, he 

405
00:20:15,290 --> 00:20:17,890
said It is finished. 
And then he bowed his head, and 

406
00:20:17,890 --> 00:20:20,450
he gave up his spirit. 
Listen to this. 

407
00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:24,040
It was the day of preparation 
and the Jewish leaders didn't 

408
00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:26,440
want the bodies hanging there 
the next day, which was the 

409
00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:29,240
Sabbath and a very special 
Sabbath because it was Passover 

410
00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:31,240
week. 
So they asked Pilate. 

411
00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:34,320
To hasten their deaths by 
ordering their legs to be broken

412
00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:36,160
and then their bodies could be 
taken down. 

413
00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:40,200
And in case you don't know, that
meant their feet were together 

414
00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,560
nailed, and they would break 
their femurs. 

415
00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:44,640
They would break their legs here
so that they could not hold 

416
00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,400
themselves up and breathe. 
All of a sudden, now all the 

417
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:51,480
weight would be down like this. 
They wanted to get this show on 

418
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:56,280
the road. 
So the soldiers came and broke 

419
00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:58,440
the legs of the two men 
crucified with Jesus. 

420
00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,120
And when they came to Jesus, 
they saw that he was already 

421
00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:03,520
dead, so they didn't break his 
legs. 

422
00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,640
One of the soldiers, however, 
pierced his side with a spear 

423
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:08,760
and immediately blood and water 
flowed out. 

424
00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:09,880
You all don't even know how 
many. 

425
00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:11,640
Scriptures I just fulfilled by 
reading this. 

426
00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:14,840
This report is from an 
eyewitness giving an accurate 

427
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:17,280
account. 
He speaks the truth so that you 

428
00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:19,960
also may continue to believe 
these things happen in 

429
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,160
fulfillment of the scriptures 
that say not one of His bones 

430
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,680
will be broken and they will 
look on the one they pierced. 

431
00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,480
All right, jump back in time 
with me. 

432
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:30,640
If you had been standing there 
that afternoon, there was 

433
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:32,480
nothing about what you were 
watching that would have looked 

434
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:34,440
like victory. 
Not one bit. 

435
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:37,480
Jesus had already been beaten 
before John even begins this 

436
00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:39,360
part of the story. 
They had already spit on him. 

437
00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:41,800
They had already whipped him. 
They had already flayed his 

438
00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,560
flesh, tore it open, laid a 
purple robe or a purple cloth on

439
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,600
top of him, ripped it again, put
the crown of thorns on his head,

440
00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:50,680
and dug it into his scalp. 
They'd already done all of 

441
00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,840
these. 
Things and when we get to this 

442
00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,200
point, it starts with Jesus 
carrying the instrument of his 

443
00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,960
own execution until he's taken 
to Golgotha. 

444
00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:02,480
We see the nails driven through 
Him and we see everything 

445
00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:04,680
happen. 
If you could only see the 

446
00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:07,040
physical world on that day, your
conclusion would have been 

447
00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,160
obvious. 
And I know we all have the faith

448
00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:12,560
of a lion today, right? 
But if you were there, you would

449
00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:16,040
have assumed Jesus lost. 
Rome won. 

450
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,480
The religious leaders had won. 
His enemies had won. 

451
00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:22,480
His disciples scattered after 
that, and his body would soon be

452
00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:24,520
placed inside a borrowed tomb. 
He didn't even have a tomb of 

453
00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:27,920
his own, and the whole movement 
surrounding Jesus of Nazareth 

454
00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:30,600
probably would have dried up 
just as quickly as it arrived. 

455
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,960
But we've also spent 4. 
Weeks learning not to assume 

456
00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,120
that what? 
We can see is everything that's 

457
00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:39,040
happening, so we see a cross in 
that scene. 

458
00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:41,760
But while human beings are 
watching Jesus being stripped 

459
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,240
and humiliated, the Kingdom of 
darkness was being stripped of 

460
00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,160
its claim. 
While Rome believed it was 

461
00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,280
publicly shaming Jesus, 
Scripture tells us that through 

462
00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:53,560
the cross, Jesus was disarming 
spiritual rulers and authorities

463
00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:57,400
and publicly shaming them. 
While death appeared to be 

464
00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:03,000
swallowing Jesus, Jesus was 
swallowing death and what looked

465
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,680
like from earth, the greatest 
defeat in all of history was 

466
00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:07,320
actually, from heaven's 
perspective, the. 

467
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:09,640
Most decisive victory that could
have ever happened. 

468
00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:13,000
There are scriptures that say 
that if they knew what they were

469
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:14,880
doing, they would have never 
crucified our Lord. 

470
00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:19,600
The scars of Jesus remind us 
that appearances can lie, and I 

471
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:21,480
want you to understand this, 
that there are going to be 

472
00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:23,560
moments in your life where 
obedience looks like it's 

473
00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:25,800
costing you more than 
compromising wood. 

474
00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:29,200
I know that there are moments 
where doing the right thing 

475
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,160
seems to produce the wrong 
result and there are going. 

476
00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:33,040
To be moments that you have 
prayed and prayed and the 

477
00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:34,920
situation gets worse instead of 
better. 

478
00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,560
Is anybody here willing to just 
with a show of hands say, like, 

479
00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:41,240
I tried praying and it didn't 
make a difference, right? 

480
00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:44,440
We don't know that, but we've 
said it because we can't see it.

481
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:49,760
There's going to be moments 
where evil appears to prosper 

482
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,320
and darkness looks powerful. 
But when that? 

483
00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,120
Happens. 
I want you to remember that 

484
00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:56,560
beautiful YouTube video that 
Christians love so much. 

485
00:23:56,880 --> 00:24:00,240
It's Friday, but Sunday's 
coming. 

486
00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,920
Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
If you had judged God's 

487
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:07,920
faithfulness by what you could 
see on a Friday afternoon, you 

488
00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:09,440
would have gotten the entire 
story wrong. 

489
00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,000
There's one reason that I find 
it so powerful. 

490
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,480
Think about this. 
When Jesus was risen from the 

491
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:18,080
dead, he's not fully healed, is 
he? 

492
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:20,240
Not in the way we assume that we
will be. 

493
00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:22,840
He doesn't erase every 
indication of what happens to 

494
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:28,000
him, what remains on Jesus when 
he's resurrected, The scars and 

495
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:29,600
they tell a story of what he 
went through. 

496
00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:33,480
Later, he's going to invite his 
disciple Thomas to look at his 

497
00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,520
hands and to touch his side. 
Those wounds that once appeared 

498
00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:39,200
to prove that Jesus had been 
defeated are actually scars 

499
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:40,560
proving that death couldn't even
hold. 

500
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,680
Him. 
What do your scars say? 

501
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,520
We need to remember that because
Christians are incredibly 

502
00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:52,040
forgetful people. 
And I'm one of them. 

503
00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:55,320
I don't mean that insultingly. 
I just mean we're human. 

504
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,240
And so something could be 
overwhelmingly real to us on a 

505
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,480
Sunday and feel incredibly 
distant by Thursday. 

506
00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:04,040
We can stand in this room and 
sing about the goodness of God 

507
00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:06,440
while we're surrounded by a 
couple hundred of His Saints, 

508
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:09,160
and then one phone call can make
us wonder if He's anywhere near 

509
00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:11,920
us. 
And Jesus knew that about us. 

510
00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:13,760
Do you know how good and 
gracious He is for us? 

511
00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:16,560
Before He ever went to the 
cross, He gave His. 

512
00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:19,000
Followers, a way to remember 
what was about to happen. 

513
00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:21,680
And while we just read something
that's normally preached around 

514
00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:24,080
Easter time, now we're going to 
read something that's normally 

515
00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:25,760
done when we take communion 
together. 

516
00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:32,360
First Corinthians Chapter 11, he
said this, well, Paul is saying 

517
00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:34,440
this. 
I pass on to you what I received

518
00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,400
from the Lord himself on the 
night when he was betrayed. 

519
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:41,720
The Lord Jesus took some bread 
and he gave thanks to God for 

520
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,000
it. 
And then he broke it in pieces 

521
00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:47,560
and said, this is my body which 
is given for you. 

522
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:50,480
Do this. 
In remembrance of me. 

523
00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:55,160
In the same way he took the cup 
of wine after supper, saying 

524
00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:58,240
this cup is the new covenant 
between God and his people, an 

525
00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:00,760
agreement confirmed with my 
blood. 

