Hello, welcome to our program.
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Thank you for joining us.
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My name is Henry Juarez.
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I am a youth leader.
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I've been a youth
leader for the past 12 years
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beginning in Texas
and now here in Illinois.
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And I'm going to
talk a little bit
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about what God requires from us.
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But before we do that,
let's have a word of prayer.
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Father in heaven,
today as we open Your word
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and find out Your requirements
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to having a lasting meaningful
relationship with You,
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I pray that we
take this information
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and we apply it to our
lives, in Jesus name, amen.
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When I was growing up,
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one of my
favorite evening past-times
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was spending it with my father.
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He worked all during the day
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and it was those evening
moments that we cherished.
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And on several occasions,
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we all would try to
wrestle him to the ground.
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There were four
children at that time
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and I remember our
goal was to knock him down.
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And so one of us
would grab one leg,
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the other would
grab the other leg,
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one would hop on his
back and try to pull him
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and the other would
hop on from his front,
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pulling his neck down.
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My dad was a little sneaky
though or a little prankster,
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little tricky because just
as he was about to go down,
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he would put his
hand to his back and say,
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"Oh, oh, my back, my back."
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And we didn't want
to hurt our father,
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so all of us let go.
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And we were
concerned with big eyes,
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you know, "Are you okay, dad?"
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And he'd say, "Oh,
oh, my back, my back."
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And then he'd look
for the closest person
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and he'd grab him
and knock him down.
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And the game
would start over again.
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Well, sometimes he was
already lying down on the floor
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on his stomach and now
the game was to roll him over
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and flip him onto his back.
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And two of us would
be on one side pulling
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and the other two would
be on the other side pushing,
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trying to get him over
and just as he was about
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to roll over, I don't think
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I've ever been a
part of him rolling over,
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he's always found some
kind of renewed strength
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and made some kind of
move and there he was,
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back on his stomach again
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and we'd have to
start all over again.
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I play this game
with my two children now.
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And we really enjoy it.
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Even 2-year-old
Silvia gets in on the action
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as we have these
little wrestling matches
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in our living room.
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Well, I grew up watching
wrestling on television.
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There was a guy back
then who had a different mask
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that he wore every
time he came out to wrestle.
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His name was Mil Mascaras,
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which means 1,000 masks.
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One time we were in Mexico
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and we saw his
poster, we saw masks.
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And my brother and I
decided to each buy one
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and so that made our
wrestling matches at home
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a little more interesting
when we had the masks on.
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But, you know, I've
always had that question
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and even today more
so, is wrestling fake?
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Do they cheat a lot?
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And I remember
when wrestling was sane,
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when it was kosher back
then not like it is today.
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Back then, if there
was a wrestler in trouble
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and he put his foot--
put his leg on the rope,
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the referee would tap
the opponent on the back.
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He'd have to get up,
the person on the bottom
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would get up and
they'd start all over again.
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And I saw this one program
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where one of the wrestlers
was in such deep trouble,
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he tried putting
his foot on the rope,
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but he was just a
little few inches away.
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He just couldn't
quite make it there.
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And he decided to take
matters into his own hands.
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He reached around his opponent
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and tapped him on
the shoulder himself.
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And the guy thinking
that it was the referee,
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got up, and he
was able to get up
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and continue wrestling.
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My brother tried
that on me one time
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and I said, "I
saw the same program,
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it's not gonna work."
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Now some of you
are probably wondering
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what is wrestling have to do
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with the word of
God, with the Bible?
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Well, before you
change the channel
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realize that
wrestling is biblical.
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We read that Jacob wrestled
with an angel all night long,
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but the one that I
really want to share with you
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is in Ephesians Chapter 6.
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You might be
familiar with it now.
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Ephesians Chapter 6,
beginning with verse 11.
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Ephesians 6:11 says "Put
on the whole amour of God,
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that ye may be able to stand
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against the wiles of the devil.
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For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood,
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but against
principalities, against powers,
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against the rulers of
the darkness of this world,
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against spiritual
wickedness in high places."
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If you think
wrestling is bad here on earth,
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think about what the
rulers of the darkness
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of this world are
gonna try to pool over on us.
