WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.520 I want us, if we can, to turn to 2 Corinthians 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:07.379 chapter 10, and we're going to start in verse 00:00:07.379 --> 00:00:09.500 1. We're going to read down through verse 6. 00:00:09.820 --> 00:00:14.179 And this verse, I'm preaching this verse today 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:18.620 because this verse came as a word from the Lord. 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:24.440 Actually, Kay felt this scripture impressed on 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:29.480 her about 10 or 12 days ago. And released it 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:32.619 into our seniors group. Our seniors meet for 00:00:32.619 --> 00:00:36.920 prayer every Wednesday at 1 p .m. And if you'd 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:38.939 like details on that, I'd be happy to give that 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:42.859 to you. And then she released it. I had her release 00:00:42.859 --> 00:00:46.219 that same word on our Wednesday night prayer 00:00:46.219 --> 00:00:51.179 meeting. And I have felt like it is a scripture 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:56.560 for our church for this time. And it might be 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:00.780 that this morning God wants to just apply it 00:01:00.780 --> 00:01:04.599 to your situation and your life right where you 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:08.640 are. And so let's read the word of the Lord, 00:01:08.859 --> 00:01:14.760 2 Corinthians 10, 1 through 6. Now I, Paul, myself, 00:01:15.099 --> 00:01:19.700 am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness 00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:25.090 of Christ. who in presence am lowly among you, 00:01:25.189 --> 00:01:30.590 but being absent am bold toward you. But I beg 00:01:30.590 --> 00:01:34.530 you that when I am present, I may not be bold 00:01:34.530 --> 00:01:38.310 with that confidence by which I intend to be 00:01:38.310 --> 00:01:42.549 bold against some who think of us as if we walked 00:01:42.549 --> 00:01:46.530 according to the flesh. For though we walk in 00:01:46.530 --> 00:01:51.120 the flesh, We do not war according to the flesh, 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:55.840 for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 00:01:55.920 --> 00:02:01.019 but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 00:02:01.019 --> 00:02:06.340 casting down arguments and every high thing that 00:02:06.340 --> 00:02:10.319 exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:15.340 every thought into captivity to the obedience 00:02:15.340 --> 00:02:20.639 of Christ. and being ready to punish all disobedience 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:27.719 when your obedience is fulfilled. Lord, we thank 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:34.300 you for your word. Your word changes us. Your 00:02:34.300 --> 00:02:38.939 word, when it takes root in our hearts, produces 00:02:38.939 --> 00:02:43.659 the effect in us that you have desired in our 00:02:43.659 --> 00:02:49.550 lives from the beginning. God, the people have 00:02:49.550 --> 00:02:53.389 come here today to worship you. They haven't 00:02:53.389 --> 00:02:59.150 come to hear the voice of a man. God, they've 00:02:59.150 --> 00:03:04.409 come to honor your word. And so, Lord, as we 00:03:04.409 --> 00:03:09.129 honor your word this morning, I pray that it 00:03:09.129 --> 00:03:15.590 will take root in our hearts. In Jesus' mighty 00:03:15.590 --> 00:03:23.210 name. Amen. Amen. Now this passage of Scripture, 00:03:23.490 --> 00:03:34.430 in context, is about Paul really defending himself 00:03:34.430 --> 00:03:38.990 against some people in the Corinthian church 00:03:38.990 --> 00:03:43.969 that had come against him. The majority of the 00:03:43.969 --> 00:03:46.849 church was with Paul and recognized him as an 00:03:46.849 --> 00:03:50.870 apostle. But if you skip down to verse 10, you 00:03:50.870 --> 00:03:54.169 see that some in the church were accusing Paul. 00:03:54.729 --> 00:03:57.349 In fact, they said in verse 10, you read it, 00:03:57.409 --> 00:04:01.729 for his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful, 00:04:01.949 --> 00:04:06.330 but his bodily presence is weak and his speech 00:04:06.330 --> 00:04:10.919 contemptible. And so they were accusing Paul 00:04:10.919 --> 00:04:16.680 of not being the real deal. Of hiding behind 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:24.600 Facebook. But not being genuine in person. He 00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:29.060 could write well. But when he's here, he's weak. 00:04:30.139 --> 00:04:34.000 And he's not the real deal. Well, really what 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:38.410 they were doing by slandering Paul. was dividing 00:04:38.410 --> 00:04:42.629 the church. That's what they were doing. Now, 00:04:42.670 --> 00:04:46.029 no leader is perfect, and there are ways to deal 00:04:46.029 --> 00:04:50.490 with issues and failures in the church, but slandering 00:04:50.490 --> 00:04:54.230 people behind their back is not biblical. And 00:04:54.230 --> 00:04:58.490 it only does the work of the enemy and divides. 00:04:59.610 --> 00:05:04.990 And so in this context, Paul is saying, That's 00:05:04.990 --> 00:05:08.449 where this quote comes from. Among Pentecostal 00:05:08.449 --> 00:05:11.029 believers, this is an awesome verse. The weapons 00:05:11.029 --> 00:05:13.269 of our warfare are not carnal, but they're mighty 00:05:13.269 --> 00:05:17.149 in God. Well, Paul was saying, I have weapons 00:05:17.149 --> 00:05:22.569 of spiritual warfare that go way beyond the flesh 00:05:22.569 --> 00:05:26.129 and things that are normal in this world, and 00:05:26.129 --> 00:05:30.269 we will see the stronghold of this divisive spirit. 