Fighting in the Spirit - Pastor Efrem Smith | Sacramento

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More about Pastor Efrem

Rev. Dr. Efrem Smith is a pastor, consultant, speaker, and author. He is passionate about life transformation, multiethnic development, healthy churches, and community development. Within his church congregation he is known as Pastor Efrem, Pastor E, and Dr. E.

Pastor Efrem was the founding pastor of The Sanctuary Covenant Church, a multi-ethnic church in Minneapolis, MN, He served as the Superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church. He also served as the President of World Impact, an urban missions organization. Currently, Pastor Efrem is the Co-lead Pastor of Midtown Church, a thriving and multi-ethnic community in Sacramento, California. He is also Co-Owner of Influential LLC, a speaking, consulting, and coaching ministry. Pastor Efrem is the author of Raising Up Young Heroes, The Hip Hop Church, Jump, The Post-Black and Post-White Church, Killing Us Softly, and Church for Everyone.

Pastor Efrem is a graduate of Saint John's University and Luther Theological Seminary. He completed the Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and received an honorary Doctor of Ministry degree from Ashland Theological Seminary. Pastor Efrem is married to Donecia, and they have two daughters, Jaeda and Mireya. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

My name is Ephraim Smith. I'm one of the pastors around here. So good to see y'all on this Memorial Day weekend. I want to do a couple things before before I get started here in the sermon. One, because it is Memorial Day weekend. We want to acknowledge those that served in the military and lost their lives defending this country and the freedoms that we hold dear and the freedoms that we still fight for, that we might be the nation that we should be, that we could be. And so I just want to acknowledge, especially those of you that have family members that served in the military and and gave their lives in service of the nation. So we we lift you up as you um maybe if that is something that happened in recent years, that you are that God would continue to provide healing for you. The next thing I want to do is uh acknowledge uh we have Dr. Flo Kofer with us today. So, Dr. Flo, so glad that you are with us. And um she is running for county supervisor in in uh in Sacramento County. Now, we don't endorse candidates. Uh candidates don't speak here at Midtown Church, but whenever a candidate is here, we do acknowledge them and we pray for them. I know politics is not easy. We're we're talking about battles and conflicts in the sermon today. And so I know, sister, you are in a battle because sometimes politics can can not bring out the best of people. And so, but but we we pray that in your process that that God raises up the best of who you are uh as you go out and you present yourself and you present your ideas. So I'm just gonna pray for her if that's okay, and pray for others that are running for political office. Uh and and I want to you know just say uh in a nation where uh voting rights for everyone is unfortunately in question right now, I I pray that everybody would exercise that right to vote and uh and and that you would participate in the process and do that. It is very important. And I'm sure if you got like tough political questions, you've always wanted to ask, Dr. Flow will meet you in the lobby. So don't ask me, ask her. I'm not a politician, I'm a pastor. And so I'm gonna do what pastors are supposed to do, and that's pray for people. So, God, we just uh pray for Dr. Flow, Lord, and uh uh we we pray for her uh as she is campaigning, and we pray for all of the candidates, God, that are in the process right now, that God, uh they would acknowledge you, recognize you, and lean on you in this season and in this process. But we're grateful that Dr. Flow uh stopped by Midtown Church here today, and so God, we specifically lift her up to you, that you would protect her, that you would surround her, and that God, she would know that you are real in her life. And so we pray that in the name of Jesus, amen. Blessings, my sister. Um I I really don't like uh battles and conflicts and fights. Though I like fighting in sports, though. Like I think that's different. And I and I like I like workout fighting. So I have a trainer, Kyle Lawson, of Kyle Lawson Martial Arts, and so I went I work out with him, and so we do everything from circuit training to kickboxing to you know regular boxing to other forms of MMA, and I've just really found that like just you know, it's been a good thing for me to do for exercise, for my health, to work some things out. And so I I train and I like workout fighting. Um, but as a kid, you know, I grew up liking professional boxing. Uh I'm I'm into MMA now, uh martial arts movies since I was a kid, action movies, and because of my grandmother and my great uncle uh pro wrestling. So whether it's scripted or unscripted, like since I was a kid, like I just been really into watching people fight uh and and also like uh workout fighting, like I'm into that. But outside of that, I mean all that's telling you is I like watching fighting, I I like workout fighting, but I don't necessarily want to be in no real fight. I mean, I mean I'm not looking for a fight, you know. I mean, every once in a while I do have an attitude of like don't start none, won't be none. But I mean, in the name of Jesus, I'm really not looking for uh a fight. I'd rather avoid conflicts, but life contains conflicts. Life contains battles. Life contains fights. And these conflicts, these battles, these issues must be faced. Uh uh there are fights that are unavoidable for all human beings. And I want to talk about not the