(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

And her soul, chart and compass, come from Thee, Jesus, Savior, pilot me. As a mother stills her child, Thou canst touch the ocean while Boisterous waves obey Thy will, When Thou sayest to them, Be still. The Son, fruit of the sea, Jesus, Savior, pilot me. When at last I near the shore, And the fearful breakers roar, Twixt me and the peaceful rest. Then while leaning on Thy breast, May I hear Thee say to me, Fear not, I will pilot Thee. We are currently going through the book of Matthew, so I hope to see you for our midweek service. And then you see the so many times and teams, the list of expecting mothers. Congratulations to Ms. Vanessa and brother Ulysses. The baby was born early this morning at 1 a.m. And let me see here, I got the stats somewhere around here. Her name is Isabel, Julian Hernandez, and I don't know how much she weighs, but it's basically about this big or so. It's about this wide, this big, you know, you get the point. But I'm sure we'll get more pictures. So congratulations to them. Let's give them a round of applause. I'm sure they're watching. So congratulations to them. And then you see the important reminders there at the bottom. And of course, the Barso Sewing resumes on Monday, May 1st. We'll give you more details as we approach that. And we'll see if my daughter is born before or after that. And so that kind of determines where we're going to go. And then the men's prayer night is coming up on Friday, May 5th. We'll have dinner for all the men who come out that evening. Want to encourage all the men to bring your sons with you and not to miss the men's prayer night. And so it's a good time of fellowship, but we just kind of go over a lot of the things that the church may need. We pray for the different churches and the different plans we have for our church as well throughout the year. Mother's Day is coming up on Sunday, May 14th. We will have a gift for all the mothers who come on that day. And so make sure you invite your mom or someone's mother on that day. And so we're looking forward to it. End of school picnic, of course, also is on Tuesday, May 30th. If you have any questions about that, you can see my wife for more details. And then you see the regular reminders there at the bottom. Please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service, all right? And that is it. Let's go ahead and sing our next song, song number 106, Abide With Me. Song number 106, Abide With Me. All together on that first verse. Abide with me, fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens, Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee. Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me. Swift to its close, out lies little day. Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away. Change and decay in all around I see. Oh, thou who changest not, abide with me. I need thy presence and we pass it by. What but thy grace can foil the tempter's power. Who, like thyself, my guidance day can be. Through cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me. On the last bow, thou thy cross before my closing eyes. Through the gloom and point me to the skies. Who, like thyself, Earth's faint shadows flee. In life, in death, oh, Lord, abide with me. Amen. Wonderful singing. At this time, the ushers will come forth to collect the offering. You can turn your Bibles to Ephesians chapter number 2. Ephesians chapter number 2. Ephesians chapter number 2. Ephesians chapter number 2. Ephesians chapter number 2 this morning. Ephesians chapter 2, the Bible reads, And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, where in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who were called uncircumcision, by that which is called the circumcision, in the flesh made by hands, that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace. And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple unto the Lord, in whom ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. Let's pray to the Lord God, I would just thank you for this opportunity to assemble here, for the preaching of your word, and just ask that you would bless Pastor Mihir with your Holy Spirit, as he does so now, and please just prepare our minds to give us all readiness of mind to hearken to your word as it's preached, and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Alright, the title of my sermon this morning is The World, the Flesh, and the Devil. The World, the Flesh, and the Devil. Look down at your Bibles at Ephesians chapter 2, in verse number 1 it says, And you hath he quickened, quickened means brought back to life, who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past he walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in time past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. And so this morning I want to talk about the world, the flesh, and the devil, and I want to explain what this, essentially, these are the triad adversaries of Christians. These are the three elements, the three enemies that Christians will have to fight all the days of their life. And this isn't a fight that we can essentially just kind of throw our hands in the air and just say, well I'm not going to battle it, I'm not going to fight it. No matter what, you're in this fight if you're a Christian. No matter what, you are always going to face the world as a Christian. You're going to be battling your flesh, you're going to be battling the devil, and so I want to talk about these particular enemies that a Christian has and what they each mean. Now the first one I want to talk about, of course, is the world. Now when we talk about the world, what's a good way to describe or define what the world is? We're obviously not talking about the physical world per se, the earth, we're referring to the world system. And I think a good way to describe or to define what the world is, the definition is found in verse number two of Ephesians 2, where it talks about wherein in time past he walked according to the course of this world. That's a good way to describe the world. It's essentially a place that has a path for you, a course. And this course has essentially Satan as its navigator. And if you think about it, this course that the world is on, every human being that's in this world leads them ultimately to hell. Broad is the way that leadeth them to destruction, and many there be which go in thereapp. And so this course that the world has, this course that Satan has essentially set forth for every human being in this world is a path, is a road, is a course that ultimately leads you to hell. But it's paved with lies. It's paved with deceit. It's paved with false religion. You know, the Bible says, whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Now, here's the thing is that once a person believes on Jesus Christ and gets saved, you know, they're not on their way to hell anymore, right? They're essentially, they have eternal life. They're on the way to heaven. But the fact of the matter is that they can still remain on that course of deceit though, okay? Obviously, the ultimate destination for that person will not be hell. Obviously, we know they're going to go to heaven one day. They have eternal life because they believed on Jesus Christ. But you know what? At the end of the day, they can choose to remain on the course of this world that is filled with lies and deceit and the philosophies and the teachings and the knowledge of this world that kind of leaves them in darkness still, okay? Because here's the thing, folks, is that once we get saved, it doesn't mean that we're no longer deceived regarding other things of this world. We obviously know the truth and the Bible says, ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free regarding salvation. However, just because someone is saved, it doesn't mean they can't remain simple-minded. It doesn't mean they can't remain deceived and completely just deceived about the things of this world, even deceived about things regarding religion, okay? You have Christians who they get saved and then they remain in a church that may have some false doctrine or they remain under teaching and tutelages of this world that are contrary to God's word. But they don't necessarily know how to discern that because you have to grow in the knowledge of God, the knowledge of Jesus Christ. You have to be able to read the Bible and be in church to be able to distinguish that that's not of God, right? And so Christians, if they're not careful, can remain on that particular course. The