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:36.279 torn down in Jesus' name. And the things that 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:39.699 come against the church, Ephesians 6 tells us, 00:05:39.699 --> 00:05:43.379 we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against 00:05:43.379 --> 00:05:46.519 powers and principalities and rulers of this 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:49.240 dark world. How many of you know that there is 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:52.639 an enemy in Lincoln, Illinois that hates the 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:56.410 church? And that's the church at large preaching 00:05:56.410 --> 00:06:00.449 the gospel, but he also hates faith church and 00:06:00.449 --> 00:06:04.230 is trying to destroy this church from the inside 00:06:04.230 --> 00:06:07.449 out so that it is of no effect in our community. 00:06:08.250 --> 00:06:13.110 But Paul was saying, I have weapons of our warfare 00:06:13.110 --> 00:06:16.069 that are not carnal, but they are mighty in God. 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:19.339 And because they're mighty in God, I can pull 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:22.019 down the strongholds that are trying to divide 00:06:22.019 --> 00:06:29.500 the church. Isn't that good? And so, it is important 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:35.920 that we realize that God has equipped us with 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:42.819 tools to promote unity in the church. Now, Paul 00:06:42.819 --> 00:06:47.689 said it was the weapons of our warfare. Everybody 00:06:47.689 --> 00:06:52.329 say our. He didn't say this is the weapon of 00:06:52.329 --> 00:06:57.930 my warfare. I am the only one in this. No, he 00:06:57.930 --> 00:07:02.930 said these are weapons of our warfare. We are 00:07:02.930 --> 00:07:07.449 in this together. And so the first thing that 00:07:07.449 --> 00:07:10.910 I believe that God wants to highlight is that 00:07:10.910 --> 00:07:14.209 I think it's an awesome thing to pray for the 00:07:14.209 --> 00:07:17.790 unity of the church. In fact, Jesus, before he 00:07:17.790 --> 00:07:20.709 went to the cross, he prayed that. He said, I 00:07:20.709 --> 00:07:24.290 pray that they may be one, Father, as we are 00:07:24.290 --> 00:07:29.470 one. And the unity on the house is a beautiful 00:07:29.470 --> 00:07:31.810 thing. I'm not preaching this today because I 00:07:31.810 --> 00:07:34.889 sense any disunity. I'm preaching this today 00:07:34.889 --> 00:07:37.189 because I know the wiles and the schemes of the 00:07:37.189 --> 00:07:41.199 enemy that he would try to create disunity. Do 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:44.459 you know that the enemy does this in homes? He 00:07:44.459 --> 00:07:50.579 does this in marriages. He does this in relationships 00:07:50.579 --> 00:07:54.399 and friendships, trying to steal, kill, and destroy. 00:07:54.600 --> 00:07:57.699 That's what the devil came. John 10 .10 says 00:07:57.699 --> 00:08:01.220 that the thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:05.339 And that's the schemes of the enemy. He wants 00:08:05.339 --> 00:08:08.360 to destroy your marriage. He wants to destroy 00:08:08.360 --> 00:08:11.680 your household. He wants to destroy the relationship 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:17.189 you have with your children. Jesus came, the 00:08:17.189 --> 00:08:20.269 last part of John 10 .10, that we might have 00:08:20.269 --> 00:08:25.170 life and life more abundantly. Amen? And so this 00:08:25.170 --> 00:08:28.850 morning, we speak life into every marriage that's 00:08:28.850 --> 00:08:32.610 represented in this room right now in the name 00:08:32.610 --> 00:08:35.490 of Jesus. Hallelujah. In fact, I wasn't planning 00:08:35.490 --> 00:08:38.090 on this. This isn't in my notes, but I want to 00:08:38.090 --> 00:08:41.269 pray for every marriage represented in this church 00:08:41.269 --> 00:08:44.929 right now in Jesus' name. If your spouse is with 00:08:44.929 --> 00:08:47.840 you, Just grab them by the hand in Jesus' name. 00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:51.039 Father, I just thank you. I thank you for the 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:54.379 blessing on marriages in this room right now. 00:08:54.580 --> 00:08:57.860 And we recognize, God, that the enemy has a scheme 00:08:57.860 --> 00:09:01.379 and a plan to destroy and break up marriages. 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:06.399 God, I pray in Jesus' name. I pray in Jesus' 00:09:06.679 --> 00:09:11.700 name the favor and the blessing of God on marriages 00:09:11.700 --> 00:09:15.610 in this house right now. the name of the Lord. 00:09:15.750 --> 00:09:19.370 We thank you, Father, for the unity of the Spirit. 