0003 Sermon: Embracing the Path of a Christian Warrior: Resilience, Prayer, and Spiritual Renewal

This episode encourages listeners to embrace the New Year by committing to a stronger relationship with God through seven transformative steps. It emphasizes the importance of community and prayer while reflecting on the blessings and challenges of the past year, ultimately calling for courage and action as the New Year unfolds.

• Emphasizing the significance of new beginnings in faith 
• Understanding the mission of Christ Forged Church and its community 
• Highlights of upcoming services and events for support 
• Seven actionable steps for creating lasting change in faith 
• Importance of recognizing God’s nature and our own flaws 
• Cultivating gratitude as a means of overcoming negativity 
• Engaging with the Bible for spiritual nourishment 
• Building supportive fellowship for collective growth 
• Encouragement to pray consistently and deeply for guidance 
• Reflection on the connections between past struggles and future hopes

Christian Warrior Talk is Sponsored by Trident Shield, your trusted ally in violence preparedness. Trident Shield helps safeguard your loved ones with expert training and consulting. Trident Shield, defending faith through empowered preparedness because together, we save lives."

Chapters

• 0:00 Christ Forged Church Updates and Prayer
• 8:51 Renewal Through Prayer and Resolution
• 24:14 Living a Life of Kindness
• 29:56 Gratitude, Scripture, and Fellowship
• 45:56 The Power of Prayer and Communion
• 50:36 Victory Banquet and Prayerful Blessings

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:39

All right, hello everyone, just getting a sound check. Happy Lord's Day to you. All right, hello everyone, just getting a sound check. All right, such a long delay. It's so awkward Technology, you've got to love it.

Speaker 1: 1:04

Happy Lord's Day to you and a happy, belated Merry Christmas. This is the New Year's Eve, the Sunday before New Year's Day, so we've turned the page. I know it's still Christmas. It's so much work to put all this stuff up. You don't want it to go away too quick. The old Jason, secular Jason, used to keep this stuff up almost until like March, but reform Jason will have this down after this next week here, probably tomorrow actually. So again, I hope you guys had a Merry Christmas. I hope that you celebrated what was important, which is our Lord and Savior and the meaning behind Christmas, and spent time with loved ones and created memories that will last for eternity.

Speaker 1: 2:03

So again, welcome to Christ Forged Church, our home church, community ministry and farm that forges Christian warriors for today's challenges. Christ Forged Church stands as a training ground for discipleship and a forge for Christian warriors, uniting faith and purpose every step of the journey. Our mission is to transform men, women and families into fearless Christian warriors through discipleship, biblical truth and hands-on training. We are building a fellowship of believers, united under Christ, living out a biblical worldview and advancing his kingdom with strength and purpose. We are committed to forging men into biblical masculine leaders, protectors, providers and disciples who stand unshaken in the face of spiritual and worldly challenges. Likewise, we train women as Christ-centered shield maidens, embracing biblical femininity while standing steadfast in faith and purpose, fighting alongside their families. At Christ Forged Church, we prepare warriors for spiritual and kinetic warfare. The company done with the armor of god, the courage of faith and the skills prevail. Through fellowship, the refining fires of god's word and the bonds of united brotherhood. We are creating a godly, loving and resilient community, forged to stand boldly for christ, advancing his truth, love in every battle and every season of life.

Speaker 1: 3:23

Some announcements I've been tweaking that. I'm working on that. Some announcements this is the last evening service. From here on out it's 11 am, so next Sunday, 11 am. God help us. Okay, god help us. If you can only see what this place looks like five minutes before service, you would get a good laugh. We will host the service in person and online in a Zoom meeting where we will stream the worship portion along with the entire service so everyone can worship and sing along, no matter where they are watching from, and then after that I will edit it out the worship so we don't get copyrights and blah, blah, blah and all the crazy stuff online, and then I'll upload the sermon only and live stream that to all platforms. After worship we will have a separate mother's room, which is on the other side of this brick wall, where Lauren and the other moms can bring younger kids watch the sermon on the TV in there and enjoy kids' appropriate Bible lessons. Lauren and my mother, barbara, will be helping people park and welcome you to our home church. That's until we get some more volunteers, which I'm going to talk about.

