 Today we're going to continue our series in 2 Corinthians. We're here in chapter 10 We're going to be looking at the topic weapons of our warfare You'll be seeing that in just a moment So we'll begin reading at verse 1 in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 Rediverse 6 give you a an introduction move into a few basic things and then move into the topic of the weapons of our warfare So beginning at verse 1 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 Paul writes Now I Paul myself and pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ Who in presence and lowly among you, but being absent and bold toward you But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some Who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh for though we walk in the flesh We do not war according to the flesh For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself Against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is Fulfilled and so we're going to be looking at in a moment the weapons of our warfare And I'll be turning you to Ephesians chapter 6 to look at a few of those things But we'll be doing that in a while. Let me lay a foundation for us and and we'll get into our study today in the first three verses here of chapter 10 Paul is taking time to reaffirm his apostolic credentials and He's doing it because he is once again going to address a charge that has been lodged against him And so he begins in verse 1 in a simple way. He begins by simply saying now I Paul Myself am pleading with you. So when he says I Paul He's actually revealing strong emotion He's going to speak to them about something that has bothered him something that has greatly disturbed him Later on we're going to see this in the same chapter because he's gonna he's gonna repeat what Titus had reported to him And what Titus had reported to him because Titus had gone to see the Corinthians and came back with the report When he when Titus came back he reported that accusations had been made against Paul We've been looking at several of those as we've gone through second Corinthians But he's speaking about something that that Titus brought to him You'll see that in verse 10 in verse 10 of the same chapter. This is an accusation This is something that was said about Paul For his letters they say are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech Contemptable and so he's going to be dealing with that because verse 10 reveals that they're calling him We used to call it a paper tiger Somebody who was weak and and somebody who's teaching is shallow Now there are many today that could fall into the category of what we once called paper tigers People who sit on their keyboards and type furiously on Facebook and Instagram and all and they they just are They're founts of wisdom knowledge and experience and so they pound furiously and and they call people into question They question decisions. They they question somebody's character. They question people's theology They question quite a number of things. These are people who who do that and they're quite a number of people who do that today It's much easier to do that. It's anonymous in many ways You just give yourself a different name and and you go on by that by that name and then you say everything That's on your mind. Well, we used to call those paper tigers because they have a problem with someone that they won't speak to about That problem they basically just write and let everybody on on the internet know how they feel Well, that's what Paul they're doing that in his day against him The false teachers are saying that that his letters are are weighty and powerful But when you look at him his bodily presence is weak his speech is contemptible which means this You know, he's just kind of a puny looking guy. He's he has no sense of authority and He's boring and shallow and when he speaks he hasn't been trained So he's not eloquent. He doesn't know how to hold the the audience spellbound with the way that he speaks and the words that he chooses to use and and the things that he has to say that causes people to realize how deep he is and How shallow they are well, they say if this man were really a man of authority This is a man who would have a different kind of authority as he stood before you and when he spoke you would sense it also We'll be looking at that in some detail next time we're together, but that's what they're doing They're saying things about Paul in such a way that it troubles him And so he's beginning to respond and he intends to communicate his concern in a personal way to them because the Accusation has been personal and so he's writing openly Again, he said I Paul I want you to notice that in verse one because when he says that he's emphasizing strong emotion He's basically saying I'm personally begging you to listen to what I have to say Because he says I Paul myself am pleading with you. I am begging you So he's speaking as a father concerned that their hearts are going to be turned away from the truth He's concerned that they're gonna listen to the false teachers who have infiltrated the church of Corinth And and if they listen to the false teachers these Corinthian believers while their faith is going to be undermined You see Christians understand that our faith is founded on the truth of the Bible False teachers will bring their opinions and lies to innocent believers and and when they do that it undermines their faith Sometimes people say well, you know, what are you talking about? Why do pastors get so upset because somebody has a different opinion? It's not that they have a different opinion is that they're teaching something as truth that is not true And it doesn't help