Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW018007A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN's Family Worship. 01:13 What a way to start the special sacred hours, 01:17 these sanctified hours that God has set apart 01:20 so He can come and meet with His people. 01:23 And we are so glad 01:24 that you have tuned in to worship 01:25 with us to start it. 01:27 My name is Chris Shelton, 01:28 and I'm sitting here with my husband, 01:30 Pastor Kenny Shelton, 01:31 and we would just welcome our 3ABN viewers, 01:34 our 3ABN family together around the table 01:37 as we study tonight. 01:38 Tonight is going to be the third part, 01:41 and it is entitled "Angels, Armor, and Promises." 01:45 And if you haven't heard about the angels 01:48 or if you missed the second part 01:50 where we started about the armor, 01:52 I encourage you to go to YouTube 01:55 and just search that name 3ABN Family Worship, 01:58 you can search either, 02:00 Pastor Kenny and Chris Shelton or you can put in 02:02 "Angels, Armor, and Promises." 02:04 Today or tonight is going to be the third part, 02:06 but I'm looking forward to either a fourth 02:08 or maybe a fifth 02:10 'cause I don't think we're going to get 02:11 to the promises, 02:12 but you know, it's been such a blessing. 02:14 Yes, it has. Yes. 02:15 It was a blessing to open this up again this morning. 02:18 There's so much information. 02:22 And it just that more you study, 02:23 the more that there is, and the more that God wants 02:26 to give to each and everyone of us. 02:28 And I want to welcome 02:30 our 3ABN family, with us today. 02:34 I'll go ahead and introduce everybody. 02:36 To my far right is Brother J.D. I call him my buddy. 02:40 Yeah, that's all right. 02:41 But he's probably everybody's buddy, 02:43 but he is just so good to be around 02:46 and just so encouraging all the time. 02:49 And his lovely wife is next to him. 02:51 You probably need no introduction either, 02:53 but Sister Shelley Quinn, and she's a blessing, too. 02:57 If you haven't got to know Shelley, 02:59 you know, by watching her programs 03:01 or on camp meeting, 03:03 you know, anytime she's speaking, 03:04 she is always a blessing. 03:06 And another blessing is to my left, Sister Mollie. 03:09 Ooh! 03:11 And more you get to know Mollie, 03:12 the more you love her. 03:13 That's all I can say, you know so... 03:15 Thank you, Lord. 03:16 Amen. Amen. 03:17 And I know you've had 03:19 so many things going on in your life. 03:20 And before we start the program, she says, 03:22 "Just wherever God leads, 03:24 it's in His hands, in His careness." 03:27 And, you know, that's where we all want to be. 03:30 And before I say anymore, 03:32 I would like to give a short synopsis, 03:35 just going through Ephesians, 03:36 but I think before we do that, we should open with prayer. 03:40 So would you open with prayer with us? 03:41 Absolutely. Okay. 03:43 I invite you to pray with us at home, too. 03:44 Let's pray together. 03:46 Most gracious, Heavenly Father, we again we thank you 03:48 for the beginning hours of Sabbath. 03:50 We thank you for seeing us safely 03:52 through another week. 03:53 We thank you for the blessings that you send our way, 03:55 and especially, for Calvary, thank you for Jesus. 03:58 We pray as we study Your Words, 04:00 we sit around this table and there are those at home 04:03 who are sitting around their table right now, 04:05 maybe on their couch, 04:06 and we should invite them to open the Word of God. 04:10 Take a pen and a pencil, 04:11 jot down things that will be spoken 04:13 that will touch their heart and life 04:15 and for a further study. 04:17 Lord, we invite thy Holy Spirit 04:19 now to accompany everything that's said, 04:21 everything that's done that may magnify You, 04:23 may bring honor and glory to You, 04:25 and You alone. 04:26 Lord, help us to be reminded. 04:28 We just stand behind the cross of Calvary 04:30 and the Jesus is to be lifted up. 04:32 You said, you know, He lifted up 04:34 will draw all men and to me. 04:36 So we pray the night that you'll be lifted up, 04:38 those who are viewing, those who would listen, 04:40 whatever it might be, 04:41 we pray hearts and lives will be touched, 04:43 not just for this moment, but for eternity. 04:45 I'm just thank you for this opportunity. 04:47 Thank you for each one who sits around this table 04:49 and each one of you out there, 04:50 will just give you praise, honor, and glory 04:52 to the king of kings 04:54 and Lord of Lord in Jesus' name, amen. 04:55 Amen. 04:57 You know, we before we begin the study on 04:59 "Angels, Armor, and Promises," 05:01 I don't think that I've ever spend quite 05:03 as much time on the armor of God. 05:06 You know, I mean, we've taught and thought about it 05:09 and time's passed, but just really not digging, 05:12 not pulling together so much. 05:14 And I love what God has done with each and every one of you, 05:17 how He's giving you other pieces 05:19 that that kind of help 05:20 this come together and make a whole. 05:23 And one thing that I'd like for our viewers to know 05:26 and all of us here 05:27 is I feel like this armor is such a precious gift. 05:31 Oh, yeah. Amen. 05:32 And as when I go through Ephesians 05:34 and I read it to you again, 05:35 I hope you see what I'm talking about. 05:37 It is a gift that God has given to us 05:40 unto salvation and to provide protection 05:45 so that we can rightly be fit 05:48 for this war, this warfare, 05:52 this spiritual warfare that we're in. 05:54 And I think as we read through these, 05:56 the spiritual warfare even becomes more clearer, 05:59 and we need that. 06:01 We need to ascertain what is happening. 06:03 We need to be praying daily for the mind of Christ. 06:07 Because this is what He had on, 06:09 this is what helped Him to go through, 06:11 and we need to use Him as our pattern. 06:13 Amen, amen. 06:14 So if you would, turn in your Bibles 06:16 with me to Ephesians 6, 06:18 and I'm going to read verses 10-18. 06:21 Ephesians 6:10-18, and it reads, 06:27 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, 06:30 and in the power of His might." 06:33 I love that, and I may stop it. 06:34 Every sentence as we're planning to... 06:35 Oh, bless you. All right. 06:37 Short synopsis, but to be strong in the Lord. 06:40 What a promise because how often have 06:42 we felt weak and inadequate and nothing. 06:44 Oh, yeah. Every day. 06:46 But as we put on this armor, 06:48 God says, "I want you to be strong, 06:50 I'm going to give you power as you put on each piece." 06:53 "Put on the whole armor 06:55 that ye may be able to stand against 06:58 the wiles of the devil." 07:01 Right there, highlight it, underline it, 07:03 do whatever you need to do because without this armor, 07:07 without every essential piece of the armor, 07:11 you will not be able to stand. 07:12 If you don't have each piece on, 07:14 Brother J.D. 07:15 the enemy's going to look at you, 07:17 and he's going to say, 07:18 "Oh, he's a little weak in that breastplate," 07:19 and that's where he begins to wedge. 07:22 And I hope people really will listen to that 07:24 because the agents of evil are out there, 07:27 and I know our habits, backward and forward, 07:30 and I know what our weak points are. 07:32 Absolutely. So you're exactly right. 07:35 You need to be protected from head to toe, 07:37 and this is what Paul's bringing out here. 07:39 I think maybe it needs to be part of our daily prayer. 07:41 I mean, there's so many things I know all of us pray about, 07:44 but we need to be praying about this every day. 07:47 "For we wrestle not with flesh and blood, 07:49 but against principalities, against powers, 07:52 against rulers of the darkness of this world..." 