1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,440 Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. 2 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:23,060 To get connected or to give online, go to connect.hcv.church or give.hcv.church. 3 00:00:23,060 --> 00:00:27,360 If at any point during this message you feel called to make a change in your life, text 4 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,640 change me to 970-00. 5 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:34,880 Thank you and enjoy the message. 6 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:38,120 I've never seen your hair this short. 7 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:39,560 I didn't lose a bet. 8 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:44,300 My mom is a 30 year plus breast cancer survivor. 9 00:00:44,300 --> 00:00:53,600 I just made my ninth. 10 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:58,680 I just made my ninth hair donation, hence the warrior look. 11 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:04,240 I don't know if 50 years old I can pull off this kind of haircut, but I did sport a mullet 12 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:05,240 in the 80s. 13 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:09,120 A little bit different look than this mullet. 14 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:13,880 So anyway, before I start, I'm going to do a couple things. 15 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:16,220 Who here volunteered for Reach? 16 00:01:16,220 --> 00:01:20,760 If you helped out at Reach, please stand for me. 17 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:22,920 If you donated money at Reach. 18 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:27,280 If you donated food for Reach, please stand up. 19 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:33,560 Listen, this has been the hands and feet of Jesus. 20 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:34,760 You can sit down now. 21 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:35,760 Thank you. 22 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:36,760 Thank you. 23 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:37,760 From the bottom of my heart, thank you. 24 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:38,760 Such a successful week. 25 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:51,960 Thank you Kelsey for all the hard work that you did to put this together. 26 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:58,380 If you have never volunteered, go next year. 27 00:01:58,380 --> 00:02:06,520 It will open your minds to the homeless in a way that you probably don't realize right 28 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:08,000 now. 29 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,680 I know the way I've lived my life. 30 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:20,120 I was probably just one bad decision away multiple times from being right there. 31 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:24,280 That said, before I start, you're sick of hearing me talk. 32 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:25,920 You want to hear God's words. 33 00:02:25,920 --> 00:02:28,240 So can we pray and invite him in? 34 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:29,240 Come Holy Spirit. 35 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,600 God, we thank you. 36 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:32,600 We thank you for today. 37 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:33,600 We thank you for this building. 38 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,240 We thank you for all that you provide. 39 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:43,260 God, we also thank you for those opportunities that we can go out into the world and be Jesus 40 00:02:43,260 --> 00:02:46,840 to our fellow man, to our fellow woman. 41 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:51,520 God, we just ask that you just continue to give us opportunity after opportunity to do 42 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:53,080 just that. 43 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:58,520 We put on your armor and we go out into the world and we fight alongside you. 44 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:04,640 But we know God that it's your armor and your battle and all we got to do is walk it out. 45 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:10,880 So today God, as we go through the next couple pieces of your armor, just allow my voice 46 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,800 to speak nothing but your words. 47 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:19,360 Open the hearts of everyone in here so that they can truly understand your love and your 48 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,040 peace and your faithfulness. 49 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,600 I ask that in the precious name of your son, my Savior, Jesus Christ. 50 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:28,360 Amen. 51 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:32,640 So some of you maybe have never heard me speak. 52 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:37,900 Others who have heard me speak a number of times, you may know if you've been here long 53 00:03:37,900 --> 00:03:46,000 enough that I, in the past, have had a little fun with our lead pastor and call him out. 54 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,180 It always works itself into the message. 55 00:03:50,180 --> 00:03:53,400 But I haven't done that for a while, so you may or may not have heard me do it. 56 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:58,840 So I want to lift up our lead pastor, but I want to switch it up a little bit. 57 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:06,500 I have a fun short, quick video to show you to truly tell you how much I love and respect 58 00:04:06,500 --> 00:04:09,360 my friend and mentor, Pastor Chris Lauderbeck. 59 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:29,280 Bryce, will you play this video for me please? 60 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:33,540 Thankfully he's in the youth room right now. 61 00:04:33,540 --> 00:04:43,360 But that's an example of why we need the full armor of God in our lives. 