Participants:
Series Code: BTLP
Program Code: BTLP000107A
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00:38 Hello, and welcome to Behold the Lamb Presents.
00:41 I'm Christ Shelton, your host. 00:42 I want to thank you for joining us today. 00:45 Today's message is entitled "Finally." 00:48 And how appropriate 00:50 that we finally come to the realization 00:52 that we must daily be seekers of truth, 00:55 daily submitting and committing our wills 00:58 to our heavenly Father, 00:59 daily taking time in study and prayer, 01:03 daily seeking His face for direction in our lives, 01:07 and daily putting on the whole armor of God 01:11 as described in the Book of Ephesians 6:10 through 18. 01:17 Ephesians 6:11 admonishes us 01:20 to put on the whole armor of God, 01:22 so that we will be able to stand 01:25 against the wiles and the snares of the devil. 01:29 We are reminded 01:30 that we wrestle not with flesh and blood, 01:33 but against principalities and powers, 01:36 against rulers of the darkness of this world, 01:40 and the spiritual wickedness in high places. 01:44 That's in verse 12. 01:46 Coming to the realization of the warfare 01:50 that we are all part of is so vital 01:53 in our ultimate salvation of eternal life. 01:56 As never before, as never before, 01:59 I just see spiritually so many diversions or snares 02:04 that the enemy has placed in our lives 02:06 that separate us from the realization 02:10 of what is actually taking place 02:12 in our world today, 02:14 from infants, even just little babies, 02:16 the enemy is keeping us so busy 02:19 with amusements of television, music, fun and games 02:24 that we're just kind of lulled to sleep 02:26 into a false sense of security 02:29 and neglect the warnings of God's Word 02:33 as the one found in the Book of Ephesians Chapter 6. 02:37 I look forward 02:38 to what the Holy Spirit will be presenting 02:40 through Pastor Kenny Shelton today 02:43 concerning the armor of God 02:45 in this message that is entitled "Finally." 02:49 And Finally is the 15th study of 25 Bible lessons 02:54 that correlate with this Bible study guide 02:56 that is entitled 02:58 "Sharing God's Love Makes You Happier, 03:00 What The Bible Says." 03:02 This was compiled by Brother Richard Bland 03:05 of the United Prison Ministries. 03:07 But before we begin today's message, 03:10 let's visit 3ABN and truly be blessed 03:14 by a song sung 03:15 by Pastor Kenny Shelton's sister 03:18 Tammy Chance 03:19 that is entitled "Because of Who You Are." 03:29 You spoke the words 03:31 And all the worlds came into order 03:36 You raised Your hands 03:38 And planets filled the empty skies 03:44 You placed the woman and the man inside the garden 03:50 And though they fell 03:52 They found compassion in Your eyes 03:57 Oh, Lord, I stand amazed 04:02 at the wonder of it all 04:05 Yet a greater wonder brings me to my knees 04:11 Lord, I praise You because of who You are 04:18 Not for all the mighty deeds that You have done 04:25 Lord, I worship You because of who You are 04:32 It's all the reason that I need to voice my praise 04:38 Because of who You are 04:46 One holy night You sent Your promise 04:50 From a virgin 04:53 And promise grew till He revealed to us 04:58 Your heart 05:01 Enduring love displayed throughout Your crucifixion 05:07 And through Your death, 05:09 You tore the dark and grave apart 05:14 Oh, Lord, I stand amazed 05:19 at the wonder of it all 05:22 Yet a greater wonder brings me to my knees 05:28 Lord, I praise You because of who You are 05:35 Not for all the mighty deeds that You have done 05:42 Lord, I worship You because of who You are 05:49 You're all the reason that I need to voice my praise 05:56 Lord, I praise You because of who You are 06:03 Not for all the mighty deeds that You have done 06:09 Lord, I worship You because of who You are 06:16 You're all the reason that I need to voice my praise 06:22 Because of who You are 06:29 Because of who You are 06:36 Because of who You are 06:53 Thank you for joining us here at Behold the Lamb. 06:55 Again, thank you, Sister Tammy, for that beautiful song. 06:58 I know that the Holy Spirit 07:00 was leading, guiding, and directing. 07:02 And you know, it's always a blessing 07:03 when we hear somebody sing praises 07:05 unto the Lord. 07:07 And we just wanna give you a little shout out 07:08 to say thank you to each and every one of you 07:11 for supporting Behold the Lamb Ministry, 07:12 for your prayers, 07:14 everything that you do, cards and letters, orders. 07:16 People are calling and we appreciate so very much 07:18 because they wanna hear the Word of God. 07:20 So I praise God for you, continue to pray for us, 07:23 and we will pray for you as we move along together. 07:25 Today, I pray 07:26 that this exciting study for you 07:28 as it's been exciting for me in study forward 07:30 because it's simply, sermon title is Finally. 07:34 You know, what a short sermon title, 07:36 finally! 07:37 And so we'll see what that means 07:39 as we get into God's Word in just a moment right now. 07:41 I wanna go to the Lord in prayer once again. 07:43 We prayed several times but we can't get enough prayer. 07:45 So I just ask that you would join with me 07:47 if you will, please, as we pray together. 07:51 Loving Father in heaven, again, 07:53 we wanna commit our self into Thy care and Thy keeping. 07:56 Lord, may we not reserve anything, 07:58 may we cast all our cares on You 08:00 for You care for us. 08:01 We pray for the anointing of Thy Holy Spirit. 08:03 Lord, I pray that my mind will be clear 08:05 and heart would be clear, my hands would be clean 08:08 and I ask for forgiveness of sin. 08:10 We pray to be covered by Your blood 08:11 that not only those who are listening and watching 08:14 may receive the message, 08:16 but I may receive it myself 08:17 and apply to my own heart and to my own life 08:19 that I may be ready to meet You as well as everyone. 08:22 Thank you for hearing and answering prayer, 08:24 thank you for Your Spirit. 08:25 In Jesus' name, amen. 08:28 I know you have your Bibles with you. 08:30 That's always something we always say here 08:31 and we're gonna continue to say. 08:32 It's very important to have our Bibles 08:34 that we may look up these passages 08:35 and jot them down. 08:37 Again as I mentioned before, 08:38 the sermon title today is simply "Final." 08:41 What does it simply mean finally, finally? 08:44 You know, I've heard people say it before, 08:46 "Finally, it's over." 08:48 Well, finally has a lot of different ways 08:51 in which you can go with it. 08:53 I want to start our really with just a little small quote 08:56 and we will repeat it little bit later on. 08:58 Why go over this message, 09:00 people who would been over in Ephesians Chapter 6 09:02 many, many times about putting on 09:04 the whole armor of God? 09:05 If I ask anyone of you who are here today, 09:08 "Do you believe we should put the whole armor of God on?" 09:10 Everybody would stand, 09:11 "Yes, we put the whole armor of God on." 09:13 You know what that really means 09:15 to put the whole armor of God on? 09:17 What does it really mean? 09:19 And is it important? 