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Will your anchor drift or firm remain? We have an anchor, this is our soul Steadfast, ensure while the pillows roll Send rock which cannot move Grounded, firm and deep in the Savior's love It is safe, flee more till the storm will stand For it is well secure by the Savior's stand Through the tempest's rage and the wild winds blow Not a angry wave shall our hope blow We have an anchor that keeps our soul Steadfast, ensure while the pillows roll Fasten to the rock which cannot move Grounded, firm and deep in the Savior's love When our eyes behold through the gathering night The beam of gold our harbor bright We shall anchor fast by the heavenly shore With the storms all past forevermore We have an anchor that keeps our soul Steadfast, ensure while the pillows roll Fasten to the rock which cannot move Grounded, firm and deep in the Savior's love Turn to page 37, there'll be no dark valley Page 37, there'll be no dark valley There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes To gather his loved ones home To gather his loved ones home There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes To gather his loved ones home There'll be no more sorrow when Jesus comes There'll be no more sorrow when Jesus comes Above the blue earth morrow when Jesus comes To gather his loved ones home To gather his loved ones home To gather his loved ones home There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes To gather his loved ones home There'll be no more weeping when Jesus comes There'll be no more weeping when Jesus comes But a blessed reaping when Jesus comes To gather his loved ones home To gather his loved ones home To gather his loved ones home There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes To gather his loved ones home There'll be no meeting when Jesus comes There'll be songs of greeting when Jesus comes And a joyful meeting when Jesus comes To gather his loved ones home To gather his loved ones home To gather his loved ones home There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes To gather his loved ones home Welcome back to Mount Baptist Church on this Sunday afternoon. And let me get the soul winning numbers here for the week. What do we have during the week? Three on Wednesday, four on Monday, seven, and then one on Sunday. Four on Monday, seven, and then on Thursday. One on Thursday, so eight. One on Thursday, so nine. And then what was today's? How was today? Is there any today? One, so that's ten, eleven. Is there any others today? Where'd you guys go? So eleven, eleven. Amen. Well that's great though. I mean as far as the week, that's awesome. I mean having two today is great too. But good work with the soul winning there. So keep up the good work there. How much more of Salem? Is it getting to the point where it's? Someone's car is beeping. So good job with the soul winning, keep that up. As far as service times this week, everything should be normal. We'll have our Wednesday evening service at 7 p.m. We're going through the book of 1 Samuel. And so Lord willing we'll be going through chapter 3 this Wednesday. And so I've been really enjoying going through 1 Samuel. There's a lot of cool stories. Eventually we're going to get David and Goliath and all that stuff too. So it should be a good study. I'm planning on going straight through into 2 Samuel as well. So just kind of look at that as one big thing. As we're going to, Lord willing, go through all of that. And then soul winning throughout the week here. So just beyond the church group there as far as locations and times and all that when it comes to soul winning. Upcoming events. We have on September 16th we have a soul winning marathon in the Point Marion area. And then we'll have our church anniversary on the 17th. You can see the prayer meetings for the women and the men there on the 22nd and on the 29th respectively there. And then also we have a soul winning marathon that we're going to be doing up in Cleveland, Ohio on the 23rd. And then October 1st we're going to have our special guest preacher, Brother Matthew Stuckey. Who at that point will be Pastor Matthew Stuckey. So excited about that. So just be in prayer for him with his travels because he's coming in from Manila. And then on the back of your bulletin there we have chapter memory, Malachi chapter 4. So if you made it this far in Malachi chapter 4 is a lot shorter. And then Ephesians 6-11 is our memory verse for the week. As we're going through our series on the whole armor of God. So put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. We got the birthdays, anniversaries, pregnancy, prayer for all the ladies on the pregnancy list here. Amanda, Jennifer, Alyssa, Anastasia, Tabby. So that's pretty much what I got for announcements that I can think of here. And offering boxes in the back there if you want to give a tithe or an offering. And the mother and baby rooms for the mothers and babies only. I think that's all I got. So Brother Matt is going to sing one more song. After that, Brother David is going to be reading Ephesians chapter 6 for us. And then we'll be getting into the sermon. Please turn your songbooks to page 81. When We See Christ. Page 81, When We See Christ. But Christ will soon appear. To watch it fly away. I'll be forever and ever. In an eternal day. It will be worth it all. When we see Jesus. Trump's trials will seem so small. When we see Christ. One glimpse of his dear face. All sorrow will erase. So bravely run the race. Till we see Christ. Sometimes the sky looks dark. With not a ray of light. We're tossed and driven on. No human help in sight. But there is one in heaven. Who knows our deepest care. Let Jesus solve your problem. Just go to him in prayer. It will be worth it all. When we see Jesus. Life's trials will seem so small. When we see Christ. One glimpse of his dear face. All sorrow will erase. So bravely run the race. Till we see Christ. Life's day will soon be warm. All storms forever past. We'll cross the great divide. To glory safe at last. We'll share the joys of heaven. The Harpahoma crown. The tempter will be banished. We'll lay our burden down. It will be worth it all. When we see Jesus. Life's trials will seem so small. When we see Christ. One glimpse of his dear face. All sorrow will erase. So bravely run the race. Till we see Christ. Please turn your Bibles to Ephesians 6. Ephesians 6, if you found your place, amen. And the Bible reads, Children, obey your parents in the Lord. This is right. Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Servants, be obedient to them, that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, and singleness of your heart, as unto Christ. Not with eyes service as men pleases, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will, doing service as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the saints serve he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing, threatening, knowing that your master also is in heaven, and neither is there respect of persons with him. