Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Preparation for Preservation Pt.1

Hallelujah! Let's turn to 2 Timothy. We're going to start another study here that we want to call "Preparation for Preservation." How many of you realize that if we're going to be preserved until the end, it's not just going to happen. It's going to be something that we're preparing for and making the priority of our lives, amen? A lot of us think we're just going to finish because we started. or that God'll see us through, and He always makes up the difference. His grace is greater than all of the circumstances that we're facing in life, and it is, but the same Scripture calls for a preparation on our part. Paul speaks toward that in this last letter that he writes to Timothy; and we all know it's in the latter days of his life. He makes the comments that we're all very familiar with in chapter 4 of 2 Timothy, where he says, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, [the race that was before him] I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing" (verses 7 - 8).

You know we've talked about the eschatological perspective of preparing for the coming of the Lord. The Scripture says He's going to appear to those that are looking for Him. He's going to appear to those that love His appearing. So there has to be an expectation, there has to be an anticipation. The Scripture says there has to be a preparation, because every man that has that hope in him, does what? Purifies himself, purifies himself, even as He is pure (1 John 3:3). So as we're preparing to be able to stand in this evil day that we're facing and to be able to have God cleansing us as that precious bride and washing us with water of the Word, and causing us to walk in a chaste lifestyle that is pleasing to Him, the apostle says that there is for us a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8). But, there has to be a love or an expectation that will cause this preparation. So he says, "Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me..." (verses 9 - 11). He goes on and says in verse 12, "And Tychicus have I sent [away] to Ephesus. [I need you to bring for me] The cloak... the books...parchments" (verses 12 - 13). And the different things.

We all know that in the midst of this Paul is in the Mamertine prison, the sewers of Rome, rats, and stench, and sickness, and disease. He's writing to Timothy and he's encouraging him to stand faithful in the last day. Encouraging this young man that circumstances can change and you won't always know the abundance and the blessings. You won't always know the great deliverances because he's bound, ready to die, and yet believing that God's going to deliver him and has a course for him to finish. The enemy had already tried to take him out on numerous times, but he had to come to Rome. I don't think he thought he was headed to the sewers of Rome. I don't really believe that Paul thought that the course was over at this juncture in his life as that anointing was causing those that had heard to be encouraged and delivered. He said when the hard times came, nobody stood with me. I'm sure there were a lot that were with Paul and the team. Others that had served which were very much like Peter and said, "Though everybody else forsakes you, it will never happen to me." We don't really know what's going to happen when the pressure comes on, do we? But we know His grace is sufficient. The one thing I can tell you is this: you will not stand if you think you will in your own strength. You will not stand in your own strength. The only hope that you and I have of standing is realizing that when we accept and realize our weakness, then we're strong. Only when we realize, "I can't stand," are we preparing ourselves to stand. That's what I want to talk about as we go on in these next sessions. I don't know how long it's going to last, but we're going to get into the armor of God some, and we're going to talk about the things that we have to contend with that make the armor ineffectual. Or I guess I should say--that's probably a false statement--that make the perceived armor ineffectual. You know many of us perceive that we have armor on, and yet it operates by faith like everything else in the Kingdom. There's a few things that I want to deal with in the aspect of preservation, God being able to supernaturally preserve us as a people in the times of adversity. Not only in the times of adversity, but in the times of temptation. We need to know how to deal with temptation in these last hours as the tempter begins to move in all of the supernatural wiles that are going to establish the Antichrist in our day.

I was talking to a couple of believers, who seemed to be very prepared to go out and share their faith. We were talking just the other day, in fact Greg and I were gone for, I don't know, probably over an hour or so. We came back and Janet said, "Where you guys been?" And Greg said, "We've been at church." She said, "What?" He said, "We had church." Praise God, I preached to these people for about an hour concerning the coming of the Lord and the preparation of our hearts. How we need to--these are Baptist folks-- how we need to be prepared in this generation and these were people that were ready and willing to share their faith, but were really understanding clearer now the times that we're going into and the subtlety of the enemy that we're facing.

The apostle says in verse 16, "At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge." How many of you are taken back by that statement? Nobody stood! All of the preparation for preservation, and not one man stood with me. Now some he had sent, they were faithful and they went on to affect ministry according to the mind of God and under Paul's admonition. Demas, we know, had forsaken him, having what? Loved this present world. So I think we need to ask this question of our own hearts: the apostle says, "I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge." Isn't that interesting, they forsake him, and he's concerned with them. That's a true brother. That's a true shepherd. That's the Christlikeness that's working in Paul's life as he matures in this course that God had put him on. Then he makes this interesting statement, "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me...." (verse 17). Aren't you glad for that promise tonight that when everybody else forsakes you, the Lord will stand with you amen? If, we stand for Him. Because if we deny Him, what will happen? He will deny us. So it's very important that we understand that if we're going to be prepared for this last onslaught of principalities and powers, the rise of Antichrist in this day, supernatural, beloved, deception and wiles like the earth has never known.

