い い
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>> It has stood
the test of time.
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God's Book, the
Bible. Still relevant
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in today's complex
world. "It Is Written" --
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Sharing messages of
hope around the world.
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い >> Welcome and thank you
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for joining us on
"It Is Written Canada."
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We are here again with
Lee Venden at beautiful
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Pugwash, Nova Scotia,
and we have been looking
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at a series that he does
called "All About Jesus."
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And, really, that's what
Christianity is all about. It's
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all about Jesus. And we've been
focusing on three building
blocks for making that
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relationship real. Three
building blocks of what we can
do from our side to connect with
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Jesus. Number one -- connect
with Him through His Word,
through His written word, the
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Bible, and let it speak to
us personally. And, of course,
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prayer. We never come to the
Word of God without prayer and
opening up our hearts to Him.
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But also we're not just looking
at a one-way communication,
talking to God and giving Him
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our to-do list, but rather we
have this two-way communication.
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So we ask Him to speak to us.
And then thirdly because we have
been connecting with Him, we
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just want to share it with
others. And so we need to share
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that. And that brings joy to our
hearts when we do so. So, Lee, I
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just want to talk to you about
that and go further with some of
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those questions. I guess some
people have this question in
their mind, "Is Jesus enough?
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Just connecting with Jesus,
is that enough?" You know, just
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focusing on connecting with Him
through His Word, through prayer
and through sharing
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what He has given to us. What
about James 4:7? Some have this
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idea that we have our part, that
we can resist the devil. We are
supposed to resist him,
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and perhaps we should look at
that together. Rene, I wonder if
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you could read that for us,
James 4:7. And maybe we should
look at it in its context and
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see what it's really saying
to us. >> Well, James 4:7 says,
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"Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you." >> So what does
it say just before that?
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>> Well, some people think that
that is what we need to do. >>
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Yeah. >> We need to resist the
devil. Right? We need to flee
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from the devil and resist him.
>> And find ways to overcome. >>
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Overcome, yeah. >> And put him
down. >> But let's look at that
verse in its context, right?
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There's a part before
and a part after that. Okay?
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And the part before says,
"Therefore, submit to God." >>
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Submit to God. >> Then it says,
"Resist the devil, and he will
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flee from you." But after that
it says, "Draw near to God And
He will draw near to you."
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>> Yes. Yes. >> So there's
running to God and drawing to
God on either side...
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>> Yes. >> ...of resisting the
devil. >> And so that submission
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to God and that drawing near to
Him is through opening His Word,
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contemplating what it is saying
to us, and opening our hearts to
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Him in prayer. And then He is
the one who gives us strength,
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and He raises up a standard
against the enemy and protects
us, I guess, from the devil,
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and this is how we resist the
devil, by drawing near to God.
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>> Exactly, because, you know,
if you really think about it,
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it's ludicrous to even imagine
that we could resist the devil.
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He's a spirit.
You just mentioned
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Isaiah 59:19, where it says
that when the Spirit -- when the
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enemy rushes in like a flood,
the Spirit of the Lord raises up
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a standard against him.
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And the reason he's got to do it
is 'cause we could never resist
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the devil. How are you gonna
resist a spirit? You can't even
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see him, right? You'd have to
have a bigger spirit to fight
for you. >> Absolutely.
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>> In fact, it puts me in mind
of earlier in the series we
talked about a friend of mine
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named Steve Mackey, the
kickboxer. >> That's right,
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yeah. >> And one October 31st,
if you could imagine, it was
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October 31st, he and his wife
were in our home, and they had
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had lunch with us, and we were
spending the afternoon talking
and stuff, and just around
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sundown the phone rang, and
there was a woman's voice on the
other end of the phone
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who I recognize. Now, a little
background about this woman.
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She was about 33 or 34
years old. And her parents were
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Satanists. In fact, her father
considered himself a warlock and
her mother considered herself a
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witch. They attended the First
Church of Satan, and they used
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for their Bible a book called
The Satanic Bible, which is just
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-- it's like -- and they even
have the Ten Commandments in the
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Satanic Bible, but they are the
Satanic Ten Commandments. And so
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it's like kind of just the
opposite of what God's Ten
Commandments are. Anyway, so,
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this girl had been raised from a
baby in the Church of Satan. And
there were all kinds
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of horrific things that were
attached to that, which I'm not
even going to mention,
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but I'm just going to say that
in her early 30s, she had
decided she did not want
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the faith of her parents any
longer, but she didn't know how
to get out of that.