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, and put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the willers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins geared about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet sawed with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the seal of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the weight of God, praying always without prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open a mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. For which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, take a kiss, and, beloved brother, a faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things, whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that ye might comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ, in sincerity. Amen. I pray, dear Lord, I thank you for this opportunity to come back to your house, and that ye feel pastured with your Spirit, and let us be edified, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So you're there in Ephesians chapter 6, and we are continuing our study through the whole armor of God. And if you'll look there, let's read verse 10 there just for you through what we're getting into. Really, what this passage is about is the Christian warfare, if you will. We're soldiers for Christ, and this is the war that we're fighting. And so when you think about the service of the Lord, but then there's the battles, if you will, and this is really hitting on more so the battles that you're going to be enduring. But in verse 10 here it says, Finally, my brethren, be strong 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 of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all the stand. So it really is telling you why you want to have this armor on is because people are going to want to cause you to fall. And there's all these different things as far as spiritual wickedness in high places where you can basically be taken out of the fight and to where you're not a soldier for the Lord like you should be. And so we started off last week with being girt about the loins with truth. It says in verse 14 it says, Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth. And so we hit on that last week on the idea of really if you're going to go into battle, you want the truth to be on your side. And so you want to make sure you have the truth and that you're girt about in just a physical manner. It's time to pull your britches up and go to work. It's time to, we're going to war. You want to have everything tightened up and you're ready to go. So the next one that we're getting into, it says in having on the breastplate of righteousness. So having on the breastplate of righteousness. So when you're dealing with this, obviously each part of the armor of God is a different part of the body. So if you think about your loins girt about with truth, you kind of think about a belt that's going around the waist. But then in this case we're dealing with something around the chest. So the breastplate that's going to be in front. Now this could be referring to, if you think about medieval times if you will, where you have like chain mail or plate mail. And you're like, what is that? Basically it's armor. If you think about like a knight that's wearing armor, it's like plate mail. It's just basically plate armor that's some type of metal. Chain mail is just what it sounds like. It's a bunch of chains that are linked together. But the whole idea is that if someone tried to stab you with a sword or something like that, it's got to go piercing through that armor. So you think about the whole armor of God, the whole point is that you're putting on armor. So all the stuff that you're putting on is armor until you get to the idea of the sword, which is more of an offensive weapon. That's your weapon. That's what you're actually going to do damage with. But the armor here around the chest or around the breast there. Go to Revelation chapter 1 because this made me think of what Jesus is wearing when John sees Jesus when he's on the Isle of Patmos. So when he's going to write to the seven churches in Asia. And Revelation chapter 1 and verse 12. I only have three pages and notes so it could be a really short sermon or it could be a really long one depending on if I go rogue or you know. So in Revelation 1 and verse 12 it says, And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded about the paps with a golden girdle. Now the paps, you say, what are paps? Well, think about these verses where it says, blessed are the paps that never gave suck, right? So you think about like a woman that's obviously breastfeeding and all that. And so obviously it's your chest and all that stuff. So around his chest he had this golden girdle. So when you think about being girded about with truth, you have this girdle, if you will, what we would call a belt, right? That you're girding about your pants with a belt. But then there's also this kind of like girdle around the breast, if you will, around the chest that Jesus is wearing. But also when you think about being armed, you have basically this breastplate, if you will, that is armor. And speaking of Jesus wearing some kind of like breastplate or girdle around his chest there, go to Isaiah 59. Isaiah 59. So I see the whole armor of God, or at least portions of the whole armor of God, mentioned in Isaiah 59, but in this passage we're talking about the Lord. So the Lord is wearing these garments. And you think about it, Jesus is the captain of the Lord's host, right? He's the leader of the army. So we're putting on all this armor, but Jesus is leading the charge. He's the captain. He's the king. And so he's also wearing all this armor as well. And notice what it says here in Isaiah 59 in verse 14. And judgment is turned away backward, and just to stand at the far off, truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth, and he that departed from evil maketh himself a prey. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness it sustained him, for he put on righteousness as a breastplate. Now who's the he? The Lord. And if you think about this, obviously throughout Isaiah it kind of hits on this, and the fact that the Lord saw that there was no one to make intercession, so his own right arm brought salvation. And who made intercession? The Lord Jesus, right? The Lord Jesus came down and became one of us, and he makes intercession for us. He ever lived to make intercession for us. So, this obviously is talking about the Lord Jesus, who is saying that, for he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head, and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. So we see that, when we're talking about the breastplate of righteousness, we're basically talking about putting on righteousness, right? We're not actually putting on a physical, you know, plate male, like, breastplate. Although that would be cool, right? When you're thinking about it, it'd be cool to dress up like a knight, and, like, have all this armor on, and, you know, part of every guy in here wishes they lived in the medieval times where they could be a knight. You know, let's just face it. You know, we ride on a horse, have a sword on our side, and just, like, you know, be the knights of the round table. I don't know. Like, there's just part of us that wants that. And here's the thing. When we come back with the Lord on white horses, we're all going to have two-edged swords in our hands, and we're going to actually be in that army, and it's not going to just be figurative. But when you're dealing with spiritual battles, which the whole premise of putting on the whole armor of God is the fact that we're not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers. So when you're talking about this whole armor of God, it's obviously, spiritually speaking, right? When you're being girded about with truth, you're not putting on an actual belt. You're putting on truth, right? When you're putting on this breastplate of righteousness, what you're doing is you're putting on righteousness as a breastplate. And what does that mean? Well, what you have to think about, first of all, is where is it located, right? Right