Welcome to Battles of Faith, I'm Atonte Myers, 00:00:14.96\00:00:17.50 - ... And I'm Ivor Myers. - Today we're continuing 00:00:17.53\00:00:20.39 our discussion on the entertainment industry. 00:00:20.42\00:00:23.75 Once you've decided to escape the black hole which we call 00:00:23.78\00:00:27.89 "the entertainment industry", and then you allow God 00:00:27.92\00:00:30.78 to give you the strength to fight your giants, 00:00:30.81\00:00:33.12 then you have to become a survivor, and that's what 00:00:33.15\00:00:36.02 we're going to talk about today, we've entitled 00:00:36.05\00:00:38.95 this program "Survivor", and we know that there's a new 00:00:38.98\00:00:41.94 reality program that deals with this issue, so we're going 00:00:41.97\00:00:44.24 to be going back and forth about that program, 00:00:44.27\00:00:46.72 taking some practical lessons from that as well. 00:00:46.75\00:00:49.95 We don't know a whole lot about the program because we've 00:00:49.98\00:00:52.24 never watched it, we have seen the title and we have 00:00:52.28\00:00:55.66 the gist of what it's talking about... 00:00:55.69\00:00:56.80 ...And we have friends that watch it. 00:00:56.84\00:00:57.88 We have friends that know what the program is about, 00:00:57.92\00:01:00.61 so we're going to be taking that title, "Survivor", 00:01:00.64\00:01:03.26 and taking that concept of being a survivor and applying it 00:01:03.30\00:01:07.42 to real reality, if I can use that word. 00:01:07.46\00:01:11.54 We are looking at what it takes to be a survivor in the last 00:01:12.49\00:01:17.60 days because we know that the enemy of souls is trying 00:01:17.63\00:01:20.35 everything he can to eliminate as many people as he can 00:01:20.38\00:01:24.53 from entering into the city of God. 00:01:24.56\00:01:27.16 We're going to invite you to open your Bibles with us 00:01:27.67\00:01:30.42 and we're going to be taking a look at what it takes 00:01:30.45\00:01:32.77 to be a survivor, so we invite you to join us, and we're 00:01:32.80\00:01:36.08 going to be looking at Revelation 6:15-17, 00:01:36.11\00:01:42.77 and we're going to see what this has to share for us, 00:01:42.80\00:01:45.68 so Atonte's going to read that for us. 00:01:45.71\00:01:48.49 The Bible says: [text on screen] 00:01:48.52\00:01:50.86 So we've got that concept right there of survivors. 00:02:17.12\00:02:20.95 The question is asked: "Who shall be able to stand?" 00:02:20.98\00:02:24.53 And really, it is the wicked that are asking this question, 00:02:24.56\00:02:27.50 they are hiding from the face of God, from the wrath 00:02:27.53\00:02:30.37 of the Lamb, they are hiding from the destructive power 00:02:30.40\00:02:33.06 coming from that second coming event, and they're asking 00:02:33.09\00:02:36.56 the question: "Who is able to stand?", and we find that there 00:02:36.59\00:02:40.26 is a people, there will be a people in the last days 00:02:40.29\00:02:43.32 who are able to stand, those who will survive the second 00:02:43.35\00:02:48.16 coming, and I know that you want to be a part of that group 00:02:48.19\00:02:51.08 of people that survive the second coming, I know we 00:02:51.11\00:02:52.76 want to be a part of that group of people that 00:02:52.79\00:02:55.44 survive the second coming, we want to be survivors. 00:02:55.47\00:02:58.35 The Bible goes on in the very next chapter, 00:02:58.38\00:03:01.83 Revelation 7:1-3 to describe those survivors, 00:03:01.86\00:03:05.79 and it says there: [text on screen] 00:03:05.82\00:03:07.95 So what Revelation 7 does is it takes us back a little bit 00:03:37.83\00:03:40.68 before this event of the second coming because the 4 angels 00:03:40.71\00:03:44.79 are holding back the 4 winds and they're saying: 00:03:44.82\00:03:47.55 "Don't let any disastrous thing happen to the earth" 00:03:47.58\00:03:52.86 "until we have sealed the servants of our God" 00:03:52.89\00:03:55.35 "in their forehead", those who are sealed are those 00:03:55.38\00:03:58.80 who are able to stand before God, those who are able 00:03:58.83\00:04:01.67 to stand through, and survive through the second coming. 