20181208 | War of the Worlds | Pastor John Lomacang (tvsdac)

if you have your bibles this morning i'd like you to turn with me to ephesians chapter 6. thank you so much ephesians chapter 6. and we're going to read together verse 11. now i emphasize the word together let's read that together the apostle paul writes these words to the generation standing on the portals of eternity put on the whole armor of god that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil father in heaven this morning as we open our hearts teach us what that means sometimes we lose the impact of a verse that has in the course of time become so familiar to us father this morning teach us what that means that we may be armored in this stage of final battle that the people of god may be armored to stand against the wiles of the devil in jesus name i pray amen it was on halloween eve in 1938 that the power of radio was on full display when a dramatization of a scientific novel novel entitled the war of the worlds and i read the quote scared the daylights out of many cbs radio nighttime listeners it is estimated that 32 million people were listening to the broadcast when orson welles artistically and dramatically manipulated the minds of his listeners into thinking that visitors from mars launched a life extinguishing attack against earth at the beginning of the broadcast and what i did in preparation for the message i actually downloaded the radio broadcast it was 59 minutes it will do you well to go listen to it to recapture the imagination because in our day and age so much is painted for us and televised for us and animated for us but back in 1938 they had radio the mind developed at the picture 32 million people were pinned to their radios on october thirty nineteen thirty eight at the beginning of the broadcast listeners were told that this one hour program would consist of various big ban musical selections from a very well-known director named ramon raquelo and his orchestra however during the program that was supposed to be dedicated to music for one hour during the program to create an urgency and build an atmosphere of tension the broadcast was repeatedly interrupted with urgent news bulletins about this invasion from outer space it was amazing i sat and i literally was captured all over again as my mind was given the task of painting what orson welles so skillfully and artistically painted in the minds of the listeners imagine 32 million people having their minds twisted every which way but loose what began as a rather innocuous and seemingly innocent broadcast transported the listeners of cbs from tranquility to terror moment by moment the radio audience was told that a meteor had landed in groves mill new jersey with the seismic intensity of an earthquake so much so that it created as the announcer says a crater 30 yards in diameter the funny thing about it they were so afraid that they did not even realize that there is no such place as groves mill new jersey it doesn't even exist then they were told in another interruption that it was not a meteor but a smooth yellow and silver cylinder with grinding and hissing noises coming from the inside and when you listen to it orson welles pulled every ounce of fear out of the minds of the listeners even as i sat with my hands folded listening to this i thought man he's good we've lost that kind of artistry in the voice because the voice had to paint the picture it was not done through the skillful hands of animators but he reached into the minds and with every word he brush stroked another feeling another fear another anticipation another form of anxiety through this broadcast a grinding hissing yellow and silver cylinder was now perched and buried as they said in a field in groves mill new jersey on a farm in the background were sounds of police sirens and people and commotions but what the audience did not know there was a man standing with a a phonograph a record player as it were and he was changing the sounds from one record to the other but when you listened to it it sounded so real so convincing so clear they picked amazing sound effects and wonderful actors to capture the minds of these 32 million cbs listeners the scene was intensified over and over again with another news interruption the announcer said the top of the cylinder opened in creatures taller than the average man larger than a grizzly bear is emerging from the smoke with mirror-like blue fa blue fire flame beams and because they were some so much of a martian generation they were taught to think that way any old person know what i'm talking about the martians that was the focus way back in the in the day i want to say for the record i wasn't alive then just for the record just for the wreck and then another interruption in the middle of a song 20 seconds into the song with background sounds of frantically running crowds fearfully the reporter announced that 40 people including six police officers were just incinerated charred beyond recognition by this blue flame beam from these creatures that had the appearance of octopus-like metal objects it was terrifying i paused to read some of the news articles that followed this dramatization they said that people in bars vacated the bars people began to make frantic phone calls to family members that were in the new jersey area not only new jersey but broadcast started coming from canada and they were inserting one scientist here and another meteorologist there and another seismic professor in san diego the entire nation began to be gripped as all these voices from professionals began to insert their part in this mind-bending peace stealing dramatization in the post-commentary after the broadcast it was said and i quote the actors had no idea that they were sowing the seeds of panic among hundreds of thousands who believe that they were actually hearing a factual report but not only was the audience impacted emergency services were impacted state police and fire departments in trenton new jersey started receiving one phone call after the other from panic stricken listeners and no matter how they tried to