their faith. It hurts them it undermines them. How do I know that? Well second Timothy chapter 2 verse 18 Paul speaking of false teachers And he says these false teachers have strayed Concerning the truth saying that the resurrection has already passed and he goes on to say they overthrow the faith of some So bad teaching always brings bondage and it undermines the truth of God Early in church history false teachers rose up began to infiltrate the church So it made it necessary for the writers of the New Testament to combat the errors that were seeping into the church When you look at the New Testament, you may not know this and so I'll share this with you the New Testament the Those who break up the the the writings of the New Testament actually divide the New Testament into what is called for four categories You have the Gospels and then you have the book of Acts Then you have what is called the letters or the epistles and then you close with the book of Revelation So the the the New Testament is broken into those four categories Gospels acts letters and revelation in the letters or the epistles Paul wrote no less than 13 of those letters 14 if you include the book of Hebrews and So in the New Testament the church is often warned concerning the infiltration of the false teachers You see it in the Gospels Jesus warned us that false teachers would arise You see it in the writings of Peter and Jude and and the book of Revelation, but you especially see it in The writings of Paul because throughout his letters warnings were given concerning the infiltration of false teachers He wrote warnings concerning false teachers to various churches think about it if you're reading your Bible You'll see warnings in the book of Romans. You see warnings about false teachers in 1st and 2nd Corinthians You see warnings in Galatians in Philippians Book of Colossians You see warnings in 1st and 2nd Thessalonians 1st and 2nd Timothy You see warnings about false teachers in Titus when he was writing to the Colossians as an example in Colossians 2 verse 8 He said beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit According to the tradition of men According to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ So he said there's an infiltration false philosophy They're undermining who Jesus Christ is be careful with them when he was writing to Timothy He said in 1st Timothy chapter 4 verse 1 the Spirit expressly says that in latter time some will depart from the faith Giving heed to deceiving spirits doctrines of demons When giving final instruction to the elders of the Church of Ephesus Paul said in Acts 20 verses 29 and 30 I know this that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock Also, he said from among yourselves men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves So Paul was concerned about false teaching because the truth set you free and and a lie will bring you into bondage And so he's pleading with them He's pleading with them because he wants to protect them He doesn't want these infiltrators to undermine the truth of Jesus Christ in that church So notice in verse 1 how he begins to plead with them again. He says now I Paul myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ He's writing to them with gentleness with kindness They can't see his face. They can't hear his voice. So he reveals his heart He didn't want to dominate them. He desired to minister to them out of the love of God And it was his hope that they would know his love and receive warnings and not only just hear them But actually act on them It was his desire that they would listen to his directions to follow them and that they would love Christ and love him Love that truth so much that they receive the correction when given in the Old Testament book of Proverbs in chapter 15 verse 5 It says a fool despises his father's instruction, but he who receives correction is prudent And so he's speaking to them concerning this he's speaking to them bring in a word of correction Notice how he he reveals himself here and this tells us that he knows the accusation that has been lodged against him The slur that has been lodged against him because in verse 1 he says I Paul myself am pleading with you by the meekness And gentleness of Christ and then he goes on to say who in presence and lowly among you But being absent and bold towards you. He's repeating the the accusation that has been lodged This is the 16th accusation that we see in 2nd Corinthians if you're keeping notes about that You see false teachers are accusing him of being courageous only on paper In his first letter Paul had written with gentleness and encouraged them with humility We see that in 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verse 3 where he said I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling Well, his opponents saw that humility and twisted it into cowardice You see as this common Paul's humility and sense of his insufficiency was used against him His utter dependence on the Lord was twisted into accusations of weakness We need to remember that during that day the Greeks considered humility a weakness. It wasn't a strength And so when he showed a humility the Gentiles saw that as just a weakness on his part and tried to twist it to say He was really a coward That's what they're saying when they say his bodily presence is weak in his speech is contemptible And Paul's repeating that they say well in presence. He's lowly but being absent. He's bold So he's repeating their accusation So as is common his humility his sense of insufficient his sufficiency is used against him and that's true even to this day by the way Many Christian books are written today about how to