course that we want to be on is the same course that the Apostle Paul is on, right? You think of the Apostle Paul when he said at the end of his life, I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith. Listen to this, I finished my course. And that course can often be defined as serving God, you're on the path of truth, of the word of God, you're winning souls to Christ, you're in church, you're leading people to Christ, you're essentially doing the will of God, okay? That's the course that we want to be on. And in fact, the Bible says, wherefore we are also seen, we are also compassed about so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with patience, let us, I'm sorry, it says, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. So often the Bible describes the Christian life as a race. It's a race that we're on, we're not competing with anyone else per se. It's a race essentially to finish for God, right? To finish right with God, to finish with the right doctrine, to finish with pleasing the Lord at the end of our lives, and it's a race that is set before us. It's a course that God has set before us. You know, the Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works the steady man should boast. But then it goes on to say, for we are as workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. What is that referring to? The course. And, you know, part of what the Bible is constantly teaching us is stay the course. Stay in church, stay in the word of God, fight for your marriage, fight for your children, fight for your family, fight for the word of God, fight for righteousness, fight for righteous things, stay the course. So if someone's not staying the course, and they're not involved in those things, they're essentially walking the course of this world. There's only two roads in this world, right? There's only two paths in this world that you can follow, that you can run. You have the course that's led, that's put forth by God, and then you have the course of this world. Go to John chapter 17, if you would, John chapter 17. John chapter 17, you know, when the Bible warns us against the world, there's a lot of things within the world that we have to be careful about. You think about the world's things, right? The possessions of this world. The Bible says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. What does that mean? It's referring to the fact that if any person builds up an affection towards the things of this world, it's only an indicator that they're losing their love for God, okay? The love of the Father is not in them. They haven't really developed or maintained a love for God. And so we have to be careful about the things of this world. Obviously, we know that it's okay to have possessions, it's okay to make money, it's okay to have the things of this world. The problem arises when those things have you. The problem arises when the possessions of this world begin to possess you. To the point where you no longer set your affections on things above, but on the things of this earth, and you essentially are entangled again with the affairs of this life, right? That's the issue. That's the problem. And so riches aren't the issue. Money's not the issue. Possessions aren't the issue. It's a Christian's discipline to maintain their affection on things above. And let's just be honest, you know, the things of this world can easily entangle us if we're not careful, okay? And, you know, God blesses us, and He blesses us with possessions. He may bless us with financial prosperity. He may bless us with different things of this world, different factors. But if we're not careful, if we don't maintain our affections on things above, essentially those things can render us useless for the things of God, useless for the kingdom of God. Because then we start focusing on other things that are not godly, okay? Now let me just remind us today as a church regarding the world that the world is not your friend, okay? And by the way, we're not supposed to be worlds of the friend either. Don't listen to the churches and preachers and pastors out there that try to get you to become a friend of the world. Folks, we love the world in a sense that we love the souls that are in the world. We want the souls that are in the world to be saved. We want them to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We want the souls that are in the world to be saved. We want them to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And even thereafter, we want them to turn to righteousness and to love the Bible and to love Jesus Christ. But at the end of the day, folks, the world hates Christians. And, you know, the feeling should be mutual, right? It shouldn't be like a love-hate relationship where, like, the world hates you, but you just still maintain this affection for the world. You know, the feeling should definitely be mutual where it's like, you hate me, and guess what, I hate you too. You know, the Bible tells us, you're in John chapter 17, I'm going to read to you from John 15. Verse 17 says, these things I command you that you love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own, and so on and so forth. So what is Jesus Christ saying? He's basically stating that it's not a good indicator if the world loves you. If the world is comfortable around you, if the world likes having you around, if the people of this world who have, you know, polar opposite ideologies of God's word, if they're comfortable around you with your speech and your lifestyle and your talk, then guess what, that's not good. Because the Bible tells us here that the world should hate you because you're a Christian. And Christianity is obviously in direct opposition to the things of this world. And, you know, don't feel bad if the world does hate you because you're in good company because they hated Jesus Christ. Look at John 17. John 17 is the prayer of Jesus Christ for his disciples. Look down at your Bibles at verse 14. He says here, I have given them thy word and the world hath hated them. So notice, what causes the world to hate you? It's the word. He says, I've given them the word and the world hath hated them. The natural byproduct of reading, obeying, and following the word of God is that the world will hate you for that. He says, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world, I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. So this is a really good verse that the Amish need to read, okay? And that is, you know, God's will is not that we become so separated from this world that we move out to the middle of nowhere and create some sort of compound for Christians, you know, some sort of sanctuary for Christians where we can just all be Christian together. We just live in the mountains, we raise cattle, and grow vegetables, and, you know, no internet, just live off-grid, and we can just live a holy life unto the Lord. That's not God's will. And, you know, a lot of people, well-meaning people, like to do that stuff because they're just like, actually, I don't know why they like to do that. I'm a city boy, so I can't, I can't, you know. I like the coffee shop, like, you know, coffee shop, In-N-Out, gas station, everything in reach. That's the way I like to live. And so, but here's the thing, folks, is that obviously I'm not saying it's a wicked desire to want to live off-grid in the mountains, in a cabin, you know, with bears and cougars and all that stuff. If that's your, you know, you like that stuff, that's cool, whatever, you know. However, the Bible tells us that God doesn't want, because a lot of Christians will do something like that because they want to come out of the world. And they essentially describe the world as being the metropolitan cities where all the sin is and the people are. And, you know, obviously that's a good definition of that because metropolitan cities, or any type of city for that matter, you're going to have a lot of sin taking place. The more people there are in a city, the more sin is rampant, right? But God says, I don't want you to take them out of that world. I just want you to keep them from the evil. In other words, not live off-grid in the middle of nowhere, just help them to be good Christians so they stay away from evil. You see, when someone decides to just move out in the middle of nowhere and be a Christian, you know, to build a cabin church for them and their family to self-ordain or something, you know, I don't know. When they want to just be Amish, it's essentially showing, number one, that they don't love lost