Strong in the Lord and the Strength of His Might
First B Jackson
2026-06-14

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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you sit down and it's not gonna come up on the screen, can you all take a deep breath with me? And would you recite the Lord's prayer with me? Y'all can start. Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our

trespasses as we those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Amen. Now y'all can have a seat. Thank you, Ray.

Thank you, Jeff. Yeah. Announcements. We have a couple of them this morning. Revival at the Rodeo starts tomorrow evening.

Tomorrow evening at 7PM at the Rodeo Grounds. Revival at the Rodeo Grounds. Yeehaw. That is fun. That's gonna be fun, and so we're looking forward to that.

It'll be a kind of a band from various churches, and Brad is gonna be bringing the message wrestling with God or encounters with God at least. So here we go. Looking forward to this. Be praying for it. Even if you don't go, be praying for it.

But it ought to be a lot of fun. So that's revival at the rodeo. Seeking truth in your twenties started last week, and that is happening. We'll make sure it's happening again tonight. There you are.

It's 06:30. 06:30. Thirty. But it's seeking truth in your 20s. Six, 06:30.

Get there. Alright. 06:30. Out at the McCooey's Place, North Roberta Drive out behind the airport. And we also have this coming up and I know you can't read that, but this is a reminder of Compass Women's Care.

There's a benefit that's coming up on July 9, I believe it is. Wait a second. When is it? July 9. July is July 9 for sure.

And you all remember when we had Tim Hodgson from the Bar J, the fiddling man from the Bar J, he came and he brought a band here and they took Sunday morning a few months back. It was fantastic. That's the band for that night. And they would like for you all to know that ahead of time and like for you to sign up ahead of time. There will be a great speaker from Students for Life and there will be a Hoedown Supper.

It will not disappoint. Alright? So please plan on doing that. Also, Carolyn Warzyniak is the is the executive director over there, and she is here today. There she is.

And it's her birthday. Hey. Hey. Hey. And we are thankful with you for what's going on with Compass Care and for what God is doing in your life and in the life of this church through what you're going through.

I wanna pray for Carolyn right now. Thank you Lord for another completed trip around the sun. Way that she her family, for the way she loves her church and this community. And Lord, thank you for the way that she loves you because that is what empowers all of that. In Jesus' name, we ask a blessing for Carolyn Marziniuk today.

Amen. Amen. Gonna make me cry. I think there's probably more, but that's all I'm gonna do for today. So if you would like more information, you can go to the church website, and I think that's it.

Y'all have anything else? Three more songs. Would you stand with us? And we will continue to praise the Lord together.

I'm not ready. Thank you, guys. This next one's the first time for me. I've never heard this song. Nick made me play it, and I like it a lot.

Very thankful.

Y'all know it, though.

It's called leave it there. Everybody here knows it except me. So listen to Maria. Don't follow me.

Who made you learn this one, Jeff?

This was Van. You know, they tell you, you're gonna lead singing, and it already tells you what to do. Alright.

Yeah. This time. Well, y'all have a seat. I'm gonna invite the ushers to come forward and would y'all pray with me? Lord, thank you for this place to come and gather.

Thank you for this place in general. There's so many people here who who are having the trip of a lifetime and they're surrounding us, lord. For those of us who are locals, may we recognize the opportunity that we have to bless the world. In Jesus name, may we bless them, lord. Thank you.

Thank you for the opportunity to just live here and for those who are traveling and joining us today, lord. Thank you for the opportunity to visit and to find yourself in the midst of the body of Christ in this area. So, Lord, for the whole capital c church, we just wanna do what you want us to do, Lord. Would you show us how to do your will in your way? Would you carry us forward, Lord?

Direct us. Guide us. May we walk in victory. May we walk in a way that reflects your goodness and glory onto this world. May we be a little microcosm of heaven.

May it be on earth as it is in heaven. Lord Jesus, would you make it so? In your name we pray. Amen. Okay.

Here we go. Jeff. Thank you. Jeff. Thank you.

We got dueling Jeffs today. Ephesians six ten through 17 is a normal passage for full armor of God. I think it goes further than that. I think it goes to 20 because without prayer, none of this happens. Right?

So, the full armor of God and then a comms check. If we're going to speak in military analogies, full armor, we gotta check our comms too to make sure that we've got a communication going both ways. So, here we go. Ephesians six ten through 20. First off, retraction or clarifying addendum to the sermon last week.