00:04:01.70\00:04:05.74 And you'll only be able to stand if you have that 00:04:05.77\00:04:07.98 supernatural connection with God. 00:04:08.01\00:04:10.09 That's right, what we're dealing with here is a war game, 00:04:10.12\00:04:13.84 you think about that TV series "Survivor", it's all about 00:04:13.87\00:04:18.78 who can outlast who. Well, in this context 00:04:18.81\00:04:22.34 we are dealing with a real live war game. 00:04:22.37\00:04:26.23 It is not the survival of the fittest, but it is the survival 00:04:26.26\00:04:31.79 of the those who are in Christ, and this is why Satan is doing 00:04:31.82\00:04:36.32 everything in his power to eliminate as many as he can 00:04:36.35\00:04:39.85 because guess what, he doesn't want anyone standing, 00:04:39.88\00:04:42.71 he doesn't want anyone to be able to survive that 00:04:42.74\00:04:45.15 second coming of Christ, he wants to take out 00:04:45.18\00:04:48.12 as many as possible. So again, we want to see 00:04:48.15\00:04:50.98 what does it take to be a survivor. 00:04:51.01\00:04:53.77 Well, according to Revelation 7:3, first of all, 00:04:53.80\00:04:57.62 we must be sealed with the seal of God, 00:04:57.65\00:05:00.97 and what that means is that we must receive God's image, 00:05:01.00\00:05:04.98 we must receive God's likeness in our foreheads, 00:05:05.01\00:05:08.74 and we know that the forehead represents the mind, 00:05:08.77\00:05:13.59 and God says: "I'm going to take your mind, and I want" 00:05:13.62\00:05:16.21 "to seal My image and My glory on your mind. " 00:05:16.24\00:05:20.89 So one of the things that we need to understand is that God 00:05:20.92\00:05:23.72 wants to work with our minds, that's where the sealing 00:05:23.75\00:05:26.76 process takes place. In fact, in Romans 12:2, 00:05:26.79\00:05:34.64 the Bible says there: [text on screen] 00:05:34.67\00:05:37.85 So God tells us through His Scripture, He says 00:05:53.94\00:05:57.10 that we are renewed through the mind, one of the ways 00:05:57.13\00:06:00.13 in which we're going to survive is by giving our minds 00:06:00.16\00:06:03.14 fully to Jesus Christ. 00:06:03.17\00:06:05.93 Because this program is called "Battles of Faith", we're 00:06:06.62\00:06:09.20 revealing his battle plans, one of his major battle plans 00:06:09.23\00:06:13.73 is to always try to corrupt our mind and to keep us 00:06:13.76\00:06:18.13 watching things, or listening to things, or seeing things 00:06:18.16\00:06:21.86 that are not edifying to us, and that will take us away 00:06:21.89\00:06:25.50 - from God. - That's right, 00:06:25.53\00:06:26.61 that eliminate us from the group of survivors. 00:06:26.64\00:06:29.19 Here's the good news, there will be a group of survivors, 00:06:29.22\00:06:31.69 the question is: will I be in that group of survivors? 00:06:31.73\00:06:34.16 Will you be in that group of survivors? 00:06:34.19\00:06:35.62 That's the real issue, it's not an issue of "will there be" 00:06:35.66\00:06:39.13 "any survivors", there will be, why? 00:06:39.17\00:06:41.41 Because the Bible has spoken it, God has seen it already 00:06:41.44\00:06:44.57 in the future, there will be a people who come out 00:06:44.61\00:06:47.54 and make their stand with Christ and survive through the last 00:06:47.57\00:06:51.41 great crisis that comes upon this earth. 00:06:51.45\00:06:53.68 Again, we're see that the entertainment industry 00:06:53.71\00:06:59.63 as a whole, is one of those ways in which Satan is trying 00:06:59.66\00:07:02.44 to eliminate people from the category of survivors. 00:07:02.47\00:07:05.18 And again, I think the good news is that Satan is already 00:07:05.21\00:07:08.16 a beaten foe, he wants to make us think that he is not, 00:07:08.19\00:07:12.25 but he is, so if we connect with Jesus the way He is 00:07:12.28\00:07:17.45 desiring to connect with us, we'll be perfectly fine 00:07:17.48\00:07:20.80 because I think people might hear this and become afraid 00:07:20.83\00:07:23.71 and think: "There's so many crazy things going on" 00:07:23.74\00:07:27.87 "in our mind", sinful thoughts, all kinds of things, 00:07:27.90\00:07:30.65 but God is able to purify and cleanse us, it's His job, 00:07:30.68\00:07:34.55 we just have to surrender to Him to be a survivor. 00:07:34.58\00:07:37.25 That's right. Who else is a survivor? 00:07:37.28\00:07:40.03 Let's go to Matthew 25, and we're going to find 00:07:40.06\00:07:44.47 that those who are wise are survivors, Matthew 25:1-13 00:07:44.50\00:07:51.51 give the parable of 10 virgins, and these virgins are broken 00:07:51.54\00:07:57.12 up into 2 categories, survivors and non-survivors, 00:07:57.15\00:08:01.54 those who are wise and those who are foolish. 