1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,440 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,680 in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,920 Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism, 4 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:27,300 discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church 5 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:31,880 and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bigford and I will be your 6 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,420 host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing 7 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:48,540 to you and bring you closer to God. Good morning and welcome to the Potter's 8 00:00:48,540 --> 00:00:55,840 House Church podcast. So we're the P.H.S.A.s, we're the Potter's House and Salmon Arm. My 9 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:00,360 name is David Bigford, I'm the pastor at the Potter's House here in Salmon Arm and today's 10 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:06,400 message that I put together is entitled, Seer School. Seer School is Survival, Evasion, 11 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:11,600 Resistance, Escape School. So that's what we're going to be looking at. Today is Survival, 12 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:17,580 Evasion, Resistance and Escape. And kind of going back again through some of my history 13 00:01:17,580 --> 00:01:22,220 in the military, but the text that we'll be using as our jumping off point this morning 14 00:01:22,220 --> 00:01:31,960 is 1 Corinthians 10 verses 1 through 13. And so that'll be where we're going to be spending 15 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:37,860 most of our time today. But with that, I want to jump in. So in late, in February 2000, 16 00:01:37,860 --> 00:01:42,520 I was a private first class, a PFC in the United States Marine Corps. I had just finished 17 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:50,780 Marine Boot Camp in early November 99. And from there I went home to what we call bootleave. 18 00:01:50,780 --> 00:01:55,480 So bootleave is when you get like about 10 days off to visit your family, flaunt all 19 00:01:55,480 --> 00:02:01,800 your accomplishments of surviving boot camp, and then prove to everybody that you did it. 20 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:06,040 You made it. Now you're in United States Marines. So when I went into boot camp, I was weighing 21 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:11,520 about 200 pounds, which is what I've pretty much stayed at for a good chunk of my life 22 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:19,120 up to this point. But when I left boot camp, I was weighing 167 pounds. I felt great. And 23 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:26,840 for the only time in my life I had a 29 inch waist. And I remember how amazing, amazingly 24 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:33,000 weird that felt even at that age. But surviving boot camp, in some ways is like getting saved. 25 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:38,680 Now, by no means is it the same, but what I but just kind of bear with me with this idea. 26 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:43,080 The hardships and burdens of life that have beaten you down, are all of a sudden lifted 27 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:48,600 in an instant, you feel this sense of freedom, that is not unlike, you know, a sinner who 28 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:54,200 gets set free from the bondage of sin. Even so, life is full of challenges, new obstacles 29 00:02:54,200 --> 00:03:00,000 come to us all. And as a new Christian or an old Christian, life has its way to challenge 30 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:06,040 us in a new inventive ways. So similarly, after you leave boot camp, now you leave boot 31 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:12,600 camp on this absolute emotional high, you've done something that very few people can claim 32 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:19,940 to have accomplished in the US military, the United States Marines are an oddity unto themselves. 33 00:03:19,940 --> 00:03:25,800 It's the hardest boot camp of any of the armed services in the United States. In fact, the 34 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:31,840 US Air Force will, you know, I've seen videos where their drill sergeants will say, we're 35 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:36,700 not here to make you Marines. And so it's a very typical thing that I've heard said, 36 00:03:36,700 --> 00:03:39,960 you know, from a lot of the branches is that we're not here to make you a bunch of, you 37 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:45,320 know, a bunch of stupid Marines. And so they use it as a derogatory term. But we Marines, 38 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:49,360 we take that as a badge of honor, because we know that we signed up for something that 39 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:54,480 was hard, something that was not meant to be easily accomplished. So you leave boot 40 00:03:54,480 --> 00:04:01,680 camp with this huge, you know, emotional high. But after boot camp, after your boot leave, 41 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:07,600 when you come back to reality, which is again, similar to when you get saved, you come, you 42 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,520 give your life to Jesus Christ, you feel this weight, this burden lifted from you, you feel 43 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:20,240 this exuberance of joy that floods in because all joy comes from the Lord. Now, with that, 44 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:26,660 that's great. That's fantastic. But there is going to be a time in your life when reality 45 00:04:26,660 --> 00:04:32,880 sets in and you realize there's a lot more road to go on, go down on your walk with Christ. 