WEBVTT 00:00:00.910 --> 00:00:06.849 Now I am climbing higher. Each day darkness of 00:00:06.849 --> 00:00:12.910 night has drifted away. My feet are planted on 00:00:12.910 --> 00:00:18.949 higher ground and glory to God. I'm onward bound. 00:00:18.989 --> 00:00:25.030 He set me free. He set me free. Hallelujah. The 00:00:25.030 --> 00:00:34.740 bonds of prison. My Jesus to see. Glory to God. 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:49.420 He set me free. Hallelujah. Well, hallelujah. 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:53.780 How many is free in the house today? There's 00:00:53.780 --> 00:00:57.859 an old song that said, like a bird out of prison. 00:00:58.700 --> 00:01:03.140 I wish I knew all the words to that. That's it. 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:10.420 That I found out he would bring me out and show 00:01:10.420 --> 00:01:18.959 me the way. Thank God I am free, free, free from 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:24.920 this world of sin. Oh, yeah. Washed in the blood 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:33.780 of Jesus. And I've been born. Hey. I'm saved, 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:40.299 saved, saved. His wonderful grace. I'm so glad. 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:47.200 Found out he would bring me out and show me the 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:55.340 way. I'm glad I'm free this morning. I'm excited. 00:01:56.659 --> 00:01:59.060 I'm about to preach a little something to you 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:01.840 that I've never preached before. I'm talking 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:06.640 about fresh bread. Yeah, it's so fresh it burnt 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:10.780 my fingers. I'm talking about this morning fresh. 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:16.379 If you have your Bibles, go ahead and be turning 00:02:16.379 --> 00:02:23.800 with me to 2 Corinthians 2. We're going to pick 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:26.960 out. One passage of Scripture. It's verse 11. 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:34.039 Brother Hunter, go ahead and throw that whatever 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:37.960 you've got fixed up. I'm excited to see it. Look 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:42.919 at here. Advancing beyond the limits of ignorance. 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:56.900 I'm excited this morning. One of my pastor friends, 00:02:57.060 --> 00:02:58.659 I was talking to him on the way into church this 00:02:58.659 --> 00:02:59.800 morning. He said, what are you preaching today? 00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:01.340 I said, are you ready? He said, yeah, what are 00:03:01.340 --> 00:03:03.620 you preaching? And I told him that title. He 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:08.699 said, uh -oh. Then he begins to admonish me to 00:03:08.699 --> 00:03:12.460 take it easy on you. Yeah, you're going to hammer 00:03:12.460 --> 00:03:14.659 him. I said, no, I'm not. I don't ever hammer 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:17.419 him. Do I ever hammer you? No, I instruct you 00:03:17.419 --> 00:03:21.020 pretty strongly sometimes. But you want to go 00:03:21.020 --> 00:03:25.680 to heaven, right? Who wants to go? Okay. So we're 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:27.840 doing good. You like the way you get it? Kindly 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:37.280 firm and energetic, loud. I like it loud. Somebody 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:41.400 said, amen, you do. It's loud in here. Don't 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:43.039 complain about it. You could be somewhere it's 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:48.300 like death warmed over. Wishing that the preacher 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:50.340 would at least get excited about what he's saying. 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:53.960 I'm excited about what I say, mainly because 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:56.419 I want you to go to heaven with me. I've done 00:03:56.419 --> 00:03:59.900 made up my mind. I'm going. Anybody else, you've 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:01.699 made your mind. And I want you to go with me. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:06.639 So you need to know some things. I hate the devil. 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:11.180 Well, that's a strong word. Well, I do. If there 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:14.939 was one stronger that I could use, I would. I 00:04:14.939 --> 00:04:19.560 hate the devil. I do. I hate what he tries to 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:23.480 do to us as children of God. And that's what 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:26.399 this is all about today. Advancing beyond the 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:32.180 limits of ignorance. 2 Corinthians 2 verse 11 00:04:32.180 --> 00:04:36.980 reads, Lest Satan should get an advantage of 00:04:36.980 --> 00:04:45.379 us, for we are not ignorant of his devices. So 00:04:45.379 --> 00:04:46.939 you see, you thought we were going one way and 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:48.899 that kind of... That's the reason I read the 00:04:48.899 --> 00:04:51.199 title before I did the text, because you're thinking, 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:56.079 oh, no, what's he going to do? Knowing who our 00:04:56.079 --> 00:05:01.000 enemy is, but greater still, knowing who God 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:05.939 is. Amen? Knowing who God is. I'll pray for you. 00:05:05.980 --> 00:05:08.040 If you pray for me, we have some urgent requests. 00:05:08.500 --> 00:05:12.120 Sister Dana, Sister Daisy, she has a niece that's 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:15.300 been in a terrible accident. And we have others. 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:17.600 How many of you got some physical ailments that 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:20.420 you need the Lord to touch and move? And I know 00:05:20.420 --> 00:05:22.060 Sister Dean needs a healing. We're going to pray 00:05:22.060 --> 00:05:23.779 again later, but we're just going to set the 00:05:23.779 --> 00:05:27.120 parameters and go ahead and pray now. Amen. Because 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:29.879 sometimes my mind doesn't. Once I get going where 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:31.860 we're headed, it'll tell me what I'll remember 00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:33.740 or forget. So let's pray together. Father, we 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:37.740 love you. So thankful today. Lord, I get chatty 00:05:37.740 --> 00:05:41.500 when I feel your anointing as strongly as I do 00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:44.949 this morning. I feel your presence today. Lord, 00:05:45.069 --> 00:05:46.949 we just come before you that you would touch 00:05:46.949 --> 00:05:49.589 each of us, touch our hearing, that we may hear 00:05:49.589 --> 00:05:51.009 what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to the 00:05:51.009 --> 00:05:53.829 church today. But also, Lord, that we may be 00:05:53.829 --> 00:05:56.129 obedient to speak what it is you would have us 00:05:56.129 --> 00:05:59.029 to say. No more, no less. So help me, Father, 00:05:59.129 --> 00:06:02.060 just to be your mouthpiece. A mouthpiece of love 00:06:02.060 --> 00:06:05.220 and care and concern to your people. Now, Lord, 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:06.899 the petitions that have been brought before us 00:06:06.899 --> 00:06:08.819 today, you know where they are. You know the 00:06:08.819 --> 00:06:11.160 hospital rooms that they are in. You know, oh 00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:13.560 God, what they must have in their heart and in 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:16.250 their life today. Healing in their bodies, Lord. 00:06:16.490 --> 00:06:19.230 Mind, soul, and spirit need encouraged and need 00:06:19.230 --> 00:06:22.110 touched, Lord, with that salve and that balm 00:06:22.110 --> 00:06:24.350 of Gilead. I ask, Lord, that you would apply 00:06:24.350 --> 00:06:27.329 it richly and deeply to the healing of your people. 00:06:27.509 --> 00:06:29.829 And those who are lost and undone concerning 00:06:29.829 --> 00:06:33.189 these petitions, I pray, God, that you save their 00:06:33.189 --> 00:06:35.949 soul as you heal their body. And, Lord, we'll 00:06:35.949 --> 00:06:38.209 be quick to praise you for it all in Christ's 00:06:38.209 --> 00:06:41.550 lovely name. The church said? Amen. Tell your 00:06:41.550 --> 00:06:50.439 neighbor, don't be ignorant. Talking with a dear 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:53.920 friend of mine one day. He's done going on to 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:56.639 be with the Lord, Pastor Ernie Varner. He and 00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:00.420 I were discussing our children. And he asked 00:07:00.420 --> 00:07:05.180 me about my son. He said, where's Gerald? I said, 00:07:05.339 --> 00:07:07.939 well, he said, well, what's going on with him? 