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>> So she was in bondage to a
spirit that was very evil. >>
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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But she looked in the yellow
pages of the phone directory --
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at the time we were living in
Kansas City -- to see if she
could find a pastor
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to talk to about how to escape
the bondage of Satanism. And she
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just picked me at random out of
the phonebook, you know, and she
called me up one day.
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>> Good choice, I think. >>
Well, I wasn't so sure it was a
good choice when she called
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'cause I was like, "Oh, my
word, do I want to interact with
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that?" Anyway, she asked
for an appointment. She came in.
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She told me her background and
her story. And then she asked
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me, "Is there any way I can get
free from this?" Because it's
very very difficult
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to break loose from. I said,
"Well, you know, in the Bible,
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it says that if the Son sets you
free, you are free, indeed." And
we begin to talk with her
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about the very things that you
just summarized here a moment
ago, those three basic
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elements that we as Christians
can do to seek to know Jesus and
to draw near to Him.
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And it was really neat to see
that she began to have that
experience with God,
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and she began attending our
church. And it was all fine.
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We were excited, but the devil
was not a happy camper. >> No.
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>> And he had -- There had been
many experiences in her life
serving the Church of Satan
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with her parents where what we
would refer to as demon
possession had been
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an active part of the worship. I
mean, the taking over by another
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power and all kinds of stuff.
So, anyway, back to this phone
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call. So, on October 31st, I got
a phone call just at sundown and
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it's her. And she said, "Pastor
Venden, would you please come to
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my house right now and pray for
me?" Now, she lived alone. And
she said, "Would you please
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come and pray for me? Because
the devil has told me he is
going to kill me tonight.
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He's going to take me out, and
it's going to be gruesome and
he's going to do it tonight.
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Would you please come and pray
for me?" She says, "This isn't a
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joke. This isn't a joke. Will
you come and pray for me?" And
before I could even say
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anything back, all of a sudden
-- and she lives alone -- all of
a sudden, the voice on
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the other end of the phone
changed, and I won't even try to
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impersonate it because it's just
hideous and I couldn't do a good
job, but I would tell you that
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it sounded -- first of all,
it was very deep. It was a very
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bass-ish, like wolf-ish,
bass-ish. It was like a guttural
growling, snarling.
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It was like if a wolf was trying
to speak English, and it was
swearing and cursing.
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And this is what it said. It
said, "Don't pray for her. She
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belongs to me. She is mine. She
is all mine. Don't talk to Jesus
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about her. She is all mine." >>
That would be terrifying. >> Oh,
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yeah. Oh, yeah. And then the
phone went click. It hung up on
me. And I can tell you right
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now, man, you've heard people
say, "I felt the hair on the
back of my neck," you know?
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I really did. I literally did.
I felt my -- those whatever --
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follicles going, "Frrt!" And
then I felt my legs going weak.
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I can feel adrenaline surging
through my body. I remember
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thinking, as that blood was
draining from my face, I
remember thinking, "Oh, man,
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last thing in the world I want
to do is go -- Why did I ever
become a pastor? I don't want to
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go meet that." You know? And
I turned around. Now, remember,
00:09:05.81\00:09:09.21
just for the sake of -- if a
viewer is watching right now
that didn't hear the story about
00:09:09.21\00:09:12.28
Steve Mackey earlier, he was
the world heavyweight kickboxing
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champion at that time. He'd
taken the title in Tokyo, Japan,
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in the Tokyo Dome, on
international satellite
television, and then I had
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the privilege of meeting him and
actually introducing him to a
personal friendship
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with Jesus Christ, and
he'd become a Christian, and so
00:09:27.46\00:09:30.20
anyway, that's some of the
background. And he and his
family are having dinner with
00:09:30.20\00:09:34.30
us, and that's the background
there. So, I get off the phone
with my adrenaline surging,
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and I'm thinking, "The last
thing in the world I want to do
is go to meet this girl or meet
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that voice." And then I turn
around and I see Steve Mackey,
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the world heavyweight kickboxing
champion in my living room. >>
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Exactly. If you're going to
fight against the devil, who is
going to be stronger than Steve
00:09:52.92\00:09:58.99
Mackey? >> I said to Steve, I
said, "Yo, Steve, how would you
like to go meet the devil?"