62 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:47,560 I had a couple different punch lines there, but I think that one works the best. 63 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:52,940 The problem is I only speak every other like two or three months, so he's not afraid to 64 00:04:52,940 --> 00:04:55,140 call me out either. 65 00:04:55,140 --> 00:04:58,540 So we'll see what happens. 66 00:04:58,540 --> 00:05:04,260 If you know me from my past, you do not need to send him any ammo. 67 00:05:04,260 --> 00:05:10,900 For the past two weeks, Chris has done a really good job of teaching us why we need the armor 68 00:05:10,900 --> 00:05:12,780 of God. 69 00:05:12,780 --> 00:05:18,280 Last week he broke down and went into greater detail the first two pieces of armor, the 70 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:22,780 belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. 71 00:05:22,780 --> 00:05:27,060 He talked about how truth and righteousness guide us as Christians. 72 00:05:27,060 --> 00:05:33,740 Of course, if you can tell by the way I'm dressed, I was not going to light these up, 73 00:05:33,740 --> 00:05:42,620 but my spiritual advisor, Jackson Troxell, red sun was like Rudy, light them up. 74 00:05:42,620 --> 00:05:48,260 But today I'm going to do the shoes of the gospel of peace and of course the shield of 75 00:05:48,260 --> 00:05:49,900 faithfulness. 76 00:05:49,900 --> 00:05:54,980 So excuse me, you may be able to hear it in my voice. 77 00:05:54,980 --> 00:05:57,380 I have felt literally like Samson all week. 78 00:05:57,380 --> 00:06:01,740 I got my haircut on Monday and then Tuesday got sick. 79 00:06:01,740 --> 00:06:03,620 So you can kind of still hear it in my voice. 80 00:06:03,620 --> 00:06:06,340 Been fighting a cold all week. 81 00:06:06,340 --> 00:06:09,740 I did hate going to urgent care, but I did go to urgent care. 82 00:06:09,740 --> 00:06:13,820 I'm negative for all the flus, all the COVID, but I laid in bed. 83 00:06:13,820 --> 00:06:22,220 I'm actually more sore today, not having worked out, but laying around all week. 84 00:06:22,220 --> 00:06:28,980 But know this, I've been wearing God's armor all week. 85 00:06:28,980 --> 00:06:35,820 And because I have had his peace strapped around my feet, knowing that the enemy was 86 00:06:35,820 --> 00:06:45,940 firing arrows and darts at me all week, I have been protected by this sword of faith. 87 00:06:45,940 --> 00:06:52,620 So I encourage you to just take all these pieces of the body of armor into account. 88 00:06:52,620 --> 00:06:56,180 Now whose armor are they? 89 00:06:56,180 --> 00:06:58,140 God's armor. 90 00:06:58,140 --> 00:07:01,980 Before we get into these two pieces I'm going to talk about today, I want to read an excerpt 91 00:07:01,980 --> 00:07:06,740 from an article I found in Christianity today when I was researching this. 92 00:07:06,740 --> 00:07:12,380 And you guys, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be the only one that relates to this. 93 00:07:12,380 --> 00:07:19,300 It would have been really easy for me this past week to slide into my own armor as I 94 00:07:19,300 --> 00:07:21,660 dealt with the cold and the sickness. 95 00:07:21,660 --> 00:07:24,740 Now listen to this. 96 00:07:24,740 --> 00:07:33,140 He says, I have multiple options I go to regularly when I am in self-preservation mode. 97 00:07:33,140 --> 00:07:46,420 I call it the army of me, which includes the belt of denial, the breastplate of humor, 98 00:07:46,420 --> 00:07:48,540 one that I'm pretty good at using. 99 00:07:48,540 --> 00:07:54,420 Ask my wife and son and they'll tell you that it's often misplaced. 100 00:07:54,420 --> 00:07:59,220 Our feet ready with a plan of escape. 101 00:07:59,220 --> 00:08:12,660 The shield of perfectionism, the helmet of avoidance, and the sword of blame. 102 00:08:12,660 --> 00:08:17,260 My armor has additional elements that God's armor doesn't offer such as the shoulder pads 103 00:08:17,260 --> 00:08:25,740 of delusion, the face mask of people pleasing, and the shin guards of distraction. 104 00:08:25,740 --> 00:08:31,940 Anyone relate to that? 105 00:08:31,940 --> 00:08:38,940 Now I might add to that little passage that for some of us, many of us, we also carry 106 00:08:38,940 --> 00:08:48,100 around the keyboard of self-righteousness that we like to use on social media. 107 00:08:48,100 --> 00:08:52,940 Now that article that I just read was written by, I think, a man named J.D.P. 108 00:08:52,940 --> 00:09:04,300 And it's entitled this, to put on the armor of God, we have to take off the armor of me. 109 00:09:04,300 --> 00:09:11,340 Today I want to challenge that many of us fail to put on the full armor of God. 110 00:09:11,340 --> 00:09:15,780 Now I wore this white outfit for a reason because I wanted to highlight the shoes and 111 00:09:15,780 --> 00:09:20,340 the shield, but imagine if I took this shield and these shoes and ran out to the battlefield 112 00:09:20,340 --> 00:09:22,820 just like that. 113 00:09:22,820 --> 00:09:26,180 How long would I last? 114 00:09:26,180 --> 00:09:28,900 How much damage would I do? 115 00:09:28,900 --> 00:09:32,140 How ridiculous would I look? 116 00:09:32,140 --> 00:09:41,340 They would probably just laugh at me before they slice me up. 117 00:09:41,340 --> 00:09:47,900 Today I want you to understand that oftentimes we put on different bits and pieces of the 118 00:09:47,900 --> 00:09:55,340 armor at different times, and then we often throw in our own battle gear when we go out 119 00:09:55,340 --> 00:09:58,060 to fight our battles. 120 00:09:58,060 --> 00:10:04,780 Today I'm talking about just these two pieces, but I really pray that you understand all 121 00:10:04,780 --> 00:10:13,300 the parts of the armor and how they work together and utilize the entire armor of who? 122 00:10:13,300 --> 00:10:14,300 God. 123 00:10:14,300 --> 00:10:16,820 It's not whose armor? 124 00:10:16,820 --> 00:10:17,820 Mine. 125 00:10:17,820 --> 00:10:18,820 Make it personal. 126 00:10:18,820 --> 00:10:19,820 It's not my armor. 127 00:10:19,820 --> 00:10:22,740 It's his armor. 128 00:10:22,740 --> 00:10:26,740 So I'm going to read just that passage that we're using in this series, not putting it 129 00:10:26,740 --> 00:10:27,740 on the Sky Bible. 130 00:10:27,740 --> 00:10:29,620 I just want you to listen to the words. 