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:10.920 I said, well, he's ignorant, looking for a place 00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:17.079 to manifest. Sister Kathy, I surprised her this 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:21.899 morning with this title. I have low tolerance 00:07:21.899 --> 00:07:28.680 for ignorance, especially if knowledge has been 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:34.920 made available. So I'm going to tiptoe until 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:37.600 I get started good, and then we'll get going, 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:43.980 all right? Believe it or not, the Bible has a 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:46.899 lot to say about... being ignorant and ignorance. 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:50.259 I mean, you look it up, it's like, whoa, the 00:07:50.259 --> 00:07:55.199 Lord knows these people. When you think about 00:07:55.199 --> 00:08:00.259 ignorance, ignorance is a hard road to travel. 00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:10.259 There are many troubling lessons that are learned 00:08:10.259 --> 00:08:16.060 on the pathway of ignorance. At its simplest 00:08:16.060 --> 00:08:19.720 definition, it just simply means to unknow or 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:24.459 to not know. It's basically a lack of knowledge. 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:28.879 In Hosea 4 and 6, through the prophet, if you 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:31.699 know much about Hosea, the prophet is one of 00:08:31.699 --> 00:08:33.919 the minor letters, one of the minor prophets, 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:37.440 but he had a major message. He was instructed 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:40.830 to... marry a woman of ill repute and her to 00:08:40.830 --> 00:08:43.570 leave him time and time again but yet he to go 00:08:43.570 --> 00:08:46.389 purchase her back not just go get her but to 00:08:46.389 --> 00:08:50.929 purchase to pay to ransom to get her back over 00:08:50.929 --> 00:08:52.549 and over and over and the Lord trying to make 00:08:52.549 --> 00:08:56.730 a point to his people to let them know that I'm 00:08:56.730 --> 00:08:58.889 coming for you and I'm paying the ransom every 00:08:58.889 --> 00:09:03.049 time but you know sometimes the Lord can get 00:09:03.049 --> 00:09:05.789 a little frustrated with us when we just keep 00:09:07.590 --> 00:09:12.450 messing up and keep falling back. And he said 00:09:12.450 --> 00:09:15.169 through the prophet there in the sixth verse 00:09:15.169 --> 00:09:16.970 of the fourth chapter, he said, my people are 00:09:16.970 --> 00:09:22.230 destroyed for the lack of knowledge. And then 00:09:22.230 --> 00:09:23.870 he goes on to say, I'll try to tell you, but 00:09:23.870 --> 00:09:26.240 you just never get it. You know, I'm trying to 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:28.799 relay and you haven't picked up on it. And then 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:31.340 he goes through a litany and he lists of their 00:09:31.340 --> 00:09:34.379 ignorance and what they're doing and the iniquities 00:09:34.379 --> 00:09:36.440 and the sins that they're committing. And the 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:38.259 Lord's trying to let them know, I still love 00:09:38.259 --> 00:09:41.840 you, but I can't tolerate that. And so you are 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:47.600 destroyed. You perish because of ignorance. Because 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:50.879 they refuse to accept the knowledge that the 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:56.539 Lord is giving them. There's destruction in the 00:09:56.539 --> 00:10:01.460 pathway of those who refuse knowledge. Amen? 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:06.120 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. 00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:10.840 Paul would say this in 1 Thessalonians 4 .13. 00:10:10.919 --> 00:10:13.220 He said, I would not have you to be ignorant, 00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:16.559 brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:20.940 you sorrow not, even as others which have no 00:10:20.940 --> 00:10:26.120 hope. going to go on that discourse of the rapture 00:10:26.120 --> 00:10:30.419 and the end result of those who die in Christ. 00:10:30.659 --> 00:10:33.759 And he considers to be asleep in Christ that 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:37.059 there's an awakening coming. Amen. And he said, 00:10:37.100 --> 00:10:39.440 I don't want you to be suffering from the lack 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:41.720 of knowledge concerning this and your loved ones. 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:44.340 I don't want you to be over sorrowed because 00:10:44.340 --> 00:10:47.440 you don't know about the end and what the result 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:49.740 of our hope is. Hallelujah. My buddies are waving 00:10:49.740 --> 00:10:53.559 at me. Come on. Hey, buddy. I love it when the 00:10:53.559 --> 00:10:59.200 babies are paying attention. And then the little 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:09.840 ones too. He said, I don't want you to be over 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.159 sorrowed because of... The end and what's going 00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:15.559 to take place at the end and that your faith 00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:17.940 is not in vain and the hope that you have in 00:11:17.940 --> 00:11:21.080 Christ is not in vain. Brethren, I want you to 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:23.779 have this knowledge, and I'm going to pass this 00:11:23.779 --> 00:11:26.820 knowledge on to you, this understanding, and 00:11:26.820 --> 00:11:28.960 here's what's going to happen. There's an angel 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:31.179 going to shout. There's a trumpet going to blast. 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:33.919 There's a Jesus going to step out in the clouds. 00:11:34.139 --> 00:11:36.600 The dead are going to come to life. You which 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:39.139 are alive and remain, if you happen to be blessed 00:11:39.139 --> 00:11:41.799 enough, you're going to be changed. Together 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:44.259 with them, we're all going to meet him in the 00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:47.820 middle of the air. So don't be so sorrowful about 00:11:47.820 --> 00:11:51.299 your lost loved ones who have already died, who 00:11:51.299 --> 00:11:53.759 are asleep in Christ. I don't want your hearts 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:55.980 to be so... I want you to understand something, 00:11:56.100 --> 00:11:58.539 that there is hope in this life that you're living 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:01.139 out. There's a future in this life that you're 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:03.460 living out. Don't be... ignorant concerning these 00:12:03.460 --> 00:12:05.899 things and here I'm going to give you the knowledge 00:12:05.899 --> 00:12:08.399 to keep you from being ignorant. You're not ignorant 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:10.059 if you have the knowledge and then you begin 00:12:10.059 --> 00:12:13.019 to put faith in that knowledge and a plethora 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:15.899 of knowledge equals out wisdom because you apply 00:12:15.899 --> 00:12:18.820 the knowledge that you gain and it works the 00:12:18.820 --> 00:12:21.019 same way in our faith and the walk that we have 00:12:21.019 --> 00:12:23.440 with God. You know sometimes the enemy can come 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:25.679 against me and if there's a portion of the text 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:28.100 that I don't know and I don't understand he may 00:12:28.100 --> 00:12:30.679 get the upper hand over me because I'm ignorant 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:34.190 concerning a a particular fact. Amen? But not 00:12:34.190 --> 00:12:36.610 after I get the knowledge. He doesn't have the 00:12:36.610 --> 00:12:39.250 upper hand on me then. When I gain the knowledge 00:12:39.250 --> 00:12:42.730 and that knowledge compiles, it turns to wisdom 00:12:42.730 --> 00:12:45.990 as I put it into application into my life. And 00:12:45.990 --> 00:12:48.450 put this into the application of your life. For 00:12:48.450 --> 00:12:50.970 those of you who are yearning to see already 00:12:50.970 --> 00:12:54.110 deceased and gone on loved ones, let me re -encourage 00:12:54.110 --> 00:12:57.669 you again with the words and the hope that Paul 00:12:57.669 --> 00:13:01.090 gave the people in Thessalonica. Hold on. The 00:13:01.090 --> 00:13:04.230 trumpet will sound. Hold on. He's coming again. 