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Now, I won't tell you exactly
what Steve said because Steve
00:10:05.90\00:10:10.11
was a pretty new Christian and
his language wasn't always what
you might call King James
00:10:10.11\00:10:16.54
English. So maybe I'll give you
kind of a summary and paraphrase
00:10:16.54\00:10:20.42
of what he said. It would be
like, maybe this. It would be
like, "Yeah, I'd love to kick
00:10:20.42\00:10:24.52
his behind." That's about as
close as I'm going to get to
what he really said.
00:10:24.52\00:10:27.82
And I say, "Whoa, Steve, one
thing's for sure. You and I are
00:10:27.82\00:10:32.76
not gonna kick his behind, but
I'd sure love to have someone
come with me to pray."
00:10:32.76\00:10:36.90
And he said to me, "You got it,
Rev." Called me Rev, as in short
00:10:36.90\00:10:41.24
for Reverend. "You got it, Rev."
I said, "Steve, get your sword."
00:10:41.24\00:10:45.01
And he said, "Sword?" And I held
up my Bible. And he goes, "Right
00:10:45.01\00:10:48.74
on, Rev," and gets his sword.
And we get in the car, and we
drive to this woman's house.
00:10:48.74\00:10:52.51
By the time we get there, it's
dark. There's no lights on in
00:10:52.51\00:10:55.78
her house. There's no lights
on the outside of her house.
00:10:55.78\00:10:58.95
We pull into the driveway, and I
say, "Steve, before we get out
the car, I just want to say a
00:10:58.95\00:11:03.76
prayer." So I said, "Lord Jesus,
we're not here because we think
00:11:03.76\00:11:07.60
we're some kind of exorcists.
We're here because one of Your
kids is asking for prayer.
00:11:07.60\00:11:15.14
I am no match for the enemy. I
already know that up front, but
00:11:15.14\00:11:19.27
I also know that he is no match
for You. So would You please go
into this place ahead of us
00:11:19.27\00:11:25.81
on behalf of a child of Yours
who is desperately crying out
00:11:25.81\00:11:30.02
for You?" And then I said,
"Amen." And I remember Steve
Mackey saying, "So may it ever
00:11:30.02\00:11:34.26
be." [ Laughter ] We got out
of the car. I walked up to the
00:11:34.26\00:11:39.03
front door, and I knocked on
the door, and nobody answered. I
00:11:39.03\00:11:43.06
rang the doorbell. Nobody
answered. I checked the knob,
and it was unlocked, so I opened
00:11:43.06\00:11:46.90
the door, and I pushed it open,
and I can tell you right now my
heart was pounding.
00:11:46.90\00:11:50.74
It was pounding. And I'm
thinking she said it was gonna
be ugly if he took her
00:11:50.74\00:11:54.91
out. The devil had said, "I'm
gonna take you out, and it's
00:11:54.91\00:11:57.81
gonna be really ugly." And so
I thought, "If I walk in here,
00:11:57.81\00:12:00.22
what if he's already done that?"
I'm thinking to myself "What if
00:12:00.22\00:12:06.25
I walk on to some sort of
grotesque mutilation of some
sort and here's this person
00:12:06.25\00:12:10.59
who's been killed?" I'll
never have that out of my head.
00:12:10.59\00:12:13.93
It'll be -- I was there and
first one on the scene, so to
00:12:13.93\00:12:17.07
speak. "Oh, man." And so I
called her name. No answer.
00:12:17.07\00:12:20.20
So I stepped in very gingerly
into the front door, you know,
and I turned on the light,
00:12:20.20\00:12:24.57
the first light I could find.
And I kept moving in, calling
her name, turning on lights
00:12:24.57\00:12:28.54
as I moved farther and farther
in, right? I'm turning on
00:12:28.54\00:12:31.48
lights. Meanwhile, and I wish
I could get up in my chair here
00:12:31.48\00:12:34.85
and show you how it worked, but
I'll just try to do it from my
seat. The world heavyweight
00:12:34.85\00:12:38.65
kickboxing champion was behind
me, and he was going like this.