131 00:10:29,620 --> 00:10:31,040 You can close your eyes. 132 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:32,220 You can do whatever. 133 00:10:32,220 --> 00:10:34,420 Just listen to the words. 134 00:10:34,420 --> 00:10:41,180 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 135 00:10:41,180 --> 00:10:48,620 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 136 00:10:48,620 --> 00:10:53,060 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the 137 00:10:53,060 --> 00:10:58,620 authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against spiritual forces of evil 138 00:10:58,620 --> 00:11:00,900 in the heavenly realms. 139 00:11:00,900 --> 00:11:06,060 Therefore, put on the full armor of God. 140 00:11:06,060 --> 00:11:10,660 Man, you've got to be great students. 141 00:11:10,660 --> 00:11:13,780 Put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to 142 00:11:13,780 --> 00:11:14,780 stand your ground. 143 00:11:14,780 --> 00:11:19,340 And after you have done everything, to stand. 144 00:11:19,340 --> 00:11:23,540 Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, the breastplate of wealth, 145 00:11:23,540 --> 00:11:27,460 righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from 146 00:11:27,460 --> 00:11:29,340 the gospel of peace. 147 00:11:29,340 --> 00:11:36,660 In addition to all this, take the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the 148 00:11:36,660 --> 00:11:39,300 flaming errors of the evil one. 149 00:11:39,300 --> 00:11:45,500 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. 150 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:50,460 Now I encourage you, if you missed last week, or even if you didn't, go back and pull up 151 00:11:50,460 --> 00:11:54,380 Chris's message from last week. 152 00:11:54,380 --> 00:11:59,020 He talked about the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness, and I want you 153 00:11:59,020 --> 00:12:05,140 to just nail that down so you understand what each of those pieces mean. 154 00:12:05,140 --> 00:12:09,620 And then listen to today because we're going to pick up here with the shoes of the gospel 155 00:12:09,620 --> 00:12:11,180 of peace. 156 00:12:11,180 --> 00:12:16,900 Now how many of you love a good pair of new sneakers? 157 00:12:16,900 --> 00:12:20,940 Like I like to get like a brand new pack of socks. 158 00:12:20,940 --> 00:12:25,240 Like I'll take a six pack of socks and I'll wait like a month and a half to wear every 159 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:31,380 pair because I want that, I want to put on those socks with a brand new pair of shoes. 160 00:12:31,380 --> 00:12:36,460 And just how good does that feel? 161 00:12:36,460 --> 00:12:38,900 It gives us a comfortable foundation. 162 00:12:38,900 --> 00:12:43,820 It makes it comfortable to walk or run or work out, but what are we supposed to do with 163 00:12:43,820 --> 00:12:44,820 them? 164 00:12:44,820 --> 00:12:49,020 We're supposed to move. 165 00:12:49,020 --> 00:12:52,960 It makes us feel grounded, which leads us to our first point. 166 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:59,820 Like shoes, peace is the foundation of our armor. 167 00:12:59,820 --> 00:13:06,060 The peace of Jesus is the foundation of our armor. 168 00:13:06,060 --> 00:13:10,300 Ephesians 6, 15, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel 169 00:13:10,300 --> 00:13:11,300 of peace. 170 00:13:11,300 --> 00:13:15,940 Now I want to take a look at the sandals that the Roman soldiers actually wore. 171 00:13:15,940 --> 00:13:18,740 They were half boot, half sandal. 172 00:13:18,740 --> 00:13:25,060 They were designed to provide a firm footing and stability in close combat. 173 00:13:25,060 --> 00:13:29,380 They were made of multiple layers of metal, I'm sorry, of leather, and Bryce will you 174 00:13:29,380 --> 00:13:30,580 put the picture up? 175 00:13:30,580 --> 00:13:36,860 If you notice at the bottom they had these hollow metal studs called hobnails that dug 176 00:13:36,860 --> 00:13:38,820 into the ground. 177 00:13:38,820 --> 00:13:41,180 Those hobnails are like cleats. 178 00:13:41,180 --> 00:13:42,180 Anyone here an athlete? 179 00:13:42,180 --> 00:13:45,620 Anyone strappling a pair of cleats? 180 00:13:45,620 --> 00:13:50,780 They were anywhere from an inch in length upwards to a couple inches, depending on the 181 00:13:50,780 --> 00:13:55,260 terrain that they had to cross. 182 00:13:55,260 --> 00:13:59,020 But those hobnails dug into the ground. 183 00:13:59,020 --> 00:14:09,100 They enhanced stability in close combat and agility over various uneven terrains. 184 00:14:09,100 --> 00:14:19,900 Folks, Jesus offers us a similar stability and agility as we walk with him. 185 00:14:19,900 --> 00:14:24,780 Now the boot, if you've ever been a soldier, you know is arguably one of the most important 186 00:14:24,780 --> 00:14:32,100 pieces especially to the gear of the infantry men in the day. 187 00:14:32,100 --> 00:14:38,340 See the legionaries in the Roman army would have to march thousands and thousands of miles 188 00:14:38,340 --> 00:14:44,420 and they depended solely on their feet and their legs to get them there going over mountains, 189 00:14:44,420 --> 00:14:54,140 over woodlands and wetlands, snow and ice, across countless streams and rivers. 190 00:14:54,140 --> 00:14:59,220 Just like that, we need his peace to get us through all the different terrains that we 191 00:14:59,220 --> 00:15:02,340 face in our life. 192 00:15:02,340 --> 00:15:12,100 Proverbs 16, 9, the heart of man plans the ways, but the Lord establishes his steps. 193 00:15:12,100 --> 00:15:16,180 You have any parents in here? 194 00:15:16,180 --> 00:15:17,860 Grandparents? 195 00:15:17,860 --> 00:15:23,740 Although if you are a grandparent, you probably are also a... 196 00:15:23,740 --> 00:15:33,180 How excited were you when you saw your toddler take their first couple steps? 197 00:15:33,180 --> 00:15:39,720 How proud were you to see that growth and development? 198 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:44,780 As unsteady as it might have been, they were taking steps. 199 00:15:44,780 --> 00:15:52,380 Folks, God takes delight in each step we take towards him. 200 00:15:52,380 --> 00:16:01,500 He takes delight in every step that we take that walks out his will in our lives. 