00:08:01.57\00:08:05.11 So we've got to understand that we get wisdom 00:08:05.14\00:08:08.48 from the word of God, and we get power to walk 00:08:08.51\00:08:14.44 in that wisdom through the Spirit of God, 00:08:14.47\00:08:17.46 through the Holy Spirit, it's not just enough to know 00:08:17.49\00:08:20.78 what the difference is between right and wrong, but we've 00:08:20.81\00:08:23.29 got to act out that difference as well, we've got to live 00:08:23.32\00:08:26.06 that difference out in our actions and in our hearts. 00:08:26.09\00:08:29.71 The Word has to be a part of us. 00:08:29.74\00:08:32.02 That's right, so you've got 5 wise, 5 foolish virgins, 00:08:32.05\00:08:34.82 they all fall asleep and this cry goes out that 00:08:34.85\00:08:38.43 the bridegroom is coming, so they all wake up in survival 00:08:38.46\00:08:42.23 mode, but 5 of them are unprepared, they did not take 00:08:42.26\00:08:46.47 the necessary time to secure the oil that was in their lamps 00:08:46.50\00:08:52.93 and then the Bible says that they basically had no oil left, 00:08:52.96\00:08:56.15 their oil was going out and their lights, therefore, 00:08:56.18\00:08:58.72 were dimming, and because of that they were unprepared 00:08:58.75\00:09:02.79 for that final event. We want to make sure that we 00:09:02.82\00:09:05.78 have oil in our lamps, and that our lights are burning, 00:09:05.81\00:09:10.13 so those who are survivors are also those who are wise, 00:09:10.16\00:09:14.26 those who have oil in their lamps. Let's go look again 00:09:14.29\00:09:18.11 at Matthew 13:45,46, and Atonte, I'm going to ask you to read 00:09:18.14\00:09:23.30 - that for us. - Matthew 13:45,46. 00:09:23.33\00:09:31.12 The Bible reads: [text on screen] 00:09:31.34\00:09:33.60 One of the other identifying marks of a survivor is this: 00:09:45.69\00:09:51.42 those who are willing to sell all that they have 00:09:51.45\00:09:54.77 in order to follow Jesus Christ. When I was in the music 00:09:54.80\00:09:58.61 industry and we had an 8 album contract, 00:09:58.64\00:10:00.85 totaling somewhere between $700,000-$800,000, 00:10:00.88\00:10:04.15 - I gave that up. - That was all that you had. 00:10:04.18\00:10:06.86 That was all that I had... let me rephrase that, 00:10:06.89\00:10:10.12 I thought that that was all that I had. 00:10:10.15\00:10:12.88 I thought: "Oh, that's a pat on the back, I actually" 00:10:12.91\00:10:15.79 "gave up $800,000", but let me tell you, that was only 00:10:15.82\00:10:18.51 the beginning. Religion, Christianity, is not 00:10:18.54\00:10:21.32 about giving up, but it's about the willingness to forsake 00:10:21.35\00:10:24.25 everything because of your joy and your love for Jesus Christ. 00:10:24.28\00:10:29.17 I think when you're comparing giving up worldly things, 00:10:29.20\00:10:34.32 but receiving Jesus, you're really not giving up that much 00:10:34.35\00:10:37.88 at all; it's not a big sacrifices because worldly 00:10:37.91\00:10:40.55 things aren't edifying, they don't give you the peace 00:10:40.58\00:10:44.00 - and the joy like Jesus does. - That's right. 00:10:44.03\00:10:46.03 If you look at giving up a lot of these things in 00:10:46.06\00:10:49.18 the entertainment industry and you're going: "Oh no," 00:10:49.21\00:10:51.94 "woe is me", that's already the wrong spirit. 00:10:51.97\00:10:56.20 The spirit that should be driving us is a love 00:10:56.23\00:10:58.87 for Jesus Christ, is finding that pearl and falling so in 00:10:58.90\00:11:03.52 love with that pearl that you willingly go and sell all that 00:11:03.55\00:11:08.74 you have, symbolically speaking you're not concerned with 00:11:08.77\00:11:12.73 the things of this world anymore, you're willing to give 00:11:12.76\00:11:15.59 up anything and everything. There's some people 00:11:15.62\00:11:18.86 who are saying: "I don't want to give up everything for Jesus," 00:11:18.89\00:11:21.55 "I'll give up some things, but not everything", 00:11:21.58\00:11:24.22 but in this parable, this man was willing to sell all. 00:11:24.25\00:11:27.81 Christ is not going to ask you to give up everything 00:11:27.84\00:11:31.75 in your life, everything that you own, but we need 00:11:31.78\00:11:34.48 to be willing to give