Spiritual Warfare

Joel Gorveatte · Tidal Church Moncton · June 5, 2022 · Supernatural series

Joel Gorveatte teaches from Ephesians 6 on the armor of God, showing that our real enemy is spiritual, not other people. Believers are not alone, prayer is powerful, and we stand and pray for one another, fighting from Christ's victory.

More from Joel Gorveatte · The Supernatural series

Topics: Faith, Prayer, Discipleship

Transcript

[0:00] I want you to take my word on something this morning. You might want to go ahead wherever you are. Those of you here in the room, wherever you are online right now, you might want to take out your phone or your device and find this service, Moncton Wesleyan, on YouTube or Facebook and share it right now for somebody who might need to hear what we're going to talk about today, and they might just stumble across it online because you took out your phone right now and searched for it and shared it, because I think it is possible. We might today have the veil torn back for people to see some of the things that they have been struggling with in their life. And the reason why, in ways that they never realized before.

[0:53] And so as we get started today, we're in this series called Supernatural. And last week we shared a video testimony on social media. And as we get started today, for anybody who missed that or just as a reminder to set our context for today, I want to share this with you. It's just three minutes, and then afterwards I want to tell you the rest of the story. Check it out. Hi, my name is Travis. I live in Moncton, New Brunswick, with my wife Heather and my three kids. I was at my pastor's one afternoon. I just went over to visit him. I can't remember what it was for, but he was down in the basement with some people that were prepping his basement to be spray foam insulated. And so I walked downstairs and found him, and I noticed that there was a guy there that was having a very difficult time moving around. He looked as if he was in incredible pain, and when I saw him moving around, I just had incredible passion in my heart for him. And I had prayed for people before, and sometimes they God touched them and healed them, and sometimes nothing happened, and I just felt like I was saying, Travis, you need to pray for this man. I was kind of in a hurry. I just stopped in and I needed to leave, but it just so happened that at one point the pastor, myself, and this gentleman met at the bottom of the basement stairs. And I said, hey, I see you're in this discomfort. I said, I'm a Christian, and I was wondering if I could pray and ask God to remove your pain. And he kind of stepped back and kind of giggled at me a little bit. He said, no, I'm okay.

[2:37] I've been dealing with this pain for 10 years. And I said, well, let's give it a shot. You know, you never know. God may just touch you. And he said, okay. So the pastor and myself laid hands on, and I have my hand on his lower back. And I prayed a simple prayer. I just say, God, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that You would remove all pain and inflammation from this man's body. And when I said that, I felt something pop on my hand. I literally felt a pop, and I said, well, bless you. And, well, the next day, my wife comes home from work, and she tells me the story. This rheumatologist comes over to my wife. He says, what did your husband do to my patient? And my wife kind of just looked at him. She had no idea what had happened. It's interesting. A lot of people, if I pray for people, and they do get healed, they wonder what I did, and really God does all the heavy lifting when it comes to healing. As a believer, I just try to faithfully love people and show them compassion and claim what is true in the Bible. It says it's by His stripes, by the stripes of Jesus Christ, that each one of us are healed is in the resurrection and the power of Jesus Christ. He's the one that touches people, and those people, that has nothing to do with me. So as it turns out, this guy had been visiting this rheumatologist, this pain specialist, for a number of years, and he had an incredibly bad, critical pain issue, which I wasn't aware of. Soon after I left, all of the pain left the man's body, and he's been walking around normal ever since.

[4:22] But I just, I find it so interesting how God can use a simple prayer to heal somebody, because He has a greater plan, not only for that person, but how that one prayer and that answered prayer can affect so many other people. And so we put that video out last week, and then a few days ago, Travis sent me a message, and here's what he wrote. He said, Hi Joel, quick testimony. I shared this video of healing with a friend I played football with at university. I sent it to him twice because I did not get a response from him the first time.

[5:10] Unknown to me was that he had thrown his back out three days ago and was laid up in pain. He was surprised to get the same video and felt bad that he hadn't watched it originally. He and his wife watched it together. And when it got to the point in the video when I said I felt a pop in my hand, all the pain in my friend's back left as he watched this video, and he stood up pain-free. Thank You, Jesus. You see, listen, at the core of our faith is this: there is more to this world than what the eye can see. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1 says, Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

[6:07] And so 2 Corinthians 4:18 says, So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. And 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. See, that's where we get into trouble as Christians when we forget that we are not supposed to fight the same way as the world fights. Some Christians think that we can win through politics.