here. Right at the chest. And what's at the chest but your heart. So when you're talking about putting on righteousness in the heart, go to Exodus chapter 29. There is the priest, or the high priest, Aaron, had to put on a breastplate of judgment. And I want you to notice why it's on. It's not a coincidence that you're putting righteousness on as a breastplate, okay? Because of the location on the body and what that has to do with, right? Because a lot of times in the Bible, it'll use the heart to mean certain emotions. It'll use the bowels. It'll be like, you know, they were moved in their bowels. And it's talking about basically kind of excitement and emotion and everything else. We would use the term maybe butterfly. You know, when you think about having emotions where you're like, oh, I have butterflies in my stomach. No one for a second, well, maybe kids do think that. But no one's thinking like there's actually butterflies flying around in my stomach right now, right? But it's an expression and it's meaning like you have feelings and you feel it in certain parts of your body, right? So when it comes to this breastplate, I believe it's having to do with the heart, okay? Now, Exodus chapter 28 and verse 29 says, And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart. And when he goeth in unto the holy place for a memorial before the Lord continually, and thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment, the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be upon Aaron's heart when he goeth in before the Lord, and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually. So notice that the breastplate, the reason that it's why this is on his breast area or his chest area is because it's where his heart's at. So when we're talking about basically having this breastplate of righteousness, when you get saved, you're made righteous, okay? So the Bible says Abraham believed God and it was imputed on him for righteousness. So spiritually speaking, you're 100% righteous, okay? Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God. Physically speaking though, not the case. So just as much as you have to put on the new man on a daily basis to walk in a new man, putting on the whole armor of God is the same principle in the fact that you're putting on righteousness, you're putting on truth, you're having to gird yourself each day with this stuff so that you can fight the battles that you need to fight. And people that think, well, if you don't put this stuff on, you're not saved. No, it just means that you're not prepared for battle. A saved person could go out to battle with none of this stuff on, but it's pretty foolish to do so. You're going to get taken down. You're not going to make it very far. And that's why it says take on the whole armor of God. Now here's the thing, is it better to at least have the breastplate on and not have a sword, not have a shield? Yeah, I mean that's better than nothing. But if you're going into this battle, I want it all. I want every bit of it. Because I don't want to fail, I don't want to get destroyed by the wiles of the devil and by the spiritual wickedness in high places. I actually want to destroy the spiritual wickedness in high places. And so when it comes to this, it's in the heart. Now one story that kind of popped into my mind as far as I'm going into battle, what do I need, right? Well, I need the truth because why would I want to die for something that's not true, right? I mean think about it, if I'm going to go into battle and it's like, hey, it's to the death, obviously I want to win, but let's say there's a chance of me dying in this battle. Okay, well I want it to be for a cause that's true. I want a true cause that I'm going after. That's number one. But I also need to have the right heart. I need to have the right kind of drive or spirit, if you will, about the battle. So think about this passage, go to 2 Kings chapter 10. 2 Kings chapter 10. Because obviously, you know, when you think about the breastplate of righteousness is being righteous. You know, like keeping the commandments and all that. 100%, obviously. You know, you want to be righteous, you want to be walking the new man and not committing sin and all that. If you want the Lord on your side, then you need to be living for the Lord and trying to purge sin out of your life and everything, right? And I'm thinking about this idea of like being of a right heart, right? A righteous heart or a right heart. Notice what it says here. This is a story about Jehu. Jehu who God anoints to be king or he has, Elisha has one of his guys go to anoint him to be king. And he's about to go to battle and just destroy everything, right? He's going to destroy the house of Ahab. He's going after, he's going to kill, you know, the king of Judah, everybody, right? So everybody's getting taken out in the story. But before he does this, he's like basically getting all his troops together. And then before he starts driving furiously, you know, toward the king of Israel. In verse 15 here, notice what it says. It says, And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him. And he saluted him and said to him, Is thine heart right as my heart is with thy heart? So I want you to say that like 10 times fast. So, Is thine heart right as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand and he took him up to him into the chariot. And he said, Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord. So they made him ride in his chariot. So get this, Jehu is getting ready to go on this campaign, if you will, to just destroy the house of Ahab. And he's going to be set up as king of Israel, all of that. And he finds Jehonadab and he's basically saying, Is your heart right? Is your heart right like my heart is right? And he says, It is. And he says, Alright, come with me and see my zeal for the Lord. Now, obviously these are two real men that were in the Bible. But think about this, Jesus is the captain of the host leading the charge. And imagine if Jesus is saying, Is your heart right as my heart is with thy heart? Right? And if you say, It is, then he can bring you up into his chariot and he's like, Come see my zeal for the Lord. Having a right heart going into battle. Meaning that you are ready to go to war. And you have this righteous mindset that, Hey, I have the truth on my side and I'm going to fight this battle because it's right. And the idea is being, when you're going into battle, you have to have motivation. You have to have a reason of what you're doing. When you think about when you get saved, what's your reason for going to church? What's your reason for going out soul winning? What's your reason, right? We know that salvation is by grace through faith. It's by faith alone. And once you believe on Christ, you're saved forever. What's your reason? And when you think about the reason, Well, you know, Jesus died for me. He's worthy of my life. Not because that's what it takes for me to go to heaven, but because, I mean, he did everything for me. We love him because he first loved us. You know, what's your reason for going out soul winning? Because people are dying and going to hell. And there are people that would believe if they would just have an opportunity to hear it. And you have that heart that says, Hey, I care about those people. I don't care about those people. I want those people to get saved. It's time to go to war. It's time to go to battle. And think about your family. You're wanting to raise your family right in this wicked and perverse country that we live in. And yay, the world, obviously. That you want your children to