WEBVTT 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:10.019 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm Podcast. 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:12.800 We are a Bible -believing church located in beautiful 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:15.380 British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part 00:00:15.380 --> 00:00:17.500 of the Christian Fellowship Ministries with 3 00:00:17.500 --> 00:00:20.019 ,000 churches around the world. We are a church 00:00:20.019 --> 00:00:22.839 focused on world evangelism, discipleship, and 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:25.760 church planting. Here we will share recent sermons 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.559 from PHSA Church and other sermons from throughout 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:31.079 our fellowship. I'm Pastor David Bickford, and 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:33.420 I will be your host for this podcast. I thank 00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:35.619 you for listening today, and we hope these messages 00:00:35.619 --> 00:00:38.020 are a blessing to you and bring you closer to 00:00:38.020 --> 00:00:48.179 God. Hello, and welcome back to the Potter's 00:00:48.179 --> 00:00:51.640 House Salmon Arm Podcast. I'm Pastor David Bickford, 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:55.140 and today I have a message that I put together 00:00:55.140 --> 00:00:57.619 called Fight or Die. So what we're going to look 00:00:57.619 --> 00:01:01.500 at is we're going to look at a few things. Our 00:01:01.500 --> 00:01:03.259 text that we're going to be working from is Exodus 00:01:03.259 --> 00:01:06.700 15 .3, real short, one verse text as a jumping 00:01:06.700 --> 00:01:08.900 off point. We're going to look at the blood. 00:01:09.060 --> 00:01:13.480 We're going to look at warfare or invasion teams 00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:16.480 in that sense. And then we're also going to look 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:21.000 at, as we close off, militant Christianity and 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:23.939 what that looks like in today's age and how I 00:01:23.939 --> 00:01:27.099 would prefer to define that. Because being a 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:28.959 military veteran, it's something that I find 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:31.819 interesting is that oftentimes today, if you 00:01:31.819 --> 00:01:35.280 ask somebody on the street, what do you think 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:37.359 of when you think of the church? What do you 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:40.079 think of when you think of Christianity today? 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:43.819 Do you think of it as primarily masculine or 00:01:43.819 --> 00:01:48.000 primarily feminine? And I would argue that most 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.540 people, without trying to judge anybody in particular, 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:55.069 because that's not my goal here. But I think 00:01:55.069 --> 00:01:58.049 that it would be, in most men's eyes anyway, 00:01:58.269 --> 00:02:01.650 that the church is extremely feminine today. 00:02:01.969 --> 00:02:05.189 And the problem with that femininity is not that 00:02:05.189 --> 00:02:08.449 we begrudge femininity in any way. We love our 00:02:08.449 --> 00:02:11.229 wives, our daughters, but it is the masculine 00:02:11.229 --> 00:02:15.270 place to protect femininity in society. And so 00:02:15.270 --> 00:02:19.449 that's why it becomes difficult if men are not 00:02:19.449 --> 00:02:22.009 looking at the church as a place of strength. 00:02:22.729 --> 00:02:25.770 in their lives, but it's something that is, it's 00:02:25.770 --> 00:02:27.870 fine for women to be involved with, but not for 00:02:27.870 --> 00:02:33.129 men. So triumph in Christianity requires sacrifice. 00:02:33.389 --> 00:02:36.289 And during World War II, a young soldier named 00:02:36.289 --> 00:02:39.610 David Webster of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne 00:02:39.610 --> 00:02:43.650 wrote his mother, stop worrying about me. I joined 00:02:43.650 --> 00:02:47.009 the parachutists to fight. I intend to fight. 00:02:47.210 --> 00:02:51.009 If necessary, I shall die fighting. But don't 00:02:51.009 --> 00:02:53.830 worry about this because no war can be won without 00:02:53.830 --> 00:02:57.669 young men dying. Those things which are precious 00:02:57.669 --> 00:03:01.469 are saved only by sacrifice. Scripture often 00:03:01.469 --> 00:03:04.849 refers to the Christian life as a war, a spiritual 00:03:04.849 --> 00:03:07.490 battlefield. And to answer the question of the 00:03:07.490 --> 00:03:10.789 hymn writer Isaac Watts, we will not be carried 00:03:10.789 --> 00:03:14.389 to the skies on flowery beds of ease. And there 00:03:14.389 --> 00:03:18.939 is no victory apart from sacrifice. Just as our 00:03:18.939 --> 00:03:21.740 salvation was purchased at great cost, overcoming 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:24.800 the enemy and walking in the spirit requires 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:29.360 that we be willing to give up some things in 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:32.180 order to triumph. That little excerpt is from 00:03:32.180 --> 00:03:34.620 the book Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:37.259 And I think it really gives us an interesting 00:03:37.259 --> 00:03:40.560 view as we look at Christianity, as we look at 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:43.750 the willingness. of our youth to be able to go 00:03:43.750 --> 00:03:46.509 to war and fight when called upon. And I think 00:03:46.509 --> 00:03:48.889 it's something that we have to remember is that 00:03:48.889 --> 00:03:54.110 the church was a much larger portion of our society 00:03:54.110 --> 00:03:56.509 during the periods of World War I and periods 00:03:56.509 --> 00:03:59.870 of World War II and in our history as well before 00:03:59.870 --> 00:04:03.830 that. And I think there's a cardinal understanding 00:04:03.830 --> 00:04:06.710 of masculinity in the sense that men are supposed 00:04:06.710 --> 00:04:09.750 to be the ones to protect the house from the 00:04:09.750 --> 00:04:12.780 wolves at the door. In Exodus 15, 3, it says, 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:17.540 the Lord is a man of war. The Lord is his name. 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:21.120 Let's pray. Dear Lord God, I pray that this message 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:23.980 will impact people, especially young men who 00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:26.000 are sitting there thinking that Christianity 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:29.439 is weak or that Christianity is not something 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:33.480 that is godly. It is not something that is going 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:37.100 to allow them to be men that are willing to fight. 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:40.379 I pray, Lord God, that this will also encourage 00:04:40.379 --> 00:04:43.519 young women to look for young men that have a 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:45.360 backbone, that have a spine, that are willing 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:49.319 to stand for godly things and not fall backwards 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:53.800 and not show cowardice in the face of strife. 