1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,200 Well, what a joy it is to be with all of you again this morning. 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,620 I can't believe that it's been a month already. 3 00:00:07,620 --> 00:00:09,600 Time is just flying. 4 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:14,280 But I did promise you on Mother's Day I would be back for Father's Day. 5 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:19,940 So I'm excited to see what the Lord has to say to his people. 6 00:00:19,940 --> 00:00:23,760 It is definitely not anything to do with me. 7 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,400 Like I'm just here to tell you what the word says. 8 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,840 And there is comfort in that, right? 9 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:36,000 Because I know and I'm confident that it's what God has prepared for all of you, whether 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,160 you're here in the room, whether you're joining us online. 11 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:40,920 It is what he has for today. 12 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,000 Mana for today, right? 13 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:50,160 So let's get started and see what God has. 14 00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:54,640 As I get going and go over a few things, if you want to follow along in your Bible this 15 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:59,080 morning, you'll be wanting to turn first to Micah 6. 16 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:00,840 Micah 6. 17 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,400 And we'll be pulling from that to start off. 18 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:09,640 I do warn you though that we're going to be going through a lot of Scripture today. 19 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:10,640 So be prepared. 20 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:15,040 I'll tell you where it is and I believe everything will be on the screen so you can follow along 21 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:16,040 there. 22 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:22,400 This morning I'm going to be using the Amplified Bible version, if you're familiar with that. 23 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:29,040 There's a lot of really good explanation on that as you go through the Scripture. 24 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,800 So maybe a little different than what you have in front of you, what you're following 25 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:33,920 in in your app. 26 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:34,920 That's okay. 27 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:36,960 It's all the Word of God. 28 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:39,600 Just dial in and you'll be fine. 29 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:44,640 And the other thing is, as we go through so much Scripture this morning, you know, it 30 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:50,520 gets very easy and this is definitely something that the enemy does, right? 31 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:57,000 And that is that as we're reading Scripture and if it goes overly long, it is very easy 32 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,040 just to kind of tune out. 33 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:07,800 I am praying that my voice and my tone does not aid the enemy in that regard, right? 34 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,160 I just need you to stick with me this morning, right? 35 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:16,480 No matter what, just be there, be present, because what he has to say to you through 36 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:21,040 his own word is vital to your life this morning. 37 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,040 You know, today it is Father's Day. 38 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:29,760 So I mean, the question is, who am I going to speak to this morning, right? 39 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:34,920 Well, obviously, I am speaking to the body of Christ, right? 40 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:38,400 All teaching is for the edification of the body as we gather. 41 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:44,040 So everything that's going to be said today definitely applies to everybody in the body 42 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:45,040 today. 43 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:51,160 Ladies, that does not mean because it's Father's Day and I may say many things that are pointed 44 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:56,200 to the men that is not your opportunity to tune out, right? 45 00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:00,240 Not that you would, because you're much better than that, right? 46 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:04,760 But just again, stick with it this morning. 47 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,360 So we're going to be focusing a bit on the guys this morning, right? 48 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:14,520 You don't have to be a father to get what the Lord is saying and I'll explain that later. 49 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:21,440 Certainly if you are a man in this body, a lot of this message is for you. 50 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:27,440 But it's vitally important that the men in this body, especially today, that they take 51 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:37,960 their God-appointed role seriously, as is worthy of a son of God, right? 52 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,000 There is a calling upon your life. 53 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:41,840 You have been redeemed. 54 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:43,920 You have been made His. 55 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,360 You are now a son of God. 56 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,440 That entails a response from you. 57 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:53,120 So that's part of what we're going to be getting over today. 58 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:59,120 So just as we learned on Mother's Day when we looked at the prophet Samuel's mother, 59 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,200 Hannah, you remember that? 60 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,960 Hannah and her song, right? 61 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:13,280 We saw that God has made women very distinct from men and He has given them special talents. 62 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:14,760 He has given them gifts. 63 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:18,040 He has given them callings. 64 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,840 Well we know that the same is true for men, right? 65 00:04:21,840 --> 00:04:23,640 You don't get a pass. 66 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,460 You know, God doesn't just gift one of the pair. 67 00:04:27,460 --> 00:04:29,400 He gifts everyone. 68 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:36,360 It may be different, but still that gifting is given freely from the hand of God. 69 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:42,480 So when we look at men and me being a man, right, I have a lot more leeway in this study 70 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:48,720 to actually speak of what men feel and what men know rather than Mother's Day where I 71 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:51,680 was guessing. 72 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:59,040 What I do know is that men, we don't say much, right? 73 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,040 Can you agree with me? 74 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:02,040 Yeah. 75 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:06,200 Of course, it's the ladies who answer, right? 76 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:14,020 That is one of my wife's main complaint about me and her comment back will often be, use 77 00:05:14,020 --> 00:05:15,840 your words, right? 78 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:17,940 Please, men, use your words. 79 00:05:17,940 --> 00:05:23,800 But you know, the fact that men don't say much, it's actually a blessing and a curse 80 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:25,440 all at the same time. 81 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:33,160 You know, as a man, I'm going to share with you a truth kind of peeking behind the curtain, 82 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,680 so to speak. 83 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:42,360 I just want to share with you that the responsible and pressure of manhood can be a daily battle 84 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,720 and is a daily battle. 