00:13:04.330 --> 00:13:07.669 Hold on. The clouds will open, and he will step 00:13:07.669 --> 00:13:10.909 out, and he will receive you and them, and together 00:13:10.909 --> 00:13:13.629 we will meet them in the air. So let your heart 00:13:13.629 --> 00:13:16.009 take encouragement this morning. Yes, you get 00:13:16.009 --> 00:13:18.769 weary. Yes, you get heavy. Yes, you get sorrowful. 00:13:18.830 --> 00:13:21.629 But let the joy of the Lord well up inside of 00:13:21.629 --> 00:13:23.970 you. Don't be ignorant concerning this thing. 00:13:24.190 --> 00:13:26.809 Honey, this ain't it. This isn't over. There's 00:13:26.809 --> 00:13:29.129 a hope and a future awaiting you. We're going 00:13:29.129 --> 00:13:32.000 to be reunited. One of these days, don't let 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:34.460 the enemy get the upper hand over you and cause 00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:39.159 grief to set on you like a heavy weight. Well, 00:13:39.220 --> 00:13:46.299 hallelujah. 1 Corinthians 12 and 1. Look over 00:13:46.299 --> 00:13:50.620 there real quick. That's some good stuff. Let's 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:53.659 see what he says here in his first letter to 00:13:53.659 --> 00:13:56.940 the Corinthians. He says, now concerning spiritual 00:13:56.940 --> 00:13:59.980 gifts, brethren. I would not have you ignorant. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:03.279 Paul says, I'm going to prepare you for the spiritual 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:06.539 warfare that is ahead of you. Amen? He said, 00:14:06.580 --> 00:14:08.460 I don't want you to be concerned with these things. 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:10.419 And then I love how he kind of explains to them, 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:12.820 you know that you were Gentiles carried away 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:16.179 under these dumb idols even as you were led. 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:19.679 He said, now you know what shape you were in 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:22.200 when Christ found you and he redeemed you. You 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:24.840 know the condition of your heart. You know the 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:27.600 gods that you served were dumb. They couldn't 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:30.340 speak. They were idols. They were stone. They 00:14:30.340 --> 00:14:32.500 were carved out wood. They were shaped copper 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:35.679 and silver. They had no voice. And you know that 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:38.220 you've come out of that. And he said, wherefore 00:14:38.220 --> 00:14:40.799 I give you to understand. He said, I'm going 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:43.779 to give you some knowledge right now that no 00:14:43.779 --> 00:14:46.340 man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus 00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:50.120 accursed and that no man can say that Jesus is 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:53.059 the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. And then he begins 00:14:53.059 --> 00:14:56.580 to say, now there are diversities of gifts but 00:14:56.580 --> 00:14:59.139 the same Spirit. And he gives them a wonderful. 00:14:59.370 --> 00:15:02.210 discourse on the working of the Spirit in their 00:15:02.210 --> 00:15:05.330 life. What you were serving is dumb, but what 00:15:05.330 --> 00:15:08.429 you are serving is life and knowledge, and I 00:15:08.429 --> 00:15:11.370 want you to understand that it is He who gives 00:15:11.370 --> 00:15:14.289 out the spiritual gifts. I want you to know that 00:15:14.289 --> 00:15:16.549 you can have those. I want you to know that you 00:15:16.549 --> 00:15:19.350 can function in those as you seek God and pray 00:15:19.350 --> 00:15:22.370 and gain knowledge of His wonderful grace and 00:15:22.370 --> 00:15:24.730 the amazing power and the inward working of the 00:15:24.730 --> 00:15:27.029 Holy Ghost. I want you to know. I don't want 00:15:27.029 --> 00:15:28.769 you to be ignorant, but I want you to you to 00:15:28.769 --> 00:15:31.990 understand that it is the Spirit who gives unto 00:15:31.990 --> 00:15:36.549 all men as he wills, and you are subject to the 00:15:36.549 --> 00:15:39.490 giftings of the Spirit. He said, I don't want 00:15:39.490 --> 00:15:41.389 you to be ignorant of that. I don't want you 00:15:41.389 --> 00:15:43.389 to be ignorant concerning those which are asleep. 00:15:43.590 --> 00:15:46.549 It's understanding the fundamental doctrinal 00:15:46.549 --> 00:15:49.049 statements of our faith. You need to know that 00:15:49.049 --> 00:15:52.330 God desires to use you. God desires to empower 00:15:52.330 --> 00:15:54.870 you. You need to know that you don't have to 00:15:54.870 --> 00:15:58.320 be, can I do that? Can he use? Yes, he can. He's 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:00.320 called you out of darkness into his marvelous, 00:16:00.379 --> 00:16:03.120 wonderful light. You know what you were. You 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:06.419 know what you served. But now know who you serve. 00:16:06.539 --> 00:16:09.940 Now know who you are and know what you are and 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:12.639 exercise the wonderful gift that he desires to 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:24.259 pour out. Don't be ignorant. Well, hallelujah. 00:16:26.029 --> 00:16:27.809 I'm doing okay, baby. I didn't go over there. 00:16:27.850 --> 00:16:30.289 I could have went different ways, but she was 00:16:30.289 --> 00:16:37.450 worried when I told her the title. Understand 00:16:37.450 --> 00:16:41.690 the goodness and the faithfulness of God. Can't 00:16:41.690 --> 00:16:46.629 be ignorant. Be informed. See, I could have been 00:16:46.629 --> 00:16:49.950 more polite going beyond the limits of the uninformed. 00:16:53.289 --> 00:16:55.049 I could have been politically correct. I could 00:16:55.049 --> 00:16:56.870 have been easy on your feelings. But that would 00:16:56.870 --> 00:16:59.149 not have challenged you like me calling you half 00:16:59.149 --> 00:17:05.609 ignorant. Huh? Right. What's he talking to me? 00:17:05.650 --> 00:17:07.369 He's saying I'm ignorant. Well, if you don't 00:17:07.369 --> 00:17:16.289 know, yes. Hello? Amen. Aren't we? Stop being 00:17:16.289 --> 00:17:19.809 so snowflakey and being so offended. If you don't 00:17:19.809 --> 00:17:22.319 know, then yes, you're ignorant. And like Paul 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:24.660 said, brethren, I don't want you to be ignorant, 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:27.279 so I'm going to pass on some understanding to 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:29.819 you so that you can gain that knowledge and know 00:17:29.819 --> 00:17:32.859 that the power and the gifts of the Spirit are 00:17:32.859 --> 00:17:35.859 able to work in your life. I want you to know 00:17:35.859 --> 00:17:38.539 that you don't have to let grief strangle the 00:17:38.539 --> 00:17:41.480 very life out of you, that there's a day coming 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:44.579 when a trumpet is going to sound and an angel 00:17:44.579 --> 00:17:47.259 is going to shout. You don't have to be ignorant. 00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:50.539 I want you full of faith and full of power and 00:17:50.539 --> 00:17:59.269 full of... the Spirit. I might preach this again. 00:18:01.769 --> 00:18:05.329 Matter of fact, I got an appointment coming up. 00:18:08.450 --> 00:18:14.109 I better keep my mind on what I'm going to do 00:18:14.109 --> 00:18:21.039 instead of where I'm going. Who your enemy is. 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:27.460 Our text. We've done all that work to this one 00:18:27.460 --> 00:18:32.319 verse. Lest Satan should get an advantage of 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:36.539 us. Paul is writing to the Corinthians. In this 00:18:36.539 --> 00:18:39.980 second letter. There's one in between. Some call 00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:46.579 it the lost letter of Paul. He on his first visit. 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:55.539 Ran into some. Ignorant people. See how that 00:18:55.539 --> 00:18:58.180 just segued right in. I didn't even write that 00:18:58.180 --> 00:18:59.859 down. That just come to me. Thank you, Lord. 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:07.819 And confrontation arose out of that. And an offense 00:19:07.819 --> 00:19:12.880 transpired. And a brother was out of line. And 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:17.579 he told them what to do with him and how to punish 00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:21.500 the situation. Then he told them that I'm coming 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:24.799 back to see you. And then he didn't come. And 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.079 so they were doubting his word and his sincerity 00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:30.160 toward them. And then this letter comes in and 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:31.819 he tells them the reason I didn't come, I didn't 00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:34.539 know if I could come in the spirit and not in 00:19:34.539 --> 00:19:39.000 the flesh. He said, I wasn't prayed up just right 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:42.180 yet. That's what he's telling them. I wasn't 00:19:42.180 --> 00:19:44.910 in the right state of mind to come in. If you 00:19:44.910 --> 00:19:48.130 read it, you'll see a waters parallel paraphrase. 