00:09:19.570 --> 00:09:23.450 We thank you for the unity in husbands and wives 00:09:23.450 --> 00:09:27.889 in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Praise the 00:09:27.889 --> 00:09:30.889 Lord. Praise the Lord. Somebody give praise to 00:09:30.889 --> 00:09:36.029 God right now. He preserves. He unites. He causes 00:09:36.029 --> 00:09:39.490 husbands and wives to grow together in Jesus' 00:09:39.649 --> 00:09:42.940 name. Cammie told the story of what happened 00:09:42.940 --> 00:09:46.539 to our vehicle last week. As I was driving down 00:09:46.539 --> 00:09:53.039 the road and a tire came flying at me and I hit 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:56.740 that tire at about, I braked some, I hit it probably 00:09:56.740 --> 00:10:00.600 at 60 miles an hour and that tire that was rolling 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:04.580 did not go flat. It catapulted our vehicle up 00:10:04.580 --> 00:10:07.799 into the air and then the trailer behind us up 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:10.899 into the air and then after we had gone completely 00:10:10.899 --> 00:10:13.759 over the tire, that tire continued to roll down 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:17.190 the road and then into the median. It was a pretty 00:10:17.190 --> 00:10:20.629 incredible thing. I'd never experienced anything 00:10:20.629 --> 00:10:23.929 like that in my life. I'm thanking God for his 00:10:23.929 --> 00:10:27.049 protection, amen? Thanking God for his protection. 00:10:27.309 --> 00:10:30.850 But when I had the vehicle examined, because 00:10:30.850 --> 00:10:34.850 after that, what happened is there was no shimmy 00:10:34.850 --> 00:10:37.649 in it before. It drove smooth and perfect. But 00:10:37.649 --> 00:10:40.990 after it hit that tire, when I got it up to about 00:10:40.990 --> 00:10:44.610 50 miles an hour, the vehicle just started shaking. 00:10:45.419 --> 00:10:47.840 And when I took it to the collision place, the 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:52.279 collision guy told me, in fact, before he even 00:10:52.279 --> 00:10:55.059 elevated it, he said, oh, I see why it's shimmying. 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:59.860 It's because the frame has been knocked out of 00:10:59.860 --> 00:11:04.419 alignment and the right half is fighting against 00:11:04.419 --> 00:11:10.879 the left half. And I thought, wow. And it hit 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:14.399 me as I was preparing for this message. That's 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:16.820 what was happening in the Corinthian church. 00:11:18.299 --> 00:11:21.480 The right half was fighting against the left 00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:26.159 half. And that can happen in a marriage, in a 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:29.279 home, and in a relationship. It can happen in 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:35.190 a nation. But when God shows up, when the church 00:11:35.190 --> 00:11:38.809 shows up with the weapons of our warfare that 00:11:38.809 --> 00:11:42.950 God has provided, he puts things back in alignment 00:11:42.950 --> 00:11:47.889 so that we can drive down the road and get where 00:11:47.889 --> 00:11:52.309 we need to go. He wants to keep the church in 00:11:52.309 --> 00:11:54.809 unity. That's a great thing to pray. Add that 00:11:54.809 --> 00:11:57.230 to your prayer list every day. God, give great 00:11:57.230 --> 00:11:59.889 unity to the church. Doesn't mean we always agree 00:11:59.889 --> 00:12:02.450 about everything, but we deal with things well, 00:12:02.590 --> 00:12:07.669 and we walk together in love. Amen? And we move 00:12:07.669 --> 00:12:13.690 forward in Jesus' name. Secondly, what I want 00:12:13.690 --> 00:12:16.389 to say from this passage is the weapons of our 00:12:16.389 --> 00:12:21.149 warfare are not carnal. Everybody say carnal. 00:12:21.830 --> 00:12:27.389 Now carnal, carnality is not the same thing as 00:12:27.389 --> 00:12:31.809 evil. In fact, carnality is not the same thing 00:12:31.809 --> 00:12:37.149 as sinful. Carnal simply means of this world. 00:12:38.250 --> 00:12:47.129 Okay? So when I'm operating carnally, I am just 00:12:47.129 --> 00:12:52.159 using, the tools I have at my disposal on my 00:12:52.159 --> 00:13:02.779 own. My own thinking. My own solutions. When 00:13:02.779 --> 00:13:05.639 you are not a believer and you don't have access 00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:10.379 to God, this is the only mode that you have to 00:13:10.379 --> 00:13:16.929 operate in. Carnal. It's of the flesh, not in 00:13:16.929 --> 00:13:23.009 the sense of sinful flesh, but just of this world. 00:13:23.570 --> 00:13:28.029 Does that make sense? That's what carnality is. 00:13:29.009 --> 00:13:33.309 Sourcing. So, I know one thing from all of my 00:13:33.309 --> 00:13:37.250 wife's study on food. That sourcing matters. 00:13:38.629 --> 00:13:46.110 Where you get things matter. Not all meat is 00:13:46.110 --> 00:13:54.090 created equal. Is that right? So there are places 00:13:54.090 --> 00:14:00.750 that if I report to her that I ate at, she is 00:14:00.750 --> 00:14:05.929 immediately thinking of the source of that food 00:14:05.929 --> 00:14:10.450 and what that is potentially doing in my body. 00:14:13.049 --> 00:14:16.110 She doesn't like any chemicals injected into 00:14:16.110 --> 00:14:22.309 meat. Sourcing matters. Where you get things 00:14:22.309 --> 00:14:26.330 from. She liked it that Steak and Shake just 00:14:26.330 --> 00:14:29.210 announced that all their meat comes from grass 00:14:29.210 --> 00:14:34.330 -fed beef. I like that too. I have permission 00:14:34.330 --> 00:14:47.379 now. Sourcing matters. Where you get something 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:57.080 matters. And this whole verse, the weapons of 00:14:57.080 --> 00:15:04.379 our warfare are not carnal. It means their source 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:09.850 is not of this world. Their source does not come 00:15:09.850 --> 00:15:14.210 from humanity. The source of these weapons is 00:15:14.210 --> 00:15:18.049 not your pastor. The source of these weapons 00:15:18.049 --> 00:15:23.789 is not how well we understand things in our own 00:15:23.789 --> 00:15:28.990 mind. The source of the weapons of our warfare, 00:15:29.070 --> 00:15:31.330 we're going to get to what they are in a moment. 