85 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:53,500 We're pulled in 20 different directions all at the same time, all the time, right? 86 00:05:53,500 --> 00:05:58,760 We're trying to meet the needs and wants of those around us consistently. 87 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:06,920 We're being stabbed a thousand times from both friends and enemies, and then we don't 88 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,400 say anything about it. 89 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:16,320 So I'm going to make a statement, and it may sound funny, right, especially to maybe some 90 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:21,120 of the ladies, because look, let's be honest, ladies, I went through that, those three points 91 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:24,280 right there, and you're like, yeah, that happens to me every day. 92 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:25,280 You know, it's a big deal. 93 00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:29,680 It doesn't happen the same way, right? 94 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:36,120 There is a heavy crown upon a man and his calling. 95 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:44,000 Men, if you're like me, there have been times when things get particularly full and chaotic, 96 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:49,320 so much so that you find yourself in a conversation with God that goes like this. 97 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:57,080 God, this is absolutely ridiculous. 98 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:01,280 What do you want of me? 99 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:07,040 And so, let's start our adventure, Micah 6. 100 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:11,520 Micah 6 verse 6 is where we're going to start. 101 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:16,040 Very quickly, just let me give you a brief overview of what's going on in the book of 102 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:17,040 Micah, very general. 103 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:22,880 And that is that Micah is a prophet of God who was tasked with speaking judgment against 104 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:24,560 Israel. 105 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:33,040 He was also tasked with speaking about the future restoration of sinful man, Israel, through 106 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,320 repentance. 107 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:36,320 Balanced out. 108 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:37,600 God doesn't leave us just with judgment. 109 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:40,880 He doesn't leave his own children just with judgment. 110 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:47,400 Significantly, in the book of Micah, you also find one of the clearest prophecies regarding 111 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:53,040 the birth of Jesus, naming the place of his birth, and that's in Micah 5, too. 112 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,860 So that's what's going on in the book of Micah in a very general sense. 113 00:07:56,860 --> 00:08:04,140 And it's in that midst of the dialogue between God and sinful man, Israel, that the question 114 00:08:04,140 --> 00:08:09,560 is actually asked of God, and that is, what do you want? 115 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,840 So, when we read Micah 6, 6, so here we go. 116 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:14,840 You ready? 117 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:24,280 Micah 6, 6 says, With what shall I come before the Lord to honor him, and bow myself before 118 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,720 God on high? 119 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:33,080 Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? 120 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:39,500 Will the Lord be delighted with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? 121 00:08:39,500 --> 00:08:45,680 Shall I present my firstborn for my acts of rebellion, the fruit of my body for the sin 122 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:48,400 of my soul? 123 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:55,320 In other words, dear Lord, what do you want? 124 00:08:55,320 --> 00:09:01,140 The thing about God, and the wonderful thing about God, is that he always answers. 125 00:09:01,140 --> 00:09:05,200 It may not be the answer you expect, it may not be the answer that you agree with, it 126 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:11,200 may not be the answer that you understand, but God is faithful to his children. 127 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,560 When you call, he answers. 128 00:09:13,560 --> 00:09:15,040 Right? 129 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:17,960 And the Lord does the same here. 130 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,640 We're going to continue, we're going to go to Micah 6, 8, and a lot of you are aware 131 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:23,240 of this verse, right? 132 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:27,920 We used to have a song that we would sing about it years and years ago at Calvary's, 133 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:28,920 right? 134 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:35,680 It's Micah 6, 8, it says, He has told you, O man, what is good. 135 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:39,400 And what does the Lord require of you? 136 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:48,680 Accept to be just, and to love, and to diligently practice kindness or compassion, and to walk 137 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:58,040 humbly with your God, setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness. 138 00:09:58,040 --> 00:09:59,640 That's what he wants. 139 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,240 You asked, he answered. 140 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:07,920 The first is to be just, or to walk in God's commandments. 141 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:15,720 The second is to love one another and practice God's kindness, His mercy, His compassion. 142 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:19,400 And third, walk humbly with God. 143 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:27,240 And in this sense, walking humbly with God is, He is God, you are not. 144 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:34,320 And yet the King desires that you walk with Him. 145 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:36,080 Let that sink in. 146 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:42,480 The King of kings, the Lord Almighty, the one Pastor Nathan has been sharing with us 147 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:50,640 as we begin our new study in Genesis, the one who spoke light into existence, the one 148 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:54,720 who spoke all matter into existence. 149 00:10:54,720 --> 00:11:01,480 That's the one who wants you to walk with Him. 150 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:09,200 You know, Jesus answered the same question, what do you want, God, Himself? 151 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:10,640 And that's in Matthew 22. 152 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:12,280 So, let me read that to you. 153 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:19,800 Matthew 22, verse 36, it says, Teacher, which is the greatest commandment of the law? 154 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:25,280 And Jesus replied to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with 155 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,880 all your soul and with all your mind. 156 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:31,760 This is the first and greatest commandment. 157 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:34,320 The second is like it. 158 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:39,440 You shall love your neighbor as yourself, that is, unselfishly seek the best or the 159 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:42,240 highest good for others. 160 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:48,920 The whole law and the writings of the prophets depend, or sometimes you'll see it say, hang 161 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:53,880 on these two commandments. 162 00:11:53,880 --> 00:12:02,760 Can you see how what God said in Micah flows right with Jesus' reply in Matthew? 163 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:03,760 Right? 164 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:06,840 So, what was my cry to the Lord? 165 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:10,720 God, what do you want? 166 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,680 What was His answer? 