convince the callers that it was no such event the people still believed it it is said that young people that were given the evening to babysit they called and contacted the mother and father of the babies saying that the martians are coming to destroy our home and our land and pandemonia was gripping every age group you should see the broadcast it's amazing by the way this was such an effective means by which the the audiences were trained and their minds were manipulated that this movie was reproduced again in 2005 with tom cruise as the main actor and the title was the same the war of the worlds but go back with me and imagine for a moment of society a time in history when there are no other resources available to which you can turn to confirm what you're hearing no satellite coverage no fox news no cnn no abc no nbc no cable network news reports no internet connection you cannot text anybody to find out whether or not this is actually happening all you have is just a numb a numbing broadcast reluctantly pushing every nerve in your body to a frightening turmoil associated press and other news outlets across the nation were being bombarded with calls cbs was then forced to interrupt the broadcast with a special announcement to restore as they said civility and tranquility and here's what orson welles says this is arson wells ladies and gentlemen out of character to assure you that the war of the worlds has no further significance than as the holiday offering it was intended to be you will be relieved i hope to learn that we didn't mean it and that both institutions are still open for business that's the police and the fire department so goodbye everybody and remember the terrible lesson you learned tonight don't believe everything you hear the destabilizing cbs drama sounded legitimate because of the actors actors played the role of scientists professors army commanders air force pilots they had to sound of planes attacking the farm they were even counting down how they were getting closer to proximity of 800 feet 400 feet 200 feet the bombs are away but wait a minute the dramatization was so real that it sounded like pilots describing what they saw through the windshields of their fighter jets or as well back then propeller planes but it was nothing but actors playing the role of scientists professors army commanders air force pilots police captains and news reporters with sound effects to intensify and amplify the drama but it was not until 1957 that this 1938 dramatization of war of the worlds was referred to as and i quote the night america trembled a battle that seemed so real overshadowed a battle that is very real a battle that seemed so real overshadowed a battle that is very real the war of the worlds the war of the worlds though dramatized we are living in the midst of the war of the worlds the bible says there was war in heaven michael and his angels fought against the dragon and the dragon and his angels fought the introduction of revelation brings us to the platform where there is an actual war taking place even as we sit here we are reluctant participants in the war of the worlds do you know that but that night 32 million people were robbed of their peace and i'm going to slow down and say it again 32 million people were robbed of their peace because they focused on a war taking place about them around them i'd like to suggest to you that far more people are being robbed of their peace today because they focus on the war that is taking place within them the war of the worlds you see the focus of the message is this i learned when they when you learn about how to communicate a message they say tell them what you're going to say say what you're going to say and then tell them what you said so they don't miss it so i told you what i'm going to say and the message focuses all the wars of earth combined cannot disturb us when we have peace within i'm going to say that again what's happening in the world today around us is irrelevant to what's happening within us that's why jesus says in this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer i have overcome the world my peace i leave with you not as the world gives give i unto you let not your hearts be troubled neither let them be afraid but here we are in the closing scenes of earth's history and there is a lot of fear and intrepidation and pandemonium and a lot of trembling hearts because we're focusing less on what's taking place within us and more on what's taking place about us i can honestly say if the deal between china and america doesn't go through i'm going to still be at peace come on somebody if the economy stabilizes i was kind of worried this week they were saying the stock market was dropping and i know that that i could hear the cha-ching going out of my retirement fund i could i could see it losing weight because you know when the market sneezes everybody gets a cold i hear about wars and rumors of wars the possibility of one in the middle east and in north korea and in other locations of the world it does bring me concern that's why more than ever before it is it is it is befitting of us that we find our peace not in the stability of things around us but in the assurance of the christ within us got to have that peace because if you think it's bad it hasn't really gotten bad yet the stage is being set for the intensity of a battle that when it does occur will be far greater in its impact than the war of the worlds by h.g wells could have ever been but the reality of it is there is no such thing as a life without war there is no such thing as a life without war that's true in the natural world and that is true in the spiritual world as long as we are alive on this side of eternity there will be physical mental moral and spiritual battles in our lives every day and i know that you have some can i can i share bulletin with you i have some lights on every day every moment of every day in the world in which we live there will be physical mental moral and spiritual battles that we are confronted with every day of our lives battles in our church battles in our homes battles in