Hebrews 11 tonight, Hebrews 11 and verse 32. And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." And we'll stop our reading there. Tonight, we're going to note in verse 34 where it says, "...who through faith waxed valiant in fight." Waxed valiant in fight. Now again, this is one of the great exploits of faith. And that is that we grow are strengthened in the fight. And again, in case you didn't know, those of you who are saved by God's grace, you're in a warfare. You're in it. The moment that God saved you, you were in a warfare. And you're going to be in that warfare until He takes you out of this world. And we're going to look at some of the aspects of the warfare or the fight tonight. Now, the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, He says here, and this is so true particularly with this phrase, waxed valiant in fight. Because you look and you read these names in verse 32, Gideon, and Barrett, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and of the prophets. Truly, this phrase of, and what shall I more say, for time would fail me to tell of these individuals who waxed valiant in fight. Because every one of them was involved in the spiritual warfare that you and I are involved in today. Now, you can look at some of these things and we can read about subduing kingdoms and stopping the mouths of lions. And we might say, well, okay, spiritually, yes, we all deal with the adversary, the devil, who walketh about seeking whom he may devour as a roaring lion. We all deal with that. But not every one of these stopped a literal mouth of a lion. But every one of them did waxed strong or valiant in fight, every one of them without exception. And so truly, time would have failed. In fact, when it came to waxing valiant in fight, Hamas was just taken pretty much from the book of, you know, really even Exodus, through Malachi, and just slapped it right down and said, here, read this. because there is not a single individual from that time going forward. In fact, you can go all the way back to Abraham, who Abraham went and rescued Lot, and he had to fight to do it. And every physical battle that took place in the Old Testament, they're literal battles. But there is a likening to the spiritual battle that they were in and you and I are in today. That every child of God has been in. Every one of them. And so a study of those men and women who fought valiantly in the Scriptures would be greatly warranted. And I know that only men are listed here, but I will tell you, those of you, and for us men, and in particular for the ladies, it's always good, and I've read of studies of women of the Bible, and it's a blessing to the ladies to hear of them, and you can identify with them. There were some ladies who fought valiantly. I mean, Brother Crowder, and I don't mean to toot his horn, but I think it's out back on the table as you go out, but that lady Helen Ewan, if you read that 21-page large print track about her, she fought valiantly. That's what she was doing, was fighting valiantly, and she waxed valiantly in the fight. And so understand that, that we're all in it. And it's just like in some aspects of the military, you know, there's some folks that they do certain things. And, you know, not everybody's on the front line, are they? But every part has to be done. The guy that counts the bullets, puts them on the truck, and ships them out to the front line, his duty is just as important as the other ones. It's like the church. Every member plays a part. And when one member doesn't do his or her part, the whole body suffers. Just like in your own physical body. If one of your body parts doesn't do its part, or if it's afflicted, the whole body suffers, doesn't it? It's the same thing. Now let's look first of all, if you'll turn over to 2 Timothy chapter 4, let's observe first of all the fact that children of God are in a fight. I don't know if you've ever been in a fight, but I've been in a fight and I've been in a fight, it was literally for my life. It was on the line. And when you are in a fight for your life, I've done where there weren't fights for my life, I've done where we were wrestling, or roughhousing, or things of that nature. But I've also been in fights where your life was on the line. I tell you what, that's the most serious thing in all the world. And you will do what you have to do to get out of there, and to get done, and to win that fight. And you know, I see Christians today, or people who claim Christians, they're not in a fight. They're not warring a warfare. They're avoiding it. They're complacent about it. I don't know how that a person who is saved by God's grace can float through this life and not be engaged in this warfare. and sit and nod and say, oh yes, I'm worn with the flesh. They don't pray, they don't read their Bibles, they don't act as if when they fail that anything's wrong. Makes you wonder if they're even saved, doesn't it? How do you not? You're in the fight, so why are you not fighting? Why are you not warring? 