526
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,280
Do this in remembrance of me as 
often as you drink it. 

527
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:08,160
Verse 26 says every time you eat
this bread and drink this cup, 

528
00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:10,360
you're announcing the Lord's 
death until he comes again. 

529
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:15,240
Think about those words. 
Do this to Remember Me. 

530
00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,200
We are incredibly. 
Forgetful people. 

531
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:22,040
But think about this in the 
context of everything we've been

532
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,080
talking about. 
Jesus, I think, knows that 

533
00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,880
generations of Christians are 
going to follow him who never 

534
00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:28,440
physically stood. 
At Golgotha. 

535
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:30,600
We aren't going to see the 
nails. 

536
00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,160
We're not going to see the 
crucifixion, we're not going to 

537
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:36,040
really hear the hammer. 
We aren't going to watch the 

538
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:38,960
blood run down the cross. 
We aren't going to see the. 

539
00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:40,920
Stone rolled away on a Sunday 
morning. 

540
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:43,400
So we certainly aren't going to 
see with our physical eyes 

541
00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,920
everything that is death and 
resurrection accomplished in the

542
00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:48,520
unseen realm. 
So Jesus gives his church. 

543
00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:52,080
Something incredibly relatable 
to help remember. 

544
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,960
Bread and a cup. 
These are not just religious 

545
00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,440
things that we do because we 
want Jesus to be happy with us. 

546
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:03,720
They are constant reminders that
we are children of the in 

547
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,320
between. 
There are spiritual beings that 

548
00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:09,960
have no bodies. 
You are spiritual beings with a 

549
00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:11,600
body. 
You belong to this earth, but 

550
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:14,600
you belong to him more. 
So you are in between. 

551
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:17,240
And that's what makes things so 
confusing. 

552
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:20,840
We live like the body part, like
the flesh part is all we have 

553
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,640
when the reality is there's so 
much more happening outside of 

554
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:25,840
us. 
We are somewhere between. 

555
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,040
It is finished and I'm making 
everything new. 

556
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:30,520
How many of y'all are excited 
for the day that everything's 

557
00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:33,640
new? 
Christians aren't supposed to 

558
00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:35,480
spend our lives staring backward
at the suffering. 

559
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,320
But remember that those scars 
remind us that God can be 

560
00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:40,160
working when we can't see him 
working. 

561
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:42,440
And they remind us that 
suffering doesn't automatically 

562
00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:44,920
mean defeat. 
When God seems silent, it 

563
00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:46,600
doesn't automatically mean 
absence. 

564
00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:48,840
A battle raging doesn't mean 
that the war has been decided. 

565
00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:52,400
So when the enemy tells you that
your sin is too great, I want 

566
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:56,000
you to see the scars when the 
accuser tells you that God 

567
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:57,680
would. 
Never want you after what you've

568
00:27:57,680 --> 00:27:59,920
done. 
I want you to remember what 

569
00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:02,600
those scars purchased. 
I want you to remember the scars

570
00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:05,800
that Jesus carries when you're 
terrified about what comes next.

571
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,440
I want you to remember that the 
one who carries those scars has 

572
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:12,240
already walked through death and
come out on the other side when 

573
00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:14,360
he hung there on the cross. 
It's what we call the Great. 

574
00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:17,120
Exchange because he hung on this
cross, and it says that he 

575
00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:20,600
became sin who knew no sin, so 
that you and I could become the 

576
00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,680
very. 
Righteousness of God and we 

577
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:25,680
don't feel like the very 
righteousness of God. 

578
00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:27,240
Maybe you do. 
I don't. 

579
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,840
But the reality is I 
theologically know that that is 

580
00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:34,320
what the exchange did because of
what the one and only Son of God

581
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,160
was willing to do on the cross. 
He was willing to become sin 

582
00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:39,760
Incarnate so that every bit of 
sin would be purged from my 

583
00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:41,840
record. 
And when God looks at me, he 

584
00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:45,920
sees Jesus. 
Think about that the next time 

585
00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:50,480
you say life isn't fair. 
Because you're right, But it 

586
00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:51,840
kind of worked in your favor, 
didn't it? 

587
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:57,520
This is the great exchange. 
It looked like defeat on that 

588
00:28:57,520 --> 00:28:59,800
Friday, but Friday wasn't the 
end of the story. 

589
00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:02,600
I would tell you to look at your
scars too, because your scars 

590
00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:05,120
are proof that you survived 
something that was incredibly 

591
00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:06,640
painful. 
And maybe it's a physical scar, 

592
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:08,720
maybe it's an emotional one, 
maybe it's a relational one. 

593
00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,840
But I'll tell you this. 
I mentioned it earlier when I 

594
00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,280
was in great distress and being 
puppeteered. 

595
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:18,760
This week I went to a. 
Chiropractor for the first time.

596
00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:20,960
Why didn't you guys tell me how 
wonderful it is? 

597
00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:26,520
You know, it's my first 
appointment and he's feeling 

598
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:28,560
around the muscles in my neck 
and shoulders and checking out. 

599
00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:30,400
Everything moved. 
Then he got to my left shoulder 

600
00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:32,480
and arm and he stopped for a 
second and he said, oh, you've 

601
00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:35,000
injured this. 
Before and I said I don't think 

602
00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:38,000
so. 
Apparently the muscles over on 

603
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,000
here on this side felt different
to him and he's familiar with 

604
00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:42,040
this. 
I'm not. 

605
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,080
He kept checking it and he said 
no, you've definitely had 

606
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:47,200
something. 
You did something. 

607
00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:49,320
To this arm or this shoulder at 
some point, and it was a while 

608
00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:54,680
ago and I went maybe. 
So I can call my wife. 

609
00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:55,960
Maybe she knows something I 
don't know. 

610
00:29:58,360 --> 00:29:59,840
And then I called her and she 
did. 

611
00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:05,160
I called her and I said, did I 
ever hurt my left shoulder? 

612
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:07,000
And she said, yeah, three years 
ago when you started going to 

613
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,560
the gym. 
And I went, I did. 

614
00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:13,400
And she said, yeah, remember 
when you went to the doctor? 

615
00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:15,080
We had at the time, we went 
there and we asked him because 

616
00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:16,480
you were afraid it was a rotator
cuff thing. 

617
00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:18,000
And he said it's normal and just
stretch it. 

618
00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,120
And I said, well, he was wrong. 
I remember that. 

619
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,400
I forgot about it. 
I completely forgot that three 

620
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,400
years ago when I was lifting and
not really knowing what I was 

621
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:32,240
doing. 
I did hurt myself. 

622
00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,400
I'm so glad I had somebody who 
could remember it. 

623
00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:38,760
Apparently one of the benefits 
of marriage is that eventually 

624
00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:40,360
your spouse becomes additional 
storage. 

625
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:47,840
Look, she started reminding me 
about what happened, and 

626
00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:50,680
eventually it did come back to 
me, But I started thinking about

627
00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:52,680
how easily we can do the same 
thing with Jesus. 

628
00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:55,480
Some of us have known the story 
of the cross for so long that we

629
00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:57,400
have forgotten how extraordinary
it is. 

630
00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,880
We have heard about the nails, 
and we've taken communion and 

631
00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:03,840
we've worn crosses and we've 
seen them hanging in churches, 

632
00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:06,880
and we know that Jesus died for 
our sins and we know that he 

633
00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,320
rose. 
Again, it is so wild to me that 

634
00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:11,240
something that changed the 
course of human history can 

635
00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:13,560
become so familiar that we stop 
remembering what actually 

636
00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:16,080
happened there. 
And forgetting what happened 

637
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:17,480
doesn't actually change what 
happened. 

638
00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:20,720
Most of us aren't going to walk 
around this week and literally 

639
00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:22,640
look at scars in the hands of 
Jesus. 

640
00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:25,280
But I will tell you this, it 
means that we've got to. 

641
00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:28,320
Refuse to let what you can see 
make you forget what you can't. 

642
00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:31,120
I want you to remember how you 
felt when you were first saved 

643
00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:34,240
and when you came to the Lord. 
You have got to remember the 

644
00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:36,720
invisible moments where He truly
blessed your life. 

645
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,360
This is an incredibly practical 
thing. 