Speaker 1: 4:47

So Christ Forged Locking Shields is starting this Friday, the 3rd, at 9 pm Eastern Standard Time on all social media channels. This is a fellowship show where we discuss all things Christian life prepping, home, setting tactics and news stories. That affects all Filming. We will be filming a welcome video to show people what to expect when they come to our home church. This is our home. This is our two-car garage that I converted into a warm fellowship sanctuary space, as well as my podcast studio over there and an office so busiest room in the house Outside of the kitchen, which is a racetrack for some reason. That's something else to talk about another day. So look out for some social media posts that will be paired with the welcome video. We'll also be filming a video about what makes Christ Forged Church different, including the farm and ministry. Be on the look out for some of that stuff, because we're going to need some extras and we're going to need some extras and we're going to need some people here to show what we do. Call for volunteers. If you're good with social media, we need your help with social media. If you want to come here locally, help us set this up, because it doesn't look like this right before. Remember, this is a flex space Greeters to greet people at the end of the driveway when we put up flags and everything else, show people where to park and put this all back.

Speaker 1: 6:12

Normal camera crew, because I'd love to get run a more complex service where I have this and then I can show, you know, my slides and stuff and give you um more in-depth content by having somebody who could run that camera and um and the sound and everything else that we're doing. Um, and then you know everything that a normal church needs right right now. My mom and Lauren are basically going to be doing that, um, but all you need to be is a friend, a friendly face, and be willing to do some stuff. That's it. You don't have to be an expert in anything. The camera I can show you how to turn it and turn it this way. That's basically it. So that's all I've got for today. And then a reminder again service will be Sunday at 11. And this Friday I will see you with, you know, for a fellowship show. On Friday night at 9 pm. We will have a great time. For those of you guys who remember Christian Warrior Talk and Strength and Honor, it's going to be very similar to that.

Speaker 1: 7:18

All right, let's go to prayer, dear Heavenly Father. Lord, we thank you for this year. We thank you for all the blessings that we had. We thank you for all the blessings that we had. We thank you for all the goodness that happened in our lives. We also thank you for all the trials. Lord, we can't just love you when the news is good. We have to love you when the news is bad. Lord, we know that we don't get gifted strength. We are given trials to make us stronger. So, lord, thank you for working within all of our lives, even through the pain and suffering, to bring us closer to you.

Speaker 1: 7:55

Lord, let's face it when things are all going great, that's usually when we're the furthest from you. That's when we're lost in our entertainment and our pleasures and we're furthest from you. It's all usually not always, but usually our desperation, where most of us find you On the floor of the bathroom or in bed, in bed in too much pain to get out of it, or sliding out of control on a car accident. Those are the times we typically reach to you. So, lord, we thank you for this year. We thank you for all the time we got to spend with everybody who's not with us this year anymore. We can all see the faces that go through our minds who are no longer with us, and we will miss them all and those who are yours. We look forward to spending being reunited with us, and we will miss them all and those who are yours. We look forward to spending being reunited with them in eternity.

Speaker 1: 8:51

Lord, we are excited also for new beginnings. We know that the new year is just another day on the calendar and it doesn't really matter, but any time that we can draw a line and say we're going to be different from this point forward. Well, we're going to do better from this point forward. That's a good thing. Today, lord, I hope you bless this service and this message to help me, help others, move forward with new beginnings to take ground for your kingdom. Lord, may this time please you, may it glorify you and only you. And again we thank you In Jesus' name. We pray, amen. All right, Now for everyone out there who is new to prayer, you may have heard my rambling, stumbling prayer and been like, wow, that wasn't so hot.