201 00:16:01,500 --> 00:16:08,460 See this verse, Proverbs 9, 16, 9, that word establishes that I just read. 202 00:16:08,460 --> 00:16:09,460 It's a Hebrew word. 203 00:16:09,460 --> 00:16:12,820 It comes from the Hebrew word, kun, K-U-N. 204 00:16:12,820 --> 00:16:20,760 It translates to establishes, determines, prepares, provides. 205 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,340 It translates to firmly decides. 206 00:16:23,340 --> 00:16:32,660 It translates to makes secure, meaning that God cares for our steps all the way down to 207 00:16:32,660 --> 00:16:37,580 the tiniest, tiniest detail. 208 00:16:37,580 --> 00:16:42,320 Mark Batterson says this. 209 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:52,140 This piece is a calming word that imparts confidence that God has everything under control. 210 00:16:52,140 --> 00:17:00,620 Can you trust that God has everything in control for you? 211 00:17:00,620 --> 00:17:11,300 Now, 1 Corinthians 14, Paul writes some words that back that up when he says this, for God 212 00:17:11,300 --> 00:17:16,500 is not a God of disorder, but a God of peace. 213 00:17:16,500 --> 00:17:21,700 See, when I was in my 20s, I never felt tempted. 214 00:17:21,700 --> 00:17:22,700 Why? 215 00:17:22,700 --> 00:17:26,700 Because I didn't walk with Jesus. 216 00:17:26,700 --> 00:17:30,980 I didn't know the full power that Jesus could have in my life. 217 00:17:30,980 --> 00:17:36,820 My life was chaos. 218 00:17:36,820 --> 00:17:43,780 But the peace that Jesus offers is order. 219 00:17:43,780 --> 00:17:47,460 The Greek word I'm in teaching marriage, so bear with me. 220 00:17:47,460 --> 00:17:52,740 The Greek word for peace that we find here is irene. 221 00:17:52,740 --> 00:17:54,740 Not the one from the song. 222 00:17:54,740 --> 00:17:56,120 Irene. 223 00:17:56,120 --> 00:18:05,720 And that word doesn't just mean peace, but it also means wholeness, completeness, salvation. 224 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:12,400 It has a similar meaning to a word that you guys have heard, the Hebrew word shalom. 225 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:17,620 The gospel of peace that you're supposed to be willing to strap on is none other than 226 00:18:17,620 --> 00:18:26,300 the good news of the salvation that we have through Jesus, who makes us whole. 227 00:18:26,300 --> 00:18:36,100 Which leads us to point two, Jesus makes us whole, but the enemy, he tries to steal our 228 00:18:36,100 --> 00:18:37,100 peace. 229 00:18:37,100 --> 00:18:42,020 John 10, 10, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 230 00:18:42,020 --> 00:18:46,860 I, Jesus, have come that they may have life and have it to the full. 231 00:18:46,860 --> 00:18:51,000 The enemy tries to steal your peace each and every day. 232 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:55,580 The enemy constantly puts stumbling blocks in front of you. 233 00:18:55,580 --> 00:19:03,780 The enemy constantly tries to put loose gravel in unorder in front of you. 234 00:19:03,780 --> 00:19:13,700 He does this easily through differing views on social media, through negative news articles. 235 00:19:13,700 --> 00:19:16,700 He misdirects our communication. 236 00:19:16,700 --> 00:19:21,260 He's the master manipulator and he knows when to trip us up. 237 00:19:21,260 --> 00:19:30,900 He does it in my own relationships all the time, as Carrie. 238 00:19:30,900 --> 00:19:36,380 Which leads us to our third point, the best way to keep our enemy from stealing our peace 239 00:19:36,380 --> 00:19:41,660 is to be prepared to actively share the good news of Jesus. 240 00:19:41,660 --> 00:19:48,680 See, we take the peace of Jesus everywhere we go. 241 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:57,780 We start by carrying his peace in our hearts and we let that peace leak out everywhere. 242 00:19:57,780 --> 00:20:03,740 Serving at reach is sharing the gospel of peace. 243 00:20:03,740 --> 00:20:09,460 Helping at night to shine the Friday before last, man, what a great night. 244 00:20:09,460 --> 00:20:13,580 That's sharing the gospel of peace. 245 00:20:13,580 --> 00:20:18,060 Passing out flowers like we just did this past weekend on the square. 246 00:20:18,060 --> 00:20:23,260 And Chris has mentioned before, some people are like, pass out flowers. 247 00:20:23,260 --> 00:20:30,100 I handed a flower to a lady on the square. 248 00:20:30,100 --> 00:20:35,820 When I handed her this flower, you just see her countenance. 249 00:20:35,820 --> 00:20:38,660 She got teary-eyed. 250 00:20:38,660 --> 00:20:45,500 I could just see the internal struggle on this lady's face. 251 00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:49,660 And I said, are you okay? and she said, actually, now I am. 252 00:20:49,660 --> 00:20:57,660 Said, you know, we do this because we just want people to know you are loved. 253 00:20:57,660 --> 00:21:01,140 Honey, God loves you. 254 00:21:01,140 --> 00:21:04,460 And so do I. 255 00:21:04,460 --> 00:21:06,860 That's sharing the gospel of peace. 256 00:21:06,860 --> 00:21:10,780 And she walked across the street and I could feel her lighten. 257 00:21:10,780 --> 00:21:14,780 I could just see her shoulders relax and just lighten up. 258 00:21:14,780 --> 00:21:17,540 Did it fix everything? 259 00:21:17,540 --> 00:21:19,540 No. 260 00:21:19,540 --> 00:21:24,780 Showing compassion to our coworkers, our friends, our neighbors, our family. 261 00:21:24,780 --> 00:21:28,100 That folks is sharing the gospel of peace. 262 00:21:28,100 --> 00:21:29,500 Peace. 263 00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:35,980 But remember, guys, if we aren't willing, God don't want us. 264 00:21:35,980 --> 00:21:42,780 So don't just strap on your shoes and go lay down. 265 00:21:42,780 --> 00:21:46,500 Stand up and use them. 266 00:21:46,500 --> 00:21:55,780 See, if we try to keep the peace inside of us, that's when the enemy steals it. 267 00:21:55,780 --> 00:22:03,060 When we don't give it away, that's when he has the biggest access to steal it from us. 268 00:22:03,060 --> 00:22:08,220 The more we give it away, the less opportunity he has to take it from us. 269 00:22:08,220 --> 00:22:11,340 It sounds counterintuitive. 270 00:22:11,340 --> 00:22:17,960 But as James tells us in his book in chapter 3 verse 18, those who are peacemakers will 271 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:21,740 plant seeds. 272 00:22:21,740 --> 00:22:23,220 Seeds of peace. 