00:15:32.299 --> 00:15:35.559 The first thing that Paul says here is that the 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:39.639 source of these weapons does not come from man, 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:46.720 but from God. They are sourced in heaven. And 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:50.379 you as a believer, my friend, you have the opportunity 00:15:50.379 --> 00:15:55.320 to get resources that are beyond what you can 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:58.639 see with your eyes. You have the ability to get 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:02.919 resources that are beyond what you can buy at 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:07.179 a store or are tangible with your hands. You 00:16:07.179 --> 00:16:11.860 have access to the heavens. Hallelujah. And that's 00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:15.580 good news. Every son and daughter, you have access 00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:20.519 to sourcing in heaven. Glory to God. Glory to 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:23.980 God. You know what carnality produces? People 00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:28.279 think that these are in the Bible. God helps 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:32.799 those who help themselves. Did you know that 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:37.600 that is not a verse in the Bible? That comes 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:41.950 from carnality. That comes from thinking, human 00:16:41.950 --> 00:16:48.889 thinking. God helps those who die to self and 00:16:48.889 --> 00:16:57.529 look to him and trust him. Amen? Here's one that 00:16:57.529 --> 00:17:01.710 Shakespeare wrote that people think is in the 00:17:01.710 --> 00:17:07.890 Bible. To thine own self be true. Have you ever 00:17:07.890 --> 00:17:10.519 heard that? Have you ever read a form of that 00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:14.240 on Facebook? I've just got to discover myself 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:18.779 and be true to myself. And if you love somebody, 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:20.819 you know, and they're going through a decision 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:23.819 process and you tell them, just be true to yourself. 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:30.140 That is not scriptural. It is not in the Bible. 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:36.240 And so that comes from human carnality. That's 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:40.720 where that comes from. Did you know who said 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:44.940 this first? God hates sin but loves the sinner. 00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:53.539 Do you know who said that first? Gandhi. That 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:58.200 is a statement that comes from Hinduism. That's 00:17:58.200 --> 00:18:03.019 interesting, isn't it? Some of those elements, 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:05.099 how many of you know that God loves sinners? 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:11.079 And God hates sin. But did you know that it's 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:14.839 this kind of phraseology that makes people think 00:18:14.839 --> 00:18:17.140 that, well, God's going to forgive me no matter 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:22.240 what I do. It is not the truth. There are people 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:26.579 on judgment day that God is going to assign to 00:18:26.579 --> 00:18:34.920 darkness and utter hell. Carnality in the church. 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:41.440 As long as we operate in carnality, all's we 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:46.539 have is the best that man can come up with. But 00:18:46.539 --> 00:18:51.880 when we tap into the resources of heaven, then 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:56.799 we rise way above. Why is that? Because God said, 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:00.559 your thoughts are not my thoughts, nor mine yours. 00:19:00.700 --> 00:19:04.000 As the heavens are higher than the earth, so 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:08.839 are my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Now 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:15.319 the best ideas of man, do they compare with God? 00:19:16.460 --> 00:19:21.680 I want the resources of heaven. I want what God 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:26.900 has for me. Hallelujah. I want to tap into his 00:19:26.900 --> 00:19:30.180 thinking. I want to tap into his solutions. I 00:19:30.180 --> 00:19:33.539 want to tap into what he has to say. Glory to 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:38.630 God. When we operate in carnality, then we limit 00:19:38.630 --> 00:19:42.230 ourselves to our own solutions. We stay safe 00:19:42.230 --> 00:19:45.170 in our Christianity. We're predictable. We're 00:19:45.170 --> 00:19:50.309 sensible. But we are not following the Holy Spirit. 00:19:51.190 --> 00:19:55.890 The weapons of God are not sourced in human reasoning. 