646
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:41,520
When something happens this 
week, and it will happen this 

647
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:44,320
week, wait for it. 
That immediately makes you 

648
00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,360
afraid before you start 
imagining every possible. 

649
00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:49,440
Way it could go wrong I want you
to remember what's already 

650
00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:53,040
happened when the enemy starts 
accusing you over something that

651
00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:55,600
Jesus has already forgiven, I 
don't want you to spend 3 days 

652
00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:58,240
arguing about the. 
Accusation until he reminds you 

653
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:00,520
of his resurrection. 
I want you to go back to the 

654
00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:04,400
cross when temptation tells you 
that you had no choice but to 

655
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,080
give in to that temptation. 
Again, I want you to remember 

656
00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:09,200
that Jesus didn't simply forgive
sin at the cross. 

657
00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:11,400
He broke the claim that sin had 
over you. 

658
00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:16,040
When suffering makes you wonder 
whether God has abandoned you or

659
00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:18,480
not, I want you to remember that
there was already a Friday when 

660
00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:20,280
everybody thought they were 
abandoned and they were all 

661
00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:22,920
wrong. 
You have to choose to 

662
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:26,080
deliberately interpret what's 
happening now through what has 

663
00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:29,000
already happened, and that is a 
discipline and it will not come 

664
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:32,840
easy to you. 
Seeing the scars means you 

665
00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:35,520
refuse to let today's battle 
rewrite what the cross already 

666
00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:38,240
established in your life. 
But even Jesus knew the 

667
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:39,920
importance of having that 
physical reminder. 

668
00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:42,560
That's why he allowed Thomas to 
see it, and I think that's why 

669
00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:44,480
he allowed the other disciples 
to see it. 

670
00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:47,760
One of my favorite songs says 
Scars or souvenirs You never 

671
00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:53,960
lose when you remember. 
I don't want you to just 

672
00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,160
remember that Jesus suffered. 
I want you to remember what his 

673
00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:58,600
suffering accomplished. 
There's a huge difference 

674
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:02,200
between feeling sorry about what
Jesus had to go through on the 

675
00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:04,520
cross and we all feel that when 
we watch the Passion of the 

676
00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:07,800
Christ. 
There's a big difference between

677
00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:10,720
feeling sorry or sad that he had
to go through that and trusting 

678
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,000
that what Jesus did accomplished
what he said that it. 

679
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,280
Accomplished. 
We've spent this whole series 

680
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:20,080
learning this lesson about the 
enemy, that we can't see things 

681
00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:22,800
that are happening. 
And it's the same thing here. 

682
00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:25,360
Just because you can't see the 
victory doesn't mean the victory

683
00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:27,200
isn't real. 
Remember those scars. 

684
00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:29,720
Remember what he went through. 
And I'm convinced he would have 

685
00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:31,520
done it if it was only you that 
needed it. 

686
00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:33,760
I think he still would have gone
to the cross for you. 

687
00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:39,000
There's going to be days where 
the scriptures are something you

688
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,000
start your day with and you read
it, and you still walk through 

689
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,680
that day afraid. 
And I want you to know that I 

690
00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:44,360
don't want you to feel like your
faith has failed you. 

691
00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:46,560
There's going to be days when 
you've looked at those scars, 

692
00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:48,680
but the battle's still louder. 
And there's going to be days 

693
00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:50,280
when you've prayed and you're 
tired of praying. 

694
00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:54,040
I mean, if I did another show of
hands, there would be a lot of. 

695
00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:55,760
People here that would say 
there's days that I know I 

696
00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:57,240
should pray, but I don't want 
to. 

697
00:33:57,240 --> 00:34:00,040
And isn't it wild to think you 
don't want to when you know that

698
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:01,520
that is something that will 
actually help you? 

699
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:04,520
There are going to be days when 
somebody hands you the bread and

700
00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:08,040
the cup right here at church and
you know exactly what these 

701
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:11,480
items mean. 
And victory is still going to 

702
00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,120
feel far away. 
And I want you to know I don't 

703
00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:16,159
think that God is disappointed 
in you when that happens. 

704
00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:19,000
I think He planned for it. 
I think He already knew it. 

705
00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:22,040
And I'll explain this to you 
because Jesus didn't build His 

706
00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:23,800
church around people who never 
struggle. 

707
00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:27,280
He built his church around 
people who would sometimes need 

708
00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:29,440
somebody else to remember for 
them. 

709
00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:32,719
And that's one of the reasons I 
love that story about my 

710
00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:34,520
shoulder. 
I was carrying the evidence, but

711
00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:38,320
I couldn't remember the story. 
So I called somebody who could. 

712
00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:42,040
And that's really what our faith
life looks like sometimes. 

713
00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:45,040
You and I need somebody who can 
look at us and remind us this is

714
00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:48,280
not the end of your story. 
We need somebody who will pray 

715
00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:50,480
for you when you don't know what
to pray for anymore. 

716
00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:52,560
Maybe more importantly, you need
somebody who's willing to pray 

717
00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:53,840
for you. 
When you say I don't even feel 

718
00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,760
like praying when that happens, 
don't say, well, do you mind if 

719
00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:58,600
I pray for you? 
Why you need their permission? 

720
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:03,240
Start praying for him. 
Sometimes you need somebody who 

721
00:35:03,240 --> 00:35:05,120
knows you well enough to 
recognize when you're starting 

722
00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:08,360
to believe a lie. 
You need somebody who loves you 

723
00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:09,760
enough to tell you when you're 
putting that. 

724
00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:13,440
Jacket back on and you need 
somebody who will sit beside you

725
00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:16,320
without trying to fix all your 
problems, but just refuses to 

726
00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:18,840
let you fight that battle alone.
As a matter of fact, I have this

727
00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:20,440
written into my notes. 
I'm going to ask you to take 

728
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:23,440
your phone out right now. 
Why don't you thank someone 

729
00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:25,680
right now? 
Why don't you send a message? 

730
00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:28,120
I'm going to do it. 
Also, I'm texting in church. 

731
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:31,960
Text somebody and thank them 
right now. 

732
00:35:41,630 --> 00:35:43,990
Now we do have cameras in here. 
If you slide over into a game 

733
00:35:43,990 --> 00:35:47,630
after this, we'll know. 
We won't make a scene. 

734
00:35:48,190 --> 00:35:52,630
But we will mention it. 
Via our prayer team to the Lord.

735
00:35:52,710 --> 00:35:55,990
All right, so we're going to see
the scars and we're going to 

736
00:35:55,990 --> 00:35:58,270
remember, and we're going to 
thank those that have been in 

737
00:35:58,270 --> 00:35:59,870
our life and fought those 
battles. 

738
00:35:59,870 --> 00:36:02,510
For us when we couldn't fight on
our own, but you also need to 

739
00:36:02,510 --> 00:36:04,510
see the Saints and this is where
I'm really going to challenge a 

740
00:36:04,510 --> 00:36:07,320
lot of you today. 
There's a reason why the 

741
00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:10,200
military doesn't train Marines 
to fight wars by themselves, 

742
00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:13,880
although if there was 1 branch 
where one could take it on, it 

743
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:18,360
would be the Marine Corps. 
But isolation is dangerous in 

744
00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:20,440
almost every kind of warfare 
because when you're alone, you 

745
00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:21,960
lose more than additional 
strength. 

746
00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:25,640
You also lose perspective. 
You can't see everything no 

747
00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:28,120
matter what your vantage point 
is, and so you don't have anyone

748
00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:29,880
watching in the direction you're
not looking, you don't have 

749
00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:32,120
anyone telling you when you're 
walking towards danger, and you 

750
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:34,520
don't have anyone checking the 
information that you've 

751
00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:37,320
received. 
I think Satan understands that 

752
00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:38,760
principle better than most 
Christians. 

753
00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:41,200
Do. 
And so if we've learned anything

754
00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:43,120
through this series, I think 
it's that deception is one of 

755
00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:45,360
his greatest weapons. 
Would you agree with me on that?

756
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:49,040
But deception becomes 
considerably easier when there's

757
00:36:49,040 --> 00:36:50,840
nobody around you to challenge 
what you're beginning to 

758
00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:54,040
believe. 
This is why isolation is such an

759
00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:56,320
effective war tactic. 
And every time I bring this up, 

760
00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,200
I know for a fact that there is 
at least one person who's like 

761
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,480
this is a push to join a 
ministry or a small group. 

