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You turn to John, Chapter 10, 
and I'll just reiterate this, 

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set it at the beginning of 
announcements, but just in case 

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you were a little late this 
morning, service for Natalie 

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Monroe will be Wednesday at 1:00
and then we will have no midweek

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services that evening. 
So hopefully you can come on out

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and support the family 1:00 on 
Wednesday. 

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Hopefully you can be here. 
Well, this is the, this is the 

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last day as we go through the 
Devil's playground. 

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When we started this series, I 
told you that the Devil's 

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favorite playground is in a 
haunted house or a Horror Story 

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or a scary movie. 
It's it's the human heart. 

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And the enemy doesn't just 
attack in the obvious ways. 

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He, he hides in the ordinary 
things. 

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We talked about the fact that he
does not run at you with a 

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pitchfork with his horns out, 
although there is a giant 

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billboard down in Alabama 
somewhere that says go to church

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or the devil will get you. 
My, my wife and I have seen it 

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first hand. 
Apparently it's been torn down 

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three times and keeps getting 
rebuilt and nobody knows who's 

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rebuilding it. 
I don't think it's the devil 

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because the devil works quietly.
He's sort of in the background 

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of our thoughts and he works to 
shape our motives and twist our 

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desires until we have small 
compromises become big 

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compromises. 
And over the last several weeks,

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we've gone step by step through 
a lot of the battlegrounds of 

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the heart. 
We we started talking about 

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different spirits that represent
different attacks. 

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And the first one that we 
highlighted was Leviathan. 

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It's kind of a spirit of pride 
and twisting things and 

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represents chaos. 
And when chaos manifests in your

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life, you don't know who to 
trust. 

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You don't know if you can 
believe the words that you hear.

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You question the motives 
Leviathan works and twists in 

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order to create great disunity 
amongst the brotherhood. 

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That's why two people can hear 
the same thing and then walk 

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away divided, both sure that 
they're right. 

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And then we had the spirit of 
Belial, and as we talked about 

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Belial, the spirit of 
worthlessness. 

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He's the one that tells you that
you're too far gone, too broken,

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too useless for the Lord to put 
to work, which is obviously a 

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lie straight from the pit. 
Belial is used a lot in the Old 

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Testament. 
In more modern translations 

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you'll see scoundrels and 
troublemakers. 

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But there was a term back then 
called Sons of Belial. 

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It meant that you are of Belial,
which let's be honest, none of 

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us want that. 
And then after that, we talked 

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about Mammon, the spirit of 
greed and control, who whispers 

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that if you could just get more,
if you could just have more than

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you'd have more security and 
then you'd finally feel safe. 

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We talked about one name that's 
not even listed in Scripture, 

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but the ancient Jews believed in
it was Asmodeus, which is the 

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spirit of lust and covenant 
breaking, the one who takes what

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God makes pure and then turns it
inward and corrupts it. 

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And finally, at the end of last 
week, we discussed Azazel, the 

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spirit of rebellion and 
forbidden knowledge. 

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And he convinces people that 
they can out think God or they 

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can figure him out and live by 
their own wisdom. 

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And I don't care how long you 
serve our Lord, you'll never 

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figure him out. 
His ways are too high and his 

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thoughts are too high. 
Like Leviathan, the issue isn't 

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in in what you think it is, it's
just in your own confidence. 

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He wants you to think that 
you're brilliant enough to 

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justify what you want while you 
still rebel against what you 

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need. 
And each one of those spirits 

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might look different, but their 
goal is the same, and their 

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strategies are coordinated. 
You've got pride and 

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worthlessness and greed and lust
and rebellion, and each one 

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chips away at a different part 
of the human soul. 

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Been excited to do this. 
Forgive me. 

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It's going to be a heavy message
so I need to start with this. 

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Today we talk about the end 
game. 

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Does anybody know what this is? 
This, if you're a movie fan, is 

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called the Infinity Gauntlet. 
I'm not going to keep moving it 

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because it makes a lot of sounds
and that will be very 

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distracting. 
If you have watched Marvel, they

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were really on a roll for a long
time. 

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We will not discuss the last 
couple years. 

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They don't exist. 
For a while, what you had was 

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you had a bunch of individual 
movies. 

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Captain America, you had Iron 
Man and all of these different 

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individual battles. 
Guardians of the Galaxy, they 

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made a talking raccoon cool. 
And in it, what you found 

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floating around were these 
different stones that were 

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called Infinity Stones. 
If this is a spoiler for you, 

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you're behind so this is on you.
You thought you were watching a 

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bunch of movies with individual 
battles, but it all culminated 

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in a two-part movie with all of 
The Avengers together and in it.

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What you found is even though 
there were small battles, there 

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was this great villain named 
Thanos who did not care if the 

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heroes won or lost their 
individual battles. 

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He was after something smaller, 
or at least it seems smaller. 

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These things were hidden in 
plain sight and when he got all 

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of them put together, he put 
them into this gauntlet and with

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it he had ultimate power. 
The six stones that he had were 

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the space stone and the mind 
stone and the reality stone and 

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the Power stone and the Time 
stone and finally the the 

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soulstone, which required a life
for a life. 

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I think that sounds a little 
biblical. 

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This was his end game. 
Those two movies were called 

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Avengers Infinity War and then 
Avengers End Game. 

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And in it they found that they 
had been outsmarted because they

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were fighting battles that 
weren't the main battles all 

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along. 
And it is a cinematic picture of

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how evil operates. 
And so I'm not going to draw a 

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straight correlation. 
I'm not going to keep referring 

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back to this. 
But what I will tell you is it's

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interesting if you think about 
it, if the enemy gets to you and

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makes you feel like you've got 
more knowledge than the average 

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person, it's almost like he's 
got a piece of it. 

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If he is able to get to you and 
corrupt your covenants and and 

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make you turn something that is 
beautiful into something you 

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lust after, he's got another 
piece. 

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If he comes to you and he starts
making you carry the weight of 

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worthlessness that you were made
in the image of God, but he 

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starts to rewrite how you view 
yourself, Boom, he's got another

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one. 
And before you know it, they're 

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all put together. 
Now in this gauntlet, Thanos has

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one ultimate goal, which is to 
destroy half of all life across 

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the entire universe. 
And he says if he has all of 

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these stones, he could do it 
with a snap of his fingers. 

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The makers of this don't allow 
it to move in such a way that 

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you can snap. 
It's probably for the best. 

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And with a snap of his fingers, 
it seems like everything 

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crumbles. 
But it wasn't just a snap of his

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fingers, was it? 
Because at this point we were 

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looking at something like 9 
movies worth of battles and 

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storylines and everything that 
had been happening before he 

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finally got what he wanted. 
I want you to understand this. 

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The devil wants you to suffer. 
He cannot directly wound our 

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Lord, but He can directly wound 
those that are made in His image

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and those that he loves the most
dearly. 

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And the best thing he can do is 
come at our father's kids. 

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He wants you to suffer, but he's
not looking to score little 

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battles. 
If you feel like you can be 

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tangled up in just one attack 
and you can hold your ground and

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you're not on guard for the 
other ones. 

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He is a strategist. 
He's got other things in the 

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works and he's got only real one
purpose. 

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That's split up into three 
things and we'll talk about that

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right here in John chapter 10. 
It's a perfect picture where you

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can hear about the devil's end 
game and the end game that Jesus

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has at one time. 
Verse one says the Lord Jesus 

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says, I tell you the truth. 
Anyone who sneaks over the wall 

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of a sheepfold rather than going
through the gate must surely be 

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a thief and a robber. 
But the one who enters through 

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the gate is the shepherd of the 
sheep. 

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00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,440
And the gatekeeper opens the 
gate for him, and the sheep 

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recognize his voice and come to 
him. 

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He calls his own sheep by name 
and leads them out. 

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You cannot underestimate how 
important this is what we just 

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read. 
He opened the gate for you. 

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There was not a way into the 
Father's graces like this before

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Him. 
He opened the way, called you to

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it, and the only thing you have 
to do is hear that voice and 

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follow it. 
He literally says even a dumb 

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sheep could figure this out and 
that's what he's trying to get 

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across to us. 
Verse 4, after he's gathered his

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own flock, he walks ahead of 
them and they follow him because

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they know his voice. 
They won't follow a stranger. 

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They will run from him because 
they don't know his voice. 

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That to me is comforting. 
I used to read it and feel 

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guilty because I used to wonder,
well how many times am I 

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following another voice? 
And does that mean that I'm 

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really not his sheep? 
No, no, no. 

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If you stay submitted to Him, He
will protect you from the voice 

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of the enemy. 
Verse 6. 

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00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,720
Those who heard Jesus use this 
illustration didn't understand 

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00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:05,200
what He meant, so he explained 
it to them. 

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00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:09,320
He said, I tell you the truth, I
am the gate for the sheep. 

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All who came before me were 
thieves and robbers, but the 

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true sheep did not listen to 
them. 

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Yes, I am the gate. 
Those who come in through me 

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will be saved, and they will 
come and go freely, and we'll 

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find good pastures. 
That thief's purpose is to steal

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and kill and destroy, but my 
purpose is to give them a rich 

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and satisfying life. 
A rich and satisfying life. 