167 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:17,040 I want all of you. 168 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:26,000 Man, I need you to take a deep breath, and I want you to let that sink in. 169 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:31,760 I want all of you. 170 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,680 Ladies, this is for you too. 171 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:38,920 Don't get me wrong, but it hits a little different from a man. 172 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:44,120 I have a hard time explaining it, but you fear a man out there, and you're listening 173 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:50,240 to what I just said, that God's response to you is that He wants all of you. 174 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:56,720 That means something very specific to you. 175 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:59,520 It kind of goes like this. 176 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:11,040 Lord, I just need a day, just one day, one day to myself. 177 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:18,280 And His reply is, nope, I want all of you. 178 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:26,160 We say, Lord, I just need an hour, just an hour to decompress, just an hour to just kind 179 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:32,240 of let everything else be released. 180 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:39,000 And He says, nope, put down your nets and follow me. 181 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:44,800 Lord, I just need a moment, just a moment. 182 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:50,520 Nope, pick up your cross and follow me. 183 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:55,240 Guys, that's the gig. 184 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,060 That's what we're called to. 185 00:13:57,060 --> 00:14:05,960 That's what you were saved for, to walk with Him, to be His, holy and completely, to give 186 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:12,440 everything that you are and everything that you have to Him because He wants all of you. 187 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:19,000 Yeah, He didn't come for that part of you that you're willing to let go of. 188 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,920 No, He paid for all of you. 189 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:31,320 Every stripe upon His back, every nail in His body, every drop of His blood upon the 190 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:37,120 mercy seat, that was ransom for you. 191 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:47,200 Man, if we just stop and let the immensity of all that, of what God has done for you, 192 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:57,120 for the purchase of you, if we look at the immensity of His justice and His mercy, His 193 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:06,840 grace and His love, if you let all of that just sink into yourself, we should become 194 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:12,280 undone every time we consider it. 195 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:18,880 Simple man, we do not deserve any of it, none of it. 196 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:24,720 But God Almighty gave it all for you. 197 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:28,080 He left glory for you. 198 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:34,200 He took on this form of a man for you. 199 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:44,640 He bore the cross and the shame and the pain for you. 200 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,920 He has purchased you. 201 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:59,520 So if we continue in Micah, same set of verses, this is what our response really should be. 202 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:08,680 In verse 7, it says, but as for me, I will look expectantly to the Lord and with confidence 203 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:12,400 in Him I will keep watch. 204 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:18,920 I will wait with confident expectation for the God of my salvation. 205 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,600 My God will hear me. 206 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:27,160 Do not rejoice over me amid my tragedies, my enemy. 207 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:32,940 Though I fall, I will rise. 208 00:16:32,940 --> 00:16:38,920 Though I sit in the darkness of distress, the Lord is a light for me. 209 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:44,160 I will bear the indignation and the wrath of the Lord because I have sinned against 210 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:51,980 Him until He pleads my case and executes judgment for me. 211 00:16:51,980 --> 00:16:59,800 He will bring me out to the light and I will behold His amazing righteousness and His remarkable 212 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:04,720 deliverance. 213 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:07,560 How beautiful, right? 214 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:12,080 I mean, we're kind of feeling right now like we're on a song of Solomon kind of moment 215 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:14,160 with God. 216 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:21,880 You know, I'm my beloved and He is mine. 217 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:26,640 And so you're thinking, wonderful, made a lot of progress with that, Ron. 218 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:27,640 Are we done? 219 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:28,640 Are we finished? 220 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:32,800 Got to be in the right position with the Lord. 221 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:33,800 Got it. 222 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:37,760 What's my response in my position to the Lord? 223 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,760 Problem solved. 224 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:41,760 Not quite. 225 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:45,760 Guys, if you're tracking with me, you can see the right position that we're going to 226 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,040 be in with God. 227 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:50,640 You are His, holy and completely. 228 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:54,320 And as His, you have a calling. 229 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:59,880 Ladies, we spoke to one aspect of your calling on Mother's Day. 230 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:02,520 And now I need to speak to the men. 231 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:07,680 Guys, happy Father's Day. 232 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:12,680 So I don't know if there was a title screen or anything like that before we started, but 233 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:14,320 oh, there it is. 234 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:15,800 I can see it. 235 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:17,560 The title is To the Armor Bearer. 236 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:22,640 So maybe you're wondering, where's the armor bearer thing, right? 237 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:23,960 Are we going to get to that? 238 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:25,360 Yeah, we are. 239 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:26,360 We're there. 240 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:27,360 We've arrived. 241 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:29,920 So let's go for it. 242 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:36,200 There are two of the biggest lies that the enemy speaks to our ears and hearts, men. 243 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:40,240 Is one, you are alone. 244 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:45,320 And two, you are not enough. 245 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:53,920 For the man who understands his relationship towards God, please remember, this is 100% 246 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:55,800 a lie. 247 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:57,000 It is not true. 248 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:01,600 It is not what God has done. 249 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:10,360 God is faithful and true, and He always, always equips those that He calls. 250 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:12,560 Always. 251 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:17,680 Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 5. 252 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:22,440 Two things that I want to point out to you before we get into this section. 