00:04:54.339 --> 00:04:59.410 We thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. So 00:04:59.410 --> 00:05:02.009 following God's call, this is a quote that I 00:05:02.009 --> 00:05:06.069 found. So when Adoniram Judson graduated from 00:05:06.069 --> 00:05:09.310 college and seminary, he received a call from 00:05:09.310 --> 00:05:11.990 a fashionable church in Boston to become its 00:05:11.990 --> 00:05:14.709 assistant pastor. Everyone congratulated him. 00:05:14.750 --> 00:05:17.329 His mother, his sister rejoiced that he could 00:05:17.329 --> 00:05:21.449 live at home with them and do his life's work. 00:05:21.610 --> 00:05:24.970 But Judson shook his head and he said, my work 00:05:24.970 --> 00:05:28.920 is not here. He said, God is calling me beyond 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:32.339 the seas. To stay here, even to serve God in 00:05:32.339 --> 00:05:35.899 his ministry, I feel would be only partial obedience. 00:05:36.779 --> 00:05:40.579 I could not be happy in that. Although it cost 00:05:40.579 --> 00:05:43.399 him a great struggle, he left his mother and 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:47.560 his sister to follow the heavenly call. Judson's 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:51.620 churches in Burma have had 50 ,000 converts and 00:05:51.620 --> 00:05:55.220 influence. And the influence of his consecrated 00:05:55.220 --> 00:06:00.939 life is felt around the world. These ideas of 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:03.759 being willing to sacrifice, being willing to 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:06.959 go into far -flung lands is something that really 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:10.319 should light a fire in the hearts of young men 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:13.579 because men are not meant to sit around idle. 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:17.259 Men are meant to build. Men are meant to subdue 00:06:17.259 --> 00:06:19.259 the enemy. And when I'm talking about the enemy, 00:06:19.379 --> 00:06:21.740 of course, I mean the spiritual enemy or even 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:24.839 nature. We are called to subdue and take dominion 00:06:24.839 --> 00:06:29.040 over nature. So this is the main idea is that 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:32.199 as men, as Christians, and as women as well, 00:06:32.300 --> 00:06:36.680 we are meant to fight or to die for the sake 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:40.540 of Christ. We read the word of God as one continuous 00:06:40.540 --> 00:06:45.639 story from Genesis to Revelation. And as we read 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:48.100 the Bible, we quickly realize that there's a 00:06:48.100 --> 00:06:51.459 battle that exists between good and evil. The 00:06:51.459 --> 00:06:53.639 rebellion that started in heaven when Satan came 00:06:53.639 --> 00:06:57.009 to earth corrupted God's perfect creation. and 00:06:57.009 --> 00:07:00.209 brought the battle to our own home. This battle 00:07:00.209 --> 00:07:02.389 created an enmity between the descendants of 00:07:02.389 --> 00:07:05.430 Adam and Eve and the devil. And that is why so 00:07:05.430 --> 00:07:07.189 much of the Old and the New Testament is about 00:07:07.189 --> 00:07:10.750 blood. Life is found in the blood, and only through 00:07:10.750 --> 00:07:13.829 the sacrifice can we be redeemed back to the 00:07:13.829 --> 00:07:16.709 Father in heaven. It was Christ's blood that 00:07:16.709 --> 00:07:20.910 made that possible. Both the New and Old Testament 00:07:20.910 --> 00:07:23.430 refer to this need of sacrifice we see in the 00:07:23.430 --> 00:07:28.089 Old Testament. We see all of the sacrifices that 00:07:28.089 --> 00:07:31.730 are referenced, that blood is not only limited 00:07:31.730 --> 00:07:36.769 only to sacrifice but to war. And the Bible brings 00:07:36.769 --> 00:07:39.470 us to the ultimate sacrifice in Jesus Christ 00:07:39.470 --> 00:07:44.509 and the reference to His cleansing blood. It's 00:07:44.509 --> 00:07:46.629 very realistic when you read the Word of God. 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.819 And then we can apply this reality to our life 00:07:50.819 --> 00:07:53.939 today. Today, we're going to look at the blood. 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:55.879 We're going to also look at warfare. We're going 00:07:55.879 --> 00:07:58.939 to look at how that applies to Christianity. 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:03.300 So let's first look at the blood. A rider on 00:08:03.300 --> 00:08:06.600 a white horse in Revelation 19, 11 through 16, 00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:09.399 we see this. It says, then I saw heaven open 00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:12.319 and behold, a white horse. The one sitting on 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:15.160 it is called faithful and true. And in righteousness, 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:18.240 he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:20.939 flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:24.000 and he has a name written that no one knows but 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:27.040 himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, 00:08:27.319 --> 00:08:30.240 and the name by which he is called is the Word 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:33.340 of God. And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine 00:08:33.340 --> 00:08:36.639 linen, white and pure, were following him on 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:39.519 white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword. 00:08:40.429 --> 00:08:43.090 with which to strike down the nations, and he 00:08:43.090 --> 00:08:46.350 will rule them with rod and iron. He will tread 00:08:46.350 --> 00:08:49.190 the wine presses of the fury and the wrath of 00:08:49.190 --> 00:08:52.350 God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh, he 00:08:52.350 --> 00:08:56.850 has a name written, King of Kings, Lord of Lords. 00:08:57.129 --> 00:08:59.909 So behold, the rider on the white horse, Jesus 00:08:59.909 --> 00:09:05.370 is king. He is righteousness. Our righteous God 00:09:05.370 --> 00:09:10.679 is able to make war. He has eyes like, like a 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:14.700 flame of fire. Our God, our Lord is mighty. He 00:09:14.700 --> 00:09:17.659 is terrifying to the unjust and to the unholy. 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:20.779 This is why so many refuse to turn to him and 00:09:20.779 --> 00:09:24.379 accept his mercy. In their sin, they can only 00:09:24.379 --> 00:09:27.799 imagine the terrifying judgment that is to come. 