 The title of the message is Our Firewall. How many know what a firewall is? Only a few of you know what a firewall, literally everyone has it in their house. How many know what a firewall is? So in the beginning, or maybe you couldn't hear what I said, a firewall, is that better? A firewall. From the beginning in the 1960s and even earlier than that, the original term of firewall was a wall that would separate an apartment from another. The wall was built of a different material, a material that could withstand the fire. So that if a fire broke out in one apartment, the people in the next apartment would have time to get out or time to stay there until the fire is quenched or whatever. It's walls that separate one apartment from another so that the fire doesn't spread, okay? In the 1980s, in the middle of the 1980s, the term was transferred and started being used in technological sense instead. Where a firewall is actually a device that stops malicious internet traffic from entering a computer network at home. Everyone has firewall in their home. At least you should have if you have a computer. Otherwise, you're probably infected with viruses, okay? So there are different kinds of viruses. We have biological viruses. We have internet viruses. We have some spiritual viruses. We believe that today they're gonna get cleaned out as well. So praise God. I'm gonna talk about the firewall that we all have and that we need in our lives today. First of all, a computer that uses a firewall. So that firewall basically blocks traffic from going into a computer. Internet traffic from spreading, malicious stuff to enter the network. And there is about 65,000 ports in a computer. 65,000 tiny entrances that different programs uses to go in and out to connect to the internet. And a firewall closes off all the ones that aren't being used so that something can't sneak through an open port in the system, okay? And for those of us who are experienced in internet technology, you know that there is about three different types of firewalls. And it actually works perfectly in the spirit too. So I'm gonna share with you three types of spiritual firewalls that you and I should have implemented in our lives already. If you haven't, today is the day for you to do so. Okay, how many are ready? If you're ready, can you wave at me? All right, some of you are not ready. I'm gonna go ahead anyway. Praise God, praise God. Ready or not, here we come. So the first firewall that is known among men in the internet sector is something that's called a hardware firewall. It's an actual device that you have at home that connects to your internet. And before the internet reaches your computer, this hardware firewall stops malicious traffic. It's a tangible something, something that you can touch, but the enemy that this physical thing stops is not something that you can see. And actually it looks about like this. This is about how an internet hardware firewall looks like sitting at home, okay? So if you have an device that looks like this. So for us as Christians, what do you think is something that is a tangible item that we can touch, that we can use but that helps us to stop malicious traffic? Any guess? Oh yeah, I kind of gave a clue there, right? The word of God right here is our hardware firewall, okay? And just like a firewall can sit at home and if it's not installed properly, it's not gonna serve its purpose. The same goes with the word of God. This is something that you can actually see. Most of the things in our Christian journey, there are things that you can't see. There are things that you can't hear. There are things that you can't feel with your physical body. It's things that comes by faith. Here you have something that you can actually see. The word of God is many things. It's a lamp to our path. It's a sword in the spirit. It's what guides us. It's what leads us. But something that I like to use for today's sermon is that the word of God is like an instruction manual. Can you say with me, the word of God is my instruction manual. What is it an instruction manual to? It's an instruction manual to the heart of God. It's an instruction manual to walk in authority. It's an instruction manual to have a prosperous life. It's the instruction manual to have a successful life. Whatever you are looking for today, the word of God is the instruction manual for that. And all of this, the entire hardware, the most important instruction in this manual that you need to implement is one single verse. And I'm gonna read it for you. But first, I'm gonna do a little demonstration here. So there's something here, guys. This is a stain remover. I borrowed it from the cleaning department. I apologize for that. Kind of snook in and took it. I'll return it. This is a stain remover. How many know how to use it? You know how to use a stain remover, clean your countertops, clean whatever, clean the carpet or something. And at the back here, there's an instruction manual. And it says directions for use. Before you use it, it's always advised that you read the instruction manual so you understand how to implement what is on the inside. Now, many people go and be like, not for human and animal consumption. Wow, that's