00:19:48.289 --> 00:19:50.250 He said, you don't want me to come there right 00:19:50.250 --> 00:19:54.589 now. That's what he's telling them. Y 'all can't 00:19:54.589 --> 00:19:56.210 handle me if I come in there because I'm coming. 00:19:56.210 --> 00:19:58.769 I'm going to lower the blade. And I'm going to 00:19:58.769 --> 00:20:00.710 clean this up. So you need to get this stuff 00:20:00.710 --> 00:20:05.329 under control before I get back. And so now he's 00:20:05.329 --> 00:20:08.569 telling them about all that correction and that 00:20:08.569 --> 00:20:10.710 punishment. And he's letting them know that he's 00:20:10.710 --> 00:20:14.069 forgiven the brother. You'll have to read. I'm 00:20:14.069 --> 00:20:15.990 trying, instead of just picking one verse out, 00:20:16.049 --> 00:20:18.049 I'm letting you know the context a little bit 00:20:18.049 --> 00:20:21.630 of why we hear these words in our text this morning. 00:20:21.849 --> 00:20:24.650 And he's saying you guys need to forgive him. 00:20:25.630 --> 00:20:29.829 Church at Corinth, you need to let up because 00:20:29.829 --> 00:20:36.730 lest Satan takes advantage of us. We need to 00:20:36.730 --> 00:20:41.220 work and operate in forgiveness. And we need 00:20:41.220 --> 00:20:43.099 to allow the grace of God to have his perfect 00:20:43.099 --> 00:20:45.539 work in the church. I've forgiven him. You need 00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:47.940 to forgive him. Because we know how the devil 00:20:47.940 --> 00:20:52.130 does. You know how the enemy works. You know 00:20:52.130 --> 00:20:55.130 how he can take hold of this and he can run with 00:20:55.130 --> 00:20:57.750 it and really wreak havoc in the church. And 00:20:57.750 --> 00:21:00.650 we don't want that because you are not ignorant 00:21:00.650 --> 00:21:04.789 of his devices. You are not ignorant of his schemes. 00:21:05.069 --> 00:21:08.970 You are not ignorant of his tactics and his plan. 00:21:09.170 --> 00:21:10.849 It's what he's telling the church at Corinth. 00:21:10.950 --> 00:21:13.009 He had preached to them enough. He had been there 00:21:13.009 --> 00:21:15.390 long enough to let them know the plan and the 00:21:15.390 --> 00:21:18.109 tactic and the schemes of the devil to destroy 00:21:18.109 --> 00:21:20.670 them. put them back in that darkness that they 00:21:20.670 --> 00:21:23.289 were called out of, to put them back bowing down 00:21:23.289 --> 00:21:26.009 before dumb idols is what he called them. You 00:21:26.009 --> 00:21:28.390 know where you came from. You know who you were. 00:21:28.569 --> 00:21:31.069 You know the gods that you served were dumb and 00:21:31.069 --> 00:21:34.269 could not speak and had no power. And now here 00:21:34.269 --> 00:21:37.069 where we are, you understand and allowing the 00:21:37.069 --> 00:21:39.809 grace of God. We've got to allow grace to have 00:21:39.809 --> 00:21:42.369 its perfect work. You can't be ignorant concerning 00:21:42.369 --> 00:21:45.190 these things because we know how the devil works 00:21:45.190 --> 00:21:48.710 in our life. Knowing your enemy matters. This 00:21:48.710 --> 00:21:51.670 morning, church of God, knowing that the devil 00:21:51.670 --> 00:21:54.809 has devices, schemes, tactics, and plans set 00:21:54.809 --> 00:21:58.190 out to destroy your very life. So how do we know 00:21:58.190 --> 00:22:00.589 who he is? I don't want you to be ignorant concerning 00:22:00.589 --> 00:22:06.150 the devil. I want you to have clear, good knowledge 00:22:06.150 --> 00:22:08.769 of who the enemy is. He's not some little red, 00:22:08.769 --> 00:22:12.009 pointy ear, long tail, and a pitchfork type of 00:22:12.009 --> 00:22:15.950 creature. He will transform himself into the 00:22:15.950 --> 00:22:19.549 beauty of even light. He can transform himself 00:22:19.549 --> 00:22:22.029 and present himself, though he would look and 00:22:22.029 --> 00:22:25.730 glow like an angel. But he is the most deceptive, 00:22:25.730 --> 00:22:28.829 despicable. My God, my hackles are standing up 00:22:28.829 --> 00:22:32.910 now because he plays on every emotion of the 00:22:32.910 --> 00:22:36.089 believer. He'll play on your grief to drown your 00:22:36.089 --> 00:22:39.349 faith. Are you hearing me? He'll play on your 00:22:39.349 --> 00:22:43.069 grief to drown your joy and to rob you of the 00:22:43.069 --> 00:22:45.849 faith and the hope just because of a loved one. 00:22:45.950 --> 00:22:48.529 No wonder Paul said, I don't want you to be ignorant. 00:22:48.650 --> 00:22:50.289 You don't have to be overwhelmed with sorrow 00:22:50.289 --> 00:22:53.150 because there's a hope for them and a hope for 00:22:53.150 --> 00:22:55.710 us, and we're going to be together. Let the joy 00:22:55.710 --> 00:23:00.390 of the Lord, let the joy of the Lord well up 00:23:00.390 --> 00:23:08.069 inside of your soul. Let him get you down. Lest 00:23:08.069 --> 00:23:12.390 he take advantage of us. He's looking to take 00:23:12.390 --> 00:23:18.509 an advantage over you. Why do you think he messes 00:23:18.509 --> 00:23:25.630 with you the way he does? His schemes. He knows, 00:23:25.650 --> 00:23:28.269 brethren, which one of us have lustful eyes. 00:23:38.190 --> 00:23:40.990 I almost said, why do you think? Oh, Lord, help 00:23:40.990 --> 00:23:52.309 me. I'm just going there. Why do you think, even 00:23:52.309 --> 00:23:56.910 in our woke culture, why do you think they still 00:23:56.910 --> 00:24:09.099 put 510, 119, 120s? Why do you think they put 00:24:09.099 --> 00:24:14.140 them in swimsuits to tempt you at a beer commercial? 00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:30.279 Instead of 5 '2", 220. No offense. I'm pleading 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:35.339 the fifth under the anointing. Because I was 00:24:35.339 --> 00:24:43.559 5 '10", 267. Hello? No stone to cast. They don't 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:52.359 put this over there either in a Speedo. Some 00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:55.140 of you mediums might clarify and might qualify, 00:24:55.240 --> 00:25:00.900 but some of the rest of us, brethren, we need 00:25:00.900 --> 00:25:04.420 to sue Budweiser because they don't put us equally. 00:25:06.380 --> 00:25:12.400 All my fat brethren said, amen. All right, where 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:17.539 are you 5 '2", 220s? Ladies, I need amen. I ain't 00:25:17.539 --> 00:25:21.380 going to get one there, am I? Why do you think? 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:29.920 The devil's not stupid, nor is he ignorant. I'll 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:31.200 have to go back and listen to what I've had to 00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:37.890 say today. He knows. How to destroy our flesh 00:25:37.890 --> 00:25:42.369 and destroy our soul in the process. Why do you 00:25:42.369 --> 00:25:45.569 think Paul is telling them, unless the devil 00:25:45.569 --> 00:25:49.130 takes advantage of us? Now, this was an offense 00:25:49.130 --> 00:25:52.750 in the church, not even outside. He's talking 00:25:52.750 --> 00:25:54.670 about a brother who offended within the church 00:25:54.670 --> 00:25:57.369 and the punishment that took place. You know 00:25:57.369 --> 00:25:58.990 why we have so many church problems a lot of 00:25:58.990 --> 00:26:01.009 times? We ain't got no pastor with a backbone 00:26:01.009 --> 00:26:04.099 to say, sit down, shut your mouth. I rebuke you 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:06.599 through the word, and in the name of Jesus Christ, 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:13.200 you are out of line. Paul would even go to far 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:15.000 and say, turn them over to the devil if they 00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:16.660 ain't going to straighten up. Put them out and 00:26:16.660 --> 00:26:21.380 turn them over. Oh, you can't do that. Well, 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:23.119 that's the problem with so many churches and 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:25.460 so many church problems and squabbles and fights. 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:27.900 Nobody got a backbone to say, sit down, shut 00:26:27.900 --> 00:26:31.779 up, and get in line. Thus saith the Lord and 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:38.920 the preacher. Unless the devil takes advantage 00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:41.740 of us. We're not going to give him any place. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:42.940 Isn't there a scripture that says that? Give 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:48.079 no place to the devil. Resist him and what happens? 00:26:48.900 --> 00:26:53.319 He flees from you when we submit ourselves under 00:26:53.319 --> 00:26:58.220 the mighty hand of God. When you understand and 00:26:58.220 --> 00:26:59.900 ignorance is washed away with the knowledge. 