Now, there are some of y'all who would wish I would retract a whole lot of stuff I said last week. Not gonna do that. I do wanna say though, retraction for the Young's Living Translation. I misrepresented literal, not living. Young's Literal Translation of the Bible.

I shared a slide of the Young's Literal way too small for y'all to read, way too small for me to read from up here. That's it. And I said, when it got to verse 22, I said, Young's Literal actually translate this the wives and he stomps his foot with an exclamation point and he does but he doesn't stop there. So, he says, the wives in verse 22 with an exclamation point and then he says, verse, the husbands in verse 25 and then he says, the children in verse six one and then he says, the servants in verse six five. And then he says, the masters in six nine.

So I just didn't wanna misrepresent that that translation. He's saying this is the way that each of you that find yourself in this particular position, wives, husbands, children servants, masters. And I also kind of brought it forward and said, hey, if you have to, you can you can say servants and masters as employees and employers, but it's not. We all know it's not. Slave is a very different position to be in.

So I don't wanna leave that there. And I do wanna say that God has a lot to say to the folks who are in the traditional traditionally authority role. And it kinda continues in this next part. But I didn't wanna miss that. When I got away from it, I I was actually embarrassed that I said, oh, God.

And I didn't say that happens. Okay? So couldn't sleep at night. Finally finally, Tanya says never ever ever say in conclusion or finally, it gives people false hope. Don't do that to him.

So, finally, up here, it is Paul's closing. So, he's going to be closing. We're not gonna finish Ephesians today. I'm gonna leave the last little things and we'll go back, hit Ephesians one more time next week. But finally, after all that he said and especially after he shared this kind of revised household code, everybody knew how society around them was acting.

And he's elevating people that have been subjugated, I think. Finally, finally, be strong in the Lord. Be strong in the Lord. He's just out of the box saying, it's not your strength. You are not able to handle this.

You cannot do this alone. So finally, be strong in the Lord. And then as if that were not enough, the sentence goes, and in the strength of his might. Because he is what? Almighty.

He's almighty God and he has brought you out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of marvelous light and he will empower you. I said last week, we've got folks from this stripe and this stripe and this church. We got 40 something nominations represented. If I kept on about every ism that is this ism versus this ism in Christianity, we have all of those people in this room right now. Okay?

But we are called to be unified and the only way to do that is in the strength of his might. I had a professor in seminary who would not sing prone to wander lord, I feel it. He would through that verse. I get an amen from somebody just saying that. When we say, my sins there are many, his mercy is more.

It's almost like it gives us an excuse to sin. No. The truth is our sins, they are many, but we don't have to identify as that. If we identify, well, I'm just a sinner saved by grace instead of what Paul calls us, saint. Sinner saved by grace is a saint who longs to do the Lord's will and is able by his might and by his power to actually do it.

That's amazing. What a privilege. If we wake up in the morning thinking, what a privilege it is it is to serve almighty God. He has all the resources that I need to do what he wants me to do. If I am strong in the Lord and the strength of his might, things will go well for his kingdom today even if it feels like they're not going well for me.

Sacrificially, Jesus came humbled to the father's will. I heard something this week that was helpful to me. One of my aunts from back home called and said, I heard this and I can't get away from it. When Jesus says, I do nothing outside of what my father gives for me to do. That's the same way we're supposed to be operating.

I can do nothing apart from the father's will. So, when we're singing about the father's will and we're talking about the strength of his might and then it goes into, now, be putting on. Be putting on the full armor of God. Now, is it God's armor and we're like David and this is Saul's armor that's way too big for us? No, it's like, it's the armor that God has provided for us.

These are the things that he has given us. You've heard the sermon a 100,000,000 times. I'm sure that all of them are defensive except for one, sword of the spirit. We'll get to that. We'll get to that.

I wanna just think about this today. Putting on the full armor of God is saying, dress yourselves. And I am an American. I said a few weeks ago that I used the new American standard because I'm a new American. Right?

But not as new as I used to be. Gracious. Putting on the full armor of God, I have always read that I have to do that. This is a y'all situation. Why do we do this?

Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. He doesn't have any new tricks. As Mike is fond of saying in the youth group, there is no new news. There is just old news happening to new people. The tricks are the same, causing you to doubt, causing you to question, did God really say?