07:55 Things that we don't see, power we don't even understand. 07:59 That's what we wrestle against spiritually. 08:01 "Against spiritual wickedness in high places. 08:05 Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor." 08:08 Not just the feet, not just the sword, 08:12 not just the shield or of the breastplate, 08:15 but the whole armor of God. 08:17 "That ye may be able to withstand in the evil day." 08:22 And, you know, there's been a lot of evil days 08:24 since this was written. 08:26 But in the time that we're looking at, 08:28 I'm thinking about that great time of trouble. 08:32 I'm thinking about, you know, the seven last plagues, 08:36 I'm thinking about laws being passed 08:38 such as the Sunday law, and so when I read this, 08:43 "We have to put on the whole armor 08:46 in order to withstand that evil day." 08:50 In order to withstand the persecution amongst those 08:54 who are elevating truth over error. 08:57 Having done all the stand, verse 14 reads, 09:01 "Stand therefore having 09:02 your loins girt about with truth..." 09:04 Truth is so vitally important. I can't go back and read. 09:08 You know, just rehash everything we've covered, 09:10 but we're to worship God and spirit and then truth. 09:13 Not almost truth, but all truth. 09:15 "And having on the breastplate of righteousness." 09:18 God's precious gift, His righteousness. 09:21 "And our feet shod 09:23 with the preparation of the gospel of peace. 09:26 Above all..." 09:27 And this is where we'll be starting here tonight. 09:29 "Taking the shield of faith, 09:31 wherewith ye shall be able to quench 09:34 all the fiery darts of the wicked." 09:36 Amen? Yes. 09:37 "And take the helmet of salvation 09:39 and the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God." 09:43 The armory of God is a Bible. And our sword is the word. 09:47 "Praying always with all power 09:49 and supplication in the Spirit..." 09:52 Did you get that? 09:54 "Praying always..." 09:55 You know, I've been doing some reading this week 09:57 and it's only those who are fervently praying, 10:01 they're going to make it through. 10:02 That's right. 10:03 A lot of us become complacent, and we think, 10:05 "Oh, it's not big deal, doesn't really matter." 10:08 There's going to come a time where Jesus makes the command 10:12 as it were to take that angel from that person 10:15 and give it to the one that is fervently praying 10:20 and anguishing in the spirit. 10:22 "And watching thereunto with all perseverance 10:25 and supplication for all saints." 10:28 What a blessing? 10:30 So, Sister Mollie, I'm going to throw it to you. 10:33 We're going to talk about the shield of faith, 10:35 and I know God has given you 10:37 a lot of things about this armor 10:39 that none of us have 10:41 and so what do you think about that shield of faith? 10:43 Well, all we had looked 10:44 at was each one of these are weapons of warfare, 10:50 and they are protective armor 10:53 that we are to use, and each in its... 10:57 Given to us, 10:59 the word speak to us as though we are soldiers. 11:02 Amen. Now let me ask you something. 11:04 Are you a soldier? We are soldiers. 11:05 Are we soldiers in the army of God? 11:08 We certainly should be. 11:09 So each one of these weapons of warfare, 11:13 each one of these pieces of the armor protect 11:16 a certain area of the soldier. 11:19 And this was the terminology we should use 11:23 so that you would have a picture in your mind 11:28 of where this piece of armor should be. 11:31 And so, what we just mentioned was the shield of faith. 11:36 Now what was the purpose of the shield of faith? 11:39 Whereby you may do what? 11:41 Quench all the fiery darts of the enemy. 11:45 Now the Roman soldiers shield 11:49 measured approximately 2 feet by 4 feet 11:53 and was made of wood, 11:54 but it was covered with leather. 11:57 So the shield, the shield of faith covered... 12:00 It's made of wood covered with leather. 12:03 Now in that day, here's what soldier's did. 12:07 They would take their arrows, arrow, you know, arrows. 12:11 That was their major weapon of warfare, were the arrows, 12:15 the offensive weapons, 12:17 and they would dip the tip in oil 12:19 and light it on fire. 12:21 Wow! 12:22 You've seen the movies, Ben-Hur and... 12:26 And they would shoot those arrows, 12:28 and so what these... 12:31 With the leather covering the shield of faith, 12:36 the wooden shield. 12:38 When they would shoot the flaming arrow 12:42 into that leather, 12:43 you know what the leather would do? 12:44 Quench the fire. Amen. 12:46 It would keep the soldiers from being burnt. 12:49 And so see the parallel here of the shield of faith 12:55 and the actual piece of physical equipment 12:59 that the soldiers used. 13:01 Now this is what I think of that shield of faith. 13:05 When they had their shield of faith on, 13:08 they had certainty 13:10 that they were being protected. 13:11 They had confidence that that fire could not burn 13:15 through that leather and get to them and burn them. 13:17 When we've got our shield of faith up, 13:19 what does that give us? 13:21 It gives us certainty, believer's certainty. 13:24 We can have assurance that we are being protected 13:29 because we've got on our shield of faith. 13:31 But now what's height was it? It was 4 foot by... 13:35 Two. Two. 13:36 Okay, so what came to mind is... 13:38 2 by 4. 13:39 If it's a 2 by 4, what came to mind is you were saying 13:42 that is if the enemies coming at you 13:44 from the front and you've got it up there? 13:48 But the thing about the shield was it was maneuverable. 13:50 That's right. Yes. 13:52 It could be from any direction, and that's what, 13:54 you know, we just have to have believing, saving, 13:58 covering faith in God's character, 14:01 in His Word, 14:02 His ability to perform His Word. 14:04 But that's what struck me 14:06 is that that shield is something 14:08 that they held in their hand, 14:10 and we have to have faith in every area. 14:12 We may have faith in a certain area. 14:16 Let's say that someone has accepted Christ 14:18 as their Savior, and they've got that faith, 14:21 and there's nobody can take that away from them, 14:24 but it comes to the Sabbath, oops, 14:28 their shield of faith hasn't turned them in. 14:31 You see what I'm saying? Absolutely. 14:32 And so, you've got to, as you said, 14:34 "The devil's going to come at us 14:36 from any direction he can." 14:37 So that's what's beautiful about that shield of faith. 14:39 You know, something that I see in this also, 14:43 when we're in prayer, and we've got our shield, 14:48 you know, your back could be exposed. 14:51 So I'm thinking, you know, 14:52 how one could put 1,000, two can put 10,000. 14:55 So Shelley and I are in prayer, we are praying for something. 14:59 We stand back to back. 15:01 We've got the shield on both sides of us. 15:03 And we can go into our prayer 15:04 because, you know, that's how the soldiers did. 15:07 They battled back to back. 15:10 And so our warfare is in prayer, 15:15 you know, we go deeply into prayer 15:17 and fight those spiritual battles. 15:20 And so, we need to have a prayer partner 15:22 where one can put a 1,000 and two can put 10,000. 15:25 You know, on those... 15:26 When they fought 15:27 these battles many times, each person... 15:30 Our faith is different, right? 15:31 Each person in their walk experiences 15:33 some faith a little here, 15:35 maybe something little less, but before the battle, 15:37 there was always the... 15:39 Each person had a duty to perform. 15:41 Right. 