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:03.720 If I bow my knee to God, put my face and nose 00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:09.500 in his word. resist the devil. He must obey the 00:27:09.500 --> 00:27:18.359 word of God and flee from me. So understanding 00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:23.960 our enemy. Peter says your adversary the devil 00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:29.579 is as a roaring lion. Not he is a lion but he 00:27:29.579 --> 00:27:35.869 is a roaring lion. What's that mean? You've been 00:27:35.869 --> 00:27:39.829 on safari, did you hear a lion roar? Actually, 00:27:39.849 --> 00:27:44.849 you did. It's piercing in. Every other animal 00:27:44.849 --> 00:27:49.269 lower than the lion on the food chain trembles 00:27:49.269 --> 00:27:55.170 when the lion roars. I think elephants are probably 00:27:55.170 --> 00:27:59.329 safe, but there are not many others that are 00:27:59.329 --> 00:28:04.549 safe from the lion. I almost got as big as a 00:28:04.549 --> 00:28:08.809 baby elephant, but I'm not an elephant, so that 00:28:08.809 --> 00:28:11.769 means I'm lower on the food chain, and I'm no 00:28:11.769 --> 00:28:17.579 match for the roaring lion. Because it intimidates 00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:21.700 the roar. Intimidates. The roar strikes fear. 00:28:22.140 --> 00:28:25.339 The gazelles lift up their head. The willow beast 00:28:25.339 --> 00:28:27.839 and everything else are drawn to attention. When 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:30.240 the lion, where's he at? And they're not so much 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:32.039 worried about where he's at as the ones that 00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:39.279 does the damage. That be the lioness. Oh. Could 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:41.539 we not priest on the diminished powers of the 00:28:41.539 --> 00:28:44.339 enemy? Could we not declare the work of demonic 00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:47.500 forces? Could we not just say and talk about 00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:50.720 demonic forces and demons that are at work in 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:53.759 various places? You do understand that the devil 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:59.440 is not omnipresent. My God in heaven. do know 00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:03.099 he's not omnipresent. You do know he's not everywhere 00:29:03.099 --> 00:29:06.140 at all times. He has his minions diminished. 00:29:06.259 --> 00:29:09.819 He has them disputed. He has them dispersed throughout 00:29:09.819 --> 00:29:12.359 the world. It's not the devil coming against 00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:15.940 you. So if it ain't he and he has to flee when 00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:18.480 you resist him, the demons are no match for the 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:30.940 power of Christ that is in you. We think more 00:29:30.940 --> 00:29:32.839 highly of ourselves than we ought to sometimes. 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:36.240 Well, the devil was on me yesterday. No, he wasn't. 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:44.180 He sent one of his imp wimps. That wasn't a devil. 00:29:45.259 --> 00:29:50.079 He's in one place, and I'm sure that there are 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:53.180 other preachers doing more for the kingdom than 00:29:53.180 --> 00:29:56.480 what I'm doing, and I'm doing all I can. But 00:29:56.480 --> 00:30:00.039 there are others. That would draw his attention 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:06.960 besides me. The Franklin Grahams of this world 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:14.480 were umpteen thousands. Ronnie Howard Browns 00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:18.619 are preaching conferences in remote places with 00:30:18.619 --> 00:30:22.619 150 ,000 showing up and 50 ,000 giving their 00:30:22.619 --> 00:30:25.200 hearts to the Lord. Definitely ain't got time 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:28.589 to waste on me. He's got another higher priority. 00:30:28.609 --> 00:30:31.170 So what's he do? He's sending one of his wimp 00:30:31.170 --> 00:30:37.750 imps to come and pester me. Aggravate the very 00:30:37.750 --> 00:30:44.569 life out of me. Huh? That's what he does. That's 00:30:44.569 --> 00:30:50.190 what's bothering you. It's not the devil. Get 00:30:50.190 --> 00:30:52.369 a little backbone about you. It ain't old Lucifer, 00:30:52.369 --> 00:30:54.750 old sleuth. It ain't the dragon, the old serpent. 00:30:54.849 --> 00:30:58.690 He's not showed up. It's one of those fallen 00:30:58.690 --> 00:31:08.509 spirits. Well, as a roaring lion goeth about 00:31:08.509 --> 00:31:16.750 seeking whom he may devour. John 8, 44 gives 00:31:16.750 --> 00:31:20.049 you another insight of who he is. He says, you 00:31:20.049 --> 00:31:23.410 are your father, the devil. Then he goes on down 00:31:23.410 --> 00:31:28.690 saying, and your father is a lie. And the father 00:31:28.690 --> 00:31:35.170 of all liars. It's not that he's a liar. He's 00:31:35.170 --> 00:31:41.650 a lie. Huh? Let that sink in a minute. He is 00:31:41.650 --> 00:31:47.329 a lie. Everything that comes out of his mouth 00:31:47.329 --> 00:31:52.670 is a lie. He couldn't even tempt Eve with the 00:31:52.670 --> 00:31:58.130 whole scripture. He had to distort. and lie to 00:31:58.130 --> 00:32:06.150 deceive her into taking the fruit. Yeah. Revelations 00:32:06.150 --> 00:32:09.049 12 and 10. Let me read a little part of that. 00:32:09.750 --> 00:32:12.789 Thank you, Lord. There was a loud, I heard a 00:32:12.789 --> 00:32:19.450 loud voice in heaven saying, and that loud voice 00:32:19.450 --> 00:32:23.690 makes a declaration. Then he says, the accuser 00:32:23.690 --> 00:32:31.779 of the brethren. Which accused them day and night. 00:32:33.140 --> 00:32:40.880 That's all he does. Is accuses. Lies. John 10 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:49.559 and 10. Know your enemy. He's a thief. Who cometh 00:32:49.559 --> 00:32:59.299 not but to steal, kill, and destroy. Now, I don't 00:32:59.299 --> 00:33:00.799 want you to be ignorant of all that, so I've 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:02.500 told you, well, I've heard that. Well, are you 00:33:02.500 --> 00:33:07.539 fully understanding that? Hearing it and understanding 00:33:07.539 --> 00:33:10.640 it is two different things. Do you understand 00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:16.440 what the devil's plan for your life is? He wants 00:33:16.440 --> 00:33:23.940 your future wrapped within his future. He knows. 00:33:26.730 --> 00:33:28.250 If I was in a black church this morning, I'd 00:33:28.250 --> 00:33:32.650 say, he know what's coming his way. And then 00:33:32.650 --> 00:33:36.230 about 50 would get up, wow. Because they know 00:33:36.230 --> 00:33:41.869 what I'm saying to you. He know what's coming 00:33:41.869 --> 00:33:45.829 his way. And he don't want to go alone. That 00:33:45.829 --> 00:33:48.289 third of heaven's angels that fell with him, 00:33:48.349 --> 00:33:52.019 they don't want to go alone. So they do his bidding. 00:33:52.180 --> 00:33:54.920 Why? Because they fell to the lie. They fell 00:33:54.920 --> 00:33:57.619 into the deception. The deceiver, the accuser 00:33:57.619 --> 00:34:00.539 tricked them and they fell with him. And they 00:34:00.539 --> 00:34:05.019 know that somewhere in heaven there's an angel 00:34:05.019 --> 00:34:08.840 polishing a chain. And the master of their future 00:34:08.840 --> 00:34:12.059 is going to be chained and bound for a thousand 00:34:12.059 --> 00:34:14.820 years. But then after he's loosed, they know 00:34:14.820 --> 00:34:18.480 they're condemned. They know their future is 00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:28.280 doomed. They know that that eternal lake of fire 00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:34.699 was for them. Lucifer fell before Adam was created. 00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:40.780 Hell wasn't prepared for you and I, for humanity, 00:34:40.860 --> 00:34:46.500 but hell enlarges herself every day according 00:34:46.500 --> 00:34:50.610 to the word of God. Why? pastor to accommodate 00:34:50.610 --> 00:34:59.269 the occupancy that's headed its way. What I don't 00:34:59.269 --> 00:35:03.130 want is your name on the reservation with him 00:35:03.130 --> 00:35:08.550 and them. So why do I preach the way I do? So 00:35:08.550 --> 00:35:12.869 that you'll cancel your reservation. That's why. 00:35:13.630 --> 00:35:17.230 Because there's nothing but hell, fire, and brimstone. 00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:21.360 Jesus said it like this. It's a place where the 00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:26.840 worm dieth not. Your body is consumed in a torrential 00:35:26.840 --> 00:35:30.900 torment of flame where there is weeping and wailing 00:35:30.900 --> 00:35:34.909 and gnashing of teeth where you see. and recognize 00:35:34.909 --> 00:35:37.530 those who have backslid but could have told you 00:35:37.530 --> 00:35:40.269 a different way. They gnash and they lash at 00:35:40.269 --> 00:35:43.309 each other and they destroy. And it isn't over 00:35:43.309 --> 00:35:46.690 today. It isn't over tonight. It isn't over tomorrow. 