 this morning my message is entitled weapons mighty in God we're gonna be looking at the first six verses of 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 would you please join with me as we pray and commit this time to the Lord Heavenly Father we thank you Lord for the power of your Holy Spirit that moves mightily in your people and Lord I asked today God as we have entered your courts with praise as you inhabit the praises of your people that now your Holy Spirit would move among us that you would give us ears to hear what your spirit would say and Lord I pray that you would uplift us that you would refresh us and that you would strengthen this body Lord your body that you would minister according to your perfect knowledge of everything that's going on with every person that is here today I ask Lord that counseling would take place through the Word of God I ask Lord that wisdom will be given through your word and Lord now we ask that you would add your blessing to the reading and to the study of your Holy Scriptures and we ask these things in Jesus name and all God's people say amen so today we're gonna glean a valuable insight to the life of Paul and the responsibilities that he carried constantly in regards to the well-being of the church but not only that we will also gather some valuable information regarding the type of spiritual warfare that we face as Christians and the means by which we may find ourselves victorious in that warfare now if we're honest with ourselves no one likes to lose now some people may dislike losing more than others but generally speaking we do not like losing and I believe the sentiment is the same when it comes to losing spiritual battles I don't know if you've noticed this lately but it seems that there have been so many attacks against the church just in general we've seen families under attack and marriages under attack individuals being overrun by the loss of the flesh and sinful desires now if we look back on our own lives over the course of our own lives we've all lost a battle or two and it's not a good feeling hopelessness is not a good feeling see without Jesus we are without hope and if we do not have hope then we live disappointed and dejected lives our minds really are the battlefields of life because those battles are fought in either one or lost in our thoughts the actions of our lives follow suit with the thoughts that are in our minds and if we repeat an action long enough then the time needed to process the thought connected to that action becomes shorter and shorter and shorter meaning that by the time we've traveled down a particular road of action we've become so accustomed to certain actions that they seemingly become involuntary don't even have to think twice about it we may not even realize at that point how abnormal our evolving new normal has become we find that habits dictate our thoughts and then our actions as well because we've been under their control for so long the Bible calls this being under the control of the lust of the flesh and the only thing that comes from being under the control of the lust of the flesh is corruption sin corrupts our thoughts sin corrupts our emotions sin corrupts our marriages sin corrupts our relationships with other people sin corrupts us to the core and this is why we see terrible things taking place in the world this is why we see Christians not able to take control over the flesh because they're overrun by the thoughts in their minds that turn into actions because they never took those thoughts captive and subjected them to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives and Paul this morning as we're going to be looking at this passage of scripture is going to be addressing this very issue with the Corinthian Christians here in chapter 10 beginning in verse 1 point number 1 this morning is this the power of the flesh I just have two points for you this morning point number 1 the power of the flesh verse 1 2nd Corinthians 10 says 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 towards you Paul leads off this section of his letter addressing really indirectly the accusations against him being the type of guy that talks real big tells other people what they should be doing or in this case writes real big to the church in Corinth but cowers in the presence of those he would be writing to I would just like to say right off the bat on this subject that meekness does not equal weakness I've come to discover more and more how challenging it can be to be a pastor of a church filled with people that you care about because when they hurt you hurt when they struggle you struggle quite frankly my my job would be so much easier if I didn't care about any of the people those that are in places of spiritual authority are not to be lauding over people but rather exercising the philosophy of ministry that Jesus had one of meekness one of gentleness and one of servanthood meekness and gentleness should be hallmarks of our Christian faith so Paul the spiritual authority was pleading with meekness and gentleness in Christ in 2nd Corinthians 11 verse 28 he said besides the other thing which comes besides the other things what comes upon me daily is my deep concern for all the churches a person that is in a place of spiritual leadership has a concern for the well-being of the church they're not cold they're not hard-hearted they're concerned for the spiritual well-being are they living in sin are they returning to idolatry are they having problems in their marriage marriages are they having issues with their kids were they battling diseases and when you love people you cannot help but be concerned with them yet though Paul had every right to exercise authority he pleads with them humbly in verse 2 it says 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 there were those in the church that were accusing Paul of being in the flesh I don't know if you realize this or not but you can be lowly and bold you can be humble and bold you can be humble and speak the truth with power there was some in the