Right. In the garden, he still says that to us today. So that we will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. That's why we put on the full armor of God. And I wanna say again, that is a y'all.

It's not you individually. It's y'all. Y'all. Okay? So so that y'all will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

If we go after a consistent logical extreme that leads us to an ism that moves us away from the balancing paradox in scripture, then we're wandering off the middle way. We're wandering off the way of Jesus who was absolutely centered on the will of God and he understood him. And some things take nuance. It's not always so do do able able comms check, And and you have to know in which case are we right now. Right?

So that you all will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil, Paul says. For our struggle, again, it's emphasizing the y'all when it says our. It's not your individual struggle necessarily, it is our struggle. And it's not against flesh and blood. There will be a lot of people who disagree with you to the point of wanting to fight with you over it.

There will be a lot of people who disagree with us to the point of wanting to fight over it. Those are people that Jesus wants to save. Those are people for whom he died. And so our struggle is not against flesh and blood. If we blast them and make them look like fools, that does not help.

Jesus saved them. Okay? Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. You can't think of it that way. I hate that guy.

I can't stand that guy. They just make me so mad. God, help them. That's the better option. Right?

God, help them to see. God, beyond that, instead of me just retreat meeting them with what they met me with, instead of me meeting them with the same kind of angry and vitriol that they met me with, Lord God Almighty, would you use me to show your grace? Would you use me to show your love? Would you use me to show what you want them to see of you in me? And let me get completely out of the way of it.

Oh, to be forgotten so that you may be remembered, lord. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Those are people that God wants to save, and they are in the midst of a spiritual battle too. So that's why our armor is defensive. A lot of the reasons why our armor is defensive.

But it's against the rulers. Now rulers is properly from the beginning, it's our cases where we get architect, people who start from the beginning, But it just means anybody that has priority or is preeminent. And in this world, the prince of the power of the air is actually unfortunately preeminent. In the eyes of the world, he has blinded the eyes of the world. Biggest trick devil ever did was to convince me it didn't exist because you can manipulate them.

If you mention that you actually believe that there is an capital e, enemy or the devil or Satan, whatever, you mention that and people just go, come on. That's ridiculous. Little man with red underwear and horns, that's crazy. That's not that caricature is not it. There is an enemy.

There's a ruler of this world. There is. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against powers. Powers is exousia. That is conferred power or delegated empowerment authorization operating within a designated jurisdiction.

When I see that, I remember a guy named Joe Parker who was one of our missionaries down in Mexico with us. When we got down there actually, I'm gonna tell a quick story. I got time. This morning, I woke my family up with Joe Parker's way. This is crazy.

He's a missionary in Mexico. I went down there, and I was like, how did I spent the night with him on a Saturday night, and Sunday morning, he turned the stereo speakers up to eleven, the amplifier all the way up, and he turned on Yes Roundabout. Do you all know what that song is? It's ridiculous progressive rock from the late seventies, and he or maybe early. He he just let it blast.

And when they were in their stupor, he's like, time to go to church. I did that to my family this morning. Same song. Pascal goes, what is going on? He used to always say, Ray, the devil is God's devil.

He's God is almighty and there is an opposing power, but he's not equal. He has already lost Designated jurisdiction here and no more, and you cannot touch one of mine. Now, we are going for everybody else too. We want everybody else to come to know. God wants for everybody else to come to know.

But the devil is doing everything within his designated jurisdiction. He's doing everything in this world to try to keep him from coming to that. So our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and the powers. The rulers and authorities, it says in chapter three, he's already told us this. This is one the most exciting parts of the book for me because I'm now a preacher, a pastor at a church.

It says that, I mean, Paul's going on and on, but to me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to be able to preach to all of those others, Gentiles, everybody else, not the Jews, but everybody else. To preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ and to enlighten all people everywhere as to what the plan of the mystery which been kept for hidden in God who created all things so that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to whom? The rulers and authorities. This is who our struggle is against. We are gonna show that God can.

He only has plan a, does not have plan b. We're it. The church, capital c church is it. People who know him and appreciate how good he is, showing that to the world and telling that to the world. And this was all in accordance with the eternal purpose which he already carried out, past tense, in Christ our Lord.

The victory has already been won, but we're living in the midst of a day where a defeated foe is still making all kinds of racket and trying to take down as many as he can. So our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It's not against people. Much as you disagree with what they're saying and what they're doing, that's not where our struggle is. It's against the rulers and the powers.