be raised in a world that's not this wicked cesspool. That mindset and that heart will cause you to want to go to battle. And as a father, you can think about the idea that I'm ready to go to war with the wickedness of this world. So that my children will not have to basically live in this garbage that's going on today. Now, when it comes to that, you think about the Lord Jesus and the fact that, hey, he's on this charge. And listen, if Jehonadab would have said no, Jesus is still going. You know, I mean, Jehu would still be going, right? The same thing applies is that this battle is going on whether you get in the fight or not. The question is, are you going to take up his hand into the chariot or not and get into this battle? And the question is, are you going to be like one of David's mighty men or are you just going to be someone that doesn't participate, someone that's on the sidelines? When we're talking about taking on the armor of God, we're talking about a small percentage of Christianity that actually does it. Just facts. There's a small portion of people that actually get saved because few there be that find it, right? But in that group of people that are saved, a very small group actually puts on the armor of God and actually goes to battle. But it doesn't take the majority to win. Actually, God prefers in a lot of cases for it to be a small group because then he gets the glory for what's done. But I don't know about you, but I'd like to be a part of that few. If you read the story about Gideon, there's 32,000 people that are there that goes down to 300. Would anybody read that story and be like, if I was in that story, I wish I was one of those that went home first? Would you be reading that story and be like, yeah, I wish I was the ones that said they were faints and they had to go home, right? Everybody wishes they were like, I was in that 300. I was in the 300 that stuck by and we won the battle. I mean, when you look at the apostles, right? Would anyone say, you know, I want to be Thomas? Or would you say, I want to be Peter, James, and John, right? Everyone said, I want to be the top three, but I don't want to just be Peter, James, and John. I want to be John, who was the disciple whom Jesus loved. I want to be the one that's right there. When you look at David's mighty men, do you say, hey, I want to be Uriah. No one is saying that, right? Not the rag on Uriah, but the three top mighty men, like Adonai, Eleazar, to where there were three men that were after them that never met to that expectation. It says these were of the three, but they weren't likened unto the first three. When you look at that, who would you want to be? So it's a heart matter. Where's your heart at? Are you ready to go to war? Are you ready to stop playing church? You know, like this idea of, well, I'm just putting in my duty and all this. No, it's time to go to war. And you have to have that fire in your heart to say, hey, my heart's right. Let's do this. Time to go to battle. I have the truth on my side. I'm good about the truth. My heart's right. Let's do it. And that's the type of mindset that you need to have in the Christian life before you even gird on your sword is, hey, I have the truth on my side, and my heart is ready to go. Now look at Deuteronomy chapter 20. Deuteronomy chapter 20. Like I said, this battle is going on whether you go or not. When it comes to soul winning, the Bible talks about the fact that we're entering into men's labors, meaning this is that the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. So people are getting saved from the beginning of time. People have been getting saved from other people preaching them the gospel, them hearing it, believing it, and then other people doing the same thing throughout history. That's an unbroken chain, and it's going to be an unbroken chain until Jesus comes back. And whether you jump on that train, if you will, that's already moving, and jump on the train and say, hey, I'm going to join the fight in that. I'm going to join the battle in that. I'm going to join the work in that. I'm going to see people saved too. I'm going to go preach the gospel too. Whether you jump in or not, it's still going to happen, because other people are going to do it. But here's the thing. If you jump in, more people will get saved. Do you want more people to get saved or less? But know this, is that we're just jumping into something that's going on, and when it comes to the battle, there will be people that will fight the battle. I mean, the Bible says even in the very end that there's going to be, God's people are going to do great exploits for God. The question is, do you want to be those people that do great exploits for God, or do you want to be the people that didn't do anything, just sat around, or wasn't a part of that? And listen, you can live a comfortable life and not be a part of it, but I'll say this, I don't think anybody's in heaven saying, man, I wish I would have lived a little more comfortable life than been a part of the battle. I don't think anybody of Gideon's 300 would have been like, I wish I was the other people. They're glad they're a part of that 300. Deuteronomy 20 and verse 8 says this, and speaking of Gideon, it's kind of the same thing when they had people go away. The first time they had people go away, this is what God told them, or told Gideon to tell them. And Deuteronomy 20 verse 8, it says, And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart. If you don't have the right heart, you might as well go home. We're talking about battle here. I'm not saying, listen, I don't feel like I have a right heart, I'm just going to go home and leave church. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying if you're going to battle in the Christian life, you need to get that heart right. You need to not be faint-hearted. You don't want somebody that's afraid when you're going to battle. I mean, if you think about it, if you're going to war and people are shooting at you, you don't want the guys that are backing you up to be in the fetal position behind you. You want them there shooting back with you. But also the mental state of that and the fact that when someone else is fearful, that's contagious. Even if you're like ready to go, someone over here is just like, I don't know, we're not going to make it, we're all going to die. That's infectious, that will affect your spirit. Now you're like, maybe we will die. You're on a plane and there's some turbulence. You're fine. You're just like, this is a typical day and someone over here is like, this isn't normal, we're going to die. And you're like, maybe we will, I don't know. Halfway joking. All joking aside though, notice how God, with Gideon's men, but also just in general, he doesn't want to force people that are faint-hearted to go into battle. He's not just like pushing the faint-hearted out there, like get out there, whether you like it or not. No, he'd rather you stay home. Just stay home and, I don't know, just have fun at home doing whatever you're doing. But he needs the warriors in the battle. He needs those that are ready to go, the heart is right and ready to go into battle. And when I think about fighting the wiles of the devil and these wicked people in high places, is we need people that are going to be, basically have courage. Going into the battle with that mindset. Because I think what a lot of people do is they go into the battle and they're just not mentally prepared. They haven't settled that in their heart that hey, I'm going to die for this, whether I make it or not. They settled it in their heart that