good. Use only as direction. Wow, do not inhale mist. Okay, avoid eye contact. Okay, those are really good revelations. But then they go ahead and they don't follow what is in here anyway. And then you have a viral YouTube video of someone who's being really stupid putting flames on this thing or something, you know? You have to also do what the instruction manual says. You can't just read it. You have to apply it to your life. The Bible verse I'm talking about here to properly install our hardware firewall can be found in the book of James chapter one. This is one of my favorite Bible verses. I always say that every time I preach, sorry. James one verse 22. It's a very short Bible verse and that's literally the directions for using what is in here. It says this, but be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. Many of us have the word of God available in our life. We read it occasionally, but we don't actually do what it says in here. If you want to have the promises that God has given you in this word, if you want the word of God to be able to protect you from the attacks of the enemy, you need to do what it says. This is your instruction manual. And trust me, you know, when you order something from Ikea, how many used to order stuff from Ikea? My wife does it all the time. She never assembles it though. It's always me orders stuff. And then she's like, babe, the package has arrived. Uh-huh, you know, you ordered it, right? And Ikea instruction manuals, those of us who are experienced carpenters, for you is like, yeah, you don't even need to look at it. But for some of us, that stuff is like Greek. Literally, it's so complicated. It's like putting this, which one is G? Literally, they don't even have their numbered and here's A to D or whatever. Some people think that they can install things without reading the instruction manual. If I would do that, I would fail miserable. And whatever I, let's say I'm putting a table together. If I wanna put any kind of weight on that table, it's gonna collapse. The only way that you can install a hardware firewall in your life to protect you against the enemy is by following the instruction manual step by step, doing exactly what it says. Taking the steps that Jesus Christ has told you in Jesus mighty name, hallelujah. I'm gonna jump to the next firewall here. How many know what the second one is? I mean, some of you should know. The second firewall that is implemented preferably in a computer network is something that's called a software firewall. Now, the hardware firewall and the software firewall normally work in tandem. You have both of them installed, but some people don't have software firewall. They trust the hardware firewall to do the job. Well, occasionally, stuff will sneak through the hardware firewall and that's why you need to have a software firewall installed as well. What is our software as Christians? Can you imagine? Not just as Christians, as human beings. What's your software? It's your mind. Right up here is where software hard firewalls are installed in your body. How does it happen? How does it work? How does it software firewall get installed in life? It depends. What are the thoughts that are running through your mind? What are the habits that you develop as a Christian? Whatever you want to build in your mind, it will come by building it through habits. I believe as a Christian that good habits is literally our spiritual immune system. Good Bible filled habits is your spiritual immune system. Develop good habits to install a software. If it's not configured properly, it won't work. You have to configure your mind so that the software firewall in your mind can protect against the attacks of the enemy. Now I wanna give you an example. I'm gonna be really vulnerable with you here. When I was in Sweden, there was times when there was no proper software firewall installed. I was angry, I was bitter and those things I could have overcome that if I had greater measure of habits in place. But I wanna let you know something. The lessons that I learned from that experience is that if you don't develop good habits in advance, those good habits aren't coming later. If you are here struggling with lust today and you say, yeah, if someone sends me a pornographic message on my social media, I'll be able to resist it by then. If you don't have a system in place already, how are you gonna defend yourself? You can't put on your life best when you're already in the storming water. You put it on first so that if you fall into the storming water, you will stay afloat. It all happens in your mind, people of God. Fits are meant to be developed during good times and they are meant to be strictly followed during tough times. You set the standard for the life that you want to have. Nobody that goes out hunting lions is gonna say, oh, there's a lion there. Let me put bullets in the gun. Lion is coming, let me put bullets in the gun. No, make sure your gun is ready before you get out. I encourage you today, develop, raise your standard as a Christian. What are the habits that you follow today? What is the habits that mark your life? Develop those habits. It's gonna be your software firewall when attacks come your way, when