You can bring it down from heaven to earth if you want to. I think it's talking about heavenly powers, but there are plenty of abuses of earthly power, but they're motivated from the spiritual realm. Against the world forces of this darkness, I had to share this Greek word just because it's awesome. Kosmokratoras. Kosmokratoras, the world forces are cosmic forces.

If you look down at Cosmokrater, if you come from an orthodox background, you're used to hearing Pantokrater. Pantokrater is the term for Almighty God and Cosmokrater is the term for Satan. So when it says cosmic forces or world forces, it's talking about the devil. It really is. Influence in the lives of worldly people.

It's only used here in the Bible. It's only used in Ephesians six twelve. But he's talking about that realm of influence. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, against rulers, against powers, against the world forces of the darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness. We don't need as human beings a whole lot of coaxing to do that which is wrong.

I could I thought of 50 examples yesterday in my own life that I didn't it didn't take any coaxing to do that. I broke that thing. I tore that thing up when I was little. I did all kinds of mischievous nonsense. Well, I didn't need a whole lot, but there's something within us or there's something around us, something that is motivating us, especially before we know Jesus because we've got the still we still got the still small voice.

Even even they outside, those that you think your battle is against, they even we have the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit that is also at work. The spiritual forces of weakness, we don't need a whole lot of convincing to be wicked, honestly, in the heavenly places. That's what our battle is against and to know that there are things that motivate us that we don't even fully understand. But we've got our the world, the flesh, and the devil, and we've got almighty God through his Holy Spirit. We can hold on to this with pride or we can go in humility.

And like Jesus, completely bowing to the father's will as the song says. He took the crown of thorns. All this was in accordance. I think I said that already. Here we are.

Back to Ephesians two for just a second. Though we were dead in our offenses and sins in which we previously walked according to the course of this world, that's normal spiritual forces of darkness according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit. He's now working in the sons of disobedience. He still has his reign and he's going with it. Among them, we too all previously lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind and we were by nature children of breath just as the rest.

But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us. He, even when we were dead in our wrongdoing. So does that say he still loves them who are dead in their wrongdoings? He does. He does.

And if you hate them, you're absolutely out of the will of God. He made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. And he raised us up with him and he has seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We are on team God but team God is trying to win over folks from team devil.

Alright. Are y'all getting how cosmic this really is? It's amazing and Ephesians is so perfect. I'm just in awe. So that in the ages to come, he might show the boundless riches of his grace and his kindness towards us who are in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you've been saved through faith. That's not of yourself. It's the gift of God. It's not a result of work so that no one can boast. But listen, we are his workmanship and we were created in Christ Jesus for good works.

There are things that God prepared for us beforehand. Some of those things are evangelistic. Some of those things are mercy ministry. Some of those things are prayer, intercessory prayer. Some of those things we were created for and he's created us individually, he says, with differing gifts.

But he's getting the job done with plan a and y'all are plan a. We're plan a. It's a cosmic game of Red Rover, Red Rover. But we're on the winning side. Okay?

We're on the winning side. Therefore, take up the full armor of God. That's an imperative. Y'all be taken up the full armor of God so that you'll be able to resist on the evil day. And that said, so that you'll be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

So that you'll be able to risk the evil of that. When is the evil day? Well, this says, make the most of your time because the days are evil. Redeem every bit of time we've got left. So that you'll be able to resist on the evil day.

The temptations will still come but take up the full armor of God and you'll be able to resist the temptations. You can walk in victory. That is not heresy. Okay? I'm not talking about sinless perfectionism.

I'm talking about being able to walk day to day. Today, I didn't drink. Today, I didn't do the thing that I'm so prone to do naturally. Supernaturally, I can get over this and have so that you'll be able to resist on that evil day. And having done everything, you'll be able to stand firm.

Stand your ground. So if the victory has already been won and he died as it says for the sins of the world. The victory has already been won. Can we stand firm? We're holding ground.

That's what we're doing. We're holding ground that Christ has already won and it's a good thing to think about that. Stand firm. Don't let your heart be led astray. And he's gonna give us the how to's here in a minute.

But how to how to do everything? Do y'all know Watchman Knee? Have you ever read anything by Watchman Knee? It's amazing. Yeah.

