1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,600 John 17 The high priestly prayer. 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:08,600 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted his eyes to 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:14,080 heaven and said, Father, the hour has come, Glorify your Son, 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:16,920 that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him 5 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:21,960 authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom 6 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,560 you have given Him. And this is eternal life, that 7 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:30,000 they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you 8 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,600 have sent. I glorified you on earth, having 9 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,080 accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 10 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:40,440 And now, Father, glorify me in Your own presence with the glory 11 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,040 that I had with You before the world existed. 12 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,800 I have manifested Your name to the people whom You gave me out 13 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,360 of the world. Yours they were, and You gave 14 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:51,760 them to me, and they have kept their word. 15 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:55,200 Now they know that everything that You have given me is from 16 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:59,520 You, for I have given them the words that You gave me, and they 17 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,080 have received them and have come to know in truth that I came 18 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:06,040 from You, and they have believed that You sent me. 19 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:10,520 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, 20 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:12,200 but for those whom You have given me. 21 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,840 For they are Yours. All mine are yours, and Yours 22 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:18,600 are mine, and I am glorified in them. 23 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,320 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I 24 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:25,320 am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your 25 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:29,080 name which You have given me, that they may be 1 even as we 26 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,400 are one. While I was with them, I kept 27 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,640 them in Your name, which You have given me. 28 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,400 I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost, except 29 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,480 for the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be 30 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:45,200 fulfilled. But now I'm coming to you, and 31 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,320 these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy 32 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:52,640 fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word, and 33 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:56,560 the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just 34 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,560 as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them 35 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,360 out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil. 1 They 36 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,640 are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 37 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:11,360 Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. 38 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,480 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the 39 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:18,920 world, and for their sake I consecrate myself that they also 40 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:20,840 may be sanctified. In truth. 41 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,720 I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe 42 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,880 in Me through their word, that they may all be one. 43 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,320 Just as You, Father, are in me, and I in You, that they may also 44 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:37,160 be in us, so the world may believe that you have sent me 45 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:39,520 the glory that you have given me. 46 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,720 I have given to them that they may be 1 even as we are one, I 47 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:48,480 and them and you and me, that they may become perfectly 1, so 48 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,600 that the world may know that you've sent me and loved them 49 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:56,360 even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also 50 00:02:56,360 --> 00:03:00,240 whom you have given me, may be with me where I am to see my 51 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:04,040 glory that you have given me because you have loved me before 52 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,960 the foundation of the world. Oh, righteous Father, even 53 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,680 though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know 54 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,160 that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, 55 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,000 and I will continue to make it known that the love with which 56 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,960 You've loved me be in them and I in them. 57 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:28,520 Amen. Good morning. 58 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:34,480 Thank you for braving the 2026 Hunger Games, Oh, I mean the 59 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,000 Bakersfield Marathon to get here this morning. 60 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,360 Welcome to Resurrection Church. My name is Daniel. 61 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,160 I'm a lead pastor here. We're continuing in our series 62 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:44,960 in the book of John. We're going to be at John 17 63 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:53,760 today. In 1974, the last soldier of 64 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:57,760 World War 2 surrendered. Now, if you're a little confused 65 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:02,680 by that date because Japan actually surrendered in 1945, 66 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:08,160 good, because it should, you should be a little bit confused 67 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:12,240 of why it took an extra 29 years for the last soldier to actually 68 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:14,440 surrender. There was a man named Hiru 69 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,000 Onata. He was a Japanese soldier who 70 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,560 had been stationed on Lubang Island in the Philippians, and 71 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,520 he'd gotten his orders one year before the surrender in 1944. 72 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:30,760 And explicitly his His orders were never surrender in case 73 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:34,440 they try to trick you. So the next year, when Japan 74 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,200 actually surrendered as a country, he didn't get the memo. 75 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:43,320 He survived in the jungle of that island, conducting 76 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:48,520 guerrilla raids, shooting at the locals and the police. 77 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:52,360 Convinced the war was still going on. 78 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:56,280 They dropped Flyers over the jungle. 