this is the end game. And, you know, are you ready to die for what you believe in? Now, it's not exactly that cutthroat in most cases, right? We're not just going out there and being like, we're going to die today. But again, we're talking spiritually speaking and the idea of winning or failing in life. It gets into the idea that a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again. It's not saying that you're always, you're going to win every battle. But here's the thing, you don't need to win every battle to win the war. You're going to falter. You're going to fall from time to time. And if you don't think you will, wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. Knowing in your mind that I'm able to fall, but you know what, even if I do, I'm getting back up again. And you set it in your heart that you're not going to give up. That's the mindset that we're going into this spiritual battle, the heart of the matter. Go to Matthew chapter 6, Matthew chapter 6. You say, well, okay, how do I get a right heart? Well, there's many things to get, reasons to get a right heart, okay? I think about, you know, one reason is to think about what your savior did for you. Think about how much he loved you and how much he deserves for you to fight this battle, right? You think about like just, hey, he deserves it. He deserves the glory, the honor, the praise. And if you can honor him and what you do in this battle, then that's motivation. You can think about the love that you have for other people and the idea that, hey, I want them to get saved. I want them to, maybe they're already saved, but you want them to not have this, have to go through like hard tribulation all the time because of the world that we're living in. You want to set those things right. But how about setting your eye on the prize, you know, as far as reward? Reward can also be a good motivation. I mean, think about David. David, to get, to marry Saul's daughter, remember he had to bring back 100 foreskins of the Philistines? And he brought back 200 because he's an overachiever. But he had his eye on the prize, you know? It's like, I want, you know, I want to get married and make sure this happens, right? And the idea of that reward is also something that will get your heart right. Now, look at Matthew chapter 6 and verse 19. It says, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So, you think, you would think that it would be the other way around, right? You know, where your heart is, there will your treasure be. But it's actually the other way around. You set where your, what's your treasure? Is it things in this life or is it eternal rewards? And if it's eternal rewards, it's going to set your heart to that treasure to where there's your motivation. Because there's not just one motivation. You can think the love of God, loving other people. You can think of like just other reasons why you would do what you do, you know. But having that treasure, looking forward to that treasure, that mansion in heaven, that abundant entrance. You know, that you might have life but that you may have it more abundantly. That you could hear Jesus say, well done, thou good and faithful servant. There are certain things that you can't put a price on. That will last for all eternity. And that type of treasure will set your heart to where you need to go. The same thing though, if you have a treasure and your treasure is like a Lamborghini or a boat or something like that. If you're setting your heart to that, well, that's the direction you're going to go. You know, you have this treasure, your heart's going to follow it. And listen, I'm not saying it's wrong to have a boat. Lamborghini, I don't know what you would do with that here in West Virginia. So that's kind of not going to do much for you. Diesel truck, that's what it is. So, go to Lamentations chapter 3 and I'm going to read the rest of this, Matthew chapter 6. It says, The light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single, the whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness? No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. He cannot serve God and mammon. The idea here is that he's talking about set your treasure. Basically wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also. But note that it's the eye that is going to distinguish where your heart goes. Now, Lamentations 3.51, I always think of this one when I think about that passage. Lamentations 3.51 says, Mine eye affecteth my heart because of all the daughters of my city. Now, in this case Jerusalem has been destroyed and the whole book, it's called Lamentations for a reason. Because it's lamentable, he's weeping over the city being destroyed. But he's basically saying, what he sees affects his heart. So what do you set your eyes on? What you set your eyes on is going to affect your heart. You set your eyes on things that are righteous, your heart will be righteous. And if your heart is righteous, then you'll follow the things which are righteous and you'll be ready to go for battle. You've got to be careful in what you're looking at. I mean, today, in today's age, I mean with our phones and just everything that's on here, you have access to everything that is wicked and wrong and things that you shouldn't be looking at. There's a lot of things that you can look at that are good. The question is, what are you setting your eyes on? Think about it, when you wake up in the morning, listen, I'll step on my own toes. When you wake up in the morning, you're getting ready for work, what's the first thing that you look at on your phone? Is it Facebook? Is it your email? Instagram? It's not TikTok because I don't have that garbage. I might actually have, just let me just say something, I'm not like lying up here or something like that. I might actually have an account, maybe, because I was like someone sent me a TikTok video and I couldn't see it. But what are you looking at? Or are you looking at the Bible? Are you reading the Bible when you wake up in the morning? So you have to think about what are your eyes seeing because that's going to affect your heart. It may not even be in the morning when you're looking at something and it's something evil. It's like checking your work email is not exactly evil. But that's going to affect your heart because now I'm like, I got to get that done. I need to get to work and then do this or that. It's not wrong. At the same time, that's going to affect your heart. Instead, I'm reading through a passage in the Bible, that's going to affect your heart. Then you get to work and you're like, all right, it's time to get some work done. It's time to get this email set out, but you're affecting your heart by what you're looking at. It could be stuff that's not sinful, but it's just maybe funny stuff, right? There's a lot of humorous stuff that's sent around, all that stuff. And it's not inherently evil, but the idea is what are you setting your eyes on on a constant basis? And we need to constantly be saying, hey, I'm going to put my eyes here. I'm going to put it here. So, your eye affected your heart. The Bible says, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. That's talking about knowing God. That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable on His death, if by any means I might attain Him to the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I'd already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after that I may apprehend that, which also I'm apprehended of Christ Jesus. Not as though I'd already apprehended, but there's one thing I do. Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize, the high calling of God and Christ Jesus. That starts with getting your heart right, the blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. You want to know God? Then you need to get your heart right. You want to get your heart right? Then set your eyes on that which is holy, true, and just, and lovely. And think on those things. So, we know that the ultimate goal is that hey, our heart's right, we're going in the right direction. The question is how do we get there? It really does, I mean the light of the eye is the light of the body. Meaning that, that's where you're really going to bring in most of the information. Is what are you looking at? But also what are you listening to? What are you hearing? What are you seeing? So, go to 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 2. And you can obviously see how this would tie into our last series which is adding to your faith. Add to your faith virtue. Right? The idea of adding virtue to your faith and having that righteous, you know, lifestyle and walking in the spirit and keeping the commandments. This is another avenue to think about that when it comes to 2 Timothy chapter 2. The thing about 2 Timothy chapter 2 is right before this, it mentions two times about being the soldier of Christ. You want to be a soldier of Christ, notice what it says in verse 19. Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands assured, having the seal the Lord knoweth them that are His. And let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. So, He knoweth them that trust in Him. So, He knows, the Lord knows them that are His. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and I give unto them everlasting life and they shall never perish. So, we know that the Lord knows us. But, He's basically saying, those that have called upon Him the Lord, let them depart from iniquity. That's basically, He's calling us to say, hey, you've called upon Him the Lord, you're saved, I know you depart from iniquity. And it says here in verse 20, but in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver but also of wood and of earth and some to honor and some to dishonor. Meaning this is that in the family of God, there's going to be a mixture of like people that are unto honor and some unto dishonor. Meaning like not everybody is going to actually be departing from iniquity. Just reality. Just like the ten lepers that were cleansed, how many came back? One. They're all cleansed by faith. They're all saved. But only one came back to give God the glory and know this is that in a great house, you have all types of different vessels. Now we know when you think about gold, silver, you think about the judgment seat of Christ, that there's nothing evil about wood and of the earth, it's just the idea that wood burns up. Wood is temporary, gold and silver will be tried through the fire. It says in verse 21, if a man therefore purge himself from these, I believe he's talking about iniquity, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master's use and prepared unto every good work, flee also useful lust and follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. So to get that heart right, you need to depart from iniquity, purge yourselves from useful lust, all these different things. So, but that all gets into the idea of what are you setting your eyes on? What are you setting your eyes on to where you'll be getting into trouble? And there, nowadays, I mean, when I was a kid, the internet was just becoming a thing. Nowadays, it's just ridiculous. I mean, back when I was a kid, you know, you could only get on the internet when your parents weren't on the phone. Because as soon as they picked up the phone, it cut it off. You're like talking to someone on instant messenger, right? AOL instant messenger, who remembers those days, you know? Everybody showing their age, that's cool. So, but you know, you're on there, you're talking to somebody, you're in high school, you're like 13, you're like talking to some girl, you know, all this stuff on there and then all of a sudden, boom, gone. You're like, mom, when are you getting off the phone? That's the days we lived in, you know? Nowadays, or if you were trying to call a girl when I was in high school, it's a family landline that you have to like talk to the dad. You're expecting this sweet like voice to come through and it's like, hey, who are you? And then you're explaining yourself. So, the idea here though is that it's just at our fingertips. I was trying to figure out where I went with that. It's at our fingertips, right? We don't have, you don't have dial-up internet anymore. Is that even a thing anymore? I think everything is at least DSL, right? So, everything's at your fingertips to me, that could be good, but it's very dangerous and could be very bad. Any idea where that can lead your heart? Go to 1 Peter chapter 1, 1 Peter chapter 1, 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 22. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 22, it says, Seeing yet purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren. See, that happened by faith. Believe on Christ, you're purified, your soul is purified. Then it goes on to say, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. So, inwardly speaking, you have this unfeigned love for the brethren, but you need to see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently and that you have that right heart, that pure heart that loves the brethren, loves God and that you're moving forward. Hebrews chapter 10, go to Hebrews chapter 10, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 19, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 19. One way I believe to get that heart right and more so to maintain it or to keep it going that direction is church. You know, church, the point of church is for the perfecting of the saints, for edifying of the body in Christ. Obviously, the church is not for salvation, but it's something that is there to keep you going in the right direction. I think of it as basically home base for the battle, right? You're getting sent out into the war and here's where we're regrouping, here's where we're getting sent out from. This is kind of like the barracks, if you will, or the, you know, whatever military picture you want to put on it, as far as that goes, that whenever you're weary in battle, it's like come back to home base, come back to the base and let's get recharged and ready to go back out. You may need to mend it up, you may have some battle wounds, but the case is that church is that place where we need to be coming back to. And in Hebrew chapter 10 verse 19 it says, Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another in so much the more as you see the day approaching. When it comes to church, and here's my, and you may say that's a poor attitude to have, after I get done saying what I have to say. But here's my attitude about church. If you don't want to be here, then don't come. That's my attitude, right? Because if you think about it, you don't want someone here that's just like a negative Nancy, putting a wet blanket on everything that we're doing, just to have them here. To me, this is a church where we're going to war. We're doing work. And when you're doing work, you want people that are at least for you. Let's say you're like, I'm not going to go out to the work. I'm not doing the work, but hey, I'm all for you. That's great. Fine. Hopefully you'll get involved into the work. But the same thing when it comes to the battle. If you're in the battle and you have people cheering you on in the battle, great. But what you