09:21 Well, this little quote comes from Manuscript, number 95, 09:25 this was written in 1903. 09:27 And maybe this is the importance 09:29 of this subject for today. 09:30 It says, "Unless we are constantly on guard, 09:34 we shall be overcome by the enemy." 09:37 I know, some people may get a little tired of hearing that, 09:40 but we should never get tired of hearing a warning 09:41 that God has for us. 09:43 Unless we are what? 09:44 Unless we are constantly on guard, 09:47 we shall be overcome by the enemy. 09:51 And this chapter, in fact, 5 and 6, 09:54 we're dealing with today 09:55 and just referring to Chapter 5, 09:58 that it's so very, very important 09:59 that we're constantly on guard. 10:01 In Ephesians Chapter 6, 10:02 you can just circle, if you will, 10:04 verses 10 through 18. 10:06 Now it'd be nice if we have time 10:07 just to run and read all of those, 10:09 but we will go over each verse 10:11 and try to get the point in as quickly as we can 10:14 because time goes by rather quickly, 10:15 it seems like, at least when you're up front, 10:17 maybe not for you, folk, it goes by so quickly. 10:19 To me, it just seems like a few minutes 10:21 and then it's gone. 10:22 Paul begins here in Ephesians Chapter 6, 10:26 the final word there in verse 10. 10:28 What does it say? 10:29 Finally! 10:31 What is he talking about, finally? 10:33 You know, he begins with these words. 10:35 You know, what does it really mean 10:36 in this passage of scripture 10:38 in context when he says finally. 10:42 Simply means as for the rest, 10:45 as for the rest of it. 10:47 What was it Paul Harvey used to say? 10:50 This is the rest of the story, something like that. 10:53 Do you remember that? Here's the rest of the story. 10:55 And using that was the punch line, wasn't it? 10:58 That was really, you know, grouping it together, 11:00 was so wonderful. 11:02 He says, "Here's the rest of the story." 11:03 That's what Paul was saying, rest of the story? 11:05 What, if what he had been writing about 11:07 not only in Chapter 5 but certainly in Chapter 6, 11:11 he's spoken about unity. 11:13 He spoke about unity that need to be in the church, 11:16 unity that we need to have in the home, 11:18 unity that we need to have in the family, 11:20 with our friends. 11:22 He will say even in the world 11:24 to have a unity where we can, 11:26 whereas lot of people, you have friends of the world, 11:28 but you know, we need to love them too 11:29 because we need to be seeking them 11:31 to be the souls for the kingdom. 11:34 So Paul goes into 11:36 and he does some theological speaking here 11:37 in Chapters 5 and 6. 11:40 And some spiritual, 11:41 he looked at from a spiritual angle here. 11:44 How this unity works? 11:46 He gives us all kind of food for thought here, 11:48 and so he wants us to really look at it closer 11:50 maybe than we ever had before. 11:52 And so now, he gives us all of these beautiful thoughts 11:55 and now he tells which I always like, 11:58 is now how can we live up to those things. 12:00 He tells us what we should do. 12:02 Okay, I've got that, 12:03 but how did I live that out in my own life. 12:06 So he answers his own question, 12:08 how we can live up to these what God has said in His Word. 12:11 He begins with this. 12:13 You notice what he says, 12:14 "Finally, my brother, be strong," where? 12:17 "In the Lord." 12:18 So he says all of these things are possible but how? 12:20 Only in the Lord. 12:22 This is where it becomes possible here, 12:24 in the Lord. 12:26 We must abide, the Bible talks about in Him. 12:29 You remember there, we talk about 12:30 in John Chapter 15, 12:32 talks about the wine and the what? 12:34 And the branches. 12:35 We must abide in Him 12:37 if we are to live and certainly to move 12:39 and to do what God would have us to do. 12:42 And then he simply says as a bottom line, 12:43 you abide in Me 12:45 and then no matter what happens, 12:46 My grace is what? 12:49 My grace is sufficient, 12:50 2 Corinthians 12:9, 12:53 powerful, powerful words. 12:56 Paul explain how we... 12:58 Now this is why we need and we're talking about this 13:01 so important subject here is he explains how we are, 13:05 notice this, as Christians, we are surrounded by the enemy. 13:11 We are outnumbered by the enemy. 13:14 You remember growing up as kid, you'll say, 13:16 "This sides are not fair, you've got more than we have." 13:20 We want equal number here. 13:22 We are outnumbered. 13:25 And the enemy plays that game on us, 13:28 like, "I've got more than you guys have got." 13:30 He wants you to think that we're outnumbered. 13:33 There's uneven sides here, and Paul says, "You know what, 13:36 the enemy says advantage enemy." 13:40 Is it really advantage enemy? 13:44 Are the evil forces really more powerful 13:46 than the forces of God? 13:48 No. 13:49 And until we call upon the name of Jesus, 13:52 we are outnumbered. 13:55 The sides are not fair 13:56 until we call upon the name of Jesus, 13:59 until we make an alliance with Him, 14:02 until we come clean with Him and say, 14:03 "Lord, we want You on our side through faith." 14:06 When we do that, the game changes. 14:09 We become not the minority, but the majority. 14:13 Isn't that wonderful to know? 14:15 Before we accept Christ, 14:17 well, we are defeated. 14:18 After we accept Christ, 14:19 we're more than conquerors, what? 14:21 Through Him. 14:22 That's what the Bible says, 14:24 and I trust God, and I thank Him for that. 14:26 So the word finally here 14:28 has some interesting thoughts here. 14:30 Let's go back just a few minutes if we can. 14:32 Let's go back when sin came in. 14:37 What did God see? 14:38 Number one, He knew it all in advance. 14:40 But sin came in, 14:41 the Lord saw our fallen condition. 14:45 Brother John, He saw what a mess we are. 14:47 He saw how weak that we are without Him. 14:50 And He knew the sides were going to be uneven. 14:55 He knew our utter helplessness. 14:57 There's no way we could make it out of this mess. 15:00 He understood our need of grace. 15:03 He understood our need 15:04 that we're going to need help along the way. 15:07 He understood that as sinners, we need a Savior. 15:11 Praise God for that. We need a savior. 15:15 We need the love of Christ. 15:19 Since we are then in need, 15:21 I want you to think about this. 15:23 Since we are in need of a Savior, 15:26 His love then and His grace 15:29 becomes a necessary ingredient. 15:32 Are you there? 15:33 You know, when you're doing some cooking, 15:34 there are some necessary ingredients. 15:37 Don't leave one out. 15:38 If you do, you might have a mess on your hands, 15:40 it's not gonna taste very good. 15:43 We're talking about a main ingredient 15:45 in the plan of salvation. 15:49 And in order for us to be saved, God said, 15:51 "They're going to have to have some help." 15:54 God wants everyone to stand with the whole armor on. 15:57 I think that's pretty clear here 15:59 as we get into the study. 16:00 He wants us, notice this, to stand. 16:02 We'll get into that in just a moment. 16:03 He says, "Well, I want you to stand 16:05 with the whole armor on." 16:06 Notice it, why? 16:08 Why do I want to stand with the whole armor? 