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It's really
gonna get messy here,
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but we don't have to be afraid
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because God has supplied us with
the means to get through this.
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Let me give you
another illustration in sports.
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In my eighth or
ninth grade years,
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I went to a Baptist school
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and we competed in
sports against other schools.
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And one of the first sports
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that we were
engaged in was soccer.
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And we enjoyed it.
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The school provided
the uniforms for us,
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but everybody hated
wearing those shin guards.
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They were just uncomfortable.
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We would wear them in the game.
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We understood the purpose
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and the value of having
them on while we were playing.
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But we didn't
really enjoy having them on
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as we were standing on
the sidelines waiting our turn
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and so some of us would
take our shin guards off.
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And the coach was
always trying to--
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he was ragging on somebody to
put their shin guards back on.
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He says, "You're
not fully dressed.
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That's part of your uniform.
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You have to be fully
dressed in your full uniform."
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Well, when we would
compete against other schools,
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the coach made it a point
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that he would have
everybody rotate in,
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whether we were good or
not, we all got to play.
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And this one
occasion at this soccer match
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that we were engaged in,
there were four gentlemen,
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four boys who
didn't get to play.
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One of them, his name was Jack.
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Jack was in eighth grade
with me and he began crying.
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He saw that there were,
like, 2 minutes left in the game
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and these four boys
hadn't been rotated in
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and the coach was rotating
people who had already played.
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He said, "I know I'm not
gonna get to play in this game."
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And he started to cry.
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He was an eighth
grader just like me.
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Well, the game was over.
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And in the locker
room these four men,
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these four boys
confronted the coach.
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And they said,
"Coach, you're not fair.
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We're gonna tell on
you. You weren't right.
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You should have rotated us."
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And the coach said something
that I will never forget.
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He said, "Guys, we were
out there to play soccer
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and everybody who was in
full uniform got to play.
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You four boys didn't
have your shin guards on.
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And I couldn't send
you out there unprotected."
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Well, one of the boys said,
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"But coach, we
had them with us."
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And the coach said,
"Having them with you
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isn't gonna help you.
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Having them on is
what's gonna help you.
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I could send you
out there unprotected.
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I was hoping that you
would put on your full uniform
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so that I could send
you out there in the game.
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No, I didn't let you down.
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You let me down.
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You let your team down
and you let yourself down."
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Turn back to
Ephesians Chapter 6,
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going back to verse 11 again.
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It says, "Put on
the whole armour of God,
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that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil."
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You need to put on
your whole armor, all of it.
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Look at verse 13,
"Wherefore take unto you
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the whole armour of God
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that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day,
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and having done all, to stand.
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Stand therefore, having your
loins girt about with truth,
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and having on the
breastplate of righteousness.
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And your feet shod
with the preparation
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of the gospel of peace.
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Above all, taking
the shield of faith,
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wherewith ye
shall be able to quench
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all the fiery
darts of the wicked.
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And take the
helmet of salvation,
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and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God."
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Now what does the
Bible say about your uniform?
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To put it all on.
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Put on the whole armor of God.
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Now the similarities
between God and my coach,
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you know, both of them
supplied the uniform to us,
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but neither of
them got us dressed.
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We have to get
dressed ourselves.
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We decide whether we're
gonna put on our whole uniform,
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put on our whole armor
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or if we're gonna
leave our shin guards off
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and be exposed to
the kicks of the devil.
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It's up to us.
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They can't make us
put our uniform on.
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They just supply it for us.
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Here is the game plan.
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On God's team, we
all start out equal.
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We're all the same.
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Our physical abilities
and talents and all that,
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those have nothing
to do with anything.
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But two
characteristics determine
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how long we get to play
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and what the
final outcome for us is.
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And those two characteristics
are the word of God and prayer.
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These are the links to God.
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By spending time
in the word of God,
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by spending time in the Bible,
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you will find the strength
and the ability to overcome.
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Jesus quoted scripture
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and He was very
effective in defeating Satan.
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We have the same potential.
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We can defeat Satan too
by quoting our scripture.
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Now did you notice
one of the uniform,
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one of the armor
was the word of God.