church that questioned Paul's authority and he's writing to them saying I'd rather not have to come in boldness and come down hard upon you because of your rejection of what is right rather he'd wish that they would shape up on their own and that he wouldn't have to intervene and really that's the desire for any pastor and if you come to a Calvary Chapel you are going to get teaching through God's Word and some of us may not like that we may not like the fact that a lot of counseling takes place through the pulpit because the Word of God is being taught and address and issues that need to be addressed are addressed but a pastor that cares about his church will teach the whole counsel of God and you'll either love it or you'll hate it but you'll know what the truth is see people that work out their own relationship with the Lord and do what is right to begin with is where we all want to be often the actions of others put those in spiritual authority in a very tough place where they have to because of their responsibility before God where they have to exercise boldness and correcting those that are in error in the body of Christ and no one likes that job nobody wants to have to go and correct somebody we would much rather have everyone look to God's Word and say Lord what does your word say about this and apply it to my life help me to apply it to my life Paul writes that he has every intention to be bold towards those few that are in need of correction he would especially correct those that said that Paul walked after the lusts of the flesh and this is a very serious deal here because a lot of times pastors can be criticized for speaking the truth boldly I don't know if you realize how blessed you are to attend a church where the Word of God is proclaimed boldly and with power because that's not the case for a lot of churches in our country today where you actually read through the Bible you know a lot of times in churches it can be how many of you have your Bibles here today would you hold them up and you hold them up if you have it on your phone that's great and they'll say okay put it under your seat because you won't be using that today we actually look through God's Word and read it in hope and hope and pray that you outside of these four walls will say Lord speak to me through your Word there are those that are in the church today that would rather smear the church and blaspheme the name of Jesus than to admit what they're doing is wrong and that they need to change they do not submit their lives to the authority of God's Word and thus they reject anyone exercising such authority for correction the power of the flesh is stronger than any of us and if we think that we can control the power of sin in our lives by any other means than our complete dependency upon the Holy Spirit we are a destroyed people an Ephesians 612 it says and you know it well for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places there's a spiritual battle that we are facing and that we are in every single day you can't fight this in your own strength you know just a couple weeks back now my kids were having a really rough night sleeping I have three my oldest son Hudson who is nine my daughter Eva who is seven and then I have little baby Harrison who just turned one you know we joke about the fact that my wife and I just hated sleeping so much we decided to have another child and we did and it's one of those things where all parents go through it and as our forefathers did so must we and we were finally in that place for my oldest son and he's great sleeper my daughter she's sleeping through the night and even the baby starting to sleep through and I don't know if you parents have young kids or if you have kids that are grown maybe you can remember back I know some of us are probably still going through counseling after what we've gone through with our children but I remember one night in particular after we had slept for a couple weeks and you know how hard it is once your body starts getting used to sleeping to start waking up again and my son woke up and I'm going what in the world okay are you okay go into his room and I go okay I had a bad dream and then my daughter wakes up and so she wants me to lay by her and so I'm laying by my my daughter in her bed and then as I'm laying in my in my daughter's bed with her I hear my son bolting down the hallway to our room and then I'm going what in the world so I get up out of bed after you know finally getting her to sleep and then I go into to my bed to go to sleep and then my son is in my spot in my bed and I'm like son what's going on so I carry him and I put him back into his bed and then just about 4 30 in the morning my youngest baby now wakes up and I hadn't been in my bed yet and I'm sitting there and in my house I have a two-story with a ledge you know and I'm just leaning over it I'm going and I was contemplating jumping no I'm just kidding but it was I was at that place where I'm just going Lord I'm starting to lose it my personality is when I don't sleep I don't do well and I and I I'm like Lord please and I could feel like small explosions going off inside and I remember just praying I'm like Lord please help me I mean talk about confessions of a pastor this morning but I'm like Lord please help me please help me and I felt like the Lord spoke to my heart that I needed to pray as I was ping-ponging from one kid's room to another and my wife was tag-teaming with the other kids you know and we're up all night I'm going what in the world this is not the type of party that I want to have not stopping until four in the morning and I felt like I just had it I prayed Lord would you please help me and I felt like the Lord put it on my heart I said Lord I just pray that you would rebuke the enemy in Jesus name that is causing this because I felt that it was a spiritual thing and I'm not saying that every time your child wakes up at night it's demonic activity okay but I'm just saying for me I just needed to pray for that and I said Lord would you please please