Really good stuff. His commentary on Ephesians is called sit, you're seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Now, be walking worthy of the calling with which you've been called walk and then stand and the stand is stand firm. Stand firm therefore. You ever see two things that close together, it says, so that you may be able to stand firm.

Stand firm therefore. He has made it possible for you to stand firm. He has made it possible for you to resist temptation. Stand firm, therefore, having belted your waist with truth. If you keep on if you if you just stay in the same place where he found you.

Right? If you just stay wherever it was that Christ found you, he's redeeming you out of the kingdom of darkness and putting you in the kingdom of light. There are new things to be discovered there. There are new things for you to see there. There is truth over here.

He's brought you out of the lies. Don't keep living in the lies. Stand firm. Having belted, great grammatical little thing there. Having belted is this happened already.

To be cognizant that I have belted myself with truth. Now, there are a lot of different ways your mind might go. Capital t truth, truth, goodness, and beauty. Truth like not a lie, not an error. Truth, Jesus says, in the high priestly prayer, John 17, he says, father, sanctify them by your truth.

The same place where he told us to be unified, right? He says, may they be one just like we are one. Father, sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. It's bedrock and we know it's good.

It's still possible for us to misunderstand but it is truth. So knowing that you've got that on your side, you have the truth, Jesus, the truth, the Bible, the truth that your comms check will provide. Having belted your waist with truth. That's right there with you. I don't leave the house without a belt more now than ever.

Right? I ain't doing that. I don't wanna be embarrassed. I'm gonna remember putting my belt on. So the truth is really, really, really important.

Having put on the breastplate of righteousness. Now James Montgomery Boyce, great great Presbyterian preacher and had a radio hour, really good stuff. He said the first sermon he ever preached was when he was 13 years old. He was on a football team at 13, which he was a little guy anyway. I think he was.

Maybe not. Might be thinking somebody else. John, do you know? You quoted him on Wednesday. Boys is great.

He said he was playing football, he had his helmet, and he had his pads. And when he went through this list, he had a note stuck to the back of each one, and he was scared to death to be up there. But he was doing it. Having your belt, he showed him his belt, and he read the little note on the back. And he said, and then I started expository preaching.

It was thirty five years before I got back to this passage. And he said, when I got here, I made a course of life to just keep on coming back to this passage because it's so good for us, practically speaking. Having put on the breastplate of righteousness, something that will protect your heart, something that will protect your core is righteousness. Now, I've already said it about 10 different ways since I started. You can walk in victory.

Walking in victory is walking in humility. And in humility, you can walk a righteous life. If you insist on being right in an argument, that is not righteousness. Okay? Righteousness is where you can humbly disagree with somebody and say, wow.

That's not the way that I understand that and walk it out incongruent to God's word. Right? To the truth that you know. So you can walk in righteousness. If you are putting on the breastplate of righteousness, you are.

Lord, I long to do your will. Show me your way and I'll walk in it. And I'm gonna stand firm that way. Amen. What is truth?

Defend against? Error. You think we live in the information age? We live in the misinformation and disinformation age. You have to have truth to combat misinformation and disinformation.

Righteousness, whether people admit it or not, actual righteousness is always attractive. Actual righteousness is always attractive because lawlessness, sinfulness is its opposite, unrighteousness. Having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace. The good news that there is peace in Christ Jesus. Even though there is a war around us, the war is already won and knowing that that war is already won gives peace in the midst.

So let your heart not be troubled. In this world, you will have trial. You will have tribulation. You will have trouble. But take heart, I've overcome the world.

John sixteen thirty three. Having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace. This also is obviously drawn from Isaiah. Isaiah fifty two seven and since we're living here, Nick was all up in the mountains yesterday with those beautiful feet. How delightful on the mountains are the beautiful feet of the one who brings good news, who announces peace, who brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation and says to God's people, Zion, your God reigns.

Having strapped on your feet, the preparation of the gospel of peace. It is easier to go out every day knowing that the good news of Jesus wins the battle. Now, in addition to all this, actually, I think the better translation maybe take up the full armor of God. It says, so you're taking up these three things and then this taking up the shield of faith is next. In addition to all or maybe in everything, in every circumstance that you might encounter in everything, taking up the shield of faith.

