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God Almighty, way. Hallelujah. Sing it out to you. You are holy. You are holy. Yes, you're holy. Yes, you are. Are you, Lord God Almighty? You're worthy. You're worthy, isn't it? Come on, sing it away. You're worthy, isn't it? You are worthy, worthy, isn't it? You are holy. You're holy, isn't it? You are holy. You're holy, isn't it? You are worthy, isn't it? You are worthy, isn't it? Our God is an awesome God. From heaven above we wait. Some power and love. Our God is an awesome God. Our God is an awesome God. Our God is an awesome God. He's from heaven above we wait. Some power and love. Our God is an awesome God. Come on. I am an awesome God here. From heaven above we wait. Some power and love. Our God is an awesome God. Our God is an awesome God here. From heaven above we wait. Some power and love. Our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God. Our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God. Our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God. Our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God. Our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God. Our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God. Our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God. Our God is an awesome God, our God is an awesome God. Let's sing that all the earth. Let's declare it, church. You believe it, don't you? All the earth, come on! Lead us, y’all. I'm gonna declare it right out of your mouth there. Hey, our hearts. Come on, declare it. Come on, come on, come on. You know the Bible says that God formed Adam out of the dust of the earth and then he breathed his life into him. The life of God in us, as we magnify his. That's why the breath in our lungs. We declare "Great!" Are you, Lord? Aren't you glad to serve a risen King, reigning his Kingdom? The Bible says, "He knows no decrease." He's reigning right in this moment. It's not someday. Right now, he's reigning through the gospel. Jesus declared, "I will build my Church," and how many know he's building his Church? The gates of Hell will not prevail against it. The kingdom of God knows no decrease. So we gather and we declare "Great" is our God. There's none like him, Lord. We honor you tonight. We bless your name. We acknowledge and ascribe every bit of glory and honor and power to you. Jesus, we love you tonight. And Lord, even saying that, we recognize we can only say it because your word declares that you first loved us. So we're grateful, people tonight, and out of grateful hearts, we proclaim unto you the glory of your name. Praise, glory, and honor, and Jesus, mighty Name, and the Saint said a good "Amen" and just gave him a great, great, great big shout of praise. Could you do it? Yes, thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Well, give somebody a high-five and be seated if you can be seated. If you can, welcome to this third night of ATI Summer Conference. And I know many of you have been here the last two nights and registered guests here this morning and kids over the WASSO campus. Man, I tell you, it's been so good. So good. I love being with the Body of Christ. I love being with those that God's divinely connected you to. And then you receive the word of God deposited in you that bears fruit and fruit that will remain. We declare. So I mean, it just can't get any better than gathering with God's people. And we're excited that you are here with us tonight. We're going to hear a great word tonight. But before we do, guys, we're going to hear a great word tonight. We're going to hear a great word. Roll that. That's you've read it more times than you can count. You've studied it, taught from it, led by it, and still there are places in you that it has still not reached. The writer of Hebrews was not addressing the uninformed. Who was not warning the untrained. He was warning the ankle people who had already heard, already received, and already built. And he said, "Watch yourselves. You can know the language of his word and still be building your own kingdom in his name. You can believe every member as a minister and still be in competition with others. You can still see that God builds relationally but never trust another person. You can carry the vocabulary of equipping while quietly making yourself indispensable. The word's effect is not just theological. It's personal. For the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-eded sword. Judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12. Not just your doctrine, not just your structure, your motives. This is the version of ministry that carries biblical language yet it is anchored to nothing but the next thing to build. Well, Christ knows the difference. And the extraordinary mercy of it is that he is asking you to let him show you now. Before the storm arrives. Before the difference is made plain by force. Sunday, we asked what your work was standing on. Monday, we asked if you are truly planted. Tonight, what is the word showing you that you have been too busy or too blind to stop and see. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalms 139, verse 23 through 24. He already knows the answer. The question is whether you move with. Come on, that's good, y'all. Should have seen Teddy and that helicopter strap down filming that string. I'm just kidding. That didn't happen. Who knew that Oligol Lake was so beautiful. All you local folks right here. Man, look at Oligol Lake over there. You guys did a great job with that. Well, tonight, we are really fortunate to have someone that is a first-time guest here. Speaker, uh, here at Destiny Life and at ATI. Glenn and Randy have been acquainted for a very long time. Met a long time ago through uh Dennis Peacock. And as we were uh talking, just praying on a Monday morning. You know, who should we have at the conference? And as we were praying through that, Randy's name came up. And Glenn began to tell us about him. Of course, I got, I was on my laptop. I got on started looking at their website. He pastors a church in Winterville, California. Uh, which is a little bit north of LA, maybe an hour or so north of LA. And uh, called the Gate Church of the High Desert. What a great name. That's a cool name of a church. And oversees a network of churches as well. Called Kingdom Strategies International. And I'll be talking to about an Institute that you guys have. Randy and I got to tell you, this this particular uh phrase right here grabbed me. And and we were talking in in that about having him saying, you know, he really believes the same things we do. Talks the same language. And I read this sentence right here and I said, yes, KLI that's Kingdom Leadership Institute. Emphasizes the role of the church as the pillar and ground of truth in revealing the kingdom of God in every sphere of a society. Society. I said, yes, and amen. We want him to come and impart to us. We believe that we love it. Randy, welcome to the middle of the United States. Would you give him a great big Oklahoma Alabama California welcome. Come, my brother. Thank you. Wow, somebody say wow. I don't know if we should stop worshipping. We actually haven't stopped worshipping. How many of you know worship doesn't stop? Worshipping when the music stops. I just want you to lift your hands to the Lord. Sometimes you just can't go on to the next thing. Father, come, Holy Spirit. We just say that with me. Come, Holy spirit, fill this place. Fill this atmosphere with your presence. Lord, we love you and we can't do without you. There's no one like you. Come, Holy spirit. Come fill every heart. Fill every mind. Guide us into truth. Lead us into your lordship. Teach us. Train us. Equip us. Empower us. Mold us. Make us. Shape us into your image. And Lord, may everything that's happening tonight, from the prayers that open the service to the to the games to the fun to the fellowship to the music to the dancing to the lifted hands to the loud voices to the still small voice of your spirit. Bring honor and glory to your holy name. For this we pray in the matchless name of Jesus. Everyone said, amen. Amen. Well, what a joy and a privilege it is to be with you. I'm very honored. Very humbled. Very honored. And I'm so grateful for Glenn and Amy and the