The Fight of Your Life

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- Ring Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen.

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- The fight isn't won out there in the spotlight.

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It's in the shadows.

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- Ring Announcer: The fight of our lives.

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- When the time comes, you don't rise to the moment,

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you fall to the level of your training.

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- Ring Announcer: Six rounds, each different opponent.

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- To defeat your opponent you need to know your opponent.

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Your opponent wants you to think

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you're not equipped for the fight,

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but you will stand firm.

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RING ANNOUNCER: Round six, Stand firm against the enemy.

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Let the fight begin.

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- Hey, everybody, welcome to Crossroads. I'm Chuck.

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And we've been in this series called Stand Firm

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because we recognize that life can be a battle.

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And the Bible describes our spiritual life as a battle.

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Today, though, we're going to armor up.

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We're going to talk about what God has given us to fight well.

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And the good news is, we do not fight alone.

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So if you're brand new around here,

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if you're joining us via Anywhere,

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you might be online, you might be in a room.

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I just want you to know you're in the right place,

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whatever your thoughts are on God, church, and the Bible.

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I think today you're going to be encouraged.

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And so I want to invite you to stand if you're able.

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We're going to start by singing a few songs together,

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starting with one that reminds us that

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for the spiritual battle, thank God, the battle belongs to God.

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So sing along with us. We're glad you're here.

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- That's right, we're gonna start

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by singing this anthem together like this.

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- Man, that is good stuff.

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Whatever site you're at right now, just have a seat right now.

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We're gonna be back up for another song in just a moment.

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Just want to share something with you.

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In case we haven't met, my name is Brian.

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I'm what's known as a Senior Pastor around here.

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And I'm generally right now on what we know as a summer break,

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taking a break from the normal rhythms I do

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to get some new, fresh things going through my mind

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and my heart to be able to help me do my job

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and serve you all really well.

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This is a different summer.

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People have been asking me,

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"Hey, what have you been doing this summer?

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What's on your break?"

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People know I like to take motorcycle trips

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or camping trips or whatever.

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And it's been really awkward to answer that question,

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and I want to answer it today.

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What am I doing fun this summer?

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I'm doing nothing fun this summer. That's what.

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I'm doing nothing fun this summer.

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I'm doing nothing fun all fall.

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We're in an amazing adventure.

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When I say amazing, I don't mean a good adventure.

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I mean, it's like intense, you know?

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It's not an adventure until something goes wrong.

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That's when it's an adventure,

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and something's gone wrong in the Tome family.

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My wife has breast cancer,

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and so we have been dealing with that.

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And I wanted to invite you into this because

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we would love to have your prayer support

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and because you're all important to all of us.

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And I just wanted to include you in on our adventure.

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We've walked this

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with the senior leaders here at our church,

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all of our friendship circles.

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We feel very well cared for and taken care of.

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We haven't cooked a meal for many,

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for weeks now because people have rallied around us.

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But I wanted to bring the whole Crossroads family

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into this because we, you know, you're important to us

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and your prayers mean something to us

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and maybe we can learn something from each other.

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She's had a double mastectomy

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that's already done and over with.

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And now what we head into is chemotherapy.

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It's an intensive chemotherapy.

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The good news is, of the three types of breast cancer,

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our docs tell us this is the kind you would want to have.

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Woo! Yippee! Great.

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This is the kind you'd want to have.

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So the prognosis,

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long term prognosis is really, really good.

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But she has, because it was found in lymph nodes,

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which are the gateway to other parts of your body for cancer,

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they're giving her the most aggressive form of chemo

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and radiation, hormone blockers there are.

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That starts on July 17th.

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And I've done a lot of things not right.

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There's a lot of things I haven't gotten right

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in my marriage for 37 years. A lot of things.

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There's a lot of things I haven't gotten right

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in serving my wife and family

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since I started Crossroads 30 years ago.

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There's a lot of things I haven't done right.

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This one I need to make sure I do right.

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And so I'm adjusting my work schedule

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for my number one job to be a nurse for my wife,

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because I did take a vow, right? [applause]

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The vow was 37 years ago, in sickness and in health.

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And so this is a page of that.

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Kyle Ranson, who is our Lead Pastor,

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I'm going to give him a bit more responsibility.

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I've got a couple of direct reports to me,

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Kyle and Darren Yates, our Executive Pastor,

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to consolidate things.

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Darren is reporting to Kyle.

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And Kyle and I are going to get together once a week.

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My preaching schedule once I come back, which is,

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you know, normally middle of August or something like that,

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I think I'm first week back is early August.

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My preaching schedule for the next several months

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is probably gonna look the same to anybody else.

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It's the day to day stuff, running the church,

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being involved with things, which Kyle has been doing

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an incredibly amount of that anyway.

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So he's going to fill me in once a week.

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I'm gonna help him with things that he needs

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to be helped with, and the church is going to do just fine.

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We're set up really, really well.

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And hopefully and prayerfully, Lib and I

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are going to be doing just just fine.

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One request, the reason why we weren't sure

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we wanted to share this with the Crossroads community

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is because we know that this church is more empathetic,

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sympathetic, and action oriented than any community.

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We've just never been a part of a community

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that's been more the more sympathetic, empathetic

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and action oriented than this community.

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And so we were, quite frankly, just a little concerned

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about being overwhelmed with care and concern.

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So we didn't want to really make this a public thing

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because we just knew it was going to be a lot.

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But as time has gone on here over the last couple of weeks,

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we're like, no, we need to bring bring the church into this

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because this is an adventure.

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I'm going to, if you want to follow along with me,

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if you don't know, those of you who are in the app,

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I journal in the app fairly frequently.

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And a part of my processing with God and that app

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probably is going to be around our cancer journey,

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or Lib's cancer journey.

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So we're really, really covered. Please pray for us.

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And if you see me or you see Lib, give us a hug.

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That's great. Just one request, no puppy dog eyes.

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No puppy dog eyes.

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We got more than enough emotions

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from people who are right around us.

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And like, anybody who's been through something like this

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know, like, you only have so much energy.

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And if your energy is going to like patching up

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the people who are trying to help you,

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sometimes that can be a little difficult.

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So thank you for being part of the journey, this adventure,

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and we're honored to be a part of this church.

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I thought I'd bring up Brian Wells,

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our Chairman of the Board at Crossroads,

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who's going to pray and just share a couple things.

