 taking up this subject in the third part of the strong delusion that is happening in our world today, lies and deception, the likes of which we have never seen before. You don't need to strive to find your own identity. You have a new identity that is found and grounded in Christ and what He's done for us at the cross. That should solve all the identity questions. The point of this is to bring to you the understanding that we're living in a time of great delusion. And according to 2 Thessalonians chapter number two, the Bible speaks to us concerning this strong delusion that will come that God allows to take place in the end time. This strong delusion is defined as the words that mean working in an error or in other words people working after an error. In other words, you get wrong information and you spit out wrong information. You are sinning and then all you can do is sin. You are thinking evil in your imagination and all you can produce is evil. And that effect in the world closer to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ becomes more and more deceptive and causes people to go into what the Bible calls delusion, the rejection of the gospel of the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And eventually those individuals, because they reject the truth of God's Word much like the chat GPT article that I just read and the world economic forum leader who says that we're going to rewrite the Bible and make it correct. I want you to know it is truth that comes straight from God's Word. It's not truth as I say it or what you say, it's truth because it's God's Word. This is important for you to understand because the rejection of truth only leaves a lie for you to believe. And that's when people begin to accept evil as truth. That's a dangerous thing because you don't know that you've been deceived when you've been deceived. This is important for you to understand. The word delusion here deals with the mind or a confusion of the mind. But when you're speaking of it as a biblical definition of delusion and a strong delusion, not just delusion but strong delusion, it is when delusion is not just the confusion of the mind but it is when the mind is actually committed to and addicted to a principle that is wrong or against the Word of God. That's what delusion is. And I can tell you there are many passages of Scripture from Matthew 5, 14 and 2 Corinthians 3, 14 and Ephesians 4 and 18 that speaks of the darkness of the mind or the darkness of the eyes. That has to do with knowledge and the understanding of God's Word. And there are many passages of Scripture that deal with this particular subject. But here's the real important thing that you need to know from 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 10, that the Bible says this strong delusion would come upon the world in the end time. We're in a time when Christians are gullible toward and the masses are so taken and gullible by what they see and not what the Word of God has to say that many are being deceived and they are influenced by others that are full of a strong delusion. And part of the definition of that from 2 Thessalonians 2 is that because, and this is the reason why people are in delusion, is because they did not receive the love of the truth so that they could be saved. They did not love the Word of God and truth and declare it to be absolute truth that they became deceived and delusional. There will be billions that will reap the consequences of a life of rejecting the Gospel, rejecting the truth in the near future and refusing to repent. Why are you saying that pastor? Because the United States now along with many other nations are caught up in as fast as they possibly can to devise and to pass laws that are directly against the Word of God and even to celebrate it with their deprived minds. What does that look like? Being deceived is by nature the fact that you don't know that you've been deceived when you've been deceived. It is a fighting when people fight against truth. Not only that but delusion is to believe a lie according to 2 Thessalonians about the coming Antichrist. Remember Antichrist is not against Christ as much as it is another Christ, a substitute for something in the place of the genuine truth and Christ. Delusion according to the Scripture there in 2 Thessalonians will actually come to the point where it worships the Antichrist. A person is so deluded. And then the destiny according to the Scripture of those who are in delusion will eventually be eternal damnation. That's what the Bible says. Once they believe a lie they will become eternally damned. Many are now considering the Bible to be intolerant, out of date, hate speech. It has to be changed. It has to be rewritten. And I tell you my dear friends the Word of God is absolute and true. And today it's important that you embrace the Word of God, read the Word of God. In fact here's the admonition from the psalmist, I will hide the Word of God in my heart that I might not sin against God. This is so important because Satan is on the loose today with lies and deceptions like we've never seen before. And it seems like there's no consequence for it. Deception is a perverted perception of something. It may not necessarily be, hey this is the Bible and it's all wrong, it's to twist the Scripture like Satan did against Jesus when Jesus was in the wilderness. So here's some things that I've closed with today to tell you that Satan wants you to think that there is no limitations on him but I've got news for you. His power and his ability is limited by the Almighty God. Secondly, Satan is on a time limit. In other words, the Bible says that he even knows that his time is short. That's the reason why you're seeing evil unprecedented and even in the imaginations of men there is evil continually the Bible says. I want you to know this, the battle will not go on forever. Every attack is on God's time schedule and God's time table. And your reaction to that attack against your life will either add to or take away from the length of that particular attack. Listen, you can't outthink the enemy but you can't outtalk him according to Jesus. And when you quote the Word of God, when you speak the truth of God's Word it keeps you from a deluded mind and deception. I want to encourage you today my friends with all my heart. Stay true to the Word of God, stay close to the Word of God, read it every day, hide it in your heart and let truth prevail inside of your life. Thank you for joining me for this prophecy file brief. I want you to make sure that you're joining us for the upcoming prophecy file conference right here at Pace Assembly and here's more information about it. Hello, this is Pastor Joey Rogers and I want to give you a special invitation to join me for the upcoming prophecy files conference. This Bible prophecy conference is going to be filled with information concerning the end times and how you can be prepared for the imminent return of Jesus Christ. This year I'll welcome my special guest, Jeff Kinley, Pastor Shane Warren, William Federer and keynote speaker, Pastor John Hague. I want you to join me for this year's prophecy files conference. Registration is available online at PaceAssembly.org and lunch will be provided for a cost of $10. We look forward to seeing you right here at Pace Assembly on September the 16th and 17th for this year's prophecy files conference. Alright good evening Pace family, how's everybody doing? Alright, it's good to be in the house of the Lord right? David said, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. I don't know about you but I love Wednesday nights. If you'll stand with me and take out your prayer and praise, hallelujah. You know midweek you can feel like we're in the weight of the world on our shoulders. But Psalmist David said, you know what? The Lord is the light in my salvation, whom shall I fear? He's a stronghold of my life, whom shall I be afraid? Jesus said, my yoke is easy, my burden's light, amen, hallelujah. Please be in prayer for the Walden family and the Norse family here and there's a lot of needs represented and how many tonight have a need that's represented in the house. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, I thank you for your goodness tonight, Lord, that you're a God that hears and that answers our prayers, Lord. You said we can come boldly to your throne of grace, Lord, and we can ask and receive in our time of need, Lord, and we lift up our brothers and sisters that are struggling tonight, Lord. They need a healing, Lord. They need deliverance. Maybe there's a lost family relative that needs salvation, Jesus. We're asking you, Lord, that you would save to the uttermost. And pour out your goodness and grace, Lord. We're looking to you and no other. There's no other name that we can call, which we must be saved in Jesus' name. Can we give the Lord a hand? Come on. Amen, hallelujah. Hallelujah. Cross the aisle, shake a hand. Online guests, we're so honored that you would be here with us this evening. Please let us know where you're watching from and how we can pray for you. And hey, if you're ever in our area, we'd love for you to be a part of our service. Come and join us and let us know where and how we can pray for you as well. God bless you this evening. Amen. All right. High five your neighbor and tell him Jesus is good. He's been good to me, amen. One announcement I'd like to make you aware of, Thursday nights, we have most excellent way. It happens right next door in the firehouse at 7 p.m. The most excellent way is overcoming addictions through Jesus Christ. Amen. I'm living proof of that. And whether or not you're struggling with an addiction or any life altering sin or you're a family member that has family that are struggling with that, we invite you to come and join us 7 p.m. on Thursday nights for a time of just getting in the Word and getting set free in Jesus. Amen. How many glad givers do we have tonight? All right. We encourage you. We have offering buckets in the back. You can also go online. There's a QR code or you can mail it in as well. Amen. Father, we love you tonight. We thank you for your goodness, God. We ask that you would bless the gift and to give her a like, Lord, to meet the needs of the kingdom in Jesus' name. Amen. We're body. Glad to be here tonight. Glad for you to be here. Once you take your Bibles and your handout and get ready for all of you that are watching online, we encourage you to do the same. You can download the handout, and especially this little chart that we have yet to even really endeavor to deal with, but it is certainly one that will help you to be able to see what we're talking about, what we're teaching you on Wednesday nights concerning the mind and plethora of other things that are there. So I just encourage you to take time to study it. What the Word of God has to say about each of these subjects, and I believe it will be of help to you. I'm excited about this coming weekend. It is going to be, I believe, life-changing, and you will be blessed to hear each one of these speakers. I hope that you're able to make plans to be with us. If you haven't already registered, it's simply an opportunity for us to know how many that we are preparing for that are coming. And if you are interested in being able to have lunch on that day, the cost is nominal. It's $10. You're going to get a Chick-fil-A sandwich and a bag of chips and a Coke and a place to sit down and eat it. And that will be happening here on the campus, so please, if you haven't already registered for that, it's important because we will not be offering that up for folks that are just arriving. It's only going to be for those that are already registered and have given their $10 so that we can purchase just what we have to have for that particular event. Also want to just mention to you, this will be taking place this coming Saturday and Sunday. And it will start promptly on Saturday morning. You can get all the information there online. I believe our first session begins at 9 o'clock. Each speaker will be happening in succession in the morning, and then we'll break for lunch. Some breaks in between each speaker. And then we'll break for lunch and come right back in for the second session in the afternoon. That will give each of our very special guests a couple of hours to be able to bring to you the information they have. I promise you it's going to be more than what you could ever imagine. I don't have it right out here, but the subjects that they've sent to me to let me know what they're going to be teaching on is going to be powerful and intriguing. As a matter of fact, Jeff Kenley, who's going to be coming, a Bible prophecy expert, I would call him. He has some 70 books that he has written over the span of his ministry. He is, if any of you are familiar with Dr. Ed Hickson, who is a Bible prophecy preacher, teacher evangelist. When he passed, Jeff Kenley was placed into that TV program. That entire ministry is the head of that. So he is now doing television all the time with that plus his traveling schedule. So it's not just something that, you know, they have plenty of time. In fact, I was able to squeeze into their schedule and find out if they were available on this particular weekend. And they were, and so we're thrilled about it. Bill Federer, I'm just telling you, when you sit down and hear him this coming Saturday, you better be sure to bring a pen and a paper. Do that. We're going to have some handouts and information for you. There'll be books that they'll have available on the tables in the foyer as well of their writing. But Bill Federer is a historical brainiac. He is, when he starts talking, it starts coming out in a title gushing tsunami. And the information is, this is what I love about it. It's not just vetted, but the footnotes that he has for all of the research that he's done is all right there so you can see what's taking place. And from history we can learn where we're going in the future. The Bible declares that. And so you're going to hear some things perhaps that you've never heard before from him. In Pastor Shane Warren, I just love the way he digs in and finds things in the Word of God that it seems like, man I read that thing a hundred thousand times, how did you get that? And he is an incredible minister and man of God, you've heard him here before. They're all going to be with us on Saturday and we will have a few of them on Sunday morning as well. I'll get the privilege of speaking to you on this coming Sunday and the Lord has been downloading some things for me to bring to you as the church and I want you to make sure that you're here. And then Sunday night the doors will open at five o'clock, at six o'clock we will begin promptly. We're probably going to sing one song and then turn Pastor John Hagey loose and he sent his graphics today for what he's going to be speaking on. It's going to fill this entire board up here. And Ryan was telling me just before the service he showed me one of the graphics that he's going to be using. And so Pastor Hagey is going to be ministering from the book of Genesis all the way to the book of Revelation. So I'm just telling you it's going to be an incredible weekend. Now why is it so important? You know I was looking at the weekends that may have been available and ready for us to be able to do this Bible prophecy conference on and what do you know? I don't know if how many of you are familiar with what happens this coming weekend. Rosh Hashanah, I hear it. Rosh Hashanah is the feast of trumpets. It is the feast of the in-gathering. It is the last trump that is identified as the last feast of the year for the people of Israel. It is the in-gathering. All of those terminologies, the gathering together, in-gathering, all of those have their direct reference in the Word of God to what we identify as the rapture of the church. So I just want to say, and I won't take time, that's an entire teaching of all these feasts and all that's going on, but Rosh Hashanah weekend, that will happen this coming Sunday and this coming weekend. And it's important for you to realize that, I say it's the last, it's the first of the last three feasts that will be for the rest of the year. But it's important for us to be able to realize the significance of that, that is written about in the book of Leviticus and how relevant that these things are for us today. Now somebody said, well, you know, and I've heard a lot of Bible prophecy teachers and all that kind of thing. Well, the Lord is going to come back on a feast day for the nation of Israel. And there's a lot of things to substantiate that fact because the Lord operates in feast days, Passover, you know, as being significant of the death of Jesus Christ, the Feast of Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, all those types of things. But let me just say this to you, please don't wait to give your heart and life to Jesus Christ until Rosh Hashanah thinking that the Lord may come back on Saturday. I just want to let you know the Lord may come back before you hit the pillow tonight. He is, His coming is imminent. It's hanging over our head. So I don't want you to get all, you know, if you are like that thinking, well, I'm just going to wait until these feast days. Some of you are watching online. Listen, you better get ready now. If the Lord decides to make it the Rosh Hashanah and the trumpet sound in the nation of Israel and all of a sudden people disappear, just to let you know, I won't be here preaching Sunday. Now I see this crowd clapping. This one over here is a little bit slow. This one back here is doing nothing. So I just want to let you know that for all of you who have ever wanted my pulpit, you'll have it on this weekend if the Lord comes back. Don't miss it. Look at your neighbor and tell them, don't miss it. If you miss that, you will have missed it all. Praise God. Glad for you to be here tonight. I'm excited. Father, I pray that you would just open our hearts and minds to your word this evening. May it be a lamp and a light. I pray God that you would speak to us from the book because in the word of God holding all of the answers that are necessary for us for life and living. And this evening, I pray that you would rest the hearts of people in your presence. May the Spirit of the Lord strengthen them from the day that they have walked through already. And may they receive, Lord, the very presence of God that touches their hearts and lives and makes it valuable for them to be in this service tonight and those that are watching online. For all of that, we give you glory, honor, and praise in Jesus' name. And everybody said amen. I want you to flip over with me to the book of Ephesians. Chapter number four, Ephesians four, just want to get the word of God as the basis back into our spirit here this evening for this particular lesson. If you haven't been in it, I would encourage you to go back. It's available online in its entirety, each one of these lessons. And you can get ahold of it at no cost. You can go right there and watch the service and get the word of God inside of your spirit. Ephesians chapter number four. Ephesians four has a lot to say concerning what God is doing in our life from the work of the Lord, the workmanship of the Lord, the wealth of the believer, the warfare of the believer. And in chapter number four, starting in verse number 22, he speaks to us concerning the very practicum of what's necessary for our life and living and how to take hold of our minds to think the thoughts that are in line with the word of God, with the mind of God. And he says in verse 22 that you put off concerning the former conversation, the old man. He's speaking of the old man being that sinful nature, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. In verse 23, here's the admonition. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And what does that do for us? And that you put on. So there's some things to put off and there's some things to put on. All right? I don't know if you are a person who may have certain incredible powers, superhero people, Marvel people. But I think most everybody here and those of you watching, put your clothes on this morning yourself. Why is that important? Because this action of putting on the Lord Jesus Christ is not something that we need to neglect. And I will tell you that the coat of the Lord doesn't always fit the first time. You have to keep putting on Christ and putting on Christ and putting on Christ until you conform to how He fits. He's not going to conform himself around you. You are to conform yourself around Him. Can you say a man of that? So the Bible says that you put on the new man, which after God has created in righteousness and true holiness. There it is. And then He starts giving some practicum here. Wherefore putting away lying. Should I package this and send it to Washington, D.C.? I'm just curious. Speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Now that's an important fact that I want you to hold on to right there. Be angry and sin not. I'm just going to give you a few of these. Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. That word wrath is very important as we talk to you about some things here tonight as well. And then verse 27, I'll just stop right here. Neither give place to the devil. Neither give place to the devil. Second Corinthians chapter number 10, if you look with me over there very quickly. Second Corinthians chapter number 10 is a powerful passage of Scripture in verse number 3 where he admonishes us. Paul does. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They're not natural. You're not going to fight the devil with a baseball bat and a shotgun, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. I'm going to talk a little bit about strongholds in a moment, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ and having a readiness in a readiness to revenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. That's going to happen as we, as you process and move toward a renewed mind. A renewed mind is not something that happens just because you drop your mind into what we might call neutral, which is what many people do when we sit down to watch television or whatever it may be. There must be an engaging of your mind with the mind of Christ and then an acceptance and an application that takes place from not just hearing the Word of God, but James says doing the Word of God. You follow what I'm saying? So this is important for you to understand because all that we teach and preach here and what you read is not for your informational knowledge. You're not going to accomplish the renewing of the mind by mental ascent. In other words, just because I can quote chapter and verse over and over again and have, you know, a, a, a, such a encyclopedia on the inside of me of the Word of God that I can quote does not mean that you have yet applied it. There are many people who are able to quote scripture or maybe even read the scripture, expound the scripture that have not pushed the apply button inside of their life. This is the renewal of the mind. When you push the apply button, it is the renewal of the mind. Meaning, watch this, you change your mind, God doesn't change his mind. So let's make sure we get that straight. Now I know you have great ideas and you have lofty ideas and I know that you are just incredible. But all of our righteousness, the scripture says, all of our attempts are as filthy rags for salvation and sanctification and to achieve the mind of God. And yet he gives us an opportunity to be renewed in our mind so that we're not thinking like that world out there and I can promise you, this is what you see, the mind, the old man is corrupt and all of its deceitful thinking. This is important for you to get a hold of. It's corrupt. So this is the way that the world says it and even some modern religions that you're basically a good person. You just need to come and get Jesus. And I've heard this statement recently and it's really caused me to draw back and I've seen it posted a few times, I think, on social media. I'll make sure I get it right or somewhere near. The statement is Jesus gets you, something like that. Jesus, God gets you. Well, I want you to hear me. It's not up to God to get you. Thank you for those four amen. It's up to you to get God. God's not coming to wait on you like a butler and he's not going to change his eternal design and plan to conform to the world. Let me just say this and remind you, I think I said a little bit on Sunday. We see right now where North Korea is meeting with Putin over there and they're going to bind together and then China is over here. So you got the dragon of China and you got the bear of Russia and they're coming together. Do you see those animals in the Bible? Sure you do and here they are. They're coming together and all this chaos all around us and corruption all around us and all that kind of stuff going on and it'll make you, if you watch just about 15 minutes worth of news, it'll make you pull your hair out. Except for this one fact, God has put his design and order into place and things are not falling apart. Things are falling together just like God said it's going to be. So when you understand it from that perspective, you're ready to, the readiness to obey is there to receive the mind of God and change. You must change. You must change. I'm going to show you why I couldn't get more amends than that in just a second. So there's an awful lot that's on your paper. I'm not going to go back and rehearse all that but let me pick up right here. Take me please to, our most vulnerable time is when we are fatigued, drained, tired. I want to pick up in this, from the last week's lesson concerning Elijah and his depressed state has everything to do with your mind. Why am I want to talk about this for a moment? Because this is the number one attack upon society today is the spirit of depression. Depression, are you getting what I'm saying? People are depressed. There are people sitting in this building here tonight that are on the edge. People watching right now. I don't have to be a prophet of all of that. That's just statistically true. Then the question begs now, what am I going to do with that? Because the world's answer is take a handful of pills. The world's answer is go sit down and tell all of your troubles to somebody that may have as many troubles as you do. I've talked to some people that have called themselves counselors before and I knew a little bit of what was going on in their life. It made me afraid. They needed counseling. So what's the answer? Well, the Lord gives us the answer for all things. In fact, if you want to just quickly look right here, I'm going to give you something to write in a minute. If you look right here, you're going to find, and there you go, that's it. You're on it there in the back. So look with me where anxiety is found down in the care and worry and fear. Look where that's coming from. Look where all is happening there in your emotions. Why is it important for you to get a comprehension of this chart in your head and in your spirit? Because, ladies and gentlemen, too many people want to say, I can't do it, but when you begin to understand where it's coming from and the seed that has been planted by the enemy or our own thoughts that have been elevated to the place of a stronghold that the enemy has now taken over, too many times we want to either blame someone or blame something that happened and so forth, and I am not saying that the event or whatever it may be may not have happened to you. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying, what are you going to do with what's happened to you? Am I going to fall and sink into a hole and become a victim the rest of my life until I become so depressed that today suicide is at an all time high among teenagers. Somebody was telling me the other day that they had gone to New York City and there's this famous millions of dollar piece of art that is like a little spiral staircase kind of thing that people walk up and are able to see what's going on in the city and they had to shut it down because too many teenagers, the reputation of this piece of art was no longer the art, is that too many teenagers were climbing up to the top and jumping off and committing suicide. Why? Because they're depressed. Now where's that coming from? I can tell you of assurance, God is not the author of depression. He is the cure for our depression. And every person in here at some point or another is going to feel that slump, some more than others. There may be chemical imbalances. I'm not here to diagnose you. I'm here to tell you how to get out because if I can help you get the Word of God in you and you can find the path that God has laid out, not Joey Rogers, the path that God has laid out for you to step out and walk out of that place, then ladies and gentlemen, look with me. You can see where these are coming from. I'm just using this as an example. You can see where the cares and worry and fear and anxiety could be put in that particular. There's any number of words that can be used there. That's in the soulish realm. That's in this soulish realm right here, the second realm, the soulish realm, okay? That's not here in the spirit realm. What are you saying, Pastor? I'm saying that your soulish realm does not have more power than the spirit of God that lives on the inside of every one of us. That's the reason why he makes these declarations, the Word of God does. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. You're made an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of your testimony. Now, ultimately, let me make sure you, let me give us the basis one more time. Ultimately, ladies and gentlemen, it is absolutely necessary that you place that seed of faith right there at the cross and leave it there no matter what happens in your life because you will never overcome anxiety, depression, cares of life, all these other sins that are going on over here. You'll never overcome that or the stronghold that is built in your mind unless you keep yourself positionally and exclusively in faith at the cross of Jesus Christ. There is no other place for the remission of our sins or life and living other than Christ and Him crucified. This is the only place that the devil was made a show openly, the Bible says. And Jesus triumphing over him, he knows good and well, he is defeated. Ladies and gentlemen, not, let me get him out of there, not because you have money to be able to throw around or that you have an education that has letters behind you. None of that kind of stuff works, ladies and gentlemen. The devil's not afraid of that. He's not afraid of preachers. He's not afraid of how much you read the Bible. Boy, I feel a little ramp up going on. He's not afraid of how much you pray, how much you come to church, how much you sing, how much you lift your hands and worship, he don't care how much praise and worship music you listen to. The only thing that he is afraid of is the moment you step on the holy ground of the cross of Jesus Christ. I can assure you anger, fear, worry, nervous breakdowns, anxiety has got to go. Now stop thinking that God is the same as McDonald's. Cause you're not gonna drive up to the cross, order up what you want and then pick it up five minutes later and go on and leave the cross alone and I'll see you next week. Why is it so important that you're here tonight because your mind is getting renewed? And why is that so important? Because the Lord knows that with this renewed mind you're getting yourself prepared for the thing that you have no idea is coming down the road and the enemy has got you on the hit list, but the Bible says if you'll get your mind renewed by the time that trial gets to you, you're gonna be ready to be able to fight the battle even if you are fatigued and tired and weary and nervous and fearful. Come on, somebody. This, First John 5 and 4, this is the victory that overcomeeth the world, even our faith. You don't keep your faith there. Where else is there? Let me say it like Jesus said in John chapter 6. He stands there and tells everybody that that fish and chips is over. I fed 5,000 of you and that's done. And the Bible says from that day 3,000 people walked away from Jesus. The day I read that as a pastor, I was a happy man because I'd only lost a couple that week. Jesus lost 3,000 in one day. I said, go Jesus. And here's what he said. He flipped around to the 12 disciples and he said this, hey, y'all gonna leave me too? Because I'm ready for anybody. Jesus said I'm ready for any of you to leave because the way I'm going, you may not be able to do it. And Peter opens his mouth and this better be your statement. Where can we go? Where can we go? Where are we gonna go to? Where are we gonna go? To the cults. We're gonna go to the Mormon church and figure out that Moroni is not even real. Come on, we're gonna go Jehovah Witness and find out 144,000 is what they said is going in a rapture and yet they're already over those numbers. Come on somebody. Or maybe I'll just be an atheist and sit around and say that God isn't real. Well, the Bible already knows that you might be saying that so he said you a fool. Because one day you're gonna stand before an Almighty God and he's gonna ask you what did you do with my son? And I'm telling you what I'm on telling. I'll tell you what I did. I received him into my heart and Jesus is gonna step right in between and say that one's mine. Man, there's an anointing in this building. So our most vulnerable, our most vulnerable, yeah, go ahead and put it back there. Our most vulnerable time is when we are fatigued, drained, tired, exhausted. You know what I'm talking about. That's when our guard comes down and the enemy's waiting for that. And that's what happened to Elijah. And I wanna deal with this a little bit and this passage of scripture from the book of Hebrews as we close this particular lesson. And we'll pick up lesson 42 next week. Y'all don't get it. So to this day on my screen, on my phone, I have the statue of Elijah. It's just so inspiring every time I open up my phone that I took the picture of when I was in Israel there on top of Mount Carmel. And that's where Elijah said, you bring all the prophets of Baal and we're gonna have a showdown up here and we're gonna find out who's God as a real God just in case you don't know the story and we'll summarize it for you. So the Bible says they all gathered up there. All the prophets of Baal, Elijah's there. And he said, now listen, y'all go ahead and do your thing. You build an altar, build an altar over here and sacrifice to your God, Baal. And Baal is a multi God name. So they were sacrificing and throwing it all on there for any kind of God they could scratch up and find. And so they throw their sacrifice and the Bible says they dance around it. Watch this, everybody thinks that cutting for young people and so forth is a new thing. The prophets of Baal were cutting themselves at that time as a sacrifice to their God. They're dancing around the altar, they're exhausted, they're listening to, they're worshiping and beating their drums and all that kind of stuff. And Elijah makes fun of them through the course of the whole deal, makes fun of the gods that's not hearing them because the only one that was gonna be God was the one that answers by fire. So they've been doing it all day long. He said, I can see y'all are worn out. Let me show you how to do this thing. And he goes over here and he builds the altar. This is important. Elijah did not ask the people to build the altar. The pastor, Elijah, built the altar and invited people to come. And they gathered around and he prayed a simple prayer after having poured barrels of water on the sacrifice on the altar and built a trench around it. It was all filled up. So I mean, and what's the big deal about that? Well, if you remember, Elijah had prophesied to Jezebel a drought in the land. So now the prophet is now wasting water by pouring it on the sacrifice. And if it's gonna be answered by fire, man, I'm about to run right now. If it's gonna be answered by fire, then it's gonna have to be some show-nuff fire because we have just wet down the entirety, the wood, altar, sacrifice and all of it. And Elijah said, I trust the Lord. He's the God who answers by fire. He prays a simple prayer. Here comes the fire, licks up all the water. Don't you love that? Licks up all the water, burns up the sacrifice. I mean, it's revival on Mount Carmel. He takes the prophets of Baal, all their families, all their cattle, he takes their dogs, their cats and everything. Read the Bible, y'all got silent right there, you're all sad. He didn't take them to the vet. He shoved them right off the edge right out there and killed them all. Because if you don't kill sin in its seed form, it will come back another day in another form. Jezebel was the adversary, but because that there was still a seed called Ahatheli, how you like that for a name? Don't name your kids, Ahatheli. Ahatheli. The seed, Ahatheli, later on down the line, you find her rising up and she comes against the people of God later on. So here's Jezebel. She's over there at the palace and all of a sudden she gets the word that all her prophets and all those eunuchs and everybody else have been tossed off with the top of Mount Carmel and Elijah's the reason why. He's the troubler of Israel. Don't you love that term? I wanted to get a t-shirt for myself on that. So Jezebel sits down and writes a letter. She gets a FedEx together and she makes it real simple. By this time tomorrow, I'm gonna kill you. Man of God signed Jezebel. She puts a big old sweet lipstick kiss on the back of the envelope and mails it over to him. The courier brings it, he opens it up. God's man of power and faith. He's just