team and everyone who has put so much energy and effort and work into this great event. And I'm so grateful for you. And I'm so grateful for you and all of you who have traveled from many different places. Thank you for coming and being here. And this is my first time and I hope it's not my last. So I'm going to try not to mess it up tonight. And so thank you all so very much. I love the theme of this conference, anchored. Because the truth is, a ship is not measured by the calmness of the harbor, but by what holds it fast when the storm comes. So I want you to take your Bibles tonight. I want you to turn to Ezekiel Chapter 14. And the reason I believe this is a word from the Lord tonight is because I've had a great struggle in figuring out what to do. And when you're challenged with that, you know that one of two things is happening. Either I'm not listening very well, or the enemy's at work. And I like to think I listen fairly well to the Lord. So I'm sure the enemy does not want this word delivered tonight. And we're going to um rebuke him in Jesus name. I want to talk tonight about how we can survive and thrive in the midst of a of judgment. And I know there's all kinds of. And this is not an eschatological message by the way. This is not an end times or an apocalyptic message. When I talk about judgment, how many of you know judgment can be positive? I mean, when a judge renders an innocent verdict, that's a positive judgment, is it not? Two thousand years ago, the Judge shed his blood on a cross and rendered the elect innocent. What a powerful thought that is. And what a powerful truth it is. And so I'm gonna talk about how to survive and thrive in the midst of judgment. Because judgment is all around us. Judgment is going on right now. It's not coming. It is here. And the goal is how do we thrive in the midst of judgment. You know, we're living in a generation that is essentially declared war on the Throne of God. We are witnessing the tragic unraveling of moral consensus. We are seeing that everything that was once clearly defined, truth, identity, family, righteousness, is being pulled through the shredder of secular humanism. Happening all around us. What one what was once called evil, society now has the audacity to celebrate with a parade. What once was called righteous, they now mock in town halls and even on your digital devices. We see the normalization of rebellion, the corruption of truth, and a culture that has been lost its way because it's lost its God. These are the very winds and waves that tear loose anything not firmly fastened down. Which is why the theme of this conference is so important. And why you need to hear every single word that's been spoken this week. Ask God to help you apply it so that you can be anchored down with truth. But understand none of this has caught our God by surprise. How many of you know God's not shocked? Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God? Things that have ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God? Things just don't dawn on him like they do on us. He is not pacing the floor of Heaven, nervous about the next election or the next cultural trend. The Sovereign God of Scripture still rules. He sits on the throne above Kings and Parliaments and Presidents and and all of the empires of Men. God sees over it and rules over it as it is written in Psalms 103:19. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all of them. In the heavens and his kingdom rules over all of them. Somebody ought to shout hallelujah. That throne is the only anchor point that does not move when everything else is being shaken. And we must understand through the lens of Divine Sovereignty that when Nations persist and harden rebellion, God in his holiness yields them over to the logical destructive consequences of their own sin. Romans chapter one teaches us this. Divine judgment is not just a future event. It's an active, ongoing historical reality. Where God removes his gracious restraints from the Law of Justice. Where God removes his gracious restraints from the Law of Justice. And allows the fruit of Human Depravity to ripe into Destruction. Here's the Gospel Truth for us. The Church. While the Reign of judgment may fall upon a Nation, God Always Preserves for Himself a Remnant from the very Beginning. God has always had for Himself a people. And He always Will Have for Himself a people. That's the Narrative of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Is that God will have for Himself a people. An Elect. Those He has Chosen. Those Whom He's Called. Those Whom He's Anointed. And those Whom He's Given Great Responsibility to. And so the Question Facing Us Today is not Whether the Storm is Coming. For the Storm is howling At your Door. The Question is the very Question this Conference is Asking. What are you Anchored to? Look at your Neighbor and ask him that question. What are you Anchored to? Now before you Answer Back, pay Attention. When the Institutions Fail. When the Economy Shifts. When your Family is Pressured. Only those whose anchor is Sunk Deep Into the Sovereign Grace of Christ will not just Survive but will Thrive. That's Really what it's all About Isn't it? It's about Thriving. We don't Preach a Cheap Gospel of Escape. We Preach the Gospel of Endurance. Not Escape but Endurance. The Gospel of a Firm Hold that Does not Break. We are the People of the Ark. We are the People of the Ark. We are the People of the Furnace. We are the People of the Lion's Den. We are the Ones whom God has called to endure Suffering. To endure Trials. To endure Tribulation. To endure when everything Else is Falling Apart. God will have for Himself a People who will Stand the Test of Time. And Ezekiel 14 Helps us with this. It's a Prophetic Passage that Speaks to Jerusalem and Also Gives Insight into the Days in which we Live as the Church. And I Want to Call You to the Church of Jerusalem. And I want to Call You to the Church of Jerusalem. And I want to Call You to the Church of Jerusalem. And I want to Call You to the Church of Jerusalem. And I want to Call You to the Church of Jerusalem. Your attention. The Verses 12 through 23. And Since this is my Last time to Speak Hopefully not my Last time Ever but at Least for this Week. I'm Going to Take my Sweet Time. I Hope that's All Right. I Am a Man Under Authority. So if the Big Hook Comes and Pulls me Off Stage. I'm I'm All Right with that. But let's Begin Reading in Verse Number 12. If you're there, say AMEN. Says then the word of the Lord Came to me Saying, Son of man, if a Country Sins Against me by Committing Unfaithfulness and I Stretch Out My Hand Against it and I will not be Able to do it. Destroy its Supply of Bread. Send Famine Against it and Cut Off from it Both Man and Beast. Even Though these Three Men, Noah, Daniel and Job Were in Its Midst. By Their Own Righteousness, They could only Deliver Themselves Declares the Lord God. If I were to Cause Wild Beasts to Pass Through the Land and Depopulate it and it Become Desolate. So that no one would pass through it because of Wild Beasts. Though these Three Men were in Its Midst. As I live declares the Lord God. They could Neither Deliver their Sons Nor their Daughters. They Alone Would Be Delivered. But the Country would Be Desolate. Or if I should Bring a Sword On that Country and say let the Sword pass through the Country and cut off Man and Beast from it. Even Though these Three Men were in Its Midst. As I live declares the Lord God. They could Not Deliver their own Sons and Daughters. But they Alone Would Be Delivered. Or if I should Send a Plague Against that Country and put Them to Death. I would not be able to do it. But I would not be able to do it. To cut off Man and Beast from it. Even Though Noah, Daniel and Job were in Its Midst. As I live declares the Lord God. They could Not Deliver Either their Son or their Daughter. They would Deliver only themselves by their Righteousness. Man, this is an Incredible Passage of Scripture. The Judgment of the Lord is Spoken here in Ezekiel Chapter 14. As Potentially Coming Against Israel and in Particular Jerusalem. Because of the Judgment of the Lord and the Judgment of the of Unfaithfulness and Idolatry. And when we Look at Jerusalem in the Old Testament, we Must See