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There was the
sword of the Spirit
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which is the word of God.
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This is your uniform.
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This is part of your armor.
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And if you take the time
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to find out what it
says and how to use it,
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if you take the time
to sharpen your skills,
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you're gonna be victorious.
00:11:09.70\00:11:11.58
If you have the rest
of your uniform on too
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and not expose any
part to this conniving devil
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that's out there ready to
get you at your weakest link,
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at your weakest point.
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You need to spend time in
this to figure out what it says
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and how to use it so
that you can be victorious
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just like Christ was.
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He was our example.
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Prayer, prayer is our own
personal time at the throne.
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Imagine wanting to
make an appointment
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with the President
of the Unites States
00:11:41.61\00:11:43.64
or the President or
ruler in your country.
00:11:43.67\00:11:47.25
These men, these rulers,
00:11:47.28\00:11:49.62
these people are very, very busy
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with the
affairs of their nation,
00:11:52.69\00:11:54.06
of their country.
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Do you think that they
will drop what they are doing
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just to have an
appointment with you?
00:11:58.90\00:12:01.64
Most likely not.
00:12:01.67\00:12:03.35
However, use your imagination
00:12:03.38\00:12:05.38
and let's suppose
a miracle took place.
00:12:05.41\00:12:08.34
And they decided that they
were gonna give you some time.
00:12:08.37\00:12:11.46
They were gonna make
an appointment with you.
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When you go in
to see this person,
00:12:14.26\00:12:17.39
they're gonna want you
to cut right to your point.
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They're not gonna
want much small talk.
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They're not gonna
want to hear about
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what your hobbies
and interests are.
00:12:24.72\00:12:27.10
They're not gonna want to know
00:12:27.13\00:12:28.69
that your 8-month-old baby
is learning to walk already.
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They don't care about that.
00:12:32.56\00:12:34.10
They want you to
state your purpose,
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make your point
00:12:36.08\00:12:37.45
so that they can go
on to the next person
00:12:37.48\00:12:38.85
and the next big issue.
00:12:38.88\00:12:40.93
You would feel
very, very awkward
00:12:43.89\00:12:46.84
if you were in that meeting,
meeting with this person
00:12:46.87\00:12:50.21
realizing that he's
looking at his watch and saying,
00:12:50.24\00:12:52.58
"When is this
gonna be over," and,
00:12:52.61\00:12:54.03
"Okay, have you
made your point yet?"
00:12:54.06\00:12:55.96
You wouldn't really appreciate
that meeting, would you?
00:12:55.99\00:12:58.92
And I wonder if
sometimes we are the same way
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like that with God.
00:13:02.45\00:13:05.74
You see, we look
at God in prayers,
00:13:05.77\00:13:09.47
"Oh, yeah, it's time to pray.
00:13:09.50\00:13:11.57
Uh, we better pray now,"
00:13:11.60\00:13:13.99
as if God were
imposing on your day
00:13:14.02\00:13:17.57
when God doesn't want
to be a distraction here
00:13:17.60\00:13:22.14
or an imposition for you.
00:13:22.17\00:13:24.28
He wants you to enjoy this
because spending time with God,
00:13:24.31\00:13:29.46
you have all the
time in the world.
00:13:29.49\00:13:31.85
You know what God says?
00:13:31.88\00:13:33.25
"Come unto me all
ye who are heavy laden
00:13:33.28\00:13:36.49
and I will give you rest.
00:13:36.52\00:13:38.29
Rest here with me.
00:13:38.32\00:13:39.83
Take however long it
takes for you to find rest
00:13:39.86\00:13:43.02
and gain your
strength again with me,
00:13:43.05\00:13:45.83
with my word in prayer,
in conversation with me.
00:13:45.86\00:13:48.90
I can provide this for you."
00:13:48.93\00:13:51.12
He says, "I've
set aside 1 day in 7
00:13:51.15\00:13:54.83
to spend the whole day with you.
00:13:54.86\00:13:57.47
Please don't trample it
00:13:57.50\00:13:59.34
as if it has no
significance to you."
00:13:59.37\00:14:03.68
Here we have the opportunity
to meet with the Father
00:14:03.71\00:14:06.89
for as long as we want.