00:19:56.250 --> 00:20:03.450 They come from heaven. I want to give you, if 00:20:03.450 --> 00:20:06.660 I can, find this really quick. I want to give 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:13.359 you something that I experienced through this 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:24.059 vehicle situation. One of my Facebook friends 00:20:24.059 --> 00:20:36.299 recently posted this. Like a good neighbor, State 00:20:36.299 --> 00:20:39.400 Farm is deceptive, greedy, and truly only cares 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:51.039 about making shareholders money. Well, you can 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:59.519 imagine the comments. But that has not been true 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:06.420 in my case. This was posted two weeks ago. The 00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:16.339 accident. And here was my reply. State Farm has 00:21:16.339 --> 00:21:21.420 paid me lots of money through the years. A new 00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:27.359 roof that got me out of debt. They cleaned up 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:33.240 my yard after a tornado. Two different deer that 00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:38.230 they... rewarded me with accidents that I did 00:21:38.230 --> 00:21:42.410 not cause, that they have taken care of me. I 00:21:42.410 --> 00:21:44.829 have never had any issues with State Farm at 00:21:44.829 --> 00:21:54.109 all. I wrote that two weeks ago, and I hit this 00:21:54.109 --> 00:22:01.890 tire. And I turned to claim in, and as we were 00:22:01.890 --> 00:22:06.119 driving home, I said to Cammie, I really feel 00:22:06.119 --> 00:22:11.640 like the Lord's going to take care of us. I really 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:16.640 feel like God's going to take care of us. And 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:28.380 so I filed a claim. And I got the word back. 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:32.019 That because the tire was on the ground and not 00:22:32.019 --> 00:22:43.640 in the air, your claim is denied. And so I still 00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:46.519 felt the peace of the Lord, but then when I got 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:50.660 the letter from State Farm, it said, we have 00:22:50.660 --> 00:22:53.359 determined that you have caused this accident. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:23:01.579 That kind of shook me a little bit. And so I 00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:08.740 wrote an appeal. And I said, whether you cover 00:23:08.740 --> 00:23:13.740 the accident or not, you have accused me of causing 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:18.859 this accident. And I am appealing. And then I 00:23:18.859 --> 00:23:24.920 finished the letter. Forgot about it. Last Wednesday, 00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:27.960 right before I went to the seniors meeting, I 00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:32.240 got a call from a young man at State Farm. And 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:34.960 he said, you've appealed, and I'm the one that 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:38.180 decides whether your appeal goes through or not. 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:41.980 Tell me everything that happened. And I told 00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:44.039 him everything that happened exactly like it 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:47.140 did. And he said, I'm going to call you back 00:23:47.140 --> 00:23:50.890 in five minutes with my decision. And I said, 00:23:50.890 --> 00:23:52.349 well, you better hurry because I got a seniors 00:23:52.349 --> 00:23:56.309 meeting that starts in seven minutes. He called 00:23:56.309 --> 00:24:02.730 me back and he said, sir, I have found, I have 00:24:02.730 --> 00:24:06.210 examined your policy. I have found in your policy 00:24:06.210 --> 00:24:08.769 that your vehicle is covered if a missile hits 00:24:08.769 --> 00:24:13.269 your vehicle. He said, I don't know if a tire 00:24:13.269 --> 00:24:16.369 is a missile or not, but we are going to cover 00:24:16.369 --> 00:24:21.220 your vehicle. As if this tire was a missile. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:27.740 And I want to say praise God for that. I want 00:24:27.740 --> 00:24:30.700 to say praise God for that. What does the Word 00:24:30.700 --> 00:24:36.319 of God say? Over and over and over again, the 00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:47.059 Word of God says, bless and do not curse. Bless. 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:51.740 and do not curse. I had about five verses pulled 00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:57.140 up here that teach us to bless and do not curse. 00:24:57.240 --> 00:24:59.940 See, when all of this happened, it was later 00:24:59.940 --> 00:25:03.720 on, I was praying and I felt the Lord whisper 00:25:03.720 --> 00:25:08.480 to me that defense that I gave of State Farm. 