fights and the battles that we can clearly see, but the ones that are invisible, the ones that sneak up on us because we don't know where they're coming from. So, with that in mind, go with me to the book of Ephesians, chapter 6, beginning with verse 10. Ephesians chapter 6, beginning with verse 10, Paul writes this finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand, stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. You might not see this verse on the screen, but I think it's worth reading. And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. From this text, I want to preach to you on the title, Fighting in the Spirit. Fighting in the Spirit. God, I pray this would be your message, that ultimately you would be speaking, and in these few moments, I would just be the instrument that you decided to use to say what you want to say. To these, your beloved children, my sisters and brothers. I want to be obedient to your word, to the Bible. So please let that be done. In Jesus' name, amen. Fighting in the spirit. There are things that are accessible to us for our protection. Things that we need to utilize because we're in a world of accidents. We're in a world of brokenness. We're in a world of sin. We're in a world of things come at us that we weren't expecting. So in that kind of world, there are things that are around us that are available to us for our protection. Take the seat belt, for instance, in a car. The seat belt is for our protection. We don't want an accident, but an accident could happen. And so because of that, there is the seat belt. But for some reason, all human beings don't just readily take advantage of what is right there to protect them. So now so imagine this. The seat belt is right there. As soon as you get in the car, the seat belt is right there, and so you should put it on. But because there are human beings that for some reason their first instinct is not to go and get what is already there that they have access to for their protection, they have to make laws to force you to utilize something that is right there for your protection. They have to create a law to force you to do it. They have to threaten to fine you if you don't use it and it's right there for your protection. There are cars today that if you get in the car and you don't put your seatbelt on, a light that looks like a seatbelt will light up right in front of you until you put your seatbelt on. Because the thing that is right there to protect us, we won't grab it and utilize it. A light has to come on and say, put your seatbelt on. There are some cars that not only have a light when you don't put your seatbelt on, but it makes noise when you don't put your seatbelt on. What does God have to do in order for the saints to put on the things that you need to protect yourself? Does God need to give you a love? Does God have to send you a light? Does God have to make some noise? There are some things that God has provided for you and I to protect us in this evil, unjust, wicked, broken, flawed, upside down world that is so vicious. This this horrible world in which we can experience sometimes, and there's something right there. All you gotta do is put it on. It's for your protection. So in case you just aren't ready to do it on your own, there's some laws that are there available to you put it on. I don't know, maybe somebody got to make a noise, something got to light up just to put a seatbelt on. We need spiritual armor for battles and conflicts that are visible but have invisible forces behind them. We need protection. And God has provided protection for God's children. It doesn't mean that you're gonna avoid pain, it doesn't mean you're gonna avoid conflicts, it doesn't mean that protection doesn't mean you won't get an accident. It means that that that you are protected. It means that things could have been worse if you weren't wearing that. Things could have been much, much worse if you didn't have on what was provided for your protection. We're here in Ephesians chapter 6. This is the conclusion of a letter written by the Apostle Paul. It deals with the Holy Spirit, it deals with spiritual battles, it deals with prayer. You know, when I think about the Bible overall, I realize that I'm still learning about this book. This this holy book. This book of God, this book for us. And I'm still learning because there's things in here that I'm still trying to understand. All these years later, I mean, I've been reading the Bible so long. I've been teaching from the Bible, preaching from the Bible, and I'm still learning, I'm still growing, I'm still trying to make sense of all of this. This book that includes dreams and visions and spirits and the spirit and angels and talks about heaven and the kingdom of God. This book that has miracles in it. I'm still trying to grasp it and understand it. Consider the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel, it deals with with dreams that need to be interpreted for political leaders, that they might, by understanding what thus says the Lord, might do a better job at understanding public policy. And that that assumes they know the real God and they're not just putting a fake God on what they want to do. The book of Daniel is about resisting injustice. The book of Daniel is about dreams and visions, conversations with angels, the book of Daniel. And believe it or not, the book of Daniel is both spiritual and political. It is. Sometimes I've had people over the years say to me, uh, Pastor Ephraim, why do you have to get political when you preach? Why can't you just preach the gospel? Why can't you just preach about Jesus? Why you got to be political? Well, I'm just preaching the Bible. And if the Bible's got kings in it and Caesars in it and governments in it and public