00:12:38.65\00:12:46.83
[ Laughter ] Anyway, we finally
found her. She was lying on the
floor in a back room
00:12:46.83\00:12:50.23
in the fetal position, but she
wasn't injured. And she seemed
00:12:50.23\00:12:53.40
like she was asleep. And so
I nudged her shoulder, and she
00:12:53.40\00:12:57.54
looked up, and I said to her,
"You asked us to come and pray.
I brought another church member
00:12:57.54\00:13:01.54
with me, and that's why we're
here." And she sort of seemed a
00:13:01.54\00:13:04.38
little groggy, and then she
said, "Oh, thanks." And then I
00:13:04.38\00:13:09.62
said, "Could we go into your
living room?" So I helped her to
her feet. We walked into her
00:13:09.62\00:13:13.32
living room, and we sat down.
There was a couch there. She sat
00:13:13.32\00:13:16.26
at one end. I sat at the other
end of the couch. And then Steve
00:13:16.26\00:13:21.26
Mackey sat in this little barrel
chair. I turned to her, and all
of a sudden, the same
00:13:21.26\00:13:25.50
voice I'd heard over the phone
begins speaking from her. Her
00:13:25.50\00:13:29.74
mouth didn't move, but that deep
wolfish snarl said, "She's all
mine. Don't pray for her.
00:13:29.74\00:13:33.38
She belongs to me. Don't talk
to Jesus about her. She is all
00:13:33.38\00:13:36.88
mine." Curse, curse, swear,
swear. I started singing, "Jesus
loves me 'cause I know."
00:13:36.88\00:13:43.69
I looked over at the world
heavyweight kickboxing champion
and he said, "For the Bible
00:13:43.69\00:13:48.42
tells me so." And then we
started praying, and I am so
excited to tell you
00:13:48.42\00:13:54.40
that when Jesus goes against the
enemy, He's still the winner.
And that wolfish snarling,
00:13:54.40\00:13:59.70
cursing, swearing voice actually
went across the room, angrily
swearing, opened the
00:13:59.70\00:14:06.24
door. I never saw anything
physical, but I heard it go, and
00:14:06.24\00:14:11.11
the door opened and it slammed
as it left. And so she'd been
00:14:11.11\00:14:14.45
set free. Well, when it was all
over, I said to Steve Mackey in
the car as we were leaving,
00:14:14.45\00:14:19.42
"What did you think of that?"
And this is what he said. He
said, "You know, when I was
00:14:19.42\00:14:23.59
sitting there looking at her,
all of a sudden, I felt like
00:14:23.59\00:14:28.33
what I would call a heavy hand
slam into my chest that pressed
me against the back of the chair
00:14:28.33\00:14:33.64
with such power that it pushed
all the air out of my lungs. I
00:14:33.64\00:14:37.24
couldn't inhale because it kept
pushing me." And he said, "I
heard a very distinct voice in
00:14:37.24\00:14:40.58
my ear and it said these words.
'So you think you're going to
kick my behind, do you?'"
00:14:40.58\00:14:45.11
And he said, "When I heard that,
I started singing with you."
Jesus loves me, this I know.
00:14:45.11\00:14:51.05
And the reason I tell that story
-- on the tale of James 4:7, is
00:14:51.05\00:14:55.66
it's ludicrous to think we're
going to resist the devil. There
00:14:55.66\00:14:58.63
is no way. So if we're going to
have a fight to fight, it's
gonna have to be a different
00:14:58.63\00:15:02.43
kind of fight. >> Yes. Yes. As
Isaiah says, you know, you
referred to it earlier
00:15:02.43\00:15:07.00
that when the enemy comes in
like a flood, and he does. He's
gonna come in like a flood.
00:15:07.00\00:15:11.97
He's not going to come in easy.
The Lord raises up a standard.
The Spirit of the Lord raises
00:15:11.97\00:15:17.61
up a standard against him.