Jerusalem as a Typology of the Church. Because when we Fast Forward to the Book of Revelation, we see that the New Jerusalem will Appear at some Point. And that New Jerusalem, the Bible says, is the Bride, the Body of Christ. And so when we see that in Connection with Many Other Passages of Scripture Throughout, we Recognize that Many Times, not every Single Time. We see that but Many Times Depending on if we're Interpreting Scripture Literally Symbolically Figuratively Prophetically or or in some other Way. We Recognize that Jerusalem often is a Picture of the New Testament Church in the Old Testament. And so the Judgment is Described here in Detail with Great Viciousness and Violence. How many of you know the Bible says judgment Begins where at the House of God. Now Notice that the Lord Uses the Word IF. This Implies he is Declaring what he May do. Yet gives an Opportunity for things to be Made Right through Repentance. He Declares that if he Chooses to Bring Judgment, it will come in the Form of a Famine, which would Result from the Destruction of the Bread Supply. Now this Can be Considered to be an Economic Disaster. He Speaks of the Potential Release of Wild Beasts that would Utterly Depopulate the Country. I Lien This to the Mindless Crime of Wild Beasts with no Soul. We see in the News everyday. Wild Beasts with no Soul and the Immoral Laws of the Land wiping out Generations to come. Come on. He Mentions Bringing a Sword Against Israel that would Cut off Man and Beasts from the Land. This of Course Speaks to the Wars against God's People. Whether they're Literal Cultural or Philosophical. And Finally, he says that a Plague could Ravage the Land Causing Much Bloodshed. I see this Again Prophetically. We're not Talking Literally here. But we're Talking Prophetically. I see this as an Epidemic and Plagues that are Arising Consistently Across the World. We just Went through a Major One called COVID. So Storm After Storm. Wave After Wave. Each one Designed. Each of these Judgments Designed to Dislodge anything not Anchored to the Rock. In all of this Death, Devastation and Destruction. There would not be Much Left in the Way of Life According to this Passage of Scripture. However, there would be those who in endure the Hardships. Because God, what always has for himself a People. Come on. God has for himself a People. A Remnant. He states that in the Midst of Judgment. The only Overcomers would be those with a Personal Experience with God. One that's Encountered the Presence of God. A Personal Encounter with the Glory of the Lord. And as I Spoke about this Morning. The Glory of the Lord is the Weight of God's Holiness that Presses Down Upon those that are his People. So that his People in this World Makes an Impact and an Impression upon this World. I hope you're one of them. These are the Anchored Ones. These where the Glory has Fallen upon them. These who have Stood the Test of Time. These have who have Stood and are Anchored in God. These are the Anchored Ones. He then Tells us about those who are Anchored Ones and he says here are the Examples. Noah and Job. Now we know that two of these Men Had Passed off the Earth when this Was Written. While Daniel was a Contemporary of Ezekiel though he Arrived in Exile ten Years Earlier. And what is Important to Know here is that there is a Spiritual Meaning to be Communicated. Why are these Three Men Mentioned? Because God had something in Mind. He Wanted us to Read this Somewhere twenty Five hundred to thirty Hundred Years Later. And Understand who these Men were and what they exemplified for us. Because they are a Clear Indication of what the Remnant Will Look Like. They are the Remnant that are Spared in the Midst of these Trials and in the Midst of these Difficulties. And so I think it's Important for us to Evaluate these Men and Look Deeper into their Lives. What say you? What is Significant about these Men that would Allow them to Pass through Judgment. What were they Anchored to? What Qualities do they have that a Remnant should Imitate in Order to Survive and Thrive in the Midst of Judgment. Well, let's Begin with the First One. His name is Noah. A Man Anchored against the Spirit of the World. Now one of the Things you're going to Recognize is that these Three Men had three Particular Enemies. They had to Deal with and in Dealing with three Particular Enemies. They also had three Particular Armors they Needed to Wear. Thus the Title of my Message is Armored Anchored and Armored. Not just Anchored, but also Armored. And these Three Men had to Armor themselves Up in Order to Face these Three Particular Enemies. And Noah was a Man Anchored against the Spirit of the World. You see before the Rain Fell. Before the Ark was Finished. Before Judgment Ever Became Visible. Noah was Already Anchored. He Didn't Get Anchored when the Storm Started. He was Already Anchored. That Matters for Leadership. Because Most of us are Undone by their their Last Decision in in the Crisis. They they are not Undone by their Last Decision. They are Undone by the Decisions they Never Made before the Crisis. One of the Things that I did many many Years Ago and I Learned this from the Pastor that I was Disciplined by. And that is he Sat down and he Said, Listen, it's very Wise for you to Make some Decisions before you ever have to Make a Decision. So put Together some Things that you will Stand Upon. Things that you will Stand Against. And Make some Decisions now. So that when the Storm comes. You don't have to get Ready. You're Already Ready. I did that. And I'll just Give you an Example of one. I I broke down Money will never Determine my Preaching. That's a Good one, isn't it? I'm not going to Compromise my my Preaching. I'm going to Preach the Gospel regardless if you Pay me or not. So that's just one Example. And there's Others. But the Bottom Line is that's a Decision that I've made when I was you know 22 years old Starting in the Ministry. And I've decided to Live by that Principle all of My Life. So that I didn't have to get there and Compromise. Folks, you Need to Start Making some Decisions before you ever have to Make a Decision. So put Together some Decisions before you have to Make some Decisions. Genesis six Paints a Society so soaked in Rebellion that the very Air Feels Hostile. Violence Corruption. A World Drifting from God so fast. Ordinary Restraint Becomes Impossible. But Noah was Different here. Not because he was Magically Stronger or Morally Superior in his own Strength. But because he was Held by God before the Storm ever Came. He was Anchored. And here's some Things he was Anchored in. The First Place. He was Anchored in Sovereign Grace. When the Bible Calls Noah Righteous. It is not Advertising Self Improvement. Noah did not Earn Salvation by Will Power. He did not Choose God. God chose him. The Bible says Noah was Found. Come on, Noah was Found. Noah did not Earn Salvation. Noah was Given Grace. His Anchoring Did not Originate in the Culture's Promise. It Originated in God's Choosing. So when Judgment came, Grace had Already Done his Work. And he was Anchored in the Sovereign Work. The Storm was not the First Time God Showed up. It was only the First Time the World was Forced to Admit what God had Been Doing All Along. How many of you know God is Always at Work. And God is Never Silent. You say, well there's Times when I don't Hear God. That's not God's Fault. That's your Fault. You know it's us who has to Clean out our Ears. And it's really not about your Ears. It's about your Heart. Our Heart becomes an Obstacle from Hearing the Voice of God. So what Condition as Kenny Rogers Used to Say is your Condition of Hearing the Voice of God. Condition in we have to Make Sure that we can Hear God. But the Key here is that when Judgment came, Grace had Already Done his Work. And and God was Already Doing some Amazing Miraculous Things in the Life of Noah even before the Storm came. Picture Noah hearing every Conversation Around him. Every Joke that was Told. Every Normalization of Evil. Every Excuse for Compromise. He Watches people Build their Identity on Appetite and Ambition. And he Refuses to Listen to him. And he Refuses to be Intoxicated by it. That is Grace at Work. Because Grace listens. It Doesn't only Forgive. Grace Reorients. It