16:09 I might be uncomfortable. 16:11 I may not like the way that it fits, 16:13 I may not like the way that it looks. 16:15 I may not like the comments that people might make 16:18 because I dared to be different. 16:20 You dared to be different, why? 16:24 Just a little quote that we looked at 16:26 at the beginning of this message, 16:28 why do I need the armor on? 16:30 Because unless we are constantly on guard, 16:34 what's going to happen? 16:37 With our armor on, we shall be overcome. 16:41 Did you get it? 16:42 Well, we're repeating here 16:44 unless we're constantly on guard, 16:45 fit for battle, we will be overcome. 16:48 There's no time for slackness, 16:50 you know, like, "I don't have to worry 16:51 about being on guard on." 16:52 No, we need to be on guard, constantly on guard. 16:55 We'll be overcome. 16:58 We have a desire, I think, in our heart. 17:00 I know that I do that I like and I love the protection 17:02 that God gives us through the angels. 17:04 We need that protection, 17:06 we want to be like Jesus. 17:09 But he's talking about in order to be like Jesus, 17:10 we're gonna have to have what? 17:12 All this armor on, these things in our heart, in our life, 17:15 we need them. 17:17 That means, to be like Jesus, we need to be pure like Jesus, 17:21 undefiled like Jesus, 17:24 accepted of God like Jesus. 17:27 What kind of words would that be to nice to hear, 17:29 "Come on into the gates, 17:31 you beloved of heaven." 17:34 Be like Jesus, no spot, no wrinkle, 17:36 no crease or any such thing. 17:40 You know, have you looked at your own life and do we, 17:42 you know, look at it and say, "You know, 17:45 I've got all these spots, I've got them all cleaned. 17:47 I've been to the cleaners, I've got things solved." 17:50 Is everything really ironed out the way that it should be? 17:52 Is our relationship really right with Christ? 17:55 Are we really have the thought in our hearts and the mind 17:59 that we wanna be holy as Christ is holy? 18:02 Holiness, you know, is a gift. 18:04 As you study this lesson, 18:05 holiness is a gift of God through Christ. 18:08 How does it work? 18:09 Well, first of all, when we accept Jesus Christ, 18:11 let's put it in a nutshell. 18:13 How does holiness really work? 18:14 When we accept Christ, 18:16 we become sons and daughters of, what? 18:19 After we accept Christ, 18:20 we're sons and daughters of God, 18:22 2 Corinthians 6:18. 18:24 We become His spiritual children. 18:26 We're spiritual children of the King. 18:28 How exciting that is to think about. 18:30 We've been born again, we've been renewed, 18:33 maybe even renamed. 18:35 How wonderful that is. 18:37 We're adopted into the family of God now 18:39 because I've accepted Jesus. 18:42 You read that in Galatians 4:5 18:44 and certainly in Ephesians 1:5. 18:47 And as we're adopted in and we become, 18:49 you know, part of God's family, 18:51 we become changed, 18:52 the Bible says, from glory to glory, 18:55 2 Corinthians 3:18. 18:57 How is your life if you think about it? 18:59 Is it being changed every day? 19:01 Is it being changed for the better? 19:03 Are we really beholding 19:04 'cause what we behold is what we become like. 19:07 Is it very positive in your Christian experience 19:10 or is it may be negative. 19:12 Maybe we have most of the armor on 19:13 but we don't have all of it on. 19:16 Why? 19:17 Because one piece again is a little bit uncomfortable. 19:20 Maybe we don't desire that. 19:23 Manuscript 122 in 1901, 19:28 notice this, these words are so, so very important. 19:31 "Those only, who through faith in Christ 19:34 obey all of God's commandments 19:38 will reach the condition of sinlessness 19:41 in which Adam lived before his transgression. 19:45 They testify to their love for Christ 19:48 by obeying all of His precepts." 19:52 Did you notice how powerful? 19:55 Only those who have faith, what? 19:57 Through Christ obey all of God's commandments. 20:00 We can't do it on our own. 20:02 We need the help of God, don't we on this? 20:05 But it says, we can reach that stage of sinlessness 20:08 because of who Jesus is, because of what He offers us. 20:11 It testifies of our love for Him. 20:14 Again, Ephesians 6:10, 20:17 "Finally, my brethren, " 20:19 it says here, "be strong in the Lord 20:21 and in the power of, " what? 20:23 "Of his might." 20:24 Is anybody needing extra power in their life today? 20:26 Oh, but I need some more power. 20:28 I'm praying for that power that we need 20:31 because we have nothing within our self. 20:34 And in order to get that power, 20:36 as we say there again, 20:37 to obtain that in our hearts, in our life, 20:40 Ephesians 6:11, 20:42 it says, "Then if you want this, 20:44 then you put on the whole armor of," what? 20:46 "Put on the whole armor of God." 20:48 You put on the protection, armor, 20:51 the protection power of God, 20:54 the complete armor of God here. 20:57 And again we say, "Why? 20:59 Why do we need to put it all on?" 21:01 Well, we don't have the heavenly armor on. 21:04 It is for sure, notice, when we have it on, 21:07 it's for sure that the enemy cannot control us. 21:11 Are you thinking with me? Think with me. 21:13 If we have all of the armor on, 21:15 the enemy can no longer control us. 21:18 If you're missing one piece, 21:20 he's going to be able to control that 21:22 and that's all that he really needs. 21:26 Think about it. 21:27 How can we stand against the wiles of the devil? 21:31 The wiles are what? 21:32 Wiles are simply his methods. 21:35 The wiles are simply his trickery. 21:37 Satan uses trickery, does he not? 21:39 So he tries to trick you into it. 21:41 He's deceitful, 21:43 his deceitfulness of the devil. 21:46 And so we cannot be victorious 21:48 unless all of the armor is on us. 21:51 Manuscript 74, 1903. 21:55 Notice these words. 21:56 It says, "No storm, no tempest 21:59 can move those whose feet are planted 22:01 on the principles of eternal truth." 22:04 So we need not make excuses 22:06 for why we're not living maybe the Christian life. 22:10 We need not try to blame other people 22:11 because our relationship with Christ 22:13 is not what we think it ought to be. 22:16 Remember, it's no storm, no tempest. 22:18 I think the Word of God is clear on that, 22:20 Spirit of Prophecy is clear on that. 22:22 No storm, no tempest, no matter what blows your way, 22:25 no matter somebody gives you... 22:27 They say somebody gives you the devil. 22:29 Are you still there? 22:31 Somebody gives you the devil. 22:32 That's no reason for us to throw up our hands 22:35 and say, "Oh man, I'm defeated." 22:37 If our feet, notice this, if our feet are planted, 22:42 if our feet are solid on the rock of Jesus Christ, 22:45 on the principles of what? 22:47 Of eternal truth, 22:48 we shall not be moved. 22:50 I shall not be, 22:51 the song says, I shall not be moved 22:53 just like the tree that's planted by the waters. 22:56 Lord, I shall not be moved. 22:59 The article goes on and says, 23:00 "They will be able to stand 23:02 in the time of almost universal apostasy." 23:06 I'm not the first to say it, 23:08 nor will I be the first and they say or the last 23:09 or even in between. 