policies in it, then I'm just preaching it. It probably sounds political to you, but no, the Bible is spiritual. It's about the kingdom of God, it's about miracles, it's about God, it's about Jesus, it's about the Holy Spirit, it's about wickedness, it's about invisible things. It is a spiritual book, but it's also a political book. What do you think put Daniel in the lion's den? Bad public policy. What do you think put Shadrach, Meshach, and Abend to go in the fiery furnace? Bad public policy. That's what put him in there. A decree, a law that was passed that was not a just law. So the Bible is political. So I'm not telling you who to vote for, I'm not telling you what party. I'm but I'm telling you that that you should understand that there is a political theology and framework that is presented in the Bible. The Bible has something to say about the poor, the Bible has something to say about the foreigner, the Bible has something to say about the widow, the Bible has something to say about the unhoused, the Bible has something to say about the under-resourced, the Bible has something to say about the enslaved, the Bible has something to say about people who use their wealth to bribe people. The Bible has something to say about political leaders that use power wickedly. And it's all if it's in the Bible, I gotta talk about it. I gotta teach it, I gotta preach it. The Bible is spiritual, the Bible is political. The Bible also shows us that we have a fight on our hands, that we have battles around us. Speaking of the book of Daniel, he shows us that our battles are visible and invisible, that our battles are in structures and institutions, but also in spirits. Consider Daniel chapter 10. Here in the 10th chapter of the book of Daniel, this won't even be on your screen. I'm doing this because some of the scriptures are on the screen and some of the scriptures aren't on the screen because I don't want you just to take my word for it. I want you to read the Bible for yourself, because ultimately we want to increase biblical literacy at Midtown Church. I don't want you just hanging on every word that I say, I want you to lean in to every word of what God says. But here in the book of Daniel, chapter 10, Daniel's been praying. And the bad public policies of Babylon is what has led him to his prayer life. What is going on in the government of Babylon has led him to pray. And his prayers have led him to dreams and visions. And so there's an interesting story here of a vision that Daniel has where an angel pays him a visit after he prays. It says in Daniel chapter 10, verse 10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. So something touched him, and he fell to his knees in prayer. And and this hand that touched him, this this person, this something touched him, said, Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I'm about to speak to you and stand up, for I have now been sent to you. So he was praying, and God sent something, someone to him. And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. Then he continued, speak this this one speaking to Daniel, do not be afraid. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard, and I've come in response to them. So he's saying, believe it or not, as soon as you prayed the first time, God heard your prayer. And God sent me to answer your prayer, but I want to explain why it took so long for me to get to you. Because sometimes when we pray and it and it takes a while for us to experience an answer, we think it's because God's been delaying. We think it's because God don't don't know how to manage his schedule. We we think it's because God is needs a secretary, uh, needs an administrative assistant, and because God don't know how to handle God's schedule too well. But that's not what happened. This is what this angel says. Since the first day you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard, and I've come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I've come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come. Wait a minute. This angel says, When you prayed, God heard you, God sent me, but when I was on my way to give you the answer to your prayer, I got in a fight with some invisible evil spirit behind a kingdom and a prince. And we fought for 20-some days because there's some battle, even though we know battles that we can see on CNN and see on MSNBC or whatever, or see on Fox News. Like we have these news reports where we see the war, the battle. There are also battles, there are wars, there are conflicts that we can't see, and you need the Holy Spirit to give you a news report to give you the breaking news on the battles that you can't see behind the battles that you can see. Anyone with me yet? So he's saying this, this, this, this angel and this invisible spirit gets in a fight, and another angel comes in to take over the fight, so then he can be released to talk to Daniel. This story is giving us a picture of invisible battles and conflicts behind the physical battles and conflicts we can see. Because we have a fight on our hands. The Bible presents both earthly and godly power. The empire and the kingdom of God. The Bible presents earthly battles that we can see. The Israelites versus the Philistines, Assyria versus Persia, the Roman Empire taking territory. It presents battles we can see, but it also presents cosmic, invisible battles that we can't see. It gives us insight into the totality of conflict and fights. A book of conflict. What does this mean for you and I today? Because we still live in a world of wars and conflicts and battles. We still live in a world of fights. So how are we to live in the midst of all this? That's what Paul is trying to give insight to the church about. He writes Ephesians, many scholars believe