 We understand that the peace of God causes us to be firmly planted in certainty. We understand that our foundation is what God has said. Our trust is in who he is. And the peace that God gives to his church goes beyond all comprehension. Even in the midst of great trial and tribulation, within you is the strength of the Spirit causing you to keep your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus. Though the foundations of the earth be shaken, those who stand in the presence of Almighty God, those who live under the shadow of his wing, walk in that peace despite what's going on around them. And having said that and making sure that the believer understands that we never have any reason to fear, we do, however, have reason to be prepared. The goal of speaking truth to the body of Christ is not to scare them, but to prepare them for the things that are to come. Because if we understand by the Spirit what's happening, that's part of what brings the peace because we know it's part of God's plan. Now this doesn't mean that we have to know everything all the time and understand absolutely every move that God makes. If that were the case, then that would mean that there would be no trust in God, but we trust in his nature even when we don't understand what's happening. Still, it's important that we be informed. It's important that we receive revelation by the Holy Spirit that we might be guided in certain times, that we might have that certain guidance in uncertain moments. Now let me say this, many in the body of Christ have been sensing that there is something coming and we can't quite put our finger on it. We just know by the Spirit, we sense by the Spirit that there is an intensification of deception coming upon the earth. And that deception causes people confusion about who God is, about who they are, about how they should live in this world, and that deception will only intensify as the world goes further and further into darkness. Now we must remember that Jesus did say that in the last days, perilous times would come. We understand that, we accept that, and that's no reason to fear. But we also must remember that though in the last days, perilous times will come, Jesus never said that in the last days the gospel would lose its power. Sin is still the problem, Jesus is still the answer, and the gospel still has power. So we're not facing these situations with fear. I often get messages from believers on social media saying, David, please, I'm so afraid of the last days. I'm so afraid of the rapture. And I think that we're afraid because we don't understand exactly what it is. Even in the midst of tribulation, we are not abandoned, pressed, but not crushed. God remains with us, that strength of the Spirit holding us up. And even though things may be falling apart out there, there's glory on the house. And so pressures come, deception intensifies, the world gets darker, yes, but people are still being saved, revival is still happening. I mean, think about the fact that Jesus listed several different things that would indicate to us that the end is upon us. And he talked about wars and rumors of wars, pestilence and famine, and I can go on listing several different things, but after each time he listed something, he would say, but the end is not yet. What did he say was the indicator? He said, but this gospel shall be preached to the ends of the earth, and then the end will come. What does that tell you? That revival not retreat will be the posture of the church in the last days. We're not powering in the corner saying, get us out of here, Lord. No, we're advancing the kingdom of God in power with truth by the Holy Spirit. So yes, deception will intensify. This is what the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 1 through 4. And as you turn there, I'll just mention that I'm wanting to balance our thinking on this, because on one hand we have people who are so consumed by the realities of this world that they live in fear. And on the other hand, you have Christians who are so naive about this world that they live in delusion. And so we want to avoid both delusion slash deception and fear. We must recognize that yes, deception is coming. Yes, hard times are coming. Yes, the world is getting darker. But also we must remember that ultimately Jesus has the victory. He's seated upon the throne. He's seated at the right hand of the Father, 2 Thessalonians 2, 1 through 4. Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus and how we will be gathered to meet him. Don't be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don't believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. Don't be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call God and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God claiming that he himself is God. So there we see the coming of the Antichrist, a great deception coming over the world. 1 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 and 2. Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith. And I believe we're seeing that now. Except they don't call it turning away from the faith. They call it deconstructing their faith. They will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars and their consciences are dead. Matthew 24, 24. For there shall arise false Christ and false prophets, and they shall show great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible, and there's a lot of misconceptions surrounding this particular verse, it says if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect, meaning those who are truly guided by the Holy Spirit cannot fall under this deception that's being described. But the great deception is rampant. We see it in culture. We see it in the systems of this world. We see it in the political system, in the education system, in the movie industry, in the music industry, in the entertainment industry, in