souls. Because we ought to be where the people are at, amen? And number two, it shows that they have little to no good Christianity to be able to resist the evil that is in this world. He says they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. He said, well, what are we supposed to do? You know, we live in this, you know, sin-filled world and the city is so sinful, there's sin everywhere, abominations everywhere. It's just so wicked. What are we supposed to do? Look at verse 17, sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. So how do we stay clean in the midst of an area where there's so much evil, it's through God's word. How do we remain on God's course and not slip into the course of this world? Well, we do it by being in God's word. But folks, I understand if Christians out there are being influenced by the things of this world and just being swayed to go according to the course of this world if they're not reading the Bible. Because the Bible is the only thing that can sanctify us, keep us clean, keep us right with God and maintain our eternal affection and not develop a worldly affection. And, you know, where your soul is just constantly vexed because you're just watching everything that's on social media, everything that's on the news, all of the new conspiracies or all of the whatever takes place, you know, that can vex your righteous soul from day to day. However, you can strengthen your soul, you can cleanse your spirit if you're reading God's word continuously. So he says, sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. So it's God's will that we're in the world to win those who are in the world and also to live a life that's pleasing unto the Lord in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. I mean, how are you going to shine forth as a light when you're only surrounded by light, you know, in some obscure area where there's no people? The way we can shine brightly is when there's darkness all around us. You understand? That's what God wants us to do. Go to Colossians chapter 2, if you would. Colossians chapter 2. I'm going to read to you from James chapter 4, verse number 4. Strong language here. It says, ye adulterers and adulteresses. Great way to start off a verse, amen. Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Now, we often think of the enemies of God as being those who are reprobate, and that's definitely true. However, the Bible even says that Christians, if they're not careful, can also become an enemy of the Lord, not a reprobate because you can't lose your salvation and be beyond the hope of salvation. It's referring to the fact that you have essentially situated yourself or aligned yourself with God's enemies. And look, make no mistake, there's people in this world who are believers who align themselves or support the enemies of God. They support the world. They support the enemies of God. They capitulate to the ideologies of this world because they're afraid, they're brainwashed. We don't know exactly what it is. If that wasn't a possibility, then the verse wouldn't exist that says, Shouldst thou help the ungodly and love them, they hate the Lord. Therefore, wrath is upon thee from before the Lord. The fact that that verse exists shows us that God's people can be duped by the things of this world and support the wicked, support this world, and not even know that it's wrong or something like that. It's called, they're desensitized. And so we have to constantly fight the world and the world's ideologies. And you know, sometimes Christians have a hard time with this because of the fact that they've been brainwashed by the world. But the Bible tells us, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies in living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And it says, Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God, the Bible says. Now when we think of a worldly Christian, we think of a Christian who just listens to worldly music, they dress worldly, they look worldly, and that's definitely an application to it. But at the end of the day, it's essentially how a Christian's thinking. They have a worldly mindset. Where do I have you turn? Colossians chapter 2, look what it says here in verse number 6. As ye therefore receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith as he hath been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Here's the warning, verse 8. Beware lest any man spoil you. What does it mean to spoil you? Well you think of when a foreign nation would come in and take another nation captive, a city or a town, they would essentially enjoy the spoils of war, right? The gold, silver, sometimes in certain cases people. And so they would steal these things, they would spoil them, they didn't belong to them, but because they conquered a specific city or town, they were able to spoil the goods of that city. Well this is the same way this is being used here. He says beware lest any man spoil you. How? Well through philosophy and vain deceit. So in other words, be careful with the things of this world that seek to deceive you and thereby steal you. And by the way, doesn't the Bible say that Satan cometh not before to kill, to steal and to destroy? Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. Listen to this, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Rudiments is just another way of saying principles. And so he says you gotta be careful with who you listen to, you gotta be careful with who's influencing you in this world, because at the end of the day their motive is to spoil you, to steal you. Through their philosophy, through their deception, through their traditions, through the principles that they put forth, and it's not after Christ. So it's essentially kind of giving us the distinction between two parties here. You have God's party, and then you have the world's party. And he's saying, you gotta be careful if someone's trying to teach you something, give you an ideology of something that doesn't align with the things of Christ. Now let's give some practical application to this, okay? Because we want to teach doctrine, but we also want to make application to this to 2023, right? And in times past, some of the greatest influencers as far as worldly influencers that had a really worldly influence upon even Christians were like actors. Hollywood actors and people of that nature. But now we're entering into a new era. I shouldn't say we're entering, we're already in it. Where, you know, Hollywood people aren't really that popular anymore. I mean, they're famous because they're already like already famous. But now it's like the common people who have risen up through different platforms that have become popular and famous, right? So what are you talking about? Well, how about podcasts? These are just regular people who ended up creating a platform for themselves and gaining millions of followers, millions of subscribers, millions of followers that listen to their ideologies that they put forth. And podcasts are really popular right now. I mean, people love listening to podcasts, you know, stay-at-home moms as they're doing their daily chores or they're listening to podcasts. Men as they're going to work, they're listening to podcasts. As they're at work, they're listening to podcasts. People just like hearing people talk, right? And sometimes these podcasts last for hours and hours and hours. And so, you know, these influencers, these creatives, as they like to call them, some of these people are far more famous than the famous people in Hollywood. I'm not saying they get paid more than those in Hollywood. I'm saying they're more influential than some of these people in Hollywood. And I'll give an example. This is a really worldly example. Let me just be worldly for a second here. Let me just join the course of this world for just a minute. But, you know, I remember a long time ago, you know, this guy named Will Smith, for example, okay? And Will Smith is a really popular actor. You know, he's been around for like a hundred years or something. I don't know. He's been around for a long time. And, you know, he kind of got into this whole podcast and creative influencer thing. But then there's a YouTuber who's not an actor. And he wasn't necessarily like Hollywood or anything like that. He just became famous because of YouTube. He had a big YouTube channel and he gained a lot of followers. His name was Casey Neistat, okay? And I remember years ago I saw this clip where they were kind of doing a collaboration together, Will Smith and Casey Neistat. And