46 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:37,760 So similarly, when you leave boot camp, and then you come back, you have two training 47 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:42,680 centers you're going to go to, you either go to SOI, which is the School of Infantry 48 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:49,400 where you learn the trade of an infantryman, or you go to MCT, which is Marine Combat Training, 49 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:53,200 which is a shortened form of the infantry course, you know, for Marines that are not 50 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:58,520 going to be in the infantry. So I went to Marine Combat Training from late November 51 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:03,800 to December of 99. And the course is about four weeks long, you're trained in various 52 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:09,960 warfighting techniques and on various weapons systems. This course is hard physically, but 53 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:14,600 we're all Marines now. So it's overall pretty fun. And unlike basic training, we do get 54 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:20,280 time off, you know, at the in the evenings and on the weekends. So it, it has a feeling 55 00:05:20,280 --> 00:05:26,520 of liberty still attached to it. So again, overall, this is, you know, of course, like 56 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:31,880 the the new believer high things in life are different now, but hey, I can handle it. After 57 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:36,680 all, I'm a Marine or after all, I'm a Christian. When you're a new believer, you feel like 58 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:41,760 you can take on the world. Nothing can stop you because you have Jesus. And that is, that 59 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:46,880 is a great time. And I remember this being a great time in the Marine Corps as well. 60 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:51,520 At this point of my life, though, I was not saved. I was living a heathen lifestyle to 61 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:56,080 the fullest. And of course, I was a young Marine. So you kind of expect that I was ready 62 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,800 to fight and die for my country. I wouldn't I would not die, of course, because every 63 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:05,400 young Marine believes they're invincible. I passed through MCT mostly unscathed. And 64 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:12,120 now I was finally on my way to my first MOS or military occupational specialty training. 65 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:17,800 And that next stop was in Pensacola, Florida, and the school of which is called NACAS or 66 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:23,440 Navy Aircrew Candidate School. This is when life started to become real. But I didn't 67 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:29,400 understand how real it was going to become just yet. This was just the first of many 68 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:34,200 storms to come. So let's turn to our text in First Corinthians 10, verses one through 69 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:40,020 13, the temptations of God's faithfulness. For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, 70 00:06:40,020 --> 00:06:45,760 that our father were all under that our fathers were all under the cloud and passed through 71 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:50,960 the sea and are all baptized into Moses in the cloud and then the sea. And all ate the 72 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:55,200 same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink for they were drinking from 73 00:06:55,200 --> 00:07:01,640 a spiritual rock which followed followed them and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with 74 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:06,600 most of them, God was not well pleased, for they were struck down in the wilderness. Now 75 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:11,720 these things that happened as examples for us so that we could not crave the evil or 76 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:17,360 that we would not crave the evil things as they also crave. Do not be idolaters as some 77 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:22,160 of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and stood up to 78 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:31,880 play nor let us act in a sexually sexual immorality as some of them did. And 23,000 fell in one 79 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:37,120 day nor let us put on put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by 80 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:42,840 the serpents nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these 81 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:47,320 things happened to them as examples and they were written for our instruction upon whom 82 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:52,640 the ends of the age have arrived. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that 83 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:58,520 he does not fall. No temptation is overtaken you but such as is common to man. But God 84 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:05,440 is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. But with the temptation, 85 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:10,800 it will provide the way of escape so that you will be able to endure it. The first point 86 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:16,280 we're going to look at is survival and evasion. And then we're going to so with that let's 87 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:21,680 look at this next portion of my training when I was in the military. Navy Air Crew Training 88 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:28,040 School or Navy Air Crew Canada School. A quick description from the internet here is the 89 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:33,640 US Navy is an expert at training people to serve on air crews. They send candidates to 90 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:37,760 the Naval Air Crew Canada School. It's located in Pensacola, Florida. It incorporates a very 91 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:42,860 challenging physical regimen with skills and training to be able to operate the various 92 00:08:42,860 --> 00:08:47,880 systems required for operational flight crews. One of the more difficult qualifications to 93 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:53,200 earn is the gold wings with the letters AC branded on it. Navy Air Crews are proud to 94 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:57,680 bear they