15:42 And again, we're talking about this shield of... 15:44 So usually, when the arrows were flying in, 15:46 and you're talking about it on fire, 15:48 remember, a lot of times, what they would do 15:49 when you had the shield up there, 15:51 they would arch those arrows on fire 15:53 and they would come down on top of them. 15:54 It still strikes them on the head or whatever. 15:56 So you had different warriors, they would take their shield, 16:00 you know, have the outer perimeter. 16:02 Each one would have theirs, like this, 16:04 that would protect the ones, 16:06 and the next row, up there, they would take theirs 16:07 and go a little bit higher and slant it. 16:09 The next people would do, you know, so on. 16:11 So each one has specific duty. 16:13 And if there was an opening, somebody got hurt. 16:16 So each one has specific job to do. 16:18 So it's kind of like the spiritual part 16:20 of these fiery darts we're talking about here. 16:24 It's to stop fiery dart... 16:26 On fire, comes and hits that shield 16:28 you were talking about here. 16:29 And in spiritual, 16:31 that stops sin before it finds root in us. 16:33 Yeah. That's good. 16:34 Say the sin, that's fiery dart. 16:37 And how does that fiery darts come? 16:40 You know, in a bit different thing, 16:41 we talk about fiery temptations, you know. 16:45 We talk about that... 16:47 It can be discouragement. 16:49 It can be impatient. Trials. 16:51 Trials, tribulation, jealousy, 16:53 anger, envy, pride. Doubt. 16:56 Doubt, all of these are those fiery darts 16:58 that the envy has aimed at us. Yes. Yes. 17:01 'Cause he knows, you mentioned, well, he knows us very well. 17:05 And he knows what makes us maybe, 17:07 you know... 17:09 I like this because we're tested sometimes 17:10 on these things. 17:12 And usually, if a husband and wife, 17:13 if they're not in the Lord and really geared up here 17:16 and usually one of them knows what upsets the other one, 17:19 they'll let them have it in that one area. 17:20 And the other would hit back 17:22 and then everything, you know, explodes. 17:24 So through that all, we can become stronger. 17:28 Because it's through tests and trials, 17:30 and I always like to say those little trials of God... 17:32 You know, or a character to be perfected. 17:35 Amen. So praise God for that. 17:36 But what you're speaking of is how badly we need each other. 17:39 Oh, yes. Amen. Yes. 17:41 Oh, that the body needs the body. 17:43 And you mentioned too, you know, going in together, 17:45 and I almost got spiritual goosebumps 17:47 'cause I was thinking about Christ 17:49 sending the people out 2 by 2, 17:52 and also we're two or three are gathered together in His name, 17:55 there He is in the midst. 17:57 You know, but it takes the whole body 17:59 as you were talking the whole body of Christ, 18:01 and you also said 18:02 where did these fiery darts come from. 18:04 And I've been doing a lot of reading 18:06 about, you know, the time hat we're in, 18:09 and what the straight testimony is all about. 18:14 And see the faith, we need the shield of faith 18:18 because I mentioned in our last program, 18:21 it's not even distinguishing truth from error always, 18:24 it's truth from almost truth. 18:26 Oh, yeah. 18:28 So we have to be so grounded in the truth in our faith, 18:32 and we are exercising that faith, you talked about 18:35 moving it side to side. 18:36 We're exercising the faith. 18:39 And it sometimes it's the little things, 18:42 you know, things that many people may not even think 18:45 or anything to really worry about, 18:48 but I've read in Spirit of Prophecy 18:51 that many types it's those little things 18:53 that cause us to stumble 18:56 and then our shield is let down and the enemy comes in, 18:59 and we won't be able to stay in. 19:00 So the little principles 19:03 when we're going and we're witnessing, 19:05 say with other people of other faiths, 19:07 and they come and they say, 19:09 "Well, yeah, well, you believe in this, 19:10 but I believe it's this because dah-dah-dah-dah. 19:13 And you may be thinking, "Huh, what was all right? 19:17 You know, it sure seemed right." 19:18 Well, I remember reading..." 19:21 You begin to waver 19:22 and that shield of faith begins to move. 19:25 So that's why it's so important that we are strong in the faith 19:30 that no matter... 19:31 We're coming to a time 19:32 you cannot believe what you see, 19:35 what you hear, maybe even what you smell. 19:39 You know, you think of Christ in the wilderness 19:41 and then turning the stones to bread. 19:43 What if he could smell that? He was so hungry. 19:46 You see, so we have to 19:48 no matter what's going around us, 19:50 no matter what laws are being passed, 19:53 we have to have faith in the truth, 19:56 and it's that faith of that small group 19:59 that's going to help to see them through, 20:02 and then they'll receive the latter rain. 20:05 Isn't that beautiful? It is beautiful. 20:08 Go ahead. 20:09 And, you know, it says now what we just read here, 20:11 this word just jumped out at me. 20:14 "Above all, taking the shield of faith," 20:16 in other words, 20:18 this is Paul talking to his people, you know. 20:20 Listen, position yourself because the day is coming 20:24 whenever we need to count on this, 20:26 it goes, "Wherein ye shall be able to quench all..." 20:30 Yes. Fiery darts. 20:31 "All of them." All of them. Praise God. 20:33 Yeah. Amen. 20:34 So yes, we're going to be attacked on all the side, 20:36 but yet the cause of the faith that you have, 20:40 Lord increased my faith. Yes. 20:42 And that shield is there to protect you from all. 20:46 And, you know, there's... 20:47 Thank you, Lord, we'll bring everything to you. 20:49 Thank you, Lord, 20:51 for the shield that You've given us 20:52 so that we can combat against all. 20:55 The other thing you just brought to my mind too 20:57 that I read in preparation for this was 21:00 it takes the faith, 21:02 it takes us using the faith and having the faith 21:05 for God to even be able to send His angels. 21:08 Amen. Around us to help us. 21:10 So we have to have faith first. 21:12 You know, the thought that struck me 21:14 when you were speaking, 21:15 Hebrews 11:6, you all can say this with me, 21:18 "Without faith, it is impossible to please Him." 21:21 Because when we come to Him, 21:23 we must believe that He is 21:25 and that He is a rewarder of those 21:27 who earnestly seek Him. 21:29 I remember getting to that scripture 21:32 when I was not quite a mature Christian. 21:36 And the way in which I study is when I read something, 21:38 and I don't understand it, I just say, "God, what?" 21:41 So it was like, "What do you mean without faith, 21:43 it's impossible to please You?" 21:45 Because, to me, at that time, it was like, 21:48 "You know what it's like to be down here? 21:51 Jesus, you walked this earth, 21:53 you can see how we could doubt." 21:55 And where He took me... 21:57 And this is what I just wanted to share with you at home. 22:01 The reason faith is so important 22:04 and believing in His Word as you're saying. 22:06 You know, there's that faith to... 22:10 I believe the foundation of faith is trust, 22:13 but the reason that we need to trust in Him, 22:17 and 1 John 5:10 is where the Lord took me, 22:20 I'm just going to read you the whole scripture, 22:22 but I'm going to focus on the B part. 22:25 When it says, we cannot please God without faith, 22:28 it says, "He who believes in the Son of God 22:31 has the witness in himself. 22:33 He who does not believe God has made Him a liar..." 22:39 Oh! That's pretty heavy. 22:40 Yes. Now that's heavy. 22:42 Amen, and that's true. It's true. 22:43 So if we don't accept the Word of God... 22:47 And I tell you, Chris, 22:49 'cause you were talking about the whole truth. 