the social media algorithms, we see deception being pushed. And many are caught in this system of deception under the power of darkness. Here's the reality. Either you are of the kingdom of light or you are a slave to the kingdom of darkness. There is no in between. Whether you're aware of it or not, there are only two kingdoms, light and darkness, truth and deception, good and evil, heaven and hell, God and Satan, they are opposed to one another. And we must recognize that there is a clear line of distinction drawn between the two. And many preachers, sadly, trying to placate to culture or make the gospel more palatable, are trying to blur that line in order to be accepted by culture and society. People of God, leaders, preachers, hear me now. It is not clever or wise or profound to dance around issues and questions. It is not clever to give half answers. God raised preachers to be bold declares of truth. We see these systems that are gaining power, but again, this is not a reason to fret. I want to make you aware of these things so that you can stay spiritually sharp, that you can use eyes of discernment. By the way, discernment is not the gift of criticism. I can't tell you how many times I've seen posted about my friends, they'll post their picture or the video, they'll say, you have to use discernment with this guy. I'm thinking, you have to use discernment with every guy, with every woman. So what they think it means is you have to dislike them or you have to mark and avoid them. No, my friend, discernment is seen by the spirit based on the word, not your opinions or emotions. And so we have to make sure that our discernment is properly calibrated and that is based on the word. And this is why I want you to be prepared because I don't want you to live under the bondage that comes from deception. We have to stay strong. Let he who has eyes to see, see. Let he who has ears to hear, hear. Let me say it this way. And I'll only go so far on this point because I've not been released to talk too much about this by the spirit. You watch as those in power begin to blatantly communicate with demonic beings themselves. You watch for that. And what those demonic beings will communicate, you may think this is crazy. You may think this is conspiracy. I don't really care. I'm telling you the truth. Those in power will believe that they are receiving truth from these demonic entities. You want to talk about deception. The enemy is losing. Truth is advancing. These are not moves made from positions of power. I want you to hear that. These are not moves made from positions of power by the enemy. These are desperate attempts of a dying kingdom. Darkness has already lost. Jesus defeated darkness when he rose from the dead. Now John 16 33 says, I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. Many times we don't want to claim that part. But that's what Jesus said. But take heart because I have overcome the world. So let's go now to Ephesians chapter 6. I'm going to begin reading at verse number 10 and we'll go through down to 12 and then onward to 13 and 14 through 17. But I want to make a few points about 10 through 12 first. A final word, Ephesians 6 10, a final word, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. Stop and look up at me for a second. Does it say some strategies of the devil? What does it say? Meaning any strategy that the enemy can use against the believer can be prevented by use of the armor of God. God does not hide the believer's freedom behind demonic or ancient mysteries. God kind of quiet here. So I know I'm on the right track. Your liberty in Christ does not depend upon whether you have a membership to ancestry.com or not. Well, I have to find out. It's not like in the movies, guys. I have to solve the riddle. I have to put the puzzle together. I have to go back and find where in my generations, as if God is folding his arms looking down at you saying, I would set you free, but you don't know what your great-great-grandmother did yet, so I can't do anything. My friend, whatever your family bloodline, there's nothing more powerful than the blood of Jesus. So the Bible here says all strategies, nothing hidden, nothing that the enemy can bring forward that the Scripture did not mention, nothing that the enemy can bring forward that solves some, that takes some riddle to solve that we're desperate to find the answer to. No. God lays it out plainly for you. You live by these precepts. You will walk in freedom. That's what the Scripture is telling us here. So you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. Every single one of them. That's what the Bible says. Verse 12, for we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in heavenly places. There's a lot to break down there, but I want to simply point out to you that hell is structured. There is a rank in command, a rank in file in the kingdom of darkness. There is a organized effort against the children of God, and they're coming after your faith. They're coming after your belief in the truth. There are some believers who are so obsessed with demonic power that they live in paranoia. There are other believers who are so ignorant of demonic power they live in bondage and don't even know it. So we have to avoid demon obsession, but also ignorance about the demonic. Vigilant, not paranoid. But my friend, lest there be any mistake that we can make regarding this issue, let me make it clear. There is a spiritual realm. Demons are real. There is a spiritual battle going on over this world, over the souls of this generation, and we cannot pretend any longer like this isn't a conflict between light and darkness because it is. We have to wake up. We have to stop preaching things that take our focus off the realm of the Spirit. The Bible is fundamentally supernatural, but many times we try to pretend as if it's superficially supernatural, as in the