from incarceration. So before Martin Luther King Jr.'s letters from a Birmingham jail, we have a letter from Paul from incarceration. Some scholars believe he was actually in a jail, and some believe that he was on house arrest. So let's just go with the latter for a minute. He's on house arrest, he can't leave the house that he's in, and there's a Roman soldier that is watching him to make sure that he does not leave this house and he stays on house arrest. So he's looking at this Roman soldier when he is concluding his letter to the church at Ephesus, and he's using the items, the armor, the wardrobe of the soldier as a metaphor for principles, for Christians, for spiritual people to understand the battles that we are in. Wow, that is amazing to me. I gotta sit on that for a minute. He has unjustly been arrested. He is unjustly on house arrest, and he's looking at the one that represents the government that is oppressing him. And instead of just leaning into despair and long-term anger and depression, he looks at the one that's oppressing him to actually get insight into what God wants to do in and through him. Sometimes the person that is lying on you, sometimes the person that is opposing you, sometimes the system that is against you, God can let you look at the system, look at the person, look at the situation, and God can show you wisdom and knowledge and understanding. God can take your oppressor and turn it around and turn it into your victory. He looked at the one that was overseeing his incarceration and used him as a principle for salvation. Oh, y'all don't hear what I'm trying to say. Y'all gonna get with me in a minute. Or I'm gonna just dance up here by myself. So Paul looks at the Roman soldier's equipment for battle, and it provides him spiritual understanding, which raises the question: what do you and I need for the battles that we are in? We need for spiritual battles. New Testament scholar Esau Macaulay says in his commentary on Ephesians as important as the individual pieces of armor are of the Roman soldier, what is most important for Paul is that the Christian is equipped with the armor of God and the Messiah. I'm just assuming, Dr. Flo, that you're in a battle. I don't know, maybe you're not. Maybe everything's going great. But but if you but if there's even a little bit of fight going on, you know, I I just I just want to take a moment just to just to lay out what you need in the battle. Point one, you need the spiritual clothes needed. You need to be clothed with something that is going to be with you in the battle. Uh Fesians 6, 14 and 15 says this. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. These are the clothes that are needed in spiritual battle. Let's start with the belt, the belt of truth. You need a you need a belt. You need you know why you need a belt? Because if you don't wear a belt and you don't wear it right, things will be exposed that don't need to be exposed to the rest of the world. And so some of us we're too exposed and we're we're too vulnerable because we are not wearing the belt that we need to wear. We need to wear the belt of truth because then if you if you're wearing truth, you good. If you don't wear the belt of truth, all your lies gonna be exposed anyway, all your foolishness gonna be exposed anyway. That's why you need to put on a belt. Well, you need to wear a belt because there are things that people can see that they shouldn't see when you don't wear a belt. I don't know why I'm on this, because this ain't really part of the sermon, but since I'm out here, the reason is called underwear. It's so that it's under what you're wearing. It's not a that is this there's outerwear and then there's underwear. There's like the outerwear that people are supposed to see, then there's the underwear that just you and God, you know, should should know about. You you see what I'm saying? And so a belt will will keep people from seeing the stuff they ain't supposed to see, and and and and and make, but that is not so that you covering up wickedness because it's a belt of truth. It ain't a belt of lies, it ain't a belt of mischief, it ain't a belt of wickedness and evil, it's a belt of truth. Okay, now that I'm on that, let me move to the next one. The breastplate of righteousness. We need righteousness on us to deal with ultimately the things not of God in us because human beings don't have the ability to sustain righteousness or the other root word for righteousness, which is justice. Human beings cannot sustain righteousness or justice in our own power. It's just for whatever reason, broken, flawed human beings. That naturally there are some things on the inside of us that don't produce and sustain long-term justice and righteousness. That's why we need to be covered by the one who died on the cross and rose out the grave so that we might be saved, we might be liberated, we might be empowered, and we might be able to wear the righteousness, wear the justice of God, that it would then penetrate through the Holy Spirit deep into our soul so that we become the just and we become the righteous, we become the godly, we become like God because we're covered by what God gave us through his son Jesus Christ. We need the breastplate of righteousness because it protects the vital organs. It it it we need that breastplate, it protects our heart, it protects our lungs, it protects the the vulnerable places of who we are, but the places that are most needed for us to live. And then we need the shoes of the gospel of peace. When you're in a fight, this is what I'm learning through training. When you're in a fight, your your your where how your feet are placed matters. If you if you're fighting and your feet are like this, you know, you can get unbalanced. Somebody you can