our relationships battles in our minds that really don't exist and then battles in the midst of battles when one is ending another is beginning the apostle paul in romans chapter 7 speaks about the reality of the battle notice what he says verses 22 and 23. let's use our bibles together speaking about the reality of the battle that is taking place within us affecting us physically mentally morally and spiritually romans 7 verse 22 notice what he says he says for i delight in the law of god according to the what man according to the inward man but i see another law in my members and what is the next word warring against the law of my mind that ever present battle and bringing me into captivity prisoner of war to the law of sin which is in my members you know before we submit our lives to christ good is our enemy but when we submit our lives to christ evil is our enemy there's always this tug of war between good and evil before we submit our lives to christ we don't sense the battle because our lives are in harmony with evil but when we submit our lives to christ the battle becomes more real because we have now traded places we have left the side of the enemy and now stand on the side of christ and the very power that was put in place to sustain the way we used to live becomes of a very power or raid against us when we decide to live a different life i don't know if you see it when i was out in the world i mean it wasn't i didn't have any problem you know try to be i'm gonna try to do this in a sanctified way i didn't have any problem partying i didn't feel any angst against going to a club i didn't feel any i didn't feel any in intrepidation or hesitancy you know having a little drink every now and then all of you saints say amen when i was in the seafood playhouse on 48th street and broadway in midtown manhattan i didn't feel any angst ordering a slow gin fizz with with uh with gin and and some sweet stuff inside of it just to lessen the sting i didn't have any it wasn't even a battle to do that because my life was in harmony with everything that was everything that was designed to sustain my sinful life but when you come into harmony with god the very things that you once lived in harmony with now are arrayed against you to destroy this new life and the battle really doesn't begin for the christian until after we give our lives to christ it doesn't really begin there is no battle i've noticed that people that smoke they don't fight to smoke they just they just smoke there's no battle they just they just smoke but when you give up the cigarettes that was formerly your friend or the pornography or the stealing or the lying or whatever you were invested in any kind of entertainment when you give it up and the remnants of it are being filtered out of you slowly because once you give up you give it up but it takes a while for it to be squeezed out of your pores you may give it up but some of the remnants are still in your mind somewhere and you walk past that that that that that bar and you smell alcohol as the door opens and the feeling comes back or something you see or something you hear on the radio sometimes when i'm thumbing through cirrus satellite radio hold on and every now and then a song slides by and i go back and yeah [Music] and then he said wait a minute let me go to let me go back to the religious channel and you know you get home and for whatever reason for the next three hours anybody know what i'm talking about right it's like there's a thin line between love and hate i'm thinking what am i saying i'm on my way to prayer meeting and the only problem only thing i've faced is i spend too much time on that channel amen somebody you know what i'm talking about and then the devil has a way of saying those were the good old days the golden oldies and then time life it's not about it is about time in life time life has put together 400 of your favorite songs and we packaged it i know what you know what i'm talking about and all of a sudden you start remembering where you were when you heard that song you start feeling like you used to feel that was the good old days even your mind starts calling the sinful days the good old days and you forget for a moment and then when you come to church you have a hard time refocusing because there's some dust still in there the war within as i was exiting walmart the other day i saw a sign displayed get your few flu shots and certain times of the year there seems to be a heightened attack against our bodies see physical health is achieved when there's a balance between the physical body and all the adverse elements and forces surrounding us so there are certain times of the year where i don't know why i think it's when the weather starts getting colder the flu season increases i don't know why i don't know what happens during the colder part of the year that doesn't happen during the warmer part of the year but i i asked my doctor what happens that the flu season starts when the seasons begin to change and he says this it is only when the weather becomes adverse and more taxing on our immune system that we realize the weakness of our immune system the seasons really don't nothing really changes matter of fact there's less pollen in the wintertime for those of you that love to sneeze flowers are not budding trees are dead grasses are drying up there's less pollen but he said it's not the pollen or the things that are happening around us but really what makes you susceptible to disease during the colder time of the year is there are deficiencies within you that could be ignored when the weather is not adverse but when the weather is adverse those deficiencies are now magnified this is not the season but your body has been lacking the very essential elements to keep it in health that are now amplified because the cold air taxes the body more the cold breeze the wintry mix begins to tax the immune system and it has to fight harder in a colder climate to maintain itself he said that's why the centers for disease control recommends that you get flu shots because they know that some of some of us ignore the very