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Some of you know him. Please welcome up, Beam. Come on up.

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- Thanks, Brian. Well, as usual, I'd say

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I don't think there's a whole lot I could add

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to what you shared there, other than just, you know,

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we're going to we're going to go through this

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the way we've gone through everything

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the last 30 years or so.

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You know, we're not going to fake it, you know,

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like, pretend like everything's as we want it to be.

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No, but also we do it differently.

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We do it differently because we have hope.

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And we've seen the God who heals.

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We've seen the God who provides.

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And I will say that just, you know, as the board

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and your leadership team, we've been just

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on this part of the journey with you guys

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just over the last several months.

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It's been amazing to see.

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I will just tell you if you've ever wondered

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is the Brian you get up here, the Brian that's out there,

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it's the exact same. It's the exact same.

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And it's just it's an honor to be on this journey with you.

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And if you're wondering out there, you know,

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what can you do, because all of you,

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if you have any kind of heart in you,

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that's your first instinct. It really is pray.

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I don't want to be like make that sound trite.

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That is what we need.

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Everything in the history of Crossroads

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has been accomplished on knees, and that's what we need.

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We need your prayers. We need your prayers.

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So, please, it wouldn't serve them

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if you're reaching out to them or how can I help, all that,

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um, being provided for that. Really we need your prayers.

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That's what we need.

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Although you did mention about being a nurse,

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if you have any little accessories, nurse outfits,

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anything like that, send them to right here to Crossroads.

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They'll make sure they get to Brian

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and he puts them to good use.

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- Tighty whities are my favorite. Yeah.

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- I'm picturing the hat, I'm picturing, like,

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the old school, old school hat.

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But, you know, that's what you could do.

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Let's pray.

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God, we come to You, and, we come from

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a posture of gratitude because of how You provide,

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how You have provided, but not only for what You do,

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but for who You are.

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And we know that You, the Creator, who says

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out of everything that You are, You want to be called Rapha.

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You want us to call You healer. That it's your identity.

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That's who we're praying to, God.

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We pray for Your healing.

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We pray for Rapha's touch on every cell of Libby's body.

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We pray that if there's anything in there

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that's not of You, it would be removed.

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We pray for wisdom and discernment and excellence

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on her entire team that's caring for her.

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We pray for peace and rest and resources

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for Brian and the family.

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And God, we pray that we would be doing all of this

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not on our power, and not to our glory,

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but on Your power and to Your glory. In Jesus's name, Amen.

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- Amen. Amen. Amen.

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Yeah, God is healer.

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We've had a lot of prayer meetings,

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a lot of prayer over it, and we've gone to

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some of the best docs and they are great.

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They're phenomenal. They've just been great.

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And there's a song that Lib and I lean into

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and it's a song that we found really appropriate here

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as we look back on the stuff that

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she and I have been through,

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the adventures we've been through,

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and this is our latest one.

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We just noticed that the hand of God,

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no matter how much pain or difficulty we've had,

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we've seen that He has been faithful. He's faithful.

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Why don't we stand all of us right now?

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We're going to sing this together at the same time

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at all of our locations. Let's tell Him He is faithful.

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- That's right. We're going to follow their lead.

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We're going to sing to our faithful God

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as one church all together right now.

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- Come on, Church. All together now.

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- There's no pain that can take my song.

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No darkness that can take my song.

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No threaten that will take my song.

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No enemy will take my song.

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Can we say all my life in the midst of it?

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- Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Let's pray.

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God, we just know that we don't fight

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the way that people who don't know you fight.

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God, we have faith. We have faith.

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We have hope. We have Your presence.

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We have the history of your goodness running after us.

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And so, God, we just recognize that, Brian and Libby,

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we love them and we lift them up,

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but we know, God, that You fight for them.

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We know God that You fight for them.

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We know You to be a healer for them.

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We know You to be a rescuer for them.

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We know You to be a comfort for them.

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We know You to be a king for them.

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We know You. We know You. We know You.

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We've seen You. We've experienced You.

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And so collectively as a community, we come to You

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and we say, God, we want to see Your goodness again.

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We want to see Your goodness poured out again.

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God, I pray that You would help all of us

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to be grounded in this reality

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that we are in a spiritual fight.

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But God, thank You that we do not fight alone.

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And we pray this in Jesus's name. Amen.

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Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [applause]

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Man, you can have a seat at all of our campuses.

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I don't often title messages.

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I titled this message before I knew

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that this would be the day that Brian

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would be sharing what he shared,

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and I titled this message, The Fight of Your Life.

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The Fight of Your Life. La Lucha de Tu Vida.

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The Fight of Your Life,

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because we are all in a spiritual fight.

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And that's what we've been talking about in this series.

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The series is really around understanding

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that we have an enemy,

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and that enemy comes against us with schemes.

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Schemes that are meant to discourage us.

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Schemes that are meant to distance us from God.

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Schemes that are meant to take us out of

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the life that Jesus died so we could live.

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And in this series, we've been understanding

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how to come against the schemes of the devil.

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So if you haven't been here, we talked about

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things like how do we fight against the scheme of fear,

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or how do we come against the scheme of pride

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and how pride seeks to delude us spiritually?

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How do we counterpunch apathy?

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Brian talked about on Father's Day that fatherhood

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is a fight and we need father figures.

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And today we're talking about The Fight of Your Life.

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And I'm wearing this shirt for a reason because

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I want to share with you the first and only fight

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that I've ever had in my life.

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The city was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

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and the year was 1989.

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And in 1989, on a basketball court, I had my first fight.

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I was playing with friends from my neighborhood,

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and including one that was a friend of mine.

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His name was Danny. And what can I say?

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I was nice with the basketball. I was a good player.

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And Danny was increasingly getting frustrated

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because I kept taking him to school.

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He should have been used to it, you know,

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just knowing that how good I was.

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But he didn't. He didn't buy that.

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So, I kept taking him to school.

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And then I'm coming in for a layup, just a normal layup.

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And rather than guard me and go for the ball,

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Danny literally takes me mid-air

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and slams me on the concrete, slams me on the concrete.

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And then was kind of, like, coming over me.

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I don't know what was going to happen next,

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but let me tell you what happened next.

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I got up swinging. I got up swinging.

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And if you ever been in a real fight,

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like not a play fight.