face a lot of difficulty and daunting challenges when they undergo the training 95 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:02,840 to earn these wings. The training is a lot like boot camp in its physical intensity but 96 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:07,580 that is where the similarity ends. Many people envision aircrew school from a distance and 97 00:09:07,580 --> 00:09:12,520 perhaps a mini vacation. They think of Balmy, Florida. They think they will see a little 98 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,840 sun, a little surf and maybe some sunbathing. Well, those thoughts are quickly dashed once 99 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:22,200 arriving in NACA is to even win the right to attend before even leaving boot camp candidates 100 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:30,400 must pass a level two swim test. That swim test is is a serious business. When I was 101 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:37,160 going through swim qual and boot camp, I was really trying to get swim qual one. But the 102 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:41,320 difference between swim qual two, which I did accomplish in swim qual one is this huge 103 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:49,200 chasm where I remember being drugged to the bottom of the pool with a and I rate, you 104 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:54,760 know, drill instructor, Marine drill instructor, putting a choke hold on me. And I'm trying 105 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:58,720 to reach for the pressure points they taught us. I'm trying to get them to get off me. 106 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:03,360 I get them to get off me once and then he I'm still underwater and he wraps me up again 107 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:09,160 and starts taking me back down to the bottom of the pool. Eventually I had to tap out and 108 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:13,960 I wasn't able to get that swim call one. Luckily I was able to keep the swim qual two. But 109 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:20,160 I remember how dramatic that event was in basic training. It was one of the most insane 110 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:25,720 events I'd ever done. It's up to that point. So the physical fitness assessment must be 111 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:31,200 passed with a satisfactory medium on all different levels for their for their age, their sex. 112 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:35,520 They also have to pass a flight physical before ever setting foot in Florida at the NACA's 113 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:40,480 duty station. Attending the Navy Air Crew School is not for everyone. The participants 114 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:45,840 are all volunteer members of active duty Navy and the competition must or the competition 115 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:51,000 just to get in is intense. After gaining access to the school and beginning training at any 116 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:56,540 time sailors can request to drop out for any reason. In this respect, the school is much 117 00:10:56,540 --> 00:11:04,320 like the famed SEAL training. So how some of the highlights I remember from NACA's were 118 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:11,940 the spin and puke. Now that's that's a very funny name right for for basically the tea 119 00:11:11,940 --> 00:11:18,100 cup ride at Disneyland but much faster and much more intense with some actual like things 120 00:11:18,100 --> 00:11:24,860 that you have to do inside of the container that you're spinning in. That's a not a very 121 00:11:24,860 --> 00:11:30,720 fun fun test if I can if I could say that that makes everybody sick and it's it's less 122 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:35,880 fun than it sounds. Then the other one that I remember is the hypoxia chamber that was 123 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:39,800 a lot of fun. That's the one where it simulates you being at high altitude and what happens 124 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:46,620 at high altitude is you start getting like you know the effects of low oxygen which which 125 00:11:46,620 --> 00:11:50,640 are similar to being higher on a drug or some sort of stimulant. You can't you can't move 126 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:57,080 you can't think it gets to be a very interesting situation and there you also have the one 127 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:01,700 mile swim requirement that was that was a pretty fun you know requirement towards the 128 00:12:01,700 --> 00:12:06,520 end of the course to be able to say yeah I can swim a mile no problem. And then lastly 129 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:11,040 was the dunk tank. The dunk tank is an awesome experience but terrifying where you're in 130 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:16,880 a simulated helicopter they drop in the water it rotates 100 it rotates upside down and 131 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:21,800 you have to be able to egress from a simulated aircraft. You do it once with a without a 132 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:26,400 blindfold and you do it a couple of times blindfolded and pitch black with Navy divers 133 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,800 down there to mess you up if you don't do things the right way. So that was a lot of 134 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:36,040 fun and very intimidating for a lot of people. In Romans five one through five it says therefore 135 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:41,840 having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through 136 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:47,240 whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into the grace in which we stand 137 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:52,840 and we boast in hope of the glory of God and not only this but we also boast in our afflictions 138 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:58,240 knowing that affliction brings about perseverance and perseverance proving character and proving 139 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:03,720 character hope and hope does not put to shame because the love of God has