WEBVTT 00:00:07.629 --> 00:00:10.029 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm Podcast. 00:00:10.390 --> 00:00:12.810 We are a Bible -believing church located in beautiful 00:00:12.810 --> 00:00:15.390 British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part 00:00:15.390 --> 00:00:17.489 of the Christian Fellowship Ministries with 3 00:00:17.489 --> 00:00:20.030 ,000 churches around the world. We are a church 00:00:20.030 --> 00:00:22.870 focused on world evangelism, discipleship, and 00:00:22.870 --> 00:00:25.750 church planting. Here we will share recent sermons 00:00:25.750 --> 00:00:28.570 from PHSA Church and other sermons from throughout 00:00:28.570 --> 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 --> 00:00:35.579 you for listening today, and we hope these messages 00:00:35.579 --> 00:00:38.020 are a blessing to you and bring you closer to 00:00:38.020 --> 00:00:48.439 God. Hey, and welcome back to the Potter's House 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:50.780 Seminar Podcast. My name is David Bickford. I'm 00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:53.100 the pastor here in town. I've got to apologize. 00:00:53.140 --> 00:00:55.859 Apparently, last week's message didn't upload 00:00:55.859 --> 00:00:59.990 in time, so we hear... There was a gap in there, 00:01:00.090 --> 00:01:03.990 and I only just noticed it this week. So there's 00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:05.890 one week gap, and then you're going to hear it, 00:01:05.890 --> 00:01:07.189 and then you're going to hear the apologies. 00:01:07.209 --> 00:01:09.670 So three weeks in the future. So I apologize 00:01:09.670 --> 00:01:12.790 for that. But today I put together a message 00:01:12.790 --> 00:01:16.290 that I've entitled Ballistic Protection, and 00:01:16.290 --> 00:01:18.290 it's dealing with the flaming darts, because 00:01:18.290 --> 00:01:20.909 we know in the Bible it talks about how the devil... 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:23.879 It's shooting these flaming darts at us and they're 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:26.819 meant to hurt us. They're meant to inflict damage. 00:01:27.019 --> 00:01:30.060 They're meant to get us to retreat from the battle. 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:33.640 And we need to be able to understand how to fight 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:35.939 against this. And we're going to use Ephesians 00:01:35.939 --> 00:01:42.640 6 verses 10 through 20 as our jumping off point 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:45.319 with our scripture. And when I was putting this 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:47.439 together, I was coming up with the thoughts of 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:50.780 early uses of body armor. You know, being a Marine 00:01:50.780 --> 00:01:53.540 veteran, U .S. Marine veteran, this is something 00:01:53.540 --> 00:01:56.640 that probably takes up way too much of my thought 00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:59.400 process and my time, as you can imagine. But 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:02.620 the earliest iterations of body armor in medieval 00:02:02.620 --> 00:02:05.879 times were made with a variety of metals that 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:08.900 would include like chain mail, leather, wood, 00:02:09.180 --> 00:02:13.020 horn, and other kinds of metal, like plating. 00:02:13.370 --> 00:02:16.509 So in battles, officers wore armor primarily 00:02:16.509 --> 00:02:20.590 as a symbol of their power and status. The more 00:02:20.590 --> 00:02:23.110 ornate the armor, the higher the wearer's rank. 00:02:23.509 --> 00:02:25.530 You can see this even in the way that they depict 00:02:25.530 --> 00:02:28.990 things in video games today. As you get better 00:02:28.990 --> 00:02:31.490 armor, it shows that you're a stronger rank. 00:02:31.590 --> 00:02:33.430 And they say, oh, it makes you stronger. And 00:02:33.430 --> 00:02:35.409 that's not always the case. What it does, though, 00:02:35.449 --> 00:02:39.590 is it really was used as an identification tool 00:02:39.590 --> 00:02:43.150 within. feudal militaries and ancient militaries 00:02:43.150 --> 00:02:46.229 alike. So as weapons and technology developed 00:02:46.229 --> 00:02:49.569 though, so did the body armor. Metal body armor 00:02:49.569 --> 00:02:51.849 protected against edge weapons, but it wasn't 00:02:51.849 --> 00:02:55.169 strong enough to protect against projectiles 00:02:55.169 --> 00:02:59.789 or high velocity weapons. And once gunfire became, 00:02:59.889 --> 00:03:03.490 you know, part of the normal warfare style, then 00:03:03.490 --> 00:03:06.629 something had to change with that body armor. 00:03:06.750 --> 00:03:10.620 Metal body armor was also very rigid. and heavy. 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:15.219 And it added to the fatigue of a soldier or a 00:03:15.219 --> 00:03:18.939 military man going into battle weighed down with 00:03:18.939 --> 00:03:22.539 all this armor. So that reduced their agility 00:03:22.539 --> 00:03:25.479 and their movement, which can make them less 00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:29.340 capable of fighting than with a better armor 00:03:29.340 --> 00:03:31.580 design. So military planters began researching 00:03:31.580 --> 00:03:34.439 alternatives to create lighter weight, yet more 00:03:34.439 --> 00:03:38.400 durable body armor for soldiers in the 1900s. 00:03:39.210 --> 00:03:41.889 especially during World War II. Many parties, 00:03:41.889 --> 00:03:44.310 including criminal gangs and military planners, 00:03:44.449 --> 00:03:47.270 helped to invent the bulletproof vest that we 00:03:47.270 --> 00:03:51.330 know of today and to create today's body armor 00:03:51.330 --> 00:03:57.349 as we know it. And again, going back to my experience 00:03:57.349 --> 00:04:02.639 in the military, you have, when I was in... We 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:04.620 didn't really have the best body armor, especially 00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:07.000 in my training. I was an aircraft mechanic primarily, 00:04:07.139 --> 00:04:09.300 but every Marine is trained in infantry tactics 00:04:09.300 --> 00:04:11.539 initially. But we would wear these things called 00:04:11.539 --> 00:04:16.300 flak jackets. And a flak jacket was barely a 00:04:16.300 --> 00:04:19.100 bulletproof type vest. It wasn't really designed 00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:21.240 for projectile weapons as much as it was designed 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:24.100 to protect you against flak that would happen 00:04:24.100 --> 00:04:26.160 during the battle. So like explosions coming 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:29.079 off nearby, they would protect the wearer from 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:33.269 stuff of that nature. So even in my time, which 00:04:33.269 --> 00:04:36.850 I joined the military in 99, served for five 00:04:36.850 --> 00:04:39.389 years. So even then, when you think about it, 00:04:39.430 --> 00:04:43.470 I'm using 1960s, 70s technology for body armor. 