00:14:06.92\00:14:08.96
He is interested in our hobbies.
00:14:08.99\00:14:11.76
He is interested
00:14:11.79\00:14:13.39
in our 8-month-old
learning to walk already.
00:14:13.42\00:14:15.83
He gets a kick out of that.
00:14:15.86\00:14:17.31
That is so neat.
00:14:17.34\00:14:18.97
He longs for us
to go into detail
00:14:19.00\00:14:21.26
about the things
that we're involved in,
00:14:21.29\00:14:24.35
the things that
are important to us.
00:14:24.38\00:14:26.52
And He wants us to see--
He wants to see us victorious
00:14:26.55\00:14:30.37
when it comes to wrestling
00:14:30.40\00:14:31.77
with the rulers of the
darkness of this world.
00:14:31.80\00:14:34.28
He wants to see that
our armor is on, all of it,
00:14:34.31\00:14:38.58
so that no part is left
vulnerable to the devil.
00:14:38.61\00:14:42.51
Prayer is our alone
time with the Father.
00:14:42.54\00:14:45.41
The more time
we spend in prayer,
00:14:45.44\00:14:47.46
the stronger
the bond between us,
00:14:47.49\00:14:49.80
and the more we
long to go home with Him
00:14:49.83\00:14:52.88
so that we can
see Him face to face.
00:14:52.91\00:14:56.21
You know, in the
Bible there are four words
00:14:56.24\00:14:59.78
that I believe
are the saddest words
00:14:59.81\00:15:01.71
ever recorded in the Bible,
00:15:01.74\00:15:03.68
especially if
they are spoken to you.
00:15:03.71\00:15:06.75
Those are found
in Matthew Chapter 7
00:15:06.78\00:15:10.72
in
verse--beginning with verse 21.
00:15:10.75\00:15:14.86
Matthew Chapter 7
beginning with verse 21 says
00:15:14.89\00:15:18.34
"Not every one
that saith unto me,
00:15:18.37\00:15:20.96
Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven
00:15:20.99\00:15:24.86
but he that doeth the will
of my Father which is in heaven.
00:15:24.89\00:15:28.72
Many will say to me in that day,
00:15:28.75\00:15:30.80
Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name?
00:15:30.83\00:15:34.64
And in thy name
have cast out devils?
00:15:34.67\00:15:37.00
And in thy name done
many wonderful works?
00:15:37.03\00:15:41.11
And then will I
profess unto them,"
00:15:41.14\00:15:43.84
these four saddest
words, "I never knew you,"
00:15:43.87\00:15:49.19
I never knew
you, "depart from me,
00:15:49.22\00:15:54.62
ye that work iniquity."
00:15:54.65\00:15:57.98
He is saying not everyone
that says to me, Lord, Lord,
00:16:01.95\00:16:05.62
shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven.
00:16:05.65\00:16:07.50
Who is it that calls Jesus Lord?
00:16:07.53\00:16:11.96
Are the people in
the world, the sinners
00:16:11.99\00:16:14.64
those who are not
even claiming Him,
00:16:14.67\00:16:18.46
are they the ones
calling Jesus, Lord?
00:16:18.49\00:16:21.62
No, it is the Christians.
00:16:21.65\00:16:23.69
Christians call Him Lord
00:16:23.72\00:16:25.09
and it's saying not
everyone who says Lord, Lord,
00:16:25.12\00:16:27.55
not every Christian is
gonna make it into heaven.
00:16:27.58\00:16:30.64
Not every one that
says unto me, Lord, Lord.
00:16:30.67\00:16:33.38
And then it says, "But He
that doeth the will of my Father
00:16:33.41\00:16:37.97
which is in heaven."
00:16:38.00\00:16:39.37
Many are gonna
come to Him and say,
00:16:39.40\00:16:41.02
"Lord, but we
did things for You.
00:16:41.05\00:16:43.12
Everything we did was in Your
name, for Your best interest.
00:16:43.15\00:16:47.24
We taught our
Sabbath school class.
00:16:47.27\00:16:49.25
We got up and lead
praise and worship music.