been poured out 140 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:09,640 within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. NACAS was a crazy experience 141 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:14,160 designed to break down our fear of the water being a naval air crewman meant that much 142 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:18,840 of our time was going to be spent over the water and the and the chance of crashing in 143 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:24,400 the ocean was high and this training was extremely necessary. Some of our group didn't make it 144 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:31,360 the water was too much was was too much for them the dunk tank was too much and even those 145 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:35,480 who made it through this leg of training it was becoming clear that we were in for a very 146 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:41,960 hard road in the Navy and the Marines. What we didn't know is that our next leg was going 147 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:47,600 to be the worst yet. I graduated NACAS in February 2000 and now a few Marines and I 148 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:54,120 were headed off to the dreaded Sears School. We had just learned the basic the basics of 149 00:13:54,120 --> 00:14:00,920 survival in the water at that NACAS but now we had to add other elements to the mix. At 150 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:05,000 NACAS you were mostly battling your mind your fears and your own perceived limits but at 151 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:12,920 Sears Sears School you are going to be hunted literally. First Peter 5 8 says be sober minded 152 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:19,120 be watchful your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone 153 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:24,880 to devour. So survival evasion and resistance escape school is described this way many people 154 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:31,840 remember the the movie Black Hawk Down or the situ or the book Black Hawk Down. This 155 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:39,880 military situation was published in like I said in both book and movie. Well one of the 156 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:47,040 officers who were involved in Black Hawk Down credits the training he received in Sear for 157 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:52,140 his return to America after the crash. Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant crashed as 158 00:14:52,140 --> 00:14:59,720 part of the UH 60 helicopter crew on that day in October 1993. He survived and returned 159 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:07,720 home 11 days later with honor. The Sear Advanced Survival Evasion Resistance Escape course is 160 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:13,680 in truth a code of conduct course held at remote locations in the state of Maine. It 161 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:18,720 is a course that teaches the initial and advanced instruction and training regarding the code 162 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:24,560 of conduct for soldiers sailors and marines. It teaches the legal and moral responsibilities 163 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:29,280 of a member of the United States Armed Forces if captured and held by the enemy. But this 164 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:33,840 is not the limit of what Sear training teaches it goes far beyond the basic principle. We 165 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:39,760 exist to teach soldiers and individuals what to do when the situation goes from bad to 166 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:45,800 far worse. The Sear instructor Harry Hogg is a hospital corpsman first class and assigned 167 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:50,080 to the aviation fleet specialized training group in Brunswick Maine which is the school 168 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:54,960 that I went to. The students who come here to train are those who have had a greater 169 00:15:54,960 --> 00:16:00,600 risk of being caught behind enemy lines. We accept them and train them to stay alive to 170 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:06,000 know the values and the code of conduct in real life threat situations stated Hogg. Air 171 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:12,760 crew members, pilot special forces members, aviators and Air Force recon personnel are 172 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:18,660 some of the different types of military jobs that require the Sear training school course. 173 00:16:18,660 --> 00:16:22,920 We face a constantly shifting and changing battlefield most of our personnel in the field 174 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:27,760 are at some time or another at risk of being captured by the enemy said Hogg. We strive 175 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:32,800 to teach here in the mountains the know how and the courage it takes to survive if ever 176 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:38,640 they are caught in such a situation. The Sear training starts out meekly in the classroom 177 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:43,860 and focuses on real world wilderness survival and applications of training. A lot of attention 178 00:16:43,860 --> 00:16:49,260 is given to the military code of conduct and how it affects the morals, responsibility 179 00:16:49,260 --> 00:16:53,960 and legal requirements of a soldier that is captured. They view the code in a whole different 180 00:16:53,960 --> 00:17:01,440 way after their Sear training. Sear school is not a very long course. It was the shortest 181 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:05,440 course that I took while in the Marine Corps. It is also the course that I have the most 182 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:11,120 vivid memories from and to this day I still have dreams about this training. The survival 183 00:17:11,120 --> 00:17:15,200 aspect of this course is based on real world skills like trapping, fishing, hunting and 184 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:21,020 gathering. You learn fire starting techniques, land navigation, shelter building skills. 