79 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:02,680 They delivered family letters and he concluded they were all 80 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,360 tricks. He fought the wrong enemy for 81 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:12,960 another 29 years until finally Japan went and found his now 82 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:16,240 retired former commanding officer, flew him to the island 83 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:18,000 and formally relieved him of duty. 84 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:28,040 He wasted 30 years of his life. He wasn't weak, he wasn't a 85 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:33,280 coward. He was devoted to fighting the 86 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:38,320 wrong enemy. Wrong enemy, wrong energy. 87 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,560 It's our big idea today. And The funny thing is that 88 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:49,240 that's the story of every human on earth before we meet Jesus. 89 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:54,320 Wrong enemy, wrong energy. Today we're going to spend some 90 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:59,720 time talking about what happens when you change sides from God's 91 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,080 enemy to God's child when Jesus saves you. 92 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,680 And we're also going to talk a little bit about this thing that 93 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:09,680 some of times we do after we get saved, which is forget which 94 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:11,080 side we're on and shoot the wrong people. 95 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:17,680 When Jessica was reading John 17, that is called the high 96 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,080 priestly prayer. It is the longest recorded 97 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:26,320 prayer that we have of Jesus. And it's it's also one of the 98 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,320 few times Jesus prays out loud. We know he prays a lot in 99 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,960 private. And he is at the Last Supper 100 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:36,840 with his disciples, which the last few weeks we've all this 101 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:39,840 has been about the Last Supper. There's 12 disciples and he's 102 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:43,920 about a couple hours away from being arrested and ultimately 103 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,680 going to the cross to die for our sins. 104 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,640 If you're not familiar with the word sins, if that's something 105 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:53,680 new to you, it's simply the Bible's word for rebellion 106 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:56,240 against God. And So what he's doing is he's 107 00:06:56,240 --> 00:07:00,040 preparing these disciples for the fact that because they 108 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,040 believe in Jesus, and because Jesus is about to go pay for our 109 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,000 rebellion on the cross, they are about to be saved. 110 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:10,840 They will cross from being humans rebelling against God, to 111 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,560 being on his team, to being called his children. 112 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:18,560 Now if you've never heard that that concept before, or maybe 113 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:22,640 that's a little bit confusing to you, it is explicitly stated in 114 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:26,080 another letter to an early church in Ephesus. 115 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:30,240 In Ephesians 2, the apostle Paul will write a very clear 116 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,240 understanding of what it looks like to go from God's enemy to 117 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:37,360 God's child. It sounds like this, and you 118 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:43,320 were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked, 119 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:47,080 following the course of this world, following the Prince of 120 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:50,360 the power of the air. That's Satan, the spirit that is 121 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,400 now in work, at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we 122 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,600 all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the 123 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:00,320 desires of the flesh and the mind. 124 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:05,440 And we're by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. 125 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,720 What what that says is it's not just the disciples in the upper 126 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:14,240 room that were enemies of God before Jesus. 127 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:23,280 It's every single one of us enemies lost, stuck in rebellion 128 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:30,080 against God. Verse 4 But God, being rich in 129 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:36,960 mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even 130 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:40,960 when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive 131 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:44,280 together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. 132 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,640 The story of the Bible is that the commander comes into enemy 133 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:55,800 territory, gives his life for us and drafts us into his army, but 134 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,960 we never leave the battlefield. We never went and found God at 135 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,800 all. It says, For while we were yet 136 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:08,000 sinners, say me, we were reconciled to God by the death 137 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,040 of his Son. Now, why all this background? 138 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:14,960 Well, because John 17 is actually a prayer of protection 139 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,400 over the disciples. Jesus knows that they're about 140 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,240 to change teams. And so he spends this entire 141 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,080 chapter praying for them. And if you read the end of the 142 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:26,120 chapter, actually praying for us, because he says those that 143 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:29,160 come later and he does this out loud, unlike most of his prayers 144 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,000 that are all in private and he does it out loud for our benefit 145 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,800 so that we would get to read it. What he says is he's going to 146 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:40,000 leave the disciples in the battlefield, but all of a sudden 147 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:41,240 they're going to be on a new team. 148 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,240 And so there's a couple of things that Jesus is attempting 149 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,360 to prepare them for and he's attempting to prepare us for 150 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:50,000 because when you change teams, three things are going to 151 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,080 happen. And I think they're really 152 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:53,520 important. They're all kind of nested in 153 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:54,800 this letter. Here's the first. 154 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:58,920 Changing sides means new enemies. 155 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:07,360 It also means new teammates. And the third thing, it's the 156 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:09,280 same old war. It's actually not all that new, 157 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:14,640 new enemies, new team mates, but the same old war. 158 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:17,320 Now, now, what do I mean by three enemies? 