basics of it are mostly very just practical and so forth. And there is a practical application to everything in scripture. Don't get me wrong, but many believe that we can live disconnected from this reality and to do so is detrimental to your spiritual life. And so again, we must strike balance, not paranoid, and also not ignorant. So the Bible lists for us there. There are powers, demons. That word is not a metaphor or just an idea or a figment of literature. These are actual beings that come against the people of God. Verse 13, therefore, in other words, because of the existence of these entities, because of the existence of the powers of darkness, because these are realities by which we must live, therefore put on every piece of God's armor. Now watch this again. Put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil, then after the battle you will be standing firm. This is a command. You put it on. God provides it. You have to choose to use it. This is what many believers don't understand about the power of the Holy Spirit. They're constantly begging for more of the Holy Spirit, not realizing that everything the Holy Spirit is, he dwells in you. When you were born again, you did not receive a baby Holy Spirit, a portion of the Holy Spirit, a new convert Holy Spirit, a children's church Holy Spirit. When you were born again, the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. It's the same Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit gives us power, gives us truth. That's the life of the believer. You already have joy. You already have peace. You already have love and power and grace and holiness. The issue is, many of us aren't living a life and surrender to the Holy Spirit, and therefore we never make use of that which he's already given to us. And so we're begging God for more and we're saying, Holy Spirit, I want more of you. When in reality it's not a matter of you getting more of the Holy Spirit, but of the Holy Spirit getting more of you. Surrender. So you put on the armor. Now watch this, verse 14, stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes put on the peace that comes from the good news so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Verse 17, put on salvation as your helmet and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Now let's break these down. Number one, the belt of truth. What is the scripture describing here? Truth itself, simple enough. John 14, 6, Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the father except through me. John 17, 17, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Jesus said, if you build your life upon the sand, you build your house upon the sand, then when the storms come, not if the storms come, when the storms come, then whatever you built upon the sand will be knocked over. But if you build your house upon the rock, which is the word, the truth, the sayings of Jesus, the teachings of the Master, you build your house upon the rock, then when the storms come, your house will stand firm. You wonder why it's difficult to remain standing. You wonder why your faith goes up and down. You wonder why on Sundays you get recharged only to find yourself by Wednesday feeling like you're ready to backslide. Because many of us build our houses upon opinion. Many of us build our houses upon emotion. Many of us build our houses upon how we're doing that week or what the circumstances dictate to us. When we should build upon the words of Christ, the teachings, the truth that he has given to us, if you are not in the Word, you are easy prey for the enemy. Why? Because the enemies attack against the believer. Hear me now and this is something I pray the Holy Spirit gives us all revelation on. The way that the enemy attacks the believer is the one thing, deception. It's always deception. Now you talk about the unbeliever. Oh my goodness, there's a whole bunch more that's in his tool belt that he can use against them. But against the believer, it's just deception. Why? Because you've already been given the power of the Holy Spirit and the only way he can take any influence in your life is if you don't make use of what God has given to you. And so if he's constantly lying to you about who he wants you to think you are and you believe it, you'll never use what God gave you. And so we must learn not just who we are, but more importantly, who God is, what Christ has accomplished. So many believers are in bondage because they don't understand their inheritance or identity in Christ. So many believers are in bondage because they don't understand the work of salvation. They don't understand the fullness of the power of the Holy Ghost. They don't understand what it means to walk in the glory of God. The life of the believer is meant to be one of victory. Now I'm going to say something that may be offensive, but I'm going to say it anyway, not to offend, but to speak the truth and then allow me to explain it. Because many times when you say things, people hear another thing than what you're saying. So listen very carefully. If you are in bondage, you are not living the Christian life. Now this is something you're not going to be told quite often, because many times preachers placate to itching ears wanting to be told something else. If you are in spiritual bondage, you're not living the Christian life. Did you say I'm not a Christian? No. It's not what I said. I said you're not living the Christian life, meaning you are not accessing what is rightfully yours. Spiritual bondage, please hear this church. Spiritual bondage is not a part of the Christian life. We often think as though, oh, I'm in my struggling face, and I understand that there are trials. I'm not saying we won't have emotions. I'm not saying we won't experience sorrow. I'm not saying we won't face difficult times and difficult circumstances. We will face loss and tragedy. Yes, we will have