273 00:22:23,220 --> 00:22:28,340 But they also will reap the harvest of righteousness. 274 00:22:28,340 --> 00:22:30,780 Jesus followers, folks, we're peacemakers. 275 00:22:30,780 --> 00:22:32,900 We're meant to be peacemakers. 276 00:22:32,900 --> 00:22:35,140 We're meant to spread his love. 277 00:22:35,140 --> 00:22:41,220 Jesus tells us, or sorry, Peter tells us in his first letter in chapter 3, be ready at 278 00:22:41,220 --> 00:22:47,620 all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have inside of you. 279 00:22:47,620 --> 00:22:48,620 Where is that hope? 280 00:22:48,620 --> 00:22:56,480 Man, I've got to give you a cheat sheet or something. 281 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:58,180 Why do you have hope? 282 00:22:58,180 --> 00:22:59,980 Where do you find your peace? 283 00:22:59,980 --> 00:23:06,780 People will ask you that, but know that your peace, your hope is found in the name of Jesus. 284 00:23:06,780 --> 00:23:13,320 But not just his name, but the personal relationship that you have with him. 285 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:15,620 Know your story. 286 00:23:15,620 --> 00:23:23,240 And when someone asks, be ready to explain how Jesus has given you hope and peace. 287 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,820 As a pastor, my life is no different than yours. 288 00:23:26,820 --> 00:23:30,380 The only reason I have peace is because I have Jesus. 289 00:23:30,380 --> 00:23:34,380 Remember those old bumper stickers, no Jesus, no peace? 290 00:23:34,380 --> 00:23:40,960 Well get to know Jesus and you'll get to know peace. 291 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:46,300 I'm a knucklehead without Jesus. 292 00:23:46,300 --> 00:23:51,260 I live in peace when I walk alongside of Jesus. 293 00:23:51,260 --> 00:23:57,380 Now when sharing the gospel, it's important to have patience and a desire to teach instead 294 00:23:57,380 --> 00:24:00,380 of trying to win an argument. 295 00:24:00,380 --> 00:24:04,580 It's not a sword. 296 00:24:04,580 --> 00:24:09,040 It can be intimidating to share the gospel, but it's important to remember the urgency 297 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:12,580 that we need to have when we're spreading the good news. 298 00:24:12,580 --> 00:24:18,700 And know this, we should have the faith to share the good news of Jesus considering the 299 00:24:18,700 --> 00:24:25,300 next piece of armor is the shield of faith. 300 00:24:25,300 --> 00:24:33,180 Point one, faith shields us from the enemy's attacks. 301 00:24:33,180 --> 00:24:37,280 The more faith you have in Jesus and God, the more you'll be shielded. 302 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:44,060 The good thing is how big does your faith need to be? 303 00:24:44,060 --> 00:24:50,580 Ephesians 6, 16, the further along in our body of armor says this, in addition to all 304 00:24:50,580 --> 00:24:55,860 this, take up the shield of faith which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the 305 00:24:55,860 --> 00:24:56,860 evil one. 306 00:24:56,860 --> 00:24:59,060 Does it say the arrows stop coming? 307 00:24:59,060 --> 00:25:03,700 Okay, just hold on to that thought. 308 00:25:03,700 --> 00:25:11,140 See Carrie and I have a son, 12 year old, who's extremely empathetic. 309 00:25:11,140 --> 00:25:16,060 He wears his heart, he cares for people, loves people in a way that most adults have never 310 00:25:16,060 --> 00:25:18,300 learned how to do. 311 00:25:18,300 --> 00:25:23,040 But Carrie and I are very intentional about not only protecting him, but make sure he 312 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,420 learns to advocate for himself. 313 00:25:26,420 --> 00:25:33,580 We want him to hang on to his childlike innocence as long as he can without being naive to the 314 00:25:33,580 --> 00:25:37,560 way the world works. 315 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:41,820 One of our favorite verses that we use time and time again in our household is Proverbs 316 00:25:41,820 --> 00:25:43,060 4, 23. 317 00:25:43,060 --> 00:25:49,940 Above all else, guard your hearts for everything you do flows from it. 318 00:25:49,940 --> 00:25:58,800 See the breastplate is in place, but the shield, it just offers a double layer of protection. 319 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:05,060 We don't want our son to ever lose his heart for others, so we encourage Kingston to guard 320 00:26:05,060 --> 00:26:13,700 his heart twofold so that Jesus' living waters can continue to flow out of his heart. 321 00:26:13,700 --> 00:26:20,780 Now as parents, we also know that God is our protector no matter what. 322 00:26:20,780 --> 00:26:24,980 You've heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, they're about to be thrown into 323 00:26:24,980 --> 00:26:30,200 the furnace and they said this to King Nebuchadnezzar, we don't need to defend ourselves before you 324 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:33,620 in this matter. 325 00:26:33,620 --> 00:26:35,700 Nebuchadnezzar is it? 326 00:26:35,700 --> 00:26:36,840 Okay. 327 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:42,980 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from 328 00:26:42,980 --> 00:26:44,300 it. 329 00:26:44,300 --> 00:26:48,440 He will deliver us from your majesty's hand. 330 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:54,340 Know that God always has your best interest in mind. 331 00:26:54,340 --> 00:27:00,160 Your best interest is always at the forefront of God's heart. 332 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:08,980 This leads us to point two, faith is saturated by living water. 333 00:27:08,980 --> 00:27:11,100 Now check it out, I thought this was so cool when doing research. 334 00:27:11,100 --> 00:27:15,560 Sorry if it's, I might be teaching you guys too much today. 335 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:22,280 But in my research I just found the Roman shield was called a scutum. 336 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:28,100 It wasn't like this, didn't have the points, it was actually this large rectangular shield, 337 00:27:28,100 --> 00:27:30,260 like four or five foot high. 338 00:27:30,260 --> 00:27:33,620 It was made of wood and canvas and leather. 