find the enemy rebuke the enemy in the next day my oldest son finally went to bed and the next day woke up and of course that was Saturday night and I was supposed to teach the next day Hudson told me that he had a dream that that night that there was a lion in the house and he said daddy there was this lion in the house it was so crazy you know he said I saw like this weird ghost thing in our kitchen and he said there was a lion in our home and he said daddy then you just picked up the lion and you threw it out of the house I said oh really tell me more about this story little did Hudson know that in first Peter 5 8 it says be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour by God's grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit that prayer fought against the enemy and won for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and against powers against rulers of the darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places so for Paul the apostle to be accused of living his life controlled by the flesh would be rebutted as absolutely ludicrous how can you live after the loss of the flesh and find victory over the flesh the answer is you cannot the enemy the devil is looking for whom he can destroy he'll play the short game he'll also work the long con and that's with one goal in mind to bring you and me to complete ruin and Romans chapter 8 verse 5 it says for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh but those who live according to the Spirit the things of the Spirit once you all to notice this morning how thoughts are connected directly to how you live and the cyclical nature of how you live is directly related to your thoughts you become deceived and you believe the lies of Satan attacking you in your mind and then those thoughts in your mind translate into emotions and feelings and desires and then how can I carry this out to action so maybe you're wondering how are we to live here on this earth and in these physical bodies when the battle needs to play take place in the spiritual realm how do I do that well I'm glad you asked that question because point number two this morning is the might of our God and Paul says for though we walk in the flesh we do not war according to the flesh now walking in the flesh in this verse 3 is to be differentiated with walking according to the flesh or walking after the loss of the flesh Paul here is acknowledging that he has a physical body and and he's acknowledging that his physical body just like your physical body is involved in a spiritual battle we may live in the natural world but they attacks against him even as they are against you as a follower of Jesus are from a supernatural world Christians are getting picked off left and right marriages are falling apart all over the place people that you would never in a million years have dreamed that they would have marriage issues are getting divorced people are ruining their lives because they're not able to overcome the attacks of the enemy against them they're falling and it's grievous that we're not gaining the victory in our minds Paul said he does not war in the natural against a force that is supernatural all too often Christians will rely upon physical means to overcome in a spiritual battle and he says in verse 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds strongholds a spiritual stronghold is referring to a very strong fortress for sin and the flesh to operate out of these areas are areas of our lives that over time we've built up and we have fortified through our thoughts and our actions there could be strongholds in cities referring to powerful spiritual forces as the Bible calls it principalities that oversee particular areas in the world as you know this different countries have different spiritual entities overseeing them different areas different counties different cities have different spiritual hosts operating in that area as a Christian we must realize that we cannot fight in a spiritual battle with weapons that are carnal Paul says we do not have weapons that are carnal but they're spiritual the weapons we have at our disposal our prayer and the word of God prayer and the sword of the spirit which is God's word these weapons are mighty in God and you have them they have power they have influence and they are used to destroy and to demolish any fortified place of sin no matter what it is these are the weapons that we have you know we may think and I just need to get myself together I just need to get myself together you know it's just mind over matter mind over matter you know don't raise your hand please but how many of you are controlled or influenced by thoughts that you wish that you didn't have just think about that for a second how many of you have been deceived by your perception of reality and wish that we were not wish that you were not think about that see as I think I act but one of the great things about gathering together as the body of Christ and opening God's word is that there are some of us today that are going to recognize an area of our life that is a stronghold of the enemy and that stronghold needs to be demolished it needs to be destroyed see the power of our spiritual weapons cannot be matched by anything it cannot be matched by other people's lies or manipulation it cannot be matched by slander or deception these weapons that you have as a follower of Jesus are mighty for destroying the enemy before he destroys you in verse 5 it says these weapons are for 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 our weapons in God cast down spiritual strongholds arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against God everything today worldly thinking is a stronghold in the life of a Christian the enemy may plant thoughts in our heads about someone or about something and then we start visualizing what it would be like to maybe be with that person or to be in that position and even it would seem that our subconscious could start making plans on how we're able to achieve those things that we've been thinking