simplistic things of maintaining a strong immune system and i thought about that not the man what a spiritual parallel that's why whenever my wife and i prepare to go to foreign countries we check the cdc website to find out whether or not we have been sufficiently inoculated i remember the first time we went to africa and when we went to india we looked at the website and then we went up to mount vernon got all of our shots they said in order to go to this country you have to go you have to do this you have to make sure you have this shot this immunization this kind of booster shot and you have to come back in a few more weeks for the second for the second protocol so that when you go into an environment that is not native to your system your immune system you can fight off the diseases that you've never been exposed to before and i thought about what a spiritual lesson when we enter into a spiritual environment there are there are sinful germs that we have not yet been exposed to that now becomes adverse to the very atmosphere in which we live now think about that for a moment let me let me let me say that another way when you become a christian you realize only then that the earth is a foreign environment let me make that even clearer one of the reasons why the earth is going to be annihilated and destroyed and rebuilt is because everything about the world in which we live is adverse to the kingdom of god the world this world that we live in is not the environment that god has designed for the sustenance of the christian walk everything about this environment this everything about it we could be out here in this tiny little community thinking that we are immune from new york city and what happens we fall into sin anyhow because it's not location it's the whole planet is messed up the entire environment that we live in is designed to be at odds with our spiritual immune system so my wife and i what do we do the doctor says well now if you want to avoid all those flu shots take vitamins get sufficient rest drink more water eat healthier so that your body can begin to build up a natural resistance a natural immunity against an environment that when you get to it it'll be foreign to your immune system and i had to understand that let me let me just open that onion up a little bit more let me let me peel back another leaf in the artichoke when i went to india oh probably at least six or seven years ago i got i got terribly ill and i i thought to myself what did i do to get ill and the person that invited us to go to india he said you don't have to do anything to get ill in india you just have to go to india you just have to go there and that came to me i thought to myself you mean the environment he said the reason why so many americans go to india you know we go i know of a pastor who almost died from a disease he picked up in india six six seven two two fifteen two twenty solid strong we tree cutting brother i mean big he looked like grizzly adams nice red beard he was strong he could cut down trees much faster than i can he went to india and what he picked up in that environment reduced him he lost about 30 pounds trying to fight a bug he caught in india why because his body was exposed to an environment that it had never had the time to build up resistance against so when we enter the spiritual life if we don't take our spiritual vitamins if we don't get if we don't have sufficient spiritual rest in jesus if we're not exposed to the water of life who is jesus if we don't put healthy immune building practices into our daily walk as christians one day we're going to be exposed to an environment that our bodies have not built up any resistance against and we are instantly plunged in as victims we are instantly taken captive by an environment that we have neglected to prepare ourselves to have a strong immune system against my doctor told me that when we travel we must strengthen our body's natural immune system a strong immune system increases our resistance one of the reasons why we don't have victories over sin is because and here it is are you ready we don't intentionally build up our spiritual immune systems we don't do it intentionally we don't intentionally put into our minds those things that will give our mind a great defense against what is going to attack it we don't put into our daily practices if you if you look at the illness in your spiritual life you can trace it back to the reality that you are not infusing in your daily practice how many of you have vitamins in your cabinet at home raise your hand come on let's get it how many have vitamins how many of you take those vitamins i have vitamins that have expired come on now let's get real with it i have vitamins that have expired and when i remember to take them they're too old to do anything for me so my my wife and i just recently when you know we're getting the kitchen refurbished we went on this cabinet and and and chris we saw all these vitamins you know vitamin d vitamin e you know all the vitamins see and and we looked at the expiration date there's a spiritual lesson here that you gotta you gotta take it when it's gonna do you good and not and not think about it when it can no longer do you any good at all you see there's a timing to building up our spiritual immunity when we when we put into our minds in our lives and into our hearts those things that will help us fight the battles that we're going to face we will never get into the battle and then realize when we are sniffling and sneezing and coughing and are spiritually sick vitamin c is not going to do a whole lot for you then after you've gotten sick it has to be put into your system to prevent you from getting sick said another way nothing's wrong with it but if we turn to our bibles before we fall into sin we'll find ourselves falling into sin less if we're building our lives daily in the avenue of spiritual immunity we will be able to realize that the beauty and the miracle of christianity is this and that's why jesus says i i'm not going to take you out of the world but i'm going to keep you from the hour of temptation