called fire down from heaven. All seen all of this, incredible. People are shouting, dancing, running all over the place. It's revival, camp meeting, holy ghost style, you know, all that kind of stuff's going on. And the next thing you know, he gets this letter and it's counting, it's changed. Not that she was there with a sword and hand in front of him. Not that she had already put him in a headlock and had him held to the ground. Not that she was about to throw a javelin or had all of the people coming to kill him. Just a letter. Now, in order for it to work on you, you either gotta see it or you gotta hear it. You're fine and dandy. You are going and doing what you do every day and then the phone call comes and says, come in, we found a spot of cancer. And the next thing you know, your mind goes into absolute total other gear. You start thinking about everybody who's had cancer, you think about this, you think about that. And what is that? Because the enemy had to let you hear it. Well, pastor, they need to tell me the diagnosis. I get that. But if you only operate on that chart, if you only operate by your five senses, then you are carnal, you are fleshly, the Bible says. Because we walk by, not by sight. We don't operate as the people of God by our emotions. I feel like coming to church today, I don't feel like coming to church. See, I don't understand that. That makes me itch, it makes me crazy as a pastor because I don't get that. Because if you're a believer, it's not a matter of whether I feel any certain way or not. You didn't feel like going to work today but a motivator called a paycheck at the end of the week caused you to get out of the bed, put your clothes on and go to work and you didn't think anything about it. Why do we treat God with contempt when he's the one who saved our soul, provided for the meal you ate before you got here, gave you the car that you're driving, put the gas in it, wrapped you up with some clothes, put your big feet in some shoes and you're gonna stay home because of that? No, no, no, no, no, not in this hour. Because if you operate by your emotions and there are millions of people that are, they are allowing their mind, now watch this, this is the problem. When you operate by your emotions, by your senses instead of by faith and the obedience to God's word, I don't have to feel God's word. There's a lot of people that go, well, I wasn't convicted. I don't have to be convicted over thou shalt not lie. Thank you for those 10 amends. Y'all didn't hear what I said. See, if it's written in the book, it's not a matter of whether I feel it or not. I don't have to feel nothing. All I've got to do is obey. Come on now, trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? But too many people are operating because they don't know what the Word of God says and since they don't know Him, they don't trust Him. It's amazing when you operate in that area how people can justify in their minds doing something that God said you shouldn't or you should. So with Elijah is a perfect example of what happens in the mind whenever the attack comes and whenever you're going through whatever it may be. So from a little bit of last week, let me get this in your spirit so you got something to write down. He was mentally and physically tired. You're vulnerable when you're tired and you listen to a lot of voices when you're tired. That's the reason why you need to be careful about what you're listening to on the way home from work all the time you know when you're tired. So many are tired right now. I get it. If you work today, you probably are. I get that. But how many times have I heard this? Pastor, I was gonna stay home because I was so tired but I came to church and in the presence of the Lord I was so refreshed. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? Because in the presence of God, there is a refreshing. In the presence of God, there is joy, there is peace. All the things that your soul requires, requires and Elijah got up when he got the letter and ran in the opposite direction. God said, I know you're tired, go down here to the brook. Isn't that funny? I think it's just amazing. He prophesies a drought and yet God's got a brook for him. Does anybody need a brook? Are you hearing what I'm saying? You may be at a dry place right now but I promise you God, if you'll listen to him, he's got a brook, he's got a water brook waiting on just you, listen, nobody else was there. It was just Elijah, he had the whole pond to himself. So he could drink as much water as he wanted to. When he got hungry, he said what you need is some food, water and some rest, food, water and rest. Those of us who have this in a drive don't know when to do that. Have I got a witness? Now if you ain't working, you're retired, you're exempt from what I just said. I had a previous board member that would boast every time he came in the meeting, he was all refreshed and ready to go because he'd spent the day resting all day for the meeting that night. Some of these guys know we go to one o'clock in the morning rewriting the constitution and bylaws and he was good to go. Come on, let's do another hour. But I'm gonna tell you, God saw the need. God saw the need and what was the need. Elijah needs some rest. He's just done, he's just called fire down from heaven. And ladies and gentlemen, when you get in a strong battle, when you get in a fight, you may not even recognize how exhausted mentally, physically and spiritually you are. But God does. And if you'll listen to him, he'll set you aside and say now, you don't need to do this today, you need to do this. Now, if you're already resting and sleeping all the time, you need to get up and go to work. I couldn't get very many amens, but the truth shall make you free. So you need to like go to work. If you're sleeping all the time, you need to get up and go to work. But Elijah had been fighting this battle with a fierce enemy and he didn't even realize how much it took out of him, I don't think. So you see a perfect example here of depression. And if someone was diagnosing this clinically, this would be clinical depression coming on. And Elijah gets the letter and he starts running for his life, God said come on down here, I got some water for you. I know you need some food, I'm on Fiji. Fly in, food in a ravens beak, old dirty bird bringing me some food. He feeds him, he puts him to sleep. He wakes him up, he lets him drink some more, he brings more food in, puts him to sleep. Did you hear what I said? The problem was whenever Elijah got up from that second time, that next time, he gets up and still has it in his mind and runs to a cave. He was under the threat in his mind. Some of you are sitting here tonight and watching me right now and there is a threat on you. Nobody knows that's being built up right in your mind. Stay with me, I'm about to help you now. Under a threat in your mind, somebody said something. Something is going on and the enemy is trying. Why did I read Ephesians chapter four? Give no place to the devil because the enemy is trying to do everything he can. We studied it last week. It's where he's coming in here pounding, pounding, pounding, pounding, pounding, until he loosens a place in your mind that he can run the spear through and find a seed to build a stronghold. This happens to everybody. All right? So he says in his head, she's gonna kill me. I gotta go. And he runs to the cave and digs into the cave as far, for me, I can see Elijah going all the way as deep as it can go. And it's a picture of the sinking, depressing depression that's come upon Elijah, the man of God who just called fire down from heaven. That is beyond our comprehension when we look at it, how could this man run for his life like this? Why didn't God put that in the Bible? For us. For us. So here's a real key for you and I don't think we got this far last week. So here we go. His perceptions, not reality, his perceptions became reality in his mind, which is an idol. Are you hearing me? Listen carefully now. Everything seemed to be exploited or bigger than what it really is when you're tired. So what does he say? I'm the only one left, God. I'm the only preacher you got. And God says, hold up. I've got 7,000 that are still haven't bowed a knee to bail. You're not alone in this. I came to tell you, you're not alone in this. There are other people that are serving the Lord. Don't listen to the news media tell you that God is dead and that churches are going down and all that kind of stuff. I don't care what kind of stats they get. There is still a remnant group of people that God is always going to have. Always. So then God takes care of Elijah in that place and he goes to the door of the cave and calls him out and he tells him to go back to the land of Judah. I dealt with this a little bit last week to tell you that your place of coming out of depression starts with you going back to praise. The joy of the Lord is my strength. If I'm going to overcome, and it will be the hardest thing you've ever done. When you're in a sinking hole depressed and you don't know what to do, the hardest thing for you to do is lift up your head to God and say now Lord, I want to thank you. Lord, I just want to bless you. Lord, I've come to praise your name. I don't need a band. I don't need a worship team. I don't need an orchestra. I don't need a choir. I am a company of one here to praise you from my heart to you, from my spirit to you. I am bypassing my emotions, my will and my mind because my emotions tell me that I am tired and that I just need to stop and God's not hearing me and all that kind of stuff. And my will says you're tired, just rest, just lay down, just forget all of that. And my mind is racing like crazy because I got stuff to do tomorrow and next week and the kids are crying and all this is going on. And somewhere you've got to steal your mind and say, wait a minute, I will bless the Lord at all time, his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Now follow what I'm telling you because I want to diagnose this just a little bit. I want to diagnose it, I want to make sure my time don't run out there so timekeeper help me now. But I want to deal with this right here because if we allow perceptions, misinformation, disinformation, have you heard that before? Misunderstandings, let's try this one on. You thought because the first person that came to you who told you the story on the whole situation that everything was true until you heard the other side of the story. That's what proverb says. I believe it's 17 and 18. You think this is true until you hear the other side of the story. Are you with me? People go off of misinformation and perceptions and what happens? If you do not deal with that seed, if you allow it to fester in there, let's go here. Look at Hebrews 12 and 15. Hebrews 12 and 15, it's on your paper, you ready? Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, notice this, fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many are defiled. What a powerful passage of Scripture to describe the stronghold of the mind. So if we, now follow what I'm telling you. This passage of Scripture right here, this phrase that is used here, looking diligently, as a matter of fact, let me punch it up for you right here. Looking diligently is broken down into two Greek words that means to look over or to take a supervisory oversight. When you go back and put it in context before this particular passage of Scripture is written, he speaks to us, Paul does, concerning the position of the bishop, the pastor, a bishop. He's saying to us in this, you are to look diligently. Let me say it like this, literal translation. You are to be the bishop of your mind lest you allow a root which starts with a seed, a root and he calls it bitterness. Now this term right here is one to describe a multiple amount of different things that can attack you, different situations. What does he mean by that? He's talking about it might be, well let me give you this passage, write it down. Luke chapter 17, Luke chapter 17. And verse number one, Luke 17 and one. Let me read it for you because this is where we are today because we can't get along with one another and we won't take the word of God and follow the pattern of the word of God and follow Matthew 18 in dealing with issues inside of our life and conflicts. But this is what the Scripture says in Luke 17 and one. Look what it says, then said he unto his disciples, it is impossible but that offenses will come. It is impossible but that offenses, in other words he's saying to us, get ready if you can be offended, you will be offended. Now why is he saying that? Where does this offense take place? Well it takes place in your mind first. It's where the seed is sown. Someone said something to you or you think something about someone. You can write the long list of this. I'm not here to tell you what it is, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The issue is if you allow that to stay in your mind, the enemy has now found an entrance into your mind by way of your own perception. Now Jezebel never did kill Elijah. So the letter was a lie. Ooh, I'm fixing to kick something. You need to tell the devil right now the letter is a lie. Whatever they said is a lie. Come on somebody. Whatever letter you got, whatever phone call you got, whatever text you got from the devil, just need to turn it around and say, the devil, the letter is a lie. I know you said I wouldn't say, but I am bumped by the blood and my faith is at the cross, the letter is a lie. I know that the devil said you're never gonna prosper, you're never gonna make anything, but look what the Lord is doing inside of my life. Right now the letter is a lie. Oh Lord, excuse me a minute. I'm just making a note to self right here. Let's not forget it. There's a sermon packed in that thing right there. I'm probably gonna have to squeeze that thing and get it out. Because too many people are operating off of perceptions. Well, the devil told me this or so and so told me this. Have you A, checked it out. Have you B, prayed about it? Because if you allow that perception to stay, the enemy has found an entrance and here's what he does. He builds a stronghold. There's my stronghold. In your mind. Now follow what I'm about to tell you. That stronghold there is an offense turning into bitterness. So watch this. Wrath then turns into bitterness. That turns into resentment. And then it even turns into a repercussion upon people. Notice what the scripture says in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 15. Looking diligently, lest any man fail to the grace of God, lest the root of bitterness springing up, trouble you. Now he's not writing this just to the individual. He's writing this to the entirety of the church here. And he's saying if someone has a root of bitterness, it's going to be trouble for everybody in that church until this stronghold is brought down. Now the enemy wants to keep the stronghold in your mind because, put my big chart back up here real quick. He wants to keep the stronghold in your mind. A place. It don't have to be a big place. You've just set up a place where your idea has now lifted itself above the book. Now we just read in the book of Corinthians right here that we're to pull down every stronghold. Notice this. It's not the Lord that pulls it down because he didn't put it there. Are y'all with me here tonight? The Lord didn't put the stronghold there. I allowed that stronghold to come in. I allowed that stronghold to come in because of some perception that I had about God that isn't true. Not just the person. Let me try it like this. You ask the Lord to forgive you. That's not a trick question. You ask the Lord to forgive you. Question. Did he forgive you? And yet, because of an offense, you've allowed the enemy to build a stronghold up here and now you will not forgive them because of what they did to you. And your perception, and how does that translate to God? Your perception is that God is not greater than the offense. Man, I'm about to run. Did you hear what I said? You have built up a stronghold in your mind, a perception, something about God that isn't true. And now you are offended at God because you feel like they have gotten one over on you. They stole the money. They took my spouse. They took my house. They did this. They did that. Hold it. Who gave you the house to start with? Do you not think that God has other houses and land in store for you? And let me just say to you, if they could leave you that easily, stop driving past your ex's house and look for the one that's coming down the road who's going to be taking care of every... Oh, y'all don't hear what I'm saying. In fact to the business, call your ex on the phone and tell him, thank you for leaving me. I am free to find what God really wants from me. Not what I want from myself, what God wants from me. So this stronghold is now a place, he said in Ephesians 4, give no place to the devil, right? Give no place. Now I've allowed a stronghold to come in and if I leave it, sit there and don't take care of it quickly. It will spring up a root of bitterness. But here's, to me, this is what I see as the greatest struggle. It's not just that the idol is there and the stronghold is there and the root of bitterness is there. Watch what I'm telling you because this is about to be a revelation for some of you. Is that ever... Help me Jesus. Every now, everything you do filters through that stronghold to other people and even to yourself. So now your self-esteem is not right and what does the stronghold tell you? You're ugly. You're this, you're that. You'll never make it. Nobody loves you. Blah, blah, blah. Come on, preach my sermon for me. There is but one solution, ladies and gentlemen. That means I cannot allow... First of all, I cannot allow that seed when I am offended. Somebody hurt me. I told you the other day there's a whole church. I can't even say where it's at. There's a church that every Tuesday night they have a class for church hurt. And I'm amazed that you weren't hurt down at the bar. Didn't have... Have you ever heard a bar hurt before? Anybody got bar hurt before? Anybody... Wait, wait, wait, wait. Let me take this one on. Surely somebody's had Walmart hurt before. How about a hospital hurt? How about Dr. Hurt? Sounds like a name of a doctor. Dr. Hurt, right? But when it comes to church, bless God, I'm out of here. What did God do to you? People are going to hurt your feelings. They're going to offend you. Sometimes they might not even shake your hand. I'm not here for you. I'm here for him. People have done to you build a stronghold up until your own mind is, watch this, it's not over. Because remember what happened? The servant comes in. Can I teach this thing? We'll write something in a minute. Here comes the servant. He comes walking in. They said, listen, you owe this man, it's in the Bible, parable. I'm just paraphrasing. You