Changes what you Desire. What you Fear. And what you Refuse to Call Normal. I Tell our People all the Time. If you're Truly Saved, your Want to Change. You don't Want to do what you Once Did. All of a sudden, you have New Desires. You have New Appetites. Because the Holy Spirit is Given to us in Order to Change our Heart. To Change our Mind. To Change and Reorient us in Every Way Possible. Are you out there? If you are Anchored only in your Gifting. Your Influence will be Tested. If you are Anchored only in your Organizational Momentum. Your Ministry will Hit Resistance. But if you are Anchored in Christ through Sovereign Grace. The Storm Cannot Steal what God has Secured in your Life. Noah was Anchored in Sovereign Grace. He was also Anchored in Something Else. He was he was Anchored in the Armor of Light. In other Words, Romans thirteen Addresses this. It talks about Putting on Christ. You see, Noah did not Live Defensively. He Carried an Internal Protection that Empowered him to Stand when Standing was Hard. How many of you know it's Hard to Stand. It's Hard. Listen, I'm in Southern California in the High Desert where I live Y'all had some Winds here. But you don't have Winds where I live. We have Winds like it's I mean, you have Winds when Hurricane or Tornadoes Come right and and we have Winds every Day that can be up to sixty seventy Mile Gusts Almost every Day in the High Desert. And and it's Hard sometimes to Stand up in my backyard. But I've Got News for You. If I'm Anchored. If I'm if I'm Holding on to Something. Listen, we got to Make Sure that we're Holding on to the Right Thing. Amen. We got to Hold on to Something that's not going to get Blown Away by the Same Winds. Because we can we can Hold on to the Wrong Things. And one of the Things that Noah did is he Armored himself in Light. Everyone say Light. And Paul's Words Help us. Listen to Romans chapter twelve. Don't turn there. It says the Night is Far Gone. The Day is at Hand. So then let us Cast off the Works of Darkness and Put on the Armor of Light. Let us Walk Properly as in the Daytime. Not in Orgies and Drunkenness. Not in Sexual Immorality and Sensuality. Not in Quarreling and Jealousy. But Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Armor of Light is the Lord Jesus Christ. And Noah lived like Someone who belonged to the Light. He wasn't Merely Waiting to Avoid Punishment. He was Living with Holy Sensibility in a Spiritually Numb Generation. He Kept his Sensitivity. His Conscience was not Dulled by what Everyone Else Called Acceptable. And I want to Challenge you today. To be Careful Pastors Leaders Church Members Whoever you are. Just People in General. We've got to be Careful not to be Dulled in our Senses by the World around us. Not to get Caught up in in Calling Things Okay that Aren't Okay. We Still have to be Careful not to be Dulled in our Senses by the World around us. Not to get Caught up. We Still have to Separate ourselves from the World. Can I Get a Witness? We Still have to Be Different. We are Different People. We are a Chosen People. A Holy Nation. A Peculiar People. You are you're a Peculiar Bunch. And that's a Good Thing. And so we cannot be Dulled by what Everyone Else Calls Acceptable. Consider the Three Great Channels of Temptation. The Lust of the Flesh. The Lust of the Eyes. And the Pride of Life. Around Noah, these were not Isolated Struggles. They were the Whole System. Living in in the Same Kind of Times that Noah lived in. Because the Whole System Seemed to be Normalizing these Lusts. That Exist, a Lifestyle that Rewards Wrong Desire. Noah didn't Survive by Pretending Temptation wasn't there. He Survived because Grace had Formed his Convictions. He could Look at Pleasure and Ask, what does this do to my Soul? He could Look at Opportunity and Ask, what does this do to my Allegiance? He could Look at Status and Ask, what does this do to my Integrity? That is what is meant by Armoring ourselves in Light. And folks, you know, we know about the Armor of God in Ephesians 6. And we're going to get to that here in just a Moment. But we also need to Recognize there are Certain Armors for Certain Battles. And Noah was Facing a World that Required the Armor of Light. Light is what Makes Truth Visible. Your Flock will Watch not only what you Preach, Pastor, but whether your Private Life Matches your Private Life. Your Public Theology. Fathers and Mothers, your Children will Witness not only how you Parent, but how you Conduct your Life in and out of the Home with Others. We have to Make Sure that we are Armored in Light. Light is what Makes Truth Visible. To Confront his Primary Adversary, the World, Noah had to Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. But he also was Anchored in Obedient Patience. Here is where many Leaders Struggle. They Struggle with Waiting. Noah was not just a Man of Conviction. He was a Man of Endurance. Come on. This is one of the Things that we need to Focus on so much More in the Church, Particularly with Leaders. You're Getting a Little Quiet on me. Do I Need to Rev This up a Bit? Endurance is Such a Vital Ingredient to our Lives. The Ark was not an Overnight Project. Amen? Building Takes Time, and Waiting Takes Stamina. Noah obeyed while no one Applauded. While people Laughed, while Culture Keep Rewarding the Very Corruption he Rejected, and he kept obeying Step by Step, Day by Day, Hammer, Nail, Constantly Believing that what he was doing was Exactly what God had Asked him to do, even in the Midst of all the Criticism, the Mockery, the Laughter. But his Faith was not Fed by the Visible Program and the Progress of the Ark. It was Fed by the Invisible Faithfulness of his God. And that's what should Drive us. It shouldn't Motivate us. Not that you're Doing Something Good for God, but that God is Good, and that his Faithfulness Endures Forever. He Anchored his Obedience in Gods Word. You see, Endurance is not an Accident. It's an Assignment. Now, Somebody Needs to Hear that Today. Endurance is not an Accident. It's an Assignment. If God Called you to Build, your Obedience is not Extra. It is Part of the Foundation that's Being Laid. So while Noah Resisted the Spirit of the World, we now Shift to a More Personal Battleground, the Assault that Targets your Life Directly. And we see that in the Second Man mentioned in Ezekiel Chapter 14. His name is Daniel. Daniel was Anchored against the Flesh and the Pressure to Conform. Watch this. Daniel faced a Different Storm Than Noah. Noah endured the Sarcastic of the World, but Daniel endured an Assimilation System. Babylon was not only an Oppressor, it was an Influencer. It wanted more than Daniel's Obedience. It wanted his Identity. That is the Issue of our Day Today, is it not? Identity? And that's what the Enemy Wants. The Enemy wants your Identity. He wants to Make you Think you're Something Other than What you're Supposed to be. He wants to Rob you of your Place in Christ. It wanted more than Daniel's Obedience. And that's the Danger for Leaders Today. Not only External Threats, but Internal Erosion. Yet Daniel Stayed Anchored. He did so by Having a Heart of Persistence. Daniel's Plea was, God, I want to be Faithful. His Cry was, Lord, I want to be Faithful. I want to be Faithful. And so the Bible says he Purposed in his Heart that he would not Defile himself with the King's Meat. His Faith was not Last-Minute Courage. It was Premeditated Commitment. And that Phrase Daniel Purposed in his Heart is the Difference Between Panic and Being Anchored. He Decided Before the Crisis. He did not Wait for the Decree to Determine his Response. He Resolved beforehand what he would Allow and what he would Refuse. Goes back to what I said Earlier. Make some Decisions before you have to Make the Decision for your Family. Imagine Being Educated, Trained, and Invited into a New Future and Told, Just Compromise this One Area of your Life and you can Rise. Daniel. You can become Everything that you need to be in this World. That's how Assimilation Works. It doesn't Always Begin with a Threat. Sometimes it Begins with an Opportunity. Daniel Anticipated it and Anchored his Heart in Advance. So when Pressure came, his Heart didn't Scramble. It Already Knew what to do. God is Looking for a People who Already knows what to do, because