00:35:47.030 --> 00:35:55.409 Honey, it's never over. Know your enemy. The 00:35:55.409 --> 00:35:58.989 thief cometh not but to steal, kill, and to destroy. 00:35:59.030 --> 00:36:05.210 Jesus said, but I've come that they. Who's they? 00:36:05.429 --> 00:36:13.150 Them. Might have life. And have it more abundantly. 00:36:14.269 --> 00:36:17.949 So it's important we know who our enemy is. But 00:36:17.949 --> 00:36:19.849 I think it's far greater to know who your God 00:36:19.849 --> 00:36:25.269 is. What time is it, my Lord? Oh, I preach too 00:36:25.269 --> 00:36:29.849 long about the devil. Because some folks act 00:36:29.849 --> 00:36:31.309 like they're ignorant that he's even out there. 00:36:35.630 --> 00:36:43.210 Is that you? I hope not. I hope you know that 00:36:43.210 --> 00:36:49.630 hell's real. And the deception that he comes 00:36:49.630 --> 00:36:52.289 against your flesh with in this walk of life 00:36:52.289 --> 00:36:55.349 isn't going to be worth the payment that it's 00:36:55.349 --> 00:37:03.010 going to extract from you. Hell ain't worth just 00:37:03.010 --> 00:37:07.900 living right, I'm telling you. The exchange for 00:37:07.900 --> 00:37:13.619 living in sin. That's the reason the Bible, let 00:37:13.619 --> 00:37:15.480 me give you some more knowledge, the Bible says 00:37:15.480 --> 00:37:18.880 that the pleasure of sin lasts for a season. 00:37:20.099 --> 00:37:24.280 It's temporary. It's fun getting drunk till your 00:37:24.280 --> 00:37:29.539 liver's killing you. It's fun getting drunk till 00:37:29.539 --> 00:37:31.539 you get behind the wheel and hit some poor innocent 00:37:31.539 --> 00:37:34.929 family head on. And take out three, four, five, 00:37:35.030 --> 00:37:38.929 six, seven, eight -year -olds. Oh, pastor, you're 00:37:38.929 --> 00:37:41.530 real today. Well, hell's real. Why not get real 00:37:41.530 --> 00:37:48.929 here? Because I can preach heaven just as sweet 00:37:48.929 --> 00:37:50.829 as I can hell hot, and I'm about to in just a 00:37:50.829 --> 00:37:55.010 minute. I'm not going to leave you feeling the 00:37:55.010 --> 00:37:56.570 flames of hell lapping at the bottom of your 00:37:56.570 --> 00:37:59.030 feet. I don't want you to feel that. Neither 00:37:59.030 --> 00:38:03.280 did the God of glory. How do you know? For God 00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:06.579 so loved the world. Let me give you some more 00:38:06.579 --> 00:38:09.139 knowledge. For God so loved the world that he 00:38:09.139 --> 00:38:13.659 gave his only begotten son that should what? 00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:23.119 Should what not? Not perish. Not burn. Not gnash. 00:38:24.019 --> 00:38:26.900 Not maggots crawl over our skin eating us as 00:38:26.900 --> 00:38:33.710 we are very standing. If you're visiting today, 00:38:33.849 --> 00:38:37.670 am I always this graphic? Not always, but come 00:38:37.670 --> 00:38:47.690 back next week. Knowing your enemy. Knowing he's 00:38:47.690 --> 00:38:51.010 out there to lie every time you turn around. 00:38:52.650 --> 00:38:54.730 And so when you take into consideration what 00:38:54.730 --> 00:38:56.349 he's trying to do when he gets others to hurt 00:38:56.349 --> 00:39:00.849 your little feelings, and you get all bent out 00:39:00.849 --> 00:39:03.940 of shape and tore up, Because somebody said something 00:39:03.940 --> 00:39:07.199 hurt your feelings. Do you know what the first 00:39:07.199 --> 00:39:09.860 trigger to every church attender is when that 00:39:09.860 --> 00:39:12.480 happens? Well, I just ain't going back. Well, 00:39:12.500 --> 00:39:20.280 okay. Forfeit a hurt feeling for hell then. See, 00:39:20.440 --> 00:39:24.000 the transformation when sin took place in the 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:27.780 garden, it didn't just cause death to come on 00:39:27.780 --> 00:39:31.989 our life, but what it did is it... transformed 00:39:31.989 --> 00:39:34.889 our very nature. You see, in the garden, Adam 00:39:34.889 --> 00:39:37.389 had a tender heart and a tough skin. Brars and 00:39:37.389 --> 00:39:40.110 all that stuff, they put him there. And he had 00:39:40.110 --> 00:39:42.030 a very tender heart, and he walked with God in 00:39:42.030 --> 00:39:44.789 the cool of the day every day. Talked with him. 00:39:45.769 --> 00:39:47.750 He didn't get bent out of shape and nervous and 00:39:47.750 --> 00:39:52.309 scared about God until he sinned. Then his heart 00:39:52.309 --> 00:40:00.369 got hard. And his skin got soft. Now he gets... 00:40:01.039 --> 00:40:03.239 Pricked by the briars that he has to go out and 00:40:03.239 --> 00:40:06.019 clear the field just to survive. When all he 00:40:06.019 --> 00:40:09.059 used to have to do is walk around and eat everything 00:40:09.059 --> 00:40:16.179 but one item. See how the devil does? See how, 00:40:16.260 --> 00:40:20.539 you've got it all. You're in a garden. It's all 00:40:20.539 --> 00:40:23.300 there. He said, you can eat everything. Grab 00:40:23.300 --> 00:40:27.980 a maple limb. I don't care. No way. I don't know 00:40:27.980 --> 00:40:30.949 how it was. Everything's here. You can eat it 00:40:30.949 --> 00:40:34.010 all. But I've got one little bush in the middle 00:40:34.010 --> 00:40:37.789 that I've preserved for myself. Don't eat it. 00:40:38.869 --> 00:40:40.989 And the day that you eat of it, you shall surely 00:40:40.989 --> 00:40:46.409 die. See, that's when man and the devil, the 00:40:46.409 --> 00:40:48.409 devil thought he knew God's plan. Oh, he don't 00:40:48.409 --> 00:40:50.230 want you to eat that because you'll be like him. 00:40:50.349 --> 00:40:52.949 You'll know right from wrong, good and evil. 00:40:53.849 --> 00:40:58.539 No, that ain't what you get. All we got out of 00:40:58.539 --> 00:41:04.320 that deal was the evil. That's it. That's it. 00:41:06.099 --> 00:41:12.639 Left unlearned, uneducated, you do not have to 00:41:12.639 --> 00:41:18.719 educate evil actions. You have to educate right 00:41:18.719 --> 00:41:22.980 actions. You have to smack the hand of your young 00:41:22.980 --> 00:41:24.760 'un and go grab the sucker out of his sister 00:41:24.760 --> 00:41:26.840 or brother's mouth. Not their hand, they'd about 00:41:26.840 --> 00:41:33.380 pull teeth. Man! You don't have to teach that. 00:41:34.980 --> 00:41:39.619 It's the innate character of the fallen soul 00:41:39.619 --> 00:41:45.739 of humanity. Sin. No, you have to tear that hind 00:41:45.739 --> 00:41:48.280 end up a few times and say, no, it's not yours. 00:41:51.199 --> 00:41:53.460 And if you were like me growing up, it took more 00:41:53.460 --> 00:41:59.380 than a few times. As you grew, so did the limbs 00:41:59.380 --> 00:42:07.260 Mother chose to emphasize her point. Knowing 00:42:07.260 --> 00:42:09.619 who your enemy is and what his end goal for your 00:42:09.619 --> 00:42:12.699 life is also means you've got to know who your 00:42:12.699 --> 00:42:14.840 God is and his end goal for your life. You've 00:42:14.840 --> 00:42:18.460 still got a few minutes. It'd be all right if 00:42:18.460 --> 00:42:20.260 I preach past the Baptist at the restaurant and 00:42:20.260 --> 00:42:30.409 you can just walk right in. You have to know 00:42:30.409 --> 00:42:35.750 that God is on your side. You have to know that 00:42:35.750 --> 00:42:40.650 God is ever for you and not against you. He don't 00:42:40.650 --> 00:42:43.050 have to be against you. We get against ourself. 00:42:45.769 --> 00:42:49.269 But one day without getting in right alignment 00:42:49.269 --> 00:42:52.909 with him, you will stand on the wrong side of 00:42:52.909 --> 00:42:56.369 God. You'll stand on the side of his judgment 00:42:56.369 --> 00:43:00.139 and his wrath against sin. You need to know something. 00:43:00.199 --> 00:43:01.900 Let me educate you this morning. I don't want 00:43:01.900 --> 00:43:03.880 you to be ignorant about this. It isn't that 00:43:03.880 --> 00:43:11.139 God despises you. When we stand before him at 00:43:11.139 --> 00:43:15.059 that great white throne judgment, it's not that 00:43:15.059 --> 00:43:17.980 he's against you. You need to know that today. 00:43:18.400 --> 00:43:23.739 God is for you and not against you. But God is 00:43:23.739 --> 00:43:32.099 against sin. He judges the sin in our life and 00:43:32.099 --> 00:43:35.800 pronounces judgment upon it. Depart from me, 00:43:35.840 --> 00:43:39.400 thou worker of iniquity, for I never knew you. 00:43:44.980 --> 00:43:49.940 Enter into darkness. Cast them out. Throw them 00:43:49.940 --> 00:43:56.260 out. But then our woke culture says, well, He's 00:43:56.260 --> 00:44:03.380 not like that. Well, I'm sorry, but he is. You 00:44:03.380 --> 00:44:05.460 have to know that the God who loves you is not 00:44:05.460 --> 00:44:08.760 willing that any should perish, but that all 00:44:08.760 --> 00:44:10.960 should come into repentance and eternal life. 00:44:12.139 --> 00:44:16.420 That's his goal for your life and mine. Eternal 00:44:16.420 --> 00:44:22.119 life with him in heaven where we walk down the 00:44:22.119 --> 00:44:25.989 river of life. The trees that are along its bank, 00:44:26.170 --> 00:44:33.030 you can just eat again. God loves us, cares for 00:44:33.030 --> 00:44:37.349 us. He's not against us. And so when we understand 00:44:37.349 --> 00:44:39.250 that, for though we walk in the flesh, we don't 00:44:39.250 --> 00:44:41.769 war after the flesh. And so we understand that 00:44:41.769 --> 00:44:43.250 the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but 00:44:43.250 --> 00:44:45.230 they are mighty through God to the pulling down 00:44:45.230 --> 00:44:48.449 of strongholds, right? And casting down every 00:44:48.449 --> 00:44:55.659 imagination that what? Exalts itself against 00:44:55.659 --> 00:45:03.840 the knowledge of God. Everything that the enemy 00:45:03.840 --> 00:45:05.980 is trying to pull down and to tear you down with 00:45:05.980 --> 00:45:08.880 is contrary to the knowledge of the goodness 00:45:08.880 --> 00:45:12.880 and the grace of God. But what God desires to 00:45:12.880 --> 00:45:15.800 do with the weapons of your warfare. That helmet 00:45:15.800 --> 00:45:17.519 of salvation, that breastplate of righteousness. 