don't want is someone that's in the fetal position, scared, when the battle comes to your doorstep. Let me give you an example. Our church is a soul winning church. What if someone was in here and was like, but are they really getting saved? I mean, I didn't see them come to church, so did they really get saved? Are you sure about that? And they're just like putting this wet blanket on the work, when they don't even do it. And then they're trying to put everything down. And you're like, I don't know if I want to come to this church. They don't do this and they don't do that. Well, there's the door. It's not locked. It's actually pretty easy to push that thing open. There's a place called a parking lot where you parked at, you can get in your car and there's churches that you can, other churches you can go to or you can go sit on your couch for all I care. Now, if they're unsaved, listen, I'm going to do everything I can to persuade them to get saved. But as much as I can't force them to get saved, I can't force them to come to church, I can't force them to love God and want to do the work. And here's the thing, I don't want to try to force them. I want them to do it. I want you to be here because you want to be here. I want you to fight the battle because you want to fight that battle. Because you said it in your heart that, hey, I'm going to fight that battle to the day I die. And listen, if there's times where you're like, hey, I feel like I'm about to fall apart, listen, that's why we're here. But there have been people that come to church and they're just like, you know what, I'm done. And listen, I still love them. But I'm not going to worry about if someone just doesn't want to fight the battle anymore. I hope they get back into the fight. You know how many friends that I've had that used to be great soul winners? Used to be great soul winners. They were winning more people to Christ. I'd go out and they would just be tearing it up. And now they're doing nothing. But I want our church to be filled with people that love the Lord, love the Bible, and want to see great things done for God. And we're all going to have our lows and highs. We're not going to be here on cloud nine every single time. But that's why we're in church because there are going to be people that are on cloud nine that say, hey, come up here with me. And then it's going to switch to where they're down low and you're pulling them up. But we need to have the mindset to provoke one another onto love and to good works. And that's my mindset. For example, if someone visits our church and then they're just like, that church just isn't for me. God bless you. Have a good day. I hope you find a church for yourself. I'm not like, hey, what can we do to accommodate? What are we doing? Can I take a survey of what you think you would want from this church? Listen, I used to go to some liberal Baptist church where instead of soul winning, we were going out taking surveys on what people want from a church. Now, if you're coming into a church and you're asking yourself, what can this church, and this is going to sound like some kind of Martin Luther King thing or JFK speech or something like that. But if you're coming to church and you're saying, what can this church provide me, you're coming with the wrong attitude. You should be saying, what can I do for the Lord? And is this church doing something for the Lord to where I can jump into the battle? Can I actually do something with them? Can I work with them? Can I work alongside with them? Because church is about the business of God the Father. It's about the Great Commission. It's about doing work. The work of the ministry. And we need to have that mindset. Now go to 1 Thessalonians 5. There's something interesting about this breastplate because there's another passage in 1 Thessalonians 5 where it kind of mentions some armor of the Lord. And we just, in 1 Thessalonians 4 you're talking about the rapture and talking about obviously those that are Christ that is coming. He's going to receive up into the clouds and dealing with getting the spiritual body and all that. But in verse 1 here it says, but of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye need not that I write unto you, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. So we're talking about the day of the Lord, when the Lord comes in the clouds, we're going to be caught up together in the air. For when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as a travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. So what's the concept here? Well, spiritually speaking, we're children of light, but we have to make the choice to walk as children of light and the children of the day. And the idea here is that we need to be aware of what's going on around us. We're sober, we're watching, we're seeing what's going on. And we're ready for that time when the Lord comes. Now what that's dealing with is what happens before the Lord comes, right? You think about the Antichrist coming on the scene and how the Antichrist is making war with the saints. And listen, I don't know about you, but I kind of want to know whether I'm getting into a fight before the fight comes. I mean think about it, if someone was outside that door, that's going to punch me in the face, okay? I'd rather know that there's a guy outside that door that's going to punch me in the face before I get to it. I don't want to just be blindsided. And there's going to be a lot of Christians that are blindsided because they're not ready. I'd rather be like, okay, there's a day coming where this guy's going to come at me with a left hook or a right hook or a right straight or something like that. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to be like, hey, I need to study how to block, dodge that punch and be ready for it. So when that guy comes, when I go out the door, I block it and then I just, you know. Now at that point you're not a brawler if someone throws a punch at you, just so you know. It's just self-defense. So if you see me knock someone out, just, you know, ask some questions afterwards. There might have been, there might have been a reason. Now, let's read the next verse here in verse 8. So with that in mind, we're talking about going to the end times and being ready, being awake, all of that. It says, but let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and for in helmet the hope of salvation. So he's talking about putting on this armor, but do you notice something a little different than what we saw in Ephesians chapter 6? Ephesians chapter 6 says the breastplate of righteousness. Here it says, on the breastplate of faith and love. Now some would look at this and be like, well, which one is it, right? It's a contradiction in the Bible. Here's what it is. The breastplate is of righteousness, faith and love. It's all of it. And what you have to understand is that when you're reading through the Bible, sometimes one passage is focusing on one certain aspect of something and it doesn't mention the other parts of it. And then another portion fills in the gaps, if you will. So in this case is that that breastplate that's about you has to do with righteousness. But let me ask you a question. How do you get righteousness to begin with? Faith. Think about this passage in Galatians. Galatians 5 and verse 5, it says, For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love. Because for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves is the gift of God, and not of works does any man should boast. That were saved by faith, but how did we get that, how did that faith, how does that