159 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:20,360 Well, in the Bible, God has three enemies that are 160 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:23,120 constantly mentioned. They're mentioned in Ephesians 2 161 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:24,760 that we just read. They're actually mentioned in 162 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:28,720 John 17 as well. And when you and I go from being 163 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:32,800 an enemy of God to being a child of God, His enemies become our 164 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:36,800 enemies. And so Jesus spends an entire 165 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:41,680 chapter praying protection over the disciples because he knows 166 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:44,160 these are about to be your enemies. 167 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:46,160 And listen, I don't want you to miss this. 168 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,120 I think this is a really important chapter in the Bible. 169 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:51,040 It's a really important concept for us in the church. 170 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:57,160 And here's why. If you're in a fight, it's 171 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,120 really important to know who the enemy is. 172 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:05,680 Amen. If not, you might be shooting a 173 00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:10,080 friend. So let's look at it. 174 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,280 Who are three God's three enemies? 175 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:19,840 Who are these new enemies? Satan, the world and the flesh. 176 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:28,320 Satan, the world and the flesh. Before God saved me, I was on 177 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,320 the team of the world. I was on the team of Satan. 178 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:36,080 But now that God has saved me, all three of these enemies are 179 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,280 working against me. Who is Satan? 180 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:44,320 Satan is the enemy commander. In John 1715, Jesus says this in 181 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:46,520 this prayer. I do not ask that you take them 182 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:52,080 out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil 1, the 183 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:56,160 evil 1. Now that Greek word is paneros, 184 00:11:56,160 --> 00:12:00,000 PONEROS paneros. It does not mean. 185 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,920 It doesn't mean abstract evil. Oh, yeah. 186 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:06,640 Bad things. No, no, it's, it's personal. 187 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:12,720 It's very specific, That word. He's naming an adversary that 188 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:16,800 has a strategy. Now, in the Bible, we know Satan 189 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:19,080 as the devil. We know him as Lucifer. 190 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,240 He has some different names. At this moment when Jesus is 191 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:24,760 praying, this Satan is active on the earth. 192 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:27,560 He has minions. They're called demons or fallen 193 00:12:27,560 --> 00:12:31,320 angels and they're referred to throughout all of Scripture and, 194 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,160 and Jesus believes that this is so important that he has to 195 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:36,800 pray. He needs to pray protection over 196 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:41,240 us from these spiritual forces. The Bible tells us the demons 197 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:45,080 are real, that they have an an agenda, that they are the 198 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:48,320 enemies of God, that they are unredeemable, that they are 199 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:52,320 destined for eternal punishment and that if you're saved, 200 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,920 they're after you. That's what the Bible says. 201 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:58,160 So we are to resist demonic attacks. 202 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:02,320 We are to resist the devil. Now on a spin, just a few 203 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:04,720 moments, I'm going to give you 2 things about Satan that I think 204 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,960 are really important to note for John 17 and just for you as you 205 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:10,400 follow Jesus. And here's the first thing. 206 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:14,560 A lot of us will fall into one of two camps. 207 00:13:14,560 --> 00:13:19,000 We're going to either overreact or we're going to under react. 208 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,240 We're going to overreact to spiritual things or we're going 209 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,960 to maybe underestimate them. And we see both of those like, 210 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:30,480 you can overreact to this. You can label everything as a 211 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:34,000 spiritual attack. That's not correct. 212 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:35,920 First of all, God has three enemies. 213 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,480 So often times the thing that happens is not Satan at all. 214 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:46,480 Listen, a lot of my problems don't have to do with Satan. 215 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:49,640 They have to be. They have to do with me being 216 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:54,400 dumb. It would not be accurate to call 217 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:58,320 that Satan. I could make better choices. 218 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,840 Amen. So we can overreact. 219 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:04,760 And everywhere we look, it's a spiritual ward. 220 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:07,160 It's a spiritual this, and it's demons this and it's Satan this, 221 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:08,960 and it's not accurate. That's an overreaction. 222 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:15,480 But we can also underestimate this in the Western world that 223 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,840 we live in now, in Western civilization in 2026, man, we 224 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:21,360 love to minimize the spiritual realm. 225 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,360 We love to dismiss things like Satan and demons. 226 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,880 And we just just, that's just what crazy people talk about. 227 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:32,640 That's just an excuse people give to justify their own 228 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:35,000 mistakes. You know, the famous author and 229 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,240 theologian CS Lewis wrote a bunch of beautiful books, but he 230 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:41,640 also wrote a book called The Screw Tape Letters. 231 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:47,520 It's a fictional account of two demons strategizing how to get 232 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:52,680 you. It's fascinating. 233 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,560 And in the preface to that book, he says something before you 234 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:58,680 read the book. It says this There are two equal 235 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,720 and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the 236 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:05,640 devil's One is to disbelieve in their existence. 