00:45:17.679 --> 00:45:19.760 Have your feet sharp with the preparation of 00:45:19.760 --> 00:45:21.860 the gospel. Have your belt of truth around you, 00:45:21.880 --> 00:45:24.139 your sword in your hand, your helmet on, your 00:45:24.139 --> 00:45:27.099 shield of faith, the word of God. He wants you 00:45:27.099 --> 00:45:30.739 to know that you are able to overcome every wild, 00:45:30.900 --> 00:45:34.579 deceit, trick, tactic, plan of the devil. He 00:45:34.579 --> 00:45:36.119 don't want him to have advantage over you, so 00:45:36.119 --> 00:45:39.239 he gives you everything that you would need in 00:45:39.239 --> 00:45:42.840 your arsenal to overcome him. He is for you and 00:45:42.840 --> 00:45:57.559 not against you. God is never silent. When we 00:45:57.559 --> 00:46:02.079 get frustrated, when we're praying for a week 00:46:02.079 --> 00:46:04.139 or a day or two or a month or two or a year or 00:46:04.139 --> 00:46:07.920 two or a decade or so, when we pray about something 00:46:07.920 --> 00:46:12.460 and we do not see the result that we are desiring 00:46:12.460 --> 00:46:17.320 to see, In our humanity, we need action and movement 00:46:17.320 --> 00:46:22.000 to maintain and to resolve our faith and to keep 00:46:22.000 --> 00:46:27.119 us praying. We need to see something. How many 00:46:27.119 --> 00:46:28.940 times in projects and different things you just 00:46:28.940 --> 00:46:32.579 need to see something happen? Right? Just any 00:46:32.579 --> 00:46:36.219 little thing. Ladies on that honeydew list, I 00:46:36.219 --> 00:46:38.539 mean, just pick one, honey. Let me know that 00:46:38.539 --> 00:46:41.260 you're hearing me. It doesn't have to be one 00:46:41.260 --> 00:46:43.909 of the big ones. Just... Let me see some movement 00:46:43.909 --> 00:46:47.230 out of you. My dad used to always tell my mom, 00:46:47.409 --> 00:46:53.769 I'm getting ready. It got to be where it was 00:46:53.769 --> 00:46:55.469 a joke around the house. I actually referred 00:46:55.469 --> 00:46:57.710 to it the other day. Pop's 85. He can't hardly 00:46:57.710 --> 00:46:59.349 get in and out of the house after that four bypass. 00:47:01.429 --> 00:47:05.250 Mom's still got a list. I said, well, I guess 00:47:05.250 --> 00:47:11.880 he's still getting ready. I think that was his 00:47:11.880 --> 00:47:18.199 answer. My dad's name is Winfred. From the south, 00:47:18.260 --> 00:47:25.019 it's Winford. For mother, it's Wint. Wint! I'm 00:47:25.019 --> 00:47:28.400 getting ready. I never told him to do anything. 00:47:32.539 --> 00:47:34.840 Oh, that's the reason I was trimming these peach 00:47:34.840 --> 00:47:40.219 trees yesterday. Dad worked hard. All my life, 00:47:40.280 --> 00:47:49.000 all I've ever, my dad worked for a hobby. He'd 00:47:49.000 --> 00:47:52.019 work construction. He's a carpenter. Worked at 00:47:52.019 --> 00:47:56.099 all these nuclear plants everywhere. All he did 00:47:56.099 --> 00:47:58.079 was work. And you'd think on the weekend he'd 00:47:58.079 --> 00:48:01.179 like to go fishing. No. No. We put in septic 00:48:01.179 --> 00:48:04.079 tanks and fill lines and driveways. And we paved 00:48:04.079 --> 00:48:09.900 driveways. That was his hobby. In his 60s and 00:48:09.900 --> 00:48:12.679 70s, he picked up a new hobby. After he retired, 00:48:12.940 --> 00:48:16.059 he picked up a new hobby. He liked getting out 00:48:16.059 --> 00:48:17.460 there on the side of the mountain, this quarry 00:48:17.460 --> 00:48:20.800 stone. You see those brown and pink looking sandstones? 00:48:21.420 --> 00:48:24.599 My dad, by himself, 60s and 70s, would get out 00:48:24.599 --> 00:48:27.579 there by himself. 20 pound sledge and wedges 00:48:27.579 --> 00:48:30.260 and pop that stuff up in three and four fifths 00:48:30.260 --> 00:48:33.480 sheets. Stand them up and walk them end by end 00:48:33.480 --> 00:48:41.489 and put them on a pallet. By himself. I said, 00:48:41.510 --> 00:48:44.070 Pop, what are you doing? You're retired. Why 00:48:44.070 --> 00:48:47.289 you got to do something, son? I said, in my mind, 00:48:47.309 --> 00:48:48.570 I'm like, he just don't want to go do that honey 00:48:48.570 --> 00:48:55.469 -do list. But I think all that stuff kept him 00:48:55.469 --> 00:48:57.710 so that he had this massive heart attack, and 00:48:57.710 --> 00:49:01.449 he's just worked all his life, and he's still 00:49:01.449 --> 00:49:02.590 kicking. I told him, I said, you're going to 00:49:02.590 --> 00:49:04.250 get 15 more years out of this, Pop. You'll be 00:49:04.250 --> 00:49:09.369 a 100 -year -old, cane -tankerous old man. God 00:49:09.369 --> 00:49:12.059 is on your side. Stand with me. I'm going to 00:49:12.059 --> 00:49:18.179 quit. I'm babbling now. He's never silent. Long 00:49:18.179 --> 00:49:23.019 -term faith in a seemingly silent God is a spiritual 00:49:23.019 --> 00:49:25.480 struggle. I want you to hear this this morning. 00:49:27.460 --> 00:49:33.420 Long -term faith in a seemingly silent God is 00:49:33.420 --> 00:49:38.699 a struggle. It's a struggle for me sometimes 00:49:38.699 --> 00:49:43.269 because... I'm impatient. But I have learned 00:49:43.269 --> 00:49:51.869 something. My impatience does not move God. But 00:49:51.869 --> 00:49:57.469 it also doesn't mean that whatever happens, He's 00:49:57.469 --> 00:50:07.389 always there. He's busy working on our behalf 00:50:07.389 --> 00:50:12.719 while we slumber. He's on the job while we're 00:50:12.719 --> 00:50:19.760 in our dreams. He's fully engaged when we have 00:50:19.760 --> 00:50:24.760 unplugged. The psalmist said in 22 and 2, Oh 00:50:24.760 --> 00:50:29.000 my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest 00:50:29.000 --> 00:50:33.659 not. And in the night season, I'm not silent. 00:50:35.860 --> 00:50:39.980 121, 3 through 5 says in the Psalms, He will 00:50:39.980 --> 00:50:41.800 not suffer thy foot to be moved, and he that 00:50:41.800 --> 00:50:45.300 keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that 00:50:45.300 --> 00:50:47.340 keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 00:50:48.320 --> 00:50:52.019 The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade 00:50:52.019 --> 00:50:59.219 upon your right hand. He's the God who moves 00:50:59.219 --> 00:51:05.659 outside of our vision. And he occupies himself 00:51:05.659 --> 00:51:10.150 with tasks beyond our comprehension. I want you 00:51:10.150 --> 00:51:13.190 to hear this this morning. His eyes peer into 00:51:13.190 --> 00:51:16.369 what we can't see and his hands work skillfully 00:51:16.369 --> 00:51:21.570 where we can only fumble. This is a God who reaches 00:51:21.570 --> 00:51:23.889 and thinks and plans and shapes and watches, 00:51:23.929 --> 00:51:26.710 controls, protects, provides and feels and he 00:51:26.710 --> 00:51:32.010 acts while we are unconscious in the nighttime 00:51:32.010 --> 00:51:43.199 hours. I don't want you to be ignorant this morning. 00:51:46.599 --> 00:51:53.079 Ignorance limits us in our faith. Ignorance limits 00:51:53.079 --> 00:51:55.500 the miraculous power of God from working in our 00:51:55.500 --> 00:51:59.900 life. Because we don't know that it's available. 00:52:03.699 --> 00:52:10.590 But it's available. He's available. And I know 00:52:10.590 --> 00:52:14.929 life gets very frustrating, doesn't it? Anybody 00:52:14.929 --> 00:52:19.409 ever get frustrated besides your pastor? I do. 00:52:20.550 --> 00:52:23.829 I get frustrated. You don't think we're happy 00:52:23.829 --> 00:52:28.789 about where we're at right now, do you? No. No, 00:52:28.889 --> 00:52:36.820 it's very frustrating. But I have learned. over 00:52:36.820 --> 00:52:43.119 nearly 59 years, that God's in all things. He's 00:52:43.119 --> 00:52:44.800 right in the middle of this with Sister Kathy 00:52:44.800 --> 00:52:52.420 and I. When we're frustrated, He's not. You need 00:52:52.420 --> 00:52:54.440 to know that. When you're scattered and scrambled, 00:52:54.719 --> 00:52:59.320 He's got it all together. He's got it all together. 00:53:02.179 --> 00:53:04.820 When old Slootfoot comes up, when the serpent 00:53:04.820 --> 00:53:08.380 enters in, He can't deceive him. You remember 00:53:08.380 --> 00:53:11.000 he tried in the wilderness. Well, if you be the 00:53:11.000 --> 00:53:12.980 son of God, I know you're hungry. It's been 40 00:53:12.980 --> 00:53:14.360 days since you've eaten. There's some rocks. 