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00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:36,560
Now that is different from 
living your best life now. 

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Big difference there. 
A rich and satisfying life. 

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00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,040
According to whose terms? 
Your terms or the Lord's terms. 

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But when you start to find your 
greatest joy in pleasing God and

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living the way that God wants 
you to live, you'll have a rich 

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and satisfying life. 
It's not always all the trinkets

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and trappings of this life that 
we assume that it is, but this 

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is the summary of the whole 
series, the whole 5 weeks that 

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00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:01,480
we've talked about this. 
The enemy's end game is 

186
00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,560
destruction, and the end game of
Jesus is resurrection and 

187
00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:07,360
restoration. 
So the enemy wants to steal your

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00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,760
joy, kill your purpose, destroy 
your identity, and Jesus 

189
00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:14,120
restores all three of them, 
every spirit that we have talked

190
00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:18,160
about, It was just one piece of 
the enemy's plan to steal and 

191
00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:21,800
kill and destroy. 
But Jesus has done every healing

192
00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,880
and every miracle and every 
promise in order to bring his 

193
00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:26,840
plan about, which is abundant 
life. 

194
00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:29,320
And that's where we're going 
today to expose the enemy's 

195
00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:32,800
final move, the destroyer 
himself, or as the Book of 

196
00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:36,320
Revelation calls him, Abaddon. 
And then we're going to remind 

197
00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,240
ourselves that the King has 
already made his move and the 

198
00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,760
game really is over. 
So if you've ever played chess, 

199
00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:44,000
you know that the end game isn't
when the board is empty. 

200
00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,440
It's not an attempt to try and 
get every piece off of the 

201
00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:48,800
board. 
The end game happens when it 

202
00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,320
becomes clear that checkmate is 
there and you have no way out. 

203
00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:56,800
A master chess player moves in 
such ways that make it seem like

204
00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:59,600
he doesn't know what he's doing.
He's luring out different 

205
00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:01,720
pieces. 
He's taking over your pawns, the

206
00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:03,520
seemingly useless ones in the 
front. 

207
00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,720
Before you know it, it's not 
check anymore, It's checkmate 

208
00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:08,600
because he has known what he's 
doing. 

209
00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:10,240
And you were just an amateur in 
chess. 

210
00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:13,280
I'm not bashing you. 
I'm also an amateur in chess. 

211
00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:15,880
But the devil does the same 
thing. 

212
00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:18,400
Every lie that he tells, every 
wound that he inflicts, every 

213
00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:21,080
time he tempts you with 
something, it's not random, it 

214
00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:23,760
is coordinated. 
I want you to know that he is 

215
00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:26,160
not like like we were in high 
school, right? 

216
00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:27,960
How many of us? 
We were like, I know I need to 

217
00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:30,360
study for this test, but I'll 
just get up at 5:00 AM and I'll 

218
00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:33,920
study and I'll cram it and, and 
some of us, if we floated it in 

219
00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:36,160
the tests, this is not how the 
enemy attacks you. 

220
00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,400
He's not have hobbies, he's not 
have other goals in mind. 

221
00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:44,320
He's not have vacation time. 
The enemy watches and observes 

222
00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,240
and he makes a strategy and he 
is a coordinated attack. 

223
00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:50,480
So he's not just throwing things
at you trying to see what hits, 

224
00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,240
what works. 
He's watching you and he knows 

225
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the things that get to you. 
He knows that the things that 

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get to you may not be the things
that get to your spouse or your 

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kids or your friends, but He 
does know how to get to you. 

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00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,240
And we're not without hope in 
this, but it is something that 

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we have to take seriously 
because in the scripture that we

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00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,120
just read, Jesus draws a clear 
line between 2 kingdoms, 2 

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masters, and two end games. 
You might think there's not a 

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lot worse that can happen than 
than being killed, but you'd be 

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00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:19,080
wrong. 
He wants to destroy your 

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00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:21,600
relationships, your legacy, the 
effectiveness you have in the 

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Kingdom, the reputation that the
Lord has through the life that 

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00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:26,400
you live. 
Our lives are meant to be a 

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00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:28,120
living testimony. 
We'll get there. 

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00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:32,000
When Revelation 9 describes 
them, that is where we're going 

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to go next. 
It gives him a name that 

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literally means destruction, the
culmination of every other 

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00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:39,760
attack that we've studied in 
this series. 

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00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:42,800
I want you to understand this, 
that when the enemy can't own 

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00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:47,160
you, he'll try to ruin you, and 
when he can't possess your soul,

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he'll poison the purposes that 
the Lord has given you. 

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00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:53,400
That is what Ibadan represents, 
the spirit that delights in 

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00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:56,200
devastation and wants to burn 
down everything God has built in

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your life. 
So I want to start there today, 

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the reality of that destruction.
Let's take a look at the enemy's

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00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:06,920
end game, which is destruction. 
Now before we read this, I want 

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00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:09,160
you to understand something 
because some people get freaked 

251
00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:11,240
out when you open the Book of 
Revelation. 

252
00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:13,880
Revelation is not written to 
scare believers. 

253
00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:16,840
If you're a believer, you have 
no reason to be afraid of it. 

254
00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:21,040
John is not describing fantasy 
or myth. 

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00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,280
He is pulling back the curtain 
on a spiritual reality that the 

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00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,480
early church already believed 
was happening. 

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00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:29,200
What we're about to read is not 
just a prediction of the future.

258
00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:31,680
It's actually a picture of how 
the enemy is working even now. 

259
00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,800
So when John mentions a baton or
the destroyer or Apollyon, he's 

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00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:39,240
showing us what happens when the
powers of hell are given freedom

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00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:41,840
to unleash chaos. 
So as we read this, don't hear 

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00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,240
it as a vision of the end here. 
It is a warning to the heart 

263
00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:46,520
because this is what the enemy's
after. 

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00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:49,160
Revelation Chapter 9. 
We'll just start in verse one. 

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00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,720
Read the first 11 verses. 
John says this. 

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00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,760
He says the 5th Angel blew his 
trumpet, and I saw a star that 

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00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:59,240
had fallen to earth from the 
sky, and he was given the key to

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00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:03,640
the shaft of the bottomless pit.
When he opened it, smoke poured 

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00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:07,120
out as though from a huge 
furnace, and the sunlight and 

270
00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,880
air turned dark from the smoke. 
And then locusts came out from 

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00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,800
the smoke and descended on the 
earth, and they were given power

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00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:18,000
to sting like scorpions. 
They were told not to harm the 

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00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,040
grass or plants or trees, but 
only the people who did not have

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00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:23,720
the seal of God on their 
foreheads. 

275
00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,320
They were told not to kill them,
but to torture them for five 

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00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,040
months with pain, like the pain 
of a scorpion sting. 

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00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:34,480
In those days, people will seek 
death but will not find it. 

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00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:37,000
They'll long to die, but death 
will flee from them. 

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00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:41,240
And it says the locusts look 
like horses prepared for battle.

280
00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:44,480
They had what looked like gold 
crowns on their head, and their 

281
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,240
faces look like human faces. 
They had hair like women's hair 

282
00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,360
and teeth like the teeth of a 
lion. 

283
00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:54,000
They wore armor made of iron, 
and their wings roared like an 

284
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,120
army of Chariots rushing into 
battle. 

285
00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,080
They had tails that stung like 
scorpions. 

286
00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:02,720
And for five months, they had 
the power to torment people. 

287
00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:08,080
And listen, their king is the 
Angel from the bottomless pit. 

288
00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:13,440
His name in Hebrew is a baton, 
and in Greek, Apollyon the 

289
00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:17,160
destroyer. 
OK, let's get a little 

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00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:19,600
historical. 
When John was writing this 

291
00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,720
vision down from Revelation, his
audience would have immediately 

292
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,640
recognized the imagery. 
The bottomless pit was not new 

293
00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,680
language to them in Hebrew 
thought it was called Abyssos or

294
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:31,320
the Abyss. 
It was a place of chaos and 

295
00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,680
confinement for demonic forces 
that were waiting for judgement.

296
00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:37,360
It is not even the first place 
that that word is used in 

297
00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:39,640
scripture. 
If you are a Bible nerd and 

298
00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:41,640
you'd like to write it down, 
I'll give you 2 other places you

299
00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:43,160
can find that word. 
Abaddon. 

300
00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:46,200
You can find it in Job 26, verse
6. 

301
00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:51,920
It's a pretty old book, and you 
can find it in Proverbs 1511. 

302
00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,200
That's Job 26, six and Proverbs 
1511. 

303
00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:58,480
Abaddon referred to the realm of
the dead and destruction. 