we're a Prophetic People, are we not? You know, we Might Pride ourselves in Being Prophetic, but we Prove ourselves to be Prophetic when we Make these kinds of Decisions Ahead of Time, Knowing what Lies Ahead. And we're Prepared. Our Heart is Prepared. Our Minds are Prepared. Our Lives are Prepared. Our Families are Prepared. We Prepare our Children so that if they go to Public School, they know how to Deal with the Crisis and the Issues that they're Going to be Confronted with. If they go to the Christian School, they know what they're Going to be Confronted with as well. If they're Homeschooled, well, I don't know about you. I'm for you. I just don't know about you. My Family's Homeschools and they do the Christian School thing. And we did Everything. We Homeschooled. We did the Christian School and then we Sent them off to Public School. And People Criticized us for it. I said, Listen, we Prepared them. We Want them to Go Now, Challenge the Babylonian System. And they Did. They Did a Good Job of it. They're Still Alive and they're Still Kicking. We Still Love Jesus. We Must Teach our Leaders and our Families to Form Convictions in Calm Seasons. I tell Couples all the Time who come for Counseling and they're Mad at each other. I Mean, they're Like ready to Tear each other Apart. And I said, The Problem with you Guys, you don't know how to Fight. I Mean, Fighting's not a Bad Thing. You Just Got to Know how to Fight. You don't Want to Murder each other. You Just Want to Know how to Dialogue with Passion. That's what I Call Fighting. But the Key to Peaceful Resolve is to Make some Rules in Times of Peace. And you can Make some Rules in Times of Peace so that when Times of Conflict come, you don't Kill each other. That's the Key. And so the Key here is that we are in Calm Seasons. Don't Wait for Pressure to Invent Holiness. Anchoring is Prenatal, not Post-Crisis. And Daniel was up Against a Power that Conquered and Crippled Most. You see, the System of Babylon was Assimilation. Babylon Offered Daniel. And that Offer was Subtle. It was Comprehensive. It would Easily Appeal to the Flesh, our Internal Enemy that Works against us from Within, but Prompted by Outside Forces. See, our Three Enemies is the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. We Think the Devil's our Problem. He's not Messing with you Mostly of the Time. He's not Omnipresent, and he's not Omniscient. And so you can't Blame the Devil for what you're Ink-y, Rotten Flesh is Doing to you. That's your Enemy, right? And what happens is the Flesh Collaborates with the World because the World will Put Things before us and Tempts us and Dangles Things out in Front of us. And our Flesh, which hasn't been Dealt with, Suddenly Decides, hey, I like that. Let's Entertain it. And before Long, there's a Marriage between Flesh and World, and it Produces Something within you. And that's what the Enemy wants to do. He wants to Assimilate us. I Use the Word Enemy. I'm not just Talking about the Devil. I'm Talking about all Three of those Working in Collaboration with Each Other. And it can only have an Impact on you if you Let it. And so it Offers some Things, Offered some Things to Daniel. And the Babylonian System is the System we Still Live in Today. And what it Offers is, Number One, Access. It says you can be Close to Power. It Offers Advancement. You can Increase your Influence if you'll Just Come. Daniel, if you'll Just Assimilate, if you'll Just Lay down your Faith for a Moment, if you'll Just Not Worry about your Tradition and your Rituals and all the Things that you've been Taught as a Jewish Person, then Just Lay that down for a Moment, and you'll Excel. You'll Advance. Approval. People will Call you Wise. Belonging. You Won't Feel like an Outsider. You'll Assimilate. You'll Become Like Us. And Boy, I tell you what, Daniel was so Purposed in his Heart that as Soon as that was Said to him, Man, he knew he Better Run to the Hills. When these Things, arrive as Temptation, the Enemy's Strategy is clear. Change the Heart's Loyalty while Keeping the Outward Behavior Intact. This is a Common Methodology even in the Church. Babylon is not just after a Single Act of Disobedience. It wants a New Normal. But Daniel Refused to Trade Comfort for Obedience, choosing Allegiance to God over Acceptance from a System. This is an Indicator that Daniel was Armored Properly. What was Daniel Armored in? We know Noah was Armored in Light. We know he faced off against the World. Daniel's now facing off against his own Flesh. Those Temptations that were External Attempting to Draw out of him his Fleshly Compulsions. And yet he had Dealt with his Flesh Enough. Why? Because he was Armored Properly. What was he Armored in? He was Armored in Righteous Identity. And he Put that Armor on Every Single Day of his Life. Listen, you can't Go one Day in this World Without Wearing your Armor. Every Morning of your Life, you Need to Make Sure that Armor's on. Matter of Fact, you Ought to Sleep in it. You Might not be able to Roll Over very Well, but you Ought to Sleep in your Armor, Alright? Because that Armor will Protect your Dreams. That Armor will Protect you in the Middle of the Night. It'll Protect you in the Morning. It'll Protect you all Day Long. We Need to Make Sure we are Constantly and Always Forever Armored up in Righteousness. Daniel's Righteousness was not One Heroic Moment. It was Daily Formation. Colossians 3 describes putting on Christ, putting to Death the Old Self, and Clothing Yourself with the New Life. It's not a Heroic Moment. It's a Daily Formation. It's a Daily Formation. It's a Daily. Daniel's Faith showed up in Ordinary Decisions. Sometimes we're Looking at these guys and we're Saying, man, they made some Great, Powerful, Monumental, Historic Decisions, but that's not what we need to Pay Attention to. What we need to Pay Attention to is the Daily Grind, the Daily Decisions, the Way to Speak, the Way to Present yourself in his Life. Here we see that his Faith showed up in how he Ate, how he Spoke, how he Handled Integrity, how he Interpreted Authority. He wasn't only Brave in the Lion's Den, he was Consistent Before it. So when he got into the Lion's Den, that was no Big Deal. He had Already Mastered Life in the Spirit because he knew how to Wear the Armor of Righteousness well. You see, a Lion's Den can only be Faced if the Heart is Already Prepared. The Courage in the Den is Produced by Obedience in the Quiet Places. And Daniel Understood how to be in the Quiet, how to Know his God and get to be Known by his God. And when Leaders Try to Perform Faith while Neglecting Daily Righteousness, the Den will Expose their Weakness. Conformity Enters Slowly. Holiness is Cultivated Consistently. I'm going to Say that Again. Conformity Enters Slowly. Holiness is Cultivated Consistently. You Want to be Holy even as God is Holy? Then you Need to Cultivate it. You've got to Take Care of your Heart. You've got to Water. You've got to Water your Garden. You've got to Let the Sunlight in. Amen? Character is the Armor that Holds when Charisma Fades. God, he Preserves because he's Always going to be having for himself a People. We've Established that. God's Preservation Vindicating the Remnant. In the Lion's Den, Daniel was not merely Saved from Danger. He was Preserved for a Purpose. See, God's more Interested in Preservation than he is your Pleasure. God Demonstrated that Babylon's Power could not Touch what Babylon was. God Demonstrated that Babylon's Power could not Touch what Babylon was. This Aligns Precisely with Ezekiel Chapter 14. God Distinct between Judgment and Preservation. He Preserves his Remnant, not because they Deserve it, but because Covenant Purposes Demand it. Did you Hear me? I'm going to Say it Again. He Preserves his Remnant. Amen. I don't know about you, but I'm part of the Remnant. Come on, are you? So he Preserves you. You say, I'm going through Something right now. Well, go through it. Endure. Perseverance. Perseverance and Preservation are Very Similar Words. And what God wants to do, he wants you to Persevere and he'll Preserve you for the Purposes for which he's Made you. That's what the Whole Concept of Endurance is. You Endure the Pain. You Endure it because Joy comes in the Morning. So he's more Interested in