owe this man a huge sum of money. Brings him before the judge. Judge, come on, have mercy on me. I didn't mean to. I work out some payments. All that judge says, okay. I hear you. Are you sorry for it? Yes, sir, I am. I'm going to get it right. Okay. We'll give you time. Pay the bill, but here's mercy for you. Bible said he went out straight way, if I remember the words. He went straight out and found the guy who owed him pennies and grabbed him by the throat. You know why he was that way? Because that believer had a stronghold in their mind. He was already offended by the judge, offended that anybody would tell him to pay his bill. Did you eat the food? Did you call, did the plumber do the work? Talk to me, somebody. Did the electrician do what he was supposed to do? Did the card get fixed? Pay the bill. I can't get no amen. It's here tonight. That's all right. I'm preaching whether you amen me or not. What's happening? He says, pay the bill. He goes out and grabs him by the throat, shoves him up against the wall. Hey, you owe me this. Pay me now. Not work out a payment plan. Not any of the stuff he just got. Pay me now. He's got a perception and a stronghold, and now he is reacting out of this stronghold that's built up in his mind. And the man said, have mercy on me. No, I ain't having mercy on you. Look here. Look, somebody said, oh, I'd never go that far. Oh, my dear friends. There are people today that are sitting in jail because they said I would never go that far. You don't know how far you'll go. That's the reason why the admonition from the Scripture is you got to get that thing tore down quickly. Otherwise, the longer it stays, the more it's going to seed and bed everything around you. And the problem is it's going to trouble. That word trouble there, it deals with tormentors. So what happened? I love this story. Bible said he threw that man who owed him a little bit into jail. And when the judge, just in case you need to know that who the judge is because you are not, God's the judge. When the judge heard what he did, he called him back and said, didn't I forgive you of all this massive amount of money and yet you turned around and threw this man into jail? Cast him into outer darkness. Cast him away. Cast him into jail. Now watch this. God said, and let him be turned over to the tormentors. Now this is a dangerous place. This is where people lose their faith. This is where people do crazy stuff. This is where people, because of a stronghold, remain bitter because why did he say turn him over to the tormentors for the destruction of his flesh? Now that spirit's gonna keep on living right on. But the mind, the will, and the emotions as well living on will be tormented until you get this dealt with. Now when I read that passage of Scripture, I'm thinking to myself, wow, come on, now this is, follow me. How unfair, let me use some words today. How unequitable you are God. You want this guy to pay the bill, but you just threw him in jail where he can't get a job and pay the bill. What's the only answer? I can't pay the bill. I owe a debt I cannot pay. But he paid the debt. Come on somebody. So since I don't have the ability to pay the bill, the only thing I can do is throw myself on the mercy of the court. But I must rep... Oh my God, I must repent. Now in repentance, and now he says in II Corinthians, pulling down the strongholds and casting down imaginations, I've repented now. But I've got to pull those thoughts that I was thinking subject to the Word of God. And even... Some of you ain't gonna like this. Come on, strap in. Put your tray tables up. Even if it was, even if they were right, you must and I must be quick to not let that seed... So I've got to root that thing out. I've got to pull it out. He says pull it out by the roots. Some of y'all are just spraying roundup on it, waiting on it to die because that way you don't have to do anything. But when my daddy raised me, there wasn't no roundup. I ain't got no help in here, but I'll tell you the way it is. When my daddy raised me, there wasn't a weed eater. There wasn't a blower. There wasn't no roundup. All there was was snips. A shovel. An axe. And my hands. He said now get out there and weed that garden. Get out there and... No, no. I know there's weeds growing up in the concrete, in the cracks. Get in there and dig that root out or it will come back. Now, ladies and gentlemen, the only reason why a gardener would walk out to his garden and see the weeds taking over is neglect. Neglecting the weeding process. And I'm just gonna tell you, I've been doing it, can you tell I'm a little bit red here? I wasn't sitting out in the sun. I've been working today outside. And there's some weeds I came across. And I'm just gonna tell you weeds will grow when nothing else grows. And I've watched people spray roundup on it. And now I gotta wait three days. It's still green. Let me just tell you something. This is my personal opinion. They got all kinds of chemicals and stuff out there. But let me just tell you something. My feeling is, is that the sin that is in our world has gotten in the ground grown up through some weeds. And the weeds when you spray roundup on them goes, ha, ha, ha. Because you can spray. Listen, a few weeks ago I was out there. She said, take that roundup. You go out there, please. And just do this right here. I go out there and I'm spraying. I'm spraying. I mean, I stand there and soak them. And it's like they turn greener. You've got to get down in the root of your mind and pull every offense and everything out and say, I will not be mad with you. I'm not. Listen, even if they're right, even if they don't say to you, I'm sorry or anything like that, forget all of that, my dear friends. This ain't about them. Trust me. The God who is the judge will take care of that. You've got to take care of your garden. If you don't care of your own, take care of your own garden. Oh, they did this. There's always gonna be they. Try to do something for God. And they's will come out of the woodwork. Right? Why do y'all do this to me? There's so much more here. I don't have time. But that idol, that stronghold right there, if you let it stay, I'm just gonna do this. If you let this one stay right here, he gonna build another one over here and another one over here and another one over here and another one over here. And the next thing you know, you come to church and you've got so many strongholds going on in your mind. You can't even lift up your hands because you're looking around the room and you're checking out everything. Next thing you know, the preacher ain't preaching right and the singers ain't singing right and the people don't like me and all they want is money and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And why is that? Because your mind is full of strongholds like a kidney full of kidney stones. And it's tormenting you and it even gets worse when other people get blessed around you. Let somebody get blessed around you. You let somebody watch it. Let somebody get a new car and you're still driving that smoking hoopty and I'll tell you, you'll look at them cross-eyed while you're raising your hands singing amazing grace. How sweet the sound. You know what I'm talking about? Oh, pastor, I never would. Oh, you don't know what you would do. You don't know your own heart. You let a few strongholds get in there. Hey, you let a few strongholds from your childhood stay in there. And I've known people that are raised up 50, 60, 70, 80 years old and they still got a stronghold in their mind and they're always the victim and everybody around them. You better pull it down while you have this... Why is this corporate worship and ministry going on here? Because there are... Oh, God, help me right here. There are some strongholds that can only be pulled down in a corporate setting where people are gathering together. While I'm doing it by myself, I've got to pull it down. But, ladies and gentlemen, sometimes you've been fighting the fight and you're wondering how am I making ground, but you let... You let a bunch of people get together and begin to worship and magnify God and suddenly strongholds start breaking all over the place. Why do people get up and start running and shouting and falling out and dancing? The people out there won't understand it, but bless your heart when you've been set free and the devil is taking the grip off of your mind. You got something to shout about? I wish you would shout right now and break every stronghold and every hold that the devil has on your life. Come on, somebody. Come on, get on your feet right now. I'll teach you the rest of it someday. Come on, lift those hands right now. If there's anything that's built up into your mind as an idol, as a stronghold, some kind of a fence, somebody hurts you, somebody's done something to you, something's happened to you, you're being affected, you're a physical body, you're in a depression, you're in a place of anger, you're in a place of hurt, you're hating on somebody, whatever that it is. Right now, in the name of Jesus, pull down every stronghold. Father, in the name of Jesus, I'm pulling down this idea, this idol that is holding me captive, this perception of someone or something or even of you, God. I pull it down right now in the name of Jesus. I forgive them and I release them right now, and in releasing them, I release myself from the tormentors. The only way I'm gonna get out of this jail is to release that guy who owes