00:04:43.589 --> 00:04:45.069 It's pretty interesting to think about that. 00:04:45.350 --> 00:04:47.170 And of course, like the infantrymen, when we 00:04:47.170 --> 00:04:49.050 went to Iraq, they had different technologies. 00:04:49.410 --> 00:04:51.110 But we'll kind of get into that a little bit 00:04:51.110 --> 00:04:55.910 as we go along. So I came across this from Webb 00:04:55.910 --> 00:04:58.089 Garrison. He was the former formerly associate 00:04:58.089 --> 00:05:01.470 dean of Emory University. And he wrote, if you 00:05:01.470 --> 00:05:03.889 find a loophole in a contract or an insurance 00:05:03.889 --> 00:05:08.750 policy, it will constitute an escape route for 00:05:08.750 --> 00:05:10.509 one of the parties. We're going to look at the 00:05:10.509 --> 00:05:12.930 term loopholes and where that came from real 00:05:12.930 --> 00:05:15.769 quick. During the Middle Ages, architects and 00:05:15.769 --> 00:05:18.550 builders had to deal with the matter of defending 00:05:18.550 --> 00:05:22.990 a castle once it was erected. Long bows followed 00:05:22.990 --> 00:05:25.449 by crossbows were formidable weapons typically 00:05:25.449 --> 00:05:28.589 used by both the attacker and the defender. The 00:05:28.589 --> 00:05:32.310 narrow window, often oval at the top and wider 00:05:32.310 --> 00:05:38.329 at the inner sides of the thick wall, was found 00:05:38.329 --> 00:05:41.850 to offer a difficult target from across a moat. 00:05:41.889 --> 00:05:44.670 At the same time, such an opening was big enough 00:05:44.670 --> 00:05:48.500 to enable defenders to fire at will. This special 00:05:48.500 --> 00:05:51.399 form of loophole saved the hide of many lord 00:05:51.399 --> 00:05:54.800 of a manor when firearms made it obsolete. Its 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:57.180 name transferred to any opening that provides 00:05:57.180 --> 00:06:00.100 an advantage to one party in a dispute or an 00:06:00.100 --> 00:06:04.060 agreement. So likewise, God's word serves as 00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:07.459 a loophole for us to take refuge in. By donning 00:06:07.459 --> 00:06:10.600 the word of God, we are able to stand firm against 00:06:10.600 --> 00:06:13.579 the fiery darts and assaults of the devil. So 00:06:13.579 --> 00:06:16.910 we're beginning to start to see. as we get to 00:06:16.910 --> 00:06:20.899 our text here shortly, that the idea of... you 00:06:20.899 --> 00:06:23.980 know, warfare in this sense, or the idea of ballistic 00:06:23.980 --> 00:06:26.060 protection against the fiery darts of the devil, 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:29.740 we have a loophole. We have a way of not only 00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:32.339 escape, we have a way of defending ourselves 00:06:32.339 --> 00:06:34.740 against these fiery darts. Let's look at the 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:37.740 word of God. In Ephesians 6, 10 through 20, it 00:06:37.740 --> 00:06:40.500 says, finally be strong in the Lord and in the 00:06:40.500 --> 00:06:42.699 strength of his might, put on the whole armor 00:06:42.699 --> 00:06:45.019 of God that you may be able to stand against 00:06:45.019 --> 00:06:47.790 the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle 00:06:47.790 --> 00:06:50.129 against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, 00:06:50.269 --> 00:06:52.449 against the authorities, against the cosmic powers 00:06:52.449 --> 00:06:55.230 over this present darkness, against the spiritual 00:06:55.230 --> 00:06:58.480 forces of evil in heavenly places. Therefore, 00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:00.879 take up the whole armor of God that you may be 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:04.000 able to withstand in the evil day, having done 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:07.720 all to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened 00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:10.259 on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate 00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:12.860 of righteousness. And as for shoes for your feet, 00:07:12.939 --> 00:07:15.740 having put on the readiness given by the gospel 00:07:15.740 --> 00:07:19.079 of peace. In all circumstances, take up the shield 00:07:19.079 --> 00:07:22.160 of faith. with which you can extinguish all the 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:25.160 flaming darts of the evil one and take on the 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:27.819 helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, 00:07:28.060 --> 00:07:30.800 which is the word of God, praying at all times 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:33.540 in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. 00:07:33.579 --> 00:07:36.459 To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:39.680 making supplication for all the saints. And also 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:43.199 for me, that words may be given to me in... opening 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:46.120 my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:48.519 gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:52.040 and that I may declare it boldly as I ought to 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:54.620 speak. Let's pray. Dear Lord God, I pray that 00:07:54.620 --> 00:07:57.459 this message, that this word would impact someone's 00:07:57.459 --> 00:08:00.040 heart, that it would impact many people and help 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:03.300 bring them to a relationship with you, Jesus 00:08:03.300 --> 00:08:07.800 Christ, as the ultimate loophole into the fallen 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:10.019 man. We give you all the praise and glory that 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:13.139 only through you people can... Come to salvation, 00:08:13.379 --> 00:08:16.079 and we thank you for your sacrifice on the cross. 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:19.740 In Jesus' name, amen. So I want to think first 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:22.560 about dealing with the flaming darts. We all 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:26.339 deal with threats, both external and internal. 