Preserving his Remnant, not because we Deserve it. We don't deserve Anything. AnyThing Above Burning in Hell is a Privilege. And you and I Need to Take Hold of that. We don't deserve Anything. We don't deserve Anything. We don't deserve Anything. We Need to Take Hold of what it Means to be Grateful for the Grace of God. See, I don't do what I do for the Lord in order to Earn his Favor or toMerit Anything at All. It's a Response to his Grace. That's what Faith is Anyway, isn't it? For by Grace are you Saved. Through Faith. I almost Think Paul just Threw that in there to make sure they didn't Misunderstand. It's For by Grace are you Saved. Through Faith, Duh. It's not of Anything that you've Done. It's not of Anything that you've Done. It's not of Anything that you've Done. It's not of Works, or else you'd Boast about it. But Make Sure you Know it's by Grace that you're Saved. Faith is Merely a Response to the Grace of God. And Even that is a Gift from the Lord. Because you can only Respond to the Grace of God if the Holy Spirit gives you Enough Faith to Believe. Come on, are you out there? I know I'm Preaching now. You know, I use this Example. You know, a Dead Man can't Do Anything for himself. Amen? You put a Dead Man in an Emergency Room and what they do is they take these Pads and they put them in an Emergency Room and they put some Kind of Greasy Grimy Stuff on the Ends of them and they Rub them Together and they, you know, turn the Machine on and they Pump Electricity into the Heart. Why do they do that? Because the Heart needs an Electric Shock if it's going to have any Possibility of Life. And that's, listen, that's what God does. He pumps Enough Faith in you to Believe. Because you can't Believe on your own. Dead Men can't Do Anything for themselves. And so God has to Step in and Intervene in order to Do Something for you. And the Same Way that you get Saved is the Same Way your Christian Life is Sustained. For by Grace are we Saved, but for by Grace are we Sanctified. By Grace are we Justified. By Grace are we Sanctified. By Grace are we Glorified. By the Grace of God. Because God is in Charge of your Entire Life. You say, well then what do I do? You just, you Simply Yield. You Surrender. You Say Yes. Amen. So what God does is he Preserves. So Daniel Answers the Question, how do I Remain myself when Culture tries to Redefine me? Now we turn to the Third Man in the Passage, Job. And a Hardest Question to Answer. What if the Enemy Attacks a Faithful Man? This is where we see Job Anchored against the Enemy and the Mystery of Suffering. If Noah Shows us Spiritual Contrast with a Wicked Culture and Daniel Shows us the Inner Struggle against Conforming Pressure, Job Shows us something, Harder Still, the Assault that Strikes a Faithful Man. Job is no Victim of Moral Failure. He is not Paying for Hidden Sin. He is Blameless, the Bible says, and Upright, and yet Suffering Arrives. That Reality Destroys the Shallow Gospel that says, if you do right, pain will Never Touch you. It Also Destroys the Cynical Theology that says, if you do right and pain Still Comes, God must be Careless. Job Testifies that neither Conclusion is True. Instead, he becomes a Window into a Deeper Doctrine. God is Sovereign and he Uses even Evil Intentions for Sanctifying Purposes. That's so hard for so many to Hear. Just as Noah Built a House for Posterity, the Ark, and Daniel Exhibited a Heart of Persistence by Enduring the Lion's Den, here's what Job did. He Experienced a Hedge of Protection. You may Say, wait, the Enemy Challenged God to Remove Job's Hedge, Certain that Job would then Reject God. Turn away from God. Well, that's True, but God Did Remove the Hedge, right? But the Result of Job's Response, Watch this, is that a New Hedge was Rebuilt, and that Hedge was Between his Heart and the Devil's Attacks. Think about it. A New Hedge Rose up Between Job's Heart and the Devil's Attacks. In other Words, the Enemy could Take his Stuff, but he Couldn't Pollute his Heart. I Want that to be Said of me. You can Take my Stuff, but you can't Pollute my Heart. You can Take Every Possession that I have, but you can't Take my Faith. You can't Take my Anointing. You can't Take my Calling. You can't Take my Destiny. I won't Allow it, because there's Something that's Going to Rise up Between my Heart and your Attack, and that's the Grace and Glory of God, which becomes a Hedge of Protection of my Heart. That's Something we have to Be Intentional about, folks. A Right Response to Difficulty became a Protective Barrier that Emerged. Come on, we got to Learn how to Rightfully Respond to Difficulty. And the More you Practice Responding Properly and Graciously and Humbly and Honestly to the Things that are Coming Against you, the Stronger you become, because God then Continues to Put that Mantle of Protection, that Mantle of Anointing on your Life, and you become Teflon Don. See, Job Lost Much in the Name of God. He Lost a Lot of Money. He Lost a Lot of Natural. He Never Lost himself. He Never Lost his Faith. By Grace, his Faith became a Rebuilder that Protected him Long Term, and he Eventually Saw Everything and even More restored to him. That's what God does for the Remnant. God may not Give you What you Want, but he Gives you What he Wants. God doesn't Give you What you Want. He Gives you What he Wants, and I'd Much Rather have What God Wants for me than What I Want for me, because I don't have a Clue what's Good for me, and I Think you're in the Same Boat as me. Job's Suffering was Physical and Relational, but the Central Battlefield was his Mind and his Heart, Primarily his Interpretation. The Enemy wanted Job to Believe God was Absent. He wanted him to Believe that he was Cruel and that he was Forgetful. Job's Real Temptation was not Merely to Feel Pain, but to Interpret Pain Wrongly. Imagine Standing in the Ashes, your Body Aching, your Family Torn away, your Reputation Bruised by People who Never Walked your Road, and then Friends arrive with Theology. And that Theology Sounds Religious, but it feels like Condemnation. And there's where Job's Anchoring Shows up. He Refuses to Let Suffering Become an Excuse. He Refuses to Say, because this happened, God must be Against me. He Struggles, but he Struggles with Hope. Come on, some of you are Struggling right now. You Need to Struggle with Hope. It's Okay to Struggle. Just don't Struggle without Hope. Know that your God has an Intention for you. My Family and I had a Little Taste of this over the Past Few Years. In 2022 and 2023 were Very Difficult Years for my Family. In March of 22, while on a Cruise with my Daughter, my Son-In-Law, and my Four Grandchildren from that Family, my Son-In-Law became Very Ill. So one of the Stops on our Cruise was Mexico, and so when we got there, they brought an Ambulance. They Took my Son-In-Law to the Hospital there in Ensenada, Thinking that he just had, you know, just some stomach Cramps, some Pain going on Inside, and he knew he had a Hernia, and so we Thought maybe that was Creating some Complication. So they Took him to the Hospital, and they really didn't Want to Work on him in Terms of what they Perceived could be the Problem, but they said, you know what, we can do. We can kind of give you some Relief. Let's Go in and Fix the Hernia. So they Put him to Sleep, and when they Got in there, they Discuss, that his Intestines were Necrotic, which means they were Absolutely Dead, and so they couldn't Do anything for him. So Basically, it was a Whole Ordeal, and I won't go into the Whole Ordeal, but they Got him to San Diego. They Did an Escort with an Ambulance, Got him to San Diego, and the Doctor there, they Took him in and said, well, let's see what we can do maybe, and he's still asleep. He never woke up again. He never woke up again. They couldn't Do anything for him, but within two Days, he was Gone. That was Devastating for our Family, Leaving my 37-Year-Old Daughter with four Teenagers and tons of Debt, and of course, we had to Navigate all of that. Six Months Later, Probably from the Stress of this Situation, I have a Mini Stroke. Yeah, me, good-looking, big, strong, an Athlete. Me, I have a Stroke. Me. Come on. I've Never Had a Problem in my Life, Life. And so that Affected me. I couldn't Talk. The Enemy Attacked me at the