[6:57] But following Jesus has never been and will never be about a political movement. Some have turned religion into violence, with with terrorists and suicide bombers who think that God wants to hurt people. Some think our war is against secularism and all the culture wars that are going on, playing out in our society right now. But listen, those are distractions that divert us from what our calling in Christ is truly about, because 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 3 says, "Although we live in the world, we don't fight our battles with human methods." All throughout Scripture we are told that we are in a battle.

[7:48] There is this war imagery all the way throughout the Bible, but here's where we get confused, is because it is not what most people think. And the problem is when Christians forget who our enemy really is. And who is our enemy? Well, I'm glad you asked. Because Ephesians 6:10-11. We're gonna spend most of the rest, in fact pretty much all the rest of our time today, a little bit later in Ephesians chapter 6. But let's get started in verse 10, and we're gonna read this out loud together, verses 10 and 11. Okay, wherever you are, even those of you who are online with us right now, there is power when we speak the Word of God. So let's read this out loud together. Ephesians 6:10 and 11 says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

[8:43] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Against who? Schemes. The devil's. Exactly. And this is where Christians sometimes lose focus and get in trouble. When we forget that our enemy is not the government. Our enemy is not the Liberal Party. Or the NDP or the Conservatives. Our enemy is not the Republicans or the Democrats. Our enemy is not Hollywood or popular media. Our enemy is not in the Middle East or in Russia. Our enemy is not atheism or all the woke culture warriors. Our enemy is not the neighbor who lets his dog poop in your yard.

[9:40] And most tragic, many Christians have come to believe that their enemy is other churches and other Christians. And listen, the devil loves that. He loves when he can get us distracted and fighting against one another. Other Christians are not the enemy. Listen, the confused and deceived people out in the world, who are living in darkness, are not our enemy. Ephesians chapter 6, verses 11 and 12: "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood."

[10:39] It's not against people, "but against the rulers, the authorities, against the spiritual forces" not of this world. "Against the spiritual forces of evil" "in the heavenly realms." In the unseen world. And here are two things that you need to know about the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms. Maybe you feel like you're under attack right now. You feel like you're in a battle. Here's what you need to know. Number one: you are not alone in your battles. There's an amazing story in 2 Kings chapter 6, starting in verse 15, when the servant of the man of God, it's talking about the man of God as the prophet Elisha here in the Old Testament. And so the servant of the man of God, Elisha, got up and went out early the next morning, and an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my Lord, what should we do?" He's like, he's afraid. What are we gonna do? We're gonna die.

[11:46] "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And the servant's looking around, go, "What are you talking about, Elisha? They are way outnumbering us. There's no way we're going to win this battle. We are outnumbered, we are out- gunned, we have no power against this enemy." And Elisha prayed, "Oh Lord, open his eyes that he may see." And then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. All of a sudden, God opened this servant's eyes and gave him a glimpse into the spirit world to see the angels and demons, and it was in that moment that all of a sudden he began to realize that all along God had been protecting them in ways that they did not even realize.

[12:59] Number two: prayers are more powerful than you know. Can I confess that there are times when it feels like my prayers don't matter? Am I the only one who feels like sometimes I pray and I pray and nothing seems to happen? But then I am reminded of Daniel, who is going through a tough time in Daniel 10: verse 12. It says an angel came to him, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard." The angel said, Daniel, from the very first moment you spoke your prayer, God heard and sent an angel to help you.

[13:53] And the angel said, "And I have come in response to your prayers." Verse 13: "But the prince of the Persian kingdom" this is, it's referring to demonic here, because you'll see in the next verse, "resisted me for 21 days. Then Michael," who is Michael? One of the chief princes. Michael is one of the chief, the archangel, prince of the angels, "came to help me, because I was detained there." And so all of a sudden Daniel realized that God had been answering his prayer, but it was taking time because behind the scenes there were spiritual battles that were going on that he was not aware of. And look, maybe you have been praying and praying and it seems like nothing is happening. Listen, you need to know that your story is not over. Prayers are more powerful than you know. Keep praying, because in the end you're gonna see it makes a difference. Listen, and you're like, "Well, I've been praying for 21 days."