Speaker 1: 9:46

And you're right, it's not. In the Bible itself, you'll hear the apostles talking about struggling with prayer. In fact, they had to ask Jesus on how to pray and one of the best examples of a prayer he gave us in Matthew 6, 9 13. But we also know that honest, intimate prayer is the best prayer. The prayer of a child, with simplicity, with 100% faith, shakes the world. So you don't have to have pretty words you don't even know how. Just talk like you're—just realize that you're talking to the creator of the universe. It's not your bro, it's not Jesus' bro, it's not Santa Claus, it's the creator of the universe. If you come there humbly, you can have a conversation, okay, an honest conversation. But for those of you who want a more structured prayer, let's go to Jesus' words in Matthew 6, 9-13. That's how Jesus told his disciples to pray and that's a model.

Speaker 1: 11:07

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. That's who you're. Our Father in heaven, that's who you're talking to. Hallowed be your name. That is the creator of the universe. Holy is your name. There is nothing better than you. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. That is declaring that we want your kingdom, which is in heaven. We want heaven to come down to earth. We want your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. We are dependent on you. Give us what we need.

Speaker 1: 11:42

Forgive our debts, forgive our sins. Forgive us because we're knuckleheads and we mess up all the time. As we forgive our debtors, we have to lead the way by forgiving those that we need to forgive. So God will forgive us Because, remember, our measuring stick is the measuring stick that will be used against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom. God's is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Speaker 1: 12:14

So that's how you do it. It's not complicated. I recommend you pray to God when you get up in the morning, at a minimum, and when you go to bed, and of course, you should be saying grace as well. Right, at least for your dinner meal. All right, not complex things. It takes seconds. You can do it, all right. So we're talking about new beginnings.

Speaker 1: 12:37

With New Year's resolutions coming, we have all failed at countless new resolutions. We've all failed at many things. I've failed so many times I can't remember. But that doesn't mean that you'll fail this time. It doesn't mean, if you submit your life to God and to his will, that you'll fail. This could be the time that is different for you. This could be the time because it's not you, you barely even like you.

Speaker 1: 13:09

But what if you dedicated a year to Christ? What if you dedicated everything you did for a solid year to Jesus? What if you said hey, lord, thank you for saving me from out of whatever I was in the life? I was in the hell, I was in think of all the misery in your life, and now he's gifted you eternity. He died for you in a most horrific way. He fought for you while you still hated him.

Speaker 1: 13:48

I'm hearing whisper words from my daughter down there commenting on my sermon. She's a tough critic. So what if we dedicate that to him? What if everything that we just we didn't love ourselves enough to fall through on those? But do we love Jesus enough if we put him the center of those causes? So I've got a seven-step. Everyone loves seven steps. I've got a seven-step program. Was lack of a term, just seven steps that I came up with to help you get through and create change in your life this year.

Speaker 1: 14:34

All right, step one is recognizing who God is right, and I recommend that you don't do this for you because, let's face it, you didn't do it for you all the other times. I recommend that you do this for God and swear and promise God, take an oath to God and see how far you'll go and see if there's a change. But recognize who God is, lauren, and if you're listening, a drink would be fantastic, thank you. Let's go to Psalm 28. David, the Lord, is my strength and my shield. To you, o Lord, I call my rock. Be not deaf to me.

Speaker 1: 15:23

Here's David, again right. Here's a guy who knows God intimately. God has blessed him, protected him, done all kinds of things. Like God is very real in David's life. And here he is saying to you O Lord, I call my rock, okay, be not deaf to me. That implies that God has not always answered David's prayer right, or else he wouldn't be saying please don't be deaf to me, lest if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. So here he knows that if God is not hearing him and if he can't converse with God, if he doesn't have a relationship with God, then he's going down to the pit, which is hell. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy. Hear. He's calling for mercy again. He knows he's unworthy. We need to recognize that we're unworthy. We need to recognize who God is.