22:52 There is... 22:53 I heard this saying once, 22:55 and it always stuck with me, that... 22:57 We'll see if it's stuck with me. 23:01 "Preconceived opinions 23:05 effectively insulate the mind against truth." 23:09 So you start talking to someone as I was brought up... 23:15 That commandments were nailed to the cross, 23:18 you start talking to someone 23:19 who hasn't spend considerable time 23:22 in the scripture studying it for themselves, 23:25 putting aside everything they've been taught, 23:27 and you try to convince them of the beauty of the Sabbath, 23:30 and they're going to laugh you off. 23:31 And they're not going to have faith, 23:34 but that's why it's so important 23:36 to get into the word and make certain that 23:39 everything we're holding dear 23:42 as our belief system is the entire counsel of God. 23:48 You know, one thing that always impressed me 23:51 about your relationship with the Lord is 23:54 whenever you decided that this is the path 23:57 that you're going to follow 23:58 through the aid of the Holy Spirit. 24:00 Okay, you have your shield up, you know, and says, 24:03 "Listen, Shelley, forget what you think that you know 24:06 and let me guide you." Amen. 24:09 And so, I think that's a word for a lot of people. 24:11 Yes, it is. It is. 24:12 And we do have preconceived ideas. 24:14 What's our legitimate that we're born, you know, 24:16 I mean, that's leadership at home. 24:18 And lots of times, 24:20 people are ignorant for no fault. 24:23 You know, they just... 24:25 But, boy, if you're a seeker, 24:27 you're going to start turning the pages. 24:29 I've had to change my... 24:30 I don't know, anybody hear of it. 24:31 I had to change my little preconceived ideas at time 24:34 or even the way you were raised or what you heard 24:37 and what you thought was... 24:38 The truth until you got to really studying 24:41 and the Holy Spirit begin to work. 24:42 I heard one man say one time, talking about, 24:45 when thinking in terms of 24:47 how the Holy Spirit leads and guides isn't all truth. 24:50 He said the problem with Paul's writings 24:53 is the way that he wrote them. 24:54 If he just write them simple and plain 24:56 like some of the other Bible writers, 24:58 I can understand it, 24:59 and then I could have explained to other people, 25:00 but he didn't write it the way he's supposed to. 25:02 Well, we understand all scriptures 25:04 getting by inspiration from God, the Holy Spirit. 25:06 So it's not how he wrote down. 25:08 We need spiritual things are spiritually discerned, 25:12 so we need the Holy Spirit to help us, 25:13 so you're talking about here when we come to... 25:15 And I've done it myself. 25:17 I come to it a lot of times that passage, 25:18 and I say, you know, "I just can't quite get this." 25:21 I know what other people might be able to get it right, 25:23 but I can't get it, 25:24 so, Lord, I want to know what the truth is." 25:27 And if it demands a change, 25:29 then help me to make that change 25:31 because the pride business, 25:32 or I'm right all the times, or we have a... 25:35 Truth is progress even onward and so on. 25:37 I think we're going to have to changing the molding 25:39 as the Holy Spirit guides and directs us. 25:41 I'm a believer in that. 25:43 The good news is I have a lot of Paul's writings. 25:47 He certainly is hitting home 25:48 right here in the Ephesians 6:10-18 25:50 because we can... 25:52 At least I can see the picture. 25:53 And if I can see the picture, 25:55 I think that most people see the picture. 25:57 Amen. 25:59 You know that one interesting 26:00 because when Paul was writing this, right? 26:02 What was he really addressing? 26:05 He was really addressing the church 26:07 and the issues that were going in the church at this time. 26:10 How we need to have unity, 26:11 how we need to be talking about shoulder to shoulder 26:13 using the shield, 26:15 you hold here and one over here, 26:16 but together... 26:17 And he's saying, 26:19 "If we're going to have unity in the church, 26:20 and in the truth, and in the doctrines, 26:21 and the teachings, we had to be able to cover, 26:23 pray for one another, work for one another." 26:25 We said, "First of all, 26:26 it's not going to happen at church 26:28 unless we put the whole armor on. 26:30 If we have an arm, 26:31 then something good's going to happen." 26:32 And the beautiful thing is 26:34 as you're studying each piece of the armor, 26:35 it's going to deal with our character. 26:37 And our characters will be changed. 26:39 You know, if nothing else, I hope that your family, 26:42 our family at home, 26:44 you will begin to dig deeper. 26:46 You know, sometimes in... 26:47 Maybe not you guys, 26:49 but at least for me, it's overwhelming. 26:51 And I look back, I think, "Boy, if I could just remember, 26:54 recall everything I've studied I might know something." 26:58 But you know this... Isn't it interesting? 27:00 And I'm sure you found this, 27:02 it's like you will study something, 27:03 and then it can be a hot topic for you for a while 27:06 and then you're kind of forget it. 27:07 But then, later on, 27:09 you are studying something completely different, 27:12 and the Lord reminds you of what you are. 27:15 He brings it to our memories 27:17 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 27:19 So it's always in there. 27:21 He can't put... 27:22 He can't bring it to mind if you haven't done your best. 27:24 That's true. That's right. 27:25 We've got to do our part, family. 27:27 We have to get out. 27:28 And what a gift, 27:30 even the spirit of prophecy books 27:31 that we have for the Adventist Church. 27:33 If you're not an Adventist, call and get some, 27:35 we've got some wonderful books, we'd love to share with you. 27:37 But what a gift, 27:39 they're always bringing us back to the Word of God 27:41 and helping it to become clear. 27:43 God cannot put in what we haven't done for ourselves. 27:47 We do our part, 27:49 He's going to come and do the rest. 27:50 Isn't that beautiful? Yes, it is. 27:52 And the bottom line on this shield of faith 27:54 is 1 John 5:4. Okay. 27:56 Where he said that, "Whatever is born of God 27:59 has overcome the world. 28:01 And this is the victory 28:04 that has overcome the world, our faith." 28:08 And that's how we become overcomers. 28:12 You know, we've all mentioned, I think the importance, 28:15 the vital importance of having faith... 28:20 So I'm just thinking of those that are saying, 28:23 "But I don't have faith." 28:25 So let's go to how simple this is. 28:29 How does faith... How did we get the faith... 28:31 Romans 10:17. 28:33 Faith comes by the Word of God. 28:35 Hearing and hearing about the word. 28:36 Hearing and hearing about the Word of God. 28:39 So you want your faith to grow. 28:42 Do you know your faith will grow? 28:44 Amen. How does your faith grow? 28:46 By getting into God's Word. 28:48 And remember those preconceived notions 28:51 Shelley was talking about, going into something, 28:54 and you've already got your mind made up, 28:56 and you may not even know your mind's made up, 28:58 but because you've heard it this way forever. 29:01 Who's this? 29:02 Abnormal is normal, 29:04 if that's how you've ever been known. 29:06 Yeah, that's true. 29:07 And so we go into God... 29:09 When you open up God's work... 29:11 And, Kenny, you heard on this beautifully. 29:13 When you go into God's Word, you stop reading, studying. 29:17 Oh, God, search me if there is era in me 29:21 through this word 29:23 because the entrance of God's Word gives light, 29:25 understanding to the simple. 