762
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:06,840
Yeah, it is, and you're welcome.
But I want you to hear me on 

763
00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:09,280
this. 
The enemy doesn't necessarily 

764
00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:11,080
need to convince you to abandon 
Jesus. 

765
00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:14,160
He just needs to slowly separate
you from people who will keep 

766
00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:16,000
reminding. 
You who Jesus is in your life. 

767
00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:18,920
And by the way, that can happen 
while you're sitting in this 

768
00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:21,680
room every Sunday. 
You can attend church without 

769
00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:23,840
actually being connected to 
anybody in the church. 

770
00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:27,440
You can know hundreds of faces 
and still have nobody that knows

771
00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:28,800
what's happening inside of your 
head. 

772
00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:32,440
You can worship in a crowded 
room and go home completely 

773
00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:34,840
alone. 
You can sit in this sermon and 

774
00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:37,480
you feel completely alone, even 
though physically we are very 

775
00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:41,240
much not alone right now. 
By the way, you can also shake 

776
00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:44,640
hands, have conversations in the
lobby, and you can you can serve

777
00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:47,240
on a ministry team and still sit
in the same section every week. 

778
00:37:47,240 --> 00:37:50,040
And most of you do. 
And still nobody. 

779
00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:54,000
Maybe have nobody that you would
call it 2:00 AM when your world 

780
00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:57,720
falls apart and being around 
other Christians is not 

781
00:37:57,720 --> 00:38:00,120
necessarily the same thing as 
being known by Christians. 

782
00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:02,680
And I want you to know that 
today, when you have been 

783
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:04,680
isolated long enough, little 
things will start to become 

784
00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:06,880
enormous things to you because 
there's nobody close enough to 

785
00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:08,760
help you sort through them. 
And this isn't just the small 

786
00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:10,320
ways that we get offended with 
one another. 

787
00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:11,840
Oh, they didn't say good morning
to me. 

788
00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:14,240
Oh, they seem too busy for me. 
Oh, what did they mean by that? 

789
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:16,120
Probably nothing. 
They probably not thought about 

790
00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:16,880
you since. 
Tuesday. 

791
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:21,520
It's not just those things, but 
then how many of us have been 

792
00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:23,760
alone in our faith and we've 
gone down a theological rabbit 

793
00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:26,080
hole? 
I've watched this happen with 

794
00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:28,280
Christians again and again. 
Somebody watches a video online 

795
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:30,280
that says, you know, did you 
know that Jesus wasn't his 

796
00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:33,400
original name? 
Suddenly they're wondering 

797
00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:35,320
whether or not they're praying 
to the wrong person their entire

798
00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:37,960
life. 
And it's interesting because, 

799
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:42,400
you know, Mexico has a lot of 
people named Jesus. 

800
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:43,760
We don't name a lot of people 
Jesus. 

801
00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:46,000
And I had somebody say that and 
they're like, we don't do that 

802
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:47,760
in America, do we? 
No, we don't. 

803
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:50,640
We name them Joshua and it comes
from the same root name. 

804
00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:53,720
And not everybody knows this, 
right? 

805
00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:58,240
But what was his original name? 
Somebody discovers maybe that 

806
00:38:58,240 --> 00:39:00,640
the word translated Lord can be 
used in different contexts and 

807
00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:03,120
start wondering whether calling 
Jesus Lord connects us to Pagan 

808
00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:05,000
gods. 
Somebody learns that our English

809
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:07,880
Bible contains translation 
decisions or discovers A 

810
00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:09,320
manuscript difference. 
Or they said. 

811
00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:11,560
Did you know that the King James
talks about unicorns? 

812
00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:13,840
Ask me about unicorns when I'm 
not at the pulpit. 

813
00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:16,720
By the way, we'll go back to the
Nephilim. 

814
00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:22,480
Anyway, I have had somebody who 
doesn't go to this church run 

815
00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:24,800
into me in public and say, 
you're a pastor of that church, 

816
00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:25,600
right? 
And I said, yeah. 

817
00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:26,840
And they said, can I have an 
appointment with you? 

818
00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:28,560
And I'm like. 
This is what I live for. 

819
00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:30,240
This is my bread and butter. 
Come on in. 

820
00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:33,200
We got room and we sit. 
Down to have them tell me. 

821
00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:35,760
I've heard that you baptize 
people in the name of the 

822
00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:37,240
Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Spirit. 

823
00:39:37,240 --> 00:39:39,480
You're only supposed to baptize 
them in the name of Jesus. 

824
00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:45,160
And we talked about it, and I 
was kind for most of the talk. 

825
00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:51,560
I did end up by saying, well, 
when you baptize people, you can

826
00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:54,920
say it the way you want, and 
when I baptize them, I'll say 

827
00:39:54,920 --> 00:40:00,360
them the way God. 
Wants and then I said just 

828
00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:03,880
kidding. 
I don't know if I was completely

829
00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:08,880
kidding. 
Listen, asking questions is not 

830
00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:11,080
the problem. 
Don't ever feel bad about a 

831
00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:13,600
spiritual question. 
If you have ever had these 

832
00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:17,600
questions, you are fully allowed
to message me or somebody you 

833
00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,520
trust and ask for some help. 
That is part of what it is to 

834
00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:23,000
chop up our faith and to learn 
what it means. 

835
00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:26,080
You know me better than to say 
don't ask questions. 

836
00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:28,520
I think Christians should ask 
the most difficult. 

837
00:40:28,520 --> 00:40:29,920
Questions out of anybody in the 
world? 

838
00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:34,520
We've spent four weeks asking 
some weird questions, but 

839
00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:37,680
questions become much more 
frightening when you have nobody

840
00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:41,920
trustworthy to ask the Internet.
I want you to hear me on this, 

841
00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:43,600
please. 
The Internet is more than happy 

842
00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:46,800
to disciple you if you wanted 
to, but you should also know 

843
00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:49,160
that it's algorithm doesn't care
whether you're becoming wise, it

844
00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:50,640
just cares whether you keep 
watching. 

845
00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:55,040
So you watch one video asking 
whether you've been saying the 

846
00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:57,720
name of Jesus incorrectly, and 
suddenly you find 12 more of 

847
00:40:57,720 --> 00:40:58,800
those videos. 
Isn't that crazy? 

848
00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:00,200
In fact, you might find them 
when you walk out of here 

849
00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:01,240
because your phones are 
listening. 

850
00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:04,880
You watch one person explaining 
everything that you've been 

851
00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:06,440
taught about the Bible is 
supposedly wrong. 

852
00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:08,680
And now your feed introduces you
to 15 more. 

853
00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:11,840
And before long, something that 
a 10 minute discussion with a 

854
00:41:11,840 --> 00:41:14,440
mature Christian would have 
fixed has become a spiritual 

855
00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:17,040
crisis that you've spent three 
weeks labouring over. 

856
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:19,200
And you don't even know those 
people on the Internet. 

857
00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:21,600
And this is not an information 
problem. 

858
00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:22,640
It's. 
Spiritual warfare. 

859
00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:26,680
I think sometimes we 
misunderstand what the writer of

860
00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:28,680
Hebrews was saying about 
gathering together in this 

861
00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:29,960
scripture. 
I'm going to read from Hebrews 

862
00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:32,440
10. 
I think a lot of times we hear 

863
00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:35,200
this and we, we, we've heard it 
used to say you need to go to 

864
00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:37,040
church. 
And that's true. 

865
00:41:37,040 --> 00:41:39,600
But listen to what the writer of
Hebrews is actually saying. 

866
00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:42,880
He says in Hebrews 19, Dear 
brothers and sisters, we can 

867
00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:45,640
boldly enter Heaven's. 
Most Holy place because of the 

868
00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:48,640
blood of Jesus. 
By his death, Jesus opened a new

869
00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:51,120
and life giving way through the 
curtain into the Most Holy 

870
00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:54,040
Place. 
And since we have a great high 

871
00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:57,640
priest who rules over God's 
house, let us go right into the 

872
00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:01,640
presence of God with sincere 
hearts, fully trusting Him. 

873
00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:04,640
For our guilty consciences have 
been sprinkled with Christ's 

874
00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:07,680
blood to make us clean, and our 
bodies have been washed with 

875
00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:08,960
pure water. 
You know so many. 