that's going to come upon the entire world the miracle of christianity are you ready for it the miracle of the christian life is that you can be a christian in an adverse environment and still find victory christianity is not meant to become christianity when we get to heaven it's meant to become christianity down here hebrews 11 13 shows us what kind of environment we're in look at it look at it what kind of environment are we in speaking about the roster of the faithful speaking about all those that cross the line from sin to salvation cross the line from adversity to harmony with christ listen to what what the bible says about each one of them the bible says these all died in what faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off they were assured of them and they embraced them and confessed that they were said with me strangers and what pilgrims on the earth my good friend pastor c.d brooks i i often refer to him i just we had a great relationship he said if you don't think that you are a stranger and a pilgrim in this earth just go into any restaurant and you realize that you can't eat most of the stuff on the menu am i right now if you could eat most of the stuff on the menu then then you're not a stranger there's something wrong when you're sitting in a restaurant if you don't believe you're a stranger just listen to the music that they're pumping into your head while you're trying to have a meal am i right if you don't think you're a stranger look at the commercials that pop up on your television screen between a pres a fairly innocuous and safe broadcast you got to get up and go get water sometimes because everything about our world is designed to attack our spiritual defenses everything about our world is designed to attack our spiritual defenses am i right oswald chambers said and this came up in our devotions i said my wife and i read our devotions together every day but oswald chambers said and this was december 5th he said everything outside of my physical life is designed to cause me death this is an amazing quote he says the very elements that sustain me while i'm alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead there's nothing wrong with the elements around you but when you die one of the reasons why we go back to dust is because everything that everything that sustains us around us when we are alive instantly become adversarial to us when we die because our immune system ceases to function and we have no more defense against anything around us when we are alive that's why some children thank the lord some children i've seen little kids eat dirt maybe you had a family member that maybe you used to do that somebody confessing about that in church they used to eat i think kids eat dirt i've seen adults i was on the plane i've seen adults that's kind of gross putting stuff in their mouth that doesn't need to be there and only because of their immunity is the body able to process what they did in violation of the laws of health and bring them through successfully i don't know why people think that you can't see through their car windows when they're in traffic add to that whatever you think but sometimes we are attacking our immunity and we don't understand that the elements that sustain our natural life are designed to cause us death once we begin to live the spiritual life you see to get sick and to get weakened you just have to be exposed to an environment where the external forces are stronger than the internal resistance you just have to be exposed to that which is stronger than your internal resistance i remember doing that broadcast in india and as soon as the broadcast ended i made this statement i said i'm going to be sick and as soon as i ended that statement i'm going to be sick i was sick i don't want to tell you what happened but i'm going to be sick and i was sick i mean i don't want charlotte to faint or anything but i got sick immediately and thank the lord that morning the lord impressed my wife to carry charcoal with her for whatever reason so here i am trying to clear the septic system trying to be nice about it and i said does anybo i'm in india i mean there are no drug stores to go to but for whatever reason that morning the lord said to angie get some charcoal and carry it with you your husband's gonna get sick and that was my saving grace i had to stay in the hotel for two or three extra days i couldn't move and i i think the problem was when i was in india i ate so much spicy food i ate so much spicy food that my immune system not being used to just got discombobulated so the last three days in india you know what i ate white rice carrots and celery no salt no spices i didn't want any of it and that helped to restore my immunity things that we put in us that are stronger than us will conquer us that's why apart from christ we will lose every war that confronts us but when we invite jesus in if you might notice something about what i've been doing lately i've been focusing on the practicalities of christianity i'm going to do a series on prophecy when january comes but the reason why i've been focused on the practicalities of christianity is because it's in the practical areas of our everyday life where we find defeat where we find failures if we fail to do the basic things of life to build our resistance against the forces designed to bring us down then we will come down but if we invite christ to come in the apostle paul in romans 8 and verse 37 says this speaking about everything we can possibly face listen to what he says speaking about everything we can possibly face listen to what he says he says yet in how many of these things and all these things we are what my brethren more than conquerors through him who did what who loved us more than conquerors that's why heaven has what i call a through protocol that guarantees victory in war say that phrase through protocol through through look at first peter second peter chapter one verse two to four here is the through protocol the through protocol and i use the word protocol because that's what the physicians called it when i went up to mount vernon