29:27 So, Father, as I am reading this word, 29:29 show me the era of my way 29:32 as faith enters into my heart, reveal my era." 29:36 And oh, God, where there is era, 29:37 I give you permission to root it out 29:40 and to line me up with the truth of Your Word, 29:43 and it all starts with what, spending time... 29:47 I think it doesn't matter 29:49 what area of God's Word you're studying 29:52 and looking into, 29:53 the Word of God is your foundation and your basis. 29:56 And you always simultaneously invite the Holy Spirit 30:00 and to be your God. 30:01 Yes, always. 30:02 And I think that that's very important. 30:05 This is part of faith. 30:06 Lord, assist me here. 30:08 I give the Holy Spirit permission to be in charge, 30:11 now you're stepping out in faith because it may not... 30:14 You may have ideas of your own, 30:16 but yet you're giving Him permission to work in you. 30:20 And you may think that you've got 30:21 to read volumes of God's Word, you know, God would rather, 30:25 you walk in the truth of one scripture 30:29 than for you to read three chapters 30:31 and not do any of it. 30:33 So just spend... 30:36 Don't try to start out with reading the whole chapter, 30:39 start out reading small portions of it, 30:42 and asking God to enlighten you, 30:44 and show you what this means. 30:46 Then walk in the light of that. 30:47 I was just thinking when you said that 30:49 though in 2016 at the ASI Convention, 30:54 the gentlemen who had... 30:55 He had some kind of... 30:59 Well, substitute for ice cream, 31:02 but he had been an atheist 31:04 and his friend was a Seventh-day Adventist. 31:08 And he got so upset with his friend 31:12 constantly talking to him about the Word of God 31:16 that what he did was this guy said, 31:19 "I'm going to get a Bible, 31:20 I'm going to sit down and read it 31:22 so I can argue against him." 31:24 And he sat down and read it 31:26 from cover to cover and gave his heart to the Lord. 31:29 And he is so active in church now, preaching, 31:33 and seeing the Word of God is alive 31:35 and the power in this word, it has such power. 31:39 Yes. Amen. 31:40 It's the only book that can change lives the way it does. 31:43 And the problem that I see even with the shield of faith 31:47 is that many people become complacent. 31:50 And they are in churches 31:52 and they think all we have to do 31:53 is have faith in Christ as our Lord and Savior, 31:57 except Him and they go no further. 32:00 But that is beautiful 32:01 because you've never seen our position 32:05 until you begin to share the truth with people. 32:06 Yeah, unless the fact. 32:08 And the old enemy begins to wear his ugly hat, 32:10 but, you know, if you have apathy, 32:13 if you really don't have a desire to study, 32:16 one thing I learned years ago 32:17 is that if we don't have it, we ask for it. 32:19 You know, and the Holy Spirit will give us that desire. 32:22 Ask him to wake you up earlier 32:25 so, you know, a lot of times we think, 32:26 "Well, I've got the kids, I've got this, I've got that." 32:29 What if you had another hour? 32:31 Even if you start out... 32:32 Or even 15 minutes. Yes. 32:34 Sometimes if people think, "Oh, I've got to do all this," 32:38 it's just discouraging to start with, 32:40 but that just start where you can. 32:43 Or do what, 32:44 somebody who's sitting at this table 32:46 told me that she did, Chris. 32:47 And that is... 32:49 Sometimes you don't have time to read, get it on audio. 32:50 Oh, yes. Audio verse. 32:52 Just, you know, you can be driving the children to school 32:55 and listening to the Bible or as you drive to work 32:59 you are listening to the Bible. 33:00 So you can get the audios of it. 33:03 Well, you're exercising, and people say, 33:04 "I can't exercise, I can't stay, and I can do." 33:06 You can do both. 33:07 Yes. Yes. 33:09 By listening or watching, you know, as you're doing 33:10 your lyrical, whatever it might be. 33:12 So there is a way to do it. 33:13 But if person is not wanting to receive, 33:16 they can really put up some opposition. 33:18 I'm talking about study... 33:20 I remember studying with a guy one time 33:21 that came over to the house 33:22 and studying and he want to know any issues. 33:24 So we began to discuss that issue and so anyway, 33:28 but turned to the Word of God 33:29 and was reading some passages there. 33:30 He just started to getting more aggravated, 33:33 you know, and so I kind of backed down, 33:34 backed away a little bit, 33:36 then he'd ask another question, I'd go back into the Word. 33:38 Finally, he just... 33:40 He wasn't willing and ready to receive yet, 33:42 but yet, he was still asking like, 33:43 "Well, just keep showing me, keep showing me." 33:45 Well, the end result, he walked over to me, 33:49 he reached down 33:50 'cause I was pointing there to the passage. 33:52 He took that Bible 33:54 and he ripped that page of the Bible out, 33:56 he watered it up and hit me in the face with it. 33:58 Oh, my... Well, I had to pray. 34:00 Oh, yeah. 34:01 I had to pray for patience right then and there 34:03 because my first instinct is we'll see, 34:05 you know, somebody not with me out there, 34:08 but that's, you know, these are the things 34:09 we're talking about the fiery darts, right? 34:12 We're talking about here one can be patience, 34:14 one can be anger, you know, whatever it might be. 34:17 But that was a trying time 34:20 because you were trying to give God the Word, 34:22 you know, and the Word of God. 34:24 And, you know, they wanted to... 34:25 And first of all, that hurt. 34:28 That hurt because I realized it was the Word of God 34:30 and how could anybody tear that page up. 34:34 Like most of her when your Bible 34:36 and you go through it a little bit 34:37 and it gets worn, never throw it away, 34:40 you never burn it. 34:42 Always close it up nicely and set it up there 34:43 and keep all the bibles by the grace of God 34:46 because it's so special and so holy. 34:49 And so to do that, first of all, 34:51 and then they didn't really want to hear it. 34:53 So, you know, but, you know, 34:54 the time had changed that the person changed. 34:57 You know, and the person 34:59 actually became the pastor later on. 35:00 So it was good that just sit in the seat and... 35:04 My Uncle Bentwood say, 35:06 "You bite your tongue, you know, 35:07 and say nothing and ask God to do 35:09 what needs to be done 35:10 because that ain't right there." 35:12 So those tests will come, but it's all right 35:14 because Holy Spirit is going to be there to help us. 35:15 So you can be blessed sometimes by biting your tongue? 35:19 Exactly. 35:20 It was a time in which we do that. 35:22 But the armor, right, we talked about this part. 35:24 We have to have the armor on 35:26 because there have been one piece 35:27 that maybe it was not on, 35:29 that piece that would have been, 35:30 that would have been the loose part 35:31 right there then it could really been 35:33 where it shouldn't have been. 35:34 That's many years ago, but still... 35:36 We need to move on to this Holy Spirit, but... 35:37 Okay, honey. 35:39 Before we do, just one little-bitty last thing 35:40 I want to just finish up 35:42 'cause I mentioned about having faith in Jesus Christ. 35:45 But we need to have faith in His teaching, 35:48 in the Word of God, 35:49 in His principles that we stand firm on those principles. 35:53 And sometimes, a principle is something that we think, 35:56 "Oh, that could be a gray area or whatever." 35:58 You know what I'm saying? 35:59 But we have to learn to have faith 36:01 and unwavering trust in His Word. 36:04 Amen. 36:05 So it's just beautiful, 36:07 this armor that He has given us. 36:08 'Cause how many soldiers, by the way. 36:11 What if we sent our men and our women into battle 36:15 without their armor on, without the necessary means? 