So it's not my spirit that can
00:15:17.61\00:15:22.68
resist. >> Exactly. >> It's the
Spirit of the Lord that can
raise up a standard,
00:15:22.68\00:15:27.16
and as we draw nigh to God as we
draw near to Him, as you did and
00:15:27.16\00:15:32.13
drawing near to Him through
prayer, through taking up the
sword of the Spirit,
00:15:32.13\00:15:36.20
you had the strength to resist
the devil. >> And she was okay
00:15:36.20\00:15:40.64
afterwards? >> Oh, yeah, yeah,
yeah. That was the good news, is
that she continued to grow
00:15:40.64\00:15:44.64
closer and closer to Jesus. >>
Wow. >> So, we're going to take
00:15:44.64\00:15:47.74
a break and we'll come back and
we're going to look at how this
00:15:47.74\00:15:52.45
is war. This really is war every
day. We need to draw near to God
and He will draw near to us.
00:15:52.45\00:16:02.36
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00:16:02.39\00:16:04.89
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00:17:01.82\00:17:07.46
>> Welcome back. We have been
looking at this verse from the
00:17:07.49\00:17:11.13
Scriptures, James 4:7, that
talks about resist the devil and
he will flee from you.
00:17:11.13\00:17:17.50
But when we look at it in
context, it says just before
00:17:17.50\00:17:20.97
that, "Submit yourselves
therefore to God. Resist the
00:17:20.97\00:17:26.04
devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will
00:17:26.04\00:17:30.18
draw near to you. And clearly
we are no match for the devil.
00:17:30.18\00:17:33.98
We cannot fight against
him in our own strength.
00:17:34.02\00:17:36.55
But another verse that I
think we should really look at
00:17:36.55\00:17:39.59
is 1 Timothy 6:12
that says, "Fight the good
00:17:39.59\00:17:44.26
fight of faith." And
when we look at that word
00:17:44.26\00:17:47.50
faith, a synonym
for the word "faith"
00:17:47.50\00:17:49.53
or in other words a
word that means the same
00:17:49.53\00:17:52.07
is the word "trust."
00:17:52.07\00:17:53.90
Now, how do you get to trust
someone? Well, over time you see
00:17:53.94\00:17:58.11
that they are absolutely
trustworthy unless they're not
trustworthy and then you do not
00:17:58.11\00:18:03.78
trust them. But if someone is
perfectly trustworthy, then you
have no problem trusting them.
00:18:03.78\00:18:08.35
I have no problem trusting Rene.
She is my wife, and I have
gotten to know her over many
00:18:08.35\00:18:13.76
years, and through those
interactions, I have come to
00:18:13.76\00:18:17.86
know that she is completely
trustworthy. The same with God.
00:18:17.86\00:18:21.56
The way we get to know that He
is trustworthy is to get to know
Him, to spend time with Him.
00:18:21.56\00:18:27.77
And so, Lee, we're going to talk
about this fighting the good
00:18:27.77\00:18:33.01
fight of faith. >> Yeah, yeah, I
think you're making a really
good point. My dad -- we've
00:18:33.01\00:18:37.11
referred to him in one of the
earlier segments that we shot --
my dad used to say, "There's two
00:18:37.11\00:18:41.38
kinds of fights in the Bible.
There's the fight of sin and
00:18:41.38\00:18:45.22
Satan, and then there's the
fight of faith." And then he
tried to clarify just a little
00:18:45.22\00:18:48.69
bit further by putting this spin
on it. He said, "The fight of
sin and Satan is the bad fight,
00:18:48.69\00:18:53.46
and the fight of faith is
the good fight." And the reason
00:18:53.46\00:18:58.03
there's that distinction is the
truth is in Scripture, God's
never asked us to fight
00:18:58.03\00:19:02.30
the fight of sin and Satan. The
Bible is full of stories of God
saying, "I want to fight
00:19:02.30\00:19:07.94
for you." Not with
you. Not through you.
00:19:07.94\00:19:11.05
"I want to fight for you," and
we can't take the time right
now, but there's just hundreds
00:19:11.05\00:19:14.85
of stories and examples of where
God says, "Stand still and watch
00:19:14.85\00:19:19.52
me fight for you. This battle is
not yours. This is mine. I will
00:19:19.52\00:19:23.46
fight for you." Pharaoh's coming
down. The Red Sea. He doesn't
00:19:23.46\00:19:27.30
say, "Okay, Moses, get your
soldiers out there and you hold
them off while we get the people
00:19:27.30\00:19:30.93
across." No. He said,
"I'm going to part the Red Sea.
00:19:30.93\00:19:33.23
I'm gonna deal with Pharaoh on
my own, all by myself." And so
we're back to this idea.