up all, so that when Christ says: 00:11:34.51\00:11:38.48 "I want you to get rid of this, this is going to harm you," 00:11:38.51\00:11:41.36 "this is no good for you", that we already have a willing 00:11:41.39\00:11:43.89 - heart to do that. - That's right, we have to have 00:11:43.92\00:11:46.71 that mindset. I think of Malcom X, 00:11:46.74\00:11:50.47 and the movement that he had in the 60's, not that I totally 00:11:50.50\00:11:54.91 agree with everything, but there are some interesting aspects 00:11:54.94\00:11:58.13 to that movement. It was definitely a group 00:11:58.16\00:12:01.19 of young people who started that and followed him 00:12:01.22\00:12:05.60 in that, and one of his mottos was "By any means necessary", 00:12:05.63\00:12:10.60 and they were willing to follow Malcolm in anything that he did, 00:12:10.63\00:12:14.85 and go anywhere that he went, we shouldn't do that 00:12:14.88\00:12:18.01 with a man, we shouldn't follow a man, but with God 00:12:18.04\00:12:20.51 we should be saying: "Lord, by any means necessary," 00:12:20.54\00:12:24.53 "whatever it takes, whatever I have to do that You want" 00:12:24.56\00:12:27.30 - "me to do, I'm willing to do. " 00:12:27.33\00:12:29.32 - That's right. 00:12:29.36\00:12:31.03 - That should be our mindset. - Well let's look at another 00:12:31.06\00:12:32.44 symbol, or another sign rather, of those who survive. 00:12:32.47\00:12:38.36 Not only are they willing to sell all, but they are also 00:12:38.39\00:12:42.79 properly armed. So let's go ahead and look 00:12:42.82\00:12:45.63 at Ephesians 6:10-13, and we've been reading 00:12:45.66\00:12:52.87 this text quite often through this series, Ephesians 6:10: 00:12:52.90\00:12:58.99 [text on screen] 00:12:59.02\00:13:01.79 "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth. " 00:13:31.39\00:13:35.95 So one of the signs that we see here, one of the identifying 00:13:35.98\00:13:39.46 marks, one of the necessary things that we need to have 00:13:39.49\00:13:42.55 in order to be survivors, we need to have the armor 00:13:42.58\00:13:45.69 of God, we need to be girt about with truth, and in this age 00:13:45.72\00:13:51.27 truth is under assault, we're being told that there's 00:13:51.30\00:13:53.77 no such thing as absolute truth, and we've got to 00:13:53.80\00:13:57.76 realize that as Christians, Jesus Christ Himself said: 00:13:57.79\00:14:01.13 "You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free", 00:14:01.16\00:14:05.62 so we've got to be girt about with truth, but it goes on 00:14:05.65\00:14:08.68 to say: "having on the breastplate of righteousness". 00:14:08.71\00:14:14.43 That breastplate protects the heart, and we know 00:14:14.46\00:14:18.43 that the enemy of souls is after our hearts, he's after our 00:14:18.46\00:14:22.40 emotions, he wants us to be emotionally attached 00:14:22.43\00:14:26.70 and connected to the world, so when we put on 00:14:26.73\00:14:29.42 that breastplate, Christ is giving us power to keep our 00:14:29.45\00:14:33.74 emotions focused upon Him, to protect our emotions, 00:14:33.77\00:14:38.01 to guard them from the things of this world, 00:14:38.04\00:14:40.76 and have them set, the Bible says: "Set your affections" 00:14:40.79\00:14:44.81 "on things that are above, not on things that are" 00:14:44.84\00:14:47.95 - "on the earth. " - That's right, and I'm going 00:14:47.98\00:14:50.79 back to the truth part, the only way to know the truth 00:14:50.82\00:14:53.79 is to be in the Word, to know the Bible for yourself. 00:14:53.82\00:14:57.95 And for young people that's very very important. 00:14:57.98\00:15:01.10 I know nowadays it's not cool, or it's not in to be a student 00:15:01.66\00:15:07.58 of the Word, even if you do go to church, you just "kinda go" 00:15:07.61\00:15:10.26 to church, and maybe sing songs, but to really know your Word 00:15:10.29\00:15:14.37 as a young person, you don't see as many young people 00:15:14.40\00:15:17.08 knowing the Word as you did in the past. 00:15:17.11\00:15:19.51 To know the truth, the only way to know the truth 00:15:19.54\00:15:21.71 - is to be in the Word. - That's right, I remember 00:15:21.74\00:15:24.02 when I had just become a Christian and I was surrounded 00:15:24.05\00:15:28.37 by young people who were just on fire, I'm talking 16-19 00:15:28.40\00:15:34.50 years