23:11 But I say this, I believe we're talking about a time 23:13 we're living in. 23:15 There is almost universal apostasy 23:18 against God's truth, 23:20 against God's Church, almost universal. 23:24 They may not be saying much right now, 23:26 but when they're put in a corner, 23:27 your enemies are going to say a lot. 23:29 And they're going to be doing an awful lot. 23:32 Remember, universal apostasy. 23:34 Now I've often thought about this. 23:36 It's easier for me 23:38 and I think for you to defend our self 23:41 with an enemy, Sister Mary, that we can see. 23:45 You're standing right there and I know you're my enemy 23:47 and I can see you. 23:49 It's easier to put up a defense against that 23:51 than it is with deceitfulness. 23:55 Are you still there? 23:56 With deceitfulness, that's very hard. 23:59 You see to try to figure out because you can't really see it 24:02 but you know the workings of it, 24:04 you know kind of what's going on 24:05 or you hear about it. 24:08 This is sure. 24:09 This is for sure in Scripture, 24:10 either the evil angels or the angels of God 24:13 are controlling the minds of men today. 24:17 One or the other is controlling. 24:19 Now my question simply goes back quickly 24:22 is who's controlling our mind? 24:26 Who's controlling our minds today? 24:30 We know, and I mentioned so often up here 24:32 and you know, Matthew 12:30, 24:35 Jesus said, "He who is not with me is," what? 24:37 "He's against Me, 24:39 he that gathereth not," is doing what? 24:42 "He's scattering it." 24:43 So you're either helping the cause of Christ 24:45 or you're hurting the cause of Christ. 24:47 If you're going to try to scatter things, 24:48 you better go out in the field and scatter something else. 24:51 See, the church doesn't need scatters. 24:53 The church needs what? 24:54 Gatherers, the cause of Christ needs us to gather in. 25:00 Be ready for His coming, gather in the saints. 25:04 See, it's dangerous to be against God. 25:06 If we only could realize how dangerous it is 25:09 to take a position against God, 25:12 who do we think that we are? 25:14 We're already outnumbered, isn't that what we said before? 25:18 Sides are not fair, not even against the enemy, 25:20 let alone God. 25:22 But somehow we think we can shake our fist 25:23 in face of God. 25:26 We're going to have our own way regardless. 25:30 Oh, friend, I'll tell you, that's dangerous, 25:33 to be prideful, 25:35 to be stubborn, 25:37 to fight against the truth. 25:41 This leads to the rejection of the Holy Spirit. 25:44 Don't be prideful. 25:45 Well, I would accept the message 25:47 but my friends wouldn't like it. 25:48 Well, get some new friends. 25:51 Jerry, are you still there? 25:52 Think about it. 25:54 Who you want to please? 25:56 Is it the friends you want to please? 25:59 Well, I've been here almost all my life, 26:01 so I can't change. 26:02 That's not what God ever says in His Word. 26:05 His people were willing to change 26:07 as they see truth and they accept the truth. 26:12 Please don't ever, my friends, brothers and sisters, 26:14 don't ever place yourself. 26:16 I never want to place myself 26:18 where I'm not, you know, not able 26:20 to fulfill the conditions that scripture gives here 26:23 about repentance and confession. 26:26 Notice this, confession. 26:28 Sometimes people put themselves outside of that 26:30 where they just don't feel the need. 26:31 They don't want to repent. 26:33 They don't want to change. 26:34 They don't want to confess. 26:37 Bible says, if we confess, He's faithful and just. 26:41 If we don't confess, 26:43 and if we're not willing to change 26:45 and follow Christ all the way, 26:47 you realize here, 26:48 we have to be able to do that 26:49 in order to obtain mercy and pardon. 26:53 I need mercy. 26:54 Praise God, don't you? I need mercy. 26:55 I need grace. 26:57 I praise God for that. 27:00 We need not sin against the Holy Spirit. 27:03 Keep that in mind. 27:05 That condition is developed. 27:08 We understand, 27:09 well, the sin against the Holy Spirit, 27:11 you know, the unpardonable sin. 27:12 But you realize that's developed. 27:14 It doesn't happen just overnight. 27:17 It's a continuation of many decisions 27:19 that you make, I make, along the way. 27:23 It's a condition that maybe, we some time, 27:25 we firmly come to a point in our life, 27:27 we're determined to resist truth. 27:31 We're determined to resist the evidence 27:34 that God has given us of the way He wants us to go. 27:37 We're rejecting the Holy Spirit. 27:41 We're rejecting the invitation to come. 27:45 So He gives that with every discourse, 27:47 everything in Scripture, 27:49 it's always the hand of Christ is out 27:50 and saying, "Come." 27:52 He says, "Come all ye that are heavy laden 27:54 and I'll give you rest." 27:58 We need this armor on 27:59 because there's something about it 28:01 that protects us from the things 28:03 that are in the world 28:04 that's being hurled at us day and night. 28:07 There's no rest, it seems like. 28:09 Devil does not sleep. 28:11 He's throwing things at us all the time. 28:14 That's why Ephesians 6:12, 28:17 the Bible goes on to say, 28:19 now we can... You're in a wrestling match. 28:22 Everybody, you put your name in there. 28:24 And it's for your very, what? 28:26 Life. 28:28 And it says then, "Yeah, but here's the problem. 28:30 It's not a human being 28:31 that you're really wrestling with." 28:33 You might think it is, 28:34 but we're talking about demon forces. 28:37 We're talking about elements 28:38 that we're not even sure of 28:40 that we even know about. 28:41 We're talking about we're in a fight 28:43 with wicked spirits, 28:46 in high places, it said, the heavenly places here. 28:49 What does it tell me? 28:50 It says that I am in a battle 28:53 with someone who's more intelligent 28:54 than I am, 28:56 even though it may be evil. 28:57 Are you still with me? 28:59 The evil, the enemy, 29:01 he has intelligence 29:03 that God gave him, 29:06 and he's going to use that, 29:07 do you notice that, against man. 29:10 And besides that, 29:11 think with me here just for a moment. 29:15 We think maybe, well, mankind is pretty evil. 29:18 You can't get any more evil 29:19 than the devil himself and his evil angels. 29:22 They know evil better than you know evil. 29:25 Did you get it? 29:26 They've had a lot of years to practice it. 29:31 In order for the enemy to strike God, 29:34 who does the enemy want to strike? 29:36 He wants to strike God. 29:38 He says, "Because I'm gonna get you off the throne 29:40 and I'm going to sit on the throne," you know that. 29:43 But he can't strike God 29:44 because he's not big enough to strike God. 29:48 God struck him and said, "Now get out, " 29:50 and he had to get out. 29:51 As I said many times before, 29:53 he said, "Well, I'll go out in the Garden of Eden," 29:55 you remember. 29:56 What did God say to Satan? 29:58 I always like to paraphrase and God said, 30:00 "Get up in the tree and you stay in that tree. 30:03 You don't go anyplace else. You stay." 30:05 And you know what? 30:06 He got into a tree and he stayed in the tree. 30:08 I'm just simply saying, the enemy must obey God. 30:12 Even though he says I don't want to obey God, 30:14 there are certain things that the enemy wants to do 30:16 that he still has to obey God. 30:19 When he said, "You had to go from heaven, " 30:21 he had to go from heaven. 