00:16:49.28\00:16:51.91
We went door to door
giving Bible studies.
00:16:51.94\00:16:54.29
We were in pathfinders.
00:16:54.32\00:16:55.69
We were training your children.
00:16:55.72\00:16:57.91
Lord, all of these
things we did for You.
00:16:57.94\00:17:00.54
We went on mission trips."
00:17:00.57\00:17:02.20
And Jesus is gonna
say, "I never knew you.
00:17:02.23\00:17:05.71
I wanted to get to know
you, but you never came.
00:17:05.74\00:17:10.50
I wanted to get to know
you, up close and personal.
00:17:10.53\00:17:13.60
I wanted to spend time with you.
00:17:13.63\00:17:16.67
I wanted to walk
and talk with you.
00:17:16.70\00:17:18.10
I wanted to hold your hand.
00:17:18.13\00:17:19.50
I wanted to be
intimate with you.
00:17:19.53\00:17:23.00
I wanted to say I love you.
00:17:23.03\00:17:26.15
And I wanted to hear you
say that you love me back,
00:17:26.18\00:17:30.11
but I never knew you.
00:17:32.01\00:17:33.98
We never got acquainted.
00:17:34.01\00:17:36.18
Depart from Me, you who
are cast into hell's fire
00:17:36.21\00:17:40.56
that wasn't even
prepared for you,
00:17:40.59\00:17:42.81
but for the
devil and his angels,
00:17:42.84\00:17:45.81
but because you
didn't come to know me,
00:17:45.84\00:17:48.63
because you didn't take
advantage of every opportunity
00:17:48.66\00:17:51.15
that I extended to
you, you've missed out."
00:17:51.18\00:17:57.63
We need to take time
00:17:57.66\00:17:59.52
to get to know
Jesus on a personal level.
00:17:59.55\00:18:02.17
And we do it by
spending time in His word
00:18:02.20\00:18:06.23
and by spending time in prayer.
00:18:06.26\00:18:09.50
In my senior
year in high school,
00:18:09.53\00:18:11.96
I helped my senior class
00:18:11.99\00:18:13.50
in a couple of
track and field events.
00:18:13.53\00:18:15.54
We were competing
class against class.
00:18:15.57\00:18:18.35
And there were two events,
00:18:18.38\00:18:19.75
two races that
I was involved in.
00:18:19.78\00:18:21.59
One of them was a 3
mile cross country race
00:18:21.62\00:18:24.35
and the other one
was just a 1 mile race.
00:18:24.38\00:18:28.08
Now I remember getting up
at 5 o'clock in the morning.
00:18:28.11\00:18:31.83
I had a running partner, Bob.
00:18:31.86\00:18:33.53
Bob and I would get up
at 5:00 in the morning.
00:18:33.56\00:18:35.88
We would do our stretching
and then we would run together.
00:18:35.91\00:18:40.99
We were running
partners down the same course
00:18:41.02\00:18:43.48
that we were gonna
run later on in the year,
00:18:43.51\00:18:46.26
down the same course
00:18:46.29\00:18:47.82
that our 3 mile cross
country race was gonna go.
00:18:47.85\00:18:51.10
We went for several weeks
00:18:51.13\00:18:52.83
on the same
course running together.
00:18:52.86\00:18:54.45
5 o'clock every
single morning getting up
00:18:54.48\00:18:57.66
until Bob broke
his leg playing soccer.
00:18:57.69\00:19:02.68
He couldn't run anymore.
00:19:02.71\00:19:04.11
I didn't have a running partner
and so I stopped training.
00:19:04.14\00:19:09.04
What a terrible excuse,
00:19:09.07\00:19:10.97
a terrible excuse
to stop training, huh?
00:19:11.00\00:19:15.32
What excuses are we making
00:19:15.35\00:19:19.08
in not training in
our spiritual race?
00:19:19.11\00:19:22.60
Not training for that.
00:19:22.63\00:19:24.00
What excuses are we
making for not wearing
00:19:24.03\00:19:26.40
our full whole armor?
00:19:26.43\00:19:30.08
We need to stick
to what we started.
00:19:30.11\00:19:32.93
We need to continue training.