old, and these kids new their Bibles backwards 00:15:34.53\00:15:37.48 and forewords, and I was going: "How do you know the Bible" 00:15:37.51\00:15:41.08 "like this?", and I wanted to be so much like them, 00:15:41.11\00:15:44.31 not knowing anything about the Bible I thought: 00:15:44.34\00:15:47.07 "Man! This is amazing, to be young to know your Bible" 00:15:47.10\00:15:50.40 "backwards and forwards", it had a profound impact 00:15:50.43\00:15:54.12 on me, and if you're listening our there and you're a young 00:15:54.15\00:15:56.29 person, don't let the Devil tell you it's not cool 00:15:56.32\00:15:59.71 to know your Bibles. Don't let him tell you that 00:15:59.74\00:16:02.56 you're too young to know your Bible. 00:16:02.59\00:16:05.51 We have lots of young friends who are deep in the word 00:16:05.54\00:16:08.23 of God, and brothers and sisters, it is one of the best 00:16:08.26\00:16:11.81 thing that we can give our minds to: the study 00:16:11.84\00:16:15.39 - of the word of God. - It's very refreshing 00:16:15.42\00:16:17.61 to be around young people who know the word of God 00:16:17.64\00:16:20.73 because again, God is calling you, you are that next 00:16:20.76\00:16:24.79 generation that He wants to use to finish this work. 00:16:24.82\00:16:28.54 The people that you see leading out in church now 00:16:28.57\00:16:31.39 and doing all of those things, they are going to pass 00:16:31.42\00:16:34.51 and God needs young people to take their place, 00:16:34.54\00:16:38.45 and He needs strong young people who are connected to Him 00:16:38.48\00:16:41.32 - and He's calling you. - That's right. 00:16:41.35\00:16:43.01 Verse 15 says: "Your feet ought to be sod with the preparation" 00:16:43.04\00:16:46.54 "of the gospel of peace", those who survive 00:16:46.57\00:16:49.81 are those who are wearing the gospel boots of peace. 00:16:49.84\00:16:53.27 We talked about this before, the Bible says in Romans 16:20 00:16:53.30\00:16:56.18 that the God of peace is going to bruise Satan under our 00:16:56.21\00:16:58.63 feet shortly, we have got to learn how to maintain 00:16:58.66\00:17:02.97 our peace in Christ because the Devil wants to come 00:17:03.00\00:17:06.27 to steal that peace, to steal those gospel shoes. 00:17:06.30\00:17:09.73 You know, if I'm walking around, there's serpents on the ground, 00:17:09.76\00:17:12.31 I'd like to have boots on. I don't like snakes, 00:17:12.34\00:17:16.15 and I don't want a snake bite, when I have on boots 00:17:16.18\00:17:19.02 I don't have to worry about the serpent's bite. 00:17:19.05\00:17:21.79 - He's very afraid of snakes. - That's right. 00:17:21.82\00:17:24.37 And God says that if you wear the gospel boots, you have 00:17:24.40\00:17:27.26 no need to be fearful of the bite of the enemy because 00:17:27.29\00:17:30.22 you're protected, your feet are guarded and protected 00:17:30.25\00:17:33.16 and they're going to walk only in good ways and good paths. 00:17:33.19\00:17:36.02 That's right. Satan is not one to be feared 00:17:36.05\00:17:38.59 because Jesus has already beaten him, we don't have 00:17:38.62\00:17:41.24 to be afraid. 00:17:41.27\00:17:43.40 Verse 16 reads on: "Above all, taking the shield of faith," 00:17:43.43\00:17:47.35 "wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts" 00:17:47.38\00:17:50.64 "of the wicked. " This verse, we need to realize 00:17:50.67\00:17:54.82 that this shield of faith, these weapons we think are 00:17:54.85\00:17:58.17 imaginary weapons, I believe that these weapons 00:17:58.20\00:18:01.23 are real weapons. We've got to plug into 00:18:01.26\00:18:04.23 them by faith, we've got to realize that that shield... 00:18:04.26\00:18:07.13 the Bible says "The angel of the Lord encampeth" 00:18:07.16\00:18:09.99 "round about them that fear Him" and I believe that God 00:18:10.02\00:18:13.07 has angels surrounding people, and when we put our trust 00:18:13.10\00:18:17.79 and our faith in Jesus Christ, He sends those angels, 00:18:17.82\00:18:21.15 they are like a shield around us and the enemy can't penetrate 00:18:21.18\00:18:26.72 because we are surrounded by God's shield. 