185 00:17:21,020 --> 00:17:28,640 This is not all you learn though. You focus in on the why. The code of conduct, your reasons 186 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:34,640 for serving and the way to survive with honor. Don't forget that word honor. Let's read 187 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:40,800 through the code of conduct real quickly. The first tenet of the code of conduct is 188 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,560 I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces which guard my country and our 189 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:50,460 way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense. Pillar two is I will never 190 00:17:50,460 --> 00:17:56,160 surrender of my own free will. If in command I will never surrender my men while I still 191 00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:01,040 have the means to resist. Tenet three, if I am captured I will continue to resist by 192 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:05,840 all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will 193 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:12,680 accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy. Tenet four is if I become a prisoner 194 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:17,160 of war I will keep the faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take 195 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:22,080 part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am a senior I will take 196 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:27,300 command. If not I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them 197 00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:32,840 up in every way. Tenet five, when questioned I should become a prisoner of war. I am bound 198 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:37,500 to give only name, rank and service number and date of birth. I will evade answering 199 00:18:37,500 --> 00:18:43,040 further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statement disloyal 200 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:48,480 to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause. I will never forget that I am 201 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:53,120 an American fighting man responsible for my actions and dedicated to the principles which 202 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:59,400 made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America. When 203 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:04,560 you put this into Christian context that is living according to the word of God and by 204 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:09,200 the Spirit you have to ask yourself why do you read the Bible? Why do you study the word 205 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:14,760 or pray or meditate on the word? You do so because it becomes part of you. You do so 206 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:19,440 so you can survive no matter what is thrown at you from the world from the enemy you learn 207 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:24,820 that you can survive so that you can finish the race. So that you can evade the enemy's 208 00:19:24,820 --> 00:19:31,960 traps so that you can walk through life you can avoid the pitfalls that the world puts 209 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:38,140 in our path and claim victory in Jesus name. In Psalm 124 verses 1 through 8 our help is 210 00:19:38,140 --> 00:19:42,480 in the name of the Lord verse 1 starts off, If it had not been the Lord who was on our 211 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:48,080 side let Israel now say, If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when the people 212 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:53,840 rose up against us then they would have swallowed us up alive when their anger was kindled against 213 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:58,720 us then the flood would have swept us away the torrents would have gone over us then 214 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:04,520 over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the Lord who has not given us to 215 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:09,960 pray or given us as prey to their teeth who have escaped like a bird from the snare of 216 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:14,920 a fowler the snare is broken and we have escaped our help is in the name of the Lord who made 217 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:18,840 the heavens and the earth. This brings us to our next point which is resistance in first 218 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:24,560 Peter 5 9 says resist him firm in your faith knowing that the same kinds of suffering are 219 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:33,440 being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. The code in seerschool are not 220 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:40,040 only about survival it's not only about avoiding or evading the enemy it provides you the tools 221 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:45,440 to resist the enemy the word of God is our sword and is a tool to help us to battle and 222 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:50,600 to defend the unfortunate truth about seerschool is that it isn't just a big game of hide and 223 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:55,960 seek even if you are successful with evading the enemy there comes a point in the training 224 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:01,560 when you have to let yourself get caught. They blow a horn and you have to come to the 225 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:08,480 nearest road and wait for the impending abuse you see seerschool would just be camping if 226 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:14,680 it wasn't for this phase of resistance this is where you really get tested you get stripped 227 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:23,600 bare you get beat and you get interrogated and locked in a cell and I mean that literally 228 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:29,560 you literally get stripped down naked you literally get beat and then you get interrogated 229 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:36,140 and locked in a cell then you get interrogated again and beat some more before you get thrown 230 00:21:36,140 --> 00:21:44,480 back into your cell it's not uncommon to