become great But ask yourself how many books have you ever noticed in in any bookstores really that are about being humble They're not a whole lot of books that are written in our day about humility In our day is usually a theme about being superior being the head not the tail and things like that Lots of books written about being great, but very few books written about being humble And that's because humility is not something people really seem to admire much today But being great is something they desire. You see Paul's humility was not weakness. It was spiritual strength And because he's being undermined he now writes with a clear revelation of his authority notice how he says in verse 2 I I beg you that when I'm present I may not be bold with the confidence by which I intend to be bold against some Who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. I want you to note something When he says I beg of you that's not some weak cry for understanding. It's actually a warning to them I beg of you It's like when a parent warns the child something's going to happen if you don't shut up All of you who are parents know exactly what I just said That sometimes your kids get on your nerves. They start hitting the last nerve and what do you do? You say I warn you You got to slow down. I'm begging you Let it go why could you're afraid of that nine-year-old? No, because you're starting to get in the flesh. You're starting to get upset. You're starting to get angry You know, I I could remember that with my kids when they were young. I'd say man, please Please stop. Please stop. I don't want to kill you Please stop He gets so upset, you know, please stop. I want grandchildren someday. Please stop So he isn't he isn't begging them because he's weak Humility sometimes as a matter of fact Often is regarded by those that humility is being exercised towards is very often as Look is looked at as being a weakness when in reality. It's not at all. It's a strength So Paul is actually exercising humility here when he says I beg you. I beg you that when I'm Present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh and so I'm going to deal with those who have accused me of walking in the flesh But the bottom line is I want you to correct your problem so that I don't have to come and do that You see there are those saying that he's walking in the flesh And when you read that in this particular scripture in verse 2 who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh Walking in the flesh is simply living according to the impulses of a sinful nature They're saying that he's living selfishly that he's not guided by the spirit and that's why they're saying he's walking according to the flesh Now Paul tells us what the attributes of those who live according to the flesh are in Romans 8 5 through 8 He says those who live according to the flesh have their minds said on what that nature desires But those who live in accordance with the spirit have their mind said on what the spirit desires The the mind of sinful man is death But the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace He says the sinful mind is hostile to God. It doesn't submit to God's law Nor can it do so those controlled by the flesh cannot please God So speaking in the spiritual sense. He's saying the mind of sinful man is death Do you have your your mind set on the nature what your human nature your flesh in nature desires? He's saying those who walk in the flesh cannot please God and his his people who are Casting aspersions on him are saying that he's just making his decisions According to the flesh and he says that's not nest. That's not true But he says listen if I have to I will come and I will make sure that my my works and my words line up I will deal severely with with my accusers, but I don't want to I don't want it to be necessary He'd already tried to stop this from happening earlier in first Corinthians if you take notes It's chapter 4 verse 19 through 21 He'd already said I will come to you shortly if the Lord wills and I will know not the word of those who are puffed up But the power for the kingdom of God is not in word but in power So what do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod or in love in a spirit of gentleness? What do you want? Do you want me to come to bring the rod of correction? Or do you want me to come and bring a gentleness with you? But you need to deal with these things is what he's telling the Corinthians He's already told him that in the past and he's repeating himself You see severity is the last resort But he's saying I'm more than up for the task if I have to In verse 3 he says though we walk in the flesh we don't war according to the flesh Now here in verse 3 he uses the phrase walk in the flesh in a different way Here walk in the flesh speaks of a normal human life. My daily existence. So I'm alive is what he's saying I have this treasure in an earthen vessel. I have a normal life that I live Um, I'm walking in the flesh in the sense that I'm alive But that doesn't mean that no the war that I wage is in the flesh It's not at all. He says in verse 3 we do not war according to the flesh We have a normal life, but we don't fight spiritual battles using carnal weapons and now he's going to develop Spiritual warfare one of his favorite themes In verses 4 and 5 the weapons of our warfare are not carnal But mighty in god We're pulling down strongholds casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of god Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of christ The weapons of our warfare are not carnal Our enemy the forces of our enemy are not flesh and blood Our enemies are not human beings alone Our enemies are actually