Source of my Calling. And I was Sitting in my Chair, and I was Studying for Sunday, and all of a Sudden, the Letters on the Screen started Bouncing and Floating. And I thought, well, my Eyes are Tired. I'm going to Get up and Go take a Break. And when I Got up, I thought my Wife, I Forgot she was Gone. It was the Day after Thanksgiving, and they were at Black Friday Shopping, of course, Spending all my Money. And I just Tried to Call out to her, and I couldn't Talk. And what was Weird is I was Fully Conscious of what was going on, but I couldn't Speak. And so I went over, Dialed the Phone, Ring Her up, and they were Laughing, and her and my Daughter was Coming back. And I just Said, you know, I tried to Say something, and she went. She knew. She knew. Because I don't Fool Around. I don't Fool Around that way. And she said, What's wrong? And I said, and then Finally, I got out. I don don't know. Something's wrong. She said, Go Sit down, and we'll be Right there. And so they called 911. The Ambulance came. My Blood Pressure was like 220, 230 over 170. Yeah, Pretty Bad. But by that Time, I was Starting to Come around, and I could Talk a Little bit. I said, Oh, you guys go on. I'm Fine. And they said, No Sir, we're Taking you to the Hospital. And so I spent a Couple of Days in the Hospital. I Checked. Everything Checked out. The Doctors had no Clue as to what happened. You know, my Cholesterol was a little High. That was Probably it. So we get through that. My Wife's Mom passes away just within a Couple of Months of that. Six Months Later, here I am now Trying to Get Back in Shape. I'm at the Gym Playing Basketball, and I go up for a Rebound. I'm old. I used to Could go up for a Rebound. And I was Playing against these College Guys. I wasn't Suppose to be Playing. I had the Wrong Shoes on. I didn't Intend to Play. I just happened to be Minding my Own Business at the Other End Shooting. And they said, we just Need you to Play for a Moment Till our Other Buddy Gets here. And of course, I can't Say no. And Sure Enough, I Come Down on a Guy's Foot. Another Guy comes Down on Top of my Foot, breaks my Right Foot in Half. It's called a Lisfranc Injury. It's when people used to Fall off their Horses, and they'd get their Foot caught in a Stirrup and Snap their Foot in Half. Dislocated the Front. My Toes are Sticking out Sideways. And eleven Fractures, Compound Break. So I'm in the Hospital. I'm having Major Reconstruction Surgery on my Right Foot. I've already had a Stroke. My Mother-in-Law's dead. My Son-in-Law's dead. My Nephew, my Sister calls and says, your Nephew, her Son, they just Found he's 39 Years old. They just Discovered Brain Cancer. What else? There's Several other Things I have in my Notes, but I'm not going to go into All that. But one of the Things, and that doesn't Even Compare to what Job went through. But the One Thing God was Teaching me was, are you going to be able to Live what you Preach? Are you going to Praise me in the Midst of all this Adversity? Are you going to Deny me, or are you going to Continue to Glorify me with your Life. You see, folks, all of us go through Stuff, right? And Whatever you're going through, that's the Worst. Everyone says, man, nobody has it like me. And when you're going through it, that's what it feels like. And it's Okay to Feel that Way. But the Reality is, is that What are you Anchored to? Are you Anchored to Jesus? Because Only Jesus can Get you through that. And here's the Reason Why. Because he wants you to Endure and Perseverance. So when you Come out on the Other Side, you have Something to Say. My Daughter has Something to Say. And she is Taking Advantage, not in a Negative Way. She's Taking Advantage of what God has put her through. And she's Now able to Go and Speak and Testify and Help so Many People. Because through her Crisis, now she's Turning it into Helping to Build Champions for the Lord. And that's the Key. God puts you through Things so that you can Rise up and Glorify him with the Life and the Calling that is on you. Amen? You see, it's Important for us to Recognize God does not Delight in Suffering, nor does he Sponsor Evil. But God can Over Rule Evil, and he can Keep his Children and Transform what the Enemy Intended for Destruction into Something that Refines our Faith. Faith is to be Refined. As Others have Said, God is about Changing us in the Midst of our Circumstances, so that our Circumstances do not Have any Power over us. Terrel told us about that, and Others have Said the Same Thing. Job's Suffering became a Furnace, and that Furnace Revealed what was Truly Shaping him into a Vessel of Good Use and Honor. To be Vessels of Honor. Amen? He was Anchored in Covenant Reality, and I must Hurry. Job's Endurance did not Depend on Quick Answers. It Depends on Knowing that the Covenant God is Still the Covenant God. He could not See the Full Explanation, but he could Trust the Person. And that's the Difference between Optimism and Gospel Faith. Optimism says everything will get better Soon. Gospel Faith says, even if I don't Understand now, God is still Good and God is still Working. That's the Difference. It's not about Being Optimistic. It's about Being Faithful. It's about Being Consistent. And when the Facts Overwhelm, the Mind becomes a Courtroom, Comparing your Life to Others, asking, why not them? Measuring God by your Personal Comfort. But Covenant Reality Reteach the Heart. You are not the Measuring Stick for God. God's Character is the Measuring Stick for your Interpretation. And as Leaders, and many of you are, All of you are, really,Everybody Influenced, John Maxwell says, you're a Leader. Listen to this. As Leaders, you'll Face Seasons when you and people will Demand Explanations you don't have, but you can still Shepherd their Hope by Anchoring them in God's Character. You can do that with your Children. You can do that with your Family Members. Anchor them in God's Character by Saying, we don't Know every Detail, but we Know the One who Holds the Details. We Know the One who Makes the Plans, the One who Sets the Calendar. Job was the Target of the Adversary, and that Required a Certain Kind of Armor. Ephesians calls it the Whole Armor of God. So Noah had an Armor. Daniel had an Armor, and Job has an Armor, the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, the Sword of the Spirit. Amen. God's Sovereignty is what it's All about. God's Sovereignty Turns Weapons into Witness. Job's Life became a Witness, not merely that God is Powerful, but that God is Purposeful. The Lesson is Profound. The Storm is not the Final Narrator. God is. Conclusion. Say Amen. Every time I say that, my People go, okay, he's going to do about three of those. But in Conclusion, it's a Short one, and then we're going to Pray. Noah, Daniel, and Job were Great Men, but they were merely Pointers to the Truth. We do not Anchor ourselves in their Example. We Anchor ourselves in the One whom they Pre-figure. Are you Hearing me? Christ is the True Anchor. Jesus is the Better Noah who Actually Keeps us Safely inside the Ark of his Righteousness. He is the Better Job who Suffered Perfectly to Pay for our Sins. He's the Better Daniel who Remained Faithful as the Ultimate Exile so that we could be Brought Home to the Father. And on the Cross, Jesus Entered the Ultimate Storm. The Waves of God's Holy Wrath Crushed upon him so that they would Never Crash upon you and me. The Shaking has Begun. The Sand is Shifting. Everything built on the Pride of Man will Crumble, but the Remnant, say, that's me, the Ones built on the Rock of Ages will Stand. Anchor your Family in the Truth of God's Word. Anchor your Mind in the Doctrine of Grace. Anchor your Heart in the Person of Jesus. When the Winds Howl and the Darkness Deepens, you will not merely Survive, you will Thrive for the Glory of God. Stay Anchored, Church, because the Remnant Still Belongs to the King. I want you to Bow your Heads if you would, Please. Told you I was Concluding. With Heads bowed and Eyes Closed, I just want you to Think, what have you Done? What have you Heard tonight? I know I've Said a lot. I have a Tendency to do that, but it doesn't Matter what I've Said. What is Holy Spirit Saying to you? Because if just One Thing Jumped out, the Holy Spirit just Grabbed Hold of One