hallucinate during this phase of the of seerschool you're 231 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:48,400 short on calories because you haven't eaten I went through seerschool in the middle of 232 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:54,560 winter and so there was still six feet of snow on the ground in Alpine Maine not a lot 233 00:21:54,560 --> 00:22:00,760 of choice food to eat we're eating bark and birch buds just to try to keep something in 234 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:07,440 our stomach and so you do with that calorie deficit and being abused and being cold and 235 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:11,080 then you know being interrogated all this kind of stuff happening when you get thrown 236 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:17,440 back in that cell it's not uncommon to have hallucinations and I did I remember seeing 237 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:23,320 a dragon I saw all sorts of things in my cell you also get tortured with white noise and 238 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:31,360 constantly kept awake white noise is any kind of like you know crackling of a stereo but 239 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:35,940 with other auditory signals in their alarms and different things going off just to make 240 00:22:35,940 --> 00:22:41,480 it so you can never really get comfortable you're also forced to sit in an uncomfortable 241 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:45,520 position and if you deviate from that position you get caught well then you're going to get 242 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:50,240 beat again some more a friend of mine had his shoulders dislocated during part of this 243 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:55,260 course I ended up with a couple black eyes and I almost passed out due to low blood sugar 244 00:22:55,260 --> 00:23:01,880 and dehydration so why would the government put us through this training what would possibly 245 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:08,120 be the goal of this kind of abuse this is what Christians and non-Christians say all 246 00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:13,720 the time is if God is good why does he allow bad things to happen Job cried out because 247 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:19,000 of the horrible calamity that befell his life he was destroyed and struck down his friends 248 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:25,000 betrayed him and his wife didn't make things any easier why did God allow Shadrach Meshach 249 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:31,320 and Abednego to get thrown into the fiery furnace we can read about that in Daniel 323 250 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:39,520 or why did Daniel get thrown into the lion's den and in Daniel 6 why must we be challenged 251 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:48,960 like this God allows us to go through these trials to straighten us up the military has 252 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:53,840 come to learn that through training service members can go through real life hardships 253 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:58,680 and still maintain their dignity and honor God also wants to temper us so that we can 254 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:05,520 remain honorable for his service resistance is the key to this fallen world that we live 255 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:10,640 in it is by resisting the devil that we can cause him to flee it is by resisting evil 256 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:15,800 of this world and holding to a heavenly code that we can run the race till the end the 257 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:21,360 apostle Paul was imprisoned for years before his execution and throughout that time he 258 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:26,560 maintained his relationship with Christ he was a witness and many were brought to salvation 259 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:33,360 from the from his humble resistance and James 4 7 it says submit yourselves therefore to 260 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:39,620 God resist the devil and he will flee you this brings me to a final point which is escape 261 00:24:39,620 --> 00:24:45,120 in first Corinthians 10 13 no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man God 262 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:50,480 is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability but with the temptation 263 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:55,800 he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it as always though 264 00:24:55,800 --> 00:25:01,180 our story does not end in captivity in Sears school there is a goal that few are lucky 265 00:25:01,180 --> 00:25:06,480 enough to achieve that goal is escape every once in a while a group can escape the prison 266 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:11,480 that we are held in and get a respite from the resistance phase of training most of us 267 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:16,160 are not lucky enough during the training cycle to achieve this one of the hardest parts of 268 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:21,640 Sears school is that there is no set endpoint the instructors can hold the ending for days 269 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:27,160 so in your misery there is no end in sight you battle and resist but there's but then 270 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:33,320 something funny happens all of a sudden the POW camp goes crazy the enemy flag drops to 271 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:39,000 the ground and the American flag is raised and the national anthem is played everyone 272 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:48,260 snaps to attention it is over the battle is won the enemy is defeated this is what we 273 00:25:48,260 --> 00:25:53,440 have to look forward to in Christ even though we are here on earth a fallen sinful earth 274 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:59,400 we have eternal hope in Christ Jesus we also know that at any moment the trumpet can sound 275 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:04,800 and the battle will be over there is victory in Jesus and we can claim that victory now 276 