253 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:27,240 The first is, I'll give you a quick overview of the book of Ephesians. 254 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:33,160 That is, it's written by the apostle Paul while he's in prison. 255 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:40,000 So they tend to call the letters that Paul wrote while he was in prison, the prison letters. 256 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,220 Makes sense. 257 00:19:42,220 --> 00:19:49,160 But what you notice in the prison letters is that there is often a feeling of the fact 258 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:56,320 that Paul is desperate to communicate all that he can to the young churches, you know, 259 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:02,600 so that he might be, so that they might be made strong in the faith with or without him. 260 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:04,880 Because he doesn't know what's going to happen when he's in prison. 261 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:07,120 He could be killed, you know. 262 00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:16,180 And the feeling in his heart is, I don't want to leave my spiritual children weaponless, 263 00:20:16,180 --> 00:20:17,920 so to speak. 264 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,880 And so I have to take this opportunity to communicate to them as if this is going to 265 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:26,680 be the last time that I can communicate with them. 266 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:33,480 And so in Ephesians when we get to chapters 5 and 6, it reads very similar kind of to 267 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:39,360 passages in the book of Proverbs where you hear the heart of the father speaking to his 268 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:41,300 children and his sons. 269 00:20:41,300 --> 00:20:43,200 It's very much that same thing. 270 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,960 He needs to communicate these things to you. 271 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:47,880 This may be the last moment. 272 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:49,880 He wants to hit everything. 273 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:57,800 And so he speaks as a father to the young church in Ephesus. 274 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:09,220 And Ephesians 5 and 6 are definitely a word from our Father God to us. 275 00:21:09,220 --> 00:21:15,100 We're going to read very long passages here because when I was going through and I was 276 00:21:15,100 --> 00:21:24,400 preparing for today, I was so blessed to simply read the Scripture, right? 277 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:26,680 I actually couldn't stop. 278 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:33,760 I mean, it would have been easy just to pick out the parts that are focused on just fathers 279 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:35,720 or just men and all that. 280 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:44,520 But man, it was beautiful to just read the entire thing and to hear it as God was speaking, 281 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,440 as if he were speaking directly to my heart, which he was. 282 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:52,280 And I can't let you experience less than that, right? 283 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:58,960 So again, when we go through it, you have to listen to it with that understanding that 284 00:21:58,960 --> 00:21:59,960 this is God. 285 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:02,640 We talk about the Bible being God's Word. 286 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:04,000 Well, it is. 287 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,980 And it is 100% alive all the time. 288 00:22:07,980 --> 00:22:14,360 And when you approach the Word of God and you read it, it is Him speaking to you. 289 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:19,880 So don't let the enemy rob you of that when we get into these passages. 290 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:28,240 Be present because you need to treat this as if this was the last time He was going 291 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:32,680 to speak to you on these matters, okay? 292 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:40,920 So in Ephesians 5 and 6, what we find is that God is providing two gifts, two gifts to you. 293 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:48,920 The first one is instruction on fulfilling your call as a man of God, okay? 294 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:55,560 So as we read together, listen to it again as the Word of the Lord, your Father, as if 295 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:59,120 your life depends on it, because it does. 296 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:01,520 Are you ready? 297 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:02,520 Here we go. 298 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:04,720 Ephesians 5. 299 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:11,880 Therefore, become imitators of God, a copy of Him, and follow His example as well-loved 300 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,760 children imitate their father. 301 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:20,480 And walk continually in love, that is, value one another, practice empathy and compassion, 302 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:27,240 unselfishly seeking the best for others, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself 303 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:37,840 up for us an offering and sacrifice to God, slain for you so that it became a sweet fragrance. 304 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:44,480 But sexual immorality and all moral impurity and decent offensive behavior or greed must 305 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:50,840 not even be hinted at among you as it is proper among saints, for as believers our way of 306 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:57,480 life, whether in public or in private, reflects the validity of our faith. 307 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:03,200 Let there be no filthiness or silly talk or coarse obscene or vulgar joking, because such 308 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,760 things are not appropriate for the believer. 309 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:12,240 But instead speak of your thankfulness to God. 310 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:19,800 For be sure this, no immoral, impure, or greedy person, for that one is in effect an idolater 311 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:28,080 – be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom 312 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:38,920 of Christ and God, for such a person places a higher value on something other than God. 313 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:43,560 Let no one deceive you with empty arguments that encourage you to sin, for because of 314 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:48,200 these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience, those who habitually 315 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:49,200 sin. 316 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:55,160 Do not participate or even associate with them in the rebelliousness of sin, for once 317 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:56,960 you were darkness. 318 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,040 Let me say that again. 319 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,960 Once you were darkness. 320 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:07,680 You weren't in darkness, you were darkness. 321 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:14,240 But now you are light in the Lord. 322 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:22,600 You are the child of the light, the fruit of the fruit, the effect of the light consists 323 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,920 of all goodness and righteousness and truth. 324 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:30,120 Trying to learn by experience what is pleasing to the Lord and letting your lifestyle be 325 00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:38,320 examples of what is most acceptable to him, your behavior expressing gratitude to God 326 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:40,120 for your salvation. 327 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:45,140 Do not participate in the worthlessness and unproductive deeds of darkness, but instead 328 00:25:45,140 --> 00:25:51,120 expose them by exemplifying personal integrity, moral courage, and Godly character, for it 329 00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:57,320 is a disgrace even to mention the things that such people practice in secret. 