spiritual And so we need weapons with which to fight Spiritual wars The weapons of our warfare need to be suitable for use against a spiritual enemy Years ago now I had an opportunity To minister in india i've done so twice spent almost a month in india And uh when you combine both of those trips As good as the lifetime i have to tell you india is a real rough place to go And we've been i've been through india i've been from Bombay up to new dali to madras down to trivandrum and all around i've been around india and done ministry there time in bible college and and uh and taught pastors and and on one occasion when i was in india i Was walking with a friend of mine randy waltz who's the pastor of upland now And we were walking Together and we were in this particular small village And we came up to a street corner and in this small village there are um temples everywhere and the The street separating sidewalks is really small. It's like one way in this area. So as we stopped on this corner You looked at the left here to my left is is a horse drawn small Small cart and the man is seated in the driver's seat. He's got a whip And i see him coming towards us. He's probably 30 yards away when i notice him So we stopped because he's going to pass us by but as we stopped there in the corner directly across from us 50 feet or so is a temple some steps and then a temple And we looked to the left randy and i looked to the left And as we looked to the left There's a man being dragged by about three other guys at least three other guys And they're dragging him by force they're dragging him and he's fighting them He's digging his feet into the to the sidewalk and trying to resist and they're dragging him and as they're dragging him We stop and off to my left. There's this horse drawn cart and directly in front of us now as the cart continues to approach is this man and as As the horse gets closer to the man the horse stops And begins to rear up on his hind legs and and refuses to go towards in the direction of this man And i'm standing there looking and the horse is fighting against the the the driver And so the guy pulls out his whip and he starts hitting the horse and the horse is refusing And then it starts to run and as he's doing that i turn and i look at the guy That was standing across and and what it is is the man looks at me and his eyes just fastened on me And the blood in my body i've heard the term your blood froze my blood frozen my body I'll never forget that i looked at this guy and the evil that he the evil He was demon possessed and as i looked at him my my whole body frozen And as i'm looking at him he's looking at me i grabbed randy and put him in front of me Took off running with the horse He he was trying to drag himself out of the arms of those who were dragging him So he could rush us and that's the first time that i can tell you That i actually saw evil with a human face Because evil is so well hidden sometimes you don't see it for what it is But when it's unmasked and you see it You'll never forget and it wasn't human evil. It was demonic evil It was it didn't i remember standing there and being serious now for a moment I thought it's on that's what i thought my mind went it's on Because that guy was going to come across the street and and i i i said it's on you know Jesus and i started praying i said jesus you know Don't don't fail me now, you know Have i sinned have i sinned have i sinned I'm sorry, you know i've Sometimes people say how do you know evil? You know it You'll know when it's demonic you'll know it They'll be no they'll be no i wonder No, you will know it I had a lady come into my office. She was we got a call years ago now when our church was very young And we caught a call And this woman said my my friend i think is demon business Can i bring her in can you guys cast a demon out? And i said, uh, okay why not so She brings the woman in The woman sitting across from me in my office and my assistant is next to me dan And i looked at her and i started speaking to this woman and she had her eyes closed And she was making her hands like claws Like that And she was hissing like that i'm looking at her And uh I said do you believe that jesus is god in the flesh second person of the trinity? And she screams out and jumps up and puts her hands up like this at me to claw my eyes And i jumped up and i'll pop her Going down That's a true story it really is i started to come out of my chair that i'm not gonna have you scratch in my face But as i as i did that my friend dan yelled in the name of jesus he got really excited The holy spirit said Sit down This is a physical. This is not a physical. This is spiritual. Was she demonized? No No, she wasn't she was greatly disturbed and in need of attention and ministry But no and the spirit and i had a conversation You know as the lord and that was very early in my ministry And i was already being taught that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in god It's not physical. It's not a physical war and what we're doing right now Even right now is we're forgetting that our our churches in america seem to be forgetting We're in a spiritual war and we're trying to bring Remedy to situations with carnal methodologies and paul is speaking about that and we're gonna look at that in some tim in some You know for some detail in just a moment But we need to remember this we need to remember the temptation That we have to deal with is to to try to defeat evil with human wisdom or philosophy or or with human force You cannot overcome the enemy through physical means. It's a spiritual battle And a spiritual battle is actually fought with spiritual weapons In the gospel of mark mark tells