00:19:33.23\00:19:39.31
We can't resist the devil. But
that's why the Spirit of God
comes in and fights him for us.
00:19:39.31\00:19:43.61
So if we're going to have a
fight, because there is a war.
00:19:43.61\00:19:48.88
This is a war. But what do we do
in the war? And we fight the
good fight of faith.
00:19:48.88\00:19:54.36
And you just made it clear that
the good fight of faith is the
effort that we put into
00:19:54.36\00:20:00.33
seeking to know Jesus daily.
>> Yes. >> And it is a fight.
00:20:00.33\00:20:04.17
Because as soon as the --
Because the devil knows that
00:20:04.17\00:20:07.44
that's square one. The devil
knows that that is the flour for
the baker. He knows that is the
00:20:07.44\00:20:12.34
money for the banker. He knows
that's the parachute for the
00:20:12.34\00:20:16.71
skydiver. That time alone with
Jesus daily is the core of the
00:20:16.71\00:20:20.55
Christian life. So the devil
does everything he can to keep
us from that. And it's
00:20:20.55\00:20:27.22
interesting that so many times
we think of the devil as he's
trying to get us to be evil,
00:20:27.22\00:20:30.66
wicked, mean, bad, or nasty. But
he's much more subtle than that.
00:20:30.66\00:20:34.86
>> Oh, yeah. >> You know?
>> Yeah, he's not happy at all.
00:20:34.86\00:20:39.70
And so that's why he will
make it -- It's a struggle.
00:20:39.70\00:20:45.51
It's a struggle to resist him,
and his deceptive, subtle ways.
00:20:45.51\00:20:51.51
Right? >> Deceptive is right.
He's a snake, yeah. >> We have
00:20:51.51\00:20:55.88
to struggle daily, you know,
because he's going to try and
draw us away from that. You
00:20:55.88\00:21:03.12
know, like you said, it's the
flour to the baker, and he wants
to remove that. >> Right.
00:21:03.12\00:21:06.73
>> But he's not going to just
snatch it. He's going to do it
00:21:06.73\00:21:09.80
subtly. >> Yeah, he doesn't
knock on the door and say, "I'm
the devil. How about you neglect
00:21:09.80\00:21:13.77
Jesus today?" >> Yeah,
exactly. >> So, practically,
00:21:13.77\00:21:16.24
Do you struggle with it? >> I
struggle with it every day. I
have for as long as
00:21:16.24\00:21:19.61
I've been a Christian. Yeah, the
fight of faith, that effort to
take time for Jesus --
00:21:19.61\00:21:24.08
One of the things the devil does
is he's very slick about trying
to get me distracted
00:21:24.08\00:21:29.18
with even things that have to do
with working for God. So I'm so
00:21:29.18\00:21:33.59
distracted trying to work for
God, I don't have time for
Jesus. For example, you said
00:21:33.59\00:21:38.23
you struggle with it every day.
Well, you know, we're doing this
little filming thing
00:21:38.23\00:21:42.06
here at Pugwash. >> Yes. >>
And you got your camera crew
00:21:42.06\00:21:44.50
on deck here with us. And as
you know, I thought it might be
00:21:44.50\00:21:49.30
helpful if we had a countdown
timer and we were using my iPad
to kind of keep us aware of
00:21:49.30\00:21:53.91
where we were. >> Keep
us on track, yeah. >> Yeah.
00:21:53.91\00:21:56.34
And that iPad app that we were
using, it had some things to be
00:21:56.34\00:22:00.22
desired. As you know, it wasn't
working as smoothly and slickly
as we would like it to,
00:22:00.22\00:22:04.35
and so yesterday morning I
thought, "You know, I'm going to
get up early because
00:22:04.35\00:22:09.29
we're shooting early here. I'm
going to get up early because I
00:22:09.29\00:22:13.09
want to spend time with Jesus
because there's no sense in
going down to talk about
00:22:13.09\00:22:16.00
how important it is to spend
time with Jesus without spending
time with Jesus first."