00:53:14.500 --> 00:53:19.679 Turn them into bread. He had to do a little better 00:53:19.679 --> 00:53:22.559 than that. A man should not live by bread alone, 00:53:22.739 --> 00:53:24.360 but by every word that proceedeth out of the 00:53:24.360 --> 00:53:30.360 mouth of the Father. Well, let's go up to this 00:53:30.360 --> 00:53:32.119 high place. Jump off from here. You know what 00:53:32.119 --> 00:53:33.900 the word says. He'll not dash your foot. He'll 00:53:33.900 --> 00:53:36.119 send angels charging. No, you should not tempt 00:53:36.119 --> 00:53:41.000 the Lord thy God. Come on, devil. You know who 00:53:41.000 --> 00:53:45.280 I am. It's because I've fasted a few days. I'm 00:53:45.280 --> 00:53:51.719 not that weak. He tried it all. And so God is 00:53:51.719 --> 00:53:57.000 unmoved. By the devices, the schemes, the tactics, 00:53:57.059 --> 00:53:59.380 and the plan of the devil. Because he's already 00:53:59.380 --> 00:54:09.670 got his end written out. He'll be cast into a 00:54:09.670 --> 00:54:20.510 pit forever. Now that gives me great joy. No 00:54:20.510 --> 00:54:28.090 more lies. No more accusations. Can't offend 00:54:28.090 --> 00:54:41.079 anymore. Right? No deception anymore. Because 00:54:41.079 --> 00:54:43.300 we know that the God we serve declares over our 00:54:43.300 --> 00:54:46.179 lives even today, no weapon formed against you 00:54:46.179 --> 00:54:53.039 shall prosper. You need to know that. No weapon 00:54:53.039 --> 00:54:55.000 formed against you. What is a weapon? Anything 00:54:55.000 --> 00:55:00.980 that is used to harm you. In a classroom, teachers 00:55:00.980 --> 00:55:06.449 know that a paper wad can be dangerous. Well, 00:55:06.449 --> 00:55:08.230 it's just paper. No. Hit in the right place, 00:55:08.250 --> 00:55:12.989 you could lose an eye with a paper wad. That's 00:55:12.989 --> 00:55:14.849 the way it is in life. There's no such thing 00:55:14.849 --> 00:55:18.610 as non -sequential weapons. Anything that devil 00:55:18.610 --> 00:55:21.829 can use against you, he can destroy you with 00:55:21.829 --> 00:55:27.650 it. But you have to know this, that those weapons 00:55:27.650 --> 00:55:35.050 will not prosper. It didn't say they wouldn't 00:55:35.050 --> 00:55:42.630 hurt. That it won't prosper. And every tongue. 00:55:45.929 --> 00:55:50.349 Every voice that rises up against the what? The 00:55:50.349 --> 00:56:00.849 knowledge of. Shall be cast down. It's good to 00:56:00.849 --> 00:56:04.690 know that the Lord is your shepherd. You shall 00:56:04.690 --> 00:56:07.519 not want brethren. I would not have you to be 00:56:07.519 --> 00:56:12.679 ignorant concerning these things. If the Bible 00:56:12.679 --> 00:56:19.139 says it, it's for you. Too many times we're destroyed 00:56:19.139 --> 00:56:24.219 for lack of knowledge. I get you for about an 00:56:24.219 --> 00:56:31.940 hour and a half on Sunday morning. If you attend 00:56:31.940 --> 00:56:36.480 on Wednesday, there's another hour. And then 00:56:36.480 --> 00:56:42.059 you're out there vulnerable the rest of the week. 00:56:44.820 --> 00:56:51.300 And the enemy is out to kill you. But God is 00:56:51.300 --> 00:56:56.280 out to preserve you. Isn't that good to know? 00:56:57.659 --> 00:57:00.360 That he that watches over you never slumbers 00:57:00.360 --> 00:57:04.590 nor sleeps. The eyes of the Lord go to and fro, 00:57:04.690 --> 00:57:07.429 and the Bible says that his ear is ever turned 00:57:07.429 --> 00:57:10.150 earthward. The psalmist in his distress said, 00:57:10.210 --> 00:57:13.909 God, I pray all day, I cry all night, and you 00:57:13.909 --> 00:57:17.750 just not listen to me. Yes, he is. He's heard 00:57:17.750 --> 00:57:20.909 every word. Well, he sure ain't doing anything 00:57:20.909 --> 00:57:24.829 about it. Anybody besides me ever say that one? 00:57:25.869 --> 00:57:28.849 Well, if you're hearing me, just like when you 00:57:28.849 --> 00:57:31.210 kid, I didn't answer everything my kid said to 00:57:31.210 --> 00:57:43.619 me. That answer was always no. No. Everything. 00:57:44.199 --> 00:57:53.219 No. That was my first response. No. Then you 00:57:53.219 --> 00:57:56.539 had to explain to me why I should say yes. Well, 00:57:56.559 --> 00:57:58.559 that's no way to be. Well, my children understand 00:57:58.559 --> 00:58:02.719 what no means. We live in a culture today that 00:58:02.719 --> 00:58:05.059 you tell people no, they just fall to pieces. 00:58:08.719 --> 00:58:10.800 I didn't say I never gave them some of the things 00:58:10.800 --> 00:58:16.480 they asked for. I did. Just the way he does us. 00:58:16.900 --> 00:58:21.420 He didn't give me everything I asked for. But 00:58:21.420 --> 00:58:26.360 he gives me enough. Father, I love you today. 00:58:28.539 --> 00:58:30.539 Advancing beyond the limits of ignorance, I hope 00:58:30.539 --> 00:58:33.059 I've helped some today. I know I've helped myself. 00:58:34.059 --> 00:58:39.110 You've helped me, Lord. You've touched me. Father, 00:58:39.170 --> 00:58:43.869 I pray over each today. If your neighbor don't 00:58:43.869 --> 00:58:47.309 mind, let's just join hands. If your neighbor 00:58:47.309 --> 00:58:50.909 don't mind, ask them if it's okay. If it's okay, 00:58:50.969 --> 00:58:52.190 just take your neighbor's hand. We're going to 00:58:52.190 --> 00:58:54.989 pray one for another. I started to get you all 00:58:54.989 --> 00:58:59.250 the way down here, but I think this is a little 00:58:59.250 --> 00:59:02.909 different. We don't do this. We've gotten all 00:59:02.909 --> 00:59:06.130 skittish since COVID, and we don't even hardly 00:59:06.130 --> 00:59:11.690 touch each other. Shake hand. But we link together 00:59:11.690 --> 00:59:15.710 our faith. And the one on your right may be at 00:59:15.710 --> 00:59:18.230 a weak moment and you may be at a strong moment. 00:59:19.489 --> 00:59:24.190 And we're connected by our faith. Some of those 00:59:24.190 --> 00:59:27.989 in your row and front and behind you are dealing 00:59:27.989 --> 00:59:32.090 with some very serious issues in life. Some need 00:59:32.090 --> 00:59:33.949 healing in their body. Some need peace in their 00:59:33.949 --> 00:59:37.710 mind. Some need financial miracles. Anybody ever 00:59:37.710 --> 00:59:40.449 needed one of those? So let's pray one for another. 00:59:41.730 --> 00:59:47.489 Father, all across this room today, we're joining 00:59:47.489 --> 00:59:52.250 our faith. Lord, if my brother and my sister 00:59:52.250 --> 00:59:54.110 are on the right or left, if they're at a weak 00:59:54.110 --> 00:59:57.449 moment, I pray right now that you strengthen 00:59:57.449 --> 01:00:02.289 them. I pray you strengthen their faith. You 01:00:02.289 --> 01:00:06.780 encourage their faith today. That they be encouraged 01:00:06.780 --> 01:00:08.860 in knowing, yes, there's an enemy out to kill 01:00:08.860 --> 01:00:11.380 me, but there's even greater a God out to save 01:00:11.380 --> 01:00:16.019 me. God is out to save them. God is out to liberate 01:00:16.019 --> 01:00:18.260 them and let them know that no weapon formed 01:00:18.260 --> 01:00:24.260 against them shall prosper. You're on our side. 01:00:25.420 --> 01:00:28.500 You're on their side. You're on our side this 01:00:28.500 --> 01:00:33.880 morning. You know and you care today and you're 01:00:33.880 --> 01:00:37.460 concerned about us this morning. You love us. 01:00:37.480 --> 01:00:39.739 You don't want us in hell. That's why you sent 01:00:39.739 --> 01:00:44.800 Jesus so that we don't have to go there. It's 01:00:44.800 --> 01:00:48.000 not your desire that the enemy has power over 01:00:48.000 --> 01:00:51.139 our life, but it's your desire that we live victorious. 01:00:52.920 --> 01:00:55.639 Your word is you came that we might have life 01:00:55.639 --> 01:00:59.739 and it more. abundantly, bountifully, blessed, 01:01:00.159 --> 01:01:04.300 pleasurable. That's why you came. The enemy torments 01:01:04.300 --> 01:01:08.460 our minds, but you come. Your word said this. 01:01:09.360 --> 01:01:12.400 You've come that we might have peace. You said, 01:01:12.440 --> 01:01:14.920 my peace give I unto you, not as the world gives, 01:01:15.099 --> 01:01:18.719 but as I give unto you, that your joy may be 01:01:18.719 --> 01:01:21.820 full. Fill up some joy cups in this house today, 01:01:21.920 --> 01:01:25.519 Lord. May we be able to declare like the psalmist, 01:01:25.599 --> 01:01:30.840 my cup runneth over. Fully blessed, full and 01:01:30.840 --> 01:01:33.579 filled, and ever learning and growing in the 01:01:33.579 --> 01:01:39.019 knowledge of the faith. Fathers, you watch over. 01:01:39.099 --> 01:01:40.739 There are those who need healing in their bodies. 01:01:41.000 --> 01:01:43.639 And according to your word, by your stripes, 01:01:43.780 --> 01:01:50.659 we are healed. We are healed. We claim it because 01:01:50.659 --> 01:01:57.210 of the work of Calvary. We claim healing. We 01:01:57.210 --> 01:01:59.570 speak healing. Well, what if it doesn't happen? 01:01:59.630 --> 01:02:02.889 I'll get up tomorrow and claim it again. I'll 01:02:02.889 --> 01:02:05.769 get up the next day and proclaim it again. I'll 01:02:05.769 --> 01:02:07.909 get up the next day after that and proclaim it 01:02:07.909 --> 01:02:10.489 again. Well, what if he never does? One day I'm 01:02:10.489 --> 01:02:12.630 going to receive the ultimate healing. One day 01:02:12.630 --> 01:02:15.269 we'll receive the ultimate healing. This old 01:02:15.269 --> 01:02:18.409 flesh is going to melt away. Hallelujah. We're 01:02:18.409 --> 01:02:21.449 going to be transformed, transfigured, and receive 01:02:21.449 --> 01:02:25.400 a new glory. So until then, I'll keep proclaiming 01:02:25.400 --> 01:02:27.760 it, not knowing that the next day or the next 01:02:27.760 --> 01:02:31.519 prayer or the next declaration, we may be healed 01:02:31.519 --> 01:02:41.739 here. Hallelujah. Lord, watch over your people. 01:02:43.019 --> 01:02:49.800 Protect your people. As we break down the limits.