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 7. Paul said, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, henceforth. Now notice that word, henceforth. That means based on what I just said. Okay? Now everybody thinks, everybody thinks, well I'm getting a crown. Oh, not necessarily. Because these crowns are earned. I mean, these aren't just given out because you showed up. This isn't 2018, you know, school, you know, what do they call it? Track and field day where everybody gets a participation trophy. This is about serving the Lord. Paul says, I have fought a good fight. He didn't say, I have fought a fight. He said, I fought a good fight. He fought it well and it was a fight worth fighting. And he says, henceforth there is. Notice that. Not there might be. He knew there was. Can you say that tonight with the same assurance that Paul said it? That there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing." I think the fighting and the finishing the course and the keeping of the faith, I think that and loving His appearing are connected. Because I think there's going to be some people who aren't going to love His appearing when He comes. I really do. Kind of like, you know, when you were a kid and your parents told you to do something, said we're going to the store or we're going to go do this and when we get back you better have this done. And when they got back and you didn't have it done as much as you were glad your parents were home, that nothing happened to them when they were gone, you sure didn't love their appearing, did you? Because you was in for it. Do you think that that third servant, the one who had the one talent, and he was told to go and put it to the usury, and when the Lord came back and he says, oh, I was afraid and I dug a hole and I hid it in there, because I know that you reap where you didn't sow. You think he loved the appearing of his Lord? Absolutely not. Paul said, I have fought a good fight. I'll be honest with you. You read some of the things that folks, and again, like that booklet, Helen, you and I realize the Lord used her in that capacity. And again, God doesn't call everybody to be the Apostle Paul, but He does call all of us to serve Him. I can't say with this certainty that Paul said, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. I can't say that. I'd like to be able to say that, but if I'm going to be able to say that, I'm going to have to say I have fought a good fight and I have finished my course and I have kept the faith. And I'll be honest with you, I'm not done running my race yet. And neither are you. If you were, you wouldn't be here. And again, and I reiterate, I think there's some folks, the Lord takes them home and they didn't finish the race, they're still at the starting line. They never started. Old Brother Lot in the Old Testament, I don't think he got one step forward. But the Bible tells us that you and I are in a fight. Say, I don't want to be in a fight. Too bad your Savior put you in one. And you better thank God He did because if you're not in this fight, you're lost. You're lost. Look over in 1 Timothy chapter 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 11. Notice again, "...but thou, O man of God, flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness, fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." So here Paul is writing unto a young man who is saved by God's grace and he tells him, you need to fight the good fight of faith. You need to fight the good fight of faith. And he even tells them how to go about it. Number one, flee these things. Well, read previously what he's supposed to flee. Follow after these things. Righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Lay hold on eternal life. Warrant to thou art also called and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. Well, I'll tell you what. He really, really encouraged him to fight the good fight of faith. You know, you read down through the Scriptures and the child of God is referred to as many different things. We're referred to as pilgrims. He calls us many things. One of them, we're likened unto as pilgrims. Another one, we're likened unto as ambassadors. But one of the things that we're likened unto, and there's a whole list of them and I'm not going to go through tonight, but one of the things we're likened unto is soldiers in the Scriptures. Pippsa, I didn't want to be a soldier. Your king made you a soldier. And he fitted you for it and he gave you everything you need to do it. In our lesson, we find and read about warfare, and it's a very specific warfare. Turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. I'd like to tell you what this warfare isn't about. And just look round about you tonight. You're not in a warfare with any person in this room. This church is not at warfare within itself. That's what Satan likes to do, is turn the fight inward. You remember there in the Old Testament when Israel's enemies, when they would come out to battle and God would discomfit them and their swords would be turned on one another? That's exactly what Satan would like to happen to this church today. He's been after it for many years. And the reason is because it's the Lord's church. But you look in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 10, and it says, Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. You can keep reading down there and see what the contentions were. And you know, it's a tremendous thing, and you read here in this verse in verse 10, where Paul said that he besought them that they all speak the same thing. Well, the only way we can all speak the same thing is if we say what God's Word says. That's it. That's it. Look over, if you would, as well in chapter 3. Again, this is what the fight is not. It's not this. This ain't it. And I tell you, churches today spend more time squabbling and fighting within than they do fighting the good fight of faith. And it's a waste of time. Satan's got us on the wrong thing. It's kind of like a few years ago, you know, when the whole thing with the government, people, you know, they're handing out constitutions, and listen, we need to, you know, here's the Bill of Rights, and I said, can you tell me what God's Word says? Because it's the gospel which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, not