330 00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:03,080 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light of God's precepts, for 331 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:05,680 it is light that makes everything visible. 332 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:11,800 It is for this reason that he says, awake sleeper and arise from the dead and Christ 333 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:16,640 will shine as dawn upon you and give you light. 334 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:22,680 Therefore see that you walk carefully, living life with honor, purpose, and courage, shunning 335 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:29,840 those who tolerate and enable evil, not as the unwise, but as wise, sensible, intelligent, 336 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:34,800 discerning people, making the very most of your time on earth, recognizing and taking 337 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:40,560 advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence, because the days 338 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:44,440 are filled with evil. 339 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:50,000 Therefore do not be foolish and thoughtless, but understand and firmly grasp what the will 340 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:51,560 of the Lord is. 341 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:57,600 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness, corruption, and stupidity, but be filled with 342 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:01,920 the Holy Spirit and constantly guided by him. 343 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:08,520 Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise by singing 344 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:13,920 and making melody in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for 345 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:19,560 all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 346 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:25,640 Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. 347 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,600 We're going to keep going. 348 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:30,400 Stay with me. 349 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:37,360 Wives, be subject to your own husbands as a service to the Lord, for the husband is 350 00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:43,960 head of the wife as Christ is head of the church, himself being the savior of the body. 351 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:48,540 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives should be subject to their husbands 352 00:27:48,540 --> 00:27:54,880 in everything, respecting both their position as protector and their responsibility to God 353 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,120 as head of the house. 354 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:04,840 Husbands, love your wives, seek the highest good for her, and surround her with a caring, 355 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:11,760 unselfish love, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her, so 356 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:16,040 that he might sanctify the church, having cleansed her by the washing of water with 357 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:23,240 the word of God, so that in turn he might present the church to himself in glorious 358 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:30,320 splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be wholly set apart 359 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,080 for God and blameless. 360 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:39,800 Even so, husbands should and are morally obligated to love their own wives as being, in a sense, 361 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:41,480 their own bodies. 362 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:48,520 He who loves his own wife loves himself, for no one has ever hated his own body, but instead 363 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:58,000 he nourishes and protects and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church. 364 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:02,760 Because we are members, parts of his body, for this reason a man shall leave his father 365 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:07,400 and mother and shall be joined and be faithfully devoted to his wife, and the two shall become 366 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:09,260 one flesh. 367 00:29:09,260 --> 00:29:16,400 This mystery of two becoming one is great, but I am speaking with reference to the relationship 368 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,640 of Christ and the church. 369 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:27,180 However, each man among you, without exception, is to love his wife as his very own self, 370 00:29:27,180 --> 00:29:32,120 with behavior worthy of respect and esteem, always seeking the best for her with an attitude 371 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,680 of loving kindness. 372 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:42,100 And the wife must see to it that she respects and delights in her husband, that she notices 373 00:29:42,100 --> 00:29:47,520 him and prefers him and treats him with loving concern, treasuring him, honoring him, and 374 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:50,480 holding him dear. 375 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:54,440 Children, obey your parents and the Lord. 376 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:59,680 That is, accept their guidance and discipline as his representative, for this is right, 377 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:02,480 for obedience teaches wisdom and self-discipline. 378 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:11,160 Honor, esteem, value as precious your father and your mother, and be respectful to them. 379 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:16,360 This is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may be well with you and that you 380 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,920 may live long life upon the earth. 381 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:24,060 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger. 382 00:30:24,060 --> 00:30:30,320 Do not exasperate them to the point of resentment with demands that are trivial or unreasonable 383 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:38,760 or humiliating or abusive, nor by showing favoritism or indifference to any of them. 384 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:45,200 Practice but bring them up tenderly with loving kindness in the discipline and instruction 385 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:47,200 of the Lord. 386 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:53,920 Slaves, or in today's vernacular, people who work somewhere. 387 00:30:53,920 --> 00:31:00,640 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters with respect for authority 388 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:07,840 and with a sincere heart seeking to please them as service to Christ, not in the way 389 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:12,520 of eye service, working only when somebody is watching you and only to please men, but 390 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:19,320 as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart, rendering service with good 391 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:25,640 will as to the Lord and not only to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he 392 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:31,400 will receive this back from the Lord whether he is slave or free. 393 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:40,200 Masters, or business owners, do the same thing showing good will towards them and give up 394 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:46,300 threatening and abusive words knowing that he who is both their true master and yours 395 00:31:46,300 --> 00:31:54,600 in heaven and that there is no partiality with him regardless of one's earthly status. 396 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:56,340 Quite a big chunk there, right? 397 00:31:56,340 --> 00:32:01,000 But it hits every single point of somebody's life. 398 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:02,880 Men from the Lord, what is it that I do? 399 00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:04,560 What do you want of me? 400 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:07,920 It's all laid out there, especially for the men today. 