304
00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,760
It's a dark pit where 
destruction itself reigns and 

305
00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:03,440
hope is gone. 
And so when John describes 

306
00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,520
Abaddon as king over the 
locusts, he's taking the Hebrew 

307
00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,480
concept of death and he's 
personifying it into something 

308
00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:12,360
that's terrifying. 
It's a commander of chaos, an 

309
00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,840
Angel of annihilation. 
And so by the 1st century, in a 

310
00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:18,000
lot of Jewish writings, 
especially from the 

311
00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,760
intertestamental period, which 
is between the Old and New 

312
00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,400
Testaments of our Bible, there 
had already been this idea 

313
00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:27,080
developed of fallen angels that 
were ruling over realms of 

314
00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:29,040
corruption. 
There were a lot of extra 

315
00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:32,160
biblical texts that backed it up
as well, but they were saying 

316
00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:34,720
that these were the beings that 
would inspire violence and 

317
00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,920
corruption and all sorts of 
disgrace amongst nations and 

318
00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,040
communities and people groups. 
And Abaddon fits right into that

319
00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:44,440
worldview because to the early 
believers, this was not a 

320
00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:46,440
metaphor for bad luck or 
hardships. 

321
00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,200
It was a revelation of the 
unseen enemy that was working to

322
00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,000
destroy the image of God across 
the earth. 

323
00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,200
Remember John's writing to 
people who are under Roman 

324
00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,400
persecution? 
They tried to kill John a couple

325
00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:00,000
different ways, didn't work, 
just didn't take to him. 

326
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:03,240
And after they tried to boil him
alive and they did all these 

327
00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:05,280
things, they just exiled him to 
the island of Patmos. 

328
00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:09,040
And he wrote down this divine 
revelation that the Lord had 

329
00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:11,960
given him. 
And so he's writing it to these 

330
00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,079
people that are being persecuted
by the Roman government. 

331
00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:15,880
Well, the Roman government is 
obsessed with what? 

332
00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,280
They're obsessed with idolatry 
and power. 

333
00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:21,359
And when they read the word 
apollyon, that would have been a

334
00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:24,079
smack in the face to Roman 
culture because one of the gods 

335
00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:26,000
that they worshipped was named 
Apollos. 

336
00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:30,000
It was their sun God. 
And this is also derivative and 

337
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,440
connected to that same word. 
It comes from the word apollymi.

338
00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,800
It means to utterly destroy. 
It's very close. 

339
00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:39,760
And Apollo was worshipped as a 
God, and he's saying no, no, no,

340
00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,400
That leads to destruction. 
So what do we do with what we 

341
00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,240
see in this vision? 
It's difficult because some 

342
00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:48,880
people try to actually depict 
exactly how it looks. 

343
00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:52,960
He calls them locusts, but then 
says they have human faces and 

344
00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:56,120
women's hair and lion's teeth, 
and they've got giant tails. 

345
00:17:56,120 --> 00:17:59,320
And the more he describes them, 
the less they look like locusts,

346
00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:01,360
right? 
Well, locusts are things that 

347
00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:04,920
persecute and destroy things. 
And isn't it interesting that 

348
00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:06,640
they're not even allowed to kill
in this vision? 

349
00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:11,800
There are so many more things 
worse than death for a believer.

350
00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,640
So that's exactly how the 
Destroyer still works today. 

351
00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:19,040
He doesn't just go after your 
sin, he goes after your strength

352
00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:21,400
and he tries to SAP it until you
don't feel it anymore. 

353
00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:23,960
He doesn't just attack how 
you're behaving, he attacks your

354
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,400
belief. 
If you think Leviathan twisted 

355
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:30,200
truth and Belial drained worth 
and got nothing on a baton, it's

356
00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:32,760
the ultimate destruction. 
It's trying to make a decision 

357
00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:34,640
in your head that there is no 
way back. 

358
00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:38,440
But that's just not true. 
I know you've seen it happen in 

359
00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:40,240
the world around you, maybe even
in your own life. 

360
00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,080
Maybe you've got someone who was
once full of joy, loses it all 

361
00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:45,440
to addiction. 
Or you've got a marriage that 

362
00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:47,960
was once built on love and it 
collapses under betrayal. 

363
00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:50,560
Or a leader who was once 
passionate about things that 

364
00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:52,760
were good burns out and walks 
away from their calling. 

365
00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:56,320
You see it every day. 
Those are Abaddon's fingerprints

366
00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:58,080
all over the people made in the 
image of God. 

367
00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:01,760
And Abaddon will not be 
satisfied until everything that 

368
00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:03,520
reminded you of God looks like 
ruins. 

369
00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:08,320
But remember this, at the end of
that passage, it also says that 

370
00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:12,000
the locusts could only torment 
those without the seal of God. 

371
00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,160
That means even in judgement, 
God sets the limit on 

372
00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:16,680
destruction. 
And I don't know about you, but 

373
00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:18,120
that brings me a whole lot of 
comfort. 

374
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:23,480
The enemy's goal has always been
to kill, seal, and destroy. 

375
00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:27,320
He knows nothing else. 
Like I said, it's a heavy 

376
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,960
subject today, but it's not 
quite as light as The Avengers. 

377
00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,920
But may I have permission to 
give you a silly illustration 

378
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,160
today? 
Who remembers Blockbuster? 

379
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:40,800
Blockbuster, right? 
Blue and yellow. 

380
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:43,880
I mean Blockbuster. 
Look, Blockbuster was not a 

381
00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:47,000
video rental shop. 
It was the video rental shop. 

382
00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,240
If you were looking for your 
movie and you couldn't find it 

383
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,360
at your local place, it had to 
be a Blockbuster. 

384
00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:55,160
Even if it was like when the 
Titanic came out and you had to 

385
00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,800
rent 2 VHSS like a giant brick 
because it was so long and it 

386
00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,280
wasn't going to fit on one 
Blockbuster. 

387
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:03,920
Let me just tell you I got some 
numbers here. 

388
00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:08,680
At the pinnacle of their 
success, they had over 9000 

389
00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:12,640
stores and 60,000 employees and 
made billions every year. 

390
00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,000
And quietly, gradually things 
started to change. 

391
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,040
But this little company started 
to exist called Netflix. 

392
00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:23,560
And this is not a case of 
Netflix defeating Blockbuster. 

393
00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:28,080
This is a case of Blockbuster 
being given the opportunity to 

394
00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:32,560
invest in and purchase Netflix. 
And they said that's stupid. 

395
00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:40,160
Now, streaming itself was not 
quite as popular when Netflix 

396
00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:41,760
first came out. 
Some of y'all will remember 

397
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:43,680
this. 
You used to check out with 

398
00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,480
Netflix and they would ship you 
a DVD, right? 

399
00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:47,840
And then you'd have to return 
it. 

400
00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,240
And you'd have to like, don't 
put your fingerprints on that 

401
00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:52,360
one because they'll charge me 
for it if it's broken when I 

402
00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:55,000
send it back. 
And then it became that and 

403
00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,000
streaming and eventually 
converted just into streaming. 

404
00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,160
See, Netflix knew where things 
were going and they were 

405
00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,080
prepared for it. 
Blockbuster said, we've got a 

406
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:04,680
model that works. 
I don't need further 

407
00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,200
information. 
I don't need to know more. 

408
00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:10,760
Well, does Blockbuster exist 
today? 

409
00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:15,160
Yes. 
One store left and it's in 

410
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:20,560
Oregon and it's half a museum 
and half a rental place in 

411
00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:23,200
Oregon. 
They sell a lot of memorabilia 

412
00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:26,680
and nostalgic hoodies and 
T-shirts and mouse pads in case 

413
00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:31,560
you still use those. 
It's a silly illustration, but I

414
00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:33,600
wanted I wanted to share it with
you for one reason. 

415
00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:38,040
I remember being a kid and 
thinking that there were a few 

416
00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:42,040
things that would just never go 
away and I would have never 

417
00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:44,920
guessed that that it would have 
gone away. 

418
00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:47,040
Why? 
Because I watched it transition 

419
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,400
from Avhs into DVD and then even
into Blu rays. 

420
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:54,400
Whatever media they put like me,
you know movies and TV shows on,

421
00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,080
there will always be a video 
rental store and no there won't.

422
00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:01,240
Things change. 
Right now I'm like, well when I 

423
00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:03,480
do purchase a movie, do I 
purchase it on Amazon or do I 

424
00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:05,320
purchase it on Apple? 
Which one is going to exist the 

425
00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:07,720
longest? 
Right now, it seems impossible 

426
00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:09,600
that either one of those 
companies won't exist, but guess

427
00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:11,400
what? 
Someday they won't. 

428
00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:15,160
And what I'm trying to get to is
this. 

429
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,320
As the Lord leads you into 
further revelation, don't feel 

430
00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:19,880
like you've got it all put 
together. 

431
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:22,760
It's once we start to feel like 
we've got it put together. 

432
00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,520
It's once we start to feel like 
our defenses are all shored up 

433
00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:27,760
that the destruction actually 
comes. 

434
00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:32,200
See, I didn't plan to go back to
it, but I will. 

435
00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:35,840
In The Avengers movies, they won
their battles and then of 

436
00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:40,240
course, they fought each other 
and they weren't a cohesive team

437
00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,840
anymore. 
And it was once they were 

438
00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,560
scattered and they were divided 
that he came in and he did his 

439
00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:48,360
end game and they weren't even 
ready to fight the battle 

440
00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:52,440
together. 
I want you to think about some 

441
00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:55,240
of the most petty things that 
you've allowed to cause division

442
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:56,520
with another believer in your 
life. 