00:18:26.75\00:18:30.63 So we want to make sure that as survivors, if we want 00:18:30.66\00:18:34.02 to be survivors, we've got to say: "Lord, put that shield" 00:18:34.05\00:18:37.47 "around me, when I'm walking in the street and I feel" 00:18:37.50\00:18:41.62 "all the the temptations being thrown at me, that I will" 00:18:41.65\00:18:46.73 "see my shield around me, spiritually understand that" 00:18:46.76\00:18:50.49 "my shield is surrounding me, that Lord, You are" 00:18:50.52\00:18:53.16 "protecting me and I will not fall, no dart will come in" 00:18:53.19\00:18:57.21 "and pierce my heart or my mind. " 00:18:57.24\00:18:59.84 That's right, because Satan will hurl darts at you. 00:18:59.87\00:19:02.69 We don't want to make it seem like once you make this 00:19:02.72\00:19:06.19 decision that you're not going to have trials and you're not 00:19:06.22\00:19:09.31 going to have temptations because you will, but again, 00:19:09.34\00:19:12.52 God is more powerful and He will help you stand and be a survivor 00:19:12.55\00:19:15.70 Verse 17 reads: "And take the helmet of salvation", 00:19:15.73\00:19:20.42 that's the next thing we need to be guarded with, 00:19:20.45\00:19:23.49 and what is a helmet? The helmet goes over the head 00:19:23.52\00:19:26.40 and protects the mind. 00:19:26.43\00:19:30.09 The enemy is trying to bombard the mind with those fiery darts, 00:19:30.12\00:19:35.49 he's trying to send those thought bombs into your 00:19:35.52\00:19:38.59 mind, that's what the word "darts" means there, it means 00:19:38.62\00:19:41.52 "missiles", "belos", the Greek, so Satan has these 00:19:41.55\00:19:44.57 missiles, these thought bombs that he'll just send to you, 00:19:44.60\00:19:47.64 you'll go: "where'd that thought come from?" 00:19:47.67\00:19:50.57 God says: "I want you to put on the helmet of salvation," 00:19:50.60\00:19:53.09 "guard your mind, don't let the enemy put thoughts in there," 00:19:53.12\00:19:55.89 "and I will keep your mind stayed on Me. " 00:19:55.92\00:20:00.32 That's how we wear the helmet of salvation. 00:20:00.35\00:20:02.44 These are the things that we need to have on in order 00:20:02.47\00:20:06.31 to survive. Finally we're going to read 00:20:06.34\00:20:08.83 in the last part of verse 17: "... and the sword" 00:20:08.86\00:20:11.60 "of the spirit, which is the word of God. " 00:20:11.63\00:20:14.11 Again, we have got to carry that sword, this is a battle 00:20:14.14\00:20:18.52 of faith, we don't want to go on the battlefield without 00:20:18.55\00:20:22.17 - our weapons. - That's right. 00:20:22.20\00:20:24.82 When we were reading in the first part of 17 and talking 00:20:24.85\00:20:27.60 about the helmet of salvation, which protects the mind, 00:20:27.63\00:20:30.85 again, this is why one of Satan's major battle plans, 00:20:30.88\00:20:35.63 the way that he's trying to sweep the word, and sweep 00:20:35.66\00:20:38.53 millions of young people around the world is through 00:20:38.56\00:20:41.39 the entertainment industry because everything that we see 00:20:41.42\00:20:44.39 and hear goes right into the mind, and if we keep putting 00:20:44.42\00:20:47.77 corruption and wickedness and evilness into our minds, 00:20:47.80\00:20:51.62 then by beholding we will become changed, so to put on 00:20:51.65\00:20:55.25 that helmet of salvation is to protect your mind, 00:20:55.28\00:20:58.08 and to protect it from those evil things of the world, 00:20:58.11\00:21:00.74 and that means cutting off those worldly avenues 00:21:00.77\00:21:04.29 that Satan has come through into your mind. 00:21:04.32\00:21:07.44 Verse 18, we're going to end with this particular portion 00:21:07.47\00:21:10.37 of Scripture, verse 18, it says: "Praying always" 00:21:10.40\00:21:13.60 "with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. " 00:21:13.63\00:21:18.59 So above everything else, we need to be in prayer, 00:21:18.62\00:21:21.60 we need to have that communication flowing between 00:21:21.63\00:21:23.80 us and the Father. When you're on a battlefield, 00:21:23.83\00:21:27.59 you've got to have communication with the command center, 00:21:27.62\00:21:31.52 or the command post. Well, it's the same thing 00:21:31.55\00:21:33.82 in the Spiritual conflict: the Devil wants to come in 00:21:33.85\00:21:36.53 and cut off that communication so that as you are here 00:21:36.56\00:21:39.71 behind enemy lines you have no communication and you don't 00:21:39.74\00:21:42.57 know where to go, or what to do, Christ says: "Make sure" 00:21:42.60\00:21:45.28 "that your communication system is intact", 00:21:45.31\00:21:48.58 "and by so doing, I will be with you, I will guide you" 00:21:48.61\00:21:52.04 "and instruct you in the way that you shall go. " 00:21:52.07\00:21:55.16 That's right, Jesus wants to be our leader and our teacher. 