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You know, when I thought I would be in a play fight,

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you know, you thought you have a chance to, like,

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get your footwork right, you know, and, like,

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I'm gonna throw a couple jabs

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and I'm gonna do a couple of these.

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No, no. When you're in a real fight,

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you're not thinking about form, you're just fighting.

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It was a skirmish.

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And I wouldn't be telling this story

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if this wasn't the outcome.

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Guys, I won the fight. I won the fight.

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It was a pretty quick fight, but I won the fight.

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But here's the thing, the fight was over,

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but my story with Danny wasn't over.

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And he and I would have more run ins.

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And what I want you to see today is

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this is true in our spiritual life,

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whether you see it or not,

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whether you want to believe it or not,

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you and I are in a spiritual fight.

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And if we're going to win the fight,

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we've got to do three things.

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We've got to armor up,

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we've got to power up,

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and then we've got to team up.

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And that's what we're going to talk about today.

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Let's talk about armor up.

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Pont de armor, Pont de la armor.

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How do we armor up?

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Paul writes these words in a letter to the early church,

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captured as the book of Ephesians.

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And this is what he says in Ephesians chapter six.

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We're going to read this together, he says:

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Finally, be strong in the Lord

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and in the strength of His might.

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Put on the whole armor of God,

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that you may be able to stand

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against the schemes of the devil.

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For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,

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but against the rulers, against the authorities,

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against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,

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against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

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Therefore take up the whole armor of God,

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that you may be able to withstand,

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everybody say, withstand, in the evil day,

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and having done all, to stand firm.

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Everybody say, stand firm. - Stand firm.

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- Paul says, we got to know our enemy.

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We got to know our enemy.

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And let me be very clear. He's clear.

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Flesh and blood is not the enemy.

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I'm talking about a fight today, but I'm not talking

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about a fight against people.

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I'm not talking about a fight against people

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who think differently than we do.

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I'm not talking about fight against people

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who look differently than we do.

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I'm not talking about a fight against people

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who believe that differently than we do.

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Because that is never the enemy.

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Every person in flesh and blood is a person Jesus said

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was worth dying for and worthy of our love.

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So what I'm talking about is what Paul talks about,

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that we have spiritual enemies.

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This isn't human forces that we're coming against.

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And so we can't use human equipment

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and think we're going to win the fight.

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And that's why Paul says twice take up the whole armor of God.

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What is the armor of God?

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We're going to dig into that right now.

00:36:26

Paul was writing this from a prison in Rome.

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And Paul would have had daily interactions

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with Roman soldiers, at the time and in history,

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one of the most formidable forces, military forces

00:36:39

the world had ever seen.

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And I think Paul was in prison, he had time on his hands.

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He's writing this letter, and God kind of gave him

00:36:47

a spiritual insight to say, look again at this soldier.

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And what I want you to do is encourage people

00:36:53

who are connected to my son Jesus to know

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that they have armor, too.

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And so Paul goes on to talk about this armor.

00:37:01

So, you know, we're not in Rome.

00:37:03

We're not in Rome, but it's a sticky metaphor.

00:37:06

And so we got this big old screen,

00:37:07

we got this technology.

00:37:08

So I, you know, anybody heard of the game Fortnite? Yeah?

00:37:14

Anybody play the game Fortnite in here? Yes.

00:37:18

Anybody like me have to tell their kids

00:37:19

it's time to stop playing Fortnite, and anybody like that?

00:37:22

Yeah. So when I was thinking about this message,

00:37:24

I was like, what would it look like

00:37:26

if we leverage this technology

00:37:28

and took a page out of Fortnite?

00:37:32

So I want to introduce you to Metahuman Chuck.

00:37:37

Metahuman Chuck, he laughs at all my jokes.

00:37:39

Look at him. He's ready to laugh at my jokes.

00:37:41

Metahuman Chuck is there.

00:37:42

Now when I first told my kids about this,

00:37:44

they rolled their eyes.

00:37:45

They were like, "Dad, really? Really?"

00:37:47

And I was like, you know what?

00:37:48

I'm going to do it for that reason alone.

00:37:50

If I can embarrass my kids as a dad, I'll do it every time.

00:37:52

So, so Metahuman Chuck is, as my kids would say,

00:37:57

consistent with my fashion, which they call NPC fashion.

00:38:02

Now, some of you don't know what that means.

00:38:04

NPC is non-player characters in a game.

00:38:08

They're just the background characters

00:38:09

that don't really matter to the game.

00:38:11

They tend to walk around like this.

00:38:13

My kids say my fashion is NPC fashion,

00:38:16

so I guess this is consistent.

00:38:18

Blue jeans, maybe not a white t-shirt,

00:38:21

but certainly the the the sneakers.

00:38:22

Like, that's kind of my deal.

00:38:24

I don't, I don't actually have a wide fashion range.

00:38:28

But you can tell that a millennial made this model

00:38:31

because they got me in skinny jeans.

00:38:35

And I don't wear skinny jeans

00:38:38

because I'm not a skinny man,

00:38:40

so I don't wear skinny jeans.

00:38:42

I don't do that. I don't do that.

00:38:43

Now, here's the thing. Here's the thing.

00:38:45

This is NPC Chuck, but we said, "All right,

00:38:47

let's take this step further. What would it look like?"

00:38:49

And I know this is a stretch.

00:38:50

The skinny jeans is a real stretch.

00:38:52

But what if this is a stretch?

00:38:53

What if I was a Roman soldier?

00:38:57

What if I was a Roman soldier?

00:39:01

And what I want to do is use this image to help

00:39:04

you understand the armor that God has given you.

00:39:07

Because Paul walks through several pieces of armor.

00:39:11

Here's the first one, he says, put on the belt of truth.

00:39:15

Put on the belt of truth.

00:39:17

Now for the soldier, the belt was perhaps

00:39:19

the most important piece of their uniform

00:39:22

because the belt held everything together.

00:39:25

You would hang your sword from your belt.

00:39:28

You had a breastplate, and that breastplate

00:39:30

would hook on to your belt.

00:39:32

The belt was literally how you,

00:39:33

we've heard the term, gird your loins.

00:39:35

That was how you would gird your loins is with the belt.

00:39:38

Essential. And what Paul is saying is,

00:39:40

in the same way, God's truth is what holds us together

00:39:45

and makes life work.

00:39:46

We need God's truth to hold us together.