00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:30.540 The internal threats are those of doubt, anxiety, 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:33.620 depression, and all the emotions that we contend 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:38.080 with daily. These are hard enough for us to deal 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:40.519 with on our own, but we are not only dealing 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:43.320 with... These threats, we are also dealing with 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:46.379 external threats that target our weaknesses. 00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:49.480 Our enemy, the devil, strives to hit us where 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:52.919 it hurts. Those soft spots that, you know, when 00:08:52.919 --> 00:08:57.120 hit can cause a mortal wound. He's aiming for 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:00.379 our soft underbelly, looking to wound us mortally. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:03.440 A wound in our vital organs that will lead us 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:08.220 to death or infection, or that will at least 00:09:08.220 --> 00:09:11.370 be severely debilitating. That's the goal of 00:09:11.370 --> 00:09:13.610 the devil is to debilitate you. Now, first off, 00:09:13.669 --> 00:09:16.789 if he can't get you to worship yourself as God, 00:09:16.889 --> 00:09:18.610 because that's really what he wants is for you 00:09:18.610 --> 00:09:21.330 to become your own God, because that's the same 00:09:21.330 --> 00:09:24.149 sin that knocked him down. And he'd love for 00:09:24.149 --> 00:09:27.429 another creation of God to succumb to that form 00:09:27.429 --> 00:09:29.970 of pride. But if he can't do that, he wants to 00:09:29.970 --> 00:09:34.269 make you wounded or unable to serve God fully. 00:09:34.350 --> 00:09:37.120 So today I want to look at the word of God. and 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:39.799 what the Apostle Paul tells us on how to be prepared 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:42.879 for our daily, weekly skirmishes in the battle 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:45.740 that we call life. Even more than that, I want 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:47.940 to focus on how we can be victorious in this 00:09:47.940 --> 00:09:49.919 battle because of the greatness of our Father 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:53.559 in heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ. As we 00:09:53.559 --> 00:09:56.320 walk through history, we will see how armor has 00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:59.299 changed over the centuries, but how it is still 00:09:59.299 --> 00:10:03.720 a beautiful picture of how God protects us from 00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:06.909 these fiery darts from our enemy. So let's look 00:10:06.909 --> 00:10:10.289 at pre -modern armor, modern armor, and then 00:10:10.289 --> 00:10:12.669 ultimately we're going to look at active protection 00:10:12.669 --> 00:10:16.129 systems. So pre -modern armor is leather and 00:10:16.129 --> 00:10:20.149 fabric. So when you think about this idea of 00:10:20.149 --> 00:10:24.370 leather armor or fabric armor or even the meshing 00:10:24.370 --> 00:10:29.149 of both of them together, we use this armor at 00:10:29.149 --> 00:10:31.590 the beginning of our history. When primitive 00:10:31.590 --> 00:10:33.990 warriors were trying to protect themselves with 00:10:33.990 --> 00:10:36.960 leather hides and helmets. In the 11th century 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:41.460 BCE, so before Christ long ago, 11th century, 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:45.480 Chinese warriors wore armor made of five to seven 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:49.840 layers of rhinoceros skin and ox hides were similarly 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:53.379 used by the Mongols in the 13th century, many 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:58.080 years earlier or later, rather. Fabric armor, 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:01.399 too, has a long history with thick, multi -layered 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:04.919 linen carasses. armor covering the body from 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:08.919 the neck down to the waist, worn by Greek heavy 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:12.419 infantry in the 5th century. The quilted linen 00:11:12.419 --> 00:11:16.480 coats worn in northern India, they were worn 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:19.620 by the Indian armies up until the 19th century. 00:11:20.419 --> 00:11:25.080 So these early pieces of armor were providing 00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:28.200 a minimum of protection, but still afforded a 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:31.659 very high mobility. This is not to be overlooked 00:11:31.659 --> 00:11:33.240 that the wearer of the armor must be able to 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:35.500 maintain mobility or else they'll fall victim 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:40.120 to a more agile adversary. And we all know that 00:11:40.120 --> 00:11:42.980 the devil is very agile. He's going to try to 00:11:42.980 --> 00:11:45.460 switch things up. He's going to try to trap us. 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:50.240 And so in 1 Samuel 17, 38 through 39, it says, 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:53.039 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:56.740 on a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed 00:11:56.740 --> 00:11:59.279 him with a coat of mail. And David strapped his 00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:02.679 sword on his armor and he tried in vain to go 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:05.639 for he had not tested them. Then David said to 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:07.980 Saul, I cannot go with these for I have not tested 00:12:07.980 --> 00:12:11.360 them. So David put them off. David ultimately 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:14.480 placed his trust in God and not in the trapping 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:17.740 of King Saul's armor. But we also must remember 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:19.879 that God's armor is supernatural and provides 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:21.840 us with the greatest protection and the greatest 00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:24.820 mobility. There is no cost to the armor of God. 00:12:25.100 --> 00:12:29.389 Through obedience. We shed the weight of sin 00:12:29.389 --> 00:12:32.549 and take up the yoke of the cross. And Jesus 00:12:32.549 --> 00:12:35.190 tells us how his burden is light. So we have 00:12:35.190 --> 00:12:38.509 this picture of King David weighed down by the 00:12:38.509 --> 00:12:41.169 armor of a grown man, King Saul, who's already 00:12:41.169 --> 00:12:44.509 told us to be ahead above those around him. He's 00:12:44.509 --> 00:12:47.850 a tall man. He's a strong man. But in this situation, 00:12:48.110 --> 00:12:51.610 he's feeble. He's afraid of Goliath. And you 00:12:51.610 --> 00:12:57.070 have the young shepherd. who comes to fight against 00:12:57.070 --> 00:12:59.529 Goliath. And Saul's like, well, let's load you 00:12:59.529 --> 00:13:01.629 up. I'll give you my armor. It's the best around. 