either get too much on your toes or too much on your heels. You know, like somebody can just push you over. They can use their weight against you. And so you don't want to be like this when you're fighting. You kind of want to have your feet set apart when you're fighting like this. And you want to like how your standing matters. Your footwork matters when you're in a battle. It matters, it matters. Like how your feet are placed, how you're standing, it matters when you're in a I don't know why I'm doing that, but anyway. So, but your feet, your footwork matters. What you're standing on in a battle matters, and what is covering your feet matters. So, like in my training, we do kickboxing, and so I was I was kicking and going through stuff, but my feet were exposed. And so, especially if I made a mistake, man, I was hurting my toe, I was hurting my foot, my feet were sore after working out. So I had to get shin guards, and so I got these shin guards, they covered my shin, it covers my feet. So now when I'm kicking, I can kick with more power, I can kick with more aggression because my feet are covered. You can go out into the world empowered, liberated with purpose because your feet have the shoes of the gospel of peace. You can walk into rooms that people tell you you are not supposed to be in, and you can walk in those rooms based on what is on your feet. I know they're trying to say, why is a black woman trying to do that? Why is she trying to run for this? Why is she trying to have that? Why is an Asian person trying to do this? Why is a woman trying to do this? You didn't grow up here, why are you trying to do that? Because you got the right shoes on to walk in any room that you feel God has led you to walk in because you are fitted with the gospel of Jesus Christ. So just walk on, just walk. Some of the battles that you're in, what you're wearing matters. Point two. What do we need for spiritual battles? The shield of faith. This is Ephesians 6.16. Ephesians 6.16. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. The shield of faith. This is this our faith, sisters and brothers, is formed through what's in our head, what's in our heart, the habits that we live, and our connection to heaven. Let me say it again. Our faith is formed through the combination of what is being developed and formed in our head, in our heart, the habits we have, and our connection to heaven. And so this is why we need the shield of faith. We need the shield of faith so it can deal with our thinking. We need the shield of faith so it can deal with how we're feeling. We need the shield of faith so that it can deal with our habits, our behaviors. We need the shield of faith so that we can have a connection to heaven. Heaven is not just your eternity. Heaven should not just be the idea of when I die, this is where I'm gonna go. Jesus said, pray in this way. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God is trying to get the kingdom in you, in your head, in your heart, in your behavior, in your habits. You you are you ought to live not just as a citizen of the United States of America, but live as a citizen of the kingdom of God. Because when there is no more Roman Empire, there's still the kingdom of God. When there's no more Egyptian empire, there's still the kingdom of God. When there's no more Babylon, there's still the kingdom of God. And one day down up yonder, when there's when Jesus returns and there's no United States as we know it right now, the kingdom of God will still reign. Bring the kingdom of God upon evil and injustice and wickedness in the world right now. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Your citizenship in the kingdom of God is more long-lasting than any citizenship that you'll ever have. In God's kingdom, you are not undocumented. If you claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, in God's kingdom, you are not a foreigner. You are not an alien in God's kingdom. Are you living out your citizenship? Let me let me go a little further with this shield thing. Let me go a little further with this shield thing. I used to think, because I'm in the comic books, so I used to think it was like a Captain America shield. You know, like some come at you like pew, some come at you like pew, some come at you, pew, pew, like you just you gotta move the shield around. You know, whatever's coming at you, oh, you know, something's coming, you know, gotta move the shield around. But no, this shield is based on what shields look like for a Roman soldier. And that shield that a Roman soldier had, it was like it was heavy and it was huge, and it went from the top to the bottom. So it was over your head, it was down to your feet, and it was almost a little circular. So like it came out like this. So, like if you're turning like this, like you are protected from the top to the bottom by this shield. From the head to the toe, you are protected. That is what the shield of faith does. It protects you in your highs and in your lows, it protects you on the mountain and it protects you in the valley. We need the protection of God. We need this shield of faith. So when I'm happy and I'm joyous, I'm protected. But when I'm sad and I'm depressed, I'm protected. When I'm getting promoted, I'm protected. When I'm unemployed, I'm protected. When I'm in a house, I'm protected. When I'm in the projects, I'm protected. When I am moving forward, I'm protected. When I feel paralyzed, I'm protected. When I walk up in my house, I'm protected. When I feel like I can't get out the bed, I'm protected. When I'm single, I'm protected. When I'm married, I'm protected. When I'm healthy, I'm protected. When I'm sick, I'm protected. I'm Monday, I'm protected. In the moonlight, I'm protected. In the midnight hour, I'm protected.