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:32.539 His clothes are dipped in blood and an army follows 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:36.440 behind him. His army is ready with a sword to 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:39.649 trample the unrighteousness of this world. These 00:09:39.649 --> 00:09:43.009 are horrifying images of the one that we call 00:09:43.009 --> 00:09:46.389 the Lamb of God. These pictures, you know, get 00:09:46.389 --> 00:09:48.690 glossed over. They get neglected in this world 00:09:48.690 --> 00:09:52.049 we live in today, oftentimes, because we see 00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:54.629 a lot of the Western world's churches becoming, 00:09:54.809 --> 00:09:57.450 you know, we like to, we hear this all the time 00:09:57.450 --> 00:10:00.090 that, you know, God is love. point of the Bible 00:10:00.090 --> 00:10:02.909 is love. Love this, love that, and I am definitely 00:10:02.909 --> 00:10:06.149 one who believes in God's love and grace. But 00:10:06.149 --> 00:10:09.889 the purpose of the Bible is repentance and restoration 00:10:09.889 --> 00:10:12.950 of relationship back to God, and that can only 00:10:12.950 --> 00:10:16.389 be done through Jesus Christ. Jesus doesn't tell 00:10:16.389 --> 00:10:18.389 them that they can continue to sin. He says, 00:10:18.429 --> 00:10:22.289 go and sin no more. And then we see this picture 00:10:22.289 --> 00:10:25.590 of the end times of people choosing to live in 00:10:25.590 --> 00:10:29.440 rebellion, and they get to see Jesus returning 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:35.200 as a warrior. And that's why we look next at 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:37.820 the Lord's day of vengeance. So when we look 00:10:37.820 --> 00:10:40.200 at the Old Testament, we get this parallel picture 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:43.759 to what I just read in Isaiah 63, one through 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:46.580 six, where it says, who is this who comes from 00:10:46.580 --> 00:10:51.059 Adam in crimson garments from Basra? He who is 00:10:51.059 --> 00:10:53.259 splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness 00:10:53.259 --> 00:10:56.100 of his strength. It is I speaking in righteousness, 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:59.799 mighty to save. Why is your apparel red and your 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:02.659 garments like who has tread the winepress? I 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:05.679 have trodden the winepress alone, and from the 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:08.659 peoples no one was with me. I trod them in my 00:11:08.659 --> 00:11:11.759 anger, and I trampled them in my wrath. Their 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:13.980 lifeblood splattered on my garments and stained 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:16.620 all of my apparel, for the day of vengeance was 00:11:16.620 --> 00:11:20.480 in my heart, and my year of redemption has come. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:26.129 Look, but those who there was no help, I was 00:11:26.129 --> 00:11:28.649 appalled, but there was no one to uphold. So 00:11:28.649 --> 00:11:31.049 my own arm brought me salvation and my wrath 00:11:31.049 --> 00:11:33.850 upheld me. I trampled down the peoples in my 00:11:33.850 --> 00:11:36.330 anger. I made them drunk in my wrath and I poured 00:11:36.330 --> 00:11:39.230 out their lifeblood on the earth. So when we 00:11:39.230 --> 00:11:42.850 see this, who is coming? Marching in great strength 00:11:42.850 --> 00:11:46.389 in crimson garments, speaking in righteousness 00:11:46.389 --> 00:11:50.850 mighty to save. Our Lord Jesus is prophesied 00:11:50.850 --> 00:11:53.389 here in Isaiah, but we get this parallel picture. 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:57.799 Of a God who's coming for the final judgment. 00:11:57.940 --> 00:12:01.419 For a God who's given every opportunity for salvation, 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:06.139 but still has to deal with the unrepentant. So 00:12:06.139 --> 00:12:09.720 when we hear this call to a God of love, we neglect 00:12:09.720 --> 00:12:15.279 that sometimes, at some point, there has to be 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:19.379 judgment in order to uphold righteousness. This 00:12:19.379 --> 00:12:21.720 is the problem that we see a lot in society today 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:25.860 as we think or we're told oftentimes that love 00:12:25.860 --> 00:12:30.659 will continue to go on without judgment. But 00:12:30.659 --> 00:12:33.820 our Lord and Savior tells us that there is a 00:12:33.820 --> 00:12:36.879 time where there will only be judgment left. 00:12:37.220 --> 00:12:40.639 That is why we cannot delay the Great Commission 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:43.019 in our lives. That is why we have to be able 00:12:43.019 --> 00:12:45.320 to tell people about Jesus Christ. That is why 00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:47.740 people... preach on the streets and hold signs 00:12:47.740 --> 00:12:51.919 and try to compel others to listen so that they 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:55.039 can see what Jesus can do in their life because 00:12:55.039 --> 00:13:01.659 time is short. Time is short. This brings me 00:13:01.659 --> 00:13:06.639 to my next point, which is warfare and the invasion 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:10.820 team. The Lord's army, the army is God's army, 00:13:10.919 --> 00:13:15.710 and it is an army built on faith. and trust in 00:13:15.710 --> 00:13:20.049 God. We are not a bunch of bloodthirsty zealots. 00:13:20.909 --> 00:13:23.029 Quite to the contrary, we are called to be an 00:13:23.029 --> 00:13:26.929 army of servants. The battles of the Israelites 00:13:26.929 --> 00:13:30.509 were battles of faith and obedience. In Judges 00:13:30.509 --> 00:13:33.370 3, 1 through 4, now these are the nations that 00:13:33.370 --> 00:13:36.490 the Lord left to test Israel by them. That is 00:13:36.490 --> 00:13:39.129 all in Israel who had not experienced all the 00:13:39.129 --> 00:13:42.519 wars in Canaan. It was only an order. that the 00:13:42.519 --> 00:13:44.840 generations of people of Israel might know war 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:47.840 to teach war to those who had not known it before. 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:50.299 These are the nations, the five lords of the 00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:52.440 Philistines, of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:55.360 the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from 00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:59.240 Mount Baal Hermon as far as Lebo Hamath. They 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:02.100 were for the testing of Israel to know whether 00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:04.399 Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:07.139 which he commanded their fathers by the hand 00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:10.700 of Moses. God was testing the children of Israel. 00:14:11.370 --> 00:14:14.009 To see if they would remain faithful to the covenant. 00:14:14.710 --> 00:14:17.389 Would they live by faith like their father Abraham? 00:14:18.730 --> 00:14:22.129 In Genesis 12, 1 through 3, it says, Now the 00:14:22.129 --> 00:14:24.350 Lord said to Abraham, Go from your country, your 00:14:24.350 --> 00:14:26.669 kindred, to your father's house, to the land 00:14:26.669 --> 00:14:29.649 I will show you, and I will make of you a great 00:14:29.649 --> 00:14:32.929 nation. And I will bless you and make your name 00:14:32.929 --> 00:14:37.169 great, so that you will be a blessing. I will 00:14:37.169 --> 00:14:39.690 bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors 00:14:39.690 --> 00:14:42.870 you I will curse. And in you all the families 00:14:42.870 --> 00:14:46.129 of the earth shall be blessed. So this doesn't 00:14:46.129 --> 00:14:48.149 mean that we are going to be without conflict 00:14:48.149 --> 00:14:52.870 in our life. We are going to come into challenges. 00:14:52.929 --> 00:14:55.350 We are going to come into times of warfare. We 00:14:55.350 --> 00:14:57.889 see this. I mentioned World War I, World War 00:14:57.889 --> 00:15:00.309 II. There are periods where evil is on the march, 00:15:00.450 --> 00:15:03.149 and we do have to stand against it physically. 