[15:08] Listen, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Right? We are so used to microwave answers. I ask a question and I need the answer right now. And God says, "You realize I've been doing this since before the beginning of time. I don't work according to your timeline, and what you think you need when you think you need it." God. It's a real quick here, five things that Satan is trying to do in our world right now. Number one: Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers. He wants to keep people away from God. Look at 2 Corinthians 4: verse 4.

[15:54] "The god of this age." Now, this is not talking about our Father in heaven or the Holy Spirit or Jesus. Who is the god of this age? Little g. Not big G God, little g god. This is talking about Satan. This is what surprises many people, because many Christians who don't know enough about Scripture get confused about why there is so much evil and suffering in the world. And we blame God. We say, "God, I thought You were in control. I thought You were supreme and sovereign over all of this." But God, listen, has limited His sovereignty in order to allow us. Listen, you know, the story of creation is God creating this world for humans as a gift, and He built it for us and then He handed us the keys to the kingdom for us to have dominion over this world, created in His image. And what are the first people do?

[16:57] They believe the lies of Satan, and they hand the keys of the kingdom to Satan. And so all throughout Scripture, Satan is called the god of this age or the prince of this world. And when you begin to understand that, all of a sudden a lot of the bad that goes on in this world begins to make sense. And a lot of the things that we blame God for, we fail to recognize that it's because of what Satan does and because we, as humans, have allowed him to do so. And that's the power of prayer, by the way. None of this is my notes. This is a detour, this is bonus features. You don't have to pay any extra for this. And what? You'll notice Gabe in the prayer earlier said something about us taking authority.

[17:48] Because remember, God gave authority to us in this world. We gave it to Satan, and you still have the choice to take it back from him, but the key is not for yourself. You don't have the power. Well, wait, you can celebrate a minute. We're not done yet. You haven't heard the good part yet. Because the key is not to take the keys back for us. That never turns out well. Because as soon as we hold on to it for ourselves, we just end up giving it right back to Satan. The key is we take authority to take away what we have allowed the enemy to accomplish, and we give it to God, and that's when things are made right in the house. Amen.

[18:34] Okay, back to what are we talking about? Okay, 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 4, the god of this age, it says, has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. If you are here today, if you're with us online, you and maybe you have not yet accepted Jesus. You've never surrendered to Him. You need to understand that you have a spiritual enemy who is trying to distract you. He is trying to deceive you and draw you away from God. That's why, number two, Satan steals truth from your heart. Jesus says in Matthew 13:19, when anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.

[19:31] Have you ever had a time when you got really fired up about Jesus? Maybe maybe it was a worship service like this, or maybe it was at a special kind of service. In fact, yesterday we had one of those special kinds of services yesterday here in this room. We had one conference. We had almost 800 teenagers and volunteers lifting up the name of Jesus here in this room. Listen, God is doing something in the next generation. And so, no offense, but they were jumping around a lot more than you folks were. You're like, "Joel, I got arthritis. Let's pray for it right now in the name of it." And so what happens is, so often we'll go to a conference like that or we'll have an experience like we've had today in the presence of God, and we get excited and we're ready to do something big. We're ready to make changes. We're ready to live out this commission. We're on fire for Jesus, and then all of a sudden, what happens is after a matter of days or maybe weeks or months, we get up one day and realize that we've gotten discouraged. We've started to worry about other things. We've gotten our priorities out of order, and before long our passion for Jesus has grown cold. And why does this happen?

[20:50] Jesus said in Matthew 13, the evil one comes and likes to snatch away what was sown in your heart. Number three, he sets traps to ensnare you. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 26, praise that they may come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. Have you ever set traps for anything? We have some lobster fishermen. You know how to set a trap where they crawl in and then they can't get back out, or maybe you fish for trout and salmon in the Miramichi. You realize that in order to catch what you want to catch, you have to know what kind of bait they're tempted by, right?

[21:43] Tricia and I, we bought the second home that we ever bought. It was kind of our dream house. It was, it had been kind of rough before we bought it. It was sort of a fixer-upper, but we just loved the neighborhood. We loved the house. We were so grateful, and it was kind of our dream house until one day we realized that we were not alone. We were sharing our house with unwanted creatures. And so the way that we found out is one. One day our son Seth, he was five years old at the time, and he was downstairs playing in the basement, and all of a sudden we hear, "Ah!" and he comes running up the stairs like his hair is caught on fire, and he's like, Bobby said, and he said, "There's a squirrel in the basement."