they were coming out of a building and all these teenagers were there, right? And they all ran towards Casey Neistat. They didn't even know who Will Smith was. And he was just kind of like in the background, like, you know, a little embarrassed. You know, like, hey, this is the Fresh Prince here. But, you know, he's not fresh anymore, though. You know, he's kind of spoiled, you know? But, you know, this guy, like, everyone wanted to meet this YouTuber influencer more than the Hollywood guy. So the point that I'm trying to make is that, you know, a lot of these people who do these podcasts, they're very influential people, okay? And they give all types of advice, homesteading advice, advice about finances, marriage, child rearing. You know, a lot of this, some of this stuff is pretty good. But the problem is that, you know, they also like to insert a little false doctrine in there from time to time. You know, you listen to these podcasters who give you really good homesteading advice and then you're like 100 episodes in and then they tell you they're a Mormon or something. It's just like, what in the world? But then you begin to esteem these people and not realize that they have an influence on you. It's a worldly influence. But how about this, you know, the biggest podcaster in the world is Joe Rogan. That guy influences a lot of people. You're like, does he have anything of value to give, though? Doesn't that mean that he just has valuable advice and valuable counsel and he's just bettering this world? He believes in aliens. He talks about aliens all the time. He smokes weed on the podcast all the time. You know, he may have some conservative, you know, world views or whatever, which obviously causes him to influence more Christians. Because then Christians are like, well, you know, he is right about the vaccine. But he's a blasphemer. He mocks the Bible. He mocks God. He mocks Jesus Christ. I mean, he believes in aliens. This is the world. How about Steven Crowder? Really popular YouTuber who is considered a conservative, libertarian or whatever, that believes in family values as he is getting a divorce. I mean, this came out recently, right? He's over here promoting family values and how important it is and keep the trannies away from the kids or whatever and make sure, you know, all these biblical family values as he's simultaneously destroying the institution of marriage. But he has a ton of followers. This is the world, my friends. You're like, yeah, but he's kind of Christian. This is a cloak. This is what the Bible calls philosophy and vain deceit. These are the traditions of men, the rudiments of this world, and it's not Christ. And you know what? Any babe in Christ will get deceived by that stuff. Okay. Another guy is, you might not know who this is. I actually did not know until my wife told me about him. Dennis Prager. You know, this guy's really popular. He has like his own university and makes millions of dollars teaching people. And he's like a conservative guy. He puts himself forth as a conservative guy. But then, you know, he recently comes out and he says men want variety. And if porn is a substitute for adultery, it's not awful. What? But look, folks, these are the people that influence others. This is the world's influence. And you may think to yourself, well, you know, I'm not going to reject that. I'm not going to accept that. I'm going to reject that. But, folks, it's called you being desensitized. And the more you allow the world to influence you in this manner, the more you begin to make excuses for, you know, they're not that bad. They're wrong in this area. They may not be right on salvation. They may be wrong about marriage. But they're good on this. And you start making all types of excuses for the world. Now, this next guy, obviously I've talked about this guy a lot. But I'm going to talk about him again. Okay. Because he is popular amongst Christians for some reason. I just don't know why. He dresses funky. He's always in a bad mood. He's always angry and moody and depressed. Yes, you know who I'm talking about, Jordan Peterson. This guy is extremely influential. He has a book. I'm sure he has many books. But he has this one particular book that did very well, is doing very well, makes him a lot of money. It's called the 12 Rules for Life. How many of you have ever heard of it? Okay, let's be honest here. How many of you have ever read it? Okay, Jason. Well, Jason is actually the one who told me about it. He told me about this. So I was blown away when I heard about this. Now, Christians read this book, as we plainly see here. We've got someone running the course of this world over here. Get on course, brother. No, I'm just kidding. But there's a lot of Christians who actually listen, read, and are influenced by Jordan Peterson. And he brought up this book. It's an older book, but it's still very much on the market, very popular. People read it, recommend it, whatever. And the description here says, What does everyone in the modern world need to know? Renowned psychologist Jordan Peterson's answer to the most difficult of questions uniquely combines the hard-won truths of ancient tradition with the stunning revelations of cutting-edge scientific research. So you're like, oh, philosophy. Ah, vain deceit, though. Now, let's just read the table of contents, as Jason did for me two weeks ago. He was trying to win me over to this, and it just wasn't. No, I'm just kidding. Because remember, this is what everyone needs to know in the modern world. You need to know this. We all need to know this, apparently. And here is the most difficult question, and he's using ancient traditions and stunning revelation. Okay? This is going to blow your socks off. Chapter one. You need this. And by the way, let me just say this. Some of these are just like, okay, yeah, that's good. But you've got to have some good stuff in there so that not everything looks stupid, you know what I mean? So number one, stand up straight with your shoulders back. That's a stunning revelation. But it's backed up by scientific research, though. Number two, treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping. I mean, thank you for changing my life with that chapter. Chapter three, make friends with people who want the best for you. All right? Next one, compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today. All right? That's decent. Next one, don't let your children do anything that makes you dislike them. What? Next one, set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world. Well, here's the thing. No one has their house in perfect order. No one ever will have their house in perfect order. But God still commands us to criticize the world. So basically what he's saying is don't ever criticize. Next one, pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient. Oh, this one's a kicker right here. Tell the truth, don't lie. What? Tell the truth or at least just don't lie. So in other words, make a little room for, you know, you can leave some truth out or word something in such a way that it doesn't sound like you're lying or something like that. Remember, this is life changing, okay? This is backed by scientific research. These are stunning revelations. This is what you need to know, okay? Next one, assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don't. Next one, be precise in your speech. Now let me just say this about Jordan Peterson. He does not follow this at all. He's never precise when he speaks. You ask him a question and he beats around the bush for like 15 minutes and then you walk away thinking, this guy has a really large vocabulary but I have no idea what his answer is. Like you don't know where he stands. So he doesn't have precise speech. These next two are like, talk about stunning revelation. Do not bother children when they are skateboarding. I'm glad he said that because, you know, I've had this desire. There's this itch within me. Every time I see a kid skateboarding, I just want to go like bother them. So that for sure changed my life. But this last one is the best one out of them all. And I am not exaggerating at all. This one right here, I mean, revolutionary, life changing, and it is backed up by scientific research apparently. This is worth all the money that whoever much money this book costs, this is worth it right here. And he put the best for last. Pet a cat when you encounter one on the streets. I don't even like to pet cats that like my friends own. Let alone some diseased cat, straight cat on the street. Toxoplasma, right? Which pretty much all you in here have. Just letting you know that right now. You can research toxoplasma later. These are the 12 rules to life. These are the rules that you should live by to have success, to be happy, to get toxoplasma, to fight your urge to bother kids when they're skateboarding. This is the answer to life's problems here. But what is this called? It's called philosophy and vain deceit. It's called the traditions of men, the rudiments of this world, and it's not Christian at all. The one who is writing about the book says, Jordan Peterson suggests that good is simply the prevention of evil, and good rules that reduce unnecessary human suffering will help us to live better lives. The 12 rules for life in this book are built on the fundamental rule that we must each take responsibility for our own lives. Folks, you know what the Bible says? We don't need the 12 rules. There's not 12 rules to life, my friend. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do all according to this written therein, for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. That's what the Bible says. But I guarantee you there's Christians who are on the course of this world listening to this philosophy and vain deceit, and they're petting a cat every time they encounter one on the street. But you know what the Bible talks about? You know what the Bible says? Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? God made it foolish, but Jordan Peterson didn't need anyone to make it foolish. This is already foolish to begin with. It says, for after the wisdom of God, listen to this, the world by wisdom knew not God. Folks, you have to understand something. The philosophy, vain deceit, traditions of men, rudiments of this world, cannot get you to seek after the Lord. It can't get you to seek after the Lord. It can't help you find God. It can't help you to have a better marriage. It can't help you have better children. It can't help you to have a closer walk with God. Why? Because the world by wisdom knew not God. You're not going to find God through evolution. You're not going to find God through Jordan Peterson. Well, he talks about God, but it's a God in the making of his own mind. He's literally just making all types of money off of people who think he has anything of value to offer. This is the world, though, my friends. So we may criticize people who are worldly because of the music they listen to, how they dress and how they talk, but there's some Christians who may not go to that extreme, but they go to the other extreme and they go to someone like this. The podcasters and influencers of this world who are just filling their mind with a lot of stupidity and simplicity of this world, and the Bible says we can't know God by the wisdom of this world. It says it pleads God by the foolishness of preaching to say then that believe. Go to 1 Corinthians 2, and then we're going to go to Romans 7. Talk about the world, the flesh, and the devil, and I'm spending a significant time on the world because we've got to be careful that we don't become worldly Christians. I'm referring to how you dress, although you can fix that. I'm referring to the music you listen to, although you can fix that. It's referring to how you think. Who are you allowing to influence you? Is it Dennis Prager? Is it Jordan Peterson? Is it Joe Rogan? You become a worldly Christian. Look at chapter 2, and verse number 4 says, My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power. Listen to this, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world that come to naught. So the apostle Paul wasn't going around quoting Plato, Socrates, or something like that. Why? Because those things come to naught. He wasn't preaching the wisdom of the princes of this world. Look at verse 7. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. You say, well, you know, I've heard some podcasts that have helped my child rearing, that I got some practical information from. Obviously we know there's practical info out there that takes common sense sometimes, right? And you'll even hear some principles that might align with the Bible. It doesn't mean that they came to that conclusion on their own outside of the Bible. Any time you hear some unsaved people, some unsaved person give some sort of biblical principle and they're not a Christian, just mark it down. They got it from a Christian. They got it from the Bible. Any time you read a book and you hear some biblical information being given out, maybe not explicitly accrediting the Bible, but they give some sort of biblical principle, just know this. They got it from the Word of God. They got it from someone who got it from someone who got it from someone who got it from the Bible. That's how it works, my friends, because there's only one source of knowledge and truth and wisdom, and that's of God. Legitimate wisdom, legitimate knowledge, legitimate truth comes from God. So they got it from Him, whether by third, fourth hand. Go to Romans 7, if you would, Romans chapter 7. So beware of this world. Beware of the influences of this world. Let me read you a couple of other verses here before we move on. 2 Peter 1.3 says, 1.4, Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Sometimes the most obvious answer is the answer. I mean, people think, well, what do you expect me to do, just read the Bible? And then that'll like, you know, help me? Well, according to this verse, yeah. You can escape the pollutions of this world through God's Word. Not through a podcast. Not through the Duggards. Not through the Pearls and their child-rearing books. Not through philosophy and vain to see. You can literally just stick to the Bible and not say you shouldn't read other books. I'm just saying, you know, your standard should always be the Bible. And I know we agree with that, but folks, sometimes people read other books and they place the knowledge of those books above the Bible. Folks, make this the standard for all matters of faith and practice. Doesn't the Bible say prove all things, hold fast that which is good? So whatever information is coming in, does it align with the Bible? Does it align with the scriptures? And look, folks, we live in a day and age where no one fact checks anything. You could just give all kinds of information and people would just believe it. And we could give all kinds of examples, but just in regards to the Bible. I mean, I have people send me reels and videos all the time of these wannabe Bible teachers online teaching prophecy and they're just like way off. Was it you, Brother Morrie, who sent me something? I think you sent me something. You sent me something worldly, I think it was, right? You know, of this reel, and it was about... What was it, Morrie? Give us that worldly wisdom. She was describing... Yeah! Problem number one, right? She was describing some end times prophecy stuff and it was just completely off. Basically saying that we're already in the end times. And I think it probably had to do something with the Euphrates River. It's always about the Euphrates River. Let me just say that. It's like every time it dries up, it's just like, we're here! It's just like rivers dry up all the time. And so, why are you scared? And these are the spiritual false flags of this world, by the way. These people are the ones who... These are the boys who cried wolf. Because people wonder like, you know, how are people going to be deceived by the Antichrist and everything that takes place in the end times when it's just so blatant and it's just wicked and evil? I'll tell you how they're going to do it. There's going to be a bunch of precursors that come up today. And then you have these influencers constantly saying, it's the end, we're in the tribulation, this is it. Jesus is coming, he's coming tomorrow, this is it. Euphrates River dried up, blah, blah, blah. You know, the four horsemen are here and then it doesn't happen. And then that keeps happening. And then they say it's the end. And they just keep doing it and keep doing it and keep doing it. And after a while, people are going to be like, when the Antichrist comes, we're going to be like, see that really tall image there? You know, we're about to die. And they're going to be like, where is the promise of his coming for all things continued as there were from the beginning of the creation? And they're going to mock us, because there shall be mockers in the last time. It's a boy who cried wolf. And so, you know, beware of those who don't fact check stuff. And any time those videos