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:06.539 If you know the tale of Bonhoeffer, he put himself 00:15:06.539 --> 00:15:10.519 at great risk to hold to the values of the church 00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:14.460 when the church was being subverted by the Nazis 00:15:14.460 --> 00:15:21.220 in Germany. It also means, though, that we're 00:15:21.220 --> 00:15:24.340 not meant to seek out bloodshed. And this is 00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:27.179 where a lot of people get confused or get stuck. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:30.379 And this is something we have to guard our hearts 00:15:30.379 --> 00:15:33.279 with. This is something that's been on my heart 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:35.899 recently is that we are not meant to seek bloodshed. 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:39.639 We are not meant to seek out reasons to hate 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:43.740 other groups. There's a big move in society right 00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:46.720 now. I mean, the theology has been around for 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:48.860 ages, replacement theology, all these kind of 00:15:48.860 --> 00:15:51.840 things where people say, oh, you shouldn't pray 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:54.220 for the blessing of Israel. And I contend that 00:15:54.220 --> 00:15:58.600 that's false. Because the Bible tells us to pray 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:01.970 or to... It's to love all of our enemies. So 00:16:01.970 --> 00:16:04.669 even if you view a certain group as an enemy, 00:16:04.789 --> 00:16:09.570 then you are commanded to treat them as you would 00:16:09.570 --> 00:16:13.549 yourself, love your neighbor as yourself. So 00:16:13.549 --> 00:16:18.129 any ideology, any thought process that leads 00:16:18.129 --> 00:16:23.110 you to harbor or foster hate is not something 00:16:23.110 --> 00:16:27.090 that comes from the God that I serve. We have 00:16:27.090 --> 00:16:30.110 to make our face like flint, the Bible tells 00:16:30.110 --> 00:16:33.590 us, in times of trial, but we are not to be the 00:16:33.590 --> 00:16:37.330 ones to seek bloodshed. We fight so that others 00:16:37.330 --> 00:16:42.570 will be set free and others will be saved. When 00:16:42.570 --> 00:16:46.309 we fight, it is meant to be in a fight to save 00:16:46.309 --> 00:16:51.190 lives, not one to gain land or gain prestige 00:16:51.190 --> 00:16:56.850 or gain power. But it is meant so that others 00:16:56.850 --> 00:16:58.549 can be saved. So as Christians in our life, our 00:16:58.549 --> 00:17:01.149 cardinal, our calling, is the great commission 00:17:01.149 --> 00:17:03.690 that Jesus gave, which is we put ourselves at 00:17:03.690 --> 00:17:07.970 risk so that others can come to Christ. We witness 00:17:07.970 --> 00:17:11.390 on the streets. We hold signs. We do guerrilla 00:17:11.390 --> 00:17:14.970 teams, impact teams. Missionaries go out to countries 00:17:14.970 --> 00:17:21.120 that don't like Christianity. We do that. Because 00:17:21.120 --> 00:17:24.500 that is how we're going to bring people to salvation 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:27.220 so they can be free in Christ. In Genesis 14, 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.000 4 through 16, it says, when Abraham heard that 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.140 his kinsmen had been taken captive, he led forth 00:17:33.140 --> 00:17:37.140 his trained men born in his house, 318 of them, 00:17:37.140 --> 00:17:42.539 and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided 00:17:42.539 --> 00:17:44.819 his forces against them by night, he and his 00:17:44.819 --> 00:17:46.539 servants, and they defeated them and pursued 00:17:46.539 --> 00:17:49.259 them to Hoboth, north of Damascus. Then he brought 00:17:49.259 --> 00:17:52.720 back all the possessions and also brought back 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:56.000 his kinsmen Lot with his possessions and the 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.559 women and the people. So the battle is not ours. 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:01.759 The battle is of Lord's. We're not supposed to 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:04.980 go seek out warfare, but we are supposed to be 00:18:04.980 --> 00:18:09.740 ready to fight when called upon. God wants us 00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:13.259 to know that he is ultimately in control. How 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:15.720 do we know that? Well, we can glean this idea 00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:18.299 from stories that we have in the Bible. If we 00:18:18.299 --> 00:18:23.039 look at the tale of Gideon, his forces get dwindled 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:27.039 from 32 ,000 down to 300 because God wanted to 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:29.859 make a point in Judges 7 -7. And the Lord said 00:18:29.859 --> 00:18:34.220 to Gideon, with 300 men who lapped, I will save 00:18:34.220 --> 00:18:37.599 you and give the Midianites into your hand. and 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:40.660 let all the others go, every man to his home. 00:18:40.940 --> 00:18:45.660 So Gideon asked God for proof, but in the end, 00:18:45.700 --> 00:18:49.599 God got the last laugh. When Gideon had tens 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:51.680 of thousands of soldiers, God dwindling it down 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:56.980 to 300, so that when the victory came, it wouldn't 00:18:56.980 --> 00:19:01.200 be Gideon's, but God's. Gideon was faithful, 00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:06.480 but God was victorious. And this is the harder 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:10.099 part of faith. We often want to have an army 00:19:10.099 --> 00:19:14.380 behind us. We want to have numerical superiority, 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:18.980 financial superiority. We're the best weapons 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:22.839 and firepower. But the reality is that we can 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:27.059 have none of that in the physical realm, but 00:19:27.059 --> 00:19:29.920 have much more of that in the spiritual realm. 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:34.599 And we can see a picture of this in Joshua's 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:39.079 life. And the Lord's army in Joshua 6, 15 through 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:41.720 16, it says, on the seventh day, they rose early 00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:45.920 at the dawn of day, marched around the city in 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:49.019 the same manner seven times. It was only on that 00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:51.700 day that they marched around the city seven times. 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:55.019 And on the seventh time, when the priest had 00:19:55.019 --> 00:19:57.079 blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:00.740 shout for the Lord has given you the city. This 00:20:00.740 --> 00:20:04.759 is a great tale, right? The walls of Jericho. 