[22:41] A squirrel? And so, well, okay. So Tricia and I go, you know, into the garage, and I get my work gloves and some boots on, you know, high enough that maybe a squirrel won't jump in them. I don't know how these things work. And so we get to the top of the stairs, and we open the door to the basement and turn on the light, and we descend down into the basement, and all of a sudden we realized it was not a squirrel. Because we had two mice coming up the stairs at us. Coming right up the stairs. Now, my wife Tricia does not run, at least not very fast. But it was okay. She didn't have to run fast, because she made it to the top of the stairs in one giant leap. I mean, boom, she was gone.

[23:32] I thought she had my back. I was wrong. And so we go to the store, and thus began our education in catching mice. And so we bought a couple of different types of traps to see what would work, and we go back and we set the traps, and we used whatever bait we thought, you know, on cartoons. We learned that mice like cheese. I don't know if they actually like cheese, but you know, in Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes, they like cheese, and so we tried cheese and we tried tried peanut butter and And nothing seemed to work. They didn't like any of it. We couldn't trap them until we found out what they really wanted. And we discovered that we had very sophisticated mice.

[24:22] Because they would only eat Ghirardelli chocolate. None of the cheap stuff, only the good stuff. And and free to this day because we figured out what kind of chocolate the mice like. Now, we did have one who ventured out into the candy drawer, one mouse who ate 10 Starbucks chocolate covered espresso beans. And that one died of a heart attack. We took care of itself. But the devil is trying to trap you. And he knows what kind of bait to use to tempt you. You're trying to get out of the party lifestyle.

[25:09] And then all of a sudden your friends show up with a keg. Or all of your friends go out drinking and you're not sure what to do. You're trying to purify your mind and then up pops this image that causes you to lust. You're trying to get out of debt and then all of a sudden your favorite store has a sale. He sets traps to ensnare you. And number four, Satan fights to block the will of God. Remember, we read how Daniel prayed and prayed, and for days Satan was wrestling with the angel to prevent the will of God from happening, and that can happen in your life too. There is a spiritual battle. Second Thessalonians 2:18 says, "For we wanted to come to you, certainly I, Paul, did again and again, but Satan stopped us."

[26:09] That's why we have to remember the power of prayer. Number five, his ultimate goal is your destruction. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Why? Because your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Satan is trying to devour you. He wants you hooked on pornography. He wants you to be a workaholic. He wants you to give in to temptation and the desires of the flesh. He wants for you to fight with the people around you. He wants you to be worried all the time about what other people think of you.

[27:01] He wants you deeper and deeper in debt, where you're afraid to tithe, afraid to put God first in your finances. He wants you to gossip and criticize. He wants you distracted by the things of this world to draw you away from God. And that's the bad news. But are you ready for the good news? There's good news. And the good news is that God wants to arm and equip you to win this battle. Are you ready to see it? Let's grab our Bibles and go back to Ephesians 6. And from this point on, we're gonna dig into Ephesians 6. There is good stuff here, and here in Ephesians 6, it talks about spiritual warfare, and it tells us how to fight, how to engage with our spiritual enemy. And we're gonna read a pretty good chunk here, Ephesians 6:13 through 18, and we're gonna read this out loud together. So everybody online, everybody here in the room, let's get ready to read this out loud together good and strong. Here we go. Ephesians 6 says, "Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

[28:28] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

[29:15] And so let's break it down. How do we do spiritual battle? Although Ephesians doesn't put it in this order, let's go back and we're gonna start and work our way from head down to the toe. Okay, so let's start from the top. Here's what we need. Number one, the helmet of salvation. The first thing you need to know is that you are saved. To know that you were a sinner, who is wrong with God and separated from God, and that the only way of forgiveness is to surrender to Jesus and allow Him to rescue you and be your Savior, to confess and receive His forgiveness. And that is the helmet of salvation, and that is the first place where the battle needs to be fought, if you have not yet given your life to Jesus.

[30:17] The helmet of salvation. Number two, the breastplate of righteousness. We need to live a life of righteousness. Listen. Jesus did not save us just to affirm us in continuing to live in our sin. He saved us to make us into His likeness. And so integrity matters, character matters, morality matters, and we only can get there by the power of His Spirit. Number three, the shield of faith.