30:22 When he says, "You can do what you want to with Job, 30:25 but you can't take his life." 30:26 That's exactly, he did everything 30:28 but not take his life because he couldn't do it. 30:30 This should give us encouragement. 30:32 He can't do anything to you unless God approves it first. 30:35 So why we're crying and moaning all the time? 30:38 Are you still with me? 30:39 We feel like it at time because things happen. 30:41 It's discouraging, 30:43 because of our humaneness, 30:44 because we're not looking to God, 30:46 we're looking in the mirror. 30:47 Told a man the other day, when you look in the mirror, 30:48 you better not see yourself. 30:50 We need to see Jesus, isn't that right? 30:52 See Jesus. 30:57 Evil angels uniting with men in war against what? 31:02 God's people. 31:03 He can't strike God but who can he strike? 31:06 God's people, his representatives. 31:09 Somebody needs to check the time 31:10 as we go because that's kicked off again. 31:13 Notice this with me. 31:15 We know that all who have not chosen Christ, 31:18 we realized as their leader, 31:21 they choose the Prince of Darkness, don't they? 31:24 We said over and over, and I always say it. 31:25 It's one or the other. 31:28 Because 31:29 their spiritual wickedness in high places, 31:34 because their spiritual wickedness, 31:37 we have to put on the whole armor of God. 31:41 Did you get that? 31:43 Because this armor is what? 31:45 The armor is our defense. 31:48 This armor protects us from the wiles of the enemy. 31:52 Ephesians 6:13. 31:55 I like this part of it. 31:56 It says, "Having done all to stand." 31:59 How long has it been 32:01 since maybe you have said to God, 32:02 "I've done all to stand, 32:04 I don't know what to do." 32:07 But here it says we have to, having done all to stand. 32:11 Notice this, the translation really reads like this. 32:14 Notice, or having overcome all to stand. 32:19 Are you there? 32:20 Having overcome all to stand. 32:24 So we really can't stand until by the grace of God, 32:26 we've overcome. 32:29 And then when we've overcome, God says, 32:31 "Now get off of the couch, 32:32 get off the recliner and stand up like a man," 32:35 or to say like a woman, stand up. 32:39 The key is having done 32:41 all that the Spirit of God has taught us. 32:46 Think about it, 32:47 having done all that the Spirit of God has taught. 32:49 That goes back to a question, let's say with me, 32:51 "Am I doing everything 32:54 that God has revealed to me as truth?" 32:59 Because it seems like we're not gonna be able to stand 33:01 unless we are. 33:03 So if we're lacking in some area, 33:05 we refused to go that way, 33:06 we're not going to be able to stand, 33:08 the enemy is going to take us eventually. 33:11 Why? 33:12 Simply this, because man's human, 33:14 and because we are human 33:16 and because we have a defective character. 33:21 Now we don't have to have, but I'm simply saying 33:22 because we have a defective character 33:24 because all have sinned and come short. 33:25 We have defects of character that's got to be changed. 33:28 Notice that. 33:29 We then are put in the midst of a battle, 33:32 and we're going to have to battle 33:34 if we're going to be victorious. 33:35 That's why he says to put on the whole armor, 33:37 isn't that right? 33:38 We must resist. 33:40 It's kind of sad 33:41 when you have a group of people. 33:42 You know, many of the times, other Christians just say, 33:44 "We don't have to do it. We just sit back and relax. 33:45 Jesus paid at all. 33:47 We don't have to work. We don't have to do anything." 33:49 Bible says work out your own salvation with what? 33:52 Fear and trembling. 33:54 You resist the devil 33:55 and he's going to flee from you. 33:57 You battle the enemy every day of your life. 33:58 You fight and then you have to do this. 34:01 You have to put on the armor of God. 34:04 Did you notice that? 34:05 You can't put, 34:07 you can't have somebody put it on for you. 34:08 You have to be willing by the grace of God 34:09 to sense a need that I need this armor. 34:13 And I'll tell you this, you cannot put the armor on 34:15 while you're seated. 34:17 That's why He says, stand. 34:19 Put on the armor, 34:21 battle for victory, 34:23 put it on, put that armor on. 34:25 Four Testimonies, 557 says this. 34:29 "We are living..." 34:30 And I don't think anybody would disagree with this. 34:32 "We are living in a solemn time." 34:35 Think about it, solemn time. 34:38 "An important work is to be done for our souls 34:41 and for the souls of others." 34:45 So we understand it. 34:47 In prayer time, we mention 34:48 we have burdens for our children 34:50 and grandchildren and da-da, da-da. 34:51 Listen, I want each one of us here today 34:53 and I'm including myself in this. 34:55 The thought crossed my mind, just crossed my mind is, 34:57 "Kenny, you've got to have that kind of love 35:00 and that kind of concern 35:01 about every person that you see, 35:03 not just your own." 35:05 What was it, what would it be if Jesus, all He said was, 35:07 "I'm just here for my mother, my brothers and sisters. 35:10 That's all I'm going to do. 35:12 I'm just praying for them, I want to work for them." 35:13 I'm just, all blah, blah, blah. 35:15 No, we have to love everybody the same, 35:18 every soul that you see. 35:20 It's okay to pray for them. 35:21 It's all right to, after church, to pray for them. 35:23 But I'm simply, can we by the grace of God 35:25 expand our horizons of faith and say, 35:28 "God, help me to see everybody out there 35:30 and be concerned about every son and daughter 35:33 and every grandson and so on." 35:35 Would that be fair? 35:39 I'm so thankful that Jesus wasn't just so near-sighted 35:41 that He's just, "Me, mine, and I." 35:44 He included the whole world. 35:46 Lord, help us to be that way, 35:48 the love that we need in our heart. 35:53 We must resist, the Bible says, 35:56 unto blood. 35:58 How long has it been 35:59 since we've resisted unto blood? 36:03 Hebrews 12:4 talks about, 36:06 "Resist unto blood, " 36:07 to gain the victory, 36:08 and it says, "strive against," what? 36:11 "Against sin." 36:12 Strive, push, work, 36:15 pray, watch, 36:17 study, strive. 36:19 Just like we strive if we want a car, 36:21 if we want a house. 36:23 We want something we want. 36:26 We strive for that thing, and we try to make it work. 36:30 If we're turned down at one bank, 36:31 we go to another one. 36:33 Somebody is not. 36:35 Because we're striving because we want something. 36:40 How long has it been since we fought as it were. 36:44 Resisted unto blood, 36:45 or other words, I've said many times, 36:47 come to the point that we had rather die 36:49 than knowingly sin. 36:52 That's resisting unto blood. 36:55 Jesus reached that point, praise God. 36:58 He offers it to me and to you but we have to fight. 37:03 To resist unto blood 37:04 simply means we need more than the human. 37:07 We need humanity and divinity cooperating together. 