trials. But that's not the same thing as a spiritual bondage or deception. See, a believer who walks in victory, though they have trials, they still have their joy and peace intact. But a believer who's in bondage faces those trials, and they think those trials are proof that God has abandoned them. They think those trials are proof that God didn't keep his word after all. They think those trials are proof that the enemy has any power over them whatsoever. And so because we always have trials, they believe they're always under the power of the enemy. And so you look in the Scripture, and the life of the believer is described as victory. And we accept spiritual defeat. Again, I'm not talking about trials. We have to distinguish between the two. Spiritual defeat is not a part of the Christian life. Yet we say things, and we have this form of pride that we surround ourselves with to protect us from actually addressing the issue. And we say things like, well, the enemy knows I'm such a big threat, and that's why he has so much influence, and that's why he's attacking me. My friend, if you're a threat to the enemy, he flees. And we wrap our identity around our struggles. You say, well, I've never wrapped my identity around my struggle. You have wrapped your identity around your struggles. If you accept those struggles because you think that's just a part of being anointed. Being anointed, people will come against you. There will be seasons of doubt. There will be seasons of hardship. You will be persecuted. But never once did the Scripture say that we should be under spiritual bondage. And so we accept it as a part of the Christian life and say, well, you know, I'm so anointed that I'm just spiritually bound. And it's this backwards thinking when the Scripture tells us that if you resist the enemy, he flees. He doesn't fight. You know why? Because the moment you start resisting, he recognizes you just found out who you are. And once you find out who you are, he says, I have to flee. But you see, if we're not keen on how the enemy deceives, then when deception begins to permeate and intensify, we may be swept under certain mindsets that keep us thinking in defeat. And this is more than just positive thinking. This is truthful thinking, rightful thinking, biblical thinking, the belt of truth. And many of you are arguing against your own deliverance. Say, the enemy can't have any power over you. Yes, he can. I say, some of these believers really want their demons. But you know, we accept these lies and we haven't girded ourselves with truth. And because we just accept the premise, we grant the premise, we grant the premise of the lies of the enemy. And then he runs our lives through that influence, through that deceptive thought pattern that we have. And we don't even realize we're the ones who gave him that in the first place. And so we have to come back to the place where we're living in truth, truth about who God is, truth about your identity, truth about the new nature of the believer, truth about the power of the Holy Spirit living in you. That's the belt of truth. Now, you know you're not walking in truth when you're swayed by worldly opinions. Let me put it to you this way. Truth by its very nature does not change. I don't care what the modern world says about any issue if it contradicts the truth of the Word of God. You know you're not living in truth if you're swept up constantly by strange doctrine. Getting all wrapped up in doctrines that just create legalism. You know how you know you're wrapped up in legalism? You have no peace. You know how you know you're wrapped up in strange doctrine is when the doctrines bring you more paranoia than they do power. You forget about who you are in Christ. You know you're not living in truth when you do things based upon your own thoughts and emotions. Well, is Jesus Lord or are your emotions the Lord of your life? See, because if you live according to your emotions, your emotions change and therefore soul will the direction of your life. But you live according to truth and no matter how you feel, you have a fixed purpose. So that's belt of truth. Number two, the body armor of righteousness. Romans 4-3, for the Scripture tells us Abraham believed God and God counted him as righteous because of his faith. Righteousness is a gift. Righteousness is a gift from God. When you believe God and put your faith in what Jesus has done on the cross, then he grants to you righteousness. It's imputed righteousness. Once you've placed your faith in Christ, and this is one of the true miracles of salvation, and this truly is one of the great lifters of the burden that many of us have carried, when you recognize who you are in Christ, you come to know this wonderful reality that when God looks at the cross, he sees your sins. And when God looks at you, he sees Christ's perfection. Now that can only be granted by faith. You believe and therefore he gives that to you. That's the gift of salvation. So this righteousness in which we live is only stabilized, is only received, is only acted upon or lived out when we live in truth. In the Scripture, the armor that's being described is an ancient armor, and that breastplate of righteousness, the body armor of righteousness, was held in place by the belt. So therefore we see in Scripture that truth is what fastens righteousness to us. Jesus said you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free. If you're bound in a sin in an addiction of some sorts, you're bound in a cycle of habits that you can't seem to break, I promise you this, somewhere deep down you are believing a lie that's keeping you bound to that sin. And that truth that you're not living in, that lack of truth makes it difficult to hold to yourself the body armor of righteousness. Now, I don't have time to completely dissect this because there's many other points I want to make, but