00:39:49

I'll put to you this way:

00:39:51

the truth that ties you together

00:39:52

will determine how well you fight.

00:39:54

If your politics is the primary truth

00:39:57

that ties you together,

00:39:58

you're not going to be fit for the fight.

00:40:00

If your morality is the primary truth

00:40:03

that ties you together,

00:40:04

you're not going to be fit for the fight.

00:40:06

But if the foundational truth of God,

00:40:08

the timeless truth that goes beyond our context,

00:40:11

goes beyond our culture, goes beyond our time,

00:40:13

if that timeless truth is holding you together,

00:40:16

it will be like what Priscilla Shearer says.

00:40:18

She's a pastor. She said truth is your core support

00:40:21

and it keeps you from spiritual collapse.

00:40:24

So we need to gird ourselves with the belt of truth,

00:40:26

Paul says.

00:40:27

He goes on to say, "We've been given

00:40:30

a breastplate of righteousness.

00:40:33

Now for the soldier, this iron breastplate

00:40:36

protects the vital organs, right?

00:40:38

You know, most of the combat was with something sharp.

00:40:41

And so if you want to protect your heart,

00:40:43

you protect your lungs from a stab.

00:40:45

If you have a breastplate on, you're protected.

00:40:47

Now, in the spiritual sense, for us,

00:40:49

this is about guarding our hearts

00:40:51

from the condemnation and the shame

00:40:53

and the enemy's accusations.

00:40:56

It's protecting our heart.

00:40:58

You know, we use that term for the enemy,

00:41:00

the name, the proper name, Satan. Right?

00:41:03

And in the Hebrew, that word Satan,

00:41:06

Ha-Satan means the accuser.

00:41:09

That's what Satan does, He accuses you and I all day long.

00:41:13

He tells us all day long, "You're not worthy of God.

00:41:16

If people knew what you really did,

00:41:18

they would never want to be in relationship with you."

00:41:20

He accuses us all day long, that's what he is.

00:41:23

I want you to think about it

00:41:24

like if you were in a courtroom.

00:41:26

And if you and I showed up to a courtroom

00:41:28

and we had on the county orange

00:41:30

or the county blues and we're in shackles.

00:41:32

We've seen images of that.

00:41:34

The enemy is the prosecuting attorney,

00:41:36

and he is just lobbing claims at you.

00:41:39

And here's the thing, they're not all wrong.

00:41:41

They're not all wrong.

00:41:42

Because I don't know about you,

00:41:43

but I have not lived a perfect life.

00:41:45

I'm still not living a perfect life.

00:41:47

And so we have these accusations that are coming,

00:41:50

and he wants to wither us under the weight of our sin.

00:41:53

But I want you to imagine

00:41:54

that Jesus shows up in that courtroom.

00:41:56

And here's the amazing thing.

00:41:57

Jesus doesn't just defend you.

00:42:00

He actually pays your debt. He pays your debt.

00:42:04

And so the breastplate of righteousness is a reminder

00:42:07

that you know what? I'm not a sinner.

00:42:09

That's not my primary identity. I am a son.

00:42:13

I am not abandoned. I am covered.

00:42:17

And that breastplate of righteousness

00:42:18

allows my heart to stay in that place.

00:42:21

Paul says we got to put on our breastplate of righteousness.

00:42:25

Then he talks about shoes.

00:42:26

Now the shoes may be hard to see here.

00:42:28

This is barefoot Roman soldier Chuck.

00:42:30

We're going to put some shoes on him.

00:42:31

And those shoes are going to come.

00:42:33

We have an image of what Roman soldiers Soldier shoes

00:42:36

would have looked like.

00:42:37

And Paul calls it the shoes that come from

00:42:41

the readiness of the gospel of peace.

00:42:45

That what we wear and take ground and hold ground in

00:42:49

is the gospel of peace.

00:42:50

C.S. Lewis said this. He said,

00:42:52

"There's no neutral ground in the universe.

00:42:55

Every square inch, every split second

00:42:58

is claimed by God and counter claimed by Satan."

00:43:02

And so what Roman soldiers would have

00:43:04

is they would literally have cleats in their sandals

00:43:07

so that they could literally hold ground.

00:43:08

And then when they were advancing,

00:43:10

they could take ground and not lose ground.

00:43:12

And in the same way, the good news of what

00:43:14

Jesus has done for us allows us to hold ground

00:43:18

and to take ground and to hold ground

00:43:20

and take ground for what? For peace.

00:43:23

See, Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers,

00:43:26

for they will be called the children of God."

00:43:29

You and I are meant to walk in the room and bring peace.

00:43:33

We're meant to walk into rooms and bring peace.

00:43:36

We're meant to walk into rooms and hold peace.

00:43:38

And here's the thing, maybe Paul said

00:43:41

these are the shoes that we need to wear,

00:43:43

because peace takes work and it requires forward movement.

00:43:49

But we've been given shoes of

00:43:50

the readiness of the gospel of peace.

00:43:53

Then Paul says we've also been given a shield of faith.

00:43:58

A shield of faith.

00:43:59

Now for the soldier, this protects them from the darts,

00:44:02

you know, arrows, things that are coming their way.

00:44:04

They could use their shield as a way

00:44:06

of being protected from those things.

00:44:09

And I don't know if you know this or not,

00:44:11

the enemy of your soul is not stupid.

00:44:16

And he's been studying. He's been studying.

00:44:20

So he knows the fiery arrow that's going to

00:44:22

most penetrate you and bring you down.

00:44:25

He knows you. He knows you.

00:44:27

But what I want you to know is you've been given a shield.

00:44:31

You've been given a shield.

00:44:32

And when he comes at you with that fear,

00:44:34

you can absorb it by faith.

00:44:36

When he comes at you with lies,

00:44:37

you can absorb those lies by faith.

00:44:40

You've been given the shield of faith.

00:44:43

We need a shield.

00:44:45

We need a shield to protect us.

00:44:47

And we also need a shield because

00:44:48

we're called not to retreat, but to advance.

00:44:50

You only need a shield for protection

00:44:52

if you're going to be in a fight.

00:44:53

You don't need a shield if you're going to run.

00:44:55

You don't need a shield if you're going to hide.

00:44:57

You need a shield if you're going to be in the fight.

00:44:59

I'm here to tell you that

00:45:00

if you're in a relationship with Jesus,

00:45:02

you're called to be a part of the fight,

00:45:04

and you've been armored up to be a part of the fight.