work? Because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. And that's how we're made righteous. But think about how you say, well, okay, I understand how that works spiritually speaking, how you get saved. But how's that work in this battle that we're fighting? It's having the faith to endure that type of, you know, trial. When you think about like having that heart right is that you have this belief and this faith that, hey, I'm going to make it through this battle. I think about just the idea of like bravery, courage, right, that courage that's going to get you through the battle, that belief, that faith. Here's the thing. You believe God's real. You believe His word. Do you believe that we're in a battle? Do you believe that there's spiritual wickedness in high places? Do you believe in angels? Do you believe in the devil, that there's devils? Not believe in them. Do you believe that there's angels? Do you believe that there's devils? Do you believe that stuff's going on right now? Do you believe Jesus is coming back? Do you believe that the antichrist is going to come and set up his one world government and that he's going to make war with the saints? Do you believe that? Do you believe that there's a place that's called hell where people go if they don't believe on Christ? Do you believe that? Well, that's going to set your heart right. That's going to set you onto the battle to say, hey, I believe in hell, therefore I go soul winning. I believe Jesus is coming and I believe the antichrist is going to come before Him. Hey, you know what? I'm going to get ready. I believe there's spiritual wickedness in high places, so therefore I'm going to set my heart right. I'm going to live a righteous and holy life as much as I can to fight that battle and to fight that wickedness in high places. That faith which worketh by love. And you can think about that motivation of that heart, that love, that faith, that righteousness, that right heart that you have to fight this battle. And there has to be, one, a reason. You heard about the truth, so you have the truth and you know that you're fighting for the right thing, right? You're fighting for the truth. The saddest thing to me is when people die for something that's a lie. I mean think about that. If you die for something and it wasn't even true. It was just a rotten cause, you've been duped. You think about some of these wars we've been in in our country and it was for naught. And I just feel, it's not like I'm against the troops or anything like that, it's just that I feel bad if you were in that battle and it was just like for some proxy war for something over here. And know this is that if you're in the battle for Christ, you're on the right side. You're fighting for the truth and you'll never be ashamed for fighting for the Lord. You'll never look back and say, hey, that war wasn't worth it. The battle's worth it. All the battles lost will be worth it when you win the war in the end. And make no mistake about it, we win the war. The battle will be ours. I don't care how many battles we lose, we will win the war. We're already victorious in Christ. And the reason that we want to put on this armor is because there's a battle to be fought. Do you believe it? There's a battle to be fought. You need to set your heart right. You need to get your heart right to fight that battle. I'll tell you one story and you can judge me if you can whether I should bring this up or not. But when I was in college, I wasn't always a perfect Christian. Actually, I'm not now. But back in college, we'd go out to the beach and alcohol was consumed. I'm not proud of it. But there was this time where that was going on or whatever. And I got in this elevator because we were all with our buddies and we were going up to the hotel room. And I'm not a Pentecostal or anything like this. But I do believe angels exist. And whether this was an angel or not, it is what it is. Just be a random person, but it doesn't really matter. It's what was said. I remember being in this elevator with my buddies and I'm saved. Not right with God, but I was saved. And we get on this elevator and there's two guys standing in this elevator. And the guy just looks directly at me. I'm walking on the elevator and he says to me, he's like, it's time to get right, isn't it? Only thing he says. And me and my buddy look at each other like, what in the world? We get off the elevator, get off the same floor, and they walk down one direction, we walk down the other direction. Later on that day, we find out that no one else is living on that floor. Because there's like apartments that you can kind of rent out for like a week. They're like owned differently by different people. Never saw them again. But all I can think about that whole week was like this guy told me, it's time to get right. That hit hard. Now whether that was an angel telling me that or whether it was just some random dude that was just telling me that, but he didn't know me from Adam, right? I mean it's like I've never met this person in my life. There has to be a crossroads where you say it's time to get right. It's time to get right. It's time to get serious about the things of God. And people are like, well it's under the blood. Listen, I was already saved. I knew that that wasn't right. But I needed a good kick in the pants to say it's time to get right. Now that was a long time ago. Way before I became a pastor or anything like that. I wasn't married. Anything like that. But listen, wherever you're at in life there has to be a moment where you say it's time to get right. To set that heart right. It's time to put on that armor of God. It's time to get ready for the battle. And God will obviously, you know obviously I've asked for forgiveness for doing anything like that. But the thing is that we need to get our hearts right. We need to put on the armor of God. Because the battle is at our doorsteps. And so the next sermon is going to be about angels. I'm just kidding. But I do want to, as we go through this, next week I'm going to be out. But as we go through here, there's always that surface meaning. And when we're going through this, I don't want it to be this idea of like, okay we know what righteousness means. We know what this means. I really want you to think about why the pieces of the articles are attached to certain portions of the body. And really know like, hey this is a real fight. Yes it's spiritual, but it doesn't make it any less real. Because I feel like people think physical means real. But the spiritual side is reality. And we need to have that mindset. And we need to keep moving forward. And let's end with a word of prayer. We thank you for today. Thank you for your word. Thank you for this passage on the armor of God. And I pray that you would help us to put on the whole armor of God on a daily basis. And Lord help us to get our hearts right with you. And Lord on a daily basis. Lord that we're constantly wanting our hearts to be right. And Lord help us to follow you. Help us to put away any type of sins or iniquities or youthful lust or anything like that Lord. So that we'll be a vessel unto honor. And that we'll be ready to fight the battles that are set before us. And Lord we love you and pray also in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. So brother Dave will come and sing one more, or brother Matt. Brother Matt will come and sing one more song. Habits. Please turn your Bibles to page 176. Jesus loves the little children. If you'd stand. Page number 176. Jesus loves the little children. Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world. You're dismissed.