00:20:05.230 --> 00:20:07.750 It picks up in verse 20. It says, so the people 00:20:07.750 --> 00:20:09.750 shouted and the trumpets were blown. And as soon 00:20:09.750 --> 00:20:11.869 as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, 00:20:11.910 --> 00:20:14.549 the people shouted a great shout and the wall 00:20:14.549 --> 00:20:18.690 fell down flat so that the people went up into 00:20:18.690 --> 00:20:20.910 the city, every man straight before him, and 00:20:20.910 --> 00:20:23.809 they captured the city. Who knocked down the 00:20:23.809 --> 00:20:28.549 wall? Who knocked down the wall of Jericho? Certainly 00:20:28.549 --> 00:20:31.430 it wasn't the sound of the trumpets or the shout 00:20:31.430 --> 00:20:34.490 of the people, but it was the activated faith 00:20:35.529 --> 00:20:39.470 of the people of God, a faith that was in accordance 00:20:39.470 --> 00:20:44.789 to the will of God, an unseen power, but a power 00:20:44.789 --> 00:20:46.970 that binds us together as brothers and sisters 00:20:46.970 --> 00:20:52.210 in Christ today. The Spanish word for guerrilla 00:20:52.210 --> 00:20:55.829 translates literally meaning little war. So this 00:20:55.829 --> 00:20:58.009 isn't the animal, this is guerrilla warfare, 00:20:58.269 --> 00:21:02.289 little war. Guerrilla warfare is sometimes called 00:21:02.289 --> 00:21:06.529 partisan warfare or regular warfare. In general, 00:21:06.529 --> 00:21:08.930 the word guerrilla warfare is used to designate 00:21:08.930 --> 00:21:12.549 any military activity carried on by a comparatively 00:21:12.549 --> 00:21:17.849 small independent force or unit and irregularly 00:21:17.849 --> 00:21:20.150 conducted with or without military organization 00:21:20.150 --> 00:21:22.910 in connection with a regular war. So, you know, 00:21:22.910 --> 00:21:25.089 why do I bring this up? Well, because we're the 00:21:25.089 --> 00:21:30.470 Lord's army. But really, we are a decentralized 00:21:30.470 --> 00:21:35.549 network. small and independent group of believers 00:21:35.549 --> 00:21:38.769 can act out in the will of God. You know, in 00:21:38.769 --> 00:21:40.630 our fellowship, we're not a nominational group 00:21:40.630 --> 00:21:43.309 of churches, but we have 4 ,000 churches globally. 00:21:44.349 --> 00:21:47.130 And some of us are tiny like we are here with 00:21:47.130 --> 00:21:50.289 a very small number of people and others are 00:21:50.289 --> 00:21:54.269 larger, church planting, missionary sending churches. 00:21:54.549 --> 00:21:57.029 But the reality is, is that regardless, we have 00:21:57.029 --> 00:21:58.990 these little pinpricks of light all over the 00:21:58.990 --> 00:22:03.319 globe that are going out. for that great commission 00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:06.619 preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we're 00:22:06.619 --> 00:22:10.319 not alone. I'm not foolish enough to say we're 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:14.019 the only thing going on. God has churches and 00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:19.420 believers everywhere. And we all can be these 00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:24.140 little pieces of light waging war by faith against 00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:26.819 the powers and principalities that are at war 00:22:26.819 --> 00:22:30.740 with God today. And so I like to think that with 00:22:30.740 --> 00:22:34.319 our... church network, our fellowship churches, 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:36.299 we're like a mesh network. And if you're familiar 00:22:36.299 --> 00:22:38.480 with the idea of a mesh network and technology, 00:22:38.900 --> 00:22:41.359 the idea is simple is that you can have like 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:44.380 these individual points, but over time they mesh 00:22:44.380 --> 00:22:47.200 together. Relationships can be founded, strengthening 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:50.319 each other. And then when you put that onto a 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:53.579 map with our churches today, with all the connections 00:22:53.579 --> 00:22:57.539 and the interweaving relationships, it's like 00:22:57.539 --> 00:23:03.750 this powerful, powerful web. of faith. It makes 00:23:03.750 --> 00:23:08.029 us stronger than the sum of our parts. We're 00:23:08.029 --> 00:23:11.230 not alone in this fight. We stand together in 00:23:11.230 --> 00:23:14.569 faith. In Ecclesiastes 4, 9 through 12, two are 00:23:14.569 --> 00:23:16.670 better than one because they have a good reward 00:23:16.670 --> 00:23:19.910 for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift 00:23:19.910 --> 00:23:23.789 up his fellows, but woe to him who is alone when 00:23:23.789 --> 00:23:26.710 he falls and has not another to lift him up. 00:23:27.170 --> 00:23:30.980 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm. But 00:23:30.980 --> 00:23:34.779 how can one keep warm alone? And though a man 00:23:34.779 --> 00:23:37.579 might prevail against one who is alone, two will 00:23:37.579 --> 00:23:41.339 withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly 00:23:41.339 --> 00:23:45.799 broken. So then how do we live a life of militancy 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:49.720 and in faith? What does that look like in our 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:52.400 day and age? What will that look like in our 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:54.660 own town here at Salmon Armour, in your town, 00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:58.250 wherever you're listening from? This brings me 00:23:58.250 --> 00:24:00.289 to my final point, which is militant Christianity. 00:24:00.470 --> 00:24:03.589 And to help answer that question, I turned to 00:24:03.589 --> 00:24:06.289 an old book that I read when I was a young Marine. 00:24:07.490 --> 00:24:09.869 It was on the Marine Corps reading list. I think 00:24:09.869 --> 00:24:12.789 I actually read it when I was a poolie. A poolie 00:24:12.789 --> 00:24:15.509 is somebody who's already signed up for the military, 00:24:15.769 --> 00:24:19.670 waiting to go to basic training. So not even 00:24:19.670 --> 00:24:23.450 a recruit, not a private, not a private first 00:24:23.450 --> 00:24:26.049 class. No, a poolie is like you're just in the 00:24:26.049 --> 00:24:29.559 pool. of candidates dreaming one day to be a 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:31.519 Marine. And I'm pretty sure that's when I read 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:34.319 this book. The book is The Soldier's Load in 00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:39.079 Mobility of a Nation by SLA Marshall. And it 00:24:39.079 --> 00:24:43.079 says, enduring hardship, in July 1918, I marched 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:45.920 with my regiment to the front on a balmy starlit 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:48.799 night and was astonished to see the strong men 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:51.099 around me virtually collapse under the weight 00:24:51.099 --> 00:24:54.319 of their packs. When we got to the fire zone 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:56.980 after an 11 -mile approach on a good road, they 00:24:56.980 --> 00:24:59.480 had been conditioned to go 20 miles under the 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:02.319 same weight in the broiling sun. Then some days 00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:05.619 later, after our bath of fire and burials were 00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:08.200 done, we shouldered the same packs and marched 00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:12.400 rearward 32 miles in one day, got to our billets 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:15.539 