443
00:22:57,560 --> 00:22:58,680
Why do I want you to think about
it? 

444
00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:00,400
So I'm not the only one 
suffering today. 

445
00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:04,800
I want you to think about it 
because every time you let the 

446
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:10,120
enemy get in there and drive a 
wedge, it creates disunity and 

447
00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:12,240
disunity. 
Disunity creates a lack of 

448
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,840
power. 
We just sang and we asked for 

449
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:19,000
the Lord to touch us and to 
steal the weakness from our 

450
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,040
bones and to strengthen us and 
empower us. 

451
00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:25,600
But we have reasons why we don't
connect with other people. 

452
00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:27,760
I'll be honest with you. 
I've talked about this with our 

453
00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:29,520
leadership team. 
I don't even have to like you to

454
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:31,600
build the Kingdom with you. 
I do like you, though. 

455
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:32,920
I'm obviously not talking about 
you. 

456
00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:35,600
I don't have to like you to 
build the Kingdom. 

457
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:37,720
I love you already. 
We're brothers and sisters. 

458
00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:39,800
How many of you got to choose 
who your brothers and sisters 

459
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:43,120
were growing up, Right? 
We're brothers and sisters. 

460
00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:45,000
We got the same dad. 
We got the same father. 

461
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,160
I'm on board. 
I'm ready to see the Kingdom 

462
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,600
come. 
And we've got to be willing to 

463
00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:53,720
put aside petty things that stop
us and create disunity. 

464
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,840
I can't tell you how to do it. 
I don't know your problem, but 

465
00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,240
the Lord can tell you. 
In John's time, Abaddon wasn't 

466
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:02,320
just a a figure of personal 
torment. 

467
00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:05,920
He was seen as a spirit behind a
collapsing nation and corrupt 

468
00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:09,000
empires and decaying morals. 
And the Jews knew that when 

469
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,480
governments grew arrogant, the 
leaders would start ruling 

470
00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:14,400
without justice, and the poor 
get forgotten and the powerful 

471
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:16,560
become predators. 
And that was Abaddon at work. 

472
00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:21,760
Thankfully, that doesn't happen 
anywhere today in America. 

473
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,160
The spirit of Abaddon is still 
working through monsters in the 

474
00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,360
shadows and through motives in 
broad daylight. 

475
00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,080
We see it all the time in this 
culture when the truth becomes 

476
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:35,200
negotiable, when leaders care 
more about winning than they 

477
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:37,520
care about wisdom, and when 
morality gets rewritten for 

478
00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:39,520
convenience instead of what 
convicts us. 

479
00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,560
What happened to a gospel that 
was supposed to make us change? 

480
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:45,280
You know what we do now? 
And now we look at this and we 

481
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:48,160
look for a teacher that will 
twist it and make it fit so that

482
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:50,960
we can still do what we want. 
But there was a day when we 

483
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,320
would read this and say, I was 
wrong. 

484
00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:56,720
I have to change. 
This is not just in the 

485
00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:58,400
government. 
This happens in the church too. 

486
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,160
When Christians start to trade 
discernment for comfort and we 

487
00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:04,920
defend our political party more 
than we defend the gospel, we 

488
00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:07,400
start to echo the culture's 
outrage a whole lot more. 

489
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:09,600
Just go through Facebook later 
on today. 

490
00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:11,160
I'm actually asking you to not 
right now. 

491
00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:17,040
Deacons are watching you, but go
through a, a, a social media 

492
00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:19,520
feed and just tell me how often 
you'll see that somebody will 

493
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,280
change like their profile 
picture to say, I stand with 

494
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,160
Israel or I'm against ALS or 
whatever. 

495
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:27,960
You know what? 
I'm against people dying and I'm

496
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,200
against diseases too. 
I just don't feel like I have to

497
00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,080
post that all the time. 
I feel like that's an understood

498
00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:34,280
thing. 
We're so quick to do that And 

499
00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:36,280
tell me how often they also post
about their Lord. 

500
00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:39,440
And I'm not just talking about 
sharing something that you saw 

501
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:41,000
somebody else post and say, oh, 
that's good. 

502
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,920
That sounds like something I'd 
say and I'll just share it. 

503
00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:46,520
I'm not trying to step on toes, 
I'm saying how often can you 

504
00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:49,120
actually see these people with 
genuine testimonies? 

505
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:53,520
Let me tell you about what Jesus
is doing in my life right now. 

506
00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,640
If you're trying to out logic 
people using social media, it's 

507
00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:01,400
no wonder that our battle feels 
like it's lost sometimes. 

508
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:05,160
You're not going to do it. 
By the way, I still share stuff.

509
00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:07,400
I'm just saying that can't be 
the only thing that you do. 

510
00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:10,560
Get in the trenches, have the 
conversations. 

511
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,840
Share the goodness of your God, 
not just the warnings and the 

512
00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:18,120
dangers of it. 
A baton doesn't need an empire 

513
00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:19,560
to fall. 
He just needs a generation to 

514
00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:21,960
stop caring. 
And when I look around, I see 

515
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,120
that he's working hard at it. 
But guys, I got to tell you, 

516
00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:28,600
when the people of God repent 
and they wake up and they 

517
00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,600
surrender and they remember who 
the true king is, the destroyer 

518
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,440
loses his foothold. 
Revival won't start in 

519
00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,880
Washington. 
It's going to start in your 

520
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:41,240
heart as soon as you refuse to 
bow to the idols of convenience 

521
00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:45,200
or compromise or control. 
So the end game of Jesus is the 

522
00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:46,960
opposite of destruction. 
It's resurrection. 

523
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:50,720
But how do you fight back? 
Well, how can you overcome the 

524
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,040
hopelessness of the enemy? 
The first thing is to reawaken 

525
00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:56,480
your awareness. 
Anybody who served the Lord for 

526
00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:59,480
a number of years will admit to 
this, if they're honest. 

527
00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:02,800
When you come to the Lord, you 
are so excited. 

528
00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:05,520
You've got hope. 
There's something brand new you.

529
00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,000
You could go to 13 church 
meetings a week and you would 

530
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,520
love it. 
I wouldn't, but you'd love it, 

531
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:12,480
right? 
You could do it. 

532
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:16,000
You could go to everything and 
all of a sudden it becomes the 

533
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,160
norm. 
And as it becomes the norm, we 

534
00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,560
talked about this not long ago. 
Familiarity breeds contempt. 

535
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,200
And sometimes you start to say, 
God knows my heart. 

536
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,000
He knows I'm tired. 
He knows I don't need to do 

537
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:28,840
this. 
This is not a drive to get you 

538
00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:30,080
to show up to 13 church 
meetings. 

539
00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:33,880
We're not going to do that. 
But what I am saying is reignite

540
00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:38,680
the wonder of serving this God. 
Don't just hear these stories 

541
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,960
that you've heard 100 times and 
say, oh, yeah, yeah, I've heard 

542
00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:44,320
that. 
Read through it, Picture it. 

543
00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:48,400
Imagine you were in the crowd. 
Ask God to give you an image of 

544
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:49,840
what it looks like. 
I'm not saying he's going to 

545
00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:52,680
transport you and give you some 
sort of physical recording, but 

546
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:57,200
ask him what it was like. 
Because when you understand how 

547
00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:59,920
brilliant and how beautiful this
plan for resurrection and 

548
00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:02,480
salvation was, it'll reignite 
some of this. 

549
00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:06,320
We got to get our passion back. 
It's not my notes, but I 

550
00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,000
remember when I was a a mentor 
in the Big Brother program and 

551
00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,520
my little brother split his head
open and I had to take him to 

552
00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:19,680
kids were kids, right? 
And I tripped him, but I said 

553
00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:21,800
sorry. 
And so I took him to the 

554
00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:24,320
emergency room and he had this 
big gash in the back of his head

555
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:26,240
and he was worried that they 
were going to have to shave his 

556
00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:27,840
head. 
And I was like, I'll let him 

557
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:29,680
shave my head too. 
I mean, I was on the radios. 

558
00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:32,240
It didn't matter. 
And so I was like, yeah, we can 

559
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:33,400
do that. 
And they said, no, we don't have

560
00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:34,800
to, but we have to clean it 
really well. 

561
00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:38,560
And they start scrubbing this 9 
year old's head. 

562
00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:43,000
Listen to me. 
Like a greasy pot that you 

563
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:44,720
thought soaking was going to 
fix. 

564
00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:48,080
But the next day you're there 
with a Brillo pad and this lady 

565
00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:51,120
is scrubbing his head. 
He is crying harder over the 

566
00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:53,920
cleaning than he was about 
hitting his head in a coffee 

567
00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:56,320
table. 
And I had to look at her and 

568
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,280
say, can you please be a little 
more gentle? 

569
00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,040
He's a kid. 
Although the reality is, I would

570
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:03,560
ask her to be more gentle if it 
was me. 

571
00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:07,160
And she did, but she was not 
happy. 