00:22:16.00\00:22:18.70
>> Exactly. >> So I go
off to a little quiet place
00:22:18.70\00:22:21.84
with my Bible. I have my iPad
and my iPhone with me because
00:22:21.84\00:22:26.54
we're going to be using them
later at the shoot in just an
hour or so. And so I have them
00:22:26.54\00:22:31.31
with me. I open up my Bible, and
then I think to myself, "You
know, I wonder if the iPhone app
00:22:31.31\00:22:37.05
store has a better app for a
countdown timer." There's
something in my mind
00:22:37.05\00:22:41.59
that said, "You don't need to
do that right now. You can check
00:22:41.59\00:22:46.06
that out later." But I thought,
"It won't take long. I've got my
00:22:46.06\00:22:50.03
phone here. I'll just hook up
the phone to be a hot spot and
then I'll turn on my iPad
00:22:50.03\00:22:54.27
and I'll go to the store and
I'll see if there's a timer
there that I can use.
00:22:54.27\00:22:57.64
Oh, I found one. Okay, I'm gonna
download that. Oh, it didn't
00:22:57.64\00:23:01.81
download quite so easily. I have
to go back and redo that. Okay,
I'm gonna try again.
00:23:01.81\00:23:04.68
Oh, it needs a password. Okay,
I got that. I got it downloaded.
00:23:04.68\00:23:07.42
Finally got it downloaded." I
did a quick graph to try to see
00:23:07.42\00:23:10.52
how it works. "Oh, that's going
to be good. They're going to
like my app." And then I close
00:23:10.52\00:23:16.36
it all down and I said, "Okay."
All of a sudden, I realized. I
had a whole lot less time
00:23:16.36\00:23:20.63
for Jesus than I had intended to
have that morning. And I'm
thinking, "Oh, isn't
00:23:20.63\00:23:24.87
that slick?" I'm getting this
app ready for us to tape about
00:23:24.87\00:23:28.44
taking time for Jesus, and I'm
not taking time for Jesus
because I'm getting the app
00:23:28.44\00:23:33.51
ready for that. And I thought,
"Oh, man, forgive me, Jesus."
00:23:33.51\00:23:36.98
I did have time with Him. I had
meaningful time. I just didn't
00:23:36.98\00:23:41.15
have as much time as I would
have if I had overcome that, if
I had been more successful
00:23:41.15\00:23:45.55
with the good fight of faith
that morning. And then the irony
00:23:45.55\00:23:49.06
of it is when I got down here
I said, "Okay, guys, I got this
00:23:49.06\00:23:53.86
new app for you." And I turned
it on. I had no idea that the
app had advertisements
00:23:53.86\00:23:58.30
built into it to try and
get you to pay money, and the
00:23:58.30\00:24:02.50
advertisement came on the
screen. A bunch of half naked
women running around on the
00:24:02.50\00:24:07.11
screen, and I'm going, "Oh, my
word, I'm showing these guys my
new app, and stop, stop, stop."
00:24:07.11\00:24:12.81
It was like I heard the Holy
Spirit almost chuckle in my ear
and say, "You know what?
00:24:12.81\00:24:18.39
If you had succeeded at the good
fight to start with, you
wouldn't have had to worry
00:24:18.39\00:24:22.82
about all that wasted time."
Anyway, that's what I'm talking
00:24:22.82\00:24:25.59
about. >> Every day. >> Every
day. >> Every day is a struggle.
00:24:25.59\00:24:27.93
>> And so as you're struggling
with that every day, how do we
overcome that struggle?
00:24:27.93\00:24:33.60
I mean, what is the, for you,
the ingredient that really helps
00:24:33.60\00:24:38.47
you? Is it just memory? You know
you've been through this so many
00:24:38.47\00:24:41.91
times. It's just the Holy Spirit
coming to you and say, "Ah, you
know, Lee, you need to get on
00:24:41.91\00:24:49.42
track here," or what is it
that's going to say, "Get into
00:24:49.42\00:24:53.49
the Word. Do it now. Put that
guy on pause." Or do you just
00:24:53.49\00:24:57.59
stop and pray and say, "Lord,
give me strength"? >> I do do
00:24:57.59\00:25:01.06
that. Yeah, I do. I say prayers
every morning. I say, "Lord
00:25:01.06\00:25:04.90
Jesus, I don't want to
short-change the time I'm here
to spend with you."
00:25:04.90\00:25:09.70
I don't want to short
circuit it. And I say prayers.
00:25:09.70\00:25:12.71
And I say, "Lord, get me back on
track." It's real easy for me.