00:13:02.649 --> 00:13:05.289 And it weighs him down. And so David makes the 00:13:05.289 --> 00:13:08.549 very wise and godly decision to say, I will fight 00:13:08.549 --> 00:13:11.210 with God on my side as God is my protection. 00:13:12.029 --> 00:13:14.490 In Matthew 11, 30, it says, for my yoke is easy, 00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:16.429 my burden is light. And this is a picture we 00:13:16.429 --> 00:13:19.549 can glean from even this Old Testament illustration 00:13:19.549 --> 00:13:24.000 of King David. way before he was a king, just 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.700 knowing that even though the lightness in his 00:13:27.700 --> 00:13:31.399 youth would not be a detriment to him when he 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:34.940 faces the enemy, Goliath. We come to the next 00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:37.080 stage of armor, which was mail armor. So you 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:39.879 have your iron, your steel, and the advantage 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:45.440 of chain mail is that it's quite flexible. It's 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:48.159 relatively impervious to slashing strokes. So 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:51.100 if you're slashing with a knife or a sword, it's 00:13:51.100 --> 00:13:53.679 not going to be able to cut through to the flesh. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:58.159 But even so, thrusting weapons can force apart 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:01.860 these rings in spite of their tight knitness. 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:05.679 So a suitable piercing weapon can get through 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:10.000 the chain mail. So in the form of a simple shirt, 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:13.509 mail was worn throughout the Roman Empire. and 00:14:13.509 --> 00:14:16.909 beyond most of its frontiers. Mail formed the 00:14:16.909 --> 00:14:19.830 main armor of Western Europe until the 14th century. 00:14:20.669 --> 00:14:23.070 So this is something that we've utilized throughout 00:14:23.070 --> 00:14:26.029 our history for a long time. It provided adequate 00:14:26.029 --> 00:14:29.409 protection in most situations. In Europe, strips 00:14:29.409 --> 00:14:32.450 of mail were also worn underneath plate armor 00:14:32.450 --> 00:14:35.230 to close any gaps left between the rigid plates. 00:14:35.330 --> 00:14:37.970 So even as we moved into more rigid forms of 00:14:37.970 --> 00:14:40.549 armor, the mail would be underneath to protect 00:14:40.549 --> 00:14:43.799 it. Male shirts were worn in India and Persia 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:46.759 up until the 19th century. And the Japanese used 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:49.980 mail to a limited extent from the 14th century 00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:54.120 through the rings in the Japanese mail were arranged 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:57.320 in a variety of ways, producing a more open construction 00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:01.299 than found in Europe. Male sleeves, legs, harnesses, 00:15:01.299 --> 00:15:03.740 and hoods had also been worn. So it's kind of 00:15:03.740 --> 00:15:05.220 an interesting thought here when you think of 00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:08.980 Japan. and how they started using mail armor 00:15:08.980 --> 00:15:12.179 as Europe started moving away from mail armor. 00:15:12.299 --> 00:15:15.200 What's the big distinction here? Well, the samurais 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:18.139 and slashing weapons that were largely used in 00:15:18.139 --> 00:15:21.500 Japan, mail was still a suitable alternative. 00:15:21.500 --> 00:15:24.879 But as the 14th century and later on came through, 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:28.139 the crossbow and the power of it, and then eventually 00:15:28.139 --> 00:15:31.779 the firearms and the power of those, made mail 00:15:31.779 --> 00:15:37.049 useless and nothing but an added weight. And 00:15:37.049 --> 00:15:41.789 we look at our rigid forms of armor in the early 00:15:41.789 --> 00:15:44.970 eras. You have your wood, you have your horn 00:15:44.970 --> 00:15:48.309 from an animal, you have metals, you have plastics. 00:15:48.429 --> 00:15:51.309 These armors were composed largely of steel or 00:15:51.309 --> 00:15:53.830 iron plates that were linked loosely together 00:15:53.830 --> 00:15:58.529 by close rivets and by internal leathers that 00:15:58.529 --> 00:16:00.570 allowed the wearer maximum freedom of movement. 00:16:00.649 --> 00:16:03.070 So again, now they're weighed down. They've got 00:16:03.070 --> 00:16:05.070 plate armor, they've got chain mail, they've 00:16:05.070 --> 00:16:07.549 got probably some sort of fabric underneath that. 00:16:08.090 --> 00:16:10.210 They've got three layers of armor and it's just 00:16:10.210 --> 00:16:12.610 weighing them down. But all these forms of protection 00:16:12.610 --> 00:16:15.529 have a weakness. In the case of Ahab, we can 00:16:15.529 --> 00:16:19.070 see that a well -placed arrow can strike in between 00:16:19.070 --> 00:16:22.850 the joints of your armor. And this is why armor 00:16:22.850 --> 00:16:25.529 systems are made up of these many, many layers. 00:16:26.029 --> 00:16:29.870 1 Kings 22, 34, but a certain man drew his bow. 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:32.980 At random and struck the king of Israel between 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:37.799 the scales of his armor and breastplate. So the 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:41.500 devil is able to launch these arrows at us in 00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:45.759 mass. And if we're only using earthly armor, 00:16:45.940 --> 00:16:50.080 it leaves gaps. It leaves gaps within our heart, 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:53.620 within our soul. And it allows for the opportunity 00:16:53.620 --> 00:16:57.509 for these arrows to come and find flesh. And 00:16:57.509 --> 00:17:00.049 when they find flesh, they can leave a mortal 00:17:00.049 --> 00:17:03.350 wound. And we have to be aware of that truth. 