339 00:27:33,620 --> 00:27:35,180 Okay. 340 00:27:35,180 --> 00:27:43,940 The soldiers soaked their shields in water until they were dripping wet. 341 00:27:43,940 --> 00:27:45,620 Why would they do that? 342 00:27:45,620 --> 00:27:54,560 You see a dry shield could catch fire if it was struck by one of those fiery arrows. 343 00:27:54,560 --> 00:28:03,860 Let's see when this shield was soaked in water, the flames would be put out even if the arrow 344 00:28:03,860 --> 00:28:06,180 penetrated through. 345 00:28:06,180 --> 00:28:12,980 The arrows aren't going to stop coming, but the living water. 346 00:28:12,980 --> 00:28:19,900 John 7, on the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 347 00:28:19,900 --> 00:28:22,500 let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 348 00:28:22,500 --> 00:28:31,340 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow within them. 349 00:28:31,340 --> 00:28:37,020 Living water is the spiritual refreshment that comes from Jesus Christ. 350 00:28:37,020 --> 00:28:41,900 We need to be saturated in the living waters of Jesus. 351 00:28:41,900 --> 00:28:52,540 We need to be dripping with his faithful, loving grace. 352 00:28:52,540 --> 00:28:59,220 The errors will still come, but when you're dripping with faith, the faith of God, the 353 00:28:59,220 --> 00:29:03,500 shield will protect you. 354 00:29:03,500 --> 00:29:15,100 And lastly, point three, our faith is strengthened in community. 355 00:29:15,100 --> 00:29:16,100 Look around you. 356 00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:18,780 This is a pretty awesome community of believers. 357 00:29:18,780 --> 00:29:21,700 No, no, look around you. 358 00:29:21,700 --> 00:29:22,980 Do that right now. 359 00:29:22,980 --> 00:29:26,100 Thank you. 360 00:29:26,100 --> 00:29:28,940 Our faith is strengthened in community. 361 00:29:28,940 --> 00:29:40,500 Psalm 133, 1, how good and pleasant is it when God's people live together in unity? 362 00:29:40,500 --> 00:29:45,220 Turn to your neighbor and say, I love you. 363 00:29:45,220 --> 00:29:48,220 I got you. 364 00:29:48,220 --> 00:29:51,460 Now listen, those are the easier ones. 365 00:29:51,460 --> 00:29:55,500 Some of you over here need to talk to some of you over here that refuse to sit together 366 00:29:55,500 --> 00:30:00,340 because we're supposed to live in unity. 367 00:30:00,340 --> 00:30:04,460 We're not supposed to be divided. 368 00:30:04,460 --> 00:30:05,460 Now check this out. 369 00:30:05,460 --> 00:30:12,340 To signify unity, the Roman soldiers would paint their shields to match and they would 370 00:30:12,340 --> 00:30:16,500 use something like I have the cross here, use something that was meaningful to them 371 00:30:16,500 --> 00:30:19,380 and their unit, something that brought them together. 372 00:30:19,380 --> 00:30:21,380 But the true unity is how they fought. 373 00:30:21,380 --> 00:30:25,140 Bryce, will you put that other photo up? 374 00:30:25,140 --> 00:30:30,540 They would fight together in tight formations which protected them behind their shields. 375 00:30:30,540 --> 00:30:31,700 So check this out. 376 00:30:31,700 --> 00:30:36,380 This was called the testudo. 377 00:30:36,380 --> 00:30:38,100 This formation is a testudo. 378 00:30:38,100 --> 00:30:44,020 A testudo is a Latin word that means the tortoise. 379 00:30:44,020 --> 00:30:46,060 Look like a turtle? 380 00:30:46,060 --> 00:30:48,260 So what they would do is they would flank together. 381 00:30:48,260 --> 00:30:50,340 Again, they were big. 382 00:30:50,340 --> 00:30:51,940 See how big those things are? 383 00:30:51,940 --> 00:30:53,260 They would cover them. 384 00:30:53,260 --> 00:30:56,980 The front row would put their shields up. 385 00:30:56,980 --> 00:31:00,900 Then oftentimes, it's not here, but oftentimes the side rows would also put their shields 386 00:31:00,900 --> 00:31:05,820 sideways and then the guys in the back would put their shields on top. 387 00:31:05,820 --> 00:31:10,300 This wasn't even just to protect them from the arrows. 388 00:31:10,300 --> 00:31:11,460 They weren't standing still. 389 00:31:11,460 --> 00:31:13,140 What were they doing? 390 00:31:13,140 --> 00:31:14,500 They were marching forward. 391 00:31:14,500 --> 00:31:16,300 They were forced to be reckoned with. 392 00:31:16,300 --> 00:31:24,460 They were expanding the kingdom behind their shields of faith. 393 00:31:24,460 --> 00:31:30,420 They understood that flanked together, that there was strength in numbers. 394 00:31:30,420 --> 00:31:40,100 See, a few weeks ago, most of you are probably here, when we worshipped at the end, Chris 395 00:31:40,100 --> 00:31:43,860 told us, put your hands up when you worship, right? 396 00:31:43,860 --> 00:31:48,260 And he said, the higher you put your hands up, what did he say? 397 00:31:48,260 --> 00:31:55,140 The more you are thankful, the more you are winning, the more you are grateful. 398 00:31:55,140 --> 00:31:58,300 And he did that and we held hands and some of you had your hands up, right? 399 00:31:58,300 --> 00:31:59,300 Well, we weren't holding hands. 400 00:31:59,300 --> 00:32:02,060 Some of you just had your hands up, right? 401 00:32:02,060 --> 00:32:07,460 But I said holding hands because this was the picture I saw. 402 00:32:07,460 --> 00:32:12,300 I stood in the back like I typically do and I watched all of you guys with your hands 403 00:32:12,300 --> 00:32:17,100 raised and I immediately thought of Moses. 404 00:32:17,100 --> 00:32:19,300 How many of you know the story about Moses? 405 00:32:19,300 --> 00:32:27,220 He sends Joshua out to war and then he takes two men, Aaron and her, up to the top of the 406 00:32:27,220 --> 00:32:30,500 mountain, right? 407 00:32:30,500 --> 00:32:36,700 Now they go to the top of the mountain and in verse 11, in Exodus 17, verse 11 tells 408 00:32:36,700 --> 00:32:44,100 us this, 11 not 12 yet, tells us that as long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites 409 00:32:44,100 --> 00:32:47,220 were winning, right? 410 00:32:47,220 --> 00:32:52,540 As long as Moses had his hands up, the Israelites were winning. 411 00:32:52,540 --> 00:32:58,780 But anytime he put his hands down, the Amalekites were winning. 412 00:32:58,780 --> 00:33:03,540 Anytime he let his hands fall, the Amalek, the Israelites were falling back. 413 00:33:03,540 --> 00:33:04,540 They started losing. 414 00:33:04,540 --> 00:33:07,140 Man, check this out. 415 00:33:07,140 --> 00:33:11,780 You guys know this story? 416 00:33:11,780 --> 00:33:16,420 Let's look at verse 12 now. 417 00:33:16,420 --> 00:33:23,940 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. 