Speaker 1: 16:24

Too much of Christian culture today treats God like Sky Daddy or Sky Grandpa or you know Jesus Bro. You know you're going to hug it out and you may hug Jesus when you see him in heaven. That may be the case, but you've got to remember this is also the creator of everything. The man, the God I'm sorry man and God wiped off all life off the face of the planet Earth I breathe air, sodom and Gomorrah and many other judgments. Have respect and reverence for who you're talking to and who God is. Thank you, my love, and realize who you are sinner, who you are Sinner, you are the bacteria, the bacteria of the you know that are on the bottom of God's feet, except you're made in his image. That is the scale. That's not even accurate. It's even more than that. Hear my pleas for mercy when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands towards your most holy sanctuary.

Speaker 1: 18:04

Again, you know complimenting God, do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil. Here is David again, obviously concerned that he might be dragged off with the workers of evil who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their heart. Now we know that David had done some great evils in his life. He did steal Uriah, the Hittite's wife, have her murdered Not a really good guy there. Right, give to them according to the work of their hands. Render them their due reward. So he's saying punish the wicked, because they do not regard the works of the Lord or the works of his hands. They don't glorify you, god, they don't know who you are. He will tear them down and build them up no more. Okay, so this is him again throwing the evil of the world in the trash.

Speaker 1: 19:11

David in verse 6, blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. And then one of the more famous lines in there which speaks to my heart the Lord is my strength and my shield. In him my heart trusts and I'm helped. My heart exalts and with my song I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of his people. He is the saving refuge of his anointed. O, save your people and bless your heritage. Be their shepherd and carry them forever. And with my song I give thanks. The second half of that, verse 7.

Speaker 1: 20:05

I know for decades and decades of my life I sang wickedness with such emotion and passion that meant absolutely nothing. I did not glorify God. And then, as I was a baby Christian, I was one of those guys. I'm not going to sing, I'm too tough. Well, there's only a few ways I can glorify God. Okay, with my actions. I can glorify Him when I'm dying to myself and I'm doing things that are not self-serving. That's pretty hard to do, but we should do it right and we are called to do that. Two I can read His Word. Three I can pray to Him. Three I can pray to him. Four I can sing.

Speaker 1: 20:50

When you're singing to God and the Holy Spirit crushes you and tears are flowing out of your eyes, that's when you know you're in the right place. That's when you know you've got it right Not that you're right, but in that moment you're exalting God, you're grateful and you're being crushed, recognizing who he is in reverence. Save your people, bless your heritage, be their shepherd and carry them forever as we're called to be shepherds right Shepherds of our families, of our flocks, of our friends. Step two you know who God is and again, this is very much like prayer. You're going to see, you've recognized who he is and now you're realizing who you are. Look honestly, look dark. Don't compare yourself to Hitler. Don't compare yourself to Charles Manson or a murderer. Look at yourself and the words that come out of your mouth on a daily basis.

Speaker 1: 21:54

I am convicted by this Often. I come from a long line of gripers. In my family. We complain like the best of them and I have fought tooth and nail to try to overcome that, and even today I made a commitment to myself and now to the Lord as I go forward forward, to not speak words of darkness, to not use underhandedness in my language. I will only build up. I will only build up.

Speaker 1: 22:31

So, repent of your sins, like in John 1, john 1, 5 through 9, walking in the light. This is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light and in him no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. This is for those of us who are kind of Christians. Right, we're cultural Christians. We say we believe in God, but everything we do is away from him, it's not part of him. Our entertainment, our time spent we're not spending any of that with him. Right, we don't spend any of that time with him. It's all about us, or worse, it's all in darkness, it's all wicked us, or worse, it's all in darkness, it's all wicked. But if we walk in the light, as he is in a light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin. You know, we have one of my good friends here who happens to live near us, dexter, and one of the kindest things Dexter's ever done is take me under his wing and show me how to process animals. I'm a city boy and Dexter is up to his neck and guts and blood with a 700-pound pig hanging from a crane and they're showing me how to do this stuff Selfless, and he's in pain because he's an old-timer more bumps and bruises than he likes to admit. Everyone was comparing scars right before the five minutes before service. So there you go.