with no sweat, feeling light as a feather. I 00:25:15.539 --> 00:25:18.059 should have seen the lesson then, but to my juvenile 00:25:18.059 --> 00:25:21.039 mind, the experience signified only. that it 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:22.960 is a lot easier to move away from the battle 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:26.559 than to go into one, which any fool knows. Many 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:29.619 years went by. Then in the Pacific War in early 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:34.579 1944, Major General Archibald V. Arnold gave 00:25:34.579 --> 00:25:36.799 me a tactical problem to solve. He wished to 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:40.140 know why it was that in the atoll operations, 00:25:40.299 --> 00:25:44.019 if troops were checked three times by fire, even 00:25:44.019 --> 00:25:46.319 though they took no losses and had moved no more 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:49.359 than a mile, their energy was spent. and they 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:54.420 could not assault. Worn out men cannot fight 00:25:54.420 --> 00:25:58.519 or think. It is folly to press them beyond the 00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:02.380 endurance when just a little rest will work a 00:26:02.380 --> 00:26:07.960 miracle on recovery. So this idea is the dead 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:10.759 hand. General J .F .C. Fuller once said that 00:26:10.759 --> 00:26:13.839 an adherence to dogma has destroyed more armies 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:16.519 and lost more battles and lives than anything 00:26:16.519 --> 00:26:19.200 else in war. The idea of the dead man's hand 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:22.339 is that overloading warriors, we could take on 00:26:22.339 --> 00:26:25.160 too much and neglect the important details of 00:26:25.160 --> 00:26:29.220 a mission. When we allow the weight of external 00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:32.319 burdens and worries or distractions, we can make 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:37.259 ourselves of no use to God's plans. So we must 00:26:37.259 --> 00:26:42.099 refrain from the unnecessary while focusing diligently 00:26:42.099 --> 00:26:48.279 on our faith. We have to be able to shed off 00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:51.720 this weight, allow ourselves to drop our packs 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:55.240 of worries and excesses. Give that burden to 00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:59.559 the Lord so we will be rested and ready for the 00:26:59.559 --> 00:27:02.980 battle. There's an idea of the fire load or your 00:27:02.980 --> 00:27:07.539 ammunition or your armaments. Too often we concern 00:27:07.539 --> 00:27:13.119 ourselves with whether we know enough. Do we 00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:15.400 have the right weapons, the right tools for the 00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:19.079 fight? But our God provides us everything we 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:23.819 need. We have the word, we have prayer, and we 00:27:23.819 --> 00:27:25.799 have our savior. And I'll add one other thing. 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:28.420 If you're part of the body of Christ, you should 00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:32.279 have fellowship with your brethren who can upgird, 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:37.400 who can help edify you. and builds you up in 00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:41.019 the faith. And we can lean on those hard times. 00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:44.680 So we can look at another military example. We 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:46.440 can look at the airborne example in this. In 00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:49.119 the European theater, the basic individual ammunition 00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:51.960 load for a paratrooper was 80 rounds for his 00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:57.400 carbine. Or an M1, it's the same thing. He had 00:27:57.400 --> 00:27:59.220 two hand grenades, and when the parachute... 00:27:59.470 --> 00:28:02.329 Paratrooper jumped into Normandy on June 6, 1944. 00:28:02.690 --> 00:28:04.730 He also carried these things, one rifle carrier 00:28:04.730 --> 00:28:07.529 part, one English mine, six packs of K rations, 00:28:07.630 --> 00:28:10.069 one impregnated jumpsuit, one complete uniform, 00:28:10.329 --> 00:28:12.450 one steel helmet and liner, one knitted cap, 00:28:12.630 --> 00:28:14.450 one change of underwear, two changes of socks, 00:28:14.569 --> 00:28:16.910 one entrenching tool, one gas mask, one first 00:28:16.910 --> 00:28:19.470 aid pack, one spoon, two gas protective covers, 00:28:19.589 --> 00:28:21.829 one field bag with suspenders, one pack of sulfa 00:28:21.829 --> 00:28:24.049 tablets, one escape kit, and a set of toilet 00:28:24.049 --> 00:28:27.220 articles. So despite all the weight, most of 00:28:27.220 --> 00:28:28.920 the sailing characteristics in the operation 00:28:28.920 --> 00:28:31.740 by these forces was, without doubt, their high 00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:34.619 mobility of all ranks. That was because most 00:28:34.619 --> 00:28:38.200 of them used common sense. They jumped heavy, 00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:41.660 but they moved light. Once on the ground, most 00:28:41.660 --> 00:28:43.519 of them ditched every piece of equipment that 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:46.680 was unnecessary. They did this without an order, 00:28:46.759 --> 00:28:49.559 and often before they engaged any of the enemies 00:28:49.559 --> 00:28:52.400 or joined up with any of their comrades. It was 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:56.140 a reflex to a course of training. which had stressed 00:28:56.140 --> 00:29:01.279 the main thing was to keep going. Blessed to 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:07.759 preserve the history is not enough. We have to 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:14.519 look at moving forward in Christ. But we also 00:29:14.519 --> 00:29:19.779 have to remember that not to throw off what is 00:29:19.779 --> 00:29:23.299 necessary with our relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:29:25.390 --> 00:29:29.349 We have to trust in God and the light load that 00:29:29.349 --> 00:29:34.230 is our Lord's rather than trusting in man. So 00:29:34.230 --> 00:29:36.130 just like the militaries put their trust in new 00:29:36.130 --> 00:29:39.369 technologies, tanks, planes, drones, too often 00:29:39.369 --> 00:29:42.509 Christians turn from a resolute faith in Jesus 00:29:42.509 --> 00:29:46.569 Christ and they put their faith or their trust 00:29:46.569 --> 00:29:48.869 in men and machines. We see this happening in 00:29:48.869 --> 00:29:52.210 society over and over and over again. The flavor 00:29:52.210 --> 00:29:54.430 of the week comes out, a new politician, a new 00:29:54.430 --> 00:29:55.910 government official, somebody who's going to 00:29:55.910 --> 00:30:00.930 save us from the newly perceived enemy. And so 00:30:00.930 --> 00:30:02.710 rather than turning to the word of God, turning 00:30:02.710 --> 00:30:05.410 to Christ, remembering our purpose in Christ, 00:30:05.630 --> 00:30:09.930 we say this person can take the burden. And we 00:30:09.930 --> 00:30:13.569 give up, in some regards, our responsibility 00:30:13.569 --> 00:30:18.750 as men and as women and as children of God. Rather 00:30:18.750 --> 00:30:21.720 than putting our faith in God, we give that away 00:30:21.720 --> 00:30:28.259 to another created being. We also see this with 00:30:28.259 --> 00:30:30.720 the world telling us, put your trust in experts, 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:33.019 doctors, scientists, like I said, even politicians. 