00:17:04.750 --> 00:17:08.009 So then we look at modern armor. Modern warfare 00:17:08.009 --> 00:17:12.029 subjects soldiers to a variety of lethal projectiles. 00:17:12.029 --> 00:17:14.130 Now we're not just talking about bows and arrows. 00:17:14.190 --> 00:17:18.109 We're talking now about bullets fired from rifles 00:17:18.109 --> 00:17:20.710 and pistols and machine guns that can penetrate 00:17:20.710 --> 00:17:24.109 the flesh and often create terrible wounds as 00:17:24.109 --> 00:17:27.130 the bullet breaks up in the body. and tumbles 00:17:27.130 --> 00:17:30.490 throughout. When they hit a hard substance such 00:17:30.490 --> 00:17:32.529 as bone, they can cause that bone to shatter. 00:17:33.430 --> 00:17:37.710 Shell fragments can create jagged pieces of metal 00:17:37.710 --> 00:17:41.190 formed by the explosion that comes within these 00:17:41.190 --> 00:17:46.470 shells or another idea of a grenade. And these 00:17:46.470 --> 00:17:49.450 things come out as an explosive force that can 00:17:49.450 --> 00:17:54.509 come through most forms of prehistoric or ancient 00:17:54.509 --> 00:17:59.299 armor. In the battlefield today, we have mines, 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:02.079 we have booby traps, improvised explosive devices 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:05.259 that can target soldiers at close range and kill 00:18:05.259 --> 00:18:08.359 or wound through the force of an explosion and 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:12.079 the effects of fragmentation. Shape charges are 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:14.039 designed to penetrate vehicle armor. There's 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:17.180 explosives that are designed so that even a vehicle 00:18:17.180 --> 00:18:19.519 that's equipped with anti -explosive technology 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:23.680 or protection, they can shoot through the base 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:28.559 of that vehicle. And it'll create a stream of 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:31.400 molten hot metal that will kill everything in 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:37.279 its path. In our world today, we have to be aware 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:39.099 that the devil is laying traps for the people 00:18:39.099 --> 00:18:42.500 of God and sinners as well. The Bible tells us 00:18:42.500 --> 00:18:44.339 that he's trying to snare us. He's trying to 00:18:44.339 --> 00:18:48.440 hook us in. And that's why we remember that grace 00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:52.650 that God gave us on Calvary. And we need to strive 00:18:52.650 --> 00:18:55.309 for restoration, not only of our own lives through 00:18:55.309 --> 00:18:57.410 his grace, but those around us, those important 00:18:57.410 --> 00:19:00.430 to us, those that have left behind their faith 00:19:00.430 --> 00:19:03.849 so that they can be once again redeemed. In 2 00:19:03.849 --> 00:19:07.009 Timothy 2, 26, it says, and the Lord's servant 00:19:07.009 --> 00:19:09.269 must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, 00:19:09.470 --> 00:19:12.349 able to teach patiently enduring evil, correcting 00:19:12.349 --> 00:19:15.660 his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps 00:19:15.660 --> 00:19:17.960 grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:20.559 of truth, and they may come to their senses and 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:23.240 escape from the snare of the devil after being 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:27.420 captured by him to do his will. So gunpowder 00:19:27.420 --> 00:19:31.420 renders much of the previous armor we discussed 00:19:31.420 --> 00:19:36.599 as obsolete. And this brings us back to the idea 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:43.599 of a new kind of body armor. Once gunpowder entered 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:46.619 onto the scene, the day of the night was come 00:19:46.619 --> 00:19:49.859 to a quick end. The majestic knight with his 00:19:49.859 --> 00:19:52.440 plate armor, his chain mail, and then his padded 00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:55.700 armor underneath was now of no use as a bullet 00:19:55.700 --> 00:19:58.420 could penetrate straight through all and causing 00:19:58.420 --> 00:20:02.480 way more damage than an arrow or a sword could 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:06.160 ever have done. It took the lowliest riflemen 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:10.279 and elevated them to a strength above the grandest 00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:15.240 of knights. So what are we going to do about 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:21.819 this? Or how do they overcome this danger? In 00:20:21.819 --> 00:20:24.140 the trench warfare that happened in World War 00:20:24.140 --> 00:20:28.319 I, the devastating effects of artillery barrages 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:30.980 caused armies once again to outfit their soldiers 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:34.160 with metal combat helmets to protect them against 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:37.000 fragmentation wounds to the head. The German 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:40.220 army even outfitted some soldiers and exposed 00:20:40.220 --> 00:20:45.079 positions. Machine gunners, snipers, sentries 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:48.039 with steel breastplates. These steel helmets 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:50.119 were standard issue for foot soldiers in World 00:20:50.119 --> 00:20:53.720 War I or World War II as well. In addition, bomber 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:56.039 crews in the conflict wore heavy flak jackets 00:20:56.039 --> 00:20:58.819 designed to protect against the fragmentation 00:20:58.819 --> 00:21:01.440 from air defense guns. So they were struggling 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:06.799 in this 19th century, or the 20th century rather, 00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:09.920 they were struggling how to overcome the massive 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:16.640 power. of these new weapons. Previous to that, 00:21:16.680 --> 00:21:19.119 you know, they had to get