237 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,800 The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy 238 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:11,080 interest in them. You can overreact or you can 239 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:17,600 under react, and for the most part in the Western world, we 240 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:21,480 under react. We underestimate one of the 241 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:25,560 themes in the screw tape letters is later used in a movie that 242 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:27,880 became incredibly famous, became one of the most famous movie 243 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:32,880 quotes in this last century. An actor named Kevin Spacey says 244 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:35,120 this. The greatest trick the devil 245 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:40,200 ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist under 246 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:49,720 reacting, under estimating. If you find yourself cynical 247 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:54,600 about the demonic, but you, you, you follow Christ, you would 248 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,360 call yourself a Christian. I would just challenge you with 249 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:01,600 this. If you're easy to dismiss the 250 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:05,120 influence in the attack of Satan that the Bible says is a real 251 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:09,280 battle, I would just ask you. You know, it must be difficult 252 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:13,640 to justify believing in an invisible God if you don't 253 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:18,240 believe in his enemies that he tells you he has, whether you 254 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:23,680 can see them or not. So Satan, the second enemy of 255 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:25,520 God that is now our enemy is the world. 256 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,800 That's the enemy's territory. In John 1714, which Jesus is 257 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,920 praying, he says the world has hated them because they are not 258 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:37,720 of the world. Now, when Jesus is praying a 259 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:40,040 protection over us for the world, he does not mean the 260 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,960 earth, the world. Actually here in John, the Word 261 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:48,040 is cosmos in Greek that starts with AK and it it's not 262 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:49,880 referring to the physical world at all. 263 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,160 It's actually referring to the organized system of rebellion 264 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:57,840 against God that not not people, the system culture, values, 265 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:01,240 pressure, comfort, distraction. This is Satan's operational 266 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,079 headquarters. I remember years ago I was 267 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:07,440 driving into Las Vegas. Anyone ever driven in at night 268 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,480 to Las Vegas? OK, you're driving in and the, 269 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,520 and like the light show is like nothing you've ever seen. 270 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:15,960 I I can't explain. If you've never done this, you 271 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:18,200 know, they're just neon. And there's the now there's 272 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,680 these LED signs and and it's and it's and it's, they built like a 273 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:25,200 mini Eiffel Tower and a mini like New York, Manhattan thing 274 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:28,640 and A and A and a castles and, and, and all like it just. 275 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:31,600 And I remember driving in and also there's so much there's 276 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:33,480 like hedonism rising these naked people everywhere. 277 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:38,600 You're trying to cover your kids eyes and but I remember driving 278 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:45,160 in and just thinking like the folly of mankind that we would 279 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:49,200 build this and, and, and, and then thumb our nose at God. 280 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:57,240 The Bible says the world broke and it is it is against God. 281 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:02,680 I feel like all you have to do is drive to Las Vegas at night 282 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:10,920 to know that the world was Satan's playground. 283 00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:14,640 And so, you know, before I was saved, I could live in the world 284 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,280 and I and I could breathe in the world and it was like a fish in 285 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:19,560 water. But the moment I got saved, 286 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:25,440 everything pushed back because I was no longer of this world in 287 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:31,800 it, but not of it. In verse 18, Jesus says, as you 288 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:35,560 sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 289 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,440 Jesus does not pray that we get removed from here. 290 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:42,800 He prays that we're protected inside of it because he sent you 291 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:45,720 into it. You are a soldier behind enemy 292 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:48,920 lines by design. This is not an accident. 293 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,840 This is our mission field. Christian. 294 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,840 Christian, would you stop being shocked when the world pushes 295 00:18:55,840 --> 00:19:01,720 back against you? It's not new. 296 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:05,360 The world has pushed against Christianity since it started. 297 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:07,720 We should not be surprised any longer. 298 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:09,240 People are like, I'm going to move to Tennessee. 299 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:20,000 It's still in the world. It's it's at the edge, but it's 300 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:27,160 enemy territory. Satan, the world and the flesh, 301 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:31,960 that's the enemy within. The Bible says that once sin 302 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,000 entered the world all the way at the beginning of the story in 303 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,400 the Garden of Eden when the first humans, Adam and Eve 304 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:41,800 rebelled against God, that since that happened, every human born 305 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:48,240 since then, that's you say me has been born with a sin nature. 306 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:52,000 That's why we need God. So God saves us. 307 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,520 We are a new creation and yet there's still this old nature 308 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,680 that we are battling with. Romans 7. 309 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:07,360 And so in John 17, Jesus prays for the disciples to have unity 310 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:16,800 7 times. It is the request He asks for. 311 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,880 The most in that chapter in this prayer is unity. 312 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,880 Unity 7 times. Why? 313 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:27,160 Why? Why would he do that? 314 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:36,080 Well, what causes disunity between US and the church? 315 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:42,040 James. James who is Jesus half brother 316 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,400 becomes an elder in the Church of Jerusalem and he writes a 317 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:51,080 letter and here's what he says causes disunity in the church. 318 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,680 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? 319 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:00,480 Is it not this that your passions are at war within you, 320 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:05,600 that that new creation and that old sin nature are still 321 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:08,560 fighting? You see, disunity is not a 322 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,800 relational problem, it's a sin nature problem. 