SPEAKER_00 32:56

When the sun body, I'm protected. When you lie on me, I'm protected. When you wanna fight me, I'm protected. When you push me away, I'm protected. I'm covered from head to toe. Get you a shield.

SPEAKER_01 33:23

The shield of faith is formed and it's protecting us. The enemy wants to attack you from the top to the bottom. So you need the whole shield. You don't need half of shield, you need a whole shield. And then three. The helmet of salvation. It says in Ephesians 6, 17. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. So let me start with the helmet of salvation. The helmet of salvation, of course, for the Roman soldier, it's protecting his head. This is protecting our thinking. You need to know what it means to be saved and liberated and empowered by God so that no matter what people are saying to you, you know who you are. Because, listen to me. What is in your head is gonna determine where you're headed. I really want you to hear this. What is in your head? Some people are headed to destruction because there's destructive thinking in your head. Some people are on their way to promotion because the the the promotion of God thinking is in your head. Victory's in your head, victory is where you're headed. Overcoming is in your head, overcoming is where you're headed. What is in your head determines what is on your head, and what is in your head determines where you're headed. So when people try to block you from what God has for you, your thinking will allow you to move forward anyway. Who told you you could come in this room? God, who told you you were qualified for this? God. Who told you you can move into this neighborhood? God, who told you you could sit at this lunch counter? You're gonna beat to mine your car, God. Who told you it was on clearance? God. And finally, sisters and brothers, the sword of the spirit. The sword of the spirit is for up close, hand-to-hand contact, combat. Up close fighting. See, when they were fighting somebody that was far off, they used a bow and arrow. So that's how they got to somebody. Oh, you, you, as my folks would say down south, if you down yonder, I'm gonna use an arrow to get you. But if you're up close, it's knife work, it's sword work. I'm just, I'm not really good at knife fighting. I don't know why I'm doing this. It's a spiritual principle I'm trying to teach you. I learned this from my wife. She's from the hood. She just put her hand up in the air, too. She was like, yep, yep, he learned that from me. Sorry, Chief Han. I don't really do that, but uh, that's a whole nother story. Sorry, sorry, Chief Han. But but uh the enemy sometimes wants to attack you up close through your marriage, through your children, through your friends, up close, through your dreams, through your hopes, and you need the sword of the spirit to deal with the enemy trying to get too close into your life so you can win. This is not really just talking about the Bible, because Revelation talks about Jesus coming, returning, and what comes out of his mouth being a double-edged sword. The word, Jesus, the Messiah. You need an intimate relationship with God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, the Word of God, so you can deal with up close attacks. I'm closing now, sisters and brothers. I just want you to know this. Great fighters have great trainers. Muhammad Ali had Angelo Dundee. Joe Frazier had Eddie Fletch. Mike Tyson had Customato. Manny Pacquiao has Freddie Roach. Great fighters have great trainers. And I know that Angelo Dundee is good at what he did. I know Eddie Futch and Customato were good at what they did. I'm sure Freddie Roach is still good at what he does. But can I introduce you to a trainer that you should know in every fight that comes your way? His name is Jesus, and he's in your corner. His name is Jesus, Mary's baby, El Shaddai, son of man, son of God, Alpha and Omega, the wheel in the middle of the wheel, the bomb in Gilead, the bright and morning star, the one that went to Calvary's Cross. I want to introduce you to a trainer. Ding ding. Come to the corner and let the corner man deal with your wounds. Come to the corner and let the corner man deal with your bruises. You got a bloody nose. Come on to the corner. I want to introduce you to a trainer that's real good. Oh Lord, he's real good. Jesus, the corner man, Jesus, the Son of God, Jesus, my corner man, Jesus.