us the story of a man who brought a demon possessed boy To the apostles The boy was mute and he was abused by a demon and the demon would throw him down and and would Throw him in water. He would he would foam and gnash with his teeth And so the man had brought the child to the apostles But they couldn't they couldn't cast the demon out And so he brings the the the request to jesus and and he speaks and tells him I brought him to Your men, but they couldn't do anything And so jesus says oh faithless generation. How long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Then he said bring him to me Well, they bring the child to jesus and and when they do the evil spirit Seizes the boy and he begins to convulse and and those who are present well to them He appears dead, but jesus took him by the hand and he raised him up He lifted him up and the demon fled and the boy was delivered by jesus And and when you read that story, there's a couple things that stand out One is when the father came to jesus and he told jesus the disciples could not cast him out He said to him he said to jesus, but but if you can do anything have compassion on us and help us But if you can do anything and that to me that's in the book of mark chapter nine um I memorized that phrase many years many years ago now, but if you can do anything He had lost all of his hope his apostles jesus's apostles couldn't do anything but jesus responded immediately and he said in mark 9 23 if you can believe All things are possible to him who believes If you can do anything if you can believe It isn't a matter of whether jesus can or cannot it's a matter can you receive If you can do anything if you can be relieved and then the man said something I memorized so many years ago mark 9 24 immediately the father the child cried out and said with tears lord. I believe Help thou mine unbelief Help my unbelief I do believe It's the unbelief that's killing me I wouldn't have brought my child to the apostles if I didn't think that that something could be done Now I see failure in them. I wonder if you fail too. So It's not that I don't trust you you said I don't trust you the way I should trust you And and I think every believer in this room has said that at one time I know that god I do believe but it's my unbelief that's killing me It's my unbelief That's bothering me I do believe the essential things. I I I believe those things in my mind, but I haven't put them into my activity I haven't acted on that which I say I believe lord. I believe help my unbelief Not helping all of us have said that every believer. I know I said that at least once in their life I do believe just I'm just not sure how deep I really do spiritual spiritual things though we're looking at spiritual wars In that case The men could do nothing And so they asked jesus why did we fail because remember Jesus had Authorize them to go out and and cast demons out and and and luke tells us that they had come back and spoken to jesus and said Even demons Flee at your name through us. No, they had authority and they had experienced Casting demons out. Why could this would not come out is what they said though Why can't why couldn't we succeed? So in mark 9 29, he said to them this kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting Spiritual wars are are are battled with spiritual weapons You need to rely on me every moment And not be looking at past victories And relying on those things but present Present conflicts you have to keep your mind on me You see we cannot win spiritual battles through unbelief or carnal weapons People are delivered through spiritual weapons Not a carnal philosophy or Or spiritual pep talk that they might receive in a church service In 1st Corinthians 2 4 and 5 Paul said my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words But with the demonstration of the spirits power So that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom But on God's power Notice how he says in verse 4 here in chapter 10 Our weapons are mighty in God For pulling down strongholds the word mighty Speaks of being spiritually empowered He's saying I use spiritual weapons Because I am in a spiritual War the weapons of our warfare. Would you turn with me for a moment to Ephesians 6? I want to show you something in the book of Ephesians chapter 6 found in verses 10 through 17 I'm not going to give you a thorough teaching I'm just going to touch on a few things here because he's speaking of spiritual weaponry The armor of God the weapons of our warfare And he speaks about them being mighty in God For pulling down strongholds. We'll look at that in just a moment But in Ephesians chapter 6 you get a list And you see other weapons mentioned in other books But here in Ephesians we get a list here of the weapons of our warfare the apostle Paul Was there with a a roman soldier and he could look and see the the way the soldier was geared up He could see his his armor The armor of that soldier and he used the the romans Armor and he spiritualized different aspects of it and we see it here in Ephesians chapter 6 Notice beginning at verse 10 He says finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities Powers against the rulers of the darkness of this age Against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and Having done all to stand stand therefore having girded your waist with truth Having put on the breastplate of righteousness having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace Above all taking the shield of faith with which you are able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one he goes on to say Take the helmet of salvation the sword of the spirit Which is the word of God praying