572
00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:08,800
And she left. 
And then the other nurse said, 

573
00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:12,640
sometimes when you've taken care
of people for so long, you lose 

574
00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:18,080
your compassion. 
And I thought, man, God, may 

575
00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:20,840
that never happen to me. 
There are days that it feels 

576
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:22,080
like it's gone. 
And I know that. 

577
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:24,720
And that's normal because your 
emotions, they're not reliable, 

578
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:26,800
but they fluctuate. 
But you can't get into a 

579
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:30,000
lifestyle where you lose your 
compassion for people. 

580
00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:33,320
And when you do, you've got to 
do what it takes to reignite it 

581
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,040
and to do the right thing. 
Reignite your worship. 

582
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:38,680
Like we talked about, it's not a
song, it's a weapon. 

583
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:41,960
I always tell Pastor Ann and the
worship team I love what you all

584
00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:44,040
do because what you do at the 
beginning of the service is you 

585
00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:47,160
steward our focus. 
If you drove to church this 

586
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:52,200
morning listening to five songs 
by Metallica, look, if you like 

587
00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:54,440
Metallica, that's you. 
I'm just saying, if you were 

588
00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:56,360
listening to five songs by 
Metallica, what do you think 

589
00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:57,680
your mood would be when you get 
here? 

590
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:00,160
Yeah. 
OK. 

591
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,000
All right. 
What if you listen to five songs

592
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:08,000
by Boys to Men, not counting 
Motown, Philly, because that was

593
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:12,240
up tempo. 
Now you're sad and your heart 

594
00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:15,160
broken and all of this. 
I know, I know neither of those 

595
00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:18,600
bands are popular today, but I'd
say what happens if you listen 

596
00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:20,920
to five songs by Nicki Minaj? 
But that's inappropriate to 

597
00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:25,600
discuss. 
So my my point is this music has

598
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:28,960
something to it where it grabs 
your attention and it stewards 

599
00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:32,240
your focus into something. 
Every time that I got broken up 

600
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:36,280
with when I was a kid I thought 
it was the end of my world and I

601
00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:39,080
would find the saddest songs to 
pull it out of me so I could cry

602
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,080
harder. 
I remember one time writing this

603
00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,520
note to a girl not asking to get
back together but kind of asking

604
00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:48,760
to get back together and trying 
to cry over top of this letter 

605
00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:53,080
so she would see my teardrops on
the letter. 

606
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:57,120
Don't act like I'm the only one 
who's ever done something like 

607
00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,840
this. 
I remember being so angry at 

608
00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:03,680
somebody and then going to a 
friend and having them start to 

609
00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,440
talk me off a ledge that I had 
to go back into my room and 

610
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:12,040
listen to music on my CD player 
to get me angry again because I 

611
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:14,560
wanted to stay angry. 
What is it inside of us that 

612
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:19,360
wants to stay sad or angry? 
There is an answer. 

613
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:23,200
It's sin. 
It's seductive. 

614
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,120
Because when you're sad or when 
you're angry, it feels 

615
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,640
justifiable. 
You are now no longer a guilty 

616
00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:32,080
party. 
You are the victim. 

617
00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:35,120
And it feels good to know that, 
hey, I was the victim. 

618
00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:36,880
I was wrong. 
She shouldn't have broken up 

619
00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:38,240
with me. 
I know we're in the eighth 

620
00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:39,880
grade, but one day she'll regret
it. 

621
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:47,360
Here's the thing, When you're 
the victim, you don't have time 

622
00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:51,400
to look at the one that you 
victimized who hung on that 

623
00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,680
cross because we're not the good
guy. 

624
00:31:57,280 --> 00:31:59,040
It's easy to look at it and say 
they're the bad guy. 

625
00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:01,520
I'm the good guy and I've 
already said sorry for the times

626
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:05,520
I was the bad guy. 
We're all the bad guy, not him. 

627
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:08,840
He's worth worshiping. 
When we worship at the end of 

628
00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:10,880
this service, I hope you all 
sing just as loud as you did at 

629
00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:13,400
the beginning. 
Reignite your worship. 

630
00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:15,400
And the last thing is to rebuild
your purpose. 

631
00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:17,320
Would you go back to that? 
Please? 

632
00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:22,480
Rebuild your purpose. 
Serve again, love again, pray 

633
00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:26,000
again, dream again, maybe say, 
well, I did serve and it burnt 

634
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:27,880
me out. 
Well, don't do it like that 

635
00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:31,280
again. 
Could you imagine that? 

636
00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:32,920
Well, I'm not going to a 
restaurant again. 

637
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:34,640
I went one time and I got food 
poisoning. 

638
00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:36,760
I'll never go to a restaurant 
again. 

639
00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:40,360
That sounds wise. 
Serve again. 

640
00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:43,200
And I'm not just talking about 
church ministries can always use

641
00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:44,080
it. 
You want to serve here. 

642
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,000
I don't have a specific thing to
pitch to you. 

643
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:47,200
We'll talk to you after if you 
want that. 

644
00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:49,640
But get out in the community, 
work in a soup kitchen, 

645
00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:52,640
volunteer somewhere you see a 
neighbor who's struggling. 

646
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:56,200
Do something to help them, and 
don't expect anything back. 

647
00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:58,040
That's not service. 
That's a transaction. 

648
00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:00,960
Love again. 
I'm not just talking about 

649
00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:02,600
romance. 
Love people again. 

650
00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:04,280
Yeah, Well, when I love people, 
they hurt me. 

651
00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:10,520
People are going to hurt. 
You got the best marriage that I

652
00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:12,960
know of. 
Cassie's hurt me before, and 

653
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:15,640
I've heard her before. 
We always make it right. 

654
00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:17,000
But it doesn't mean you stop 
loving. 

655
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:18,920
A life without love is pretty 
lonely. 

656
00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:21,600
Pray again. 
Well, when I pray, I don't feel 

657
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:23,280
like things happen. 
Oh, things happen. 

658
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,200
What you meant to say is I don't
feel like everything I want to 

659
00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:28,400
happen happens. 
That's not how prayer works. 

660
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:32,120
Pray again and dream again. 
Once you're back in that loving 

661
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:33,520
relationship with the Lord, 
dream again. 

662
00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:34,640
See what he puts in front of 
you. 

663
00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:37,360
Go and turn to Colossians 2. 
We talked enough about the 

664
00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:39,120
enemy's end game. 
Let's talk about the Lord's end 

665
00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:41,200
game. 
His end game is resurrection. 

666
00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:45,440
There is this thing that I want 
to say is you're turning to 

667
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:47,440
Colossians 2. 
Before we move forward, I feel 

668
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,800
like I need to remind you of 
something that is crucial. 

669
00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:53,640
The enemy's power was never 
equal to Christ's. 

670
00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:57,520
It's stolen authority, stolen 
power, and it was broken at the 

671
00:33:57,520 --> 00:33:59,560
cross. 
A lot of times when we talk 

672
00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:02,600
about spiritual warfare, we talk
about it like there's 2 equal 

673
00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:04,560
forces that are locked in 
eternal combat. 

674
00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:07,280
There's good and evil, light and
dark, yin and Yang or whatever. 

675
00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,159
God is not worried about 
defeating the devil. 

676
00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:15,480
Satan was never God's rival. 
It's not just that he's not his 

677
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,120
rival today, He was never his 
rival. 

678
00:34:17,639 --> 00:34:20,440
He's a fallen creation, not a 
counter creator. 

679
00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:23,320
So every ounce of influence he 
has only exists because God is 

680
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:24,960
still allowing time for 
redemption. 

681
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:28,440
And the day that Jesus hung on 
that cross, the countdown began 

682
00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:30,239
for everything the destroyer 
could ever do. 

683
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:34,040
The destroyer is running out of 
time, but you and I are not. 

684
00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:37,960
As I said, Abaddon's end game is
destruction, but the Lord's end 

685
00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:40,840
game is resurrection. 
Now in Colossians 2, listen to 

686
00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:46,080
this in verse 6 Paul says now 
just as you accepted Christ 

687
00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,400
Jesus as your Lord, you must 
continue to follow Him. 

688
00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:52,679
Let your roots grow down into 
Him and let your lives be built 

689
00:34:52,679 --> 00:34:56,120
on him, because then your faith 
will grow strong in the truth 

690
00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:58,600
that you were taught and you 
will overflow with thankfulness.

691
00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:02,320
Don't let anyone capture you 
with empty philosophies and high

692
00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:05,640
sounding nonsense that come from
human thinking and from the 

693
00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:08,560
spiritual powers of this world 
rather than from Christ. 

694
00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,960
For in Christ lives all the 
fullness of God and a human 

695
00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:18,000
body, so you also are complete 
with your union with Christ, who

696
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:19,760
is the head of every ruler and 
authority. 

697
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:24,360
When you came to Christ, he says
you were circumcised not by a 

698
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:27,360
physical procedure, but Christ 
performed a spiritual 

699
00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:30,520
circumcision by cutting away of 
your sinful nature. 