876
00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:12,080
Times he's saying us. 
He's not saying you can go, he's

877
00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:14,800
saying let's go. 
That is a contraction. 

878
00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:21,040
That means let us go. 
Let us hold tightly without 

879
00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:24,320
wavering to the hope we affirm, 
for God can be trusted to keep 

880
00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:27,440
His promise. 
Let us think of ways to motivate

881
00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:30,360
one another to acts of love and 
good works hard to do that 

882
00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:33,640
alone. 
And let us not neglect our 

883
00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:37,120
meeting together, as some people
do, but encourage one another, 

884
00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:38,880
especially now that the day of 
his. 

885
00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:43,040
Return is drawing near. 
Do you notice how relational all

886
00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:46,160
of that language is? 
Let us go into the presence. 

887
00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:48,800
Let us hold tightly. 
Let us think of ways to motivate

888
00:42:48,800 --> 00:42:53,320
one another. 
I want you to know that Paul, or

889
00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:56,560
not Paul, but the author here is
describing deliberately that 

890
00:42:56,560 --> 00:42:59,840
helping one another actually 
helps one another remain 

891
00:42:59,840 --> 00:43:02,080
faithful. 
And this is a war strategy. 

892
00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:05,280
You do need people. 
Close enough to notice that 

893
00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:08,200
you're drifting, and if you 
don't have them, you're going to

894
00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:10,160
be in trouble at some point, if 
you're not already. 

895
00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:12,320
You need people who can hear 
what you're. 

896
00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:15,400
Saying and recognize that fear 
has started to change what 

897
00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:19,800
you're saying and to say this is
not you what's going on and if 

898
00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:21,760
you have relationships but 
they're not deep enough where. 

899
00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:24,360
People can call that out in you.
You're not going to know when 

900
00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:27,160
you're deceived. 
You need somebody who's going to

901
00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:30,640
look at you with love and say, I
don't think that's God. 

902
00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:35,160
You also need people that are 
willing to celebrate what God is

903
00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:37,920
doing in your life without 
competing with you or correcting

904
00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:41,080
you, without condemning you, or 
pray for you, without gossiping 

905
00:43:41,080 --> 00:43:44,320
about you. 
And by the way, you need to be 

906
00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:45,840
that person for somebody else, 
too. 

907
00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:49,920
I told you this is going to push
you, but that's an important 

908
00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:52,480
part of what we sometimes miss. 
Christian community is not just 

909
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:54,520
assembling a support team around
yourself. 

910
00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:57,200
The Saints aren't supporting 
characters in your spiritual 

911
00:43:57,200 --> 00:43:58,400
story. 
They're supposed to become 

912
00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:00,280
somebody. 
That is the reinforcement for 

913
00:44:00,280 --> 00:44:03,960
your spiritual warfare and 
somebody needs your testimony 

914
00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:06,880
and odds are one of them is 
sitting in this room right now. 

915
00:44:08,320 --> 00:44:11,280
Somebody needs what God taught 
you through the thing that you 

916
00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:14,280
survived. 
Somebody needs you to notice 

917
00:44:14,280 --> 00:44:16,600
before they withdraw. 
And somebody needs you to ask 

918
00:44:16,600 --> 00:44:20,320
the second question. 
When they say they are fine, 

919
00:44:22,360 --> 00:44:25,160
Paul describes this again in 
First Thessalonians chapter 5. 

920
00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:28,720
But you aren't in the dark about
these things, brothers and 

921
00:44:28,720 --> 00:44:31,080
sisters, and you won't be 
surprised when the day of the 

922
00:44:31,080 --> 00:44:32,920
Lord comes like a thief, for you
are all. 

923
00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:36,600
Children of the light and of the
day, we don't belong to darkness

924
00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:40,400
and night, so be on your guard, 
not asleep like the others. 

925
00:44:40,760 --> 00:44:44,000
Stay alert and be clear headed. 
Night is the time when people 

926
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:48,200
sleep and drinkers get drunk, 
but let us live in the light, to

927
00:44:48,200 --> 00:44:51,360
be clear headed, protected by 
the armor of faith and love, and

928
00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:53,640
wearing is our helmet, the 
confidence of our salvation. 

929
00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:57,920
For God chose to save us through
our Lord Jesus Christ, not to 

930
00:44:57,920 --> 00:45:00,520
pour out his anger on us. 
Listen to this the last two 

931
00:45:00,520 --> 00:45:03,320
verses 10 and 11. 
Christ died for us, so that 

932
00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:05,200
whether we are dead or alive 
when he returns. 

933
00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:09,880
We can live with him forever. 
So here's the challenge. 

934
00:45:10,440 --> 00:45:12,920
Encourage each other and build 
each other up, just as you are 

935
00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:16,560
already doing. 
I love it because Paul uses that

936
00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:18,240
language. 
Of people preparing for battle, 

937
00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:21,400
he says stay alert, be clear 
headed, put on faith and love 

938
00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:23,760
his armor. 
Wear this helmet of salvation. 

939
00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:26,960
But you notice how he. 
Finishes with Encourage one 

940
00:45:26,960 --> 00:45:28,480
another. 
Build each other up. 

941
00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:31,680
Apparently one of God's 
strategies for keeping you 

942
00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:34,480
standing in spiritual warfare is
putting another Christian beside

943
00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:37,320
you, so I want you to think 
about that. 

944
00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:41,160
Who knows when you're not OK? 
Don't answer it out loud, but I 

945
00:45:41,160 --> 00:45:41,960
want. 
You to think about this. 

946
00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:46,440
Who knows what you're fighting? 
Who knows what you're tempted 

947
00:45:46,440 --> 00:45:49,600
by, Who knows what lies you tend
to believe when you're 

948
00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:53,200
exhausted. 
Who has permission to tell you 

949
00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:57,080
that you're wrong and who can 
recognize when you're beginning 

950
00:45:57,080 --> 00:45:59,960
to isolate yourself? 
Because if we're at war, those 

951
00:45:59,960 --> 00:46:04,240
are not small questions. 
Those are big ones yesterday in 

952
00:46:04,240 --> 00:46:06,480
our Bible reading that we're 
going through at liberty. 

953
00:46:06,480 --> 00:46:09,680
If you're going through the 
chronological Bible reading, we 

954
00:46:09,680 --> 00:46:13,240
read the entire book of Obadiah,
which if you've not read the 

955
00:46:13,240 --> 00:46:16,480
Scripture, that sounds really 
impressive, but it is the 

956
00:46:16,480 --> 00:46:19,640
shortest book in the in the Old 
Testament, it's just 21 verses 

957
00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:22,360
long, but. 
If you missed yesterday, 

958
00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:24,720
congratulations, this may be one
of the days that's easiest to 

959
00:46:24,720 --> 00:46:27,640
get caught up on. 
Obadiah tells this painful story

960
00:46:27,640 --> 00:46:30,760
between two nations. 
That should have remembered they

961
00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:35,000
were family. 
Israel and Judah have fallen, 

962
00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:36,720
right? 
And this comes right out of the 

963
00:46:36,720 --> 00:46:38,440
stories from the book of 
Jeremiah. 

964
00:46:38,800 --> 00:46:41,080
And then you have Edom. 
Edom descended from Esau. 

965
00:46:41,080 --> 00:46:42,360
Back in the day you had two 
brothers. 

966
00:46:42,360 --> 00:46:45,560
You had Jacob and Esau. 
And the Edomites came from Esau.

967
00:46:45,920 --> 00:46:48,280
They are. 
They are literally brothers as 

968
00:46:48,280 --> 00:46:50,760
far as nations go. 
And as they see. 

969
00:46:51,440 --> 00:46:53,720
Jerusalem attacked. 
Edom had a choice to make. 

970
00:46:53,720 --> 00:46:55,800
They could look at what was 
happening and they could 

971
00:46:55,800 --> 00:46:57,080
remember. 
Those are our people. 

972
00:46:57,560 --> 00:47:00,560
But instead, Obadiah says that 
they stood at a distance and 

973
00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:03,800
they watched and they watched 
strangers carry away Jerusalem's

974
00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:05,520
wealth. 
And they celebrated when Judas 

975
00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:07,360
suffered because. 
They took advantage of this 

976
00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:10,120
disaster for themselves and 
eventually they had to stand at 

977
00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:13,240
a crossroads and captured people
that tried to escape. 