323 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:16,360 So Jesus prays that you and I as believers would have a unity 324 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,560 that looks like the Trinity. Now if you're not familiar with 325 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:22,240 that word, that is God the Father, God the Son, and God the 326 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:24,960 Holy Spirit. And they have a relationship 327 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:29,600 that is so intimate and so perfect that Jesus says, I pray 328 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,440 that the unity between believers in the church will be like this, 329 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,960 a unity, a relationship with no sin nature. 330 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:44,360 That's perfect. And the reason he asks 7 times, 331 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:50,320 unity, unity, give them unity unity, unity, unity, unity is He 332 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:53,000 knows. Listen, most of you already know 333 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,920 what God's three enemies are. You already knew that these 334 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:57,240 things existed. And yet we spend most of our 335 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:05,400 time and our emotion fighting our boss at work, or our spouse, 336 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:10,120 or people in our church or our neighbor, the flesh 337 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:13,800 manufacturers enemies out of the people standing right next to 338 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,520 you. Wrong enemy, wrong energy. 339 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:24,160 And just like our Japanese soldier, you can lose 30 years 340 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:27,920 fighting with somebody that was never a threat. 341 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:34,600 So the the reason that Jesus spends an entire prayer asking 342 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,480 the Father to protect you from these three enemies is he knows 343 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,640 what's coming and he loves you far too much to leave you 344 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:44,920 unwarned or unprotected. Satan, the world in the flesh. 345 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:48,440 Now I told you this means 3 new things. 346 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:50,320 One of them is new enemies. The second thing is it means a 347 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:53,880 new team. Now a couple weeks ago I had an 348 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:59,160 opportunity to, to preach on in, in John, this idea that we had 349 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:03,520 become, because Jesus saved us, a royal priesthood, a holy 350 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:06,000 nation. And so I don't, I'm not going to 351 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:07,640 spend a ton of time on the new team. 352 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:13,040 But what I'm trying to tell you is that if, if if you have been 353 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:20,720 saved, you're all on the same team, turn to your neighbor and 354 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:27,200 say, I'm glad you're on my team. Come on, let him know to let him 355 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:37,370 know. The Bible speaks about this over 356 00:23:37,370 --> 00:23:39,010 and over again, the New Testament about what this looks 357 00:23:39,010 --> 00:23:43,680 like to be on the same team in Revelation 59 and 10, which is a 358 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:45,280 picture of what heaven's going to look like. 359 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,760 They're singing to Jesus and it says they sang a new song saying 360 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:51,800 worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals. 361 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:54,760 For you were slain. And by your blood, you ransom 362 00:23:54,760 --> 00:24:00,440 people for God from every tribe and language and people and 363 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,560 nation. And you have made them a 364 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,120 Kingdom. And priests are God, and they 365 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:10,920 shall reign on earth. If you follow Jesus, you are in 366 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:15,640 the most decorated elite combat unit in history. 367 00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:19,360 SEAL Team Six ain't got nothing on you, brother. 368 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:24,320 We've been fighting for thousands of years. 369 00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:27,440 And I want you to consider this. I want you to think about this 370 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,360 for a minute. If you're saved, you have more 371 00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:36,800 in common with a Christian from Iran, from Yemen, from North 372 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:43,240 Korea than you do with a conservative American atheist 373 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:49,520 because you're on new team. Think about that. 374 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:52,160 It's not about a political party. 375 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:57,520 It's not about patriotism. It's not about demographics or 376 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:00,160 or ethnicity. It's not about a sports team. 377 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:06,200 Go Bears. It's not about a job or a hobby 378 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,320 or anything else that unites us other than being bought by the 379 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,280 blood of Christ. We are one in him. 380 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:15,320 Turn to that person that you just told you you were glad. 381 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:17,560 You just turn over there and say, I would have picked you 382 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:19,000 anyway. Go ahead. 383 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:21,360 I'm earning you points. Husbands, come on. 384 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:29,800 I would have picked you anyway. You're on a new team, guys. 385 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,840 That's why it's crazy when you hear someone talking bad about 386 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:37,280 another church. Those are your team mates. 387 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:43,040 We love those guys. You know those guys are Valley 388 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:44,720 Baptist. They're amazing. 389 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:48,040 We tell them that all the time. You know the guys doing Pastor 390 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,320 Jeff over at the Bridge? Awesome. 391 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:53,800 I am constantly texting him. I am so proud of them and I 392 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,200 appreciate them so much. Why? 393 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:58,280 They're our teammates. Why wouldn't we? 394 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:03,880 That's crazy. The third thing is that's not 395 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:05,840 new is the war. It's just the same old war. 396 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:09,080 New enemies, new team, but this is the same old war. 397 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:11,720 It's an ancient battle. Now we might have a new 398 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:15,760 perspective or a new power, but you all, this battle ain't new. 399 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,080 It started in the Garden of Eden in the beginning of the Bible. 400 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:22,960 Now you may not have realized you were in it before. 401 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:25,440 Before salvation, you couldn't see it. 402 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:27,880 You get saved and all the sudden you can. 403 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,000 It's always been there. We were just blind. 404 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:35,000 And now we see from the first book of the Bible, Genesis, to 405 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,200 the last book of the Bible, Revelation, it is talking about 406 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:45,000 this battle, this problem. Now I do want to remind you that 407 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:48,120 the end has already been written. 