Truth, One thing that Resonates with your Heart. Pay Attention to that One Thing. Open your Hearts and Hear the Holy Spirit Speak. What does he Say? He intends to Reveal where we have Compromised with the World. We have Let our Guard Down. We have Let our Guard Down. We have Taken our Armor off, and Perhaps we've Let Something into our Life that ought not be there. Where we have Given into the Flesh, and we have Assimilated. What we Once Would Stand Strong Against, now we Sympathize with. God doesn't Want us to be Sympathetic with Sin. He doesn't Want us to be Sympathetic with Unrighteousness. Yes, we're a Gracious People. Yes, we're a Loving People. But we're also a Strong, Bold, and Courageous People that Stands for the Honor, the Glory of our God. And where we have Given Ear to the Devil, Believing the Lie that Speaks, saying that God must not Care if he would Allow such Difficulties to Come your Way. We Need to Be able to Stand up and Rebuke the Enemy and Say, I do not Listen to you. My Life is Built upon the Word of God. It is he who Speaks. It is he that Guides. It is God who Directs. As Spurgeon once said, when you can't Trace his Hand, Trust his Heart. There are Things going on in your Life, perhaps, that you don't Understand. It's Okay. It really is Okay. You don't Understand what he's Doing? Trust his Heart. Don't Give up on your Calling. Don't Give up on your Marriage. Don't Give up on your Children. Don't Give up. Don't Give up. Period. Joy comes in the Morning. Endure. Stay with it. Trust God. I'm going to Ask you all to Stand to your Feet, if you would, please. And I know people were prayed for last night. Something was Said last night that touched many People. People's Hearts. Maybe something that has been Said tonight by the Holy Spirit is Touching your Heart. If you need Prayer for anything that you've heard, I just want you to come. One person comes. Five. Nobody comes. That's Fine. I'll turn it over. But just come if you need Prayer. I want to pray over you. I want to pray for somebody. I'm right. Here we go. I got some People to pray for. I love Praying for People. God Spoke to your Heart. Maybe you've been Tempted to Give up. Maybe you've been Tempted by the World. Listen, the World's a Strong Force. We're not going to Deny that the World's not Strong. The Flesh is not Strong. The Devil's not Strong. We're not going to Deny that. We're just going to Say, Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the World. Greater is he that is in me than my Flesh. Greater is he. Jesus is Greater than. Amen. I want everyone to Extend your Hands this way to these who are Standing here. And for whatever Reason you've Come today, I just want you to Know something. God loves you. I want you to Say out Loud, God loves me. Go ahead. He loves you. He loves you so much he doesn't Leave you where you are. He loves you so much he's not going to Leave you to your own Devices. He loves you so much that he is here, ready to Grab hold of you, Embrace you, and Draw you in. He loves you that much. Oh, if we could just Tap into the Love of God. If we could just, I know we're Human. I know we have Finite Minds, and it's so hard for us to really Comprehend the Fullness and the Largeness of his Love. But if we could just Tap into any Measure of it whatsoever, it'll Change our Life. God loves you. And God doesn't Condemn you. He doesn't Hold anything against you. Even if you've had Doubts, even if you have Wrong Thoughts, even if you have Questioned, God doesn't Hold that against you. You know what? God knows you better than you know yourself. He really does. He loves you so much he's not going to Leave you in that Doubt. He's not going to Leave you in Confusion. So right now, I just want you to Lift your Hands to the Lord in a Receptive Mode. Put your Palms up in a Receptive Mode. And I believe the Lord is going to Give you Something that you need to do. And I believe the Lord is going to Give you Something that you need to do. I believe tonight that your Heart to your Mind, there's going to be a Truth. There's going to be a Revelation. There's going to be Something Significant that Invades your Life from the Word. This is not some Mystical Thing. It's from the Word. It's a Truth. It's a Revelation that you've heard. It's Something that God is Saying to you. And that's going to Click. That's going to Connect because that's the Key. It's Connecting with what God is Saying. Father, right now in the Name of Jesus, Holy Spirit, and Seal what you have Said in the Hearts of these who are here. These who are Receptive, Lord, give them what they came for. Because they didn't Come on their Own. They came because you Drew them. And if you Draw them, you Fill them. Fill, fill, fill every Heart. Fill every Mind. Fill every Soul right now in the Name of Jesus with your Presence, with your Word, with a Fresh Anointing. Oh, how we need your Anointing. Everyone in this Room needs a Fresh Anointing. Everyone, Lift your Hands to the Lord because I believe that the Lord wants to Pour out a Fresh Anointing upon you. The Anointing of the Lord that Breaks Yokes and that Heals. The Anointing of the Lord that Saves. The Anointing of the Lord that Sanctifies. The Anointing of the Lord. You know what it is? It's the Armor of God. It's that which Wraps itself around you and Holds you Firm. It Anchors you. The Armor Anchors you. In the Posture of Worship, it Holds you in the Place of Blessing. I Pray right now, everyone Receives a Fresh Anointing. Come on, just Begin to Worship Him. Just Begin to Pray and Pray in Tongues. Worship Him in English. I don't Care what Language. Just Begin to Worship Him. Right where you are, Worship Him. Come, Holy Spirit. We Worship you, Almighty God. For you than he that's in this World. We Worship you, Almighty God. Rain down. Come, Lord Jesus, rain down. Holy Spirit, come. Holy Spirit, come and Fill this Place with your Presence. Come, Holy Spirit, Fill this Place with your Presence. What we need, everyone's going through Something different, Lord. And whatever we're going through, whatever each Individual's going through, Armor them up for the Task. Anchor them, Lord, in the Truth. Wrap yourself around us. Robe us in your Righteousness. Be Free from Sin. Be Free from Flesh. Be Free from the World. Be Free from the Enemy. In Jesus' Name. Let's Sing that Song. I think that's Jesus Loves Me, isn't it? Come on, lead us in that. I love that Song. Come on, Lift your Voices and Sing with the Worship Leader. Nothing but the Blood. Oh, come on, Lift your Voices and Sing that. Oh, precious is the Flow that makes me White as Snow. No other Fountain I Know. Nothing but the Blood of... Go ahead, just Sing it, Church. The Saints can Sing. We don't have to have the Mic. Go ahead. Oh, precious is the Flow that makes me White as Snow. No other Fountain I Know. Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. And all precious is the Flow that makes me White as Snow. No other Fountain I Know, Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. He just comes, he molds us. What is that? He's Forming us in the Image of Christ. That's how I feel tonight. I want the Lord to Seal that in my Life and Heart, right? You want that tonight? Let's just Close this Time Praying that. You might Lift your Hands to him. Lord, would you Seal this Word in our Heart, your Word. Thank you for Randy. Thank you for Speaking through him, Holy Spirit, even Illuminating things in our Lives that he may not have Even Said. Lord, our Ears are Tuned to you. Would you Seal in us your Word. Let it do what your Word Declares it'll do, Bear Fruit and Fruit that would Remain. I Thank you for Fruitfulness. Lord, I Thank you for your Discipline. You Discipline those that you Love. I Thank you for it. Continue to Shape us, Shape every Individual, Shape every Family, Shape every Congregation Represented in this Gathering here. Thank you that you are Forming your Church because you're Building your Church. You Love your Church. You Died for your Church. We're Grateful Tonight. We Thank you for it. We Bless you for it. In Jesus' Name, in Jesus' Name, in Jesus' Name. You know, I think this is one of those Times, and we'll have these Online, of course, but, you know, sometimes somebody will say something, say, boy, that's a Mouthful. But I