700
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:34,360
For you were buried with Christ 
when you were baptized, and with

701
00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:37,800
Him you were raised to new life 
because you trusted the mighty 

702
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:39,520
power of God who raised Christ 
from the dead. 

703
00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:41,880
Listen to this. 
This is life changing. 

704
00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:43,960
Reignite this passion. 
Verse 13. 

705
00:35:44,240 --> 00:35:47,320
You were dead because of your 
sins and because of your sinful 

706
00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:51,000
nature was not yet cut away. 
And then God made you alive with

707
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,920
Christ. 
For He forgave all of our sins. 

708
00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:58,080
He cancelled the record of the 
charges against us and took it 

709
00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:03,600
away by nailing it to the cross.
Verse 15 says in this way he 

710
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,680
disarmed the spiritual rulers 
and authorities and he shamed 

711
00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:09,560
them publicly by his victory 
over them on the cross. 

712
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:14,400
Then he goes on to to say just a
couple verses about don't only 

713
00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:16,440
condemn you for what you eat or 
drink or whether or not you 

714
00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,920
celebrate certain Jewish holy 
days and all of this. 

715
00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:23,720
He says this in verse 19. 
He says these people who would 

716
00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:24,800
who would shame you and judge 
you. 

717
00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:27,640
He says they're not connected to
Christ, the head of the body. 

718
00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:30,640
He holds the whole body together
with its joints and ligaments, 

719
00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:32,280
and it grows as God nourishes 
it. 

720
00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:34,840
And then he double s down on 
this in verse 20 and says you 

721
00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:38,000
have died with Christ and he set
you free from the spiritual 

722
00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:40,680
powers of this world. 
So why do you keep following the

723
00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:43,600
rules of the world such as don't
handle, don't taste, don't 

724
00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:46,800
touch? 
Such rules are mere human 

725
00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:49,760
teachings about things that 
deteriorate as we use them. 

726
00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:53,960
These rules seem wise because 
they require strong devotion and

727
00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:57,160
pious self denial and severe 
bodily discipline, but they 

728
00:36:57,160 --> 00:37:00,200
provide no help in conquering a 
person's evil desires. 

729
00:37:00,720 --> 00:37:03,040
But you know why we prefer it 
all too often? 

730
00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:07,240
Because it gives us control, at 
least the illusion of it. 

731
00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:08,760
That's really the best we ever 
get, isn't it? 

732
00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:12,080
Yeah, I know, it's just through 
a relationship with the Lord and

733
00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:14,000
through a rich and intimate 
relationship, which we talked 

734
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:16,920
about earlier. 
But if I do read all the time, 

735
00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:22,120
if I do serve all the time, if I
do all of this, it needs to come

736
00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:24,120
out of what God has already 
done. 

737
00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:27,280
You're not going to find a rich 
relationship with God because 

738
00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:29,920
you've tried to deplete yourself
of what you already had. 

739
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:34,400
Now, one of the most powerful 
patches, passages in all of 

740
00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:36,760
scripture, we just read it. 
It's because it tells us what 

741
00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:38,400
really happened in the spiritual
realm that day. 

742
00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:41,760
Those rulers were shamed 
publicly. 

743
00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:45,760
You know why this mattered? 
Because when Roman soldiers LED 

744
00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:47,840
prisoners through the streets 
after a victory, they would 

745
00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:50,800
strip the enemy of their armor 
and March them in chains as 

746
00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:53,400
trophies. 
So the church in Corinth would 

747
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:57,880
have fully understood this, that
the devil got stripped of his 

748
00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:00,640
armor, of any weaponry, and 
paraded through the spiritual 

749
00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:02,760
realm when Jesus was on the 
cross. 

750
00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:06,360
In other words, he's writing to 
a church where the cross has 

751
00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:08,400
already happened, the 
crucifixion and resurrection has

752
00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:10,280
already happened. 
It's already over. 

753
00:38:11,240 --> 00:38:14,160
But these people were fighting 
like the war was still going on.

754
00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:16,560
Now, don't hear what I'm not 
saying. 

755
00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:19,360
You're under attack, but the war
is over. 

756
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:22,600
We have to live like the war is 
over. 

757
00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:25,640
Some of you will know this. 
It's a Marine community, but 

758
00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:28,800
well, a lot of people will know 
this part. 

759
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:31,400
But in 1945, World War 2 
officially ended. 

760
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:34,440
Germany surrendered in May, in 
Japan in August. 

761
00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:36,840
So in case you were worried 
about World War 2, it is 

762
00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:42,400
confirmed that is done. 
But scattered across the islands

763
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:44,960
of the Pacific, in the jungles 
of Guam in the Philippines, 

764
00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:47,720
there were still Japanese 
soldiers that were living and 

765
00:38:47,720 --> 00:38:49,960
hiding. 
Some of you may know this. 

766
00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:51,440
They had never heard that the 
war was over. 

767
00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:54,520
They had no way to get 
communication from Japan. 

768
00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:57,160
These were people that were 
called holdouts. 

769
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:00,840
And these men actually survived 
off of like coconuts and 

770
00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:02,200
rainwater and whatever they 
could hunt. 

771
00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:04,640
And they built shelters out of 
bamboo and palm leaves and they 

772
00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:07,360
waited for fresh orders to come,
but they never came. 

773
00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:09,800
But whenever somebody would come
near them, they would attack 

774
00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:11,120
them, feeling like it was the 
enemy. 

775
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:14,040
In fact, at one point, there 
were actually pamphlets or 

776
00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:16,520
brochures that were dropped from
airplanes saying, hey, the war 

777
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:18,160
is over in case anybody's out 
here. 

778
00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:20,640
And they would could read these 
and think that they were a trick

779
00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:24,440
from the Allied forces. 
Now, again, you're not going to 

780
00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:27,000
get me today. 
And so they'd stay there. 

781
00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:33,120
One of the most famous holdouts 
was Lieutenant Onoda. 

782
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:36,000
He was an intelligence officer 
in the Philippines. 

783
00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:39,040
And when Japan surrendered, his 
commander told him, whatever 

784
00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:40,600
happens, we'll come back for 
you. 

785
00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:45,400
And nobody ever did for 29 
years. 

786
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:51,320
I'm not making this up. 
For 29 years, nearly 3 decades, 

787
00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:55,120
A Nota lived in the jungle and 
he kept his rifle polished and 

788
00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:58,560
his uniform ready, and he set 
traps and hid from villagers and

789
00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:00,920
sometimes attacked patrols 
because he thought that the war 

790
00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:06,040
was still going. 
And it wasn't until 1974 when a 

791
00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:09,480
young Japanese traveller found 
him and brought his old 

792
00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:11,720
commanding officer back, now an 
elderly man. 

793
00:40:11,720 --> 00:40:14,120
And he heard the truth face to 
face, that the war was already 

794
00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:16,320
over. 
And he said, you don't need to 

795
00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:17,520
fight anymore. 
Come home. 

796
00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:22,160
Can you imagine living your 
whole adult life in fear, 

797
00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:25,480
surviving on scraps, missing out
on peace, all because you didn't

798
00:40:25,480 --> 00:40:26,680
know that victory had already 
been won? 

799
00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:29,800
In the spiritual realm, too many
Christians do it. 

800
00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:32,880
We're still fighting battles 
that Jesus already won. 

801
00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:35,840
We're still apologizing for sins
that he's already forgiven, and 

802
00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:39,400
we're still running from enemies
that he's already disarmed and 

803
00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:41,320
still trying to earn the grace 
that's already been given. 

804
00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:43,560
The enemy knows that he's 
defeated. 

805
00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:47,560
He just hopes that you don't. 
So my advice today is to stop 

806
00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:50,960
living like a holdout. 
You don't need to live on the 

807
00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:53,120
defence. 
Stop fighting as if the war is 

808
00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:55,440
undecided. 
Walk in victory instead of 

809
00:40:55,440 --> 00:40:56,920
victimhood. 
It doesn't empower you. 

810
00:40:57,760 --> 00:40:59,960
The war's outcome is already 
settled and you're not fighting 

811
00:40:59,960 --> 00:41:02,080
for victory. 
You're fighting from victory. 

812
00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:06,120
You're helping bring about what 
God has already accomplished on 

813
00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:08,000
the cross. 
And that's the stance of every 

814
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:09,800
believer who truly knows who 
their king is. 

815
00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:14,000
You don't have to earn freedom. 
That's already been paid for. 

816
00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:16,400
You don't have to keep 
apologizing for what's already 

817
00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:19,400
been forgiven, and you don't 
have to live guarded like the 

818
00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:21,720
devil could take back what Jesus
has already won for you. 

819
00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:25,080
I want you to know that if you 
can really grab a hold of this, 

820
00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:27,240
it will change everything about 
your faith. 

821
00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:29,680
It really will. 
You will start praying 

822
00:41:29,680 --> 00:41:31,760
differently, and you'll be 
praying from a place of 

823
00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:34,120
confidence instead of begging 
God for a scrap. 