always with all prayer and supplication. So he speaks concerning the weapons of our warfare The weapons are mighty in God. Paul says to the Corinthians And to the Ephesians he speaks concerning each piece of this armor that God gave to us And notice in verse 11 how he said put on the whole armor of God That you may be able to stand against the wiles the schemes or strategies of the devil When he says put on the words put on speak of putting them on permanently Be in a state of rest or sink into God's armor It's not to be put on and then removed in other words It's to be worn at all times and that's because we're in a constant state of war against the world of flesh and the devil Our premier enemy is satan a fallen angel And he with the other angels were created before god created the heavens and the earth And they rebelled a great host had been created Numbering in the billions and satan rebelled and he drew away a great number after himself revelation 12 3 and 4 says There appeared another wonder in heaven behold a great red dragon his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven And this great host that follows after the enemy of fallen angels While they make up his system of government When you look at verse 12 you actually have four branches if you will or four levels of government He speaks about principalities Those are the chief ranking demons. He speaks of powers These are those who receive their power from the chief demons. They're they're they're directed by them And their authority now comes from the principalities. He speaks of rulers, which is world rulers literally It may be a very well be demons who influence the kingdoms of this age the kingdoms of this world in a simpler way We can say they infiltrated politics. He speaks the spiritual hosts They're the ones that provoke violent wretched immoralities We are at war with the satanically led host of evil demons How can we have any victory? Sometimes you see these people on television programs. I don't know They seem to come up. Sometimes they're there's more than one theme You know, I mean years ago. They had a movie ghost Busters or something and now they have Shows like ghost hunters. I I think it's called ghost centers and things like that and then these guys These guys say we're going into this house And it's been known for evil, you know, some of you have seen some of that And they'll be showing and I never have watched one of but I've seen the Previews of them the commercials and you'll see something with red eyes run past the camera and people scream Some guy with red eyes is some guy who's loaded is what that is He's got a twinkie and he runs past You know and you see this and and people it's like Scary stories for adults is what that is When you're a kid you used to go and sit around the campfire Maybe you did and they'd start telling stories about you know That guy with a hook in carbon canyon or whatever. We've all heard stupid stories You know, we scare each other. You know what my uncle told me when it was jack bring back my liver I'll never forget that I I won't tell you it now, but it's a dumb one and But he waited he would wait until I was really caught up with every detail Then he spring, you know, and then I go, it's great. And we'd laugh and it's kind of fun, you know But anyway I have I have seen these Commercials and I've I've turned to my wife and I've said, you know It'd be kind of cool If they were in a house and a real demon showed up And to watch what they so watch what they would do they'd be wetting their pants and running out in the front yard That's what they would be doing because evil is Is not it's not a toy. It's not a game. It's not something you play with evil is Is just that it's horrible. And so We we deal with that. We just don't realize it and there are times the enemy removes his mask a bit and you see Well, paul is simply saying look you need to understand that that we have weapons of warfare that there is an actual strategy devices that the enemy has in his levels of government So that he can infiltrate the ways of the world and undermine the things that god would do And and we need to be aware of those things and that's why he speaks concerning these things and and he gives to us The the weapons of our warfare notice how he says it here He speaks of putting on what would be called the girdle of truth when he speaks of girding yourself with truth That would be what you wore around your waist He's saying that that is the christian truth christian doctrine be firming your knowledge of god's word Gird yourself with truth. He speaks of a breastplate The breastplate covered the neck all the way down to the abdomen It was intended to protect the the heart and and the lungs and all And and he's saying let god's righteousness rule over you your emotions your feelings your affections your conscience Your desires no truth. Let god's righteousness rule over you. He speaks of having your feet shot With the preparation the gospel of peace Where your shoes be aware that you're you're not attached to one spot. You need to realize you're on the march. You need to be mobile Remember your feet provide balance in warfare So stand strong and stand strong in the foundation of the gospel He talks about the shield the shield of faith Be ready for sneak attacks because the enemy is going to throw those fiery darts be be ready for the sneak attacks Those those darts when they would come up amongst the roman soldiers were intended to To set them aflame so that they could scatter them So be ready for them be aware of the thoughts and the discouragements and and the things that can interrupt your life and Bring confusion. So keep your mind on god's