the constitution of this nation. Satan has got us focused on the wrong things. And I want to say this about Satan. We give him way too much credit. We're focused on the wrong things. We do it ourselves, don't we? Here we find in 1 Corinthians 3 in verse 1, And I, brethren, cannot speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat. For hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul, another, I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal? That was the problem. They had a Corinth, wasn't there? It kind of reminds you there when Moses came down from Mount Sinai. He said, who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. They said, oh, we're of this one, and we're of that one, and we're of the other. Turn over, if you would, to the book of Galatians. The book of Galatians. And again, this is not the fight. This ain't it. We need to focus our attention on what is the fight. and be fighting the good fight of faith, and to be going after that. You know, I have fought a good fight, he said. You find here in Galatians chapter 5. And here, notice what Paul wrote in the churches of Galatia in verse 14. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love thy neighbors thyself. But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another. That's exactly what Paul was warning them. And that goes on in churches of the Lord today, doesn't it? They bite and they consume one another. And you know some, they have the audacity to say, well, I'm really fighting the fight. No, you're not. causing problems and divisions. And it needs to stop. Because there is a fight that needs to be fought. Look in Galatians 4. Galatians chapter 4. And notice in verse 15 and 16. Well, I'll tell you, this is something else, wasn't it? Paul had come to the church of Galatia, and he had preached to them. And you know, he's writing here, and again, it's believed he had some kind of vision problem. And it was the idea, as I understand, through reading several commentators, that there were those that Paul preached, and they were so endeared unto him for the preaching of God's Word, that they said, oh, we'd have plucked their eyes out and gave them to you, Paul. But now look what happened. He said in verse 15 of chapter 4, Where is then the blessing that she spake of? For I bear you record that if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and have given them to me. Verse 16, Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? Absolutely not. He hadn't become their enemy. He's preaching the truth. And yet, it had turned, hadn't it? And now there was some fighting evidently going on in the churches of Galatia toward the apostle, who was the apostle unto the Gentiles, of who the Galatians were, Gentiles. Turn over to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. And notice here, if you would, I'm sorry, Philippians chapter 4. And notice verses 1 and 2. Here Paul writes unto the church at Philippi. And again, imagine this church. Think about it. I believe this was the church that the Philippian jailer was one of the charter members of. And here we find Paul's writing unto them. And he writes particularly concerning two ladies. In the church. And he says, verse 1, Therefore my brethren, dearly beloved, and longed for my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. Notice that. Number one, stand fast in the Lord. You can't do that and not have the Word of God in your life. Can't do it. You can't stand fast in the Lord when the Word of God is not what you're standing on. Verse 2, He said, I beseech you, Udias, and beseech Syntyche, or however you say her name, that's probably close enough, that they be of the same mind, now notice these three words, because these are the most important three words of this verse. in the Lord. Now, I ask you something. Here these two ladies were, and people say, oh, they're of the same mind. What if they're wrong? What if they're of the same mind, but it's not, thus saith the Lord? Well, that's not any good, is it? What if they're of the same mind, but they're not standing fast in the Lord? Well, then they're wrong, aren't they? And that's not right. It's not good. And so here we find that there was something obviously, evidently, going on between these two. And Paul said, you need to be of the same mind in the Lord. Well, that means either one of them was wrong or both of them were wrong. Because they both couldn't be right, could they? Not if they weren't of the same mind. And so he admonishes them that. We, again, like Israel's enemies, have turned our weapons inward. And this ought not to be. Secondly, tonight, I'd like you to know who the enemy is. Turn over to 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2. And I will say this, that in my own life, There's not a real distinction between these three enemies. I mean, the line just blends. I couldn't tell you where the world ends and the flesh begins, and where the flesh ends and Satan begins. I couldn't tell you. But what I do know is that these are my enemies. The world, the flesh, and the devil. There's not a saint who's my enemy. There's not a child of God who is my enemy. There is not a fellow true God called man who is my enemy. Now we might not agree, but they're not my enemy. Now there's some of them, I wonder if they're even saved because of how they act toward their fellow brethren and fellow ministers. But don't, they're not your enemy. And again, you look around this room, and when we are full, and our membership is all here, there's no enemies here. The people here are not our enemies. I don't know how many times I've said that or have to continue to say it. We are so distracted