to get my shots they said now this is the protocol you need and i said why don't you just call it a shot they said it's not a shot it's a protocol sounds different but it felt the same second peter 1 verse 2 to 4 notice this is the through protocol how do we find victory look at the through protocol grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of god and of jesus our lord and his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to what my brethren life and godliness god has delivered to us all that we need that pertains to life and godliness in other words when you become a christian he gives you everything you need to sustain your life as a christian and to have godliness show up in your life but how does it happen notice the rest of the verse through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue it is not just through knowledge but through your knowledge your relationship with him through your connection to christ how many friends you well i shouldn't ask that question because you don't even know but some of you have facebook friends that you don't even know they just request friendship when they pop in and we feel good got another friend today don't even know who they are my cousin sent out a general email sent out a general text to all the friends on facebook and i got it too she says if you suddenly disappear it's because i'm cleaning up my life and i don't know who you are it's not personal it's business and i was so glad when this when this whole battle was over i was still there but the point i'm trying to make is we invite we invite people into our lives think about this think about this we invite people into our lives that we don't even know and expose all our business to them and because they said they are friends we feel safe am i right i got people i got 1500 friends how many of them do you know 11. and they are peeking and peering into your life taking your garbage that you put on facebook and sharing it and tagging folk and before you know it what happened in thompsonville is now in bangladesh on somebody's facebook page and you feel happy about it i have plans for january and i'm going to give you a hint one sabbat afternoon i'm going to invite everybody with a cell phone to stay in the fellowship hall and i'm going to give you a bible study to upload to your facebook page and we are going to bombard the internet with evangelism so you can start putting something worthy of life on the internet and you can do like that ain't your commercial i tell two friends and they tell two friends and they tell two friends remember that old commercial and so on and so on and so on and so on we need we need to use these destructive devices to proliferate life so we're going to get together on sabbath afternoon and bombard the internet with the three angels messages so your friends and your friends friends and your friends friends friends friends and your friends friends friends friends friends we'll hear about the three angels messages and so when it comes back to you it's not your junk it's his goodness because everything that we need all the things that pertain to life and godliness have been given to us but look at verse four not only has god given us everything but it says in verse four by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises that through these the through protocol through the knowledge of god and through his promises you may be you may be partakers of what kind of nature now you you read that but didn't get it you say when you partake of a divine nature you have an immune system that's not yours it's his and is there anything in the immune system of jesus that the devil was able to breach yes or no he said the prince of this world has come and he has how much in me nothing in me absolute the devil was not able to breach the security system of jesus immunity so when we become partakers of that divine nature he puts into us through his promises and through the knowledge of his grace everything we need to live a successful christian life in an adverse environment and not fall to the attacks of the enemy by which we have been given exceeding great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature having what's the next word having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust brethren we can escape i know you meant to say amen so i'm not going to even ask you to we can escape through god's knowledge through the knowledge to getting to know christ through his promises we have been given a defense against anything that tries to conquer us but don't forget this but like medication if you don't ingest it it does absolutely nothing for you i think that when the lord comes back some of you are going to hear the lord say this when he's descending i'm going to try to be kind but i'm going to be very direct do you realize that the bible can't do anything for us unless it's in us what did david say thy word have i hit where in my heart that i might not the bible is a defense against anything that could come against us but if it's not in us like vitamins it can't do anything for us so when the apostle paul says that the lord has made available weapons to us he has in ephesians 6 and verse 11 he says to us put on the whole armor of god that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil but what i want to do in my rest of my time before i close is i'm going to point out i want to point out to you one of the pieces in the armor that we underestimate and when we understand this piece in the armor then we will discover how this particular piece affects every other piece of the armor that we're supposed to put on ephesians 6 and verse 17 look with me as to what i'm referring to the peace of the armor that we tend to underestimate ephesians 6 and verse 17. you'll get it in a moment when you get it it's going to just be an eye opening it's going to be a firework moment a lightning moment a moment of realization ephesians 6 verse 17 and take the helmet of what salvation and the sword of the what spirit which is the word of god now i'm not going to talk about the word of god because i always talk about