00:21:55.19\00:21:58.88 Atonte, one more point on becoming a survivor 00:21:58.91\00:22:02.89 is found in Revelation 14:4 where the Bible describes 00:22:02.92\00:22:06.99 this same group of people and it describes them 00:22:07.02\00:22:10.18 in this way: "these are they that follow the lamb," 00:22:10.21\00:22:14.20 "withersoever He goes. " One of the identifying marks 00:22:14.23\00:22:17.19 of a survivor is that they're willing to follow Jesus Christ 00:22:17.22\00:22:20.76 wherever He leads, there's not a place where they say 00:22:20.79\00:22:23.49 "This far and no further, if Jesus asked me to do this," 00:22:23.52\00:22:26.50 "I'm not doing it", but they're willing to follow Him 00:22:26.53\00:22:29.13 all the way. 1 more, Revelation 12:11, 00:22:29.16\00:22:33.47 the Bible speaks of what I like to call "a code of honor", 00:22:33.50\00:22:38.18 all warriors should have a code of honor. 00:22:38.21\00:22:40.72 In Revelation 12:11 it says: "They overcame him" 00:22:40.75\00:22:44.20 "by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their" 00:22:44.23\00:22:46.72 "testimony, and they loved not their lives unto" 00:22:46.75\00:22:50.78 "the death". What's the code of honor? 00:22:50.81\00:22:53.22 Death before dishonor. You see, the Christian is 00:22:53.25\00:22:56.17 supposed to have such a high and holy understanding, 00:22:56.20\00:23:02.64 a high and holy reverence for Jesus Christ that they would 00:23:02.67\00:23:07.81 rather die than disregard, or than go against Jesus Christ, 00:23:07.84\00:23:15.63 so that code of honor is what sets aside a survivor. 00:23:15.66\00:23:20.76 A survivor says: "I will do whatever it takes to walk" 00:23:20.79\00:23:24.00 "in Christ, even if it means the sacrificing of self. " 00:23:24.03\00:23:29.79 We have 1 more point that I'm going to share, and the Atonte 00:23:30.41\00:23:32.76 you're going to share a lovely prayer, but one of the things 00:23:32.79\00:23:36.32 about a survivor, and probably the most important thing 00:23:36.35\00:23:39.77 is that we need to understand that survivors are being 00:23:39.80\00:23:43.49 selected for a very important reason. 00:23:43.52\00:23:46.18 Revelation 20:4 speaks about those who come back to life 00:23:46.21\00:23:50.66 after Jesus comes again, those who are raised back to life, 00:23:50.69\00:23:53.38 those who are caught up in the clouds with Christ in heaven, 00:23:53.41\00:23:56.63 and it says that they lived and reigned with Christ 00:23:56.66\00:23:59.86 for 1000 years, but it also says that judgment was given 00:23:59.89\00:24:02.48 unto them. Well why? 00:24:02.51\00:24:04.72 According to 1 Corinthians 6, the Bible says that we 00:24:04.75\00:24:08.22 are going to judge angels. There's going to be a judgment 00:24:08.25\00:24:12.82 during that period of time known as "1000 years", according 00:24:12.85\00:24:16.10 to Revelation 20, but before that, in fact in this time 00:24:16.13\00:24:20.93 right now, there is a judgment going on according 00:24:20.96\00:24:23.80 to Revelation 14:6, and this judgment is a judgment 00:24:23.83\00:24:28.74 for jurors. In other words, God is looking 00:24:28.77\00:24:32.01 to see whom He can find, who are intelligent judges between 00:24:32.04\00:24:37.88 right and wrong so He can select them for jury service 00:24:37.91\00:24:43.38 in the kingdom of heaven for 1000 years. 00:24:43.41\00:24:46.19 Do you know what that means? It means that if I'm here 00:24:46.22\00:24:49.13 on earth and I'm saying: "I don't see anything wrong" 00:24:49.16\00:24:52.26 "with this", and "I don't see anything wrong with that", 00:24:52.29\00:24:54.82 what does that mean? It means that God can't 00:24:54.85\00:24:57.64 trust us for that judgment that's to take place in the city 00:24:57.67\00:25:00.36 of God; so what the Devil is trying to do is he's 00:25:00.39\00:25:03.17 trying to confuse our judgment, trying to show that we 00:25:03.20\00:25:08.00 really exercise bad judgment, and in so doing he eliminates 00:25:08.03\00:25:13.37 those out of the group of survivors, those who are able 00:25:13.40\00:25:16.85 to judge between right and wrong. 