and taken away. The Bible says the commission is to preach the gospel to every creature. That's the word going out. And then baptized. Well, we can't baptize if we're not preaching the gospel. And so, when you deal with stuff inward, what happens? You don't go out. The work of God is hindered. When the enemy, or you think the enemy is within. You look in 1 John chapter 2, and notice in verse 15, It says, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lusts thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. The world is not your friend. The lust of this world is not your friend. Just ask Achan. Just ask him. Just ask him how good those Babylonian garments were and those talents of silver that he hid in his tent were. Ask him how friendly they were for him. Ask him what they did for him. They didn't do anything but get him killed. He did it himself, but you understand. No, the world is a tremendous enemy. The Bible says, Galatians 1, 4, that this is a present evil world. It is a place where moth and rust are corrupt and where thieves break in and steal. The world is our foe. The standards of this world are our foes. No matter what they are, the world says you have to do this. This is what you need to do. You need to do this. You need to do that. This is what we need to do. Listen, if it's not in this book, we don't need to do it. That is the standard of the world and the world is the place filled with Satan's lies. He is the father of them. He's the arch liar. The world says you do this and you'll be happy. I'll tell you what, you'll never be happy doing what the world says. Never. And you all know that. I'm not telling you nothing you don't know. But isn't it amazing? Isn't it something how we'll cuddle up to the world, but we think this brother here is our enemy. Then you look over as well, I'm not going to go all through this, but the world's religious system, I'm putting that under the world, the world's religious system is your enemy. I mean that. These non-denominationals, these reformed Baptists, Protestantism, Catholicism, all the isms, are your enemy. They are. Because they're not of the Lord. See, there's only two religious systems, if I can even say that. And I don't really like to say that. There's only one religious system, and that's the world. Because the Lord's church is not a religion, it's His church. And as we say, there's the world's religious system, and then there's His church. That's all there is. The Bible says, I'll give you these verses when I turn to it, but 2 Corinthians 6, verses 14-18, where Paul wrote unto the churches of Corinth. 2 Corinthians 6, verses 14-18, where he said that, There's not supposed to be any agreement between Christ and Belial, between the infidel and the believer. Revelation 18, verse 4, where the Lord said, Come out from among her, My people, and partake not of her plagues. Why in the world would you or I, who are saved by God's grace, and then made members of His church, ever, for any reason, attend or participate in a world's religious worship service. Why would you? Why would you go to one of their funerals? Why would you go to one of their weddings? Why would you go to a baptism? Or anything they do. Why? It's Baal worship. It's all it is. It's all it's ever been. That's all it'll ever be. It's Baal worship. It's the world's religious system. Here we see an influence that the world's religious system had. Boy, I tell you what, Paul really, really got after Peter, and rightly so. Why? Because I tell you, Peter was wrong. He was dead wrong. Here he was, and Peter was down, and he was there with some of these Gentiles. And you know, he was eating with them. And then all of a sudden, here comes some from the church of Jerusalem that James sent, and to go down there with Peter where the Gentiles were. And they were there to instruct the Gentiles. They were there to see, is it true the grace of God had really gone to the Gentiles? And when they got there from James, Peter said, I can't eat with the Gentiles anymore, they're uncircumcised. And he would only eat with the Jews who were circumcised. And it was such an issue that even Barnabas got carried away with it. And boy, Paul got, as the young people say, he got all up in Peter's business. And rightly so. Because Peter was wrong. Notice what's stated here in Galatians chapter 2 and verse 11. He said, but when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face because, notice, he was to be blamed. This was all Peter's fault. Now again, the Holy Spirit wrote that, didn't He? The Holy Spirit said it was Peter's fault. Peter knew better than this because Peter had been previously sent to preach to Cornelius. And he knew circumcision had nothing to do with salvation. And you know how he knew? Keep reading. Verse 12, For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles, but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation or hypocrisy. And that's exactly what it was. It was hypocrisy. because Barnabas had preached to the Gentiles that salvation was by grace through faith and now he wouldn't even fellowship with them because they weren't circumcised. That is hypocrisy plain as day. And in the next verse, in verse 14, But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel. You know what Paul told them? You're not doing what the Bible says. See, the Bible says this. See, the Bible says in this book, and in this chapter, and in this verse, that's what it says, and you're not doing that. And that's a problem, Peter. And that's going to always be a problem. Because if we're doing something that's not according to thus saith the Lord, it's going to be an issue. It's going to be an