come up, you know, oh, I remember what it was, Brother Maury. They were talking about Antipas. Oh, yeah. Yeah, now he knows. He's like, that's funny, I was just about to say that. They were saying that Antipas, where Antipas died, was like, I can't remember, some weird city. It was like, this is where he died. And then it's just like, the Bible literally says that he was in Pergamos, Turkey. Like, it's the previous verse. It says he was in Pergamos and that he died there. But then everyone was just like, this is amazing. It's like, people, can you go read the Bible? But folks, we live in a day and age where people are content with consuming the wisdom of this world that's foolishness with God. They're not fact checking these things. They're not looking into the word of God. And so they're constantly being deceived. All right, let's move on here. Go to Romans chapter seven, if you would. Romans chapter seven. So we have this enemy called the world. And it's coming through social media. It comes through these podcasters and influencers. And we need to make sure that we gird up the loins of our mind. Right? That we equip our mind with the truth. And we read the word of God. We meditate upon the Bible. We make it the preeminent thing in our life that we constantly read every single day. And by the way, let me just do a commercial break. You should be reading the Bible every single day. And I'm not saying you need to be consuming 20 chapters a day, 10 chapters a day. But consume something, though. You know, the word of God is the protein of the soul. Amen? You know, you need these spiritual amino acids to build up that spiritual muscle so you can function properly as a Christian. You know, Sunday morning, Sunday night should not be the only Bible that you get. And look, I know there's times when it's just, life gets busy, you got kids, diapers, you know, you got a job. You know, listen to the Bible if you have to. But this is a church that emphasizes reading God's word, giving attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. And if you have to start with a chapter a day, two chapters a day, do it, but read something. And ultimately, make it your goal to read the Bible all the way through in a year. And then read it a couple times in a year. Learn the word of God. You're like, yeah, but I'm never gonna be a pastor. Yeah, but you're a Christian, though. And man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceed out of the mouth of God. It doesn't say, pastor shall not live by bread alone. It says, man shall not live by bread alone. All members need to be reading God's word, and not just so you can survive spiritually, but so that you can discern when deceit is being given to you. So that when you look at social media, you're like, this doesn't line up with God's word. When someone gives you a post, information, you're like, this isn't biblical. You know, don't become one of these Christians that when you see a post on social media of a verse, it's like some modern version, and you don't even know that it's a modern version because you're just not familiar with the King James. Right? And then you repost it, you're like, this is such a beautiful verse. And it's like quoting Satan or something. People don't even know that. You know, you're just reading it, and you're just like, oh, what a beautiful verse. But you don't even know that it's like some false version of the Bible. Familiarize yourself with the word of God enough that you can see that's not what the Bible says. What in the world? That's not what the Bible teaches. That's not what the Bible says. You're like, that's a little extreme. Yeah, doesn't the Bible say that he wants us to be a peculiar people, zealous of good works? Extremism in Christianity is a good thing, my friends, and I'm sure the Lord would want a little more extreme Christians. In fact, he condemns people who are lukewarm. So that means he wants us to be on fire for God. And you know what? It's just not a bad thing to be on fire for God's word, too. It's a good thing. We need to be reading God's word. And look, meditate upon God's word. I'm not talking about the ashram, whatever. I'm talking about when you read the Bible throughout your life, just think about it. You'd be surprised how much truth you can get and learn by the ministry of the Holy Spirit when you just think about the Bible. You allow it to ruminate in your mind and in your soul. That's called the ministry of the Holy Spirit. If you're having trouble learning and understanding the deep things of God, here's the main factor that you need in your life is meditating and thinking about the Bible. Yeah, but I've got so many other things to think about. But you know what? Your stress levels will reduce exceptionally if you just meditate more on God's word. Let's move on. So the world. Now let's talk about the flesh. This is another adversary of Christians, and this is one that we live with every day, right? Look at what the Bible says in Romans 7, verse 18. For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. Now notice that this is the Apostle Paul. Apostle Paul is probably one of the greatest Christians in the New Testament, and he's telling us that he struggles with sin. So what does this tell us? It tells us that every repent of your sins false prophet out there is obviously lying, that they don't struggle with sin anymore. Paul the Apostle did. For the good that is in my flesh For the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. Now this doesn't mean that he's not taking responsibility for his actions. So don't misunderstand the passage here when it says it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. What does he mean by that? He is making a distinction between his two natures because he has the old man which is the old nature and the new man which is the new nature. So when he says it is no more I that do it, he's speaking in the stead of the new man because that's the aspect of our being that does not sin. The soul, the spirit that is quickened when it was dead in trespasses and sin, it was quickened by Christ. That aspect of our being does not sin. The Bible says that it's without guile. But then he says but sin dwelleth in me, what sin is he referring to? The sin that is carried out by the members of his body. He says in verse 21, I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. What is the inward man? He's referring to the spirit. And this is a great verse here to show us that the Bible and preaching can never necessarily be boring or just not interesting or not helpful. You say why is that? Because the inward man always rejoices in the law of God. The inward man loves to hear the Bible. The inward man loves to hear the word of God, loves to read the word of God. He says he delights in after the inward man, verse 23. But I see another law in my members worn against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. So what is he doing? He's describing this conflict that he experiences in his life where his flesh wants to sin. His flesh wants to go according to the course of this world. It constantly wants to go to the world. It constantly wants to adhere to the things of this world. But then his spirit wants to remain right with God. Now look folks, you need to remain in this battle. This is a fight. Let me say this. This is a daily fight to fight against the members of your body. And a lot of times Christians just kind of throw up their hands and they're just like, I can't handle it anymore. I'm going to go do X, Y, and Z or I'm just going to, I'm not going to be walking in the spirit. Folks, we need to constantly on a daily basis fight the desires of the flesh and of the mind and make sure that we subject ourselves to the Word of God. The Bible says, Likewise, reckon yourselves also to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. He says, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies that ye should obey it in the lustre of. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law but under grace. What is God saying? He's basically saying, look, your members have the propensity to want to commit sin. So what you have to do is when you have the desire say, You know what? I'm going to read the Bible today. One of my favorite memes to use to describe this particular battle. I don't know if you guys have ever seen it, but it's the black guy who's just like, he's like punking someone. And then he's just like, I don't feel like reading my Bible. And the black guy's like, no, I said we're reading the Bible today. And it's like, that's like the spirit. And I feel like that sometimes. Where it's just like, I don't feel like reading the Bible. And my spirit is just like, I said we're reading the Bible today. It's like, but I don't feel like it. I said we're reading today. There's no choice. Sometimes you have to fight with your flesh like that. It's like, I don't feel like doing X, Y, and Z. It's just like, well, we're doing it anyways. And that's what it means to be spirit led. You see, people think being spirit filled is just like this demonic possession type of experience. It's like, feel me. And then you just start reading the Bible. You're like, I know the whole Bible. That's not the way it works. You have to be spirit led. In other words, the inward man has to lead the entire operation. That make sense? Too many times Christians allow the old man to be in charge. You know, you take a day off and it's just like you let the old man kind of take over for a while. But you know what the Bible tells us is that we need to be led of the spirit. The spirit has to be the one who dictates what we do and what we don't do. Walk in the spirit. Ye should not fulfill the lust of the flesh, for the flesh lusteth against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh. These are contrary to one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that ye would. And don't think that, you know, you may have succeeded today, but tomorrow is a new battle. Go to Colossians chapter 3, if you would, Colossians chapter 3. I really appreciate the Apostle Paul and his honesty and his transparency, especially when he's writing Romans 7. Because he says, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? He's like, man, I just, I hate my flesh. And I think everyone in here has been to a point where they're like, man, I hate my flesh. My flesh, I'm just sick and tired of this corruptible body that, you know, wants to sin, it thinks wrong, it does wrong, it says wrong. And just this constant battle with the flesh, who shall deliver me from this body of death? Well, obviously the resurrection. And that's why this whole deliverance doctrine is so wicked, it's so evil, it's so vile. Because they're seeking that result, that end, without the resurrection. Because the only way we will ever be in that position is when we resurrect from the grave with our glorified bodies, which requires the second coming of Christ. But they're saying we don't need the second coming of Christ, we don't need the resurrection, we could obtain glorification without Him. Especially what they're doing. Let me see what they're doing. Look at Colossians chapter 3, in verse number 1, it says here, If ye then be risen with Christ, heave those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on the things of the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. Verse 5, Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is idolatry, for which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience. I like that word that he uses there, mortify. What does that mean, kill it? Like a mortician? Mortify therefore the members of your body. Kill those things. Now, don't take it literal, obviously, right? He's not like, oh man, I'm gonna chop off, I'm gonna pluck out my right eye, literally, I'm gonna chop off my right hand or whatever. He's saying, mortify therefore your members of your body. The way you do that is by setting your affections on things above. The way you do that is by being led of the Spirit and not subjecting yourself to the whim of your flesh. And let me just say this, let me be real practical about this, okay? One of the best ways to do this is by placing yourself in an environment conducive to success. You say, what do you mean by that? Well, how about just being in church? When you're in church and you're around God's people, that rubs off on you. Holiness rubs off on you. Righteousness rubs off on you. When you're in church, you're less likely to get involved in things that you shouldn't get involved in because of the fact that you're here preaching, you're singing the hymns, and you're around godly people. That's why the Bible talks about exhorting one another daily. Being around God's people, developing relationships and friendships in church that help you to stay right with God. You need to be around, listen to this, you need to be around people that shame sin, not help you promote it. You need to be around people that shame sin, that make sin look exceeding sinful, not make excuses for doing it. Not tolerate fornication or drunkenness or smoking weed or, you know, whatever other sin there is. We need to be around people who condemn it. And so that helps our flesh be in subjection to the Spirit when we're in church with God's people under the authority of the preaching of God's word, being exhorted by other believers to help us stay accountable. Go to Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6. So here are the three enemies of a Christian is the world. You have the flesh that we have to constantly fight. And, you know, walk in the Spirit, be filled with the Spirit, read the word of God. And look, I'm all for listening to preaching, too. You know, the Bible says despise not prophesying. But here's the thing, I'm not for listening to preaching at the exclusion of your own walk with God, though. Sometimes people do that where it's just like, well, I'm not going to read the Bible because I could just listen to like five sermons or something. But there has to be a time when you're communion with God, though. There has to be a time when you're walking with God and you're praying unto the Lord, you're worshiping God yourself, and you're walking with Him to help you be renewed and to confess your sins and to give Him thanksgiving and worship. We all need that isolated time alone with Him. Look at Ephesians chapter 6. The last enemy here, of course, we know is the devil. So the world is a very subtle enemy for Christians because it's all around us. Because we're born into this system, we need someone from the outside who has an eternal mindset to kind of help us get back on track and, you know, teach us that certain things are sinful. You know what I mean? Like if you got saved later on in life, you come to church, there's certain things you just don't know what's sinful. And by the way, if someone comes to our church and they don't know certain things, don't jump all over them. You know, they're just like, oh, drinking is a sin? No, they're like, bro, that, bro. It's wicked. You're wicked. And just start calling them out in front of everyone and just like, chill out, dude. They don't know any better. We want people to grow, right? And don't blast them out of the water with all your knowledge. And just show them every single verse or something. You know, you got to be kind and patient with people, obviously, right? And we're talking about people who just don't know these things. And obviously, once they know that drunkenness is a sin, fornication is a sin, then it has to be dealt with thereafter. You know, we need to help them with those things. But here's the thing is that, you know, sometimes people come into this church from the world. You know, they come with tattoos. They come with piercings. They come looking like the world because that's where they came from. And if you got saved later on in life, that's where you came from, too. You say, well, I didn't come from that. I grew up in church. Yeah, but you're still in the same exact world that they're in, though. And were it not for the grace of God and your parents or whoever, you'd be going down that same course as well. So just because someone comes in and they're tatted all over, you know, they're just inked up from head to toe. They got all types of piercings on their face, their nose, their ears. They just look like they went face first into a tackle box or whatever. Don't react to that. You know, just like, I'm sorry, what did you say your name was? You know, just be kind to those people. Okay. And, you know, obviously coming to a church like this can be intimidating. I'll be honest with you, right? I mean, it should be intimidating, though. You say, no, you should make it for the world. No, church is for Christians. Church is for believers. I know a lot of these liberal churches try to teach that church is for everyone, but it's actually for believers. And we want to get people saved and bring them to church and teach them. And no, we don't have a dress code. Yeah, but I see everyone wearing a suit here. Yeah, but we didn't call each other and