36:19 And like it or not, even people 36:21 who don't realize they are in a spiritual warfare, 36:23 one day they will. 36:25 And it will be too late. 36:27 Well, I wasn't in the military, 36:29 it wasn't because I didn't want to be, 36:31 it's just because of I think it's God's grace. 36:34 I flunked my physical. 36:35 And I was a hunk of a man at that particular time so... 36:39 The God flunked him on purpose. 36:40 Someday I'm going to find out 36:42 when I'm certain at the feet of Jesus, 36:43 how come that I was given a 4F? 36:48 But that's neither here nor there, the point is, 36:50 I don't imagine very many people went to Vietnam 36:53 during my time without a helmet. 36:55 That's right. 36:57 And now you were in the service. 36:58 Yes. I guess you had a helmet. 37:00 Absolutely. Yeah. 37:01 I may not think that goes. 37:02 And so here, we've covered our body, 37:04 we've gone from our feet, 37:05 we've gone to our waist, we've gone to our chest. 37:09 Now we're getting up around our head, 37:11 you know, and that's where we think 37:13 and that's where our will is, 37:15 our determination, our priorities. 37:18 So what do we have? Yeah. 37:20 But, you know, when we think about 37:21 what you are talking about here even in the world, 37:24 things around us. 37:25 I mean, what do you do 37:26 if you are just playing football? 37:28 There are certain things that have to protect 37:29 and right now they're looking at the brain, you know, 37:32 that first thing you get that helmet on 37:34 then you have your shoulder pads 37:36 and things to kind of protect your chest and shoulders 37:37 and those things that can be hurt. 37:39 You look at baseball, 37:41 you look at the baseball player, 37:42 the catcher. 37:43 For instance, he has a solid hat on over one, 37:46 he puts the mask over his face, 37:48 takes care of his eyes, his nose, his mouth, his ears, 37:50 and so on and so forth, chest protector and so on. 37:53 They also have... 37:54 Getting down here toward the feet, don't they? 37:56 You know, for the knees and so on, 37:57 and it goes all the way down and goes on to his shoes. 38:00 So when he squats down, 38:02 he is really fully protected and most catchers 38:04 whichever the right handed... 38:05 Whatever they have a glove in the left hand, 38:07 they will reach out. 38:08 You'll notice so many times that hand here, 38:10 this is the only thing it's not protected, 38:11 we basically... 38:12 They will take that one arm sometimes 38:14 and they will put it back behind them right here 38:16 because they are realizing 38:17 that needs to be protected too 'cause... 38:18 Oh, absolutely. 38:20 You know, we shouldn't fight this protection. 38:22 No. 38:23 This is spiritual we're talking about here. 38:25 They realized... 38:26 The world realizes the importance of protection 38:29 and what you're doing. 38:30 And what I'm thinking about real quick right now. 38:32 I wonder when did Paul write this. 38:37 I mean, baseball is a relatively modern game, 38:40 football is a modern game, 38:41 but yet they were doing the same thing way back then. 38:44 Amen. 38:45 So it's not new, it's just that, hey, 38:47 we've got to protect... 38:49 It made common sense then a common sense. 38:50 It does. 38:52 And I'm glad you brought me back 38:53 'cause I skipped the helmet of salvation 38:54 what I said last time. 38:56 And you over there thinking, 38:57 "Yes, I went to the sword of the spirit." 38:58 But the helmet of salvation, we need that helmet, 39:01 we need our minds protect us, somebody give me some thoughts. 39:04 Is that verse 17? Yes, verse 17. 39:07 Somebody give me some thoughts on the helmet of protection. 39:09 I mean, the helmet of salvation. 39:12 To me, the helmet of salvation 39:14 is the blessed assurance of our salvation. 39:17 That's what protects our mind. 39:18 And I'm not talking once saved always saved. 39:21 I mean, we can walk away from the Lord, 39:23 but let me give you 39:24 if you are in Christ, you are saved. 39:28 Salvation doesn't belong to you, 39:32 it belongs Jesus and to God, 39:35 and both the Old and the New Testament say this, 39:38 but let me give you a promise to hold onto. 39:41 It's 1st John, 39:42 and we were just there when we... 39:44 I'm going to begin back where I was in verse 10. 39:47 First John 5:10, 39:49 "He who believes in the Son of God 39:51 has the witness in himself. 39:53 He who does not believe God has made him a liar 39:57 because he has not believed the testimony 39:59 that God has given of His Son. 40:02 This is the testimony, verse 11 says. 40:05 "That God has given us eternal life 40:09 and this life is in His Son, 40:12 He who has the Son, has life, 40:15 He who does not have the Son of God, 40:18 does not have life." 40:19 To me, the helmet of a salvation... 40:22 Boy, as the Lord... 40:24 The Lord had me spend about three weeks on this. 40:27 Oh, beautiful. 40:28 Once and I'm talking like six to eight hours a day. 40:31 And when I really got to that point because... 40:36 And, Mollie, you know this. 40:38 I grew up in a dysfunctional family 40:41 that kind of demanded I was perfect to be loved. 40:44 So I became very performance oriented. 40:47 If I thought you wanted me to do this, 40:49 I mean I'm always trying to please everybody 40:51 and that was my relationship with the Lord. 40:54 And because that was my relationship... 40:56 Because I felt like God couldn't love me 40:59 unless I was perfect. 41:01 I finally gave up one day 'cause nobody's perfect. 41:04 And I walked away from the Lord for a couple of years. 41:07 So here is the point. 41:11 When God took me even though 41:13 I felt like I was a good Christian, 41:14 it wasn't until that time that my mind had 41:18 that assurance, that helmet of salvation on, 41:23 that's what changed me. 41:25 That's what made it easy to obey, 41:28 easy to submit to the Lord, 41:31 easy to yield to the leading of His Spirit. 41:36 Isn't that funny? 41:37 I mean, we don't obey to be saved, 41:40 we obey because we are saved. 41:43 And when you recognize you are a child of God 41:46 and you have that helmet of salvation, 41:48 that assurance, then it makes you want to obey. 41:52 Amen. That's true, good. That's my thought. 41:55 What it says here, you know, I mean I'm trying to... 41:56 I'm in between here, it is the hope of salvation 42:00 because that's what we have whenever we have the helmet. 42:02 Okay, here we got the seat of intelligence up here 42:05 and so now we're thinking, we've decided, 42:09 "Okay, I choose Jesus to serve, 42:11 I want to avoid sin to the best of my ability. 42:14 And I want to be living in Jesus." 42:16 And so, He says, "Be sober," 42:19 That's part of living with Jesus. 42:21 In other words be calm, you know. 42:26 Be serious about what you believe 42:28 so, you know, be determined, be purposeful, and everything. 42:32 And so that is the hope of salvation. 42:35 Yes. 42:37 And the helmet is there to protect that 42:38 because of that decision that you are making... 42:40 Amen. Amen. 42:42 I like the helmet of salvation because, you know, 42:45 we've read that we can have the atmosphere of heaven here. 42:49 And to me, as I was studying about the helmet of salvation, 42:52 that's what it does. 42:53 I was trying to find where this little quote is AG, 42:57 who can tell me what AG stands for? 42:59 I have forgotten, AG, which book? 43:02 Nobody knows? It's AG 34. 43:04 So if you want to look it up. 43:05 I'm not sure which book that is right now. 43:08 But listen to this quote... Amazing Grace. 43:09 Amazing Grace? Okay, thank you. 43:12 "God bids us fill our mind 43:14 with great thoughts, pure thoughts." 