Walk in faith. The shield of faith. Why? This one says what you'll be able to defend against. You'll be able to defend against and extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

So faith is the evidence of here we go. Faith is the certainty or the evidence of things hoped for. It is the proof of things not yet seen. Whenever you see hope in the Bible, in the New Testament, it is always saying hope does not disappoint because hope is an absolute certainty that has not yet come to pass. So now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.

For by it, faith, the people of old gained approval. If you wanna see the hall of faith, start right there in Ephesians 11 and go from Abraham on down, you know. Faith is what we take up because there will be little fiery darts that are coming at you all the time. Let me sit with that for a second. The little fiery darts that are coming at you all the time.

An example of that might be, Mike, why are you doing this? Why are you still doing this? He's our youth director. Why are you still doing this? Man, has it really made a difference?

You got 27 seniors this year. Yeah, but they're going to be gone next year. Give up, man. Let go of it. That's a fiery dark.

But his faith says, hey, when I started this, we didn't have it just a handful. It's amazing to have 25 seniors. There are like a 100 kids coming. The truth is that it does make a difference. The gospel makes a difference.

He's always talking about making good choices, living a righteous life even though it might not be popular. He's doing this. And if you do this, it'll extinguish all of those flaming arrows. They're still coming though. I don't wanna go backwards.

Let me go forward. Take up the helmet of salvation. The helmet of salvation. This is one of the places where the enemy would attack me when I moved to the mission field. The first two weeks were the worst two weeks of my life without any close second.

And mainly because he got in my head. I began to think that I was not saved. How can it be? And I had those fiery darts for coming big time. You undertake something important, something that an assignment that God has given you to walk in, and there will be attack.

There will be fiery darts. But if you're ready for it, it helps. I was not ready for it. I needed for my pride to be quashed, humbled, and it was in a glorious fashion, the helmet of salvation to know that you are saved. You can have blessed assurance.

Why? Because it's in the Lord, and it's in his might. It does not depend on me. I just trust in what he's already done. I could not be good enough to keep it.

I couldn't be good enough to get it in the first place. But if I'm strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might, then I can know that I've been saved because I've trusted in the way that God has made. Period. Don't let the devil tell you, oh, you you're not in. If you're in.

And don't let him say, oh, you're fine. You don't really need salvation. Who needs saving anyway? That's what our society says. Who needs saving?

Why? Who's in peril? Yeah. I don't see any of this stuff. Man.

Take the helmet of salvation. You can have blessed assurance that Christ has done all that was necessary and when you humbly our word or our opinion. It is the word of God. Not ours and not our opinion. So the word of God wins the battle.

That's what allows for new ground to be gained. There might be people that say, I had a dream, I had a vision, whatever, but God always brings them to the book. He always brings them somebody that knows the truth. And then that truth being shared advances the kingdom, if you will. The whole world has been one as far as the possibility is there, but people, individual people, acceptance saying, I want that.

Still remains. So here it is. The truth is, the word of God is what wins the battle. That's what always wins the battle. Now the comms check is this, with every prayer and every request, and we get a lot of them.

And sometimes I miss them for two or three days. Sometimes it's it's like, oh my goodness, I can't believe I did not know that already. But with every prayer and with every request, this is an imperative for all of y'all, all of us. Pray at all times in the spirit. Be connected.

Even the stuff that we don't know. You can sense that God just wants me to pray for so and so. By all means, pray for him. If he says, God wants me to reach out to so and so by all means, reach out to him. With every prayer request, be praying at all times in the spirit and with this in view, be alert.

Be alert with all perseverance and every quest for all the saints. Does that sound like a lot? It's all and every, all and every, all and every. Actually, if you go back, I wanted to do this. I didn't do it on the slide.

But where it says power, power, power, power, or strength, strength, power, power, strength, strength, strength. And then it says, all, all, every, every, every. It's because this is an all encompassing thing. It's cosmic in scope, and it's almighty God and your own team, almighty God. And he's saying, be alert.

No sleeping on for the new generation. No sleeping on perseverance now. No sleeping on prayer. Every request for all the saints always be ready to be interrupted and to be ready to pray. Be alert.

Be awake. Another version of that. And be praying, Paul says, in my behalf. And I echo that from Paul. Y'all be praying on my behalf that speech may be given me in the opening of my mouth.

To make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. I didn't deserve it. You didn't deserve it, but yet we have it. So for all of those other people that don't deserve it, what are we gonna do? Do this.