we want to talk about repentance here just for a second. To repent means to change your mind. Now when I say that, some believers get offended, they say no, you must turn around. That's what you must do. And I agree, you must turn from sin, yes, but that's still not what the word repent means, though the Bible does say we must turn from sin as well. To repent means to change your mind, to renounce means to turn from. Now here's the issue. Many believers try to renounce their sin, that is turn from it, before they've had a change of mind. And so when you repent, you agree with God, God, I agree, this sin is destructive. God, I agree, this sin will not fulfill me, because if you sin, you believe the lie that it will fulfill you. If you sin, you believe the lie that it will not destroy you. Otherwise, you wouldn't be doing it. And so I agree that this sin is destructive. I agree that this sin will not fulfill me. I agree that this sin must go now and for all time, because here's what we do. The flesh is so tricky. We lie to ourselves when it comes to repentance. We say before God, God, I'm going to put this sin away. And the flesh whispers for now. I'm giving this up. And the flesh says, until the cravings become strong again. And so even though we say it with our mouths, even though we really want it, and many times it's not sin we want to be freed from, but the consequences of sin. Many times it's not sin you want to be freed from, it's from the guilt that sin brings. Lord, relieve the guilt, but let me keep the sin. And then they get stuck in the cycle. Feeling bad is not repentance. And so you believe, according to the flesh, and then you're lying to yourself, and then you try to renounce and turn from it while you're battling with yourself. So to repent means I change my mind about it completely. And now I can renounce. By the way, renounce means to turn from. We've ritualized repentance and renouncing to what we think is just a list that we read off of. You know, we get the scroll and it rolls all the way across the floor. I renounce this, I renounce this, I renounce this. And if it really was biblical, we had to renounce everything our ancestors did. You would need a genealogy all the way back to Adam and Eve. And then a perfect record of everything in between. But that's not what we're in. You can do that. There's nothing wrong with that inherently. If you want to verbalize the fact that you're rejecting the sins of your ancestors, go for it. That's a beautiful thing. And it's good that your children see you do it. We renounce drug addiction. We renounce alcohol. Right? You can do that, but that's still not what that word means. Because many of us will read off of a paper or say a ritualized prayer while never turning from that sin and then wonder why it still has its consequences manifesting in our lives. And so we've made it a religion. We've ritualized it. This is where we have to come to the place where we're saying I'm going to hold myself to righteousness in the truth. And that truth will be held to me fast. And I will agree, God, this has to go. I turn in my mind from this sin and I also renounce it in my everyday life. I'll briefly survey some of the other pieces of armor, the shoes of peace. This is your readiness to preach the gospel. Now I do find it ironic. I think that's the word that I should be using. I think it's ironic that the shoes of peace are the means by which we take territory. See, we don't conquer in the manner of worldly kingdoms. We don't expand territory through violence. When we take steps with the shoes of peace, we are taking the declaration of the gospel everywhere we go. And everywhere that the gospel goes, the hearts of prisoners are set free. Everywhere that the gospel goes, truth advances. You see, we expand our kingdom by sharing the gospel. And every time a life is transformed, that life touches a family. That family touches a region. That region shakes nations. And so the shoes of peace is the truth of the gospel. Are you seeing a theme here? Truth, truth, truth. Number four, the shield of faith. The shield of faith is your belief in what God has said. Spiritual warfare ultimately is the fight to believe God's truths over the enemy's lies. That's spiritual warfare. It's that battle in the mind to hold fast to truth. And the fiery darts of the enemy that are launched at you, that's deception. That's a lie. And just as the shield quenches that fiery dart, so truth quenches deception. Fire like deception spreads if it's not addressed immediately. Everything about the kingdom of hell is built on shifting shadow. Oh, I pray we understand this in the name of Jesus. Everything about the kingdom of hell is built on shifting shadow. Brick by brick, lie by lie, the fortresses of hell are built. The weapons of the enemy are nothing more than sharp silhouettes. And just as a shadow can appear larger in the right perspective, so the power of the enemy can seem larger than it actually is when we live under the power of deception. The enemy's power, everything he can do against us, it's a smoky illusion that only works if we give in to the belief in his lie. When you enter a dark room, hopefully you don't scream at the darkness to try to get it out. All the enemy doesn't care at all if you raise your voice. He's not intimidated by our tactics or our firm stance or our raised voices. He doesn't care about how much we think we know about the spiritual realm. The enemy fears one thing, it is written. And so the kingdom of hell is built upon shadowy illusion and the moment the light is turned on, everything in the kingdom of darkness dissolves. Everything in the kingdom of darkness dissolves once that light is introduced. So shoes of peace we take the gospel, shield of faith we believe in the truth of what God has said. Helmet of salvation, just cross-reference this with 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 