I think back and as I was meditating, I'm still doing some preparation in this aspect of the garden that we had dealt with and the temptation and the forbidden fruit. Sometimes I think we forget because of the promises of God that we will never be left nor forsaken (Hebrews 13:5), and greater is He that is in us than he that's in the world (1 John 4:4), and that we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). Every one of those promises are yea and amen to the glory of God by us (2 Corinthians 1:20). Oh but beloved, let's not forget the formidable foe, the roaring lion that goes about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Looking for those times when we've strayed from the rest of the flock. Looking for those times when we've got out from under the eye of our Shepherd who carries that staff and that rod that is our protection. I want to tell you something, beloved, listen up very clearly: a sheep has no chance without the shepherd. If we get out on our own, we have no chance. The skit that they did years ago, the sheep on steroids, I want you to understand what that is, it's Christ in us, amen, because without Him we can do nothing. You can't stand! Now how do we know that? In the perfect environment of Eden, and the perfect creation, man in the image of God in his innocent state. There's no sin in our members. There's no sin in the environment around us, only the tempter, only the subtlety of Satan. Now you've got to understand, there's not a lot written in the story, the narrative as we look at it. So we just kind of gloss over it; but I have trouble believing, don't you, that here's Adam and Eve walking with God everyday in the garden, fellowshipping with Him in the cool of the evening, knowing His provision, no internal sin, no sin in the environment, and the devil comes up and says, "Have a fruit." "Oh, thanks!" It didn't happen like that, it couldn't have happened like that! He was more subtle, and the implications as he begins to seduce them with their deprival, "You're not getting what you're worth."

Now get that into your thinking now and you'll get it further as we go on--in your notes--because beloved, that's one of the keys that will cause you to fall. The moment you think you're not getting what you deserve, you'll get what you deserve. The minute you begin to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think: "This is pretty nice being God's greatest creation, but you know this serpent over here that's saying that if we took that fruit our eyes would be open and we would be as God!" Lack of contentment. An over-inflated view of your worth, the inability to deprive yourself through obedience to God. And you'll see it not only in this initial temptation, but you'll see it throughout all of the temptations that we're going to take a little time and look at.

Do a little bit of study, especially if we don't get to it this evening. Start going through and pick out in your own mind, pick out three or four major biblical characters who fell. Begin to look for a pattern. I'll just give you a couple that we're going to talk about: Samson, Esau, Solomon, Peter, Judas. As you begin to look at these people, you're going to begin to see a pattern develop that's very interesting. The thing that causes the fall is this lack of preparation that we want to talk about. Now when we talk about preparation, we're not talking about works, and we're not talking about trusting in our own ability, our own character, our own strength. We're talking about biblical preparation of denying ourselves, of humbling ourselves, of dying to ourselves that we might be able to live, because without it, death is the consequence.

So the apostle says, "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, [verse 17] and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known..." It wasn't because of who he was, it was because of what he was doing. You don't deserve anything! The Lord stood with him so the ministry could continue. That's what our lives are all about here, folks. It's not about all these temporal things. So as we are preparing to stand, the thing that's going to cause us to stand in the evil day is the eternal investment, the eternal perspective, so that we're not seduced by all the lies of the enemy that we're being held out on, and deprived, and not getting what we deserve. He talks about the fact that he was delivered from the mouth of the lion so that this message could continue. Then he makes this statement, here's one of the scripture verses that we're going to build off of in this particular study, "...I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work..." (verses 17 - 18). How many of you have that underlined in your Bibles or have spent time thinking about that? That's an important one, I have that marked very clearly: "...the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" (verse 18). That's what it's all about, finishing this course and being able to go into that eternal Kingdom, the crown of righteousness that's laid up for those of us that love His appearing. So the apostle speaks to us here and talks about that preservation unto His eternal Kingdom that He shall deliver us from every evil work.