Do this. If you do this, some of those folks will come in. There'll be some people who resist. But by all means, go for it. May I speak with boldness the mystery of the gospel?

Pray. Pray with every prayer. Always be praying. And then he says, for which I'm an ambassador in chains. So that goes back sort of to the very beginning of the book where he says that he's a prisoner and then the beginning of this hortatory or exhortation section where he says, I'm a prisoner of the Lord and I urge you to manner in a to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you've been called.

With all humility and gentleness and patience, be bearing with one another in love and be diligent to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. I'm an ambassador in chains, but I wanna be proclaiming the gospel that I may be speaking it boldly as I ought to speak. And if you speak the gospel boldly, it's not about you. It's about Jesus. With boldness, I can say he is good.

He knows everything that you're going through. He cares about it, and he wants to bring you into a place of peace and righteousness where you can resist the schemes of the devil and where you can stand firm. I think that's it. Man of sorrows. We already sang that.

I'm gonna ask the ushers to come forward. Elders to come forward, I guess, today. And would y'all pray with me? And the band is coming up. We're gonna sing something.

Okay. I think we're gonna sing Are You Washed in Blood? Would you pray with me? Lord God Almighty, thank you for the precious blood that was spilled. Lord, but as we celebrate this communion time, I also want to first think about this bread.

You said it is your body which was given for us and the body of work, lord. You had a perfect record. You walked it out in the flesh, in this world. You know what it's like to go through everything that we are going through. Yet, you were without sin.

Thank you that you walked it out in submission and you showed us the way. But Lord, you also were the way. So I pray that you'd bless this little cracker that's representative of the body of Jesus. As we distribute, Lord, for anyone who would partake, it's an open table. Anyone who's put their faith in Jesus, whether it be many, many years ago or in the last fifteen minutes.

Lord, I pray that they would partake and it would be an encouragement to them that your life mattered. That your perfect records transfer by your blood mattered. So Lord, I pray a blessing on this as we distribute it. For each who would not let it pass because they don't have not trusted you or don't know yet. Lord, I pray that you'd use the one sitting around them to eventually move their heart.

Amen. Did you play something pretty? Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth what were strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. He said to his disciples on the same night that he was betrayed, after supper, he took bread and he broke it and after he had done that, he said, take this.

This is my body which was given for you. Take this in and do it as often as you will in remembrance of me. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for for submitting to the spirit and for discerning the will of the father by prayer. For often withdrawing into the wilderness to know what to do.

Know when to do it, to know when your hour was to know, lord. Thank you for all of that full life that you live. May we be able to follow after and live in the abundance of life that you provided. Lord God, I also pray a prayer over this little representation of the blood of Jesus that takes away the sense of the world. Lord God, thank you for the voluntary and sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary.

Lord God, I pray that you'd bless this little representation as it's distributed for everyone that would partake and for those that pass again. Lord, I pray that you'd use this team of of humble and obedient servants to bring them into the kingdom of life. Amen. I think I'm gonna sing a song. Is that alright?

It's always alright in the second service.

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the prince of glory died. My richest gain, I count but loss and poor content on all my pride forbid it lord that I should boast save in the death of Christ, my God. All the vain things that charm me most. I sacrifice them to his blood. See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingle down.

Did there such love and sorrow meet? O'er thorns compose so rich a crown. Worth the whole realm of nature mine that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. Oh, the wonderful cross.

Oh, the wonderful cross bids me come and die so may truly live. Oh, the wonderful cross. Oh, the wonderful cross. All who gather here, thy grace draw near and bless your name. Let's sing the first verse again.

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the prince of glory he died, My richest gain, I count but loss and poor contempt on all my pride. In

the same manner that he had taken the bread, which is very different manner than the way we took it this morning. I think a common loaf of bread probably, a common cup of wine. We got a rice free gluten cracker, whatever, and a little plastic cup of Welch's. Representative though of the same thing. He said, this is the new covenant in my blood.

In the strength of his might, be strong in the Lord, in the strength of his might. This is the new covenant in my blood. Take this, take it in, drink of it, do it as often as you will, in remembrance of me. Amen. Would y'all sing the doxology with me?

Would you stand? Sam, could you give us a G?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below.

Amen. I don't know why I even asked for a key. May the Lord bless and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and may he grab hold of you this week like he grabbed hold of me last week. Amen.