00:45:07

Paul then talks about the helmet of salvation.

00:45:11

Man, I just know this is so true.

00:45:12

The enemy wants to penetrate your mind with lies.

00:45:16

He wants to penetrate my mind with lies.

00:45:20

And think about for a soldier how important it is

00:45:23

to protect their head.

00:45:25

And in the same way, for you spiritually,

00:45:28

you need head protection.

00:45:29

You need protection against the lies of the evil one.

00:45:33

And the helmet of salvation is for us

00:45:36

the way that we get protected.

00:45:37

So here's our soldier, here's our soldier.

00:45:39

We've got weapons. We've got a belt.

00:45:42

We've got a helmet. We've got a shield.

00:45:44

We've got a breastplate.

00:45:45

But here's the thing, those are all defensive weapons.

00:45:48

What about that action?

00:45:51

What about when we actually need to

00:45:53

kind of be on the offensive?

00:45:54

I love what Paul says. He says you and I

00:45:56

have been given the sword of the Spirit.

00:45:59

We've been given the sword of the Spirit.

00:46:02

And what I love about this is he says

00:46:04

it is the Word of God, the weapon that we wield,

00:46:08

the weapon of faith that we wield,

00:46:10

the weapon of truth that we wield offensively

00:46:13

is the Word of God.

00:46:14

I love this because even Jesus, when He was fighting,

00:46:17

when he was fighting as a man when He was on the earth

00:46:21

and he was being tempted by Satan,

00:46:22

Jesus didn't try to fight him with arguments.

00:46:25

He just quoted scripture back to His enemy.

00:46:28

Every time that Satan would come with a lie,

00:46:30

Jesus says, "It is written,"

00:46:32

and He literally quoted Scripture.

00:46:35

This is why it's so important that you have

00:46:37

a regular way that you're taking in the Word of God,

00:46:41

because you can only wield the sword of the Spirit

00:46:44

if you're spending time in the Word of God.

00:46:47

It's why Brian talked about it earlier and I do the same,

00:46:50

we're in the Crossroads App.

00:46:51

We're all in there reading and learning together,

00:46:54

conversating together, praying for each other.

00:46:56

It's a way that we wield our sword.

00:46:58

In fact, I love what Brian said. Brian said this.

00:47:00

He said, "The sword of the Spirit,

00:47:02

you can think about it this way,

00:47:03

that the sword of the Spirit is our prayer life

00:47:07

fueled by the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit."

00:47:12

That when we're doing that, when we're praying

00:47:15

the truth of God back to Him,

00:47:17

when we're praying the truth of God

00:47:18

over us and over our community,

00:47:20

when we're praying the truth of God against our enemy,

00:47:22

it is us wielding our sword of the Spirit.

00:47:25

It is the way that we go on the offensive.

00:47:30

So I want to encourage you that you are armored up.

00:47:34

Thank God you have not been left defenseless

00:47:36

and we are not thrown into the battle ill equipped.

00:47:41

But you and I don't live in Rome.

00:47:44

And so we were talking about it, and I was like,

00:47:46

well, what would it look like to take this concept

00:47:50

that in Paul's day and age that made all the sense in the world.

00:47:53

But what if we what if we modernized it a bit?

00:47:55

Because I want you to know you have armor.

00:47:57

So here is the 2025 version of the Armor of God.

00:48:03

This is the 2025 version.

00:48:05

Now, for those of you who are really familiar with Fortnite

00:48:09

now this is really looking like a Fortnite skin.

00:48:11

It really is. In fact, I have an announcement to make.

00:48:14

This skin will be available on Fortnite in the next week.

00:48:18

My kids have a early version of it, but it'll be available.

00:48:21

I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.

00:48:22

It's not going to be there.

00:48:23

Please don't go on your phone right now.

00:48:26

Don't go there.

00:48:27

We do not have a relationship with Fortnite

00:48:29

that we've got a skin. We do not. We do not.

00:48:31

But let's be clear, if it was going to be a Fortnite skin,

00:48:35

it would have to have an emote. So here we go.

00:48:38

[music: Fight the Power by Public Enemy]

00:48:40

- Yes. I'm totally dating myself.

00:48:44

Do you remember the WAP?

00:48:47

I was trying to get you to do the WAP

00:48:49

We couldn't do that, so we had to settle for the Cabbage Patch.

00:48:51

But hey, it's all it is. That's all it is.

00:48:54

Just for fun. It's just fun. It's just fun.

00:48:56

But I love that song.

00:48:58

That song actually came out in 1989.

00:49:01

Somebody made that connection.

00:49:03

And it talks about fighting the power.

00:49:05

Listen, there is a power coming against you

00:49:08

and you have to stand firm.

00:49:09

You have to fight the power.

00:49:11

And thank God you've been armored up.

00:49:13

You've been equipped. You have an ability to fight.

00:49:16

But let's be clear, even this armor,

00:49:20

if wielded in your power, is not sufficient

00:49:23

for the enemy we face.

00:49:25

And so, friends, not only do we need to armor up,

00:49:28

but we need to power up.

00:49:31

[speaking Spanish] We need to power up.

00:49:35

I went to a small church growing up,

00:49:38

and my earliest Sunday school teacher

00:49:39

was a woman named Sister Renee McCoy.

00:49:41

At my church everybody had brother and sister

00:49:43

in front of their name.

00:49:44

So you would call him brother this, sister that.

00:49:46

Sister Renee McCoy, she was my Sunday school teacher.

00:49:49

She wasn't the most educated.

00:49:50

I don't know how much schooling she had formerly,

00:49:53

but I will tell you what, this woman was wise.

00:49:55

And she told me everything I need to know

00:49:57

about your spiritual enemy and mine.

00:49:59

She used to say this all the time.

00:50:00

She said, "Chuck, the devil is a dirty fighter."

00:50:04

The devil is a dirty fighter.

00:50:08

And it turns out Danny was a dirty fighter too.

00:50:13

I told you, I'm coming back to that story.

00:50:15

So sometime after that skirmish, me, Danny,

00:50:19

and two of our other friends went to the Cheltenham Mall.

00:50:22

If you're from Philadelphia, that was like a mall of note,

00:50:24

like you had movie theater there, you know?

00:50:26

You're like a young teenager, you could go there.