418 00:33:23,940 --> 00:33:30,060 And this, thousands and thousands of years later, every time I read this, I feel the 419 00:33:30,060 --> 00:33:35,020 emotional gratitude of this. 420 00:33:35,020 --> 00:33:40,620 Aaron and her held his hands up, one on one side, one on the other, so that his hands 421 00:33:40,620 --> 00:33:43,700 remained steady until sunset. 422 00:33:43,700 --> 00:33:49,700 Folks, when your hands get tired and you don't feel like you're winning and you feel like 423 00:33:49,700 --> 00:33:53,580 you're losing ground, get some friends. 424 00:33:53,580 --> 00:33:59,060 Have them help you, one on one side, one on the other, to lift you up. 425 00:33:59,060 --> 00:34:04,860 Because when your hands are up, you are winning. 426 00:34:04,860 --> 00:34:10,780 Just like God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit work together in unison, all 427 00:34:10,780 --> 00:34:13,740 the pieces of armor work in unison. 428 00:34:13,740 --> 00:34:23,440 Also, we as a family of God work in unison to spread the kingdom here on earth. 429 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:25,460 And we don't do it meekly. 430 00:34:25,460 --> 00:34:32,500 We do it like a tortoise shell, firing forward. 431 00:34:32,500 --> 00:34:42,180 Now, I also want you to notice so far in all of the pieces that Chris and I have talked 432 00:34:42,180 --> 00:34:51,540 about, all of the pieces of armor are defensive in nature. 433 00:34:51,540 --> 00:34:57,500 Last week he's going to talk about the helmet, which also is defensive in nature. 434 00:34:57,500 --> 00:35:05,780 See, some of us want to run out to the battlefield with just a sword. 435 00:35:05,780 --> 00:35:08,940 But most of us don't take the sword of the Spirit. 436 00:35:08,940 --> 00:35:15,860 Most of us take the sword from our own armor, and our own swords are double edged. 437 00:35:15,860 --> 00:35:20,740 And then we also forget you run out in a pair of scrubs instead of the rest of the armor, 438 00:35:20,740 --> 00:35:26,260 and you start waving that sword, and you start chopping people up. 439 00:35:26,260 --> 00:35:32,740 And then what also happens while you're chopping, it's double edged. 440 00:35:32,740 --> 00:35:38,220 I'm killing and destroying and stealing other people's peace when I do that. 441 00:35:38,220 --> 00:35:44,460 So let's focus on the five pieces of armor that are defensive. 442 00:35:44,460 --> 00:35:46,540 Whose sword is it? 443 00:35:46,540 --> 00:35:47,820 God's. 444 00:35:47,820 --> 00:35:52,380 And we allow God to take care of the sword. 445 00:35:52,380 --> 00:35:57,500 See, that's not the purpose of God's armor what I just talked about. 446 00:35:57,500 --> 00:36:01,940 The armor represents God's action on our behalf. 447 00:36:01,940 --> 00:36:03,340 It represents His truth. 448 00:36:03,340 --> 00:36:05,420 It represents His righteousness. 449 00:36:05,420 --> 00:36:09,820 It represents His peace. 450 00:36:09,820 --> 00:36:14,460 It represents the faith that we have in Him, so His faithfulness. 451 00:36:14,460 --> 00:36:21,460 And as we'll hear next week, His armor represents salvation, and His armor represents the Spirit. 452 00:36:21,460 --> 00:36:30,580 Now, also, it's not a suit, an article of clothing that we just take off and hang in 453 00:36:30,580 --> 00:36:31,580 the closet. 454 00:36:31,580 --> 00:36:33,780 Some of you come home, I do. 455 00:36:33,780 --> 00:36:37,980 The first thing I do is kick off the shoes. 456 00:36:37,980 --> 00:36:41,460 Sometimes we come home and kick off the shoes of peace, and then we're just mad and annoyed 457 00:36:41,460 --> 00:36:43,560 all night. 458 00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:46,460 The armor doesn't come off, folks. 459 00:36:46,460 --> 00:36:48,480 The armor becomes a part of us. 460 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:56,340 It's an exoskeleton that protects us from the outside, but it's also this endoskeleton 461 00:36:56,340 --> 00:37:07,060 that provides stability and support from the inside. 462 00:37:07,060 --> 00:37:13,060 So as we move into our action steps today, I don't want you to think of each of these 463 00:37:13,060 --> 00:37:17,980 pieces as separate, but one set of armor. 464 00:37:17,980 --> 00:37:24,400 They all have different functions, but they make up the full armor of God. 465 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:26,220 How much armor? 466 00:37:26,220 --> 00:37:27,220 All of it. 467 00:37:27,220 --> 00:37:28,220 Whose armor? 468 00:37:28,220 --> 00:37:29,220 God's. 469 00:37:29,220 --> 00:37:33,360 So let's do two quick steps to wrap this up. 470 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:38,860 Two quick steps to help us to growing in faith and peace. 471 00:37:38,860 --> 00:37:40,580 Ready for the first one? 472 00:37:40,580 --> 00:37:43,260 If you got your toes in front of you, you might want to pull your feet back because 473 00:37:43,260 --> 00:37:46,260 I'm about to step on them. 474 00:37:46,260 --> 00:37:51,740 Replace the world news tonight with the good news of Jesus. 475 00:37:51,740 --> 00:37:56,940 You got highlighters with you? 476 00:37:56,940 --> 00:38:01,540 Replace world news with good news. 477 00:38:01,540 --> 00:38:03,420 Colossians 3.2. 478 00:38:03,420 --> 00:38:10,260 Set your minds on things that are above, not things that are on earth. 479 00:38:10,260 --> 00:38:13,060 Turn off the TV. 480 00:38:13,060 --> 00:38:18,820 Quit doomsday scrolling. 481 00:38:18,820 --> 00:38:26,420 Once you have read the fifth article, the tenth and fifteenth and twentieth article 482 00:38:26,420 --> 00:38:30,680 aren't going to tell you anything different. 483 00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:40,420 They're going to reinforce the fact that the enemy is present and he's stealing and killing 484 00:38:40,420 --> 00:38:41,420 and destroying. 485 00:38:41,420 --> 00:38:46,220 Now folks, I'm not telling you to put your heads in the sand. 486 00:38:46,220 --> 00:38:52,980 I'm telling you, make yourself aware of what's going on in the world, but then put down the 487 00:38:52,980 --> 00:38:58,300 world's news and pick up the good news. 488 00:38:58,300 --> 00:39:03,700 You're going to need it when you talk to the rest of the crazy world because they need 489 00:39:03,700 --> 00:39:06,340 that good news. 490 00:39:06,340 --> 00:39:09,820 Second Timothy 3 verses 16 and 17. 