say, hey, this is your third week coming to church. I want to remind you, make sure you put on your suit, shirt and tie, whatever. Part your hair, you know. Oh, I know you don't have hair, but just do something. Wear a skirt, do this and that. It doesn't exist. We don't do that. Okay. But there should be a difference. You know, you should feel different coming into our church, though, because it's different from what you find out there. It's a huge problem if you come into church and it just looks exactly like like a Kanye West concert or something. Same exact thing. We should be different. Okay. So let's talk about this last enemy, and I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time on this because obviously you should know that the devil is your enemy. Okay. I'm going to read to you from 1 Peter, chapter 5, verse number 8. It says, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. So let me say this is that, you know, it's easy for us to come out of the world and understand the world has nefarious intentions. It's easy for us to understand that our flesh has, you know, the propensity to sin. But sometimes Christians just forget that there is a devil out there who's also trying to trip you up as well. And the Bible says that you need to be sober, be vigilant, because he walketh about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. So the Bible specifically tells us, hey, you know, don't just acknowledge that Satan is out there. Be sober about it. So number one, what does that mean? Well, obviously, that means you shouldn't drink. You shouldn't smoke pot. You shouldn't drink. You shouldn't do any hallucinogenic, you know, mind-altering drugs. Why? Because Satan is always looking for an opportunity to attack you, and you're just making it easier for him when you do those things. You know, stop listening to Joe Rogan trying to encourage you to take, what is it, peyote, or what is that, what's that drug he really likes to do? EMT. What is it? I was going to say EMT. I was going to say, isn't that the DMT or whatever? You know, I just want to, I just want to, you know, just like trip out and see whatever visions he's looking at. He's looking at demons. But the Bible says to be sober. You know, be sober, be vigilant. That means be aware of your surroundings, spiritually speaking. Okay. Why? Because he's like a lion that's trying to eat you up. He's trying to vary. Don't mess around, guys. Now's not the time to be careless in your Christian life. And he says, whom resist steadfast in the faith. That means, you know, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and he'll draw nigh to you. That's what the Bible says, right? And then just understand this. When you're attacked of Satan, just know this, that it's not, you're not unique in any way because he attacks all Christians. Okay. That's what the same afflictions are accomplishing to brethren around the world and let that encourage you. Whatever trial or difficulty you're experiencing at this moment, just know this. There is another Christian who experienced the same exact thing, if not worse, and made it through. Let that be an encouragement to you to say, I can make it through as well. I can succeed. I can overcome in this particular area because there's someone out there in this world who went through this, maybe something even worse, and they saw it through. Okay. Verse six and verse number 11, it says, put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. So what is he referring to when he talks about the armor of God? It's obviously not physical armor that you have to wear. He's referring to the spiritual armor. And he says in verse 12, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand. And of course he goes into the armor, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, having your loins girt about with truth, your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And then you have the shield of faith and the sword of the spear, which is the word of God. What is he trying to imply here? He's implying that we're not, this is not a playground. This is not a playground. This is not fun time. If he's telling you to take on armor, he's referring to the fact that you're going to war. That's what he's saying. And so spiritually speaking, you have to have that mindset that we're in a spiritual battle. That doesn't mean that, you know, you can't enjoy life though. You understand what I'm saying? Don't live life paranoid. You know, you obviously can enjoy life, enjoy your family, enjoy church, enjoy your job, enjoy your possessions. However, just understand this is a war though. This is wartime. And so keep on that armor of God. What's the purpose of this sermon this morning? Just to remind us of these adversaries that we have. And we shouldn't forget that the world is still out to cause us, try to cause us to conform to this world, to its ideologies, its philosophies, the vain deceits, the traditions of men, through podcasts, through Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, you know, Steven Crowder. I know I left out some guys. Ben Shapiro. Who else? Andrew Tate. I forgot about that guy. Man, where were you before my sermon? Andrew Tate is trash, my friends. Andrew Tate is trash and no Bible believing Christian should ever listen to Andrew Tate. And the only time you should listen to him is when you're mocking what he's teaching. Because he's such a blasphemer. He's a whoremonger. He is a liar. And he's tossed to and fro. You know, at one point he's just like, he wants to be Muslim. And then he's like, I align more with orthodox Christians, just back and forth. And you know, whenever the world likes a particular person, just know that's probably not a person you should follow. He's like, yeah, but he has some sort of biblical value. He's against feminism. Yeah, he's also about sleeping with multiple women, too. How about that? I mean, is that appropriate for a Christian to do? He's also about making large sums of money because he loves money, which having the love of money is the root of all evil. And he's for essentially making money off of people by, you know, having them sign up to his, whatever university calls it, sigma university, I don't know what they call it. But that guy's trash, my friends. You know, all he's teaching Christians to do and people in general to do is become greedy, covetous, fornicators, and adulterous. Because he says, it's okay for you to get married and have a good wife at home and still play the field. That's wicked. Beware of the world, my friends. Beware of the world, the world's influences. Continue to fight your flesh and be sober and be vigilant about your adversary, the devil. Amen. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Thank you for the warnings thereof, Lord. Help us as your people to be vigilant and to recognize these adversaries that we fight on a daily basis. And I pray that, Lord, you help us to conform ourselves to the word of God, to be transformed by the word of God in our minds that we would prove all things, hold fast that which is good. Help us to subjugate the flesh, Lord, on a daily basis. Obviously, we'll have days that are better than others. But I pray that we just won't give up. We don't throw in the towel. We keep battling the flesh. And, of course, recognize that we have an adversary who is seeking to devour us. And therefore, may that motivate us to be sober and to be vigilant on a daily basis as well. Lord, we love you. We thank you. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Please turn your songbooks to song number 238. Song number 238. That's our last song here. Christ liveth in me. Song number 238 all together nice and strong on that first verse. Once far from God and dead in sin No light my heart could see But in God's word the light I found Now Christ liveth in me Christ liveth in me Christ liveth in me You are the salvation mist That Christ liveth in me As rays of light The flowers of earth set free So light and light and love came forth And Christ liveth in me Christ liveth in me Christ liveth in me You are the salvation mist That Christ liveth in me As it is a flower within the seed The coals, the trees So praise the God of truth and grace His Spirit dwelleth in me Christ liveth in me Christ liveth in me Oh, what a salvation mist That Christ liveth in me On the last nice and strong. With longing my heart is filled And my dear mind may be As on the wondrous Lord I dwell And Christ liveth in me Christ liveth in me Christ liveth in me Oh, what a salvation mist That Christ liveth in me