00:50:28

I could catch the bus there,

00:50:29

so I didn't need my parents to take me.

00:50:31

But let's just say Cheltenham Mall

00:50:34

was a pretty violent place at times.

00:50:36

Lots of fights. Lots of --

00:50:38

We used to call it getting rolled on.

00:50:40

That was like getting jumped.

00:50:41

Lots of lots of getting rolled on what happen

00:50:43

at the Cheltenham Mall.

00:50:44

We're there for a movie, the four of us.

00:50:45

We watched the movie. All is good.

00:50:48

We come out of the movie, we're in the mall,

00:50:49

you know, we're gonna try to meet some girls,

00:50:51

we're gonna get some food, whatever it was.

00:50:53

And all of a sudden the four of us

00:50:55

get surrounded by like, 20 guys, 20 guys.

00:51:00

And these 20 guys are about to do us major harm.

00:51:05

Major harm. And here's the thing,

00:51:07

the premise they had, because they came directly to me

00:51:09

of all the four, they came directly to me and said,

00:51:12

"We are going to f you up," is what they said,

00:51:15

"Because we know you stole a bike."

00:51:18

Now, guys, I gotta tell you, I have done some things

00:51:21

in my life I'm not proud of.

00:51:22

I have never stolen a bike.

00:51:24

And I certainly didn't steal this bike

00:51:26

that they were talking about.

00:51:27

Now, in my adult mind, I should have known this was a setup.

00:51:34

I should have known that they didn't just randomly

00:51:36

pick me and the three of us, the four of us

00:51:39

to do this with.

00:51:41

And so they are literally ready to do us harm.

00:51:44

And they were in a gang.

00:51:47

There was a gang in Philadelphia at the time,

00:51:50

and these guys were in that gang.

00:51:52

So this is -- these are guys who have rap sheets.

00:51:54

These are guys who have already done violence.

00:51:56

Killing was not out of the question for these guys.

00:51:58

Like, this was this was a major situation.

00:52:00

And I would love to tell you that in the mall,

00:52:02

surrounded by 20 guys with the four of us,

00:52:05

we got back to back and I got my stance

00:52:07

and we started the box.

00:52:08

No, you know what? I ran.

00:52:10

I ran as fast as I could.

00:52:12

I'm running through the Cheltenham Mall.

00:52:15

I don't know where I was going to run to.

00:52:17

I don't know how I thought this was going to end.

00:52:19

I am just running and I'm literally like

00:52:20

tears are clouding my eyes because I'm so afraid.

00:52:23

And I literally run right into the chest

00:52:26

of a guy that I knew, a guy that I knew.

00:52:29

His name was Shay.

00:52:31

And Shay was a friend of my older cousin, Williams,

00:52:34

and they ran track together and Shay was a sprinter.

00:52:38

And so if you've ever seen the physicality of a sprinter,

00:52:41

think about that. This dude was buff.

00:52:44

Not only was Shay buff, but Shay was in the same gang.

00:52:50

And Shay was a gang leader.

00:52:55

And so Shay looked at me and he said, 'What's going on?"

00:52:59

And I'm like, [indiscernible].

00:53:01

I can't even talk, "These guys, these guys."

00:53:03

And Shay looked at the guys and he said,

00:53:06

"I know all of y'all. I know all of y'all."

00:53:10

And he said, "Little man, you're going to let little man go.

00:53:14

You're going to let little man walk out this mall."

00:53:17

And I'm telling you, I am here today to tell the story

00:53:19

because in 1989, in Philly, reputation mattered.

00:53:23

And Shay held sway.

00:53:25

And Shay is the only reason

00:53:26

why I got out of that situation unscathed.

00:53:29

It's not because of my reputation,

00:53:31

but it's because of Shay. And here's the thing.

00:53:33

I knew something about that firsthand

00:53:35

because I have two older brothers

00:53:38

and one of my older brothers, his name is Robert Smith,

00:53:42

but everybody called him Smitty.

00:53:44

And when I tell y'all Smitty didn't play, I am serious.

00:53:48

My brother is not to be played with.

00:53:51

In fact, my brother, I've actually seen not once,

00:53:54

but twice, I've seen my brother in a fight

00:53:56

where there were only two moves to the fight.

00:53:58

My brother hit the guy and the guy hit the ground.

00:54:00

That was it. That was it.

00:54:02

And my brother did some things.

00:54:03

We're not going to talk about all that

00:54:05

that he probably shouldn't have been involved in.

00:54:07

But because he was my brother, in my neighborhood

00:54:10

I was known as Lil Smitty.

00:54:12

You know, my last name is Mingo. I was little Smitty.

00:54:14

And I'm telling you what, maybe there's a reason

00:54:17

that Danny was the only fight I had in my neighborhood.

00:54:21

Maybe there's a reason that I could

00:54:22

go through my neighborhood and not face

00:54:24

some of the things that were happening.

00:54:26

And I know why, it's because of who my brother was.

00:54:29

It's because my older brother had

00:54:31

the kind of reputation that made people back away from me,

00:54:34

because they didn't want to deal with my brother.

00:54:36

And I have a question for you.

00:54:38

Do you know spiritually who your older brother is?

00:54:42

Do you know that Jesus is your older brother?

00:54:45

This is what it says in Romans 8:29 it says:

00:54:48

Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers.

00:54:51

He's your older brother.

00:54:52

In Hebrews 2:11 it says He's not ashamed to call us

00:54:56

His brothers and sisters.

00:54:57

So I want you to know in this fight, yes, be armored up,

00:55:00

but we also have the power

00:55:02

and the name of Jesus in this spiritual fight.

00:55:06

Friends, your big brother has

00:55:08

all the authority of heaven behind Him.

00:55:11

You don't just have backup. You don't just have backup.

00:55:14

You've got all the authority of heaven.

00:55:17

You know what? If the devil is a dirty fighter,

00:55:19

here's what you need to know about Jesus.

00:55:21

Jesus is a hell of a fighter.

00:55:24

He's a hell of a fighter,

00:55:25

literally fighting hell on our behalf.

00:55:28

And I'm telling you what, I love that Jesus is gentle.

00:55:31

I love that Jesus is humble.

00:55:33

And I love that that's the way He relates to us.

00:55:36

I love His kindness, His ability to forgive.

00:55:39

But make no mistake about it,

00:55:41

when it comes to your spiritual enemies,

00:55:43

Jesus ain't playing games.