978
00:47:13,240 --> 00:47:15,400
They actually worked against 
their own brothers and this. 

979
00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:17,360
Is why God's judgement hits Edom
so hard. 

980
00:47:17,360 --> 00:47:21,440
There God was angry because when
their brother was surrounded, 

981
00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:22,920
they chose to stand at a 
distance. 

982
00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:26,520
Are you hearing what I'm saying?
This is what the Saints are 

983
00:47:26,520 --> 00:47:29,640
supposed to do. 
When somebody's struggling, we 

984
00:47:29,640 --> 00:47:31,120
don't stand at a distance and 
watch. 

985
00:47:31,120 --> 00:47:34,440
That's what the world does. 
When somebody starts questioning

986
00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:36,640
everything they believe, we 
don't make them feel stupid for 

987
00:47:36,640 --> 00:47:39,080
asking questions. 
When somebody falls, we don't 

988
00:47:39,080 --> 00:47:40,480
celebrate because at least we're
still. 

989
00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:43,880
Standing, we move towards them. 
That's what we're called to. 

990
00:47:44,200 --> 00:47:46,440
When our family is fighting, we 
don't stand at a distance. 

991
00:47:48,320 --> 00:47:50,160
I'm going to wrap this up in 
about 10 or 15 minutes. 

992
00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:52,000
OK guys, but I need you to hear 
this. 

993
00:47:52,120 --> 00:47:54,640
When I say Saints, I want you to
understand who I'm talking about

994
00:47:54,640 --> 00:47:57,560
because if you came from a 
Catholic background, first and 

995
00:47:57,560 --> 00:47:59,560
foremost, you can be a St. and 
be alive. 

996
00:47:59,920 --> 00:48:00,960
I know that's not what you 
learned. 

997
00:48:02,360 --> 00:48:04,720
In the Catholic Church, and I'm 
not picking on them too much, 

998
00:48:05,560 --> 00:48:07,760
the first step in becoming a St.
is you have to be dead. 

999
00:48:07,760 --> 00:48:11,000
It's a prerequisite. 
Then you have to go through a 

1000
00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:13,480
canonization process. 
There are investigations into 

1001
00:48:13,480 --> 00:48:15,920
this person's life and you have 
to see if there's miracles that 

1002
00:48:15,920 --> 00:48:18,240
are attributed. 
And I want you to know then 

1003
00:48:18,240 --> 00:48:19,960
there's patron Saints that are 
assigned to just about 

1004
00:48:19,960 --> 00:48:22,040
everything that we can imagine. 
How many of you are familiar 

1005
00:48:22,040 --> 00:48:24,360
with this concept of of the 
patron Saints? 

1006
00:48:24,520 --> 00:48:26,480
You know who I feel really bad 
for is Saint Anthony. 

1007
00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:28,800
St. 
Anthony is the patron St. of 

1008
00:48:28,800 --> 00:48:30,160
lost items. 
So every time you lose your 

1009
00:48:30,160 --> 00:48:34,440
keys, you think about that. 
You live this life, you get 

1010
00:48:34,440 --> 00:48:37,440
martyred, and then you're up in 
heaven and you're like, I'll be 

1011
00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:39,720
right back. 
Chris lost his keys again. 

1012
00:48:39,880 --> 00:48:43,000
I got to. 
He lost his wallet also. 

1013
00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:47,240
I'll be back again. 
What a gift. 

1014
00:48:48,080 --> 00:48:51,720
What a gift. 
Listen, I'm not saying that to 

1015
00:48:51,720 --> 00:48:54,480
be disrespectful, but I want you
to understand it's very obvious 

1016
00:48:54,480 --> 00:48:57,640
from a biblical standpoint that 
when I say Saints, what I mean 

1017
00:48:57,640 --> 00:49:00,200
is that in the New Testament, 
Paul repeatedly uses this word 

1018
00:49:00,200 --> 00:49:03,160
that is translated as Saints for
ordinary believers who are very 

1019
00:49:03,160 --> 00:49:05,120
much alive. 
If you belong to. 

1020
00:49:05,160 --> 00:49:08,280
Jesus, you're a St. 
And you may say I don't feel 

1021
00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:09,280
like it when. 
Somebody does something 

1022
00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:11,840
especially nice, we go, oh, that
person's a St. 

1023
00:49:13,600 --> 00:49:16,480
You might call somebody a St. 
who doesn't even know the Lord. 

1024
00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:19,880
St. is somebody who believes in 
Jesus, belongs to Jesus because 

1025
00:49:19,880 --> 00:49:21,080
they've been washed by the blood
of Jesus. 

1026
00:49:21,080 --> 00:49:23,280
And when God looks at them, he 
sees a St. 

1027
00:49:25,520 --> 00:49:28,760
So here's some steps if you want
to connect with those Saints. 

1028
00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:30,960
First of all, stop hiding behind
that F word. 

1029
00:49:33,040 --> 00:49:35,720
Fine. 
Some of us do it because we 

1030
00:49:35,720 --> 00:49:37,480
don't want to be seen, and some 
of us do it because we just 

1031
00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:38,240
don't have time. 
We're too busy. 

1032
00:49:38,240 --> 00:49:39,760
You know why? 
Because everything's crazy. 

1033
00:49:39,760 --> 00:49:40,960
Isn't that what we don't really 
say? 

1034
00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:42,600
How's life going? 
It's crazy. 

1035
00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:46,960
When was it not crazy? 
It's always busy. 

1036
00:49:47,480 --> 00:49:51,080
Stop hiding behind this F word, 
even if you don't. 

1037
00:49:51,080 --> 00:49:52,600
Have time right now. 
You know what, actually, it's 

1038
00:49:52,600 --> 00:49:56,160
been rough. 
Let me call you later and let's 

1039
00:49:56,160 --> 00:49:58,800
talk about it. 
I've had some sad thoughts this 

1040
00:49:58,800 --> 00:49:59,480
week. 
It's been rough. 

1041
00:49:59,480 --> 00:50:01,320
And every time somebody's asked 
me this week how are you doing? 

1042
00:50:01,320 --> 00:50:05,000
I've been like, I'm sad. 
I cried it's great. 

1043
00:50:05,320 --> 00:50:07,640
I mean not crying, I prefer not 
to, although there are some 

1044
00:50:07,640 --> 00:50:10,000
biological effects that are 
healthy for the body but. 

1045
00:50:11,400 --> 00:50:15,640
It's nice to just tell people 
it's been rough because I'm not 

1046
00:50:15,640 --> 00:50:17,840
hiding anything and it makes me 
feel like I'm not carrying it 

1047
00:50:17,840 --> 00:50:19,160
alone. 
I know there's people that pray 

1048
00:50:19,160 --> 00:50:23,440
for me. 
Second of all, you better give 

1049
00:50:23,440 --> 00:50:25,280
somebody permission to challenge
what you believe. 

1050
00:50:26,280 --> 00:50:29,760
You better give somebody 
challenge permission honestly. 

1051
00:50:30,440 --> 00:50:32,440
Sometimes that correction is 
going to be more uncomfortable. 

1052
00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:34,480
Than we think. 
But you need somebody that can 

1053
00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:37,200
say you're wrong about this, or 
you're wrong about this person, 

1054
00:50:37,200 --> 00:50:40,000
or you're becoming bitter, or 
you're putting that jacket back 

1055
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:41,480
on, or you're isolating 
yourself. 

1056
00:50:42,560 --> 00:50:43,640
But it's not just. 
About you. 

1057
00:50:43,640 --> 00:50:45,480
So you need to also start 
watching someone else's 

1058
00:50:45,480 --> 00:50:47,560
battlefield. 
They're under attack. 

1059
00:50:48,000 --> 00:50:50,640
Do you care? 
Do you care when you see other 

1060
00:50:50,640 --> 00:50:53,200
brothers and sisters in the Lord
under attack, that you could 

1061
00:50:53,200 --> 00:50:54,960
look at them and say, yeah, 
they're going through a lot, 

1062
00:50:54,960 --> 00:50:56,320
man. 
They've got some spiritual 

1063
00:50:56,320 --> 00:51:00,240
warfare happening. 
If you believe that, why don't 

1064
00:51:00,240 --> 00:51:03,280
you start fighting the enemy? 
Being a St. 