824
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:36,720
And you'll start worshipping 
differently, not just trying to 

825
00:41:36,720 --> 00:41:39,280
copy what you see around you. 
But you're not begging for a 

826
00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:41,640
breakthrough there anymore. 
You're thanking God for the 

827
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:43,640
breakthrough that's already 
yours, and you're just waiting 

828
00:41:43,640 --> 00:41:45,920
for it. 
And you'll start facing your 

829
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:48,560
temptations differently too, 
because you're not going to be 

830
00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:50,120
afraid that you'll fall at some 
point. 

831
00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:52,360
You're going to have faith that 
Christ has already conquered 

832
00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:54,160
that sin that tried to conquer 
you. 

833
00:41:54,160 --> 00:41:56,720
But how do you actually live 
that out? 

834
00:41:56,720 --> 00:41:58,240
It sounds good. 
Who doesn't want that? 

835
00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:00,960
There's a couple things. 
The first thing you need to do, 

836
00:42:01,160 --> 00:42:02,320
we'll spend a little bit of time
on this. 

837
00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:07,200
Remember the cross daily. 
This is not a bumper sticker, 

838
00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:09,960
OK? 
Remember the cross every single 

839
00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:11,640
day. 
If you can reignite this wonder,

840
00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:13,640
you have no idea what this will 
do for you. 

841
00:42:13,640 --> 00:42:16,160
Wake up and think on the cross. 
What do I mean by think on the 

842
00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:18,280
cross? 
I mean it's not just a story of 

843
00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:21,920
His pain, it's the sight of your
personal victory. 

844
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:24,720
How many of y'all watch the 
Passion of the Christ? 

845
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:26,680
How many of y'all love to watch 
it? 

846
00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:29,160
Watch it all the time. 
Where did the hands go? 

847
00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:32,600
We love Jesus, right? 
Why don't we like to watch it 

848
00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:36,000
often? 
It's painful, it's difficult. 

849
00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:37,920
It really brings to life 
something that we know. 

850
00:42:39,720 --> 00:42:42,600
I think it's next year that 
Passion of the Christ too, the 

851
00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:45,400
resurrection is happening. 
We're probably going to rent out

852
00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:47,160
the theater across the street 
and we'll all go there as a 

853
00:42:47,160 --> 00:42:48,400
church film. 
It's going to be pretty cool. 

854
00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:51,800
Remember the cross every day. 
The reason that we don't like to

855
00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:54,280
revisit it is because it's 
painful to go through. 

856
00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:57,560
And if we're being gut level 
honest, it's also heavily 

857
00:42:57,560 --> 00:43:02,600
convicting because when you look
at it, if you look at it through

858
00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:05,120
the right lens, you think that 
was supposed to be me. 

859
00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:09,640
That was supposed to be me. 
And look what they did to him. 

860
00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:13,600
Every morning I remind myself 
that Jesus didn't just die for 

861
00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:16,800
me. 
I remind myself that he died as 

862
00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:19,280
me. 
He didn't just die for you. 

863
00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:24,040
He died as you. 
And because of that, you get to 

864
00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:26,880
live the life that he was 
gifted. 

865
00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:30,800
How could we ever lose our 
wonder about this? 

866
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:34,920
Resist the lie of almost. 
Here's what I mean by that. 

867
00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:39,360
Most believers, most know 
they're saved, but they don't 

868
00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:41,400
feel free. 
I'm almost there. 

869
00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:46,960
I've almost got a breakthrough. 
You don't have one last piece to

870
00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:48,920
earn. 
It's not like God gave you 

871
00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:50,560
salvation. 
But now if you really want the 

872
00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:53,840
deluxe package, you got to buy 
into the spiritual timeshare or 

873
00:43:53,840 --> 00:43:57,600
something. 
No, no, no, there's no almost. 

874
00:43:57,880 --> 00:44:00,040
It's complete. 
God didn't give you half a gift,

875
00:44:00,720 --> 00:44:03,760
didn't give you a partial one. 
It's fully yours. 

876
00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:08,080
The lie of almost will have you 
try and try and try and exert 

877
00:44:08,080 --> 00:44:11,480
all of your energy until it's 
depleted and then you feel burnt

878
00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:15,720
out and then destruction comes. 
You want to reclaim your 

879
00:44:15,720 --> 00:44:16,720
authority. 
You have to do it through 

880
00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:18,280
obedience. 
We talked a lot about this on 

881
00:44:18,280 --> 00:44:19,720
Wednesdays the last couple of 
weeks. 

882
00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:24,640
Obedience is key. 
Jesus learned obedience through 

883
00:44:24,640 --> 00:44:27,720
the things He suffered. 
If you learn obedience through 

884
00:44:27,720 --> 00:44:30,440
the things that you suffer, your
suffering is never wasted. 

885
00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:33,320
Reclaim your authority through 
obedience. 

886
00:44:33,840 --> 00:44:36,560
What we talked about on 
Wednesdays is that you actually 

887
00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:40,400
have as a believer authority 
over these evil spirits that are

888
00:44:40,400 --> 00:44:43,360
attacking things, both the ones 
attacking in a bigger scale and 

889
00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:44,920
the ones that try to mess up 
your day. 

890
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:49,560
You have authority over them, 
but it was gifted to you. 

891
00:44:50,560 --> 00:44:53,840
It's delegated authority, and 
you can only carry it when 

892
00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:55,520
you're obedient to what the Lord
asks of you. 

893
00:44:56,600 --> 00:44:59,240
It's not because you joined a 
club and you got a special gun 

894
00:44:59,240 --> 00:45:01,840
or a special badge. 
It's obedience. 

895
00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:04,800
So when you start living free 
and you remember what Jesus did 

896
00:45:04,800 --> 00:45:06,000
for you, you start being 
obedient. 

897
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:07,800
And you know what that means? 
That means you don't drag your 

898
00:45:07,800 --> 00:45:10,400
feet when you're told to forgive
somebody means you don't drag 

899
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:12,120
your feet when you're told to go
and bless somebody. 

900
00:45:12,120 --> 00:45:14,320
You don't drag your feet when 
the Lord says, I'd like to have 

901
00:45:14,320 --> 00:45:16,840
a word with you, He gets the 
final call. 

902
00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:22,520
And the last one is to refuse to
retreat. 

903
00:45:24,800 --> 00:45:28,360
Once you've done everything you 
can to stand, therefore stand. 

904
00:45:28,360 --> 00:45:30,680
You'd think it would say 
something else. 

905
00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:35,000
No, just keep standing. 
The resurrection life is not 

906
00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:36,640
about perfection. 
It's about perseverance. 

907
00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:38,960
And so the same spirit that 
raised Jesus from the dead is 

908
00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:40,440
the same Spirit that lives 
within you. 

909
00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:42,760
And you don't have to try to 
find your footing when you're 

910
00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:44,440
standing on resurrection ground 
already. 

911
00:45:45,160 --> 00:45:48,040
The Lord's end game is to take 
every dead thing in your life 

912
00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:51,920
and bring it back to purpose. 
But Abaddon's end game is to 

913
00:45:51,920 --> 00:45:53,400
make you believe that you're too
far gone. 

914
00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:56,200
You're going to have to choose 
one of them to believe. 

915
00:45:57,520 --> 00:45:59,240
I believe that the cross settled
the score. 

916
00:46:00,280 --> 00:46:03,240
I believe that it was finished 
that day, that the destroyer was

917
00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:05,440
disarmed, that he was publicly 
shamed. 

918
00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:07,560
I believe that Hell's gates were
broken. 

919
00:46:08,040 --> 00:46:10,600
And I believe that your story 
was rewritten that day from 

920
00:46:10,600 --> 00:46:14,600
defeat into victory. 
I just have two more scriptures 

921
00:46:14,600 --> 00:46:16,320
for you. 
And then we're going to pray for

922
00:46:16,320 --> 00:46:19,640
those who who need prayer. 
But the devil's end game, 

923
00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:21,600
obviously, is always 
destruction. 

924
00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:25,080
Jesus's end game is not just 
resurrection, it's dominion over

925
00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:28,600
all of creation. 
From the beginning of time, the 

926
00:46:28,600 --> 00:46:31,320
thief's plan has always been the
same, to steal whatever God 

927
00:46:31,320 --> 00:46:33,480
gives you and to kill what God 
breathed life into and to 

928
00:46:33,480 --> 00:46:35,720
destroy what God has designed 
for his glory. 

929
00:46:36,600 --> 00:46:39,160
But Jesus did not just come to 
undo the works of the devil, he 

930
00:46:39,160 --> 00:46:42,280
came to reclaim that authority 
and restore creation and rule is

931
00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:44,440
the Good Shepherd. 
We started this morning with 

932
00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:48,840
John chapter 10 and we heard 
about the devil's kill, steal 

933
00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:51,960
and destroy plan, and we heard 
about Jesus and how he wants to 

934
00:46:51,960 --> 00:46:53,600
bring us abundant life. 
Well, what does he say 

935
00:46:53,600 --> 00:46:55,280
immediately after that in verse 
11? 