37:11 We need the power and strength of God. 37:14 Are we really fighting against sin today? 37:19 It seems like, now to me, if you just allow. 37:22 It seems like to me 37:24 that we've, many people, have embraced sin. 37:28 Many people have excused sin. 37:32 Well, yeah, I know they did but I... 37:37 It's sad we've come to the point 37:38 where we just welcome it in almost and embrace it 37:41 like it's normal way of life. 37:47 We've not let that sharp sword do its work in our life, 37:51 that two-edged sword rightly dividing, separating, 37:54 cutting off that which needs to be. 37:58 Somehow that sword is not doing the cutting 38:01 that it needs to be. 38:02 It's not the sword's fault. 38:05 It's my fault. 38:06 Because I have to be willing to let 38:08 the sword do its work. 38:09 Are we still there? Are we still thinking about it? 38:12 But the church wants to be a church 38:14 that it's easy to be a member of, 38:16 a church where it's comfortable, 38:19 church where they don't have to hear about gaining victory. 38:22 And they might be defeated, 38:24 you know, by the enemy 38:25 if we don't keep our eyes on Christ. 38:27 I want to be comfortable, some people say. 38:29 Why? 38:31 Why do we have this attitude anymore? 38:34 Is it because maybe we've compromised away 38:37 the truth of God's Word? 38:38 Could it be that we've compromised it? 38:40 If you don't see that today, may God help you to see. 38:43 We have compromised and compromised 38:45 until we don't even know what truth is anymore. 38:48 Ephesians 6:14 says quickly, 38:51 we must love the truth. 38:53 So going into lot of detail, 38:55 you know we must do, what with the truth? 38:56 Love it. 38:58 Then why are we so embarrassed of it? 38:59 Well, we're embarrassed to say a blessing 39:01 when we go out in public to eat, 39:03 you know. 39:04 Why is it we're afraid to tell our people 39:06 we go to Seventh-day Adventist Church? 39:08 Why are we afraid to tell them that we go on the Seventh-day, 39:11 God's day? 39:13 See, why? 39:16 They're not ashamed to tell you what they believe. 39:19 Good thing is you have backing from the Word of God. 39:23 But we must love the truth. 39:24 That means to me, I need to be around people. 39:27 I need to be surrounded by people 39:28 that love the truth. 39:31 Does that help in our Christian walk? 39:33 Surround yourself with people who love the truth, 39:37 surround yourself with people who talk the truth, 39:41 surround yourself with people who live the truth. 39:46 This will help all of us. 39:47 This will help you, will help me. 39:51 Surround yourself with people 39:53 who want to proclaim the truth 39:55 as it is in Jesus Christ. 39:57 Man, it'll be catchy. 39:59 It'll set you on fire 40:00 when you think there's no fire left. 40:03 Love the truth. 40:07 Bible says we are to stand. 40:11 As I mentioned before, 40:13 we have to stand in order to put the armor on. 40:17 And it's going to have to be put on, this armor 40:19 just the way 40:21 the Bible says the way to put it on. 40:23 See, some people say, "Well, I'll put this on first 40:25 and then I'll get to this and then I'll get to that." 40:28 I really believe the way it was listed, 40:30 the way it's listed in Scripture 40:31 is the way that we're supposed to put it on. 40:33 Does that make sense? 40:34 I think that's good principle there. 40:36 I can't really change it around, 40:38 I don't want to change it around. 40:41 First thing it says, "We must do," notice this, 40:44 "We must be girt about with," what? 40:47 "With truth." 40:48 Did you get it? 40:49 I just said we need to be around people 40:51 that talk it and that live it and that love it. 40:53 And now the Bible says we need to what? 40:55 We need to girt ourselves around about with what? 40:58 With truth. 41:01 This girt, now listen to me carefully. 41:04 This girt is a girdle. 41:06 Are you still with me? 41:08 It says a girdle and the girdle just, 41:11 somebody forgive me if I go too far with this now. 41:15 A girdle is to hold in something. 41:19 Isn't that right? 41:20 If I'm not, somebody stop me 41:21 that knows more than I do about it. 41:25 The girdle is used some time to firm up. 41:30 A girdle is used to shape up. 41:34 Sometime a girdle is used to distribute 41:37 a little more evenly. 41:39 Somebody's not going to get it. 41:41 Girdle sometime is used to balance up. 41:46 And the Word of God says we need to balance, 41:48 we need to girt up. 41:50 We need to solid up. 41:53 In order to stand, we have to have this on. 41:56 This is very important. 41:58 Think about it is to hold in, to balance. 42:03 That's talking about having the Word of God, 42:05 the truth lodged in the heart, 42:08 lodged in the mind. 42:11 Truth is not only love, Brother Mark, 42:13 but acted upon. 42:15 We have too many people say, "I know what it is, " 42:16 but we're not doing it. 42:17 We must be acted upon. 42:20 1 Corinthians 5:8 simply says, 42:22 "Therefore, let us keep the feast," 42:25 1 Corinthians 5:8, 42:27 "not with old leaven, neither with leaven of," what? 42:30 "Malice and wickedness, 42:33 but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." 42:37 This is where it boils down to right here, 42:40 the old leaven. 42:42 What about the old leaven? 42:44 Could be referred to as the defilement of sin. 42:47 We come to Christ and we put the armor on, 42:49 sin has to what? 42:51 It has to go. 42:52 We can't retain that old sinful nature 42:55 and that old sinfulness 42:56 that we've held on for so long. 42:59 That's to be purged out of this life. 43:03 The old way of life has to go, 43:05 and it's not supposed to come back again. 43:09 If we really surrender to Jesus, 43:11 and we want to put the whole armor of God on, 43:13 and we're really born again, in the Galatians chapter, 43:16 somebody helped me, Galatians 3:27 says, 43:19 we have to put on Christ. 43:21 Did you get it? 43:22 I'm talking about putting on the armor today. 43:23 Somebody say we got to put on Christ. 43:25 Amen. 43:27 We got to put His robe of righteousness on. 43:32 We put on Christ and when this... 43:34 How does it happen? How do I put on Christ? 43:37 How do I want to put this armor on? 43:39 It's simple. 43:41 Simply once again, and it always boils down to this, 43:43 by simply studying God's Word and bring that into the life. 43:49 And as you bring that truth into your life, 43:51 we become in harmony with the will of God. 43:53 Isn't that wonderful? 43:55 Then we're letting that sword do its work, 43:57 rightly cutting and dividing, Hebrews 4:12. 44:02 No one wants to be cut. 44:04 No one wants to have to give up things sometime. 44:07 But remember, what is it? 44:09 God never asked you to do what? 44:11 To give up anything that's good for you. 44:14 Keep that in your mind always. 44:15 "Oh, I have to give this up 44:17 in order to be going to the church." 44:19 You're going to be tested and tried like everybody else. 44:23 You're going to have your Gethsemane. 44:25 You're going to have your little things, 44:27 it's very difficult for you, may not be difficult for me, 44:29 but I'll have something some more difficult for me 44:31 than you have. 44:32 So everybody's gonna have their own times 44:34 that we're going to have to decide 44:36 if it's going to be Christ, 44:37 if we're going to put the armor on, 44:38 if we're going to put Christ on or not. 44:41 We must have the breastplate of righteousness. 