Turn over to Psalms for just a second, in the 121st Psalm, we used to sing this chorus. Some of you remember? Verses 7. "The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil..." We used to sing that and that's a good chorus, "The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore" verse 8 says. So in this 121st Psalm we begin to focus on that 7th and 8th verse, the Lord shall deliver me, the Lord shall preserve me! Is it unconditional? We all say, "Well, no, of course, we understand that the promises of God are conditional." As the Psalmist is writing to us here, he's showing us what some of the conditions of this preservation are. Look at verse 1, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." Lord, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon You. I look to the mountains for my help. So we think back then to the Ephesians passage of the armor of God and that passage starts off, "...be strong [how?] in the Lord, and in the power of his might" (Ephesians 6:10). What are you trusting in tonight? What are you trusting in tonight? You know we've talked about the people who've had faith in their faith. Wrong thing to be trusting in. We know about those that trust in the arm of the flesh. Some trust in horses, and some in chariots, but where do we trust? In the Lord our God. We'd all answer, "Yeah, man, I'm trusting God, I'm believing the Lord." But when the pressure comes on, we've talked about, when the pressure comes on, which way do you go? What's your first response, do you really know and believe that the Lord, as Paul said, "...stood with me..." He's standing with me, praise God? This is the same one that knew the Lord was with him on the ship and he said, "Hey, man, I perceive that this voyage is not going to be without hurt; but God told me. His angels stood with me. God told me that if you all will hang tight, nobody will be lost." Natural man wants to bail, wants to take things into his own hands, what do you do when Father puts you in those situations when everything around you is saying, "bail," saying "Trust in the arm of the flesh, you'd better take care of it this way or there's no hope." What's your track record? Not your expectation, not what you believe will happen. We've all been here in different areas, what happens? You know, we're talking about what really happens. We're talking about what we trust in and whether or not we're expecting His presence to deliver us. Or, whether or not we are trusting in our own flesh. Let me just give you a couple of examples. We know the Scripture says, the little foxes spoil the vine (Song of Solomon 2:15). How do you deal with different temptations? As I was sharing with these folks the other day, they were talking about some of their church and we began to share with them how we operate here in relationships in our youth and even into the adults. It just blew them away! But they saw the truth of it and they said, "That's how it should be! That's how it should be!"

We've had a problem arise that we're going to be taking care of. Actually through some of the fellowship that's taken place between Ken Jefferson's church, the Tree of Life (Fellowship). Some of the people that have come down, who have associated with one of our groups, they were offended by the behavior of some of our people. I'm not going to get side-tracked into that. I'm only saying that to say this, they were offended some. So then they said, well then, they're just not going to come anymore and partake. We said that's the wrong way to handle that. If you're offended, if somebody offends you, what do you do? You've got to go to them and bring some reproof. But they were just talking about this offense, I don't know what the facts are, so we're not drawing any conclusion, I'm just using this as a great example.

They were talking about there was some kind of an outing. I don't even know what kind of an outing it was. All I know is that it was shared with me that there was some activity, and they were on some kind of a sliding board or something, I don't know. I didn't care about that part of it, I was listening to the rest of the principles. In the midst of this, there was a single woman and a single man and they were going down this slide together. Or whatever. I'm trying to visualize this, because this is not the Youth Group, this is the Single Minded Saints. I'm trying to visualize these old people, man, going on this whatever it was that was going on. So in my mind I see them on this thing, they're going down through this thing, [making physical motion and swish, swish sound] whatever happened. They obviously lived and survived that, so here they are.

This offended those. They felt there shouldn't be this contact between a man and a woman, and they are right. You say, "But we're close, man. We've been together for years, and we know one another, and, and, and...." What other excuse are you going to make? Do you have sin in your members or don't you? Let me ask you the question, what makes you the exception to "It's not good for a man to touch a woman?" What is it that causes you to think that because we're "long time acquaintances," "brother and sister in the Lord," that as two single individuals, when you take another person in your arms, that there's not going to be some kind of a response to that? When the Scripture says it's not good for a man to touch a woman (1 Corinthians 7:1) that's exactly what it means. When the Scripture says, how can a man take fire into his bosom and not be burned (Proverbs 6:27) that's exactly what the Scripture's speaking of. Let me ask you something, are you thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to think? I'm not saying, "The Word doesn't apply to me," I'm saying that you've deceived yourself. You would never say, "The Word doesn't apply to me;" you would just say, "Look, I can handle that." And the Scripture says, don't do it. Preparation for preservation.

What have we done now to this principle of preservation that God's given us to abstain from the very appearances, to flee that that's in everybody's members, and we begin to somehow think that because of familiarity or whatever it is, that we're immune. We're not. The point I'm trying to make is this, you see it's these little things, these little foxes that begin to give place. We become very familiar and so we get loose with our tongues and we say things that are not edifying about others to those we are close with. We begin to sow now seed that's not of love, of mercy. It hasn't come to fruition, it hasn't manifested yet, but what are we sowing with this tongue, this little member that's like a fire? We need to step back and ask ourselves how careful we are being in our pursuit and in the establishing of these doctrines of preservation that God's given us, because you see that's what it's all about. These are just mandates that He's given us that says, if you're going to finish this course, if you're going to survive the temptations of the evil one, if you're going to be able to overcome and walk victoriously over the sin that's in your members, you're going to have to follow this course or you're going down. "That doesn't apply to me!" "Oh, yeah, I could see that when I was more immature!" Let me ask you something, do you believe that the state of spiritual maturity that you're in right now has surpassed innocence? We all that know the Scripture would have to say, "No." Because you see in the innocent state of Adam and Eve, there wasn't going to have to be a transformation of their body, corruption was not going to have to take on incorruption, mortality, immortality. There was no sin in them, and yet they sinned. So when we're talking about putting the armor on, being able to resist the enemy in this evil day, we can't trust in ourselves.