Speaker 1: 24:15

But those are the acts that we do. They don't have to be in a church, they don't have to be at an orphanage, orphanage or a hospital. Those are great. It's investing and doing kind things to the people who are at your feet. That's just one example. You know, somebody's got an Amber Alert going on or something. An amber alert going on or something. So my mom when that's the same guy who we're talking about, you know helping me with the pigs Technology got to love it. So my mom when the hurricanes hit she doesn't know anyone here, but what'd she do? She went down and spent her time serving in places, building boxes and helping people affected by the flood. That is an act of kindness If we take those times and we all have to look at the balance spread of our life from the moment we are saved, how much of our time is doing those things and how much of it is doing other things.

Speaker 1: 25:32

Some people, that balance sheet is going to be way in the positive. Other people it's going to be way in the negative. They occasionally do something, whereas other people it's the positive. Other people it's going to be way in the negative Right, they occasionally do something, whereas other people it's the default. Okay, so here we are. If we walk in light, as in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin. Okay, notice, that's if we walk in the light, jesus' blood cleanses us from sin. But if we don't, then are we really Christian? The answer, I would say, is no, or early in our walk.

Speaker 1: 26:13

But let's pick this up now in verse 8. If we say we have no sin, as many of us do, well, I'm a good person, really Good compared to who we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We have to own what we do and as we own it and we profess it and confess it, the burden comes off. And sometimes it happens the first time and you're like, wow, I'm not doing that again. You see this with people with porn addictions. Sometimes they look at it and they feel bad and they stop and they do it 100 more times. Then eventually it comes through to where they really do feel convicted and they're able to walk away from that. That's just one, all right. So again, repent of your sins. Recognize God who he is. Repent of your sins.

Speaker 1: 27:27

Three get grateful for what God has done for you. As a like nine-generation griper, at least you know which is the human existence. We're all gripers, but some of us are professionals at it. Military are professional gripers as well as first responders. Nobody grips better as those two groups, and I was part of both of them and came from a fine, strong lineage of gripers. So the best cure for feeling sorry for yourself and for curing depression and complaining is to get grateful for what God has done for you In Corinthians 3, 16 and 17,.

Speaker 1: 28:11

Do you not know that you are God's temple and God's spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, god will destroy him, for God's temple is holy and you are that temple. Think of that. We are the only religion that's true, where God comes and becomes a part of inside of us. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and you know this because every time you do wicked, that voice that tells you not to that you most often probably don't listen to. I hope you do. It's your conscience, but it's also the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit as Christians. When we give our heart and our mind and our soul and make Jesus our Lord and Savior, boom in comes the Holy Spirit. You know, and from that moment on, you're a temple. Now we're all image bearers of god as well, but you are a temple.

Speaker 1: 29:27

What has god done for you in your life? Now the problem is is because of social media and all that, we live a life of comparison. We live a life of oh, my house isn't as nice as. Oh, my house isn't as nice as blank. My car or truck isn't as nice as blank. My husband isn't as good looking as so-and-so, my wife isn't as good looking as so-and-so's Instead of just saying, wow, I got pretty good.

Speaker 1: 29:57

And let's face it, if you woke up in America today, you got it better than 90% of the world just rolling out of bed, no matter what your circumstances are. No matter what your circumstances are, if you got food in your fridge, you're better than most of the world. If you got power, running water, hot water you're better than most in the world. If you've got power, running water, hot water you're better than most in the world. Lauren, if you're listening, if you could get Glock to stop barking, that would be epic, thank you.

Speaker 1: 30:33

See, things that go on the other side of this mother's wall is very complex back there, many troubleshooting tasks that you guys don't see, so reflecting. You know, you get up in the morning and you're like man, my knee hurts, I'll use my knee. Yeah, my knee hurts, I'll use my knee. Yeah, my knee hurts. But you know how many people have a worse knee and don't have knees? Or they have heart problems, or they can't breathe, or their tear ducts don't work and their eyes are on fire, or their saliva glands don't work, or they're paralyzed.