00:55:46

And you and I walk in His authority.

00:55:51

I'm gonna read this verse that was written

00:55:54

hundreds of years, certainly before Paul

00:55:57

wrote about the armor of God.

00:55:58

He was probably inspired by this verse as well.

00:56:00

But this is talking about the Messiah.

00:56:02

This is a prophecy about Jesus. Listen to what it says.

00:56:04

Maybe these words sound familiar.

00:56:06

He put on righteousness as a breastplate,

00:56:09

and a helmet of salvation on his head;

00:56:12

He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,

00:56:14

and wrapped Himself in zeal as a cloak.

00:56:17

Maybe that's why in the verses that we read

00:56:20

Paul says in Ephesians 6:10:

00:56:21

Finally, be strong in the Lord

00:56:25

and in the strength of your might?

00:56:28

No, in the strength of His might, because Jesus is fierce.

00:56:33

He has a fierce authority to heal.

00:56:36

He has a fierce power to rescue.

00:56:38

He is fiercely loving to those who feel unloved.

00:56:42

He is fiercely able to redeem

00:56:44

anybody who feels like they're beyond redemption.

00:56:47

He is fiercely able to defend every person

00:56:50

that is in relationship with Him.

00:56:52

He is fiercely able to stand

00:56:54

so that you and I can stand firm in Him.

00:56:58

Jesus is fierce and He ain't playing.

00:57:00

And when you're in Christ, His power is in you.

00:57:06

We have the right armor and, friends, we have the power

00:57:10

and the name of Jesus.

00:57:13

And even though that's true,

00:57:16

we are not meant to fight alone.

00:57:19

So not only do we have to armor up.

00:57:21

And not only do we need to power up but,

00:57:22

friends, we need to team up.

00:57:24

We need a team up [speaking Spanish]

00:57:25

We need to team up.

00:57:27

Our armor is better when we fight together.

00:57:31

Let me say that again, our armor is more powerful

00:57:33

when we fight together. This isn't a solo sport.

00:57:36

It's 4th of July weekend. We call it Independence Day.

00:57:39

And we celebrate Independence Day, and we should.

00:57:42

We should celebrate Independence Day.

00:57:43

The story of our country throwing off oppression

00:57:46

and fighting for freedom is worthy of celebration.

00:57:49

And that is a worthy goal for a nation.

00:57:53

And it is a terrible goal for your spiritual life.

00:57:57

Because you and I were not created for independence,

00:58:00

but what we're called to in relationship with Jesus

00:58:02

and in relationship with each other is interdependence.

00:58:06

Our call, our rally cry shouldn't be I got this.

00:58:10

Our rally cry should be we got us. We got us.

00:58:14

We're a community. We're together. We're interdependent.

00:58:18

I need you and you need me.

00:58:21

And so we have to build habits

00:58:23

of interdependence in the church.

00:58:25

We have to build these habits.

00:58:27

James Clear wrote a book, Atomic Habits,

00:58:29

and he said this in the book. He said:

00:58:30

You don't rise to the level of your goals.

00:58:32

You fall to the level of your systems.

00:58:35

Now let me remix that like a Philly rap tape.

00:58:38

You don't rise to the level of your spiritual knowledge.

00:58:42

You don't rise to the level of your spiritual information.

00:58:45

You fall to the level of your spiritual friendships.

00:58:48

If you're not putting yourself in relationships

00:58:50

where you're seen and known and loved

00:58:52

and can be challenged and encouraged,

00:58:54

you're going to be an isolated soldier.

00:58:56

And let me tell you, the devil loves an isolated soldier.

00:59:00

He loves that. You want to be alone?

00:59:02

You want to be a lone ranger?

00:59:03

You go ahead and do that.

00:59:04

He will pick you up and he will pick you off

00:59:07

when you are alone.

00:59:09

But together, man, together we can fight.

00:59:12

Together we can make a difference.

00:59:14

That's why we want you to have habits,

00:59:16

like coming to a weekly experience like this.

00:59:19

Why? Because in community, you hear things

00:59:22

that you wouldn't hear otherwise.

00:59:23

You're invited into relationships

00:59:25

you wouldn't be invited into otherwise.

00:59:27

You get to worship.

00:59:28

You get to have a bigger perspective on life.

00:59:30

We want that for you because God wants that for you.

00:59:32

It's a way that we practice interdependence.

00:59:34

It's why we want you using your gifts,

00:59:36

your unique gifts in serving roles around here.

00:59:39

Not so things can get done in the church,

00:59:41

but so that God's gift in you can come to the surface

00:59:44

and you can make a difference in the world.

00:59:46

That's why we want you in groups.

00:59:48

And we encourage people to be in groups around here,

00:59:50

because you know what? At some point,

00:59:52

you're going to be limited

00:59:53

if the only relationship you have is

00:59:55

in a dark room with thousands of other people.

00:59:58

But man, you can really transform and change

01:00:00

and experience God in a powerful way

01:00:02

when you're around a table or around a campfire

01:00:05

with a smaller group of people.

01:00:06

It's why we do camps.

01:00:08

And in fact, I got a taste of the beauty of camps this week.

01:00:11

I got to hang out for about 24 hours

01:00:14

with 1200 of our high school students at high school camp.

01:00:18

[cheers] Y'all here? Some of y'all are here.

01:00:20

And man, I tell you, it was so amazing

01:00:23

to watch these kids run to be connected

01:00:28

to each other and to God.

01:00:29

It was so incredibly energizing.

01:00:32

And one of the cool things we did for the first time

01:00:35

is we actually had 24 students --

01:00:38

12 students from 24 states of Crossroads Anywhere.

01:00:41

So we have people from Wisconsin,

01:00:43

we had people from Florida.

01:00:44

These young kids who came and were a part of our experience.

01:00:48

It was so awesome to see all of that happening.

01:00:50

And here's the greatest maybe celebration,

01:00:52

127 high schoolers got baptized this year.

01:00:57

[cheers and applause] 127, 127 saying I'm in the fight.

01:01:02

127 saying I'm connected to my big brother Jesus.

01:01:05

127 saying I'm also going to be connected

01:01:09

in community with each other.

01:01:10

This is what it looks like.

01:01:12

And there was a moment that we had together

01:01:14

when I was sharing and I was preaching to them

01:01:16

as a moment that we had together that was so powerful for me.