the word of god but i'm going to emphasize something else today the helmet of salvation the helmet the helmet covers the most important and vulnerable part of the body which is the the mind do you realize if the mind is vulnerable the rest of the body is at risk every temptation that comes to us that eventually affects our body begins as an attack on our minds the helmet of salvation but if the helmet of salvation is not in place then the mind is vulnerable and the body is at risk not only that the mind determines whether any other piece of the armor is necessary did you get that the mind says i need to put on these i need to shod my feet with the gospel of peace it says i need it or it says i don't need it it either says you see the mind determines consider the impact if the mind in the armor you have all these components you have righteousness you have truth you have faith you have the word of god but if the mind rejects truth then it's not going to put that on we were talking about that in sabbath school today that's right if the mind if the mind rejects the the the waste the belt around our ways and i was only referring here because our mind is the place where the rejection happens if the mind says i don't need a belt the the belt that guards that girds us with truth then we don't use it if the self-righteous mind determines that it does not need the breastplate of righteousness it's not going to put it on some folk are self-right some people are so self-righteous that they see everybody's sin but their own so as far as they're concerned you need the breastplate of righteousness i'm okay because mind's messed up not only that if the mind determines if you live in a continual atmosphere of unbelief and the promises of god a lack of faith in the word of god on exercise faith in your life is falling apart because you just don't believe the promises of god you it begins to render the shield of faith ineffective i talked about that a couple of sabbaths ago the shield of faith faith under fire when our mind determines that we can't trust god that we doubt god then the shield of faith becomes ineffective because the mind determines that faith cannot be trusted and when the unprotected mind ultimately takes us to the end that is in sight we ultimately in the end and this is kind of scary when i say this ultimately everything that we reject in the armor of god leads us to the ultimate rejection which is the only defense we have the only defense weapon we have the only weapon for defense we have the only weapon for defense we have is what it's an offensive weapon it's the only thing that we can use to fight with the bible but if all the other pieces are not important to us because the mind has decided that then we will never get to the place where we have any desire for the word of god it's the ultimate avenue of rejection and you think about that when the rebellion began in heaven where did it begin did it begin in heaven no it didn't it began in lucifer's mind ezekiel 28 verse 15 the bible says speaking about the beginning of the rebellion you were perfect you are what perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you break that down i'll have a i'm going to finish on time but i got to break this down the bible describes iniquity as a mystery the bible also describes godliness as a mystery but when you study the word mystery there in the hebrew and also in the greek mystery doesn't mean that which remains hidden mystery means that which for a time remains secret but in due time it is revealed look at colossians 1 verse 26 in due time it is revealed what adam and eve did not understand their generation understood what the ant of the luvians did not understand abraham's generation understood the lord revealed components of the gospel in the course of time until the apostle paul wrote these words colossians 1 verse 26 so mystery doesn't mean it's going to remain secret it simply means god chooses the time to reveal it notice what he says the mystery which has been what hidden from ages and from what generations but now has been revealed to who to his saints so what seemed to be misunderstood during the dark ages is no longer in the dark amen what was in the dark during the time when the bibles were chained to altars and taken from the common man is no longer a mystery god has revealed to every to us everything we need to have a growing and thriving and successful and victorious relations relationship with him but there's a but that comes in it is god's desire to reveal godliness but it is satan's desire to reveal iniquity whichever trait you lean towards both of them are revealed in the starting place of the mind the evidence of it is the wise man said for as a man thinketh in his mind or in his heart what so is he proverbs 23 verse 7. so remember this nugget mike we are not what we think we are but we are what we think and for that reason we cannot reflect in life what we are not in our mind we cannot be in life well we are not first in our minds it's got to begin here that's why david prayed the prayer you know what say it with me are you ready here we go let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight o lord my what strengthen my what redeemer in other words the meditations of the mind shape the words of the mouth and the thoughts of the mind and the character of the life what begins here is revealed here and it affects here when it starts in the mind the place that is the field of attack when it begins in the mind when the devil has access to the mind the meditations the words the thoughts we must pray that the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts because you know the bible also says out of the abundance of the heart what happens whatever's in the mind luke 6 45 whatever is in the mind will eventually come out of the mouth but now you might ask what does this have to do with the wall of the world that's all i have to do with the war of the world now you know i kind of like to leave the hook to the end here's the bridge between the opening story and the subject matter in the dramatization of the war of the worlds 