[31:02] The shield of faith. And here in Ephesians 6 it says that the devil has a bow and an arrow, and those arrows are flaming hot. They're alive with fire, and he shoots those at you all the time. And so whenever you get those negative, condemning thoughts, those are the darts of the devil. Satan fires at you and says, "You're no good." Direct hit, right? And it starts to take you out, and then he fires again and says, "God doesn't love you." Direct hit, and it takes you down again. And good, Satan says, "Your marriage is never going to get any better. Your church is hopeless. You're never gonna get out of debt. You're always gonna be a loser." And listen, that's when you need to put up the shield of faith.

[31:53] And you say, "Oh Satan, not today, because my Bible says that I am a child of God. I am dearly loved and forgiven." Boom. Those arrows hit that shield and drop to the ground. You say, "Satan, listen, I am a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. All things are possible in Christ who gives me strength," and the one who is in me is greater than the one who is in the world. Amen. That is the shield of faith. He said, "Well, where do I get that?" Well, you get it also with the sword of the Spirit, or the sword of the Word of God.

[32:39] If you're a Christian and you don't know the Bible, it says the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. If you don't know the Bible, then you don't have anything to fight with. When the spirit of Satan comes knocking at your door, you need to know the Word of God, the sword, in order to not just be on defense but to go on offense against your spiritual enemy. Number five, the belt of truth. You know why you need the belt of truth? Because it's hard to fight when your pants fall down. That's just not good. You've got to know the truth, because the truth of Jesus is what sets us free. Amen.

[33:28] Number six, the shoes of the gospel of peace. You need to have your shoes on so that you can get out there and share the good news of the gospel of peace. People should look at you and say, "Why are you so different from everybody else in the world? What is it that's unique about you? Why are you not worried and upset and bothered like everybody else? Why are you not scared to death like everybody else? Why are you so calm and at peace?" And you can say, "Listen, it's not because I'm special, it's because I have the peace that comes from God, and I have shoes that He has fitted on me of the gospel of peace that help me stand firm in the midst of the battle."

[34:16] But I want you to notice something. There is something that is missing here. Have you ever noticed that there is a huge part of your body that is left vulnerable and exposed by the armor of God? I want you to think about this. Let's go back and see what's missing. And as we go through each one, I want you to point to it. Okay? Are you ready? Let's start from the top. Let me see together. Where's your helmet of salvation? Okay, we'll put on our helmet. Those of you who have hair, you need a little bigger helmet. Mine fits nice and snug. The helmet of truth. Okay. Now you have the breastplate of righteousness. Okay. Let me see your breast plate of righteousness.

[35:05] Okay, then you have the shield of faith. Let me put up your shield. You have the shield of faith, and you have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The truth of God's Word. Okay, the sword of the Word of God, and then you have the belt of truth. Make sure your belt is good. Okay, and you're like, "Well, what happens to my legs?" Or remember, you have the shield, right? Shield can go high, shield can go low. So we've got your legs covered with the shield as well. And you have your shoes fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. Let me see your shoes. You're like, "Joel, I can't lift that high." Okay, and so, what is missing? What is exposed? Your entire backside is left exposed by the armor of God.

[35:55] Did He make a mistake, leaving you vulnerable? Why would God do that? It's because that is our job. Right? As believers, you've got my back and I've got yours. Amen. We need to protect one another and pray for one another. That's why Satan loves to pull people away from the body of Christ, right? To pull people away from the church of Jesus, because when he pulls us away, he can separate us from the pack, and we're easier to attack. And so let's read back, and you're like, "Joel, how do you know that? That just sounds like something you're making up. Aren't you taking it too far? How do you know that?" This is a call to prayer for one another. I know it because that's exactly what Ephesians 6 says right after the armor of God. Listen, you'll see it when you're looking for it. Ephesians 6:13 again.

[36:56] One more time: "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. And after you have done everything, to stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." I've got your back and you've got mine. We need that support.