me a few pennies. Why have I gotta go to the mind-bind jail when I can release them? I can release myself, the stronghold in the mind, release my mind. Come on, somebody, lift those hands. You don't have to wait on me. You ain't, listen, they call it praying through, ladies and gentlemen, not pray to, pray through. Do you understand what I'm saying? Don't pray up until you get through and you don't hear nobody praying. I'm talking about praying until you go all the way to the other side and make it all the way back with the answer. Pray through it right now. Don't let the enemy steal another day of your life with that perception, that idol, that enemy, that seed of bitterness and unforgiveness. It's blocking your mind. You can't see God. You can't sense God. You can't feel God because there's a stronghold in your mind. Father released people across this auditorium and people that are watching online right now. In their minds, God, the enemy has got a foothold. He's put his foot down and claimed the land, but in the name of Jesus, I'm taking back what the devil stole. Oh my God, I'm taking back what the devil stole years ago. He stole this place in my mind and I've been acting out of it. I've been speaking out of it. I've been operating out of it and I tonight pull that thing down subject to the Word of God and I release in the name of Jesus your spirit to take hold of my mind, my soul, my body. Release me from the tormentors, God. Tonight, let the cloud go. There's been a cloud over my head, a cloud over my family, a cloud over my money, a cloud over my living, over my worship in the name of Jesus. Move the cloud and bring in the presence of God. Oh Lord, let there be fresh rain on the field tonight. Let there be fresh and awning upon them. Let the strength of the Almighty God rest upon them like they have never had. The stronghold is gone. The breaker has broken forth and the Spirit of God is taking charge of my mind. I release them now. I don't care if they ask me for forgiveness or not. They're as good as forgiven right now. Come on, somebody. Don't care, bring the music down. I don't care what they do or don't do. Your release is not up to them. God will deal with that, believe me. And it may not be in this life and you might not see it. You might not get to see. Pull it down in the monitor, Steve. You might not get to see it. It might be in God's eternity before it is completely until they get dealt with. I'll put it like that. But God won't let this be injustice. This injustice continue. Please don't think. I think it's Psalm 73. I think the writer of Psalm 73 said something like this. He said, I think it's 73. If I'm wrong, forgive me. He said, I look around at the evil and evil people. I'm paraphrasing. And I see they got new cars and new houses and they got this and they got that. They're not even serving you God and it looks like they are so blessed and they even write little scriptures on Facebook. This almost didn't say this, but they write little comments on there, I'm blessed and highly favored. And they don't even come to your house. They don't even serve you. They don't pay tithes. They don't read their Bible. None of that stuff. And they're claiming that you're the one blessing them. The Psalmist said something like this. It makes me want to quit. But here's what he said. He said, until I went to the house of the Lord. Until I went to the house of the Lord and found out that all of Bill Gates money cannot buy peace of mind. Until I went to the house of God and found out that life doesn't begin with the abundance of things. Until I went to the house of the Lord and found the fellowship of other believers, you should read this. Until I went to the house of the Lord and found out what real blessings and real riches and real anointing is all about. And then he said, I don't worry about the evil out there. I put my hope in the Lord. And when God gets ready to pay me, what a payday it's going to be. Somebody ought to clap your hands and shout unto God, God's got a payday for you. And in case you forget it, the letter is, allow, listen to the devil. Take hold of your mind. Rita's driving to work. I'm going to let you go. Rita was driving to work this morning and you may have already seen it right up here by this automotive place right up here. There's great big billboards just been put up. What do they call it? Horrors of fear. It's a, huh? Three days of horror or something like that. In Oak Lewis County Center of the Mall, they're going to set up a big, now we've just come through COVID and fear worldwide and now people are going to walk into the spirit of fear. And oh God, don't make me teach you. I will teach all night to you. And then wonder why I can't get a prayer through. I can't feel God. I don't know. I'm telling you, you build up a stronghold by submitting yourself to that. Come on now. Pastor, I would never go there if you believe the lies of this world and allow a stronghold of knowledge to get in your head and you think that Dr. Fauci are more, are more intelligent than the God of Abraham. Isaac and Jacob, you're going to start operating in fear and suddenly you'll go, well, I guess we better do this. I guess we better put on three masks. And my God, I guess I better stay home. The devil is a liar. All the devil wants to do is isolate you. But I'm coming out in the name of Jesus and I'm going to take back what the devil stole from me in my house. Reach over and grab a faith-filled believer by the hand right now. All across this auditorium. All I want you to know here tonight is Elijah. You're not the only one going through the fight. So I want you to pray for them right now that God would give them strength that comes from another world. Not because you're holding their hand, but because you two are agreeing upon this one thing and it shall be done. Father, in the name of Jesus, for all of my friends that are watching, I reach out in agreement right now with them. And Lord Jesus, because we brought the stronghold down, there's a vacancy in our minds now. A space that we need to fill up. Fill us up with the Holy Ghost. Fill us up with the anointing of God. Fill us up with the strength of the brotherhood. Fill us up with God love for one another. Fill us up with the fresh oil of heaven that comes down from glory upon my head and rolls down my beard even to my skirt. For there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore. God released unity and love and compassion. Fill my mind and my spirit with all that I need. And let it spread out into my family, my children, my children's children in the name of Jesus Christ. Now, if you believe that, come on, lift those hands and give Him the last praise of the night. Open your mouth. Open your mouth. Open your mouth. This ain't a Florida state game. This is God's house. You're not going to clap for His approval. I want you to open your mouth. The victory is in your mouth. The anointing is in your mouth. Pull down the stronghold with your mouth. If you believe God tonight, how many of you know you pull a stronghold down? Get ready for a fresh anointing upon it right now. Who I'm talking to, I say, get ready for a fresh anointing upon you. All the stuff that's been blocking you has now been moved out of the way. And the Lord has control of my mind. Come on in and build a house in my mind, Jesus. Amen. You love the Lord tonight? Amen. Do you love people standing around you? Yes. Really? Yes. Well, then turn around and shake hands with them. Smile at them. Tell them you love them. Let there be fellowship in the house. Do not, do not, do not miss this weekend. Saturday morning, we're going to be live streaming for all of you that are far away, not for these folks right here. I'm talking about all of you that are far away. We're going to be live streaming. Go to the PaceAssembly.org website or to our PaceAssembly app and you can be able to download right there. You can be in every session. And then once it's over with, we'll be loading up those archives so you can watch it again. Don't miss it. Saturday all day long. Morning and afternoon. No night service. Sunday morning at 10 o'clock. Sunday night at 6. Don't miss it. We'll see you then. God bless you. If you've given your life to Jesus Christ or you're feeling the tug in your heart to do so, why don't you surrender to the Lord today? Ask him to come into your heart. Forgive you of your sins. He'll do exactly that when you place your faith in what he's done at the cross. And then we want to hear from you. Would you send an email and let us know what Jesus Christ has done in your life? Let us know where you're watching from. We'd love to connect with you. And I believe that God is going to touch your life and bless you in the days that are ahead. If you count Pace Assembly as your regular church of worship, then we certainly want to be able to hear from you. There's information on the screen that you can send your email to. And we look forward for you being a part of every service right here at Pace Assembly every Sunday and every Wednesday and special services throughout the year. God bless you for joining us today. Father, I pray that you would touch the life of my friend that today they would never be the same, that your presence would surround their life and peace would be their highest blessing. We give you praise for it today in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you friends. And until we get together again, remember Jesus Christ is coming soon.