off nights, but they 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:21.440 found that mobility was able to salvage much 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:24.900 of it because a musket or early rifle didn't 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:27.220 fire at a fast enough cyclical rate where it 00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:30.640 became as big of a threat. You could run away 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:33.720 from these types of armaments to some extent 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:36.440 because your ability, your agility or your mobility 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:39.200 would circumvent some of the danger of it. But 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:44.759 now, Now there's just way more firepower. And 00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:46.779 so they're like, well, maybe we got to put steel 00:21:46.779 --> 00:21:49.960 helmets on, steel breastplates on, flak jackets 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:53.380 on. And then they came around to developing new 00:21:53.380 --> 00:21:59.960 materials like Kevlar and ceramics. Modern body 00:21:59.960 --> 00:22:04.119 armor systems are called IBAs or interceptor 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:06.920 body armor, consist of an outer tactical vest. 00:22:07.549 --> 00:22:10.109 Made from a layered Kevlar, which provides protection 00:22:10.109 --> 00:22:12.910 against shell fragments and most handgun bullets 00:22:12.910 --> 00:22:15.309 as large as nine millimeter. So that would have 00:22:15.309 --> 00:22:18.509 been like my flak jacket. This type of Kevlar 00:22:18.509 --> 00:22:20.549 could stop, you know, a small bullet at nine 00:22:20.549 --> 00:22:23.289 millimeters, fairly small projectile in the scope 00:22:23.289 --> 00:22:28.750 of handguns. And then what do you do in something 00:22:28.750 --> 00:22:31.569 bigger? Because rifles that are used by militaries 00:22:31.569 --> 00:22:35.509 are much stronger than a small handgun. So then 00:22:35.509 --> 00:22:38.539 they would add. two ceramic small arms protective 00:22:38.539 --> 00:22:40.880 inserts or as we would call them sappy plates 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:44.519 which could be inserted into your vest and provide 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:48.119 additional protection altogether this full system 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:52.460 weighs 16 pounds but it provides protection against 00:22:52.460 --> 00:22:56.779 a 7 .62 millimeter full metal jacket rifle a 00:22:56.779 --> 00:22:58.700 level of protection that earlier versions of 00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:02.960 body armor couldn't provide now to try to you 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:05.240 know give you a little bit of idea behind this 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:07.950 though This kind of protection would only protect 00:23:07.950 --> 00:23:11.470 you from one or two shots. Because as the ceramic 00:23:11.470 --> 00:23:13.809 is impacted, it breaks and it starts to lose 00:23:13.809 --> 00:23:17.809 its structural integrity. This is still better 00:23:17.809 --> 00:23:20.009 than what you'd had available before. But again, 00:23:20.210 --> 00:23:23.990 within any human system to protect against this 00:23:23.990 --> 00:23:26.910 kind of barrage, there are gaps. These systems 00:23:26.910 --> 00:23:30.109 only cover at best from your throat down to your 00:23:30.109 --> 00:23:33.769 groin area, your upper thighs. And they would 00:23:33.769 --> 00:23:36.430 be way more weighty than the 16 pounds described. 00:23:36.970 --> 00:23:39.930 So your mobility is limited. And so now you're 00:23:39.930 --> 00:23:42.809 even at more risk because you're not able to 00:23:42.809 --> 00:23:45.930 move quickly or agilely to get yourself out of 00:23:45.930 --> 00:23:48.569 a threatening situation. And we find that with 00:23:48.569 --> 00:23:51.529 our own lives when we're trying to fight our 00:23:51.529 --> 00:23:55.609 enemy, the devil, where we think, I need to take 00:23:55.609 --> 00:23:57.650 all this protection on. I need to do all this 00:23:57.650 --> 00:24:01.809 stuff from the world. But it's not going to save 00:24:01.809 --> 00:24:05.490 us. Because the Bible does tell us to flee from 00:24:05.490 --> 00:24:09.769 temptation, right? It doesn't say sit and weather 00:24:09.769 --> 00:24:14.650 it. It says flee from it. So when we're being 00:24:14.650 --> 00:24:17.089 assaulted, when we're being barraged, we have 00:24:17.089 --> 00:24:20.009 victory in Jesus, but we're also told to be wise. 00:24:21.349 --> 00:24:23.269 So this brings me to my final point, which is 00:24:23.269 --> 00:24:26.630 active protection systems. And then we'll loop 00:24:26.630 --> 00:24:29.960 this back in to our text. An active protection 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:33.359 system, an APS, is a system designed to actively 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:36.000 prevent certain anti -tank weapons from destroying 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:41.980 a vehicle. Countermeasures that conceal the vehicle 00:24:41.980 --> 00:24:45.039 from or disrupt the guidance of an incoming guided 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:48.079 missile threat are designated soft -kill active 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:51.839 protection measures. Countermeasures that physically 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:54.640 strike an incoming threat to damage or destroy 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:57.339 it, thereby limit its ability to penetrate the 00:24:57.339 --> 00:25:01.000 armor, or designated hard kill active protection 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:03.980 measures. Soft kill measures are designed to 00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:06.160 defeat guided weapons either by concealing or 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:09.740 protecting the vehicle from them, like a smoke 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:12.980 screen, or by disrupting their guidance with 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:15.099 like radiation, which would be like a dazzler. 