00:25:12.71\00:25:16.21
My iPad is what I use to read
my Bible on. It's also where my
00:25:16.21\00:25:20.22
e-mail comes through. And I can
be reading my Bible, and all of
00:25:20.22\00:25:23.35
a sudden a little message comes
through, so I have to say a
prayer then too. I say, "Lord
00:25:23.35\00:25:27.26
Jesus, save me from getting
distracted with my e-mail. Save
00:25:27.26\00:25:29.92
me." It's -- I guess what I'm
trying to say is it's an
ongoing, everlasting effort and
00:25:29.92\00:25:36.97
battle and fight, but the fight
isn't to try to overcome Satan.
The fight is to try
00:25:36.97\00:25:40.80
to overcome my propensity
to neglect Jesus. >> Yeah.
00:25:40.80\00:25:45.34
So, Jesus says, "When you abide
in me and I abide in you,
without me, you can do nothing."
00:25:45.34\00:25:51.98
>> Nothing. >> But what is
it? In Philippians 4:18, is it?
00:25:51.98\00:26:00.12
4:13. Sorry.
00:26:00.12\00:26:02.02
He says -- Paul says to us, "I
can do all things through Christ
00:26:02.06\00:26:06.33
who strengthens me."
00:26:06.33\00:26:07.66
So this is not a do-nothing
religion we're talking about.
This is a do-everything to be
00:26:07.66\00:26:14.80
with Jesus. >> Right. >>
Because with Jesus, we can do
00:26:14.80\00:26:19.21
all things. >> Yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> But then when we spend time
00:26:19.21\00:26:24.35
with Him and we read our Bibles
and we pray, then He -- It's so
exciting that we just
00:26:24.35\00:26:32.05
can't help feeling that third
leg by sharing, right? And so
00:26:32.05\00:26:37.29
it's so beautiful when we're
able to do that. >> Yeah. >> We
00:26:37.29\00:26:41.30
gain so much. It's such a
blessing to be able to do those
three legs of the stool.
00:26:41.30\00:26:46.07
>> Exactly. Exactly. So, Lee,
we've come to the end of this
episode and the end of
00:26:46.07\00:26:51.64
this series. And so, Lee, I
wanted to thank you for coming
00:26:51.64\00:26:56.08
and sharing all about Jesus
because it's really all about
Jesus here at beautiful Pugwash,
00:26:56.08\00:27:01.35
Nova Scotia, and thank you for
being with us. And, friends, I
also want to encourage you to
00:27:01.35\00:27:07.26
look on our website, and you can
watch the entire series where he
was telling about the conversion
00:27:07.26\00:27:12.06
of his father, his own
conversion, about those three
legs of the stool, about
00:27:12.06\00:27:17.00
connecting with God through His
Word, connecting with Him
through prayer, and then sharing
00:27:17.00\00:27:21.87
the good news that God has given
to us and the joy that that
00:27:21.87\00:27:27.11
brings to us. And when we fall
and fail, how we can get up and
how He gives us constant
00:27:27.11\00:27:32.05
encouragement to overcome. And
this final one, where we have
00:27:32.05\00:27:37.55
been talking about how we can
fight the good fight of faith.
And so, Lee, I'm going to ask
00:27:37.55\00:27:41.82
you to pray for us as we close
off. Can you do that for us?
00:27:41.82\00:27:44.96
>> Okay, yeah, sure. Lord Jesus,
thank you for being everything.
00:27:44.96\00:27:49.70
I think of this song, "You are
our all and all." And I praise
00:27:49.70\00:27:55.84
You that You want to be our
friend and that we can seek You
daily. Of course, there's an
00:27:55.84\00:27:59.77
enemy that would like to get in
the way of that. And I just pray
00:27:59.77\00:28:02.18
that You'd strengthen us to
fight the good fight of faith
until the day we see You face to
00:28:02.18\00:28:06.41
face. In Jesus'
name, amen. >> Amen, amen.
00:28:06.41\00:28:10.82
>> So, friends, I just want to
remind you again of the words of
Jesus where He says, "It is
00:28:10.82\00:28:15.02
written: 'Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word
that proceeds out of the mouth
00:28:15.02\00:28:21.13
of God.'"
00:28:21.13\00:28:23.20
い い
00:28:23.23\00:28:41.35
い い
00:28:41.35\00:28:59.33