401 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:16,080 Men, I would encourage you, especially every man who is here or a part of this body watching 402 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:24,000 online to print out this passage in Ephesians and take 10 minutes a day to meditate and 403 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:30,000 pray upon this part of his word, even to the point of locking this word in your heart by 404 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:31,360 memorizing it. 405 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:37,080 Now, to some of you that may sound ridiculous, I could never memorize all of that. 406 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:43,200 If you're meditating on something for 10 minutes a day steadily, day in, day out, it'll come. 407 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:45,400 But you got to do it. 408 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:47,120 You just have to do it. 409 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:54,000 But regardless, men, print it out, meditate on it every day. 410 00:32:54,000 --> 00:33:05,240 Just think on this, how would our lives or how would we be different, changed, and transformed 411 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:09,920 if this became the code of all men? 412 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:17,880 But look, our Father's not finished with His gift-giving, thank the Lord. 413 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:24,520 Now what He does is He presents His armor, finally at the armor, right? 414 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:32,280 He presents His gift of armor, the weapons of our warfare, and He presents it to us. 415 00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:34,800 So let's read on. 416 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:38,920 Ephesians 6 verse 10 is where we're going to pick it up. 417 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:44,160 In conclusion, be strong in the Lord, draw your strength from Him, and be empowered through 418 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:51,800 your union with Him, and in the power of His boundless might, put on the full armor of 419 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:58,360 God, for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily armed soldier, so that 420 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:04,200 you may be able to successfully stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the 421 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,680 deceits of the devil. 422 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:12,100 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, contending only with physical opponents, 423 00:34:12,100 --> 00:34:18,280 but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this present darkness, 424 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:24,440 against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly or supernatural places. 425 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:34,840 Therefore put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to successfully resist 426 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:40,160 and stand your ground in the evil day of danger. 427 00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:46,720 And having done everything that the crisis demands to stand firm in your place, fully 428 00:34:46,720 --> 00:34:59,260 prepared, immovable, and victorious, so stand firm and hold your ground. 429 00:34:59,260 --> 00:35:10,040 Having tightened the wide band of truth, personal integrity, moral courage around your waist, 430 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:17,120 and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and upright heart, and having strapped on 431 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:25,560 your feet the gospel of peace and preparation to face the enemy with firm footing and stability 432 00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:29,600 and the readiness produced by the good news. 433 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:34,800 Above all, lift up the protective shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the 434 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:41,560 flaming arrows of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, 435 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:45,440 which is the Word of God. 436 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:48,080 With all prayer and petition, pray. 437 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:55,400 With specific requests at all times, on every occasion, and in every season, in the Spirit, 438 00:35:55,400 --> 00:36:03,640 with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition interceding in prayer for all 439 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:05,900 of God's people. 440 00:36:05,900 --> 00:36:12,360 And pray for me that words may be given to me when I open my mouth to proclaim boldly 441 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:18,280 the mystery of the good news of salvation, for which I am an ambassador in chains, and 442 00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:29,480 pray that in proclaiming it, I may speak boldly and courageously as I should. 443 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:33,040 You got it? 444 00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:39,200 Look, He is giving us a belt of truth. 445 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:41,400 God's truth. 446 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:49,680 It is God's truth that is the foundation for all that He has us do. 447 00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:53,980 If we didn't have God's truth, everything else would be meaningless, but we can always 448 00:36:53,980 --> 00:36:57,000 fall right back on His truth. 449 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:03,760 That is the thing that girds us, the thing that is our foundation. 450 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:11,240 The breastplates of righteousness, of God's righteousness. 451 00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:15,280 You can look at this if we're talking about a Roman soldier, there are often two pieces 452 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:17,680 to the breastplate that they would wear. 453 00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:23,180 The front, in this case, when we're talking about God's righteousness, the front is imputed 454 00:37:23,180 --> 00:37:29,640 to us, His righteousness is imputed to us through Christ. 455 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:37,080 And the back piece is made through the daily process of sanctification by the Spirit and 456 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:38,480 the Word. 457 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:45,200 That is your protection right there, God's righteousness. 458 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,320 The boot of God's preparation. 459 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:55,540 You know, I have read this list of God's armor so many times, and in one of the commentaries 460 00:37:55,540 --> 00:37:59,440 I was going through, this is how it described it, as a boot, right? 461 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:02,760 I never always thought of it as just some sort of sandal. 462 00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:04,960 It didn't really get it, right? 463 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:10,040 I would look at it as, you know, put on the sandals of the good news or whatever, and 464 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:15,200 I always had this image in my head that, well, we're putting on a sandal, therefore we're 465 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:19,240 going to take the good news somewhere, right? 466 00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:25,480 And it never quite sat right in light of all the other pieces of God's armor, but okay, 467 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:26,880 fine, I can deal with that. 468 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:33,560 But that's not really what's being said here, and I think it is appropriate to call it a 469 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:40,400 boot or something more than a shoe or a sandal, though. 470 00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:48,060 So what the idea that is getting across here is we're putting on the boot of God's preparedness. 471 00:38:48,060 --> 00:38:53,680 When you look at again at a Roman set of armor and you're talking about the foot covering, 472 00:38:53,680 --> 00:38:56,040 it is not just a foot covering. 473 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:59,160 It is not just something that laces up. 474 00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:07,240 The important feature of this foot covering is that it has thick, heavy soles on it, and 475 00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:15,280 underneath on the bottom of that sole are like metal spikes, studs, right? 476 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:24,240 And the whole point of that boot is so that when you're in battle, you stand firm. 477 00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:26,580 It's like having cleats on, right? 478 00:39:26,580 --> 00:39:28,280 You're not going to move. 479 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,120 That boot is going to hold you to the ground. 