about thoughts that contradict God and his word contradict the truth thoughts that contradict God and his word are contradictory to what is truth arguments it says here really our imaginations lofty things that are centered around ourselves our own wants and our sinful desires things that exalt themselves to be in the position of God in our lives in that they control us we serve them we become consumed by these thoughts and they warp us and we can't let them go we become completely changed by them thoughts that would remove us from what we know to be true about God and his word and replace it with something else replace God's word in your life with a lie from Satan this is why at the very beginning and every time after that you need to take every thought captive and subjected to the Lordship of Jesus in your life don't claim those thoughts that pop into your head they're not your own they're fiery darts of the wicked one they're meant to consume the way that you think they're meant to bring you down to lead you astray to go in the opposite direction of where God would be calling you these fiery darts of the wicked one are meant to not only control your thought process but eventually to control your actions where you lose your temper where you say those horrible things where you do those things that are against God and see Satan knows that if you live according to the flesh you will be destroyed you will be destroyed practically when a thought pops into your head you need to ask yourself how that thought pertains to Jesus Christ being your Lord and Savior how does this thought that is in my mind line up with Jesus as my Lord and Savior and what God's word says is this thought gonna lead me to an act of obedience or disobedience to the Lord you have to ask yourself that question because thoughts can be so powerful and the more more that we stew over them analyze them think upon them the more powerful they become and it affects every area of our life and it's only a matter of time as you wrestle with these things in your own strength that they make themselves known on the outside it can be subtle or it can be blatant but it is true that if you have the thoughts and you do not dismiss them or subject them to Jesus Christ as your Lord or hold them up to the really the test of what is truth and what is a lie which is God's word those things will they will absolutely skew the way that you view life and the way that you live ask yourself are my thoughts placing me in opposition to the Lord are they because if they are then that is from the enemy that is from Satan see a wrong heart or thoughts left unchecked no matter how well they are hidden will eventually reveal themselves you might be able to keep it cool for a little while but sin cannot be compartmentalized sin doesn't just want one little area of your life it wants everything it wants the whole thing the whole thing there's so much worldly thinking in the church today about everything and there's nothing more contrary to the wisdom of God than the wisdom of the flesh in Romans 12 verse 2 it says and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God the church we need to be careful church needs to be careful because we are allowing our emotions and our own thoughts on matters to dictate to us what we think God should believe and what God should say is true hey if I don't feel that this is really something that I agree with with what God's word says then I'm just gonna tear this page out and I'll believe the things that I'm comfortable with and then I'm not going to accept the things that I'm not comfortable with and then who ends up being the authority on what's right and wrong in this world is it God no it's you because you know better because of your cultural context what should be acceptable to God and what should not be acceptable to God we need to be careful of that because that is a plague in the church today where we are throwing out God's word and we're allowing society to tell us how we should be living that's not right that is not right in verse 4 again he says for the weapons of our warfare they're not carnal you're fighting a spiritual battle don't fight in the flesh flight fight in the spirit he says they're not carnal but they're mighty in God for 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 take those thoughts captive remember how I said that the more we we do something the shorter the time is for us to connect the thought to the action where it's just like wham there I said it I didn't even think about it just came out wham there I did it I didn't even have a chance to process this I just it was just what I've always done that's a stronghold that's an operational base for the flesh to conduct its business those things need to be torn down in our own lives and then also if you're dealing with somebody that's in the flesh or you're having this this situation where you're wrestling with something that is greater than what it looks like on the surface you need to know that your weapons are not carnal they're spiritual they're not weak they're strong enter into the spiritual battle through prayer and God's word take those thoughts captive don't claim them as your own but recognize those thoughts are contrary to the truth found in God's word foundational truth of any time we have ever found ourselves in a bad place is because we as Christians have veered away from God's word that's it if you look back on anything in your life whether it was the other person or you and you find yourself in a situation somebody's not living according to God's word that's it this is the direction for life this is what shows you what is truth and what is a lie this is what you hold on to when you're wrestling in the spiritual realm with things that are so far beyond you that are meant to consume you to depress you to oppress you to discourage you to get you to quit to get you to drop out to get you to say those things and do those things that are against God that have a collateral effect of damage you got to be careful because it starts right