43:17 So we have a choice, you know, I can remember years ago... 43:23 Easy now. Yeah. 43:25 You know, my first... We can't do it all. 43:27 My first thought was not to turn on gospel music, 43:30 you know, I like the contemporary, rock music, 43:33 that type of thing. 43:35 But when God began to convict me on it, 43:39 I would turn to something that sounded very similar 43:42 that might talk about Him. 43:44 But it still sounded like rock 43:45 and He just gently brought me out of all of that. 43:49 But we have a choice, you know, what we are going to dwell on. 43:52 We have a choice what channel we turn on in our home... 43:56 Oh, yes. Sure. 43:58 What we hear. 43:59 You know, I didn't even think about till I had... 44:01 We had our grandson with us last week. 44:03 And it was Sunday 44:05 and we were going to watch a little bit of 44:07 just the morning news. 44:09 And I didn't realize how bad it was, 44:10 I had to turn it off. 44:12 I thought his ears didn't need to hear what they were... 44:14 I mean our world is really changing. 44:17 So we have a lot of decisions moment by moment, 44:20 day by day to make 44:22 when it comes to filling our mind 44:23 with great thoughts, pure thoughts. 44:25 "He desires us to meditate upon His love and mercy." 44:30 Isn't that beautiful? 44:31 "Meditate upon that to study His wonderful work 44:34 and the great plan of redemption. 44:37 Then clear, still clear will be our perception of truth, 44:41 higher, holier our desire 44:43 for purity of heart and clearness of thoughts." 44:46 So see there are steps there, all of this armor is steps, 44:50 putting on that helmet 44:52 is a step of an atmosphere of heaven. 44:54 Amen. 44:55 "The so dwelling and the pure atmosphere of holy thought 44:59 will be transformed by communion with God." 45:04 You will be transformed as you commune with your Savior 45:08 through the study of the scriptures. 45:11 Isn't that beautiful? 45:12 And that's where that helmet of salvation comes in. 45:15 You know, a lot of these things... 45:16 You mentioned you left the church. 45:19 There were a group of books that I put down for years, 45:22 I thought this is overwhelming, 45:24 I can't take it anymore, it's too much. 45:27 It's too cutting but when you begin to allow God 45:30 and His love to come in and you spend time with Him, 45:34 and you begin to put that helmet of salvation on, 45:37 then you... 45:38 "Oh okay, I wish I had got this sooner. 45:40 Now I see why You say, what You say. 45:44 Now I see why You've given the counsel You've given." 45:48 But it took a long time because God's Word, 45:51 Jesus Christ's amenity with this world. 45:54 And, you know, by nature we are part of this world, 45:57 you know, the things we grew up with, 45:59 my atmosphere was not anything to do with going to church. 46:03 And my mom would send me 46:04 to vacation Bible school sometimes. 46:07 But that was about it, you know, we... 46:09 My mom had several restaurants 46:11 'cause she had left the church 46:13 and every one of those restaurants 46:14 was connected to a tavern. 46:16 So we were in and out of the tavern, 46:18 she is staying in the taverns, 46:19 she was asked to sing on Hee Haw at one time 46:22 but that was when she was beginning 46:23 to transition back to the Lord. 46:25 So she turned that down. 46:27 But, you know, we were dancing on the dance floors 46:30 and, you know, I've even, when I came to live 46:33 with my grandparents in Marion, Illinois 46:35 and started going to church 46:36 and understanding a little bit more about it, 46:38 I didn't see anything wrong with dancing for a long time. 46:42 And maybe, you know, 46:44 you talk about Jewish dancing or David dancing, 46:46 that's a little different than the dancing the world does. 46:48 So let me clarify that for some of you to say, 46:51 "Oh, I did, nobody says it's sin." 46:53 It's the type of dancing that we were doing. 46:55 And finally, I think it was a pastor 46:57 that gave me a brochure from another church, 47:00 you know, and I read that. 47:02 But as we begin to study, 47:04 and that's our part again is studying. 47:05 Studying. Amen. 47:07 Then God begins to... make that so much clear. 47:09 I think that Kenny hit right on the head, 47:11 it is the progressive wall. 47:12 It is a progressive wall. 47:13 This is what sanctification is about. 47:15 Revelation, step by step. 47:16 I think that what you were saying a while ago 47:18 about being saved, 47:21 you know, in Adventism, I've had to try to learn this. 47:24 And so I want to encourage some of you who fight this, 47:26 we grew up but you never used the term, you'd say... 47:32 Because we realized that we have life 47:33 then we could change it so on and so forth. 47:35 But yes, scripture indicates 47:37 that we can know that we are saved. 47:40 And, but, yeah, we are careful, we don't use that. 47:43 We don't use Holy Spirit, we don't use Holy Ghost, 47:46 you know, we don't... 47:47 We... 47:48 Well, that must be certain circles 47:50 'cause Ellen White certainly used it a lot. 47:51 Yes, she did. 47:52 So when I say scripture, 47:54 definitely points out we should know. 47:55 Ellen White simply says in the Spirit of Prophecy, she says, 47:57 "If you don't know that you are saved, 48:00 you get down on your knees, and you stay down on your knees 48:02 and you pray until you know that you've been saved." 48:05 Amen. 48:06 I thought, man, that's enough to kind of settle for me. 48:09 But you don't go around and actually bragging about it, 48:11 "Oh, I am a..." 48:12 Life still goes on, we are still challenged, 48:14 we still have to be obedient to God's Word. 48:15 Every day. 48:16 Still life is sanctification... 48:18 Oh, we know, it's not once saved, 48:19 always saved. 48:20 Go ahead. Oh, I have got a comment that I want to... 48:22 And, you know, you still got to get up in the morning 48:24 and put your shoes on, put the chains on everything 48:28 because you are putting your armor on. 48:29 That's right. 48:30 Guard yourself up, 48:32 put your breastplate on, you know. 48:33 Good point, that's great. Everyday. 48:35 Yes. 48:36 Could I add one of my favorite scriptures 48:37 on the assurance of salvation? 48:39 Sure. Absolutely. 48:40 And I think right know this has become... 48:43 I always am saying one of my favorites, 48:45 one of my favorites, one of my favorites 48:46 but this has become my favorite. 48:49 And that's Hebrews 7:22. 48:52 And it says in Hebrews 7:22, 48:55 "By so much more, 48:57 Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant." 49:00 Amen. Yes. Oh, absolutely. 49:02 I looked up that word surety 49:05 and all of a sudden that scripture 49:09 just, to me this is like a neon blinking sign. 49:13 Christ... Mercy. 49:16 We are so accustomed to thinking of Him 49:18 as our substitute on the cross. 49:21 Yes, He died, He took my penalty. 49:24 He took my punishment. Yes. 49:26 But this word "surety", 49:27 He is more than our substitute, He is our surety. 49:30 That means He is our guarantor. Amen. 49:34 Jesus is the guaranteed, 49:37 the guarantor of the new covenant. 49:40 But, get it this way, 49:43 He's the guarantor from heaven to us 49:46 and us to heaven. 49:47 He is our guarantor from God because... 49:51 What does 2 Corinthians 1:20 say, 49:53 "All of God's promises are yes and amen in Christ." 49:58 When you are in Christ, 50:00 all of God's promises belong to you. 50:02 He is the guarantor. 50:03 If you are in Christ, 50:05 every single promise in this Bible 50:07 belongs to you 50:08 and every command is a promise 50:10 of what God will do 50:11 as He works in you to will and to do His good pleasure. 