[37:47] We were not created to journey with Jesus alone. Our job is to pray for each other. Okay, now, you're like, "Joel, you're freaking me out, man." For some of you who are really into this stuff, you think this is really surface level. Like, we've just kind of scratched the surface of this whole subject. But for a lot of you who this is new to, you're like, "Whoa. Scary stuff, man." Listen, there is no need to be afraid, because 1 John 4:4: the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

[38:33] Amen. And so we covered a lot of Scripture today, probably too much for you to be able to process in one sitting. And so what some of you need to do is go back this week and watch this message again. You can find it on Facebook. You can find it on YouTube. You can find it on our website on the watch page, whatever works for you, and go back and watch this again, not just to hear my silliness and my little stories, but to hear the Scripture again, so that you can get those verses down, in case you didn't jot them down, and go back and study them and feed on them and allow God to shape you and teach you and empower you. And as you do that this week, here's what I want you to remember: you and I are not fighting for victory.

[39:25] Like, "Joel, I don't know what you're talking about. That sounds weird. Why would you say we are not fighting for victory?" Here's why: because the end is not in question. The end of the book says we've already won. Amen. Look, listen, you and I are not fighting for victory. We are fighting from victory, and that's a big difference. It is already been won for those who believe, and that is why we stand with confidence and courage, not because we're so great, but because the great One is in us. And so let's stand together. Let's stand together.

[40:20] And Heavenly Father, we pray today, knowing that the Bible has so much to teach us about the spirit world. And Lord, we know sometimes we get out of balance in this. Sometimes we could become so enamored with demons and angels that we just lose all perspective. Or on the other side, we just live in ignorance and pretend that none of this stuff is real, that it doesn't exist. Lord, we ask that You would give us the wisdom and discernment to find the balance of that. And Lord, You would equip us with the helmet of salvation for anyone here today who has not yet received the forgiveness of Christ for their sins.

[41:17] And You've been speaking to them today. Holy Spirit, You've been speaking to them today. If you need to surrender to Jesus, it's really simple. You can pray and confess your sin, receive His forgiveness, believing that Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for your sin, and commit to follow Him for the rest of your life. The breastplate of righteousness. You have called us to be holy as Christ is holy, to be perfect as Christ is perfect, not in our own strength, not in our own power, but by Your Spirit.

[42:09] And so, Lord, anything that is tarnishing our breastplate of righteousness today, we invite You to convict us, Holy Spirit. Show us what we need to surrender to You, what we need to confess as believers. Anything that is tarnishing the breastplate of righteousness, today God wants to set you free from that. The shield of faith. Lord, that You would increase the faith of this body of believers, to increase our faith, Lord, the shield to stand against and deflect the fiery arrows that the enemy shoots at us on a daily basis.

[43:02] Lord, increase our faith, increase our faith to believe greater things of You, to trust more in You. The belt of truth. Lord, that we would know the truth of Jesus, which alone can set us free. The shoes of the gospel of peace, feet fitted with the readiness, the gospel of peace, choose to stand firm in the midst of the battle and also to go out. Go out and share Your love with this world that is dying and in darkness. Your Word says how beautiful are the feet of those who carry good news.

[43:50] Lord, that we would carry good news with beautiful feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. And the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Lord, that we would be people of Your Word, that we would feed on it daily and be people of prayer, for You have not called us to live in fear, but to live in faith. And so we pray in the name of Jesus right now that You would bind the work of the enemy in every life, that You would destroy the plans of Satan in every life. We do not want to believe the lies anymore. And so we pursue Your truth. May this be a place and may we be a people in the fullness of grace and the fullness of truth, grace and truth.

[44:42] In Jesus' name we pray, and everybody say together, Amen. Amen. Now, maybe today your eyes are opening to some things for the very first time. And you're realizing that there is a battle that's going on around you and sometimes inside of you. And maybe God is drawing you today, and you feel His presence and you're wondering, like we talked about earlier in the service, you're wondering, like, what is that? Why is it that when I, and when I come into this place, when I joined the service, that I just can't handle it? Like there's stuff that starts to rise up within me. And listen, the Word of God has been Speak. All of us who are Christians, we know what that's like.

[45:37] He wants to invite you into His presence. forgiven and set free. But listen, there's also something else that's happening, because you have a spiritual enemy who does not want to let go of you. And maybe even right now things are coming to your mind. Distractions are coming to your mind, and confusing thoughts, and you're thinking, I can't buy that this, all this church stuff is just so weird, and people, it's just religious stuff, and I don't want to be one of those people, and I don't want that. I don't want to make a fool of myself. I can't go forward. I just need to get out of here. That is the enemy whispering lies in your ear.