8 and you'll see that the helmet of salvation is your confidence in salvation. Oh, the enemy wants to shake you from that. You know it's not God's will that you live your life wondering if you're saved. In fact, and this may shake you up, but that's okay. It'll get you studying in the right direction. If you live your life constantly wondering if your last mistake was the one to finally do you in and cause you to lose your salvation, then you believe a workspace gospel. Legalism. You want to know how you're bound by legalism? You want to know if you're bound by legalism? If you're constantly fearing the loss of your salvation, you are bound by legalism. Now, again, I know I'm preaching some things that are shaking some people up, but it's good to be shaken up sometimes because we need to come back to the truth. Now, again, people say, what does that mean? I can live however I want. No, because a true believer would desire to live holy. And the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, the spirit of truth, the spirit of truth works in conjunction with the word of truth. The Holy Spirit will remind and reveal concerning truth. And when we're faced with those battles where the enemy is coming against us, we must hold fast to the truth of the word of God. When culture tries to pressure you into believing and preaching according to how they believe, you hold fast on truth. Do not be deceived. They'll call you a bigot. They'll call you old fashioned. They'll call you out of touch. They'll call you narrow minded. Just smile and say, yes, I am narrow minded because Jesus said narrow is the way. I am narrow minded. Some people are so open minded, their brains are falling out. They just take anything for granted and believe everything that comes their way. No, I'm narrow minded. Jesus is the way. Jesus is the way. There's no name under heaven given amongst men by which we are saved other than the name of Jesus. There's no other name, no other name, no other name. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father, except through me. So we stand fast in the face of adversity and the face of persecution. And yes, criticism and slander and rejection, that is a form of persecution. We stand fast at the armor of God when the enemy comes to attack you. He throws a lie at you in that fiery dart. And you know the thing about a lie is that a lie doesn't become deception until you believe it. When I tell a lie, if I say to you something that's untrue and you reject that lie, you're not deceived. So the enemy crafts his lies to try to make them as believable as possible. And he hurls these fiery darts at us. God has rejected you. That's the lie that's been launched, the fiery dart. Then I take the shield of faith and I believe in the promise I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. And so you hold that shield up and it quenches the fiery dart of the enemy. And then you go after that attacker with the sword of the spirit. It's with the shield of faith that we quench the fiery darts. It's with the sword that we cut down the liars themselves, those demonic powers. The enemy says, God holds your past against you. That's a fiery dart launched. Shield of faith. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. The enemy launches. Nothing good will ever happen to you. You're bound for defeat. God has rejected you. Shield of faith. I cling to it and believe. I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future. Your family will never be saved. Nothing is impossible with God. That sickness is going to keep you bound by his stripes. I am healed. The enemy is going to have your mind and your family resist the devil and he'll flee like a coward. I want to live in the truth. I want to live in the power that God has made available to me. It's time you stand and who you are. It's time you stand upon truth. I'm telling you right now, there's a boldness that's coming upon the people of God once they stand in truth and they'll say, devil, you cannot have my mind. Devil, you cannot have my body. Devil, you cannot have my children. Devil, you cannot have my family. Devil, you cannot have this state. We declare to the enemy, we say America belongs to Jesus. The nations belong to Jesus. This world belongs to Jesus. Are you ready to wage war against the enemy? Well, I pray that that message blessed you and I want you to apply what the Scripture teaches us concerning deception and truth. And I want to pray with you and I want to ask the Lord to help keep you grounded in truth in these confusing times. Father, in the name of Jesus, I lift that one to you now receiving this word. And I pray, Lord, that you would keep them grounded upon your sayings, grounded upon your truth. Teach them to walk and live and think according to your word we pray. Touch each one, Lord. And I also ask that you would begin to heal and deliver and set free. Thank you, Jesus. Father, let your power flow like a mighty river, let healing flow, let deliverance flow. Let them sense your nearness even now. I want you to receive that. Thank you, Jesus. Break every chain, break every addiction. Bring peace of mind, peace of heart. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. Well, if you enjoyed that message and you think others need to hear it, don't forget to leave a like and also subscribe to my channel for more content like what you just saw. And I'll mention briefly, if you'd like to support this ministry and all of our ministry endeavors around the world, you can go to davidhernandezministries.com slash donate to give a single donation, or you can go to davidhernandezministries.com partner to become a monthly ministry supporter. Thank you for your support. Thank you for helping us to take the gospel all around the world in the power of the Holy Spirit. And until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God.