44:44 What does that mean? 44:45 When you put the breastplate of righteousness on, 44:47 it covers more than just the front. 44:49 It covers the back also. 44:51 It covers the heart. 44:53 It covers the lungs. 44:55 It covers the ribs. 44:58 Man, breastplate of righteousness. 45:01 What does it do? It protects the vital organs. 45:05 It covers. 45:07 Romans 1:17 says, 45:09 "The righteousness of God is revealed." 45:14 God says, "I want to protect your heart, 45:15 I want to protect your mind, I want to protect you, 45:18 " all those vital parts. 45:20 1 Thessalonians 5:8 says, "But let us," notice this, 45:23 "but let us who are of the day," 45:25 what does that mean? 45:27 "Let us those who are of the light," 45:29 not of darkness, "of the day 45:30 be sober, 45:32 putting on the breastplate of faith and love, 45:35 and put it on a helmet, and the hope of salvation." 45:40 "Let's put it on," is what the Bible said. 45:42 In the spiritual warfare and I believe that we are, 45:45 spiritual warfare, man, is it heavy duty! 45:48 I've come to conclusion, I need a sure footing. 45:52 I've always believed that in construction, 45:54 in building, anything, 45:55 you start off with a good what? 45:57 Solid foundation. 45:58 You start with a good footing. 46:00 You can't do anything unless you have good footing. 46:04 See, I have a fractured bone here 46:06 because I didn't have a good footing when the dog hit me. 46:10 Somebody's not with me. 46:13 I thought I had it good until 46:15 I'm going to talk about the dog is the enemy 46:16 until the enemy hit me just a little bit, 46:18 and I went up on one leg. 46:20 Are you still there? 46:22 And then I said, 46:23 "I've got to have a good solid footing to stand." 46:24 And I stepped back and when I did, 46:26 I stepped on the dog's foot, and he squealed like a pig. 46:30 Somebody's not with me. 46:31 And I wanted to get off it as fast as I could. 46:33 As soon as I did, he wanted me off of it. 46:35 And he hit me again when I was at one leg 46:37 and down I went and I put up my hand. 46:39 Somebody needs to look the spiritual lesson 46:41 than the physical what's going on here. 46:44 We have to have a firm footing 46:45 if we're going to stand for Christ. 46:48 That means we have to have our feet shod with the what? 46:52 That means prepared. 46:54 Shoe horse, isn't that right, Brother Mark? 46:56 Why do you put the shoes on the horse's foot, 46:58 you know, protect the hoofs? 47:02 So we have to have, 47:03 we have to have in the spiritual warfare 47:05 that we're in, my shoes, 47:06 my feet need to be on solid ground, 47:08 and they need to be shod 47:10 with the preparation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 47:14 I have to be careful that I... 47:16 And I could be firmed by the grace of God 47:19 that I can stand firm. 47:21 Man, not standing firm, ready to... 47:25 I'm ready to run. I'm ready to back up. 47:28 I'm ready to retreat. 47:30 But ready to give this 47:31 beautiful message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 47:34 How wonderful that is. That's the good news. 47:38 But here in this passage is interesting. 47:40 It's more than just giving the gospel, 47:43 it's having the gospel in your heart. 47:46 It's individual. Do you see it here? 47:48 It's more than it's having it in our heart, 47:51 which enables us to have peace in our hearts 47:54 in this spiritual battle. 47:56 Romans 5:1 says, "We have peace with God." 48:01 How do we have peace with God in the midst of the storm? 48:05 You know how a Christian can have peace, 48:07 even in the midst of a storm that we're in right now? 48:11 Because we serve, we serve one, 48:14 a Savior, one that's been crucified, 48:16 we serve one that's risen. 48:18 We serve one that's ascended. 48:20 Think about that. 48:21 Isn't that wonderful to know that? 48:25 Crucified, risen, ascended, Lord, 48:29 that gives us and courage in the midst of a storm. 48:36 Ephesians 6:16 says, 48:37 "We have to have the shield of faith." 48:40 Do we have that shield of faith today? 48:42 1 John 5:4 says this, quickly, 48:44 "This is the victory that overcometh the world," 48:47 what is it? 48:48 "Even our faith." 48:50 This is what? 48:51 This is the victory that overcometh the world even, 48:55 excuse me, our faith. 48:58 We're not talking about a dead faith. 48:59 We're talking about a living faith. 49:01 We're talking about an active faith. 49:04 Just like the shield, 49:05 we thought the shield is to protect, 49:06 but notice this, 49:08 a shield is useless unless you move it around. 49:12 Did you get it? 49:13 A shield that you have, God goes, 49:14 "I'll give you a shield. 49:16 Get from the fiery darts." 49:17 But you know, when I'm looking here, 49:19 my enemy is right here, and I've got the shield here, 49:20 I have some protection. 49:21 When my enemy moves over here 49:23 and I'm standing here still holding, I'm in trouble. 49:26 Active, you have to be moving. 49:29 So to catch the flame, the fiery dart of the enemy, 49:35 there's where our victory is at along with our trust 49:38 in God to deliver us. 49:41 Faith is so important as you read. 49:43 And we know, and people will say, 49:44 "It's not for those who have been in the Word." 49:46 But people say, "I don't have faith." 49:47 Bible says, "Faith cometh by," what? 49:49 Romans 10:17, 49:50 "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." 49:54 And then it'd be embarrassing for us to say today, 49:57 "I don't have any faith." 49:58 And I've realized, 49:59 new Christian might say those things. 50:01 But as a person belonging to God and His church 50:02 and a Christian never say, "I don't have any faith, 50:05 " because Hebrews 11:6 says, "We must remember," what is it? 50:09 What does God think about faith? 50:10 "Without faith," it's what? 50:12 "Without faith it's impossible to please God." 50:14 So right then and there, you say, 50:15 "I don't have any faith, " you're not pleasing God. 50:17 That's what the Bible says. 50:19 We may be a little weak at the time or whatever, 50:20 but always say, "God's given us all a measure of what? 50:22 Of faith. 50:24 We must be studying and obeying the Word of God. 50:28 Why? 50:29 Because the Word of God taken inside 50:31 is going to transform the life, transform the heart. 50:35 When you take the Word of God in, 50:36 I want to think of something like this, 50:38 in the life and the character and the heart, 50:40 the Word of God begins to kill out things in me 50:43 that doesn't need to be there. 50:45 Does that make sense? 50:46 And you take the Word of God into the mind, into the heart, 50:49 it starts killing out these things. 50:51 It kills out anything that's unholy, 50:53 that shouldn't be there. 50:56 What happens when you take the Word of God in? 50:57 The Holy Spirit then convicts us. 51:00 And then what happens next? 51:02 Faith is then exercised, 51:04 which works by the love of Christ. 51:07 And then we see the change that takes place in the body 51:10 and in the soul and in the spirit 51:12 into His own image. 