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:12.680 And you see, we're used to letting things fly 00:25:12.680 --> 00:25:18.140 out of our mouth, whatever we want to say. But 00:25:18.140 --> 00:25:24.099 that's not blessing. That is cursing. You want 00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:28.640 God to do great things through your life? You've 00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:31.160 got to use the weapons of our warfare that are 00:25:31.160 --> 00:25:36.019 not carnal, but are mighty in God. Your mouth 00:25:36.019 --> 00:25:39.859 is one of those weapons. One of the things that 00:25:39.859 --> 00:25:42.839 can work against you as a believer is that you're 00:25:42.839 --> 00:25:45.500 cursing everything. You're cursing everything 00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:48.660 all the time. You're more familiar with everything 00:25:48.660 --> 00:25:51.319 that's wrong. What's wrong with this? What's 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:55.319 wrong with that? And really what it is is it's 00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:59.319 a complaining, grumbling spirit. But if we will 00:25:59.319 --> 00:26:04.980 use our mouth to bless instead of curse, God 00:26:04.980 --> 00:26:09.099 will open up doors. It will break down strongholds. 00:26:09.099 --> 00:26:14.079 It will move the hand of God in a situation. 00:26:16.329 --> 00:26:20.609 Because we bless. Because we do not curse. It 00:26:20.609 --> 00:26:24.190 got awful quiet in here. It got really quiet 00:26:24.190 --> 00:26:30.410 in here. Because we bless. God has called us 00:26:30.410 --> 00:26:33.829 to be a people in the earth. We are the salt 00:26:33.829 --> 00:26:38.289 of the earth. But your speech is no different 00:26:38.289 --> 00:26:41.289 than the people in your workplace. How are you 00:26:41.289 --> 00:26:45.339 going to be the salt of the earth? If you look 00:26:45.339 --> 00:26:48.460 the same as the people, if you walk the same, 00:26:48.500 --> 00:26:51.819 and if you talk the same, God will not use you 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:58.660 in that. That's carnality. It's carnality. God 00:26:58.660 --> 00:27:05.359 is calling you to rise above carnality so that 00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:08.079 you can operate in the things of the Spirit. 00:27:08.259 --> 00:27:12.490 Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I feel the presence of 00:27:12.490 --> 00:27:17.269 the Lord in this this morning. We live in the 00:27:17.269 --> 00:27:22.690 world, but we do not war according to the world. 00:27:23.990 --> 00:27:28.130 The weapons of our warfare, they are not carnal, 00:27:28.230 --> 00:27:36.630 but they are mighty in God. Hallelujah. God loves 00:27:36.630 --> 00:27:39.490 you enough that he's given you access to heavenly 00:27:40.170 --> 00:27:45.390 sourcing. These weapons that we wage war with, 00:27:45.630 --> 00:27:51.309 they are sourced in heaven, and they have heavenly 00:27:51.309 --> 00:27:55.809 results. Jesus told us to pray, Lord, let your 00:27:55.809 --> 00:28:01.130 will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Hallelujah. 00:28:01.309 --> 00:28:05.910 That's Matthew 6 .10. The weapons of our warfare. 00:28:06.470 --> 00:28:10.930 What are these weapons? Well, Paul was referring 00:28:10.930 --> 00:28:14.690 specifically to the authority that he has in 00:28:14.690 --> 00:28:18.650 God. The authority that he had in his calling 00:28:18.650 --> 00:28:23.009 as an apostle. Everybody say the word authority. 00:28:24.130 --> 00:28:28.369 Now, there is positional authority that you do 00:28:28.369 --> 00:28:34.319 not have. This past week, my wife was elected 00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:37.220 as the assistant presbyter of our section. I 00:28:37.220 --> 00:28:39.460 passed the baton to her. I was the assistant. 00:28:39.619 --> 00:28:44.559 Now she's the assistant. Okay, so that is a position 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:49.579 of authority in the section. It is positional 00:28:49.579 --> 00:28:53.740 authority. Paul had positional authority as an 00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:58.890 apostle. And so you have been given... If you're 00:28:58.890 --> 00:29:01.690 a mom or a dad, you have positional authority 00:29:01.690 --> 00:29:06.750 in your family, right? You have positional authority. 00:29:07.829 --> 00:29:12.750 If you are a business owner, you have positional 00:29:12.750 --> 00:29:16.490 authority, okay? So some of you are thinking 00:29:16.490 --> 00:29:19.269 about different roles in your life where God 00:29:19.269 --> 00:29:23.509 has given you authority. Paul was defending his 00:29:23.509 --> 00:29:27.819 authority as an apostle. But there is also an 00:29:27.819 --> 00:29:32.059 authority that comes as a believer that is not 00:29:32.059 --> 00:29:35.680 positional authority. It is spiritual kingdom 00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:41.220 authority that you have as a child of God. Hallelujah. 00:29:42.359 --> 00:29:45.880 You have authority that has been given to you 00:29:45.880 --> 00:29:50.720 as a child of the living God. Let me read one 00:29:50.720 --> 00:30:12.750 of them to you. Matthew 28, 19. the end of the 00:30:12.750 --> 00:30:16.670 age. I want to read Mark's version of that. Let 00:30:16.670 --> 00:30:20.450 me look that up in Mark chapter 16 because it 00:30:20.450 --> 00:30:23.910 really highlights our authority that we've been 00:30:23.910 --> 00:30:28.980 given in Christ even greater. He says this, Go 00:30:28.980 --> 00:30:32.099 into all the world, this is verse 15, and preach 00:30:32.099 --> 00:30:35.220 the gospel to every creature. He who believes 00:30:35.220 --> 00:30:38.380 and is baptized will be saved, but he who does 00:30:38.380 --> 00:30:41.440 not believe will be condemned. And these signs 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:45.160 will follow those who believe. In my name they 00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:47.980 will cast out demons. They will speak with new 00:30:47.980 --> 00:30:50.839 tongues. They will take up deadly servants. If 00:30:50.839 --> 00:30:53.079 they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt 00:30:53.079 --> 00:30:56.619 them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they 00:30:56.619 --> 00:31:03.079 will recover. Hallelujah. Now this is your authority 00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:08.359 that God has given to you as a believer. Amen? 00:31:09.140 --> 00:31:14.420 It's a weapon of your warfare. I feel like this 00:31:14.420 --> 00:31:18.019 morning that we need to open up our hearts and 00:31:18.019 --> 00:31:22.559 receive the authority that God has given to us. 00:31:23.099 --> 00:31:26.140 Look at your neighbor and say, you have authority. 