[46:26] Do not be surprised. It's exactly what the Bible says the enemy does. Spirit of God to choose freedom, which is what God wants for you, or to continue to live in bondage. Which is it today? That's why I want to invite our prayer team to come forward. And if we have a whole bunch of people who come, we'll invite pastors and small group leaders in, any of you, just like we did last week where we had so many people we couldn't handle it here at the end of the service, and we needed to ask for more who could come and pray with somebody. If you feel equipped to do that, and it looks like we need you, then you don't wait for an invitation. Just come if you see somebody who needs prayer.

[47:18] But as we worship together, if you feel like you need to surrender something to God today, whatever it is, you can come and pray by yourself. Just coming forward and coming down from the balcony doesn't mean that you have to allow one of these two people to pray with you. If you just need to do some business with God, you can do it right where you sit. Or maybe the Spirit of God will lead you to come and just fall before Him down front here. But especially if you want somebody to pray with you and help you to come before God. That's why we're here. And so you just receive prayer as they offer it to you. And either way is fine. Amen. Let's worship together with confidence and courage, knowing we are not fighting for victory. We are fighting from victory.

[48:24] When all I see is a mountain, You see your mouth, and as I walk through the shadow, You will love surrounds me. There's nothing to fear. So when I find out if I don't mind me with my hands lifted high. Oh. God, to You and everything.

[49:19] God When I see are the ashes, You cross, God, You see Here, right. Oh God, that'll be lost to You.

[50:43] Almighty Fortress, You go before us. Nothing can stand against the power of our God. You shine in the shadows. You win every battle. Nothing can stand against the power of our God. Almighty, Fortress, You go before us. Nothing can stand against the power of our God. You shine in the shadows. You will know.

[51:48] Do it, everybody. Nothing can stand against the power of God. S lifted high. Oh God, the battlefield. Time. Oh God, how to build up just your voices. So when I fight, so when I fight on my knees with my hands lifted high, oh God, the battle belongs to You, and everybody.

[52:52] Oh God, the battle. People, it's for You, Lord. It's for You, Lord. Amen. And listen, if you would like prayer for anything, we have our prayer team available throughout the week as well. If you go to our website, mw.church slash prayer. We also have a Tuesday morning prayer gathering that you're welcome to join at 7 a.m. that meets online. Just go to that prayer link and there you can find information about that as well at mw.church slash prayer. Also, if you want to text us at any point, somebody will get back with you as soon as they're able, at 506-406- 4400, or if you need to follow up today, maybe you prayed and did some spiritual business with God and you want to know what's next, or you want to learn how to be baptized, you want to learn about getting involved in a small group, whatever it is, feel free to reach out to us at mw.church slash connect, especially if you're a new guest. Please let us know, we've got a gift for you and we'd love to connect with you this week. But two closing pieces of business before we go. Is that tomorrow night we have our annual meeting called our Local Church Conference. Everybody is welcome, but members especially. It's for members to vote, where we approve the budget for the coming year and elect officers. If you're like Joel, I don't care about all the financial stuff and asking questions about the minutia of the phone bill and so forth, then you don't have to come at 6:30.

[54:44] 6:30 is gonna be a financial talk, and then at 7 p.m. we'll get into the rest of the meeting. I'll share some updates from this past year and prayers for the coming year, will elect our church board for the coming year as well, and delegates to District Conference, etc. Tomorrow night here at either 6:30 for the finance or 7 for everything else. And then one more thing, if you would like to go deeper in this subject specifically that we've talked about this morning, we have an online class Tuesday night this week at 7:30 p.m. Atlantic time. You don't have to be here in Moncton, any of you around the world, wherever you are right now. You can join this on Zoom with us. That's one of the reasons we do it online. And if you'll text the number "Super" or say "Super" to the number on the screen, we'll send back information with the Zoom link for you to be able to sign into that class on Tuesday night.

[55:45] Aren't you grateful that we serve a mighty God and that He who is greater is greater in us than any enemy spiritual world that comes against us? And listen, if you feel like you still got some unfinished business, it's not too late to come forward. They're gonna be here after the service. You just come right on down and we'll see you down here for prayer together. But let's go with our mission in mind: the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, and it goes like this. It is God's love in us to the world. Why? Because love changes everything. Off, I'll say pasculum war songs to Mercy death live in you. Thanks so much for being with us today. Let's go live like it.