491 00:39:09,820 --> 00:39:14,260 All scripture is God-breed, then is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training 492 00:39:14,260 --> 00:39:19,180 in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good 493 00:39:19,180 --> 00:39:20,640 work. 494 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:26,580 The world will only know peace when it knows Jesus. 495 00:39:26,580 --> 00:39:28,460 Nothing else matters. 496 00:39:28,460 --> 00:39:32,820 Guys, don't wait for the world to stress you out. 497 00:39:32,820 --> 00:39:37,620 Open your Bible now, today, and read about the good news. 498 00:39:37,620 --> 00:39:42,540 And then once you've read about it, how many of you have already heard the good news of 499 00:39:42,540 --> 00:39:45,380 Jesus in your life before? 500 00:39:45,380 --> 00:39:47,920 Come on man, there should be more hands up. 501 00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:52,020 That means you know enough to tell someone else about his peace. 502 00:39:52,020 --> 00:39:54,980 Can you do that this afternoon? 503 00:39:54,980 --> 00:39:57,300 Which leads us to our second action step. 504 00:39:57,300 --> 00:39:59,340 I love this. 505 00:39:59,340 --> 00:40:05,180 Have a personal council of advisors. 506 00:40:05,180 --> 00:40:08,480 War isn't a solo affair. 507 00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:10,560 We need a board of directors. 508 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:14,020 We need a cabinet, a joint chiefs of staff. 509 00:40:14,020 --> 00:40:16,620 Guys, you need a support group. 510 00:40:16,620 --> 00:40:21,060 See the Roman military had what they called a concilium. 511 00:40:21,060 --> 00:40:22,660 Can everyone say that word? 512 00:40:22,660 --> 00:40:23,660 Concilium. 513 00:40:23,660 --> 00:40:24,660 Concilium. 514 00:40:24,660 --> 00:40:30,540 The concilium was an advisory council that helped the magistrate with military matters. 515 00:40:30,540 --> 00:40:35,980 It consisted of the officer's most trusted second in command and a few of his closest 516 00:40:35,980 --> 00:40:38,860 confidants. 517 00:40:38,860 --> 00:40:40,980 Psalm 24, five and six. 518 00:40:40,980 --> 00:40:46,140 A wise man is full of strength and a man of knowledge enhances his might. 519 00:40:46,140 --> 00:40:52,740 By wise guidance you can wage your war and in abundance of counselors there is victory. 520 00:40:52,740 --> 00:40:59,820 Guys, find a trusted second in command and a few others that you can rely on. 521 00:40:59,820 --> 00:41:05,260 Putting yourself just around other believers that are positive, that's going to help you 522 00:41:05,260 --> 00:41:06,260 grow. 523 00:41:06,260 --> 00:41:12,940 One of my favorite verses, I have a couple men in my life that are this for me, Proverbs 524 00:41:12,940 --> 00:41:14,660 27, 17. 525 00:41:14,660 --> 00:41:19,300 As iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another. 526 00:41:19,300 --> 00:41:20,980 Couples. 527 00:41:20,980 --> 00:41:26,700 We have a number of growth groups for you to be a part of almost every day of the week. 528 00:41:26,700 --> 00:41:30,340 Ladies, there is a group for you. 529 00:41:30,340 --> 00:41:36,220 We literally have groups geared towards women every single day of the week. 530 00:41:36,220 --> 00:41:41,140 Men, don't worry, they're not going there to bash you. 531 00:41:41,140 --> 00:41:48,540 Men, we have men's group on Wednesday nights as well as other groups for you to be a part 532 00:41:48,540 --> 00:41:49,540 of. 533 00:41:49,540 --> 00:41:55,500 And we have this cool new group starting, Chad Collins, raise your hand. 534 00:41:55,500 --> 00:41:59,580 He's going to be starting a group at the end of April right around Easter. 535 00:41:59,580 --> 00:42:04,620 It's going to be a group of men mentoring one another. 536 00:42:04,620 --> 00:42:09,520 Mentoring one another to be God-centered leaders. 537 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:16,940 Men that love their wives or their future wife and their children the same way Jesus 538 00:42:16,940 --> 00:42:20,660 led His church. 539 00:42:20,660 --> 00:42:23,380 Anyone want to be a part of that? 540 00:42:23,380 --> 00:42:24,380 Let's go. 541 00:42:24,380 --> 00:42:27,220 See me or see Chad and we'll get you information. 542 00:42:27,220 --> 00:42:29,180 Guys, get in a group. 543 00:42:29,180 --> 00:42:30,580 Get some counselors. 544 00:42:30,580 --> 00:42:32,260 Get a joint chief of staff. 545 00:42:32,260 --> 00:42:34,940 Ecclesiastes 4.10. 546 00:42:34,940 --> 00:42:40,080 If one person falls, the other person can reach out and help. 547 00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:44,020 But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 548 00:42:44,020 --> 00:42:52,420 Folks, I have grown the most in my life when I have been in a sphere of positive, Jesus-loving 549 00:42:52,420 --> 00:42:56,060 individuals. 550 00:42:56,060 --> 00:42:59,940 Get yourself a concilium. 551 00:42:59,940 --> 00:43:02,820 Sometimes you need a support group to lean on. 552 00:43:02,820 --> 00:43:09,880 Sometimes your faith just isn't there and you need to borrow the faith of your concilium. 553 00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:15,020 If you're a younger or newer Christian, you're going to need a cabinet of advisors. 554 00:43:15,020 --> 00:43:16,700 We want to help you with that. 555 00:43:16,700 --> 00:43:23,640 Speaking of new Christians, if you think you're ready to ask Jesus to be a part of your life, 556 00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:30,040 we want to help you along by providing you that concilium, that group of believers to 557 00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:33,340 walk along with you, to support you. 558 00:43:33,340 --> 00:43:37,460 Today I want to offer you an opportunity to do just that. 559 00:43:37,460 --> 00:43:42,580 If you are here today and you are ready to make that decision, you've been coming, what 560 00:43:42,580 --> 00:43:46,460 is this Jesus thing all about, and now is your time to make that decision, I want you 561 00:43:46,460 --> 00:43:47,460 to just… 562 00:43:47,460 --> 00:43:48,460 There's no impossible. 563 00:43:48,460 --> 00:43:49,460 I believe that you are working now. 564 00:43:49,460 --> 00:43:50,460 So pour it out. 565 00:43:50,460 --> 00:44:08,060 Oh, pour it out.