word Keep your mind on the awareness of who you are Be balanced and ready for war at all time and put that helmet on protect your mind Be transformed by the word of god and know your place in him and make sure you pray Receive your direction from the head be in constant communion with him Be in the word and in prayer and aware of your circumstances And when he speaks concerning these things he says to us and I think it's a real important thing In verse 13 when he says in chapter 6 here of Ephesians take up the whole armor of god He says that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all He says to stand To stand To stand victorious is what he's saying To stand with your feet firmly planted as the victor the one who won Understand that the battle is the lords And that you have victory in jesus christ satan cannot defeat you Don't forget that because the enemy works to tell you you're going to lose you can't win It's everything's against you. There's no way you're going to make it The world's going to hell in a hand basket the church is weak. That's a lie That is a lie. We are more than conquerors in jesus christ. Don't forget that Don't forget that because the church is forgetting that and what we're doing is we're adopting carnal method against spiritual battles We're trying to win using man's strategies We're not going to win that way. Should we be involved in doing whatever we can practically of course Of course One of the things that i've learned about warfare Is how effective propaganda is Because you can look in battles world war two with tokyo rose we had We had during the vietnam conflict. There was there there were those who were speaking to the soldiers also um that would That we're undermining the morale of the troops by by negative propaganda constantly negative propaganda And by the way We're experiencing that right now We just don't realize it. So i'll say it very briefly We are dealing with that right now There is no doubt a concerted effort to undermine any hope that you have and it's been going on For four years almost now For four years and don't worry. I'm not going to get political on you But it's true There has been a constant onslaught for four years. I was speaking to a friend of mine Just this last friday marie and i had dinner with a couple friends of ours fellow pastors who've been in the ministry for 48 years well seasoned men and their wives One of my friends was telling me about how his son just had and i'll say it like this Hopefully you'll understand my heart as they share it But he was saying my son just had dinner with donald trump jr. Just had dinner with them He went you know, he was invited to any wit and spent time with him his son is a businessman And so the son came back and spoke to his his his father my friend's been a pastor for many years I won't give any names, but he said uh my friend was saying you know He said my son asked donald trump jr. About the president and said Is the president a believer in christ because we see things on the news and he said is he And donald trump jr. Said Yes, he is he said my father gave his heart to christ But he yeah praise the lord for that But he also said this which is really more impressive to me. I not so much more, but it's He said but his wife melania Is on fire for jesus christ. She said she is the one who is behind So much of what you see He said she loves the lord and she influences her husband towards jesus christ Have you heard that? Has that been in the press? Have there been any broadcasts of any people about the faith of melania trump? No, why not? Why not? Because that's the kind of news That the world doesn't want to publish What is the news the world wants to publish the world wants to publish Hey, you christians should not show up for church. And if you do don't sing But if you want to protest whatever that's okay Is that Does that seem crazy to you it seems crazy to me I'm not you know, maybe i'm just stupid. Yeah, there are those who would agree with what I just said. Yes, you are pastor But I have eyes to see I've been alive a long time. I've seen trends for many years And I have watched for the last three and a half years A concerted effort to undermine the presidency that i've never seen in my life And nothing good comes out about this band trump Nothing good comes out about his wife melania. Nothing. It's always evil. And so Is that physical are we going to you know go out and protest because we can you know, it's the only thing we can do No, what we're good what i'm doing is i'm aware of those things and I look for a bigger picture than that what i'm looking for is The foundations of the nation that we live in And I love the united states. I gave years of my life to serve in its military If they'd have sent me to die for this nation, I would have Because I love this nation I love it It is not a perfect nation never has been who says that it is It's a a nation made up of evil people And some of them got saved But they're still Not perfect. So I don't live in a perfect nation But I hope for the best in this nation And I pray for the best in this nation And I pray for For those who are elected to office to hold that office with integrity and to do that which is right That's what i'm called to do But do I expect that the president is jesus? No, did I elect a pastor? No I elected a president, but I worship a savior and so the savior I worship is jesus christ Not the president of the united states with that said I vote my conscience. I look at the bible. How does this line up? Do I believe this person can represent closer to what I believe in this person? That's how I vote But I don't expect that a president is going to keep the evil