480 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:36,060 That is God's preparedness for you for the battle. 481 00:39:36,060 --> 00:39:40,240 That's more the sense of what we're talking about when we're looking at it from that perspective. 482 00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:43,080 That's part of the gift that he's giving you. 483 00:39:43,080 --> 00:39:52,400 He's giving you the ability to stand ready and firm against the enemy. 484 00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:57,960 We talk about the shield of God's faithfulness, where you're able to deflect the enemy's fiery 485 00:39:57,960 --> 00:39:58,960 darts. 486 00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:02,840 You know, this is both an offensive and a defensive weapon. 487 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:08,320 Sometimes we think of shields as simply keeping you protected from the arrows that people 488 00:40:08,320 --> 00:40:10,280 are shooting at you, right? 489 00:40:10,280 --> 00:40:11,840 And that is true. 490 00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:17,960 However, the picture, especially if you were there at this time when Paul was writing, 491 00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:23,360 and he was describing this in the sense of a Roman soldier and all that, what you would 492 00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:30,400 know and understand is that, yes, while it is a defensive thing, the idea and the mode 493 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:38,640 of operation for a Roman soldier is that that shield is actually an offensive weapon, in 494 00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:43,360 that you put the shield up and not only do you stand there with yourself, the shield 495 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:48,640 is able to lock with your brothers in combat and it becomes a wall. 496 00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:52,540 It also becomes a lid, a roof, right? 497 00:40:52,540 --> 00:40:58,560 And not so that you can just stand there and not be hit with arrows. 498 00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:05,440 And so that while you are advancing, the arrows that are shot at you will not hurt you, therefore 499 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:08,760 you can keep advancing, right? 500 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,200 You are advancing in your warfare. 501 00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:18,200 That's the idea and really the complete picture of the importance of God's shield of faith, 502 00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:24,920 which keeps the fiery darts from hitting you while you are advancing. 503 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:30,680 And there's the helmet of God's salvation, which signifies your position as one of the 504 00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:32,400 redeemed. 505 00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:39,800 He has saved you, He has put His mark upon you, He has given you a helm of salvation 506 00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:52,220 that is your, it keeps you alive, right? 507 00:41:52,220 --> 00:41:59,080 And then the sword of God's spirit, the word of God, which vanquishes the enemy and pierces 508 00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:03,200 the hearts of people. 509 00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:07,720 So again, I say to you, as Paul says at the beginning of the passage, in verse 14, he 510 00:42:07,720 --> 00:42:16,420 said, so stand firm and hold your ground. 511 00:42:16,420 --> 00:42:28,240 He's given you all that you need, He really has. 512 00:42:28,240 --> 00:42:35,480 I'm going to talk about a different kind of armor bearer though, not just the one who 513 00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:41,700 wears the armor that God provides. 514 00:42:41,700 --> 00:42:46,040 And so I have one final word for men. 515 00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:50,680 We've looked at what it is for one who wears God's armor, but there's another armor bearer 516 00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:53,860 that we need to consider. 517 00:42:53,860 --> 00:42:59,520 And that's the one who holds the armor for another. 518 00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:07,120 I want you to turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 14. 519 00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:16,600 In this passage, we have the short account of Saul's son, King Saul's son, Jonathan, 520 00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:19,600 and his armor bearer. 521 00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:24,480 And just so you understand the complete idea of what's going on here, you know, there were 522 00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:29,480 many battles between Israel and the Philistines, right? 523 00:43:29,480 --> 00:43:31,480 This is one of those moments. 524 00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:39,480 King Saul is being King Saul in that, you know, where we find him in this passage isn't 525 00:43:39,480 --> 00:43:46,120 at the forefront of battle, taking it to the Philistines, in other words, in context of 526 00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:50,320 what we've just talked about, he is not advancing in battle, right? 527 00:43:50,320 --> 00:43:53,720 He's actually hiding in the pomegranate cave, right? 528 00:43:53,720 --> 00:43:58,600 Just kind of sitting there with his troops, and, you know, every now and then he'd look 529 00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:05,040 out, see what the Philistines are doing, yeah, okay, well, we're just going to wait type 530 00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:07,360 of thing. 531 00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:13,440 But Jonathan, his son Jonathan, he does something, and this is not the first time that he's done 532 00:44:13,440 --> 00:44:14,440 this. 533 00:44:14,440 --> 00:44:16,840 This is actually the second time that's recorded. 534 00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:22,240 What he does is he goes out and he advances, right? 535 00:44:22,240 --> 00:44:24,240 He takes it to the Philistines. 536 00:44:24,240 --> 00:44:28,680 So, read with me chapter 14, verse 1. 537 00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:36,160 One day, Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to his young armor-bearer, come, let us go over 538 00:44:36,160 --> 00:44:39,680 to the Philistine garrison on the other side. 539 00:44:39,680 --> 00:44:42,680 But he did not tell his father. 540 00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:49,960 Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibe under the pomegranate tree in Migran, and 541 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:52,160 with him were about 600 men. 542 00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:59,160 And Abijah, the son of Ichabod's brother, Ahatub, the son of Phineas, who was the son 543 00:44:59,160 --> 00:45:05,240 of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh, was wearing the ephod, and the people did not 544 00:45:05,240 --> 00:45:09,000 know that Jonathan had gone. 545 00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:14,880 Between the passes by which Jonathan sought to cross over to go to the Philistine garrison, 546 00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:19,880 there was a rocky crag on one side and a rocky crag on the other side. 547 00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:24,360 And a rocky crag on the other side. 548 00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:28,520 One crag was named Bozez and the other Seneh. 549 00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:39,400 I believe one of them means shining and the other one means rocky and steep. 550 00:45:39,400 --> 00:45:45,560 The one crag on the north was in front of Mishmash and the other on the south in front 551 00:45:45,560 --> 00:45:48,000 of Gibe. 552 00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:53,240 Verse 6, Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, Come, let us cross over to the garrison of 553 00:45:53,240 --> 00:45:55,880 these uncircumcised men. 554 00:45:55,880 --> 00:46:03,440 It may be that God will work for us, for there is nothing to prevent the Lord from saving, 555 00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:07,400 whether by a few or by many. 556 00:46:07,400 --> 00:46:13,880 And his armor-bearer said to him, Do everything that is in your heart, your mind. 557 00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:20,320 Here I am with you in whatever you think best. 558 00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:26,800 Jonathan said, See now, we are going to cross over to the Philistine men and reveal ourselves 559 00:46:26,800 --> 00:46:28,880 to them. 560 00:46:28,880 --> 00:46:35,440 If they say to us, Wait, we will come down to you, then we will stand in our place and 561 00:46:35,440 --> 00:46:37,760 not go up to them. 562 00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:45,440 But if they say, Come up to us, we will go up, for the Lord has handed them over to us, 563 00:46:45,440 --> 00:46:49,300 and this shall be a sign to us. 564 00:46:49,300 --> 00:46:54,280 When both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, the Philistines 565 00:46:54,280 --> 00:46:59,720 said, Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves. 566 00:46:59,720 --> 00:47:04,760 So the men of the garrison responded to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, Come up to us and we 567 00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:07,520 will tell you something. 