temptation penetrates the word of God, when things come and you begin to falter. What is in your mind determines the outcome of your temptations. I want to give you an example. There's a guy who has won the Ballon d'Oral football many times in the world. His name is Cristiano Ronaldo. How many know who Cristiano Ronaldo is? If you don't know him, he's on the screen behind me right now. There we go. This is MVP right here. He plays football, okay guys? You know football? I know, I know, don't worry. He plays soccer. Somebody sent me since the dollar became stronger than the Euro, it's now soccer. You can never call it football again, so a little bit of an internal joke there, but yeah, he's a soccer player and he's known to be the best footballer in the world. He has an extremely high, highest level. When he's at his A game, he scores like something else. Hat tricks, four goals a game, he's insane. And for those of you who don't know who this is or you don't like soccer, there's some other random guy that I'm putting up on the screen right now. So this is like the world's best American football player according to what I Googled, so. Peyton Manning, oh, he's not up yet. Peyton Manning. So these guys, if you are into sport, you know that the people who are really, really successful they have high, highest level. But one thing about Cristiano Ronaldo that is his biggest weakness is when he is having a low season, he's really low. I'm talking about when he's having a bad game, he'll be walking around on the field, he doesn't even run. Someone gives a pass and it's slightly to the side, he's like, yeah, I'm here, I'm here, you can't pass here. He doesn't run, he doesn't run, he's just complaining about everyone. So his lowest level is actually lower than most of his teammates. Some of his teammates don't have as high of a highest level, but they have a way more consistent lower level than him. As Christians, we all focus on our highest level when all is well, when you hear God's voice clearly in a season. You're so close to Jesus. You're fasting like you don't even feel it. Everything is going good in your life. And you're like, oh yeah, God, I wanna press closer to you right now. I wanna be better at prophesying, I wanna grow in my strongest area. But then when we fall, we fall so far down to our lowest level. Don't be like Cristiano Ronaldo. Don't be famous only for your high seasons. Work on your lowest. What I mean is when you're in good times spiritually, when you're feeling strong, don't focus on being even more loud in worship. That's good, but that's not what's important. Make sure that you cover the weak links. A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. How far do you fall in your low season? How low do you go? Do you begin to open those random people's DMs when you're having a really bad time? How far do you go? You struggle formally with anger and you thought you had overcome it finally by low season, you go right back to where you used to be. Equip your lowest. Train your low area. There's a proverb by the Navy Seals. And I love this. I love this so much. It says, I modified it slightly just to fit us as Christians. It says, in times of temptation and hardship, we don't rise to the occasion. We fall to the level of our training. You think that when that temptation comes, I will resist it. I'm a man of God and God will be with me. When that hardship comes over, I will be able to resist it and stand strong. No, you're not gonna rise to the occasion when the devil comes knocking. You're gonna fall to the lowest level that you allow yourself. How low can you go? Work on your lowest level. Develop greater habits so that you are equipped with guns, Bible verses that you have memorized. So when a situation arises, you speak that Bible verse over that situation. When a temptation comes, even if you're feeling weak, you're like, no God, you devil. I identify you even with my eyes shut. Figure that software firewall. And the third one, the third firewall to us as Christians, this is the best one. To those of you who knows what's coming, I love this. Get ready, guys, we're getting to the time of rounding up here. The third firewall that is commonly used today, it's a firewall. It's cloud-based. That means that someone else takes care of your protection. You don't even need to work for it. Someone else is in charge. You don't even know when the attack's coming because they take care of your defense. They will protect you. They will disarm. They will destroy the enemy. And you don't even know in your sleep, it will happen. That is our cloud-based firewall right there, hallelujah-based. Someone else is in charge of your protection and the best way to protect yourself as a Christian is a three-fold firewall. You've got the cloud-based firewall. You make sure that you're paying for your subscription so that the protection will continue in your life. How do you pay for the protection of Jesus? All you need to give is your time. He wants your time. It doesn't cost nothing. Give him your time and you are renewing the cloud-based subscription of firewall in your life. Have the hardware firewall. Let this be close to your heart. Let this be your everything. Desire