1065
00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:05,920
I guess if I could sum it up, 
just means refusing to be Edom. 

1066
00:51:06,720 --> 00:51:08,640
You see your brother or sister 
struggling, and instead of 

1067
00:51:08,640 --> 00:51:10,240
standing at a distance, you move
closer. 

1068
00:51:10,840 --> 00:51:13,240
And so this week, I would 
challenge you to don't just see 

1069
00:51:13,240 --> 00:51:15,600
the Saints, but to let one of 
them see you also. 

1070
00:51:15,600 --> 00:51:17,440
And I'm going to give you a 
chance to respond to that in a 

1071
00:51:17,440 --> 00:51:19,000
moment. 
I'm going to do something 

1072
00:51:19,000 --> 00:51:20,200
different as we finish this 
morning. 

1073
00:51:20,200 --> 00:51:22,520
Normally when we get to this 
part of the service, I ask 

1074
00:51:22,520 --> 00:51:25,120
people to come forward when 
we're doing an altar call for 

1075
00:51:25,120 --> 00:51:28,960
salvation. 
But today we're going to do 

1076
00:51:28,960 --> 00:51:31,640
something different. 
Maybe people need to respond to 

1077
00:51:31,640 --> 00:51:32,880
something. 
That God has been speaking to 

1078
00:51:32,880 --> 00:51:35,800
them throughout this morning. 
And if you need any of those 

1079
00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:37,320
things today, we'll absolutely 
pray with you. 

1080
00:51:37,320 --> 00:51:40,040
If you need salvation or you 
have a crisis, we'll absolutely 

1081
00:51:40,040 --> 00:51:43,200
pray with you. 
But before anyone else moves, 

1082
00:51:43,680 --> 00:51:45,560
I'm going to ask for our small 
group leaders to come up here 

1083
00:51:45,560 --> 00:51:47,880
and just stand across the front.
Just be spaced out. 

1084
00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:50,680
Give the care team some papers 
that you all will have too. 

1085
00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:54,840
We've got those available for 
you and I'll explain what we're 

1086
00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:56,400
doing in a moment. 
I've got one more scripture to 

1087
00:51:56,400 --> 00:51:58,920
share with you. 
Now, as you see these people 

1088
00:51:58,920 --> 00:52:00,760
walk up. 
I want you to understand 

1089
00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:02,680
something about them, and I'm 
going to make it painfully 

1090
00:52:02,680 --> 00:52:04,640
obvious, although they already 
know it. 

1091
00:52:05,120 --> 00:52:07,000
These are not professional 
Christians. 

1092
00:52:07,880 --> 00:52:10,680
OK, they do not have everything 
figured out. 

1093
00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:12,720
They do not have perfect 
marriages. 

1094
00:52:13,240 --> 00:52:14,920
They do not have perfect 
families. 

1095
00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:17,840
They do not have perfect 
theology or faith or. 

1096
00:52:17,840 --> 00:52:20,680
Lives. 
They have questions and they 

1097
00:52:20,680 --> 00:52:22,760
have struggles and they have 
things that they are working 

1098
00:52:22,760 --> 00:52:25,080
through with Jesus. 
Some of them have scars that 

1099
00:52:25,080 --> 00:52:27,000
most of you would know 
absolutely nothing about. 

1100
00:52:28,120 --> 00:52:29,800
But they've made a decision. 
That they're willing to open 

1101
00:52:29,800 --> 00:52:31,360
their lives and make room for 
other people. 

1102
00:52:32,640 --> 00:52:34,800
And I want you to see something 
else while they're all standing.

1103
00:52:34,800 --> 00:52:37,120
Up here for the last four weeks,
we've talked about a world that 

1104
00:52:37,120 --> 00:52:40,000
we can't see We started the 
series learning about the war 

1105
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:43,120
all around us, but today we've 
discovered the unseen truth 

1106
00:52:43,120 --> 00:52:44,960
behind it that. 
Jesus has already won. 

1107
00:52:45,520 --> 00:52:49,400
We saw a cross, but something 
bigger was happening, so Jesus 

1108
00:52:49,400 --> 00:52:51,400
knew there would be days when 
remembering by ourselves. 

1109
00:52:51,400 --> 00:52:54,120
Would be difficult and he gave 
us the Saints. 

1110
00:52:55,480 --> 00:52:57,920
I don't think it's an accident 
that when Jesus finished his 

1111
00:52:57,920 --> 00:53:01,040
work on earth and sent the Holy 
Spirit, the first thing that 

1112
00:53:01,040 --> 00:53:03,960
emerged wasn't a collection of 
isolated Christians having 

1113
00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:06,360
private spiritual experiences. 
It was a. 

1114
00:53:06,360 --> 00:53:09,560
Community and I want you to 
understand something before I 

1115
00:53:09,560 --> 00:53:12,080
read the scripture. 
When I get back from Guatemala, 

1116
00:53:12,080 --> 00:53:14,480
we're going to continue moving 
deeper into this unseen world 

1117
00:53:14,480 --> 00:53:15,880
through the stories of the Holy 
Spirit. 

1118
00:53:15,880 --> 00:53:20,600
In the series that I'm pleased 
to call Ghost Stories, we're 

1119
00:53:20,600 --> 00:53:23,280
going to talk about all of it. 
Who he is, what he does, how he 

1120
00:53:23,280 --> 00:53:27,600
speaks, how He empowers his 
believers, the gift of tongues, 

1121
00:53:27,640 --> 00:53:29,520
the baptism, the Holy Spirit, 
all of it. 

1122
00:53:30,240 --> 00:53:32,680
But I want you to know the same 
spirit that raised Jesus from 

1123
00:53:32,680 --> 00:53:35,440
the dead now lives within you if
you belong to Jesus. 

1124
00:53:36,040 --> 00:53:38,400
And as we are encountering this 
and we're getting armed for 

1125
00:53:38,400 --> 00:53:40,880
warfare, it's going to be a 
whole lot easier to navigate if 

1126
00:53:40,880 --> 00:53:42,840
we've got some people fighting 
that battle with us. 

1127
00:53:43,520 --> 00:53:45,800
When the Holy Spirit was poured 
out in the church in the book of

1128
00:53:45,800 --> 00:53:48,120
Acts, something happened that I 
don't want us to miss. 

1129
00:53:48,440 --> 00:53:51,760
Acts 2, verse 40. 
Two says this all the believers 

1130
00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:54,080
devoted themselves to the 
apostles teaching, and to 

1131
00:53:54,080 --> 00:53:56,840
fellowship, and to sharing in 
meals including the Lord's 

1132
00:53:56,840 --> 00:54:00,720
Supper, and to prayer. 
A deep sense of awe came over 

1133
00:54:00,720 --> 00:54:03,880
them all, and the apostles 
performed many miraculous signs 

1134
00:54:03,880 --> 00:54:06,000
and wonders. 
And all the believers met 

1135
00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:08,640
together in one place and shared
everything they had. 

1136
00:54:09,080 --> 00:54:11,720
They sold their property and 
possessions and shared the money

1137
00:54:11,720 --> 00:54:13,960
with those in need. 
They worshipped together at the 

1138
00:54:13,960 --> 00:54:16,720
temple each day, met in homes 
for the Lord's Supper, and 

1139
00:54:16,720 --> 00:54:20,080
shared their meals with great 
joy and generosity, all the 

1140
00:54:20,080 --> 00:54:23,360
while praising God and enjoying 
the goodwill of all the people. 

1141
00:54:23,680 --> 00:54:26,000
And each day, the Lord added to 
their fellowship those who are 

1142
00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:29,760
being saved. 
That's the church. 

1143
00:54:30,920 --> 00:54:33,520
I want you to notice how much of
that scripture happens to be 

1144
00:54:33,520 --> 00:54:35,360
together. 
They learned together, and they 

1145
00:54:35,360 --> 00:54:37,600
ate together and prayed together
and worshiped together. 

1146
00:54:37,600 --> 00:54:39,320
And even though it doesn't say 
it, I bet you they laughed 

1147
00:54:39,320 --> 00:54:41,320
together. 
I bet you they cried together. 

1148
00:54:41,800 --> 00:54:45,520
And somehow I feel like we've 
turned the relational. 

1149
00:54:45,520 --> 00:54:48,720
Option into some sort of upgrade
for Christianity. 