00:19:32.96\00:19:35.06
We can't ever say, "Well,
I think I've trained enough,"
00:19:35.09\00:19:37.86
and then coast until race day.
00:19:37.89\00:19:40.58
We've got to keep
there, keep at it.
00:19:40.61\00:19:43.18
Now the 1 mile race,
it was held on the track
00:19:43.21\00:19:46.62
and we had to run
around the track four times.
00:19:46.65\00:19:49.14
One of the little tricks
that we used to get in shape
00:19:49.17\00:19:53.29
and to practice for this was
we would get the ankle weights,
00:19:53.32\00:19:57.91
tie them around our
ankles and we'd run with those.
00:19:57.94\00:20:01.04
And we would try to
get faster and faster
00:20:01.07\00:20:03.31
but using the weights on us.
00:20:03.34\00:20:05.29
And then on race day,
we took the weights off
00:20:05.32\00:20:08.33
and it seemed like we
were soaring through the air.
00:20:08.36\00:20:10.23
It seemed like we were flying
00:20:10.26\00:20:12.02
because we
didn't have this weight
00:20:12.05\00:20:14.01
that was holding us back.
00:20:14.04\00:20:17.40
There's a text I'd
like to share here too,
00:20:17.43\00:20:19.60
Hebrews 12:1, 2.
00:20:19.63\00:20:26.30
Hebrews 12:1, 2,
actually, just verse 1,
00:20:26.33\00:20:32.56
"Wherefore seeing we
also are compassed about
00:20:32.59\00:20:36.07
with so great a
cloud of witnesses,
00:20:36.10\00:20:38.57
let us lay aside every weight,
00:20:38.60\00:20:41.25
and the sin which
doth so easily beset us,
00:20:41.28\00:20:44.41
and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us."
00:20:44.44\00:20:50.20
We need to get
rid of our weights
00:20:50.23\00:20:53.33
and the sin that
so easily beset us
00:20:53.36\00:20:56.03
so that we can
run full steam ahead.
00:20:56.06\00:20:58.61
But when you
start that 1 mile race,
00:20:58.64\00:21:01.83
you don't start full steam ahead
because you'll soon lose steam
00:21:01.86\00:21:05.72
before you even
get halfway through.
00:21:05.75\00:21:08.19
You need to pace yourself first.
00:21:08.22\00:21:10.52
And here we are at
the beginning of the race,
00:21:10.55\00:21:13.63
the gun goes off
and we all take off
00:21:13.66\00:21:15.83
at the same time
in a gentle stride.
00:21:15.86\00:21:19.74
We're each looking at
each other making sure
00:21:19.77\00:21:22.98
that we're not
getting too far ahead,
00:21:23.01\00:21:25.87
but we're not getting
too far behind either.
00:21:25.90\00:21:28.26
We're just taking
a look at each other
00:21:28.29\00:21:31.01
and just going
at a nice even pace.
00:21:31.04\00:21:34.33
We go around that first lap.
00:21:34.36\00:21:36.28
We go around that second lap.
00:21:36.31\00:21:38.25
We're all here
basically in a group still.
00:21:38.28\00:21:41.31
As we get to the third lap,
00:21:41.34\00:21:42.93
we start increasing our speed.
00:21:42.96\00:21:45.34
And as we get
to that fourth lap,
00:21:45.37\00:21:47.33
we're really going.
00:21:47.36\00:21:48.73
When we get to that final curve
and we see that finish line,
00:21:48.76\00:21:51.75
we're in a full sprint
00:21:51.78\00:21:53.15
as if we were
running the 100 yard dash.
00:21:53.18\00:21:55.02
We're giving it our
all, giving it our best shot.
00:21:55.05\00:22:00.28
I believe that we have
entered into that final stretch
00:22:00.31\00:22:05.33
in this race that
God has laid before us
00:22:05.36\00:22:07.61
since the beginning of time.
00:22:07.64\00:22:09.75
I believe that we're
living in a very critical
00:22:09.78\00:22:12.46
and significant and a historic
time in God's timetable.
00:22:12.49\00:22:16.65
Things are happening quickly.
00:22:16.68\00:22:18.97
This is the final stretch.