936
00:46:55,520 --> 00:46:59,800
He says I am the Good Shepherd. 
He said the Good Shepherd 

937
00:46:59,800 --> 00:47:03,360
sacrifices his life for the 
sheep and a hired hand will run 

938
00:47:03,360 --> 00:47:05,800
when he sees a wolf coming, but 
he'll abandoned the sheep 

939
00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:08,640
because they don't belong to him
and he isn't their shepherd. 

940
00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:12,240
And so the wolf attacks them and
scatters the flock, and the 

941
00:47:12,240 --> 00:47:14,920
hired hand runs away because 
he's working only for the money 

942
00:47:14,920 --> 00:47:16,400
and doesn't really care about 
the sheep. 

943
00:47:17,240 --> 00:47:20,240
I am the Good Shepherd. 
This is after he says my sheep 

944
00:47:20,240 --> 00:47:22,640
know my voice. 
He says I know my own sheep and 

945
00:47:22,640 --> 00:47:27,080
they know me just as my father 
knows me and I know the Father. 

946
00:47:27,640 --> 00:47:29,680
So I sacrificed my life for the 
sheep. 

947
00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:33,280
I have other sheep too that are 
not in the sheepfold and I must 

948
00:47:33,280 --> 00:47:37,080
bring them also. 
They will listen to my voice and

949
00:47:37,080 --> 00:47:38,920
there will be 1 flock with one 
shepherd. 

950
00:47:39,600 --> 00:47:43,120
In verse 17, he said the Father 
loves me because I sacrificed my

951
00:47:43,120 --> 00:47:45,120
life so that I may take it back 
again. 

952
00:47:46,320 --> 00:47:48,600
That's the difference between 
the destroyer and the shepherd. 

953
00:47:49,320 --> 00:47:52,240
The destroyer takes life, Jesus 
gives life. 

954
00:47:53,760 --> 00:47:58,720
The destroyer scatters, Jesus 
gathers, and when He rises with 

955
00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:02,400
all authority, He employs you to
make sure that these other sheep

956
00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:04,040
that are in the sheepfold get to
come home. 

957
00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:08,120
We talked about this earlier 
about what we post and what we 

958
00:48:08,120 --> 00:48:09,960
talked about. 
We need to start getting very 

959
00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:12,600
verbal and very vocal about the 
things that we know to be true. 

960
00:48:13,280 --> 00:48:14,880
I'm not even going to call it 
the things that we believe. 

961
00:48:14,880 --> 00:48:16,840
I'm talking about the things 
that we know to be true. 

962
00:48:17,320 --> 00:48:19,600
Not to rub it in the faces of 
other people who believe things 

963
00:48:19,600 --> 00:48:22,080
differently, but we need to be 
vocal about it so that we can 

964
00:48:22,080 --> 00:48:24,560
share the love that we have 
experienced with them. 

965
00:48:24,760 --> 00:48:26,960
They desperately need it, even 
if they don't know it. 

966
00:48:28,480 --> 00:48:32,640
And in the Book of Revelation in
chapter 12, verse 11, says 

967
00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:36,520
they've defeated him by the 
blood of the Lamb, by the word 

968
00:48:36,520 --> 00:48:39,600
of their testimony. 
And they did not love their 

969
00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:41,440
lives so much that they were 
afraid to die. 

970
00:48:42,320 --> 00:48:45,000
Today I'm not just inviting you 
to lay down what the enemy has 

971
00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:48,280
tried to throw at you. 
I'm trying to ask you to get 

972
00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:52,200
loud with your faith. 
You overcome by the blood of the

973
00:48:52,200 --> 00:48:53,680
Lamb and the word of your 
testimony. 

974
00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:56,520
Many of us are fuelled by the 
blood of the Lamb. 

975
00:48:56,640 --> 00:48:58,600
We accept that free offer of 
salvation. 

976
00:48:58,840 --> 00:49:00,920
But that word of our testimony 
is so small. 

977
00:49:01,760 --> 00:49:04,640
Your testimony is not just the 
goodness of God in your life. 

978
00:49:05,120 --> 00:49:07,000
It's where you have fallen 
woefully short. 

979
00:49:07,600 --> 00:49:09,320
And most of us, that's what 
trips us up. 

980
00:49:09,320 --> 00:49:10,680
We don't mind saying God is 
good. 

981
00:49:10,680 --> 00:49:12,880
That's why when you see somebody
get a touchdown on TV, they'll 

982
00:49:12,880 --> 00:49:16,160
point up to the cloud, too. 
I didn't know God was that 

983
00:49:16,160 --> 00:49:24,280
invested in like college sports.
The word of your testimony is a 

984
00:49:24,280 --> 00:49:29,360
story that takes away your role 
as the hero and places Jesus in 

985
00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:32,720
the role of the hero. 
Something I taught teenagers a 

986
00:49:32,720 --> 00:49:36,520
long time ago when Cassie and I 
were youth pastors was there's a

987
00:49:36,520 --> 00:49:39,680
big difference between a 
biography and a testimony. 

988
00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:43,080
Whenever you watch a biography, 
you see all the highlights and 

989
00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:45,200
you might see a couple little 
hiccups or something, but really

990
00:49:45,200 --> 00:49:47,440
you get to see like the cool 
life that somebody lived. 

991
00:49:48,400 --> 00:49:52,200
Read through that. 
Tell me, tell me one character 

992
00:49:52,200 --> 00:49:53,840
that looks perfect outside of 
Jesus. 

993
00:49:54,480 --> 00:49:57,160
No, their sins are on display. 
But you know why? 

994
00:49:57,680 --> 00:50:00,520
Because when you know how good 
God has been to you and you know

995
00:50:00,520 --> 00:50:03,800
how redeemed you are not worried
about those other things. 

996
00:50:03,800 --> 00:50:05,560
You don't mind saying here's 
where I failed. 

997
00:50:05,960 --> 00:50:09,400
That's your testimony. 
Get loud about it because the 

998
00:50:09,400 --> 00:50:12,320
love of God will draw people, 
but they also want to hear what 

999
00:50:12,320 --> 00:50:14,360
you have to say when they 
realize that you're not perfect 

1000
00:50:14,400 --> 00:50:18,640
either. 
So today we'll end with some 

1001
00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:22,880
worship music. 
Wasn't planning on doing this, 

1002
00:50:22,880 --> 00:50:26,440
but any elders or deacons that 
are here, if you all would just 

1003
00:50:26,440 --> 00:50:28,440
come up here, I'd, I'd love to 
pray with some people today. 

1004
00:50:31,280 --> 00:50:36,080
Staff if you, if you, if you're 
here, maybe what you need to lay

1005
00:50:36,080 --> 00:50:40,680
down and request is for God to 
touch your marriage or your 

1006
00:50:40,680 --> 00:50:43,440
peace or your calling or 
strengthen your faith. 

1007
00:50:44,880 --> 00:50:46,840
Maybe the battle has been in 
your mind or it's been in your 

1008
00:50:46,840 --> 00:50:48,960
motives and you need God to 
cleanse your motives. 

1009
00:50:50,400 --> 00:50:52,520
Maybe it's just in the quiet 
places nobody else can see. 

1010
00:50:52,520 --> 00:50:54,480
I want you to know the same 
Jesus who defeated the 

1011
00:50:54,480 --> 00:50:57,920
destroyer. 
It's the same one who could 

1012
00:50:57,920 --> 00:51:00,720
defeat this. 
As we close the series, I want 

1013
00:51:00,720 --> 00:51:03,480
you to remember the end game 
doesn't really even belong to 

1014
00:51:03,480 --> 00:51:05,960
the enemy. 
He's got one, but it won't come 

1015
00:51:05,960 --> 00:51:12,280
to pass. 
So the end game belongs to who? 

1016
00:51:14,000 --> 00:51:17,000
Jesus. 
DBS answer Jesus. 

1017
00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:19,680
The end game belongs to Jesus. 
He's the one that will have 

1018
00:51:19,680 --> 00:51:22,160
checkmate. 
But you're going to have to give

1019
00:51:22,160 --> 00:51:26,280
the testimony, and that's scary.
But we can do it together. 

1020
00:51:26,680 --> 00:51:28,440
Next week. 
We've got Pastor Carl Vinson, a 

1021
00:51:28,440 --> 00:51:30,320
hero of the faith, who's 
bringing a message called the 

1022
00:51:30,320 --> 00:51:33,200
Four Messages of the Cross. 
You want to hear about how rich 

1023
00:51:33,200 --> 00:51:35,080
that victory is. 
Do not miss next week. 

1024
00:51:36,280 --> 00:51:39,320
And don't forget that Natalie's 
service will be at 1:00 this 

1025
00:51:39,320 --> 00:51:40,840
Wednesday. 
No midweek service in the 

1026
00:51:40,840 --> 00:51:43,360
evening. 
But that's really all that I 

1027
00:51:43,360 --> 00:51:44,880
have. 
So if you need some prayer 

1028
00:51:44,880 --> 00:51:47,160
today, if you need to lay 
something down, if you need to 

1029
00:51:47,160 --> 00:51:50,320
get this final victory mindset 
into you coming up right now, 

1030
00:51:50,320 --> 00:51:51,760
don't even wait for the song to 
start. 

1031
00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:53,280
Just coming up right now. 
Amen.