00:25:15.140 --> 00:25:19.140 It shoots up lights like lasers to stop the guidance 00:25:19.140 --> 00:25:27.900 of an enemy system. The idea of this, though, 00:25:27.980 --> 00:25:30.339 is that these soft kill measures can be divided 00:25:30.339 --> 00:25:33.039 into onboard countermeasures such as dazzlers, 00:25:33.099 --> 00:25:37.140 which are fixed to the platform, and expendable 00:25:37.140 --> 00:25:39.559 countermeasures such as smoke grenades, which 00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:43.119 are ejected upon use. Soft kill measures may 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:46.140 be used preemptively, but are more commonly employed 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:49.960 in reaction to detected threats. So here's a 00:25:49.960 --> 00:25:52.900 good idea, is if you're coming under assault, 00:25:54.219 --> 00:25:57.079 You can try to shoot up all this stuff to distract 00:25:57.079 --> 00:26:00.980 yourself from the assault that's coming in. But 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:03.319 a lot of these times, like a smoke screen works 00:26:03.319 --> 00:26:06.559 both ways. If you're trying to throw smoke out 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:09.720 there to hide from the attacks of the devil, 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:12.900 just know that he can see through that. And that's 00:26:12.900 --> 00:26:15.180 why we have to rely on Jesus for our strength. 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:16.619 And that's why we have to rely on the word of 00:26:16.619 --> 00:26:21.559 God. Because we might find ourselves in a situation 00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:24.589 where we're just putting up a smoke screen. to 00:26:24.589 --> 00:26:27.069 cover up our own sin and that we need to repent 00:26:27.069 --> 00:26:31.309 from. A hard kill measure kinetically attacks 00:26:31.309 --> 00:26:34.769 a threatening missile or other munitions, usually 00:26:34.769 --> 00:26:38.289 at very close range to protect a vehicle. Explosively 00:26:38.289 --> 00:26:41.509 formed penetrators, EFPs, or high explosive fragmentation 00:26:41.509 --> 00:26:44.730 countermeasures are typically used. The exact 00:26:44.730 --> 00:26:48.069 mechanism of these APSs are not available to 00:26:48.069 --> 00:26:51.150 us in the public. But these countermeasures may 00:26:51.150 --> 00:26:54.049 lead to the disturbance of stability of a kinetic 00:26:54.049 --> 00:26:56.970 projectile. So what does this mean? This is simply 00:26:56.970 --> 00:27:00.250 to distill this down because I'm probably getting 00:27:00.250 --> 00:27:02.690 into the weeds a bit with this military jargon. 00:27:03.609 --> 00:27:06.089 Some of these systems that are on tanks and on 00:27:06.089 --> 00:27:08.930 armored personnel vehicles now, they can sense 00:27:08.930 --> 00:27:11.369 a threat and they can shoot something out to 00:27:11.369 --> 00:27:14.509 take the threat out. So imagine a missile coming 00:27:14.509 --> 00:27:18.450 in, inbound to a ship. And there's a thing called 00:27:18.450 --> 00:27:21.170 the sea whiz, which is a very fancy machine gun 00:27:21.170 --> 00:27:24.089 system that can track a missile and they can 00:27:24.089 --> 00:27:26.849 just put lead in its path, a bunch of bullets 00:27:26.849 --> 00:27:30.670 in its path, and it'll take it out. These are 00:27:30.670 --> 00:27:33.109 very powerful tools, but this is what brings 00:27:33.109 --> 00:27:35.250 us now back to the word of God and our victory 00:27:35.250 --> 00:27:38.490 in Jesus. In our text, we read about the armor 00:27:38.490 --> 00:27:40.789 of God. In the letter's final teaching section, 00:27:41.049 --> 00:27:44.130 Paul instructs believers to stand against the 00:27:44.130 --> 00:27:47.279 evil forces at work in the world. This discussion 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:49.299 has three parts, a description of the nature 00:27:49.299 --> 00:27:52.660 of the battle in verses 10 through 13, and then 00:27:52.660 --> 00:27:55.279 a call to resist the powers by putting on the 00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:59.259 armor of God in verses 14 through 17. Then finally, 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:06.019 our active form of protection is to pray and 00:28:06.019 --> 00:28:10.619 be alert. We need to be mindful of what is going 00:28:10.619 --> 00:28:12.779 on in our world. We need to be mindful of what 00:28:12.779 --> 00:28:14.619 is going on in our own lives, our own spirit, 00:28:14.680 --> 00:28:19.079 and we need to pray. Because prayer is that active 00:28:19.079 --> 00:28:24.940 protection. The Lord God gave Israelites a similar 00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:27.640 charge before they engaged in battle with the 00:28:27.640 --> 00:28:29.519 inhabitants of the promised land in Deuteronomy 00:28:29.519 --> 00:28:35.099 31, 23, and then Joshua 1, 6. So 31, 23 first, 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:37.140 and the Lord commissioned Joshua, the son of 00:28:37.140 --> 00:28:39.960 Nun, and said, be strong and courageous for you 00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:41.880 shall bring the people of Israel into the land 00:28:41.880 --> 00:28:44.680 that I swore to give them. I will be with you. 00:28:45.210 --> 00:28:49.470 And then in Joshua chapter one, verses five through 00:28:49.470 --> 00:28:52.450 seven, no man shall be able to stand before you 00:28:52.450 --> 00:28:54.750 all the days of your life. Just as I was with 00:28:54.750 --> 00:28:56.710 Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave 00:28:56.710 --> 00:28:59.329 you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous 00:28:59.329 --> 00:29:02.430 for you shall cause this people to inherit the 00:29:02.430 --> 00:29:04.470 land I swore to their fathers to give to them. 00:29:05.789 --> 00:29:09.130 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful 00:29:09.130 --> 00:29:12.250 to do according to all the law that Moses my 00:29:12.250 --> 00:29:15.160 servant commanded you. Do not turn from it. to 00:29:15.160 --> 00:29:17.779 the right or to the left, that you may have good 00:29:17.779 --> 00:29:21.640 success wherever you go. So the full armor of 00:29:21.640 --> 00:29:24.579 God in verse 11, you know, we can see this in 00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:27.180 the book of Isaiah contains similar imagery to 00:29:27.180 --> 00:29:31.980 Paul. In Isaiah 11, 4 through 5, it says, But 00:29:31.980 --> 00:29:34.440 with righteousness he shall judge the poor and 00:29:34.440 --> 00:29:37.099 decide with equity for the meek of the earth, 00:29:37.220 --> 00:29:40.420 and he shall strike the earth with the rod of 00:29:40.420 --> 00:29:42.920 his mouth. And with the breath of his lips, he 00:29:42.920 --> 00:29:45.440 shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:48.579 the belt of his waist and faithfulness, the belt 00:29:48.579 --> 00:29:52.059 of his loins. Later in Isaiah 52, seven, it says, 00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:54.500 how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet 00:29:54.500 --> 00:29:58.420 of him who bring the good news, who publishes 