51:14 This is the way that it works, the Bible talks about. 51:17 The power first when it comes in, 51:19 works on the inside of me. 51:21 And as it begins to work on the inside of me, 51:23 and these changes all go 51:24 and it begins to kill out all that disease 51:26 and all that sickness of the mind, 51:28 and the sin in man, and then all of a sudden, 51:30 now it begins to show on the what? 51:32 On the outside. 51:35 And now I can give it by the grace of God to what? 51:38 To others along the way. 51:39 Let's take it just a little bit farther. 51:41 We only have three minutes and something left, 51:42 we're not gonna be able finish. But notice this. 51:44 When Christ really comes in the heart, 51:46 let me try to name ten things 51:47 as fast as I can in three minutes, 51:49 ten things that really happen 51:50 when Christ is really in the heart. 51:52 If these things are not happening, 51:53 He's not really there. 51:55 I just want you to do self examination as I do, 51:57 as in preparation. 51:59 When Christ really comes into heart, there is a change. 52:01 Number one, a selfish person becomes unselfish. 52:07 When Christ really comes into the heart, 52:08 the mind is changed. 52:10 The heart is enlarged to where I can feel emotion, 52:15 to where I can have more love, 52:17 more feelings for my fellow man. 52:19 When Jesus comes into the heart, notice this, 52:21 there's no longer a spirit of rivalry, 52:24 which means competition with my brothers and sisters. 52:28 Ambition is gone as far as the world is concerned. 52:32 No longer do I desire 52:33 when Christ is there to be first. 52:39 Number four, when Christ, 52:41 when I really accept Christ into my heart, 52:43 before the change, men love praise. 52:47 After Christ comes in, 52:48 we're no longer dependent upon human praise 52:51 and accolades anymore. 52:54 Number five, 52:55 self does not struggle for recognition anymore 52:58 when Christ lives in the heart. 53:00 Six, 53:02 you don't love others because they love you, 53:05 or because they're good to you, or they appreciate what you do, 53:10 but because they are Christ-purchased possession, 53:15 when Christ is really in the heart. 53:17 Seven, when Christ is really in the heart, 53:20 if our words and our motives are misconstrued, 53:25 they're misunderstood, 53:27 or there's lies that told on us, 53:30 if we're misrepresented, we take no offense. 53:35 There's no hurt. 53:37 And there's no pouting 53:39 because Christ lives in our heart. 53:43 And the Bible says in Psalm 119:165, 53:46 "Perfect peace have they which love thy law 53:48 and nothing shall offend." 53:51 God, help all of us on that point, 53:53 or I'll just say me on that point. 53:57 No matter what somebody says, no matter what somebody does, 54:01 we're to be forgiving and loving in return. 54:05 Number eight, 54:08 we have a humble opinion of our self. 54:12 Yet we're full of hope and trust in God. 54:15 Nine, the grace of Christ is to control the man. 54:19 Number 10, 54:21 even the look, 54:23 the countenance in our face is changed 54:26 when Christ lives within, 54:28 because Christ shines out. 54:30 Peace is seen in the man, because why? 54:34 Because with his human nature he's what? 54:37 He becomes partakers of divine divinity. 54:42 We need the helmet 54:43 and I'll leave it that as our time is running out. 54:45 We need that helmet, 54:46 put on the head because that's where we make the decisions, 54:49 protects us, decisions that are made, 54:51 the seed of the will and of the emotions. 54:54 The helmet deals with salvation, 54:56 and we need that. 54:57 May God help us to see the importance of it. 55:00 I wanna pray for you and I thank you for tuning in, 55:02 pray for you now, only about 15, 16 seconds left. 55:04 And I'm going to pray, 55:05 you made that decision to stand for Christ. 55:07 You made a decision to put on the whole armor of God 55:09 right now, 55:10 every piece is important 55:11 if you want heaven to be your home. 55:13 Let's pray about, shall we? 55:14 Father in heaven, thank you for Your love. 55:16 Thank You for those who have made that decision. 55:17 In Jesus' name, amen. 55:18 Hello and welcome back. 55:20 I am convinced of the Holy Spirit, 55:23 that if we do not get serious about praying for truth, 55:26 this earth may be the only life that we will ever know. 55:30 Getting serious is truly putting on the whole armor. 55:34 It's living up to the light of God's Word, 55:37 as we understand it. 55:39 As mentioned today, 55:40 it's having our loins girded about with truth, 55:43 protecting our heart 55:44 with the breastplate of His righteousness 55:47 and having our feet shod with the gospel of peace 55:50 as we seek daily to share this message with others. 55:54 This is our worn 55:56 and shielded by that wonderful shield of faith 55:59 that keeps us protected even when it appears 56:02 that all is lost. 56:04 And again, we must never forget to daily, 56:07 daily put on the helmet of salvation, 56:10 which is the diligent study of God's Word. 56:13 Writing His Word in our hearts and in our minds, 56:17 and finally, dear friends, 56:18 we are to never 56:20 or we're to always be ever in constant prayer. 56:23 This war is not a war 56:25 we can win without our Savior Jesus Christ. 56:28 I sincerely hope and pray 56:31 that you sensed all of this 56:33 as never before during today's study. 56:35 And as you sensed your need, 56:38 this need has brought you to a decision 56:40 to strengthen your relationship with Christ 56:43 while there is still time. 56:45 You know, time is a precious commodity 56:48 for which we must learn to use wisely 56:51 in the site of heaven. 56:53 And we hope that you will take the time, 56:55 take time to support us here at Behold the Lamb Ministries, 56:59 support us with your prayers and your financial giving. 57:02 One way that you can do this 57:04 is to call and ask for today's message. 57:06 That is again entitled "Finally." 57:09 We will be happy to send this message to you 57:12 for a love gift of just $8 or more. 57:15 And with your order of any single message 57:18 in this 25-part series that we have been doing, 57:21 we will send you one free Bible study guide that is entitled, 57:25 "Sharing God's Love Makes You Happier, 57:27 What The Bible Says," by Brother Richard Bland. 57:30 And don't forget, 57:32 the whole 25 hours of Bible lessons, 57:35 and song, and study, and worship 57:38 is also available for a love gift of just $175 or more. 57:43 All 25 hours, all 25 studies, 57:46 they make a wonderful tool for hosting a Bible study 57:50 in your very own home. 57:52 So why don't you call us today here in the United States 57:55 at Behold the Lamb Ministries, our phone number here is 57:58 618-942-5044 that's Central Time, 58:03 or write us at Behold the Lamb Ministries, 58:05 PO Box 2030, Herrin, Illinois 62948. 58:10 You may also email us your order at 58:12 BeholdTheLambMinistries @yahoo.com 58:16 or visit us on our website. 58:18 Order from there at BeholdTheLambMinistries.com. 58:21 Until next time, friends, 58:23 may our precious Lord continue to richly bless you and yours. |
Revised 2019-04-15