32 million americans were deceived by actors chosen to communicate a fictitious story i want you to put on your ears stretch them out like mine listen 32 million americans were deceived and misdirected by actors actors played a role that had nothing to do with who they actually are actors recited from a script that did not reveal what they knew to be true actors could it be could it be that one of the reasons why we are so defenseless in the war of the worlds is because we are playing a role that has nothing to do with who we actually are that we have become so accustomed to reciting the script that it really has not revealed what we know to be true about ourselves oswald chambers says in december 5th morally it is the same anything that does not strengthen us morally is the enemy of virtue within us whether i overcome thereby producing virtue depends on the level of moral excellence in my life but we must fight to be moral i want to say that again we must do what we must fight to be moral morality does not happen by accident moral virtue is acquired you can't be you cannot you cannot be in an immoral world and you think that you're going to be moral naturally it doesn't happen because the environment is decided the environment is designed to destroy everything about the character that god intends for us to be that's why the apostle paul toward the end of his life he says in first timothy 6 and verse 12 fight the good fight of faith fight the good fight of what faith lay hold listen to the intent lay hold on eternal life to which you are also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses and in one of my favorite commentaries i read these words christian experience and teaching page 236 paragraph one those whose lives have been hidden with christ those who on this earth have fought the good fight of faith will shine forth with the redeemer's glory in the kingdom of god but listen to one more my closing quote testimony treasures volume 2 page 113 paragraph 1 day by day and year by year we will conquer self and grow into a noble heroism this is our allotted task but it cannot be accomplished without continual help from jesus continual help from who resolute decision unwavering purpose continual watchfulness and unceasing prayer but now listen each one has a personal battle to fight how many of us every one of us each must win his own way through struggles and discouragements those who decline the struggle lose the strength and joy of victory and no one not even god can carry us to heaven unless we make the necessary effort on our part to be victorious i have fought a good fight i have finished my course i have kept the faith the apostle paul said that just before he closed his eyes in death i have fought a good fight i have finished my course i have kept the faith are you fighting the fight of faith or is the world pulling you down the path that you reluctantly go down because you're not fighting against the tide of evil are you fighting the fight of faith or is the world becoming victorious where you should be victorious today my appeal to you is this as we're closing out 2018. examine the areas of your lives where failure has been more common than victory and by prayer and by devotion and by dedication and by fighting against the natural tendencies of your inherent desire determine that you are going to fight the fight of faith that one day you'll stand on the sea of glass where those who are victorious in jesus will stand how many of you today want to fight the fight of faith in christ i want you to stand with me i want to pray for you this morning our closing hymn is trust and obey i think i've used this song about maybe at least 9 or 11 times this year i know you might remember it but i only use it because the two words that are included in its title are the two words that we have the hardest time with trusting god and obeying his word but i want to pray as 2019 begins to peak its head over the horizon of the future that we determine that we're going to fight the good fight of faith we're going to do what my brothers and sisters we're going to fight the we're going to put that whole armor on and we're going to learn what it means to be trained in spiritual warfare by getting in touch and learning how to use the sword of the spirit which is the word of god only those who are skillful the devil only attacks those whose lives have not been furnished with spiritual defenses if we are wanting to be victorious as the year begins to peak itself into our lives we have to find a way to fight the good fight of faith the lord cannot fight it for you he'll fight it through you but you must determine to fight the good fight of faith let's sing two stanzas of this song asking god to guide our minds that we may trust and obey that in our life we may walk with him and find daily father the areas of our lives that will build up our spiritual immunity trust and obedience father teach us what it means to walk in fellowship with you today our burdens down at your feet to fellowship with you through your word to examine our hearts and lives to fight the good fight of faith to understand the elements coming up against us and build our defenses to be victorious christians lord it's your desire that we will not become victims or casualties in the war of the worlds but that through your strength through your promises through our relationship with you we will experience one victory after the other forgive us where we have fallen short forgive us where we have sinned and disappointed you but help us to dust ourselves off and by your grace to stand up and to determine that we will fight the fight of faith so go with us lord may this day be a day of blessings may the fellowship be sweet as we sit at your feet and may we know and experience what it means to have victory in jesus this is our prayer make it our experience in your name we pray amen

Channel: Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church

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Id: i2O_6XwCC0Y

Length: 67min 44sec (4064 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 08 2018