50:15 But then get this, 50:17 He is also 50:20 our guarantor to God. 50:24 Yes. 50:26 As we partake up this covenant, 50:29 as we become part of the new covenant 50:31 saved by His blood, 50:33 He is guaranteeing to God 50:35 that He is going to work in us 50:37 to will and to do His good pleasure. 50:41 Amen. 50:42 So He is... 50:44 Both directions, 50:45 He is the guarantee, He is the surety. 50:48 And for me, even today... 50:51 Because I did grow up, 50:52 and Mollie and I have discussed this 50:54 so much in the past. 50:55 I grew up with that being 50:58 hammered in my head over and over again. 51:01 I was in a New Testament church 51:02 but you had to be perfect to be loved, 51:04 you had to be perfect to be loved, 51:05 you had to be perfect for God to love you. 51:08 And rules without relationship result in rebellion. 51:13 As you get to that point where you're just like, 51:15 like you said, "This is too much, I don't... 51:18 You know, all right, God. 51:19 Yeah, I can't please You. Bye-bye." 51:23 But when you know what He has given you, 51:26 it changes your heart. 51:28 When your mind, you know, the helmet of salvation, 51:32 when salvation is in your mind, it just puts that armor on you. 51:37 That that... Yes. 51:39 It makes you... 51:40 And they had to put their helmet on 51:42 before they picked up their shield of faith. 51:46 Amen. 51:47 So that's where it all begins from. 51:48 Amen. 51:50 And that's a wonderful segue to the last piece of the armor. 51:54 That a wonderful... 51:56 And we, sadly I wasn't watching the time as I should have, 52:00 but the sword of the Spirit... 52:02 Oh, that's good. 52:03 The sword of the Spirit which, you know, 52:05 Ephesians says, is the Word of God. 52:08 The Word of God and that's what you were talking about 52:10 is the Word of God, 52:11 every promise in the Word of God 52:13 belongs to His children in Christ 52:16 because He is our surety. 52:18 And, you know, I look at 52:19 when He was praying for the disciples 52:21 and those coming after Him, 52:23 it wasn't until just recently that I looked at 52:27 those scriptures and I thought wow, 52:28 He was praying for us. 52:31 Amen. 52:33 He was praying for you, He was praying for me, 52:35 He was praying for us. 52:36 Amen. Absolutely. 52:38 That God would keep us 52:41 keep us covered in this armor, 52:46 keep us covered, surrounded by the atmosphere of heaven. 52:50 Isn't that beautiful? 52:51 He is our surety, He didn't fail, 52:53 He is the second Adam, 52:55 and He showed us the way to salvation. 52:58 Isn't it funny... 52:59 To think about it's not funny but it's just interesting 53:02 we talked about the armor is all defense, isn't it? 53:04 Yes. 53:06 And what is the other? It's the placement. 53:07 You take it by the sword, it's what... 53:08 Isn't it, it's defense 53:10 and offense works through there. 53:12 And that's very interesting and then we have a prayer 53:14 that works in there, you know, if we look at it, 53:16 it's not a weapon as it were. 53:19 Think about what really prayer is when it's intermingled 53:22 with what we are talking about here, 53:23 it's the spiritual manner 53:25 in which we have the whole armor of God on. 53:29 So we have a whole armor of God and then we begin to pray. 53:31 So all this I see is just essential that we needed, 53:34 by the grace of God we can pray for, 53:36 we put it on because soon as you say armor, I think battle. 53:40 That's the first thing that comes to my mind every time 53:42 is we're in a warfare and it's a battle time. 53:45 It is a battle time. 53:46 You know, when you look at the Word here 53:48 when it says to take up the sword of the Spirit 53:52 which is the Word of God. 53:54 This is one of eight times 53:57 that the Greek for Word is rhema. 54:02 When it's talking about... 54:04 Every word is inspired, then it's the Logos. 54:10 Everything is Logos, Jesus is the Logos, 54:12 it's the entire counsel of God. 54:14 But when He comes and says that the sword of the Spirit, 54:18 it's the rhema word of God. 54:19 This is the word that you have hidden in your heart, 54:23 this is the word that you are putting into practice, 54:28 and it's got to be hidden in that heart so you can... 54:31 This is that sword just when like when Jesus said, 54:34 "It is written." 54:36 You know, just a... Yes. Yes. 54:38 With the sword, this is the... 54:41 But it has to be the Word that's in your heart 54:44 and that's when it's your sword. 54:47 If it's just sitting in the Bible, it's not... 54:50 I mean I'm not saying that the Word's not powerful 54:52 but if you are not familiar with it, 54:55 it's not gonna do any good. 54:56 So that sword as you said is too edged, too mouth... 55:00 Double mouth. 55:01 Double mouth, that's kind of interesting 55:03 and even in one translation. 55:04 The lexicon gives that sword and it represents the sword 55:08 that was put in Garden of Eden. 55:11 Yes. Right. 55:12 When Adam and Eve were dispelled 55:13 from the Garden of Eden, that same kind of a sword 55:15 that was there in front protecting it. 55:17 That's kind of interesting, it is. 55:19 Let me just explain what you said 55:20 'cause we were going of a previous conversation. 55:22 It says that the Word of the God, 55:25 the Word of God is sharper than any two edged sword. 55:29 And in the Greek, 55:31 that word two edged is double mouth. 55:32 So the way I look at it 55:34 is the first edge of His word struck 55:37 when He spoke it. 55:38 But the second edge strikes when I speak it, 55:41 when I pray it back to Him. 55:43 When I'm confessing it over my life 55:46 or as you do, Mollie, over your children's lives. 55:49 You know, that's very powerful. 55:51 Anyway you strike, you strike it this way 55:52 'cause it only comes back this way, 55:54 you know, little cuts in our life, yes 55:56 Amen. 55:57 I thought of your book when I was reading about 55:59 the sword of the Spirit, I thought oh, 56:01 that is right up Shelley's ally 56:02 'cause she has done so much with that, that's beautiful. 56:05 Sister Mollie, you have been awful quite over there. 56:06 We just have a minute or so less, I know you... 56:08 Well, with the sword does absolutely no good 56:11 said here on the page. 56:13 Somebody mentioned it earlier, 56:14 you have to hide it in your heart. 56:16 And then when you are in that place of battle, 56:20 that word will come out of your heart. 56:22 Boy, you've experienced that. 56:23 Yes. Many times, many times. 56:25 And I think probably everybody at this table 56:27 we have all experienced that 56:29 at one time or another, absolutely. 56:32 You want to pray, Pastor Kenny, you want to pray? 56:34 I heard you just say we need to pray. 56:36 Amen. Well, yeah. 56:38 How about JD? 56:39 Just pray as you always, we're closing. 56:40 Father, we just want to thank You so much, Lord, 56:42 that we have this time to spend in Your Word. 56:44 We come in Your name, Lord, 56:46 the name that's above all names, Lord. 56:48 And, Father, we do, we are very fortunate 56:51 to have the freedom today 56:53 to be able to open up Your Word at anytime. 56:56 And, Father, as we put on Your the whole armor, 57:00 Lord, and that we get to participate 57:03 by having the sword of the Spirit 57:04 in our hands available to us that we can share with others. 57:08 So I just ask Lord to be with everyone 57:10 that's involved in our life and everyone Lord 57:13 that are in involved in Your eyes. 57:17 And, Father, they call up on Your name 57:19 that You will be there 57:20 to assist them in their time of need. 57:23 We love You and we thank You in Jesus' name. 57:25 Amen. Amen. 57:27 Thank you for joining us. See you next time. |
Revised 2018-04-16