00:31:28.359 --> 00:31:30.220 Now look at your neighbor and say it one more 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:36.799 time like you really mean it. You have authority. 00:31:38.119 --> 00:31:44.980 You have authority. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. When 00:31:44.980 --> 00:31:52.059 people come to me and they say, Pastor, I need 00:31:52.059 --> 00:31:58.829 healing. And I come to them and say, Oh, I just 00:31:58.829 --> 00:32:01.730 want you to know I understand what you're going 00:32:01.730 --> 00:32:07.529 through. I just want you to know that, you know, 00:32:07.549 --> 00:32:11.509 you're going to get through this. You know what 00:32:11.509 --> 00:32:14.470 I'm doing is I'm trying to empathize with them. 00:32:15.029 --> 00:32:18.670 And some people might appreciate that, but they 00:32:18.670 --> 00:32:23.069 didn't come to me for empathy. They came to me 00:32:23.069 --> 00:32:31.869 to find healing in Jesus' name. And so if I only 00:32:31.869 --> 00:32:39.069 console and if I only offer empathy and I never 00:32:39.069 --> 00:32:45.549 step into authority, I forfeit the weapons of 00:32:45.549 --> 00:32:51.630 our warfare. In the name of being a friend and 00:32:51.630 --> 00:32:55.990 somebody people like, but I'm not operating in 00:32:55.990 --> 00:33:01.660 authority. God has given us authority to operate 00:33:01.660 --> 00:33:05.799 in. Oh, this is a good word, friends. Matthew 00:33:05.799 --> 00:33:08.680 chapter 10. Let's go there. Matthew chapter 10. 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:11.700 We're talking about the weapons of our warfare. 00:33:11.960 --> 00:33:20.599 And this is Jesus. And let's read verse 1. And 00:33:20.599 --> 00:33:24.440 when he had called his 12 disciples to him, he 00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:27.660 gave them power over unclean spirits to cast 00:33:27.660 --> 00:33:30.900 them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and 00:33:30.900 --> 00:33:34.400 all kinds of disease. And then you skip down 00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:37.759 to, he's telling them to go out. In verse 8, 00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:40.460 he just simply says, heal the sick, cleanse the 00:33:40.460 --> 00:33:43.400 lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely 00:33:43.400 --> 00:33:49.140 you have received, freely give. If a church would 00:33:49.140 --> 00:33:53.220 awaken with authority, we would no longer need 00:33:53.220 --> 00:34:01.240 advertising. You see, advertising is in the carnal 00:34:01.240 --> 00:34:04.359 realm. It doesn't mean it's not effective. It 00:34:04.359 --> 00:34:10.960 doesn't mean that we can't use it. God called 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:14.059 them to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise 00:34:14.059 --> 00:34:16.820 the dead, cast out demons, freely you have received, 00:34:16.960 --> 00:34:19.940 freely give. What if the church awakens to its 00:34:19.940 --> 00:34:24.780 authority in the earth? What if the church starts 00:34:24.780 --> 00:34:29.059 using the weapons of our warfare that are not 00:34:29.059 --> 00:34:32.519 carnal but are mighty in God for the tearing 00:34:32.519 --> 00:34:37.480 down of strongholds? What if parents start using 00:34:37.480 --> 00:34:41.659 their authority in their homes? Not in an abusive 00:34:41.659 --> 00:34:46.880 way, but in a real genuine Christian way. When 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:49.500 it comes to what they allow into their house. 00:34:51.420 --> 00:34:54.099 Are you just going to keep tolerating that sickness 00:34:54.099 --> 00:34:56.320 that just keeps coming and coming and coming 00:34:56.320 --> 00:34:59.139 and coming? Are you going to rise up in the authority 00:34:59.139 --> 00:35:06.400 that you have, Father? Mother? Jesus has given 00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:12.980 us authority, a weapon of our warfare. I'm going 00:35:12.980 --> 00:35:15.460 to stop right here. There are lots of other weapons 00:35:15.460 --> 00:35:19.480 of our warfare. But I'm going to stop right here 00:35:19.480 --> 00:35:31.320 because some of you are in situations where you 00:35:31.320 --> 00:35:35.519 need authority to come into your home. You need 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:41.360 authority to come into your body. You need authority. 00:35:41.579 --> 00:35:45.980 You need the authority of God to be released 00:35:45.980 --> 00:35:49.780 into your situation. Jesus did it with the 12 00:35:49.780 --> 00:35:52.900 here. But then we just read Mark 16. He didn't 00:35:52.900 --> 00:35:54.920 just do it with the 12. He did it with every 00:35:54.920 --> 00:36:00.340 believer. He who believes. How many of you are 00:36:00.340 --> 00:36:07.190 ready to operate on a higher plane? Many of you 00:36:07.190 --> 00:36:11.530 are ready to tap in to your heavenly resource. 00:36:13.929 --> 00:36:22.989 Rise up. Rise up. It wasn't just Paul. It was 00:36:22.989 --> 00:36:31.570 every believer. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Heal 00:36:31.570 --> 00:36:33.829 the sick. Cleanse the lepers. Raise the dead. 00:36:34.289 --> 00:36:38.400 Cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely 00:36:38.400 --> 00:36:42.960 give. Now later on, I might revisit this and 00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:47.400 talk about more weapons of our warfare. But God 00:36:47.400 --> 00:36:52.159 has equipped you, son. God has equipped you, 00:36:52.239 --> 00:37:03.159 daughter. He has equipped you from heaven to 00:37:03.159 --> 00:37:10.960 be an overcomer. To be an overcomer. So we're 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:14.099 going to stop right there. And I just want to 00:37:14.099 --> 00:37:20.059 ask the question this morning. How many of you 00:37:20.059 --> 00:37:25.420 in your life, in the lives of your friends, in 00:37:25.420 --> 00:37:29.159 the lives of the people that you know, need the 00:37:29.159 --> 00:37:32.280 God of victory to move and do something powerful? 00:37:33.559 --> 00:37:36.659 Come on. That's what we're believing for this 00:37:36.659 --> 00:37:45.659 morning. And Paul's word is that you have weapons 00:37:45.659 --> 00:37:50.340 of warfare that are not carnal but mighty in 00:37:50.340 --> 00:37:54.300 God. There are some things that God will do, 00:37:54.440 --> 00:37:58.619 but he's not going to do them until you operate 00:37:58.619 --> 00:38:05.320 in the authority that God has given you. I would 00:38:05.320 --> 00:38:09.139 say, There's been lots of times where I have 00:38:09.139 --> 00:38:15.460 missed it. Where I have not risen up to the occasion. 00:38:17.780 --> 00:38:22.440 And we repent of that in Jesus' name. But God 00:38:22.440 --> 00:38:27.159 lifts us up and calls us up to a new place. And 00:38:27.159 --> 00:38:33.059 says, come on. Come on. Step in. Step into what 00:38:33.059 --> 00:38:37.070 I have for you. Step into what I have for you. 00:38:37.650 --> 00:38:41.349 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. If you raised 00:38:41.349 --> 00:38:46.150 your hand earlier, I want to ask you to just 00:38:46.150 --> 00:38:52.829 stand up where you are. You raised your hand 00:38:52.829 --> 00:38:57.130 earlier. You have a situation in your own family, 00:38:57.269 --> 00:39:00.670 in your own life. You need the authority of heaven. 00:39:01.730 --> 00:39:05.989 Hallelujah. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. 00:39:07.130 --> 00:39:13.150 Praise God. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father. 00:39:14.769 --> 00:39:19.210 We give you praise, Lord. Just right where you 00:39:19.210 --> 00:39:23.010 are, just if you need to close your eyes to help 00:39:23.010 --> 00:39:27.789 you, but just begin to talk to the Lord. Begin 00:39:27.789 --> 00:39:30.769 to say, God, don't let this verse just stay on 00:39:30.769 --> 00:39:34.789 a page, but let it be lived out in my life in 00:39:34.789 --> 00:39:39.909 Jesus' name. Have a conversation with the Lord 00:39:39.909 --> 00:39:43.630 right now in Jesus' name. Thank you, Father. 00:39:44.690 --> 00:39:49.190 Lord, we just ask you that your presence, God, 00:39:49.269 --> 00:39:53.989 will minister in Jesus' name. When you came to 00:39:53.989 --> 00:39:56.369 Gideon and you said, greetings, mighty warrior, 00:39:58.159 --> 00:40:02.460 He didn't feel like a warrior. There's people 00:40:02.460 --> 00:40:04.980 in this room that, like Gideon, don't feel like 00:40:04.980 --> 00:40:08.940 a warrior. But you are calling them to a higher 00:40:08.940 --> 00:40:16.199 place in you. In Jesus' name. Thank you, Father. 00:40:17.840 --> 00:40:24.340 Thank you, Father. Glory to God. We look to you 00:40:24.340 --> 00:40:32.889 right now. We look to you now, Lord Jesus. Hallelujah. 00:40:34.489 --> 00:40:41.670 We embrace the weapon of authority, not in an 00:40:41.670 --> 00:40:51.949 arrogant way, but humbly, genuinely, saying, 00:40:52.030 --> 00:40:54.170 God, thank you for the authority that you've 00:40:54.170 --> 00:41:00.769 given to us. In the name of Jesus, we receive 00:41:00.769 --> 00:41:09.690 that assignment and that calling. In just a moment, 00:41:09.710 --> 00:41:12.510 we're going to use this weapon of authority and 00:41:12.510 --> 00:41:15.849 we're going to speak to this mountain to be moved 00:41:15.849 --> 00:41:19.190 in Jesus' name. We're going to speak for this 00:41:19.190 --> 00:41:24.510 sickness to be healed in Jesus' name. We're going 00:41:24.510 --> 00:41:29.170 to use the weapon of authority in Jesus' name. 00:41:30.550 --> 00:41:37.610 Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, 00:41:37.610 --> 00:41:42.929 Father. Thank you, Father. We give you praise. 00:41:43.769 --> 00:41:48.750 We are not helpless and left alone. You've given 00:41:48.750 --> 00:41:54.800 us weapons and tools to fight with. In Jesus' 00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.079 name. God, I pray that Holy Spirit grit will 00:41:59.079 --> 00:42:02.880 rise up in people right now. I pray that faith 00:42:02.880 --> 00:42:05.900 will rise up in people right now in Jesus' name. 00:42:06.559 --> 00:42:09.260 And I want to ask God that as they speak to this 00:42:09.260 --> 00:42:12.840 mountain that they're standing up facing, that 00:42:12.840 --> 00:42:16.920 speak to this giant like David did. David tapped 00:42:16.920 --> 00:42:20.179 into heavenly resources when he spoke to Goliath. 00:42:20.699 --> 00:42:24.550 I thank you for that, God. I thank You for that, 00:42:24.590 --> 00:42:29.929 God. We tap in right now. And we speak to this 00:42:29.929 --> 00:42:33.170 giant with the authority that You've given to 00:42:33.170 --> 00:42:36.269 us. In Jesus' name.