here in your mind that's the battlefield right here so if I recognize Lord I know this isn't of you because I know what your word says you've not given me a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind I recognize that Lord fear not I'll never leave you you say you'll never forsake me thank you Lord for that wait a second I'm starting to lose my temper and I really feel like giving this woman a piece of my mind listen the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God you hold on to those things Lord I'm too weak I don't think I can make it through this no what does God's word say I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength Lord this is the most difficult situation I've ever found myself in what am I to do oh I know all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose I hold on to those truths Lord I feel like you hate me because I've sinned well no the Bible says if you confess your sin God is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness Lord I'm feeling prideful right now because you know man I'm getting the promotions in my job and you know I've made a lot of money and you know I'm pretty pretty powerful where I'm at the Lord says in Jeremiah 9 let not the wise man glory in his wisdom let not the mighty man glory in his strength let not the rich man glory in his riches but let he who glories glory in this that he understands and knows me that I am God exercising loving kindness righteousness and judgment on the earth for in these I delight says the Lord you hold on to the things that are found in God's word so you recognize the attacks of the enemy and you resist him and James 4 7 it says therefore submit to God is it my will or is it your will submit to God and it says resist the devil and he will flee from you he will flee from you submit yourself and the thoughts of your mind to the Lord ship of Jesus in your life and you will find great victory and power it is one thought at a time and it's one action at a time and you will find that if you put into practice the things that are found in God's word you will be a changed man a changed husband a changed father a changed woman a changed wife a changed mother you will be victorious in the areas that you've been falling in because you will start to see and you will start to recognize the attacks that are coming they are from the enemy because all of a sudden now wait a second I know what God's word says I know what God's word says sweet when everybody and their brother has an opinion about everything and they think that they're right and they're the authority and everything's relative I have my bearings I have my compass so as we submit ourselves and our thoughts of our mind to the Lordship of Jesus there we find great victory and power and from that place we have the victory and we're able to continue in obedience to the Lord and that's what we want because when we're in obedience to the Lord we find God's blessings there we're pleasing to the Lord and even if we're going through a difficult time where there's probably many of you that are struggling or going through something just because of the life that we live in this fallen world but have you ever noticed how much better it is even when going through difficult times when you know that your heart is right with the Lord Lord I know this is hard but I have that stability because I know that where that I'm where I should be and now in verse 6 Paul brings us full circle that if there are no signs of repentance and obedience to the Lord he says that he's ready now in verse 6 to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled Paul as the spiritual authority would use the spiritual weapons at his disposal to deal with those inside the church that we're living in sin and disobedience to the Lord now this is not something that pastors prefer to do but because of the position that we're in we have the responsibility before the Lord to address areas of sin he mentions here in verse 6 when your obedience being fulfilled really he wanted to give the church a chance to do the right thing and by so doing they'd naturally separate themselves from those that made decisions to obey the Lord from those that made their decisions to disobey the Lord where are we at today where are we at I don't know where you're at you do the Lord does maybe your husband or wife maybe some of your friends which side of the line are you on are you the group that is an obedience to the Lord are you in the group that's in disobedience to the Lord because punishment would come upon those that were continuing to do that which is wrong and we may be able to fly under the radar we may be able to continue in sin and nobody knows about it or we might say hey prove it there's no proof that I'm doing it but if you're in sin God knows and it's much better to be corrected and to repent from your sin than to have God fall on you don't want that to happen you do not want that to happen having to deal with issues in the church is a very unfortunate part of the ministry where you have to correct and even discipline those that are living in habitual sin because really sin that isn't dealt with cannot stay compartmentalized because sin spreads and it affects every area of our life so big picture as Paul's addressing the church sin affects other people in the church sin affects your spouse and your friends and your family and the people that sit on your right and your left and your front and your back at church all of a sudden people start to hear about it and then they start hearing other people's own narratives of what's really going on and then you start to see that Satan loves to cause division and he loves to wreak havoc and he loves to hurt people and tear people apart he loves for people to believe gossip and to start talking behind other people's backs and if you go all the way back to the very beginning it was a thought that came into the mind that wasn't taken into captivity it was not subjected to the Lordship of Jesus and that person's life and they acted upon it see being