00:25:16.88\00:25:19.68 The best way to trick a Christian these days 00:25:19.71\00:25:22.19 is to put the word "Christian" before anything, 00:25:22.22\00:25:25.08 so you have: "Christian boxers", "Jesus help me as I" 00:25:25.11\00:25:29.58 "attempt to knock this man out", you've got 00:25:29.61\00:25:32.33 "Christian hip-hopping", and "Christian rock", 00:25:32.36\00:25:34.87 and all these different things, and you trick a Christian 00:25:34.90\00:25:37.68 just by putting the word "Christian" before there, 00:25:37.71\00:25:40.40 we've got to learn how to discern between right 00:25:40.43\00:25:43.25 and wrong, and that's what makes a survivor. 00:25:43.28\00:25:46.43 Before we can be survivors we have to surrender, 00:25:46.46\00:25:49.28 because that's what Jesus did, He surrendered all, 00:25:49.31\00:25:51.94 and He was a survivor. This is a prayer about surrender. 00:25:51.97\00:25:54.88 It says: "Today Lord, because I love You, I choose to offer" 00:25:54.91\00:25:57.57 "my body to You as a living sacrifice. I ask You to be" 00:25:57.60\00:26:00.52 "in control of everything in my life: what I eat," 00:26:00.55\00:26:03.36 "what I drink, my entire lifestyle, not so I can earn" 00:26:03.39\00:26:06.15 "Your love, but in awe that You already love me. " 00:26:06.18\00:26:08.99 "I know that Your thoughts and Your ways are not" 00:26:09.02\00:26:11.04 "my thoughts and ways, but I ask You to enable me" 00:26:11.07\00:26:13.95 "to be in Your Word so much that I will know Your ways" 00:26:13.98\00:26:16.97 "and Your thoughts. Change me from the inside" 00:26:17.00\00:26:19.89 "out, my thoughts, my desires and my actions. " 00:26:19.92\00:26:22.84 "I don't want my own thoughts and my ways anymore. " 00:26:22.87\00:26:26.30 "Lord, please replace mine with Yours, give me the courage" 00:26:26.33\00:26:29.62 "and the strength to obey Your will as You reveal" 00:26:29.65\00:26:32.01 "it to me, not just an outward obedience," 00:26:32.04\00:26:34.87 "but from the inside, from a heart that has been" 00:26:34.90\00:26:37.85 "cleansed by You. Please search my heart" 00:26:37.88\00:26:40.80 "and soul, enable me to see clearly where I'm failing You," 00:26:40.83\00:26:43.89 "where my thoughts and attitudes have built a wall" 00:26:43.92\00:26:46.78 "between You and me; please show me where self has" 00:26:46.81\00:26:49.42 "risen up to block the working of Your Spirit in my life. " 00:26:49.45\00:26:52.56 "I surrender to You all my anger and bitterness," 00:26:52.59\00:26:55.48 "my fear and hurt, my pride and my unforgiving and judgmental" 00:26:55.51\00:26:59.14 "thinking, everything that has prevented me from being" 00:26:59.17\00:27:02.28 "filled with Your love and Your Spirit. " 00:27:02.31\00:27:05.38 "Please reveal any root cause for these negative feelings" 00:27:06.25\00:27:08.74 "so I can surrender them to You, and receive Your forgiveness" 00:27:08.77\00:27:11.90 "and cleansing from all unrighteousness. " 00:27:11.93\00:27:14.44 "I refuse to act on my own thoughts, emotions and desires" 00:27:14.47\00:27:17.69 "that do not take into account Your word. " 00:27:17.72\00:27:20.24 "I recognize that anything that doubts Your sovereignty" 00:27:20.27\00:27:23.19 "in all things can't be of faith, so I submit my will" 00:27:23.22\00:27:26.55 "to Yours, I want to glorify Your name in all my thoughts" 00:27:26.58\00:27:30.21 "and desires and actions today, please fill me with Your" 00:27:30.24\00:27:33.37 "Spirit, and enable me to reflect You fully. " 00:27:33.40\00:27:36.40 "Change my heart, O God. " 00:27:36.43\00:27:39.45 Amen Atonte! Those who would survive 00:27:40.07\00:27:42.72 must first surrender, and that's exactly what Jesus Christ 00:27:42.75\00:27:45.49 is calling us to do. Hollywood has what's called 00:27:45.52\00:27:48.28 a walk of fame, and here we're told that the stars 00:27:48.31\00:27:52.07 are immortalized, their names are written in stone, 00:27:52.10\00:27:55.01 but if you read Revelation 2:17, Jesus says: "I will write" 00:27:55.04\00:27:58.14 "your name in a stone", which means your name will truly 00:27:58.17\00:28:00.48 last forever, and we pray and hope that your names 00:28:00.51\00:28:04.09 will be written in those stones. Until next time, 00:28:04.12\00:28:07.33 may God bless you. 00:28:07.36\00:28:09.80