01:01:19

I asked all the students that were there,

01:01:21

I asked them to lock arms.

01:01:22

And can you imagine the power

01:01:25

of seeing 1200 students locking arms?

01:01:29

Man, and I talked about what was possible in that moment.

01:01:33

See, the thing that we need to understand

01:01:35

about Ephesians 6 that we've been reading today

01:01:38

is this isn't written to an individual.

01:01:39

This is a letter that was written to a community.

01:01:42

This is a plural message in its application,

01:01:45

not an individual message in its application.

01:01:49

Yes, we are armored up and I thank God for that.

01:01:51

And yes, we have the power of God on our side

01:01:54

and we have to assume the formation.

01:01:59

One of the things that made the Roman army

01:02:01

one of the most fearsome forces in their time

01:02:05

had to do with these unique formations

01:02:08

that they used in battle.

01:02:09

One of which is called the Tessuto.

01:02:12

We've got a picture of that.

01:02:14

And Tessuto is Latin for turtle.

01:02:15

They would literally lock their shields in the front,

01:02:19

and then they would also lock their shields,

01:02:21

other shields above them, and they would move as one unit.

01:02:25

And this one unit literally was like a human tank.

01:02:29

They could overtake enemies

01:02:30

because they were so connected together.

01:02:33

And I'm telling you, you've got two choices today.

01:02:36

You can choose to hear this and continue to try

01:02:39

to live independent and without your armor.

01:02:42

Or you can armor up, you can power up, and we can team up.

01:02:46

We can say we got us, and what is possible when we do that?

01:02:51

I think change is possible when we do that.

01:02:53

So I want to encourage us to stand firm.

01:02:56

In fact, I want to ask you to do

01:02:57

what I ask those students to do.

01:02:59

And I know some of us are watching at home,

01:03:01

and it's all good

01:03:02

if you don't have people around you right now.

01:03:04

You can virtually do this by just putting

01:03:05

your hand on your computer, putting your hand on your phone

01:03:08

however you want to connect to this moment.

01:03:10

But I'm going to ask all of us who are able

01:03:12

in this room or in other rooms to stand.

01:03:13

And I'm going to ask you to do something

01:03:15

we don't often do around here.

01:03:17

And that is I'm going to ask you to lock arms

01:03:19

with the people next to you on either side of you,

01:03:21

close the gap in the aisles.

01:03:24

Close the gap in the aisles.

01:03:25

Let's come toward the middle and really be.

01:03:27

And this is true at every level.

01:03:28

Wherever you are, whatever site you're at,

01:03:30

I want you to do this across every level.

01:03:33

I love even just hearing the chatter as you do this, right?

01:03:37

This is a unique thing because, friends, here's the truth.

01:03:43

We are in a fight.

01:03:46

And the question I have is will we fight together?

01:03:52

I don't think you heard me.

01:03:53

Will we fight together? - Yes!

01:03:56

- Will we stand together? - Yes!

01:03:59

- Will we work together? - Yes!

01:04:01

- Will we pray together? - Yes!

01:04:03

- Will we love together? - Yes!

01:04:06

- Will we serve together? - Yes!

01:04:08

- Will we change the world together?

01:04:10

- Yes!

01:04:12

- See, this is the opportunity we have.

01:04:13

This is the beauty of what we have.

01:04:15

If you're connected to Jesus, you have armor

01:04:18

and your armor and my armor

01:04:20

and the collective armor of this community is powerful.

01:04:25

It is so powerful.

01:04:27

And so I want to pray a prayer

01:04:29

and I want to encourage you one thing.

01:04:31

Maybe today, maybe today you're very aware

01:04:34

of a unique fight that you have in your life.

01:04:38

Simple action step that you can take

01:04:40

is not to leave this space without receiving prayer.

01:04:44

At every one of our sites is a place for you to receive prayer.

01:04:47

Someone can direct you to that site.

01:04:49

If you're online, we have a chat.

01:04:51

We'll pray for you through the chat.

01:04:53

You can get prayer for the fight that you face,

01:04:56

because we're stronger together.

01:04:57

Let's pray as our arms are locked in place.

01:05:00

God, I am praying, I am praying

01:05:02

with powerful expectation for what it looks like

01:05:06

when Crossroads locks shields.

01:05:09

God, I believe that as we lock shields,

01:05:12

there are hungry people that will get fed.

01:05:14

I believe that as we lock shields,

01:05:17

there are families that will be transformed.

01:05:19

I believe that as we lock shields,

01:05:22

there are people who feel like they're alone

01:05:24

and no one cares for them that will know the love

01:05:26

of a God and of a community that is for them.

01:05:28

I believe as we lock shields,

01:05:30

that the communities we live in don't ever have to be the same.

01:05:34

I believe as we lock shields,

01:05:36

we will see healing and we will see rescue,

01:05:39

and we will see redemption, and we will see life change,

01:05:42

and we will see freedom,

01:05:43

and we will see all kinds of things because we trust You.

01:05:47

We walk in the armor and the authority You give us,

01:05:50

and we walk connected together.

01:05:52

God, I pray for us as a church.

01:05:55

And right now, as we lock shields, God,

01:05:57

we lock shields on behalf of our leader.

01:05:59

We knocked shields for Brian and for Libby.

01:06:01

We locked shields in praying for her healing.

01:06:03

We lock shields and praying that Your comfort

01:06:05

would be with them as a family.

01:06:07

God, right now, and I want you to do this

01:06:08

as you're praying right now.

01:06:10

You don't need to know what the person's fight is next to you,

01:06:12

but I want you to pray for the person next to you.

01:06:14

I want you to pray for them.

01:06:15

Maybe you want to say that under your breath,

01:06:17

you might not feel comfortable praying out loud.

01:06:19

You don't have to ask them what it is they're struggling with.

01:06:22

But I want you to pray for the person next to you.

01:06:24

Right now, every person under the sound of my voice

01:06:26

has someone praying for them.

01:06:27

You have someone who is going to God and saying,

01:06:30

"God, would You move in this person's life?"

01:06:31

And I don't think that is insignificant.

01:06:35

I think God responds to those prayers.

01:06:37

So God, hear these prayers, hear these prayers,

01:06:39

and allow us to lock shields

01:06:42

because we don't fight for victory,

01:06:43

we fight from victory. In Jesus's name, Amen.

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