Speaker 1: 31:16

It's like when you count how many blessings you do have instead of the few things that are wrong with you, it's real easy to get grateful. That's our collars that we use work very well. We went out and bought all these expensive, you know radio collars that guide our dogs and when they're supposed to go and when they're not supposed go or they're not supposed to go, they don't work. Worth a darn worth. Parking collars work great when you take the rubber thing off on the inside. My mom bought parking collars for her dogs because they are tyrants and, um, they just wouldn't work. Why? Why weren't they working? Well, because you didn't take the insulator off the prongs. Anyways, yeah, so get grateful for what God has done for you.

Speaker 1: 32:12

Step four Get in the Word. That is your Bible. So let's look to Jesus. When Jesus had some really tough times in his life, the first one that we could say was when he went off. When he got baptized from John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit led him out into the wilderness which holy smokes. I just saw a special on Fox Nation.

Speaker 1: 32:42

Pete Hegseth went over to Israel and I had never seen the wilderness that Jesus went into. We all picture wilderness like a forest or scrub plains or something, where there's something green, it is rocks and it is sand. There is nothing there, and that's. Jesus went for 40 days and four nights. Right, let's talk about that. How did jesus deal with that?

Speaker 1: 33:07

And jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting four days and 40 nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came to him and said to him If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered it is written, it is written. So he's quoting scripture, right, quoting scripture. His answer is the scripture man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him if you are the son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written he will be commanded by his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone. And Jesus said to him again it is written you shall not put the Lord, the Lord, your God, to the test. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said all these I will give you if you fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him be gone Satan, for it is written you shall worship the Lord, your God, and him only shall you serve Again, for it is written. Then the devil left him and, behold, the angels came and were ministering to him.

Speaker 1: 34:29

Okay, step five. So let me. If Jesus needed scripture, and Jesus was quoting scripture, maybe you should be able to quote some scripture too. Maybe you might need this as well, if the Trinity the Son and the Trinity who everything was created through, needs this word. Maybe you do too, right? Maybe you do because the word became flesh and that was Jesus.

Speaker 1: 35:08

Spend time in the word. It doesn't have to be a lot. Minimum, do one chapter a day. Do one chapter a day. One chapter a day. That'll take you three to seven minutes. If you're really reading it and understanding it. It might take you 20, because you're going back and you might be in a complex chapter and you're reading study notes. Three to seven minutes, and do it from a real Bible, don't do it from a Bible app. It's not the same in my opinion. That's all you got. That's all you got. Great lap. It's not the same in my opinion. That's all you got. That's all you got. Great, but read it from your Bible. One chapter a day.

Speaker 1: 35:44

There's been studies done that if someone reads the Bible one day a week, nothing in their life changes. If they read it two days a week, nothing in their life changes. If they read it three days a week, very, very, very, very little of their life changes. But if they do it four days a week, massive things in their life change. That's only four days a week, that's the majority of the week. Four days a week minimum, and your life will change.

Speaker 1: 36:21

Now, if you want to do it in a more robust way, I recommend a chapter in the New Testament or the Old Testament, a chapter in the New Testament, a proverb for the day, based upon your calendar day. If today is the 29th, know, you read your 29th um proverb. And then, if you're you know. Or the seventh, you read the seventh proverb, the tenth, the tenth proverb, etc. Etc. And then you read a song. You finish with a psalm, and a psalm is poetry or song to god. Okay, so that's how I recommend you do it.

Speaker 1: 36:59

Step five get in fellowship and form your war council Proverbs 27, 17,. Iron sharpens iron as one man sharpens another. Hanging out with people who make you want to do better, not hanging out with people who drag you down, but people who inspire you want to do better. Not hanging out with people who drag you down, but people who inspire you, people who pull you higher, people who will challenge you mentally, spiritually, in a good way to grow. If you are who you hang out with, you'll find out you are who you hang out with. And the more you hang out with people that are pulling you in the positive direction, the better off you'll be.

Speaker 1: 37:47

And war counsel we've talked about a war counsel. Your war counsel is people who are strong in the faith and they know your full testimony. They know all your war wrinkles. They know where all the bodies are buried and they know your full testimony. They know all your war trinkets. They know where all the bodies are buried, all the skeletons in your closet. They know it on you and you know it on them. And they are there to make sure you don't accidentally take the off-ramp and take the highway to hell instead of the narrow path to heaven.