00:30:33.339 --> 00:30:37.400 And it's terrifying because in doing so, you're 00:30:37.400 --> 00:30:40.759 basically giving up your faith in the one who 00:30:40.759 --> 00:30:45.440 could save your soul. We're told to ignore the 00:30:45.440 --> 00:30:49.000 word of God because certainly that isn't trustworthy. 00:30:50.409 --> 00:30:53.869 Trust the science, right? Yeah, what can we trust 00:30:53.869 --> 00:30:58.970 about the science? You know, science isn't concrete. 00:30:59.630 --> 00:31:03.029 And what I mean by that is that science is simply 00:31:03.029 --> 00:31:06.390 just a way of testing a hypothesis. You're supposed 00:31:06.390 --> 00:31:08.369 to be able to come up with an idea. You're supposed 00:31:08.369 --> 00:31:10.309 to be able to experiment out that idea. And at 00:31:10.309 --> 00:31:13.089 the end, you should be able to either prove or 00:31:13.089 --> 00:31:15.650 disprove the hypothesis. But so much of what 00:31:15.650 --> 00:31:20.380 they call science today is unprovable. It's untestable. 00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:24.259 And you have to just take it on faith. But not 00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:26.539 like faith like we have in our God, but faith 00:31:26.539 --> 00:31:34.380 into a man. Faith into a created being. So this 00:31:34.380 --> 00:31:37.559 shows that our society and the church at large 00:31:37.559 --> 00:31:43.640 has some weaknesses. But the benefit that we 00:31:43.640 --> 00:31:47.220 have in the church is that we should be able 00:31:47.220 --> 00:31:53.359 to allow Christ to use us in that weakness. Many 00:31:53.359 --> 00:31:57.019 who are viewed as strong are that way because 00:31:57.019 --> 00:32:01.500 they're overburdened. And if you're overburdened, 00:32:01.500 --> 00:32:04.480 you're going to end up failing because you're 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:06.460 carrying weight that's not meant for you to carry. 00:32:07.099 --> 00:32:10.880 But in your weakness, you can submit to Christ 00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:14.720 and he can lift you up and he can help you. That's 00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:18.099 why we need to stand for Christ. In Joshua 5, 00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:23.220 13 through 15, we see this picture of Joshua 00:32:23.220 --> 00:32:28.559 coming to the feet of Christ. It's a picture 00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:31.539 of Jesus before his incarnation. When Joshua 00:32:31.539 --> 00:32:34.880 was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked 00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:36.819 and behold, there was a man standing before him 00:32:36.819 --> 00:32:39.460 with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua 00:32:39.460 --> 00:32:42.160 went to him and said to him, are you for us or 00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:45.039 for our adversaries? And he said, no, but I am 00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:46.779 the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I 00:32:46.779 --> 00:32:50.900 have come. And Joshua fell on his face and worshiped 00:32:50.900 --> 00:32:53.740 him. What does my Lord say to his servant? And 00:32:53.740 --> 00:32:55.180 the commander of the Lord's army said, Joshua, 00:32:55.200 --> 00:32:57.660 take off your sandals from your feet for the 00:32:57.660 --> 00:33:00.779 place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua 00:33:00.779 --> 00:33:03.019 did so. How do we know this is a picture of the 00:33:03.019 --> 00:33:06.119 pre -incarnate Christ? Well, it's because he 00:33:06.119 --> 00:33:09.990 was allowed to worship at his feet. When you 00:33:09.990 --> 00:33:12.069 do that to an angel, they would correct you because 00:33:12.069 --> 00:33:14.589 they're nothing but servants. But this situation, 00:33:14.930 --> 00:33:22.069 he was allowed to kneel and worship. Fear equals 00:33:22.069 --> 00:33:25.250 fatigue. In Matthew 10, 31, Fear not, therefore 00:33:25.250 --> 00:33:30.369 you are of more value than many sparrows. Revelation 00:33:30.369 --> 00:33:34.250 1, 17, When I saw him, I fell at his feet as 00:33:34.250 --> 00:33:36.769 though dead, but he laid his right hand on me, 00:33:36.789 --> 00:33:40.990 saying, Fear not. I am the first and the last. 00:33:41.029 --> 00:33:44.329 We need to stand for Christ. We need to understand 00:33:44.329 --> 00:33:48.890 that our life is full of different seasons. It's 00:33:48.890 --> 00:33:50.549 not always going to be easy. It's not always 00:33:50.549 --> 00:33:54.869 going to be a battle, though, either. Battle 00:33:54.869 --> 00:33:57.809 shock is a term. It results from excessive load 00:33:57.809 --> 00:34:01.440 on a soldier. It's a far greater danger during 00:34:01.440 --> 00:34:04.359 summer operations than in normal winter operations 00:34:04.359 --> 00:34:08.239 when the cold is not intense enough to slow the 00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:11.260 muscles or cheer the bone. But a man can become 00:34:11.260 --> 00:34:14.780 dehydrated during summer fighting when you're 00:34:14.780 --> 00:34:21.820 dry. A man becomes dehydrated. His courage flows 00:34:21.820 --> 00:34:26.079 out through his pores. He'll have a loss of muscular 00:34:26.079 --> 00:34:28.610 strength. He loses the will to fight. He loses 00:34:28.610 --> 00:34:32.130 the ability to take constructive action. And 00:34:32.130 --> 00:34:34.269 the worst part is that he's not likely to understand 00:34:34.269 --> 00:34:36.570 that his sudden loss of willpower and courage 00:34:36.570 --> 00:34:39.389 is because his physical strength has been sapped. 00:34:40.190 --> 00:34:42.550 And then it may be within his power to check 00:34:42.550 --> 00:34:45.889 it. We, as Christians, we can see this picture 00:34:45.889 --> 00:34:49.230 in a life as a Christian without prayer, without 00:34:49.230 --> 00:34:52.130 reading the word of God, without fellowshipping 00:34:52.130 --> 00:34:55.389 with other brothers and sisters in Christ. You 00:34:55.389 --> 00:34:59.030 can become dry. You're allowing the heat of the 00:34:59.030 --> 00:35:02.789 world to just suck your energy out and wear you 00:35:02.789 --> 00:35:06.289 down. We must allow ourselves grace because there 00:35:06.289 --> 00:35:10.030 are times in seasons in our lives where we will 00:35:10.030 --> 00:35:15.730 feel worn out. When things will be harder than 00:35:15.730 --> 00:35:18.090 other times. We have to be able to work through 00:35:18.090 --> 00:35:21.250 these times with patience and grace. But we also 00:35:21.250 --> 00:35:27.230 need to remember that the load of the war. is 00:35:27.230 --> 00:35:32.030 is on jesus and our victory comes in the form 00:35:32.030 --> 00:35:34.110 of our christ our lord and savior jesus christ 00:35:34.110 --> 00:35:37.929 in philippians 2 14 through 17 do all things 00:35:37.929 --> 00:35:39.949 without grumbling or disputing that you may be 00:35:39.949 --> 00:35:42.269 blameless and innocent children of god without 00:35:42.269 --> 00:35:44.750 blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted 00:35:44.750 --> 00:35:48.010 generation among whom you shine as light in the 00:35:48.010 --> 00:35:51.699 world holding fast to the word of life so that 00:35:51.699 --> 00:35:54.019 in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did 00:35:54.019 --> 00:35:59.219 not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am 00:35:59.219 --> 00:36:01.360 to be poured out as a drink offering upon the 00:36:01.360 --> 00:36:03.960 sacrificial offerings of your faith, I am glad 00:36:03.960 --> 00:36:10.079 and rejoice with you all. So as we bring this 00:36:10.079 --> 00:36:12.219 message to a close, I brought a lot of different 00:36:12.219 --> 00:36:15.239 imagery here between fighting, standing for Christ, 00:36:15.300 --> 00:36:22.650 dying. I just want to remind you. That we stand 00:36:22.650 --> 00:36:27.510 on the rock of Christ. He is the one that will 00:36:27.510 --> 00:36:30.309 stand and help us and upgird us for the battles 00:36:30.309 --> 00:36:32.570 that we will face. But he is already the victor 00:36:32.570 --> 00:36:38.769 for the war. And I want to also emphasize that 00:36:38.769 --> 00:36:41.809 it's not wrong for you to act masculine and be 00:36:41.809 --> 00:36:48.449 a man. To stand as Jesus stands. As our example. 