issue with the Lord Jesus Christ. It's going to cause problems. And you know where this all came from? It didn't come from God. It came from the world's religious system and it started influencing the churches of the Lord. And Paul said, not gonna happen. And he was stubborn. And I'd like you to notice there, it says, again, the enemy was not Peter. The enemy was not Barnabas. The enemy was the falsehood that had come into the church. And Paul said, I'm drawing a line right here in the sand, no more. You know what they say about people like that today? He's stubborn, he has to have everything his way. You know what they said about Paul? Boy, he really stood for the Lord, didn't he? He really stood for the Lord. Why don't we say the same thing today about folks like that? Why not? No, listen, he goes on and he says again verse 14, but when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, and notice that, he didn't just take Peter over here in a corner. Peter, I don't want blah, blah, blah. He said it to them all. He said, Peter, before them all, if thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compelst thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? You know what he was essentially saying here? Why are you requiring the Gentiles to do something that Jesus never said for them to do? Why do you require something that's not thus saith the Lord? Why? Because the world's religious system had just come right on in. That's fine. Paul said, no. No. And it's a good thing he did. Because you notice, nobody else said anything, did they? And his helper, and his fellow preacher, and missionary, and evangelist, Barnabas, he'd been carried away. Well, wouldn't you want somebody to stand up and say, absolutely not, no more, so you don't get carried away, so I don't get carried away with falsehood? No, that's the fight. The fight's the world's religious system. It wasn't Peter. It was the world's religious system that Peter had caved into. And notice if you would there, in verse 12, about the last phrase, But when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them. He feared the church members who came from Jerusalem, and if he'd have feared God, he'd have never done it. That's where it all started. He was afraid, but not the fear of God. That's where it started. Quickly, as we press on, not only is our enemy the world, but it's also the flesh. And I tell you what, my flesh is probably the greatest enemy I have. And I mean this, you know, the world, they got stuff and they say if you drive by a billboard and you see a Pepsi, you're going to want Pepsi. You know, I don't know how true that is. I wanted a Pepsi before I saw the billboard. I don't really know how much pull the world really has. I think it's my weak flesh is the problem. And I think that the world and the flesh and the devil, they all work in harmony against me. But I know this, in Romans 7, 18, Paul said that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. And that hasn't changed. That'll never change. Paul told the church at Colossae in Colossians 3, verses 5-17 to mortify the old man and to put on the new man. mortify the old man in his deeds and to put on the new man and to do what the new man says. I think the flesh is probably the most fiendish of all our foes. And I think the flesh, we have the hardest time with the flesh is because it's us, isn't it? It's us. And then thirdly, the devil. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5 and verse 8 that he is an adversary. He is an opponent or the arch nemesis. Now he's a very powerful foe, but he is not all powerful. The Bible says in James, to resist the devil and he will flee from you. That's the war. The war with the devil is resisting him. How did Jesus resist him? He prayed, he fasted, and he quoted Scripture. I mean, you answer this to yourself. Can you quote Scripture? Do you know Scripture? Can you say it? Have you hid it in your heart that you won't sin against God? As the psalmist said? Because Christ didn't get to say, hold on Satan, let me go in the other room and find my King James Bible and get it off the shelf and dust it off. and look up in the concordance some verses about what you're talking to me about. I promise you, you can't fight a warfare that way. In law enforcement, they trained us to react, not to think. And in the warfare you and I are in, you can't think, you have to react. And that's what Christ did. He reacted, didn't He? He's up there on that mountain, and Satan was tempting Him, and what did He say? He said, It is written. It is written. Boy, I tell you, if that's what we have to say to Satan, It is written. Excuse me, sometimes we have to say that to our own flesh. It is written. I'd like you to notice as well, The weapons of our warfare. The weapons of our warfare. Turn to Ephesians chapter 6. I'm not going to read all of this. You can read it. But the Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are spiritual to the pulling down of strongholds. through the mighty God, or something of that nature. I think I flipped a couple lines around there. But in 2 Corinthians 10, you'll find that, I believe, in verse 5 and 6. If you're going to fight this warfare, you're not going to do it with carnal weapons. It's not going to happen. You're not going to do it with your own physical ability. It won't happen. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord. There's that phrase again. In the Lord. And in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles or the tricks of the devil. The Bible tells us in another passage of Scripture that we are not ignorant of Satan's devices. He's a liar. That's what he does, isn't it? Oh, ye shall not surely die. It won't matter if you miss church services for this, that, or the other. Again, I'm not talking about providential hindrances. We'll talk about, well, we're going to go do this, we're going to go do that. We're going to go on vacation, we're going to go do whatever. You know, it won't hurt if you don't read your Bible today, or tomorrow, or the next day. It's not going to hurt if you don't pray. It's not going to hurt if you don't labor in prayer. It's not going to hurt if you don't tithe or offer. It's not going to hurt if you don't witness. It's not going to hurt if you don't participate in the work of the Lord in and through His church. Those are all lies of the devil. They're all lies. and we have to put on the whole armor of God that she may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. When I was in, worked for Flushing City Police Department, we had got a new department, a new police house, and the part-timers, we finally got lockers. And by part-time, I mean 39 and a half hours a week is what we had. And you're sitting there and I mean, they were great big lockers. And I remember every time I put on a piece of my uniform, my vest, my duty belt, my gun, my boots, my pants, my shirt, every piece got prayed over. every piece of our spiritual armor, we need to put it on, like literally put it on. I don't know if you ever heard the story about the plumber, he'd come home from work, and he'd pull into his driveway, and he'd walk over to a tree, and he'd symbolically be taking off the garments and hanging them on the tree, and he'd go in, and whatever happened at work, he left it out on that tree, and he went into his house, he went into his wife and kids, A child of God needs to symbolically act as we're putting these on. But they literally and spiritually need to be put on because you are in a warfare. You know, it's kind of like we used to talk about here in America is, you know, we're not on the front line. We are now. You know, the war isn't over in some foreign land. They're attacking us here. And Satan is attacking you and I every single day. The world, the flesh, and the devil are all attacking. You have to put this armor on. Or you will not make it. And I will say this as well. A sword in its sheath is worthless. It's worthless. That's kind of like taking your gun to a gun fight but never getting it out of your holster. It's worthless. And if you don't know what God's Word says, you're like Barney Fife with a bullet in his shirt pocket. That gun ain't going to work very well, is it? That's why we need to know the Scriptures. So I challenge you to read them every single day. Not so I can say, oh, we read the Bible every day. For your own good. For your own good. To be in them. It doesn't matter how young you are or how old you are, whether you're saved or whether you're lost, but especially if you're saved, you need to be in the Word of God every single day. Without exception. Look at verse 18 of Ephesians 6. I'll finish this point and then I quickly will go through one more and we'll be done. Ephesians 6 and verse 18. praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. I have heard all my life that prayer changes people and changes things. And it does. And yet prayer is the weapon of our weaponry that we probably use the least. I'm sure you've heard the term prayer warrior, and while it is not, that phrase is not found in scriptures, it is clearly depicted in scripture. Here are the weapons of a soldier of Christ, a warrior of God, and prayer is here stated, praying always with all prayer. Prayer will do things that nothing else can do. Because it is the saying unto God, here's what needs to be done. Not as if he didn't know, but committing it into his hands. As he's the only one who can do it. This is a great and tremendous weapon that those who fight the good fight of faith do use extensively. Extensively. Not exclusively, but extensively. Remember what it was said of Saul of Tarsus after he was saved? Behold, he prayeth. One individually told me, he said, when I heard that there was a man who had a son, who had three sons, and they were all saved and were all ministers in the Lord's church, he said, I couldn't help but pray for them. And he was in referencing unto my family. I said, well, you only need to pray for four of them. One of them has gone home to be with his Lord. But you understand what I'm saying. And you know, you look at this, and we look at all the things about fighting the good fight of faith. There are times when you'll uphold the shield of faith until your arm's about to fall off. There's times when you'll wield the sword until your arm's about to fall off. But never let go of either one of them. Because you're fighting. I read a book about Navy SEALs some years ago, and it was about the lone survivor. And he talked about how one of the guys who didn't survive, when they went back and they found his body, and he was badly wounded, badly wounded, the last time Marcus Luttrell saw him. He said when the soldiers came to collect his body, I found eight Taliban dead all around him. And he said he only had eight rounds left. And every one of them found a mark. And I remember, and they depicted it in a film, and I had seen parts of it, and they were dragging the guy, and he'd been shot in the face, and there he was, and he's clicking, and he's out of bullets, and he's still clicking! He's still firing his gun! There is never a time to take the armor off. There is never a time to lay the sword down or lay the shield down until the Lord calls you home. You're in a fight. So fight. There's no days off. There's not one. There might be a day or an hour