Speaker 1: 38:16

Now, even Jesus wanted his friends near him when he struggled Matthew 26, 36 through 46. When Jesus prays in Gethsemane. And Jesus went to them to a place called Gethsemane and he said to the disciples sit here while I go over there and pray. And taking with him Peter and two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them my soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with me. And going a little further, he fell on his face and prayed, saying and he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter so you could not watch me with me one hour. Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again, for a second time, he went away and prayed my father, if this cannot pass, unless I drink it, your will be done. And again he came and found sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for a third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.

Speaker 1: 39:55

Jesus himself, when he was at the darkest moment of his life, knowing that he was going before the cross, was praying for God for there to be another way to reconcile us all, but there wasn't. He wanted his friends there with him. Now his friends let him down and our friends will let us down too, but Jesus is the model and the guide. We are called to be in fellowship. We are one body. A hand apart from the arm will die, a foot apart from the leg will die. We all need to be together. We need to have strong men and women around us that take care of us, because I have really hard days and you have really hard days, and those are the days where, if you don't have someone strong around you, you're going to sin more than you should. But if you have good people around for you, they'll stop you in your tracks and pray for you and go to war for you and fight you for you. Do you love someone enough to fight them for them? That's the question, or do you just let them die? So again, get in fellowship and form your councils. Step six believe in him and listen to what God says to you. John 20, 19 through 31.

Speaker 1: 41:44

One On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the door being locked. The disciples were in fear for the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them and said to them peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me. Even so, I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.

Speaker 1: 42:14

Jesus and Thomas Now Thomas, one of the twelve called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him we have seen the Lord and beside them. Lest I see his hands in the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. Eight days later his disciples were inside again and Thomas was with them, Although the doors were locked. Jesus came and stood among them and said Peace, be with you. Then he said to Thomas Put your fingers here and see my hands and put your hand in place at my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. Thomas answered him my Lord and my God, some of the most powerful words in the Bible Jesus said to him. Now the purpose of this book. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book, but these are written so you may believe that Jesus is the Christ son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Speaker 1: 43:24

We don't want to be Thomas. Some of us get blessed and see miracles done. Most of us don't get to see the magic stuff. We have the word, and how blessed are we when we believe from reading his word. We have to believe who Christ said, that Christ is. We says he is, and when we do, look at Philippians, four, four through Rejoice in the Lord, always. Again I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Jesus Christ. In Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise. Think about these things Again, directing us back to gratitude, to gratitude what you have learned and received and heard and have seen and practiced these things, and that God appeases you, with you. So, again, if we believe what this book says and we say we do as Christians, as real Christians, as not Christians, who say that, oh, this is a good philosophy book, you're not a Christian, then oh, this is just symbolism, you're not a Christian, then this is the inerrant word of God. We may not understand it all and we may get some things wrong, because we all debate about this says this and it means this or it means that, but this is the inerrant word of God and we must believe what Christ says. So here's my question to you Do you live like? This is true, and the answer most likely is no. So now we come to the last part, part seven Pray, pray, pray and pray.

Speaker 1: 45:57

I previously did not pray on my knees. I've always prayed when I was in bed or sitting at the table or doing whatever. I've since moved to my knees and it has changed a lot of things. One, because my knee surgery. It's painful, it focuses me. I'm not wandering off. My mind isn't thinking about a hundred different things. I am there for a deliberate reason. This is me. I'm not wandering off. My mind isn't thinking about a hundred different things. I am there for a deliberate reason and for some reason in that position, I connect to the Lord in ways that I do not when I'm lying on my back or sitting at a chair or standing or anything.