408 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:54,760 Jesus wins. The only question is whether you 409 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,520 show up to the battle or sleep through it like that Japanese 410 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,200 soldier did, mixed up, loyal to the wrong side, exhausted from 411 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:05,880 fighting the wrong war. Now listen, if you really want 412 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:07,960 to be encouraged, and I, I highly recommend doing this. 413 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,280 I do this. I, if you want to be encouraged, 414 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:15,440 read some of our church fathers. Read, read preachers and 415 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,120 theologians and pastors from like 400 years ago, 600 years 416 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:19,320 ago, 800 years ago. And here's why. 417 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:20,920 We'll encourage you. They were having the same 418 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,360 problem. Your problems are not new. 419 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:26,200 Every time you're like, oh, I can't believe. 420 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:29,080 Open up something like 1640 and you're like, huh, that sounds 421 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,920 familiar. They have a new problem. 422 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:39,400 It's the problem. Now I'm spending a ton of time 423 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:41,120 talking to you about this. Why? 424 00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:42,680 Why? Well, Jesus thought this was 425 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:47,560 important enough to pray an entire chapter specifically over 426 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:54,600 these things in our lives. And so this next part when we 427 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:58,600 talk about how we actually apply this, I think is, is like one of 428 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:01,040 the most important things that you're ever going to learn about 429 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,840 doing life in church. So give me a for for the last 430 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:06,400 couple seconds here, lean forward. 431 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:07,400 You won't fall over. Go ahead. 432 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:09,440 You can lean forward. I want you to pay attention to 433 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:11,000 this, this part. This is really important. 434 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:17,800 Listen to me. Some of you are exhausted. 435 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:32,280 Some of you are overwhelmed, some of you are even angry, and 436 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:36,240 I want you to know that Jesus Prayer in John 17 is exactly 437 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:41,840 what you need to hear. When I look at our church, when 438 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:47,160 I look at American churches, I think there are two things that 439 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:50,200 if you read John 17, it should help wake us up to. 440 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:55,240 And here's the first. Some of y'all forgot we were in 441 00:28:55,240 --> 00:29:00,800 a war. Like Jesus is really clear. 442 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:04,160 The Bible is super clear that when he saved us, he 443 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:07,080 intentionally left us an enemy territory, commissioned us for 444 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:10,440 battle, equipped us in the Spirit, gave us teammates and 445 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,240 and trainers and and wrote out an entire battle plan. 446 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:16,480 And what you know, we do with all of that, we do what I am 447 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:22,040 really good at. We forget when my wife at the 448 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:24,520 beginning of the week goes through the whole calendar and 449 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:26,040 she's like, and then the kids have this and they have the 450 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,000 orthodontist appointment and don't forget that you got the 451 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,080 PTA thing and you got to go to this and then take guy to 452 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:32,280 swimming. And we go through the entire 453 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:35,840 thing and I look at her and I'm like, OK, I got it, but just in 454 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:36,880 case, tell me the whole thing again. 455 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:42,440 I wasn't listening. We forgot, we forgot. 456 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:46,400 Now that's just frustrating if you're married to me, but but 457 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:51,160 it's deadly if you're forgetting what Jesus has been trying to 458 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,600 tell us for years. It's you're in a war. 459 00:29:55,800 --> 00:30:00,360 It's deadly. It's deadly because what will 460 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:02,880 happen is we'll get this unrealistic expectations. 461 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:07,320 We start to expect it to be easy You we start to expect to the 462 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:10,240 Christian life's going to be like a vacation, not a 463 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:12,520 battlefield. So, so so then you can't find 464 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:17,520 any joy in the battle. Christian, listen, this is a 465 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:24,720 battleship, not a Disney cruise. There's not a single part of 466 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:26,520 Scripture that tells you this is going to be easy. 467 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:33,720 It doesn't exist, so stop expecting it to get easy. 468 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:39,200 The second thing is actually worse than the first. 469 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:42,040 Some of it is forgetting, but some of it here, here, we see 470 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:42,720 this. You know what? 471 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:46,240 We've lived it. In the midst of what is a cosmic 472 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:50,600 battle against spiritual forces, we turn and start fighting one 473 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:58,000 another. That's why Jesus prays for unity 474 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:07,160 seven times in this prayer and in church after church. 475 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:09,800 We are eating each other alive for petty differences. 476 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:13,840 It's so common the Bible actually leaves us a detailed 477 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:17,160 instruction about how to go tackle internal conflict, and we 478 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:23,160 rarely use it. In fact, it's so common, it's 479 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:26,920 launched a new phrase in our culture called Church Hurt. 480 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,320 You guys heard that? You ever heard Church Hurt? 481 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:37,440 Barna did a study about American Christians, said that one in 482 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:41,040 every three Christians that leaves the church points to a 483 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:42,360 conflict with someone in the church. 484 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:49,520 That's why they left. You're, I don't want you to miss 485 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:52,840 what I just said. I want you to think about in a 486 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:59,800 military conflict if 33% of the casualties were from friendly 487 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:06,760 fire. I would say we have a problem. 