568 00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:16,240 Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, Climb after me, for the Lord has given them into the hands 569 00:47:16,240 --> 00:47:19,240 of Israel. 570 00:47:19,240 --> 00:47:25,160 Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees, his armor-bearer following after him. 571 00:47:25,160 --> 00:47:31,920 The enemy fell before Jonathan in combat, and his armor-bearer killed some of them after 572 00:47:31,920 --> 00:47:32,920 him. 573 00:47:32,920 --> 00:47:39,240 The first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made was about twenty men within 574 00:47:39,240 --> 00:47:45,880 about half a plow furrow in a plot of land, the area of which a yoke of oxen could plow 575 00:47:45,880 --> 00:47:47,480 in a day. 576 00:47:47,480 --> 00:47:52,320 And there was trembling in the Philistine camp in the field, and among all the people, 577 00:47:52,320 --> 00:47:56,580 even the garrison and the raiding party trembled in fear. 578 00:47:56,580 --> 00:48:04,600 And then the earth quaked, and it became a trembling and terror from God. 579 00:48:04,600 --> 00:48:09,080 What an amazing victory, right? 580 00:48:09,080 --> 00:48:18,840 The boldness of Jonathan, the faith of Jonathan to say, God can do what he wants. 581 00:48:18,840 --> 00:48:21,920 It could be with two of us, it could be with six hundred of us. 582 00:48:21,920 --> 00:48:26,400 If it is the Lord's will, He will do it. 583 00:48:26,400 --> 00:48:30,320 And so we're going to move forward, right? 584 00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:31,320 Amazing. 585 00:48:31,320 --> 00:48:42,640 But while I'm studying this passage, God pulled my eye to Jonathan's armor-bearer, impressing 586 00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:47,880 upon me the critical role he played in the victory. 587 00:48:47,880 --> 00:48:51,720 You know, good leaders, they often have big vision. 588 00:48:51,720 --> 00:48:53,640 It's their call. 589 00:48:53,640 --> 00:48:56,600 That's what they're equipped for, right? 590 00:48:56,600 --> 00:49:03,600 And that's certainly what Jonathan had here in this account, major faith in God, to use 591 00:49:03,600 --> 00:49:08,180 them to show his power and might. 592 00:49:08,180 --> 00:49:16,000 And what was Jonathan's armor-bearer's response to this outlandish big idea to glorify God? 593 00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:25,200 Well, verse seven was, or said, and his armor-bearer said to him, do everything that is in your 594 00:49:25,200 --> 00:49:27,840 heart and mind. 595 00:49:27,840 --> 00:49:34,640 Here I am with you in whatever you think best. 596 00:49:34,640 --> 00:49:42,640 Here I am with you, risking my life, climbing the sheer rock face. 597 00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:50,200 Here I am with you, helping you with your armor and the presence of the enemy. 598 00:49:50,200 --> 00:50:03,840 Here I am with you at your side, defending your back, slaying the enemy together. 599 00:50:03,840 --> 00:50:12,360 This armor-bearer understood the call on his life to stand and to support those who are 600 00:50:12,360 --> 00:50:17,520 called to leadership over him. 601 00:50:17,520 --> 00:50:24,700 So I want to say to the men, especially in our fellowship, please hear this just as you've 602 00:50:24,700 --> 00:50:27,280 read with me in all this Scripture. 603 00:50:27,280 --> 00:50:34,920 Please hear this as a Father speaking to you, and not me as the Father speaking to you, 604 00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:38,240 but as God speaking to you, right? 605 00:50:38,240 --> 00:50:45,880 It may come across as admonishment, but it's also encouragement. 606 00:50:45,880 --> 00:50:57,120 And so hear, hear what the Lord has to say, as one would hear a Father's desperate instruction. 607 00:50:57,120 --> 00:51:01,520 You are the armor-bearers in this body. 608 00:51:01,520 --> 00:51:11,840 Yes, you wear God's armor, but often we forget that we are the armor-bearer for one another 609 00:51:11,840 --> 00:51:16,400 and especially our pastor. 610 00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:23,960 I'm going to name one area, one area in particular because I believe that this area is the heartbeat 611 00:51:23,960 --> 00:51:26,900 of every church. 612 00:51:26,900 --> 00:51:35,000 If we as men can correct this, there will be no limits to what God can and will accomplish 613 00:51:35,000 --> 00:51:38,160 through this body. 614 00:51:38,160 --> 00:51:50,460 Men of God, when your pastor has been instructed by the Lord to call his people to a dedicated 615 00:51:50,460 --> 00:52:04,200 time of prayer, put on your armor and stand ready with him. 616 00:52:04,200 --> 00:52:14,320 Make that call to prayer the most important task before you, because it is. 617 00:52:14,320 --> 00:52:28,000 And come to the sanctuary of God to stand with your pastor, surrounding him as his armor, 618 00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:42,240 bringing praise and thanksgiving to the Lord of armies so that then you can step into the 619 00:52:42,240 --> 00:52:51,000 holy place and make inquiries of the Lord together. 620 00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:55,840 You say that you want to be strong in the Lord and that you want the church to grow 621 00:52:55,840 --> 00:53:04,240 and move forward, not just to move forward, but to move forward valiantly in the world. 622 00:53:04,240 --> 00:53:14,240 But men, you have to show up and stand ready. 623 00:53:14,240 --> 00:53:21,880 If you truly want to see the power of God alive and at work within us, you have to be 624 00:53:21,880 --> 00:53:26,720 an armor bearer. 625 00:53:26,720 --> 00:53:29,760 Be encouraged. 626 00:53:29,760 --> 00:53:34,000 This is not condemnation. 627 00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:41,360 This is my word to you, to build you up actually and to encourage you to be that which God 628 00:53:41,360 --> 00:53:44,760 has called you to be. 629 00:53:44,760 --> 00:53:50,760 Fulfill your purpose and the joy of the Lord will fall upon you. 630 00:53:50,760 --> 00:53:54,680 We'll be your strength. 631 00:53:54,680 --> 00:53:56,600 Be encouraged, men. 632 00:53:56,600 --> 00:54:00,660 Be encouraged to be what God has called you to be. 633 00:54:00,660 --> 00:54:02,760 Be an armor bearer. 634 00:54:02,760 --> 00:54:04,160 Amen. 635 00:54:04,160 --> 00:54:05,160 Amen. 636 00:54:05,160 --> 00:54:06,160 Let's pray. 637 00:54:06,160 --> 00:54:12,200 Oh, Father, there is no one like you. 638 00:54:12,200 --> 00:54:21,080 Your gentleness, your loving kindness, your patience, your love for us, God, is boundless. 639 00:54:21,080 --> 00:54:26,400 You take the time in filling us with your Spirit and sending your Spirit to speak to 640 00:54:26,400 --> 00:54:30,940 us, to give us instruction. 641 00:54:30,940 --> 00:54:38,240 Do yourself in your very word speak to us if and when we open it and we read it and 642 00:54:38,240 --> 00:54:40,800 are ready to receive what you have for us. 643 00:54:40,800 --> 00:54:50,080 God, let that be who we are so that as men in this body, as members of this body, we 644 00:54:50,080 --> 00:54:55,600 are filled with the Spirit continuously and we are fulfilling the call that you've placed 645 00:54:55,600 --> 00:54:58,200 upon our lives in every aspect. 646 00:54:58,200 --> 00:55:01,560 God, I thank you for the men in this body. 647 00:55:01,560 --> 00:55:07,480 I thank you that you have called them with purpose, that you equip us specifically with 648 00:55:07,480 --> 00:55:14,880 your armor, and that you show us, God, in your word how to be all that you require us 649 00:55:14,880 --> 00:55:15,880 to be. 650 00:55:15,880 --> 00:55:25,400 God, give us the strength in order to do things even as simple as joining together in prayer. 651 00:55:25,400 --> 00:55:29,200 Let that be a priority to us. 652 00:55:29,200 --> 00:55:36,480 Let us support one another in this and let us support our pastor as you lead him, as 653 00:55:36,480 --> 00:55:43,880 you put goals and desires for the growth of this body in his heart and he speaks them. 654 00:55:43,880 --> 00:55:53,040 God, let us stand up and stand firm around him and then advance together to see what 655 00:55:53,040 --> 00:55:55,280 you will do. 656 00:55:55,280 --> 00:55:58,320 God, we thank you. 657 00:55:58,320 --> 00:56:00,620 We love you. 658 00:56:00,620 --> 00:56:04,360 We desire to be that which you've called us to be. 659 00:56:04,360 --> 00:56:06,560 In Jesus' name we pray. 660 00:56:06,560 --> 00:56:07,560 Amen. 661 00:56:07,560 --> 00:56:26,560 God bless you guys.