Speaker 1: 46:31

There's a reason why everyone in the Bible is kneeling, but we are often too proud to kneel. So kneel and pray at least once a day. Spend time there, spend time conversing. Don't make your prayer life a Santa's wish list. Don't make it. I need, I want, I want Start with this Again back to the beginning. Praise him for who he is, recognize him. Okay. Then repent of your sins, be grateful, thankful for the things you have, and then, if you want, make intercedings for everyone else.

Speaker 1: 47:14

Pray for your mom, your neighbor, for your daughter, for your wife, for your son, for all the people out there who are counting on you to pray for them. You said you'd pray for them, but have you Get on your knees and pray. There's no doubting what you're doing when you're doing that. The whole universe knows what you're doing. When you're lying at the table or you're sitting at the table and you're doing something, you could be doing anything. It's a sign to the cosmos that you are submitting yourself to God and conversing with your Creator. So pray, pray, pray. So let's see. It's been a while. We have baptized believers here. So we have baptized believers here. So we believe in doing the Lord's Supper every week, and I can't stand these things. But after throwing away so many good bottles of wine because we never finish them when we start them, this is where we are.

Speaker 1: 48:30

So now, this last Sunday before the New Year's is another time for us to re-examine ourselves. It's another chance for us to repent and clean our slate and start the new year strong. Start the new year righteous. Start the new year clean and do it for him. Live this next year for you, for him instead of for you. Live it for him and watch the world change.

Speaker 1: 49:10

So in 1 Corinthians, 11, 27 through 32, we learn how to do the Lord's Supper. Which. Where did my bread go? Oh, there, it is Okay. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. Okay, so we are called to judge ourselves, confess our sins and then partake.

Speaker 1: 49:56

So now close your eyes. I want you to reflect on this year. Reflect on all the things that you have not confessed, for All the things since last week or last month or three months ago, or a year ago, or the last time you were in church 10 years ago. For those of you online, go through all of them, see all your failures Everywhere where you were un-Christlike. Bring it down to him, confess it to him, accept his forgiveness.

Speaker 1: 50:37

And then we must remember that this is also a victory toast. This is a victory banquet. I know we're using a little cracker and we're using these tiny things. This was done at a feast, the Last Supper. This is Christ's victory over death. He won the war for us, so we must remember the cost of that His body broken and his blood spilled for us. Now, as they were eating, jesus took the bread and, after blessing it, he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take, this is my body. Go ahead and eat. He took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood, of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Go ahead and drink.

Speaker 1: 51:26

Family, father lord, we thank you. We thank you for this year. We thank you. We thank you for this year. We thank you for your son. We thank you for all the things that we take for granted the sun rises, the sunset, the birds, the rain, the ocean, flowers, our loved ones, good food and drink all of it. Lord, the parts of our body that do not hurt, which, even in old age, is more than do hurt. Lord, we thank you for all of our relationships, for all the tragic memories, for all those moments that will be with us for eternity. And, lord, we thank you for your son, jesus, who came and died for us. Lord, help us going forward in this new year to be the year that we live for you and only you. Help us say goodbye and kill the dead parts of us, the wicked parts of us, the parts of us that suck us down into our grave, instead of the parts of us like you that lift us up into heaven.

Speaker 1: 52:48

Lord, I now come and I pray a prayer of protection and peace over this fellowship, over the persecuted church, over first responders at home and our troops overseas, our veterans of yesteryear. I pray that same blessing of protection and peace over the world that we don't go into World War III. And lastly, I pray for my beloved America. I pray that she would humble herself, turn from her sin, hit her knees and seek her face, and that you would see her and bless her and heal her, so that we could once again be one nation under God, indivisible liberty and justice for all. Now I call this fellowship to attention, so that we can once again be one nation under God, indivisible liberty and justice for all. Now I call this fellowship to attention to put on the full armor of God, to pick up the shield of faith and strap it on. Pick up the sword of the Spirit and boldly step forward to join the shield wall as we march forward, to take ground for your kingdom, for your glory forever.

Speaker 1: 53:56

In Jesus' name I pray Now I'm going to sing for you because everyone knows I have a great voice. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, son and Holy Ghost. Amen. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his concept upon you and give you peace.