488 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:16,620 Let me tell you how else I know that it's really common because 489 00:32:16,620 --> 00:32:19,940 I've done it, because I've done it. 490 00:32:22,780 --> 00:32:26,020 My wife and I at our last church had been there about 10 years 491 00:32:26,740 --> 00:32:30,140 when we begin to feel like we were being called to to go 492 00:32:30,140 --> 00:32:32,860 somewhere, but we couldn't figure out what it was. 493 00:32:32,860 --> 00:32:36,360 And so we're what we did it. We went to a pastor's and our 494 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:38,720 family, our parents and we just asked them to all start in our 495 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,840 group and just pray for us. And so I don't know about you, 496 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:44,880 but I have this weird thing where I think if I pray for it 497 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:48,560 that God has like a 24 hour timer, like he's going to, he'll 498 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:53,040 be telling me in about a day, like 2 days maybe a year went by 499 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:57,480 of praying and we still didn't have any clarity. 500 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:02,920 And I was so frustrated because I knew we were being called and 501 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,640 I couldn't figure out where. And so I had a choice. 502 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:10,840 In that moment, I could have taken that discontentment and it 503 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,280 could have been holy discontentment, but I didn't. 504 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:17,560 Instead, what I did is I, I turned it on my pastor, Pastor 505 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:21,960 Tim. Now Pastor Tim had discipled me, 506 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:27,120 mentored me, loved me, walked through me with a lot for during 507 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:29,680 the loss of a child. And in that moment, because I 508 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:35,400 was frustrated, I turned my angst and my anger on him and, 509 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:37,640 and the Lord was very gracious to me in that season. 510 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:41,800 Like I never never really burned that relationship by by losing 511 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:43,400 it. But let me tell you something. 512 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:49,840 I thought some very terrible things about him and I said some 513 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:53,560 things I shouldn't have said. And I'm, and I, again, it was by 514 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:55,760 the grace of God that it never got really bad. 515 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,120 And then later, as God actually gave us clarity on where he was 516 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:03,120 sending us and where we were supposed to go when we went 517 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:08,280 there, I looked back and went, Oh no, I was, I was so ashamed I 518 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:13,360 had to go and talk to him. I'm so sorry. 519 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:15,760 And you know, Pastor Jamie, he was here like 2 weeks ago 520 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:17,600 commissioning the Heimburgers that he sent. 521 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:21,960 He preached here in January. He was very gracious to me, 522 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:31,000 thankfully. Church, I'm begging you to stop 523 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:36,800 forgetting that we're at war. So remember who the enemy is and 524 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:40,880 stop eating our own. And if in this moment you're 525 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:44,199 beginning to realize that, man, we all struggle with this, 526 00:34:44,199 --> 00:34:46,400 that's why Jesus left us an entire prayer. 527 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:49,520 And you're thinking, how do I go about doing that? 528 00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:52,639 Well, here's the good news. Jesus actually left us 529 00:34:52,639 --> 00:34:55,639 everything we need. He's pretty good like that. 530 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:00,080 And so I printed these into your insert. 531 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:01,600 They're directly out of scripture. 532 00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:05,880 Let's go over them. They're the things that we do. 533 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:11,240 They're the battlefield advice. And I want you to take it home 534 00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:13,560 on your on your insert. And I want you to, I want you to 535 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,920 put the magnet on it on the fridge up next to Bobby's report 536 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:18,840 card that you're proud of. And I want you to keep it up 537 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:20,160 there. And I want you to look at it 538 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,880 every single day. Three things. 539 00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:31,400 Here's the first reorient. Every morning, Colossians 32 540 00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:34,840 says set your minds on things that are above, not on things 541 00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:36,840 that are on the earth. So before you pick up your 542 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:39,600 phone, before you check the news, before you do whatever it 543 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:42,320 is, it's going to start to bother you or doom scrolling or 544 00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:47,880 I don't. Just spend 60 seconds telling 545 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:50,920 yourself the truth about who you are and who the enemy is. 546 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:56,520 Soldiers don't stumble out of the barracks and wander into the 547 00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:58,440 battle. They have a briefing. 548 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:04,080 So, so, so before your feet hit the ground and you begin to race 549 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:08,440 off into your day, your Bible, your prayer journal, some some 550 00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:12,880 moments actually reorienting you before the world gets a hold of 551 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:18,400 you and tries to disorient you. IA couple of us actually listen 552 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:21,440 to this, but we have Bible reading plans. 553 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:24,040 We're doing a Bible in the year plan here as a church. 554 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:28,600 And so, but it's about 4:15 AMI start my Bible plan. 555 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,080 Not because I want to check a box because I need to be 556 00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:38,360 reoriented before the day starts as I have a tendency to drift. 557 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:45,000 Secondly, reorient daily. Refuel often. 558 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:48,840 Refuel often. Matthew 44, Jesus says man shall 559 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:51,960 not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the 560 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:55,480 mouth of God. Jesus, when he says this is 561 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:58,600 being attacked by Satan in the wilderness and he doesn't fight 562 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:01,400 back with willpower. He refuels with the word. 563 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:04,600 That's what he's telling you. You cannot sustain a fight 564 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:12,260 you're not eating for. This doesn't have to be 565 00:37:12,260 --> 00:37:16,060 complicated. Open your Bible app, start a 566 00:37:16,060 --> 00:37:19,760 reading plan, get in a group somewhere centered around the 567 00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:22,160 word of God where you have people asking you, hey man, what 568 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:23,520 has God been telling you this week? 569 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:25,880 Hey, what's God been teaching you this week? 570 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:28,000 Hey, what are you convicted of this week? 571 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:30,000 Hey, where has God encouraged you this week? 572 00:37:30,720 --> 00:37:32,600 What are you doing? You're refueling. 