00:22:19.00\00:22:20.37
Bible prophecy is being
fulfilled as never before.
00:22:20.40\00:22:23.82
And I believe that we
could be the very generation
00:22:23.85\00:22:27.22
that ushers the return of Jesus.
00:22:27.25\00:22:29.68
At any moment, we
could hear that trumpet sound
00:22:29.71\00:22:32.05
and look in the east
00:22:32.08\00:22:33.65
and see Jesus coming
in the clouds of glory,
00:22:33.68\00:22:36.01
in full glory and
honor and majesty and power.
00:22:36.04\00:22:39.84
I believe we
will get to see that.
00:22:39.87\00:22:44.25
We can look up there and see Him
00:22:44.28\00:22:46.63
riding in that
white horse coming to us,
00:22:46.66\00:22:50.76
coming to take us home with
Him to spend eternity with Him.
00:22:50.79\00:22:54.61
But you know what?
00:22:54.64\00:22:56.15
I believe that if you
don't have your shin guards on,
00:22:56.18\00:23:01.76
I believe that if
your whole armor isn't on,
00:23:01.79\00:23:05.06
that somehow maybe,
00:23:05.09\00:23:07.95
you won't be one of
those who are waiting for Him.
00:23:07.98\00:23:11.99
And that just maybe
He's not coming for you
00:23:12.02\00:23:16.65
because you are not ready.
00:23:16.68\00:23:19.03
You are not
longing for Him to come.
00:23:19.06\00:23:21.05
You are not ready
at a moment's notice
00:23:21.08\00:23:24.09
to say, "Okay, He's here. Great.
00:23:24.12\00:23:26.12
Here I am, Lord, take me."
00:23:26.15\00:23:28.94
If you are not ready, if
you are not longing for Him,
00:23:28.97\00:23:31.97
if you don't have your armor
on, He's not coming for you.
00:23:32.00\00:23:37.91
We need to spend time
with the Lord and the Savior.
00:23:37.94\00:23:39.97
We need to get to know
Him personally, intimately.
00:23:40.00\00:23:44.30
We need to get fully dressed
00:23:44.33\00:23:46.62
with the armor that He has
provided for you. It's there.
00:23:46.65\00:23:50.70
All we have to do is put
it on and learn how to use it.
00:23:50.73\00:23:55.52
We are all running a race.
00:23:55.55\00:23:57.03
Some of us are running
for whatever we can gain
00:23:57.06\00:24:00.20
in this earth,
whether it be possessions,
00:24:00.23\00:24:02.22
monetary gain,
whether it be a spouse,
00:24:02.25\00:24:05.01
whether it be high positions.
00:24:05.04\00:24:07.26
Some of us are looking for that
00:24:07.29\00:24:09.92
while some of us
are looking to receive
00:24:09.95\00:24:13.21
more lasting
rewards of eternity.
00:24:13.24\00:24:15.80
Look at 1 Corinthians 9:24, 25.
00:24:15.83\00:24:22.90
It says, "Know ye not that they
which run in a race run all,
00:24:24.91\00:24:30.36
but one receiveth the prize?
00:24:30.39\00:24:32.21
So run, that ye may obtain.
00:24:32.24\00:24:34.80
And every man that
striveth for the mastery
00:24:34.83\00:24:37.70
is temperate in all things.
00:24:37.73\00:24:41.08
Now they do it to
obtain a corruptible crown,
00:24:41.11\00:24:45.14
but we an incorruptible."
00:24:45.17\00:24:48.57
Are you running for
an incorruptible crown?
00:24:48.60\00:24:52.49
If so, what are you doing about
it that you are in this race?
00:24:52.52\00:24:58.09
You know, I was
listening to some messages
00:24:58.12\00:25:02.74
that were given at an
ASI convention back in 2000.
00:25:02.77\00:25:07.23
They caught my attention
because for those of you
00:25:07.26\00:25:09.39
who don't know, ASI is
an organization designed
00:25:09.42\00:25:14.34
for businessmen and women
00:25:14.37\00:25:17.09
to share Jesus in the
marketplace where they are.