00:36:49.050 --> 00:36:53.489 To stand. With love in your heart for your fellow 00:36:53.489 --> 00:36:59.550 man, but also the strength to take the abuse 00:36:59.550 --> 00:37:03.610 of the world, to cover those that you're responsible 00:37:03.610 --> 00:37:11.969 for, to be that headship of your family, to stand 00:37:11.969 --> 00:37:14.730 as a man would with your face like a flint in 00:37:14.730 --> 00:37:19.650 faith to our Lord. In Hebrews 12, one through 00:37:19.650 --> 00:37:23.199 two. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so 00:37:23.199 --> 00:37:25.239 great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside 00:37:25.239 --> 00:37:28.860 every weight and sin, which clings so closely, 00:37:28.940 --> 00:37:31.559 and let us run with endurance the race that is 00:37:31.559 --> 00:37:34.300 set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder 00:37:34.300 --> 00:37:36.960 and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that 00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:40.079 was set before him endured the cross, despising 00:37:40.079 --> 00:37:43.139 shame, and seated at the right hand and the throne 00:37:43.139 --> 00:37:47.619 of God. So if I could have every head bowed, 00:37:47.619 --> 00:37:49.840 every eye closed, wherever you are, as long as 00:37:49.840 --> 00:37:52.230 it's safe. I just want to take a quick invitation. 00:37:52.550 --> 00:37:56.150 If you're a young man and you know that you're 00:37:56.150 --> 00:37:58.989 not right with God, now's the time. Now's the 00:37:58.989 --> 00:38:03.789 time to stand. Now's the time to recognize that 00:38:03.789 --> 00:38:07.789 you need Jesus Christ. He is a warrior. He is 00:38:07.789 --> 00:38:13.269 a leader worthy, worthy of you to give him your 00:38:13.269 --> 00:38:18.750 life. So if you want to be a man, be a man for 00:38:18.750 --> 00:38:21.829 God. So if you know your heart's not right, you 00:38:21.829 --> 00:38:23.949 want to signify that uplifted hand, I want to 00:38:23.949 --> 00:38:28.929 lead you in a prayer. So if you did, God could 00:38:28.929 --> 00:38:31.090 see your hand, whether I can or not, because 00:38:31.090 --> 00:38:33.670 it's all online or on a podcast or on YouTube 00:38:33.670 --> 00:38:37.769 or whatever. But I also want to open it up, too, 00:38:37.849 --> 00:38:43.929 to, of course, the women. You, too, are called 00:38:43.929 --> 00:38:49.389 to stand in service. And there's a desperate 00:38:49.389 --> 00:38:53.210 need for godly women in this world. Right now 00:38:53.210 --> 00:38:56.369 in society, it sells us that most men or a lot 00:38:56.369 --> 00:39:01.230 of young men are turning back to faith. But it's 00:39:01.230 --> 00:39:03.929 unfortunate because this lack of masculinity 00:39:03.929 --> 00:39:06.690 in our society for the last number of years, 00:39:06.769 --> 00:39:10.989 that a lot of women have fallen away. So if you 00:39:10.989 --> 00:39:13.469 want to get right with your creator as well, 00:39:13.489 --> 00:39:15.369 I want you to signify that with an uplifted hand. 00:39:16.799 --> 00:39:20.900 Because we need young men and women to come to 00:39:20.900 --> 00:39:23.719 Christ and to serve him fully. We need you to 00:39:23.719 --> 00:39:28.940 stand and be willing to fight and even die for 00:39:28.940 --> 00:39:34.000 your faith. We need men and women of God to stand 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:37.440 up in this generation. If he rose your hand, 00:39:37.500 --> 00:39:38.880 I want to just quickly lead you in a prayer. 00:39:38.960 --> 00:39:41.460 Dear Lord God, repeat after me. Dear Lord God, 00:39:41.559 --> 00:39:44.159 I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you 00:39:44.159 --> 00:39:49.079 sent your son Jesus to die for me. I pray that 00:39:49.079 --> 00:39:52.980 you'd help me as I repent and turn from my sin 00:39:52.980 --> 00:39:57.579 and accept you in Jesus' name. Amen. If you pray 00:39:57.579 --> 00:39:59.880 that simple prayer, then your name is written 00:39:59.880 --> 00:40:03.480 in the Lamb's Book of Life. And now you can continue 00:40:03.480 --> 00:40:07.440 on to read your Bible, pray, find a church to 00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:09.960 lock into so that you can fellowship with other 00:40:09.960 --> 00:40:14.610 believers. And you can stand. with that heavy 00:40:14.610 --> 00:40:17.150 burden of sin lifted off of you in Jesus' name. 00:40:17.289 --> 00:40:21.469 I want to thank you for listening to me today. 00:40:21.610 --> 00:40:23.889 I pray that this message has impacted you. I 00:40:23.889 --> 00:40:26.190 pray it was a challenge, especially again to 00:40:26.190 --> 00:40:29.690 the young men, that you would stand up and be 00:40:29.690 --> 00:40:34.769 counted as a number for Christ. And I want to 00:40:34.769 --> 00:40:37.570 challenge you young women that you should look 00:40:37.570 --> 00:40:39.849 for men that are willing to stand for something. 00:40:40.650 --> 00:40:42.989 that are willing to stand for Christ, that are 00:40:42.989 --> 00:40:45.130 willing to stand against this wicked society, 00:40:45.469 --> 00:40:51.449 but doing so from a place of love in Jesus' name, 00:40:51.550 --> 00:40:56.090 godly love. If we could do that, we could change 00:40:56.090 --> 00:40:58.269 this generation, we could change the society 00:40:58.269 --> 00:41:03.030 around us in a magical, not magical, but in a 00:41:03.030 --> 00:41:08.340 magnificent way. So thank you again for listening. 00:41:08.440 --> 00:41:10.119 I can't wait for you to come back to the next 00:41:10.119 --> 00:41:12.360 one. I'll just close in a quick prayer. Dear 00:41:12.360 --> 00:41:14.699 Lord God, I pray this message does impact the 00:41:14.699 --> 00:41:17.559 youth, does impact the older people too, the 00:41:17.559 --> 00:41:21.360 older saints, that we would all stand upon the 00:41:21.360 --> 00:41:25.360 rock of Christ and to be counted upon or counted 00:41:25.360 --> 00:41:30.360 as one of his and his army. We give you all the 00:41:30.360 --> 00:41:32.119 praise and glory. I pray this message would impact 00:41:32.119 --> 00:41:38.329 everybody as we go. In Jesus' name, amen. for 00:41:38.329 --> 00:41:40.889 listening to the PHSA Potter's House Salmon Arm 00:41:40.889 --> 00:41:43.289 podcast. Be sure to follow us on Instagram at 00:41:43.289 --> 00:41:45.829 pottershouse underscore salmon arm to keep up 00:41:45.829 --> 00:41:48.010 to date on what we are doing. Join the conversation 00:41:48.010 --> 00:41:51.110 and discover how Jesus Christ can revolutionize 00:41:51.110 --> 00:41:51.710 your life.