00:29:58.420 --> 00:30:02.220 peace, who brings good news of happiness and 00:30:02.220 --> 00:30:05.859 who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, your 00:30:05.859 --> 00:30:11.569 God reigns. Finally, in... Isaiah 59, 17, it 00:30:11.569 --> 00:30:26.450 says, So we have to be able to stand. This is 00:30:26.450 --> 00:30:28.589 a military expression that refers to a posture 00:30:28.589 --> 00:30:31.970 of opposition towards the enemy. Strategies of 00:30:31.970 --> 00:30:34.049 the devil refer to the devil's efforts to disrupt 00:30:34.049 --> 00:30:39.049 the church. And Paul uses the Greek word methodia, 00:30:40.169 --> 00:30:43.309 to suggest that the devil is cunning and uses 00:30:43.309 --> 00:30:46.630 deception to advance his evil purposes. In 2 00:30:46.630 --> 00:31:03.329 Corinthians 11, 3, We have to understand that 00:31:03.329 --> 00:31:07.250 there are forces of wickedness at work. There's 00:31:07.250 --> 00:31:11.019 supernatural powers. that are hostile to the 00:31:11.019 --> 00:31:14.279 word of God. Because of Christ's victory over 00:31:14.279 --> 00:31:17.539 these evil powers, we as believers need to have 00:31:17.539 --> 00:31:26.299 courage in order to resist them. So with this, 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:30.960 I just would like to close. When we think about 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:34.039 the armor of God that's depicted in our text 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:37.420 in Ephesians, We need to put it on, but the benefit 00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:39.779 of this armor of God is that it leaves us with 00:31:39.779 --> 00:31:42.420 the ability to be agile. It leaves us with the 00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:46.200 ability to reside in Christ. Our active force 00:31:46.200 --> 00:31:50.240 is the word of God. It comes out like a two -edged 00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:53.559 sword, but not only that, our prayer. Everything 00:31:53.559 --> 00:31:56.500 else it talks about in regards to this is to 00:31:56.500 --> 00:32:01.559 be an agent for peace. Because vengeance is the 00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:04.559 Lord's, right? So what we need to focus on is 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:07.859 how we bring people to Christ so they can be 00:32:07.859 --> 00:32:11.079 set free and redeemed in Jesus' name so that 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:14.299 they too will put on the armor of God and they 00:32:14.299 --> 00:32:17.500 will not be impacted by the flaming darts of 00:32:17.500 --> 00:32:21.400 the devil. We don't have to be under barrage 00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:24.200 of the devil because as we link together in fellowship 00:32:24.200 --> 00:32:29.059 as believers, we have victory in Christ. And 00:32:29.059 --> 00:32:31.500 so with that, I'd just like to have about every 00:32:31.500 --> 00:32:33.400 eye closed, wherever you are, as long as it's 00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:35.740 safe. And I just want to give a quick invitation 00:32:35.740 --> 00:32:38.339 that if God is working on you, if you feel like 00:32:38.339 --> 00:32:42.339 you're under attack today, you need to put on 00:32:42.339 --> 00:32:44.660 the armor of God. But maybe you might say, I'm 00:32:44.660 --> 00:32:46.500 not saved. I'm not a Christian. I don't believe 00:32:46.500 --> 00:32:49.779 in any of this. Then you need to give your life 00:32:49.779 --> 00:32:52.759 to Jesus Christ. You need to repent. You need 00:32:52.759 --> 00:32:56.099 to turn your life over to him and pick up your 00:32:56.099 --> 00:32:59.200 cross and follow Jesus. And you can do that if 00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:01.579 you'd like to signify that, that you want to 00:33:01.579 --> 00:33:03.240 make that decision. You can signify that with 00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:05.579 an uplifted hand wherever you are. I can't see 00:33:05.579 --> 00:33:09.380 it, but God can. And if you do, if you've rivers 00:33:09.380 --> 00:33:11.920 in your hand and you mean it, then God sees that. 00:33:12.920 --> 00:33:14.599 I just want you to repeat after me. Dear Lord 00:33:14.599 --> 00:33:17.460 God, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that 00:33:17.460 --> 00:33:20.839 your son Jesus died for me and rose from the 00:33:20.839 --> 00:33:23.700 grave. I repent of my sin, which just means I 00:33:23.700 --> 00:33:27.759 turn away. And I accept Jesus as my Lord and 00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:31.400 my Savior, my King and my Sovereign. In Jesus' 00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:36.640 name, amen. That simple prayer, we like to colloquially 00:33:36.640 --> 00:33:39.779 call it a sinner's prayer, is the recognition 00:33:39.779 --> 00:33:44.200 that Jesus is God and he's very God, incarnate 00:33:44.200 --> 00:33:47.339 flesh, who died for your sins and rose from the 00:33:47.339 --> 00:33:51.859 grave. And that by believing in him, you are 00:33:51.859 --> 00:33:56.339 set free. When he says what Jesus tells the people 00:33:56.339 --> 00:33:58.339 that he prays with to repent and sin no more, 00:33:58.559 --> 00:34:01.140 that's simply casting off your old life because 00:34:01.140 --> 00:34:03.900 you have a new life in Jesus. So I want to thank 00:34:03.900 --> 00:34:05.779 you for taking the time to listen to me today. 00:34:06.839 --> 00:34:10.280 I pray that this message impacts you and that 00:34:10.280 --> 00:34:13.719 it helps you. Don't be worried about all the 00:34:13.719 --> 00:34:17.599 conniving and all the new weapons that are being 00:34:17.599 --> 00:34:19.659 brought to bear. The internet can be a weapon 00:34:19.659 --> 00:34:22.159 against Christianity, but it can also be a tool 00:34:22.159 --> 00:34:25.710 for Christ. Music can be a weapon against Christianity, 00:34:25.769 --> 00:34:30.530 but can also be a tool for Christ. Put on the 00:34:30.530 --> 00:34:36.250 armor of God. Live in the word and pray for guidance, 00:34:36.269 --> 00:34:38.610 understanding. And I trust that God is going 00:34:38.610 --> 00:34:40.590 to do a mighty work in you. I want to thank you 00:34:40.590 --> 00:34:42.190 again for listening. Can't wait for you to come 00:34:42.190 --> 00:34:45.070 back next time. God bless. Thank you for listening 00:34:45.070 --> 00:34:47.769 to the PHSAA Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. 00:34:48.070 --> 00:34:50.289 Be sure to follow us on Instagram at pottershouse 00:34:50.289 --> 00:34:53.050 underscore salmon arm to keep up to date on what 00:34:53.050 --> 00:34:55.170 we are doing. Join the conversation and discover 00:34:55.170 --> 00:34:58.190 how Jesus Christ can revolutionize your life.