573 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:38,680 The enemy loves a hungry soldier and some of y'all are starving. 574 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:49,600 Reorient daily, refuel often. And lastly, remember that the 575 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:56,720 end is already written in Revelation 1911 when we get a 576 00:37:56,720 --> 00:37:58,240 picture of what heaven's going to be like. 577 00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:00,960 It says. Then I saw heaven opened, and 578 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:04,320 behold, a White Horse. The one sitting on it is called 579 00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:07,680 faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges 580 00:38:07,680 --> 00:38:14,240 and makes war. Jesus wins when the battle feels 581 00:38:14,240 --> 00:38:16,600 like it's going the wrong direction, and it will feel like 582 00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:18,640 that. You are allowed to skip forward 583 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:21,600 and read the last chapter. It's not a cliffhanger. 584 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:27,040 The king rides out. Every enemy falls. 585 00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:31,880 Every knee will bow. You're not fighting toward an 586 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:34,960 uncertain outcome. You're fighting toward a settled 587 00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:38,160 one. This is the the Bible's formula 588 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:42,040 to fix our battlefield problems, and we don't do any of it in our 589 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:44,720 own strength. Jesus actually told us you will 590 00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:47,760 receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 591 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:49,560 That's not motivational language. 592 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:52,080 That is the power to fight this fight. 593 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:58,840 You're not doing it on your own. So brother, sister in Christ, 594 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:04,800 who is exhausted today, who's been fighting the wrong enemies, 595 00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:08,200 stop shooting at your brothers and sisters. 596 00:39:08,560 --> 00:39:11,080 Stop surrendering to this world. It's against you. 597 00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:13,080 Stop collaborating with your flesh. 598 00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:17,720 Jesus has been praying this prayer for you since before you 599 00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:20,680 were born, and he is still praying it over you. 600 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:24,960 And he is not disappointed. If you get confused about who 601 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:28,440 the enemy is, that's why he has this prayer. 602 00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:32,280 This is why he's explained all these things to us, precisely 603 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:34,680 because he knew this would be difficult. 604 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:42,840 And this prayer is still active. Wrong enemy, wrong energy. 605 00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:51,200 We can end that today. Perhaps there's another person 606 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:54,880 that's listening to this, maybe, maybe online, maybe here in the 607 00:39:54,880 --> 00:40:00,760 room and and you, you don't know the God of the Bible. 608 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,280 Now, maybe you're here today and you're still on the wrong side 609 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:05,960 of this battle. You've been in the jungle your 610 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:08,840 whole life, fighting for the wrong things, loyal to a side 611 00:40:08,840 --> 00:40:11,640 that is never going to win, and exhausted from a war that was 612 00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:15,920 never yours to fight. That's not a character flaw, by 613 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:17,360 the way. That's called the human 614 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:20,680 condition. The Bible says that every single 615 00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:24,760 one of us was born behind enemy lines, Children of wrath, 616 00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:28,080 serving a system that was working against us. 617 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:34,480 And most of us don't know it. But the commander didn't send a 618 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:39,440 memo this time. Jesus came himself while you 619 00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:42,160 were still his enemy. He died for you. 620 00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:46,360 That's not a recruitment pitch for a religion. 621 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:48,200 That's a rescue operation for a soul. 622 00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:56,080 And today he's offering you a new life, a full pardon, a new 623 00:40:56,080 --> 00:40:58,440 team, a new identity, and a new name. 624 00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:02,800 Child of God. So as we close, will you bow 625 00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:05,880 your heads and close your eyes? Because I want to give you that 626 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:07,640 invitation from the Bible right now. 627 00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:14,560 If you would like to surrender your life to Christ and follow 628 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:19,080 him as King, simply repeat this prayer after me. 629 00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:26,280 Jesus, I know I'm a Sinner who can't save myself. 630 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:35,320 I want you to save me and adopt me into your family. 631 00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:43,040 I surrender everything to you, be my Lord. 632 00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:50,080 Please Jesus, if you prayed that prayer for the very first time, 633 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:52,200 will you raise your hand for me to see? 634 00:41:54,560 --> 00:42:01,080 Thank you, thank you. You put your hands down in Jesus 635 00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:03,120 name, Amen. Real quick. 636 00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:09,240 He gave your life to Christ moments ago. 637 00:42:10,240 --> 00:42:19,280 Welcome to the family. In just a second we're going to 638 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:21,920 respond to this sermon. We're going to sing a song and 639 00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:25,600 there's some tables in the back. They say I raised my hand as we 640 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:27,040 sing. I want you to just find your way 641 00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:28,640 back there. We want to celebrate with you. 642 00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:32,120 We're excited for you, especially if you've given your 643 00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:34,120 life to Christ recently and haven't told anyone about it, 644 00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:37,200 come tell someone about it. If you're online and you just 645 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:38,880 gave your life to Christ, you just put it in the chat. 646 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:40,520 There are people waiting to celebrate with you. 647 00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:44,200 I can guarantee you. Will you stand? 648 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:47,880 We're going to close with a song and some announcements. 649 00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:51,440 Our prayer team is going to come up if you need prayer for any 650 00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:53,560 reason. We actually really love praying 651 00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:56,640 with you and for you, so we'll sing. 652 00:42:57,320 --> 00:42:59,560 If you gave your life to Christ, you go to one of those tables in 653 00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:01,720 the back. You move as the Lord leads you. 654 00:43:01,720 --> 00:43:02,400 We love you, Church.