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:11,960 and live a life that honors Jesus Christ in second Timothy 2 23 through 26 says so flee 277 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:18,400 youthful passions and pursue righteousness faith love peace along with those who call 278 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:24,360 on the Lord from a pure heart have nothing to do with the foolish the ignorant controversies 279 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:29,800 you know that they breed coral and the Lord's servants must not be quarrelsome but kind 280 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:36,160 to everyone able to teach patiently enduring evil correcting his opponents with gentleness 281 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:40,680 God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of truth and that they may 282 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:46,640 come to their senses escape the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his 283 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:53,620 will so with that I want to just you know go ahead and close so if you could if I could 284 00:26:53,620 --> 00:27:02,440 ever have every head bowed every eye closed real quickly I just want to make a quick plea 285 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:06,800 a quick invitation that if you're not if you haven't given your life to Jesus Christ 286 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:11,400 and this message is spoken to you maybe you feel like you're in a survival stage maybe 287 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:16,040 you feel like you're evading the enemy maybe you feel like you're you're stuck just trying 288 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:24,360 to resist this world and you're not winning the answer is escape in Christ Jesus you can 289 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:28,760 submit to him you can give your life over to him and he will lift that heavy burden 290 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:36,720 off your shoulders he will equip you to make to live successfully in this world and to 291 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:42,200 be able to finish the race and enter into the heavenly kingdom at the end if that speaks 292 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:46,960 to you if you want that you can signify that with an uplifted hand I can't see it but God 293 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:55,120 sees it and if you did raise your hand and if God is definitely dealing with your heart 294 00:27:55,120 --> 00:27:58,920 then I want to lead you in a prayer but before I do that I also want to say that maybe you've 295 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:04,800 backslidden maybe you've walked away from God but God is convicting you now too and 296 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:08,400 I want you to raise your hand and signify that with an uplifted hand that you want to 297 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:15,880 turn back to God and God sees those hands too so with that I want to just lead a quick 298 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:22,520 prayer dear Lord God I know that I'm a sinner but I know that you sent your son Jesus Christ 299 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:28,800 to die for me I repent in my sin and I accept Jesus as my Savior as my Lord my Savior I 300 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:34,600 thank you for the salvation that comes through grace in his name and I give you all the praise 301 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:41,320 and glory in Jesus name I pray amen a simple prayer acknowledging that you're a sinner 302 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:44,760 acknowledging that Jesus died for your sins and you're accepting him as your Lord and 303 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:50,420 Savior now with that you have been written in the Lamb's book of life and everything 304 00:28:50,420 --> 00:28:58,120 is great but now there's more to do to dig deeper into that relationship with Christ 305 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:01,920 get a Bible start reading the Word of God start in the Gospels Matthew Mark Luke and 306 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:12,520 John pray read the Word find a Bible-believing church to become part of with that we have 307 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:16,040 like if you live in Salmon Arm I would love it if you came and visited us we're a small 308 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:20,040 church but we're gonna do big things for God we're gonna touch the world for Jesus Christ 309 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:25,880 and we'd love to have you be part of that so you can reach out we just meet at the Salmon 310 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:31,320 Arm Innovation Center in the boardroom on Sundays currently so but and we'd be more 311 00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:35,000 than happy to have you join us if you're not from Salmon Arm and you're looking for a church 312 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:41,960 then reach out to me we have 3,500 plus churches globally and growing every day and we love 313 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:46,200 I love to have you lock into a Bible-believing church but that's the most important thing 314 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:53,520 is to pray read your Bible and find a Bible-believing church to lock into so that you can serve 315 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:58,840 in the body of Christ and I just give you I just want to thank everybody who's taking 316 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:03,400 time to listen to these messages and if you if you're still sticking around with us today 317 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:08,520 please remember to like share and subscribe to the podcast it really helps us get this 318 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:14,000 out to more people and so I really you know just praise God for the opportunity to share 319 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,400 these messages with you here and I pray that you know he'll go with you the rest of your 320 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:37,840 week and I can't wait for you to come back next time God bless.