from us I believe that he does a job. He's doing the best that he can I pray for my president. I pray for his wife now even more But what's going to change this nation is the change of hearts And what we need to do is see that when churches are being told not to sing to jesus That's kind of a no-brainer, isn't it? That's kind of a no-brainer for you to tell me not to sing to jesus But it's okay for me to crowd and protest. There's something There's something wrong with that And so I was asked are you good at not sing to jesus? I said no That's the one thing I know i'm supposed to do is to sing praise to my lord my savior That's the one thing I know i'm supposed to do So of course we're gonna But I realize that the the battle is the lord And what I have is this mentality and this is true You have to have this mentality That if you want to be if you want to be victorious, you need to stand like he said having done all He said stand put your feet plant your feet Solidly he said and know that you won It's kind of like that picture of ali as he was standing there over I think it was sonny liston after he had knocked him down. I think it was him, but he's standing stand victoria's The enemy did not win the enemy lost jesus died on the cross Jesus christ was buried he arose the third day he ascended into heaven He sent the holy spirit to live within us. He gave us his word and we are more than conquerors of christ who saved us So we stand And that's the war where you are it and it's one of those things when you're in a war It doesn't stop when you want it to It stops when it stops And you know what we're in war right now. It's not time to r and r It's time to fight It's time to be aware Now, what am I saying? Are we supposed to get up and run out with swords and start cutting people's heads off like peter did with malchus? No I'm simply saying that what we need to understand is the weapons of our warfare Are not getting mad and calling people names and and being angry all the time That's not the weapons of our warfare The weapons of our warfare are mighty and god to the pulling down of strongholds and turning it on back I'll show you a couple of things. I have to close. I started talking too long I'll talk to the pastor about that But i'll wrap up very quickly here Because in verse 4 of chapter 10 He said the weapons of our warfare pulled down are demolished strongholds a stronghold is a castle And it's speaking of the the subtle reasoning of an opponent. It's actually saying it demolishes the arguments of false teachers And so the weapons of our warfare word of god and all the truth is is what what destroys and Is what is able to bring victory so no god's word well enough to defend the faith That's why it's good to be in bible studies. That's why you should be reading the word of god yourself He says in verse 5 casting down arguments in every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of god Arguments is a reasoning that is hostile to the christian faith When he speaks of every high thing the high thing's an elevated structure. It's a barrier It demolishes barriers When he speaks of the things that exalt themselves against god It speaks of being filled up with pride exalting yourself against god himself So he says the message of the gospel is intended to bring fellowship with god and the gospel demolishes man's ingenuity And brings people to salvation When he says in verse 5 bringing every thought into captivity it's speaking of capturing your mind Your mental perception with the gospel it's intended to change the way you think It makes you a willing follower of god You bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of christ you surrender yourself to him It's an obedience that's shown in an observing the requirements of what he has taught it He said if you love me keep my commandments So spiritual warfare is intended to set your mind free that you might faithfully serve the lord And the gospel and submission to christ is intended to set you completely free And so he's speaking concerning that and then he says in verse 6 being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled As a commander in god's army I will court marshal any who do not submit to christ and who obviously remain insubordinate to the king of the army But your obedience to christ will protect you The insubordinate will be dealt with and that's what he's saying when he says ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled Your obedience to christ protects you But the insubordinate these false teachers creeping in I will deal with them. You say i'm a paper tiger You say that my letters are weighty, but in presence i'm weak and in speech i'm i'm contemptible We'll see whether that's true when I show up Because it's one thing for them to be acting all bad when i'm not there But when I show up, we'll see how bad they really are my son david was about seven years old And I walked in the room and he didn't see me and he was looking at his mother with his little hands clenched With his defiance looking up at mama And he says I won't do that If I don't want to and he said it with this little attitude If I won't do that if I don't want to And marie looked past him. So he turned around and saw me standing there And he looked back at her and he says but I want to I'll never forget What I want to Paul is saying when I get there They have their little fists clenched in their proud statements I'll deal with them when I get there. You think I'm weak I'm not weak I'm being gentle But can I exercise authority paul is saying? Absolutely. Will I? When I get there You'll see That's kind of strong, but that's how he closes this part. We'll pick up next time in verse seven