of peace, but be careful because He likes to come when we're at rest. Always be on guard. Always. And then, last of all this evening, you'll turn to 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 2. The attitude towards the warfare. The attitude towards the warfare. Well, I'll tell you what. And I remember, and I haven't been through a lot of things, and some of you have been through some other things that I haven't been through, but there's been different times in my life where physically I went through some difficult things. School, academically, was not very difficult for me. And I thank God for that. I'm not boasting of my own academic skills. But I remember I went from not playing or not starting in my freshman year of football to starting my senior year and it didn't happen because there was a lot of effort put into that. A lot of effort. And the same thing in law enforcement. Again, I'm not boasting, but you don't graduate toward the top of a class by coasting. You put effort into things. And you all know that. I tell the kids and tell the boys that said they're in karate and they're getting up toward higher belts. I say, you're better or your best has to become better. It has to elevate. You have to get better at it. 2 Timothy 2, listen to what Paul says unto Timothy. He says in verse 1, Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. So, that's what he says you're supposed to do as a minister of God. Number one, be strong in the grace that is in Christ. Number two, the things that I taught you, you teach to other men that are faithful, and they'll teach other men that are faithful until one day, 2000, and when I call Nathaniel Hilly into the ministry or 99 Hours of Salem, his dad will teach him. And then he'll send me over here to Plant City to teach you all. That's how it's said. That's what's to be done. And then notice what he says. Verse 3. Thou therefore... Timothy, you just go about it real easy like because it's going to be just fine. That's not what he says, is it? He says, Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. I know some of you are in the military or National Guard or those natures as well. There's some enduring of hardness there, isn't there? I mean, that's what it is. Verse 4, No man that woreth and tangleth himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." You see, you're not just chosen or elected unto salvation. He chose us to be soldiers! To fight! People talk about, oh, he chose me. Well, he chose you to be a soldier, so why don't you act like one and start fighting? Start warring a good warfare! Verse 5, And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. And you know what though? You think about this, and if you cheat, you get disqualified. You think about all these people say, oh we've led so many thousands of people to Christ. You cheated! And you didn't lead them to Christ. You made them twofold more the children of hell. Because you lied to them. But you didn't do it, thus saith the Lord. And so therefore it wasn't done according to the rules, it wasn't done lawfully, and you're not going to get a crown. Because you didn't follow the rule book. The Word of God. cannot emphasize the fact that if we're going to war a warfare, it's got to be according to the commands of our captain of our salvation. Has to be. And then you skip on down, if you would, to verse 10. He says, therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake. So what are you supposed to endure as a soldier? All things. All things. And if you can't do it, then I suggest you look up at your Lord and Savior who endured all things for your sake. And if that can't inspire you, or move you, or give you grace, or help you with your faith, I don't know what else to tell you. Except to keep looking. Keep looking to Him. Keep looking unto the Author and Finisher of our faith. Keep looking to Him. Because our Savior, the Captain of our salvation, is not way back at headquarters. He's in the forefront of the battle and saying, come on up and join me. Wanting to know where we're at. This is what we're in. That's the fight that Paul was writing about in Hebrews chapter 11. They waxed valiant in that fight. We'll deal with the waxing and the valiantly next week. But that's the fight. The fight is not... It's 9 o'clock Sunday morning and I gotta get out of bed to make it to church by 10. That's not the fight. The fight is not in this building. Unless you're talking about your flesh. The fight is against the world, the flesh, and the devil. The fight is spiritual. The fight is with these weapons. And this is the attitude we have to have towards it. And I will say this, if you don't have all of these, you're going to lose that fight. You're going to lose. Christ had every one of them, didn't He? He didn't lose. He was victorious. Oh, he was victorious. I like to be victorious in the Lord for His honor and glory. Do you remember what they did when they were about to sack a city that they had taken captive by Israel? They said, go get David and bring him in here. so the honor and glory can go to the king. Remember when they did that? When the general of the army, he said, go bring David down here and then we'll go in and get it and David will get the glory. The warfare is you and I fighting and giving glory to our king. That's the warfare. That's what it is. So may God help us to fight it. It's the most serious fight you've ever been in. And the stakes are high, folks. Stakes are high. There shouldn't be, well, I'm saved, so if I lose, it doesn't matter. No, I can't tell you how high they are. So let's stand and we'll have a word of prayer tonight. May the Lord help us as we continue.