tempted isn't sin it's when you start to fantasize and think about how I can act upon that and then carry that out going down to the micro level your life your family's life if you do not deal with sin in your own personal life it will affect your family you might think nobody knows about it it's secret and whatever it may be it could be a million different things maybe you feel trapped maybe you've gotten to the point in your life where you said I've tried to let go of this but I found now that it's holding me Jesus said you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free what are the lies of Satan that you've been believing that this would make you happy that this is what you really want that this will be the very thing that you've dreamed about if you're living in the center of God's perfect will let me tell you Satan wants you out of that area he wants you out of the center of God's perfect will he might even say hey I'll take it easy on you and maybe the sleepless nights that you're having I'll let you sleep through the night I'll take it easy on you maybe it'll be easier at work if you just turn your back on Jesus or tone it down stop being so much like Christ stop believing in what the Bible says listen Jesus said that Satan is a liar he's the father of all lies when he speaks he speaks from his own resources so if Satan wants to lure you out of the center of God's will and you think that it will be better there let me tell you he wants you out of there so he can destroy you so be aware of those things this is a very serious subject today you're like you're telling me man telling me thought we're gonna come today and sing kumbaya with the guest speaker what in the world better check the bulletin when I see a guest speaker here next time this is a powerful thing because it's not rocket science to see that there are Christians that are falling by the wayside it breaks my heart it breaks my heart and maybe some of you are tiptoeing the line of falling by the wayside maybe for years now you have believed a lie and you can't get over it and it's like just a it's a record that just keeps playing over and over and over again would you please look at your thoughts and compare them to what God's word says is there unforgiveness in your life are you believing a lie is there a fortress is there a stronghold in your life that needs to be torn down it can we must recognize the power of the flesh and not give into it because we have the power of Almighty God available to us you can have the victory that's the hope for today that's the message of what we're looking at this morning that you can find victory you can have victory in your mind and those thoughts can be thoughts now as you're filling yourself with God's word you're meditating upon those things which are lovely that are good that are just that are pure they're a good report those things that build up they don't tear down they please God they don't displease God and so today as we close the prayer I'm going to invite you if you're here this morning you're living in habitual sin means it's a habit and it's something that you're doing every single day or very often and you're not finding victory that today you could confess your sin and find forgiveness and find victory we don't need any more Christians falling please these are the last days it's not worth it it's not worth it what would it profit a man if he gains the whole world and he loses his own soul it's not worth it the wages of sin is death the Bible says if you're squirming in your seat right now good the Lord's speaking to you if your heart's beating out of your chest you have two options you can either come to the light and say Lord I have sin would you forgive me or your alternative is to go into a deeper depth of darkness that's it see when I lived I used to live in Hawaii you lived an island of Maui you know the whole suffering for the Lord and I was there and because of the tropical region I don't know if you've been there you probably you know I'm sure there's some people have been there lived there but on vacation but because of the tropical nature of that region bugs are huge these are big bugs and centipedes over there like 12 inches long you know and they're just massive and they're poisonous and they bite and have armored shells they have cockroaches that are really really big I mean they're so big that you could kind of like skateboard down the street with them you know they're huge and we had a problem in my my man cave with a couple of my buddies and we lived in the apartment were underneath the kitchen sink there was always these cockroaches that would be in there we always had to kill them and the interesting thing was the kitchen light was on and the doors were closed they were in darkness the moment we open them to get a dishwasher tablet out or whatever to put in the dishwasher whatever it might be the light would shine in that area and they wouldn't just run they would try to hide themselves in the shadows behind the Clorox wipes or whatever it might be they would go and they would hide and see that's what happens to us when the light of Jesus shines on an area of your life and you don't come to the light and say Lord I need forgiveness Lord I need help you have to go to another place that is shady that is dark and you have to retract yourself back and you find yourself in a worse position than you were to begin with and so this morning if you have an area of your life where you need to confess sin to the Lord I'm gonna give you that opportunity if you hear this morning and you've never given your life to Jesus and you showed up on this one day because you know your grandma said I want you to come in here Pastor David and he's not here and your grandma was really upset that I was here know that this message is for you that you can find forgiveness of sins and that you can have a personal relationship with the God who created you that no matter how strong the addiction no matter how long you've been in that habit that whom the Sun sets free is free indeed