00:25:17.12\00:25:19.83
And they have a convention
where they come and say,
00:25:19.86\00:25:22.31
"Hey, this is what we
did in our marketplace.
00:25:22.34\00:25:24.79
This is what we did in our
business where we shared Jesus.
00:25:24.82\00:25:28.20
We were
successful in this area."
00:25:28.23\00:25:30.13
And they picked the highlights
of all of these people.
00:25:30.16\00:25:33.79
They picked the highlights
and have them up on stage
00:25:33.82\00:25:36.91
so they can motivate
and encourage other people,
00:25:36.94\00:25:39.64
other businessmen
to do the same thing
00:25:39.67\00:25:42.24
in their business to try it out.
00:25:42.27\00:25:44.75
And it's very, very uplifting.
00:25:44.78\00:25:47.89
It's motivating to hear
what other people are doing.
00:25:47.92\00:25:51.39
And they're not pastors
and they're not professionals.
00:25:51.42\00:25:54.45
These people are people who
are just regular laymen like us.
00:25:54.48\00:25:59.99
And these people
seem to have a catchphrase
00:26:00.02\00:26:04.64
that they were all
saying this particular year.
00:26:04.67\00:26:07.27
And that was
something to the effect of
00:26:07.30\00:26:09.30
"5 minutes sooner."
00:26:09.33\00:26:11.29
What they were saying
is, "Whatever we can do that
00:26:11.32\00:26:14.49
will help Jesus
come 5 minutes sooner
00:26:14.52\00:26:17.56
than what He was
planning to come,
00:26:17.59\00:26:19.01
I'd like to do that.
00:26:19.04\00:26:21.14
I'd like to be a part in
something that will usher
00:26:21.17\00:26:23.64
Jesus' return even if
it's just 5 minutes sooner."
00:26:23.67\00:26:28.18
Are you willing to do that?
00:26:28.21\00:26:32.75
Are you willing to do your part?
00:26:32.78\00:26:35.48
You see Jesus did His part.
00:26:35.51\00:26:37.88
2,000 years ago,
00:26:37.91\00:26:40.18
in an upper room
somewhere outside Jerusalem.
00:26:40.21\00:26:42.93
The disciples
are scared to death
00:26:42.96\00:26:44.56
because this person they
spend the last 3 1/2 years with
00:26:44.59\00:26:47.80
the person they thought
00:26:47.83\00:26:49.20
was gonna set up
their kingdom is now dead.
00:26:49.23\00:26:52.88
All courage is lost,
all excitement and all that.
00:26:52.91\00:26:56.53
Their lives will
never be the same again.
00:26:56.56\00:26:59.80
And they--little did
they know that the same Jesus
00:26:59.83\00:27:06.32
who they are
mourning at this moment
00:27:06.35\00:27:08.49
was about to come into
that closed locked room
00:27:08.52\00:27:11.49
and tell them, "I am alive
00:27:11.52\00:27:13.92
and I need you to go
spread my love to everybody."
00:27:13.95\00:27:17.99
And the disciples
started doing that.
00:27:18.02\00:27:19.82
The people out there thought
that they could kill Jesus
00:27:19.85\00:27:22.15
and kill His message,
but, no, there goes Peter.
00:27:22.18\00:27:24.53
He's spreading it up
again and the other disciples.
00:27:24.56\00:27:27.50
And Mary and Martha
and some of these others,
00:27:27.53\00:27:29.61
they're doing the same thing.
00:27:29.64\00:27:31.62
What about you, are
you spreading Jesus?
00:27:31.65\00:27:34.13
Are you sharing
Him with everybody?
00:27:34.16\00:27:36.16
Are you trying to make Jesus'
return just 5 minutes sooner?
00:27:36.19\00:27:40.14
Are you doing your best?
00:27:40.17\00:27:42.12
I pray that you are.
00:27:42.15\00:27:43.60
I pray that you dress yourself
with the full armor of God
00:27:43.63\00:27:47.94
that He is coming for you,
that you are longing to see Him,
00:27:47.97\00:27:52.07
that you are willing
to do whatever it takes
00:27:52.10\00:27:54.59
to usher Him in
just 5 minutes sooner.
00:27:54.62\00:27:59.82