it. Hunger for it. Go deeper in it because you know it will save you one day. If your life depended on knowing the Bible, how long would you survive? Let's say for every Bible verse, you know you get one breath. How long will you live here? Every Bible verse, you know you get another breath. Some of us have already started holding a breath. Build yourself up. This is real. This is living. There's nothing religious about reading the Bible all the time. Read it, meditate on it, memorize it, let it be part of your life. Install good habits so that when temptation comes, you are already armed and ready for it. Nothing's going to track you down. Nothing's going to take you down because you know already, even though he's lamey, he is my Lord. It doesn't matter if he gave and he takes away. Blessed be your holy name. Build your lowest level. And don't wait until you're in the wilderness to develop a water system where you can recycle water. Do it now. When water is accessible to you, build it up in your life. Hallelujah. But there's one more thing that I want to share with you. I was reading the Word of God and God showed me this. And this is the best part. I really love this part. The Bible talks about everywhere in the Bible, it talks about growth, it talks about growing up, expand, multiply, go out and increase. Look around you, God told Abraham. As far as you can see, it belongs to you. Jesus, in God said in Isaiah 54, expand your tent plugs, expand it. He told the people of God in Genesis, go out and multiply. The Bible talks in the New Testament, in the letters from Apostle Paul, it's time for you to grow up. Grow up in the power that God has given you. It's not enough just to think that you're gonna live a life where you're gonna have a firewall and you're gonna be safe inside your city. I want you to be with me right now if you can rise to your feet right now as we are rounding up this message right now. Our lives is like a city. You live in a city, some cities worship Jesus, some cities worship idols, some cities are growing, some cities are shrinking, some cities are calm, some cities are noisy. There's a lot of crime rate in some cities. Our life is like a city. And I want to read a Bible verse for you. Just like the firewall protects us from foreign invaders. It protects us from thieves that comes to steal, kill and destroy. But that is not all. God has told us, I want you to grow. I want you to multiply. I have given you everything to walk out and step on snakes and scorpions. It's time for you to multiply, increase. Let the word of God in you grow. Let the spirit of God in you grow. And there's a Bible verse that I came across from the book of Zechariah chapter two. I don't read Zechariah a lot, but this is good. It says the vision of the measuring line. Zechariah two verse one. Then I raised my eyes and look and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. So I said, where are you going? And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem to see what is its width and what is its length. And there was the angel who talked with me, going out and another angel was coming out to meet him who said to him, run, speak to this young man saying Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. The promise of God is for you to begin to grow. It's not enough for you to just live in your safe little incubator covered by everything. Nothing can get to your own local area network. It's time to take a step out. And when you grow up, as a apostle Paul said, when I was a child, I thought as a child, I reason as a child. But when I grew up, I left childish ways behind. He stepped into what he knew God had for him. So just like the seat of Jerusalem cannot contain the livestock and the people in it because it's growing, it's expanding. Some of us are just like Jerusalem today. And I love the final verse. Don't read it before me. This is really good. I love it so much. God Almighty doesn't want you to just live in the seat and have a firewall. It says here in verse five, for I, says the Lord, will be a wall of fire all around her. And I will be the glory in her midst. It is not enough to just live a life and play defensive Christianity. It's time for you today to step out and begin to play some offensive Christianity. The devil is not taking breaks. He is not taking pauses. You can't continue living in your city thinking that that is all that you need to do. God has called you to break down the walls and let the wall of fire surround you. To protect and defend people on the inside from what's happening on the outside. But the firewall is meant to burn anything that gets close to you. Stop thinking that you're a victim as a Christian. Stop focusing on how much the enemy's attacking you today and tomorrow and yesterday. It's time for you to attack him with the full force in the name of Jesus that you have received. The wall of fire is all around you. Not sure and get into the promise that God has for you in Jesus mighty name. Hey, thanks for watching this video. If you enjoyed this content and this was a blessing to you, would you help us and hit thumbs up so that it could help more people to discover this video? 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