1150
00:54:49,280 --> 00:54:51,480
And so we say things like my 
relationship with God is 

1151
00:54:51,480 --> 00:54:54,560
personal and of course it is. 
My relationship with my wife is 

1152
00:54:54,560 --> 00:54:57,760
personal, but it's not private. 
You all know who my wife is. 

1153
00:54:58,400 --> 00:55:00,520
You were never designed to 
answer every question alone, or 

1154
00:55:00,520 --> 00:55:03,040
survive every temptation alone, 
or carry every grief alone. 

1155
00:55:03,560 --> 00:55:05,480
And that is why I've asked. 
For the small group leaders to 

1156
00:55:05,480 --> 00:55:07,720
stand here, when we're done 
talking about the Holy Spirit, 

1157
00:55:07,720 --> 00:55:09,800
we're going to end up talking 
about how to get clean from 

1158
00:55:09,800 --> 00:55:12,720
demonic and unclean spirits. 
We're going to talk about how to

1159
00:55:12,720 --> 00:55:15,960
rebuke the enemy, how to cast 
them off and away from us and 

1160
00:55:15,960 --> 00:55:18,280
from people that we love. 
And even though it's weird, 

1161
00:55:18,520 --> 00:55:19,800
we're not the weirdest church 
out there. 

1162
00:55:19,800 --> 00:55:23,320
Believe it or not, the way that 
our small groups work is they 

1163
00:55:23,320 --> 00:55:24,680
meet on different days of the 
week. 

1164
00:55:25,240 --> 00:55:27,720
They don't meet during midweek 
services or Sunday mornings. 

1165
00:55:27,720 --> 00:55:29,560
And if they meet on a Sunday 
morning, please tell on them, 

1166
00:55:29,560 --> 00:55:32,880
let me know. 
Most of them meet about twice a 

1167
00:55:32,880 --> 00:55:35,040
month, some once a month, some 
once a week. 

1168
00:55:35,640 --> 00:55:38,680
You can find one where you can 
make some connections because 

1169
00:55:38,680 --> 00:55:40,400
I'm willing to bet there's a lot
of people in this room that 

1170
00:55:40,400 --> 00:55:42,760
don't really know a lot of 
people in this room. 

1171
00:55:43,760 --> 00:55:45,400
And if you don't feel like it's 
for you, that's fine. 

1172
00:55:45,400 --> 00:55:47,000
I'm not trying to force you, but
I'm trying to give you an 

1173
00:55:47,000 --> 00:55:49,280
opportunity. 
And I also want you to know 

1174
00:55:49,280 --> 00:55:52,640
this, we have other ministries 
that aren't represented here, 

1175
00:55:52,640 --> 00:55:56,200
Men's ministry, ladies ministry,
C2 for single adults up through 

1176
00:55:56,200 --> 00:55:58,360
age 30. 
We've got north of 50. 

1177
00:55:58,520 --> 00:56:00,960
If you're between 30 and 50, we 
love you and we're praying for 

1178
00:56:00,960 --> 00:56:07,440
you. 
We're working on it, right? 

1179
00:56:07,440 --> 00:56:11,040
No church have is everything. 
Listen, if you are sitting here 

1180
00:56:11,040 --> 00:56:13,400
thinking I don't really have 
anybody, there's no. 

1181
00:56:13,400 --> 00:56:15,920
Shame in that. 
Maybe you've been at liberty for

1182
00:56:15,920 --> 00:56:18,760
three weeks or one day, or maybe
you've been here three years. 

1183
00:56:19,040 --> 00:56:21,560
Maybe you know everybody's name,
but nobody really knows. 

1184
00:56:21,560 --> 00:56:23,320
You. 
Maybe you used to have 

1185
00:56:23,320 --> 00:56:24,720
community, but something 
happened. 

1186
00:56:24,720 --> 00:56:27,240
Maybe somebody hurt you. 
Maybe you've slowly withdrawn 

1187
00:56:27,240 --> 00:56:29,160
and not even realized it. 
Maybe you're surrounded by 

1188
00:56:29,160 --> 00:56:31,120
people on Sunday, but you still 
feel alone. 

1189
00:56:31,800 --> 00:56:33,800
And I'm not asking you to come 
forward because we think 

1190
00:56:33,800 --> 00:56:35,480
something's wrong with you. 
I'm just asking because 

1191
00:56:35,480 --> 00:56:38,560
Christianity is not. 
Good alongside isolation. 

1192
00:56:38,880 --> 00:56:41,760
So if you need men's group C2, 
women's ministry. 

1193
00:56:41,920 --> 00:56:44,840
If you need a small group these.
People, you don't have to pick 

1194
00:56:44,840 --> 00:56:47,040
the one that you want to join. 
Just come up here, we'd love to 

1195
00:56:47,040 --> 00:56:50,120
get your information and we'll 
help you find the groups and the

1196
00:56:50,120 --> 00:56:53,720
connections that you need. 
You don't have to know which 

1197
00:56:53,720 --> 00:56:55,680
group will help you. 
You just need to be willing to 

1198
00:56:55,680 --> 00:56:58,000
say I need people. 
So these leaders are not going 

1199
00:56:58,000 --> 00:57:01,360
to interrogate you except for 
Mike Helmite, right? 

1200
00:57:03,400 --> 00:57:05,120
They're not going to interrogate
you, they're not going to make 

1201
00:57:05,120 --> 00:57:06,880
you sign your Lifeway, they're 
not going to make you sign a 

1202
00:57:06,880 --> 00:57:08,080
covenant. 
That means you have to start 

1203
00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:09,920
giving money. 
We just. 

1204
00:57:10,640 --> 00:57:12,720
Understand that after four weeks
of talking about spiritual 

1205
00:57:12,720 --> 00:57:16,000
warfare, I want us leaving here 
harder to isolate by the enemy. 

1206
00:57:17,080 --> 00:57:20,280
So worship team if you all want 
to go ahead and start playing 

1207
00:57:20,280 --> 00:57:24,120
and I'll just I'll just end by 
telling you this, there might be

1208
00:57:24,120 --> 00:57:25,880
somebody who will survive 
something next. 

1209
00:57:25,880 --> 00:57:27,840
Year that you survived five 
years ago. 

1210
00:57:29,240 --> 00:57:31,920
It's not just about what you 
need, it's about the people who 

1211
00:57:31,920 --> 00:57:34,600
need you. 
There might be somebody who 

1212
00:57:34,600 --> 00:57:38,360
needs your encouragement, your 
testimony, your questions, your 

1213
00:57:38,360 --> 00:57:40,760
prayers, your laughter, your 
wisdom, or maybe just your 

1214
00:57:40,760 --> 00:57:43,000
friendship. 
We got a group that meets in. 

1215
00:57:43,000 --> 00:57:45,280
Swansboro, we got one that meets
in New Bern and we got a whole 

1216
00:57:45,280 --> 00:57:47,880
lot in between. 
I want you to know this is what 

1217
00:57:47,880 --> 00:57:49,880
the Saints do. 
So I'm not asking you whether or

1218
00:57:49,880 --> 00:57:51,800
not you attend Liberty. 
I'm asking whether or not you're

1219
00:57:51,800 --> 00:57:54,560
known by other Saints. 
And if you don't have people or 

1220
00:57:54,560 --> 00:57:56,800
you need to get this fixed up a 
little bit, I'm just going to 

1221
00:57:56,800 --> 00:57:58,680
ask you to come on forward and 
you can meet with somebody. 

1222
00:57:59,520 --> 00:58:01,840
The enemy loves isolation and 
we're not going to give it to 

1223
00:58:01,840 --> 00:58:04,520
him. 
So if you need community, I'm 

1224
00:58:04,520 --> 00:58:06,840
asking you to do something 
incredibly simple and probably a

1225
00:58:06,840 --> 00:58:10,360
little uncomfortable. 
Get out of your seat and come 

1226
00:58:10,360 --> 00:58:13,520
down here. 
And if you need community. 

1227
00:58:13,800 --> 00:58:16,800
Just walk up to one of these 
people and say I need people and

1228
00:58:16,800 --> 00:58:20,920
we'll take it from there. 
I've already told you that we're

1229
00:58:20,920 --> 00:58:23,920
surrounded, but this morning I 
want you to decide who you're 

1230
00:58:23,920 --> 00:58:25,280
going to be surrounded by. 
Amen.