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help" (Psalm 121:1). As we look to the Lord and to His Word, and to the standards that He's established as that that will keep us in preservation, that high standard of the Word of God alone is what's going to keep us in this day. So you look at some of those incidents that we count very innocent. We have to say, "Okay, now, wait a minute, that in and of itself..."-- How many of you know that little ride was not sin, in and of itself, unless it was somehow manipulated and contrived? You could have had then one person in sin and the other one in ignorance. Motive is always the real issue. "My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." That statement in verse 2, all it's saying is, God is the absolute resource that I look to, and His resources are unlimited. He's the Creator of heaven and earth.

"He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber" (verse 3). He doesn't change. He's immutable. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. I am the Lord, I change not. So the Scripture makes it very clear here that in this relationship with Him, He's immutable, He doesn't change. Then also, He slumbers not, He's always present, omnipresent. He's there to be drawn upon at every hour of our temptation. When we seek Him early, seek Him first, seek Him in the midst of this, He'll be there to speak a word to us. He's always, beloved, He's always speaking and preparing our hearts before we move into the midst of this thing whether it's temptation or whether it's a Satanic attack. So once we begin to realize that God's always there in the midst of the temptation, the Scripture says that He'll not allow us to be tempted past that we're able to stand, and with every temptation He makes the way to escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).

How many of you know what the way of escape is? Jesus is the way. It's turning to Him and saying, "Lord, I'm in the midst of this thing, it's bigger than I am. I'd really like to participate, I'd really like to cater to my flesh, I'm really fearful, I have no faith, this thing has overwhelmed me." Regardless of what it is, the solicitation, or an oppression, whatever it is, there has to be the seeking of His presence in the midst of this temptation, this test, this trial. What's the first thing that you do? "Well I've never been able to defeat this thing anyway. Seems like every time I make the decision, man, and I'm just going to believe God, circumstances just seem to manifest. I'm driving down the road after service and I've made that preparation in my heart, man, that determination in my heart and the strangest thing happened. As usual happens around here, somebody runs a red light and hits this bakery truck. I had just rolled down my window to wave to one of the brothers and this eclair ricocheted right into my mouth. So I stopped." Now you see, how many of you know you couldn't help that? But you don't have to stop. One in the mouth, one in the trunk, one in the mouth, one in the trunk! And make preparation to fail. "What are you doing?" "I'm just trying to keep this from wasting, I was thinking about returning this back to the bakery...." In your mind you're saying, "I think I can freeze these things." We're all alike, we all face the same things. What are we doing here, what are we looking for? We know it all comes down to the fear of the Lord in wanting to reverence Him and honor Him, but beloved, our flesh never wants to obey.

So I went through all of that to just say, don't give any credibility to your flesh. It's no better than it was the day you got saved. So many of us think, we're getting better. You're not! The only thing that's keeping the flesh from acting out and manifesting, is the inner man, the spirit man that you're feeding with the Word of God, praying and obeying, that's causing you to be able to, as Romans tells us, reckon the old man dead. The moment--this is where we're going to be going in the teaching--the moment we slack off on feeding the spirit man and exercising in obedience to God and denying of the flesh, we're going to be overcome, but God's always present for you. You see, one of the greatest things he does is tell you, "You might as well give up. God doesn't care anyway. You deserve what you're getting." We deserve a lot worse than what we're getting. Don't go off on that little pity party and, "Well, you know, I just deserve whatever..." Sure you deserve it! You deserve to go to hell! Now that we've got that settled, what are you going to do? How long do we halt between two opinions? If the Lord's God, serve Him.

So He's told us like He stood with Paul, the Lord stood with me and He preserved me. Verse 5, "The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand." He that keepeth thee will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord's going and making a way for us where there is no way, and His glory is our rearguard. He's constantly speaking to us by that still small voice saying, "This is the way, walk in it." The enemy is continually trying to solicit us off onto other paths of lasciviousness and self. When I talk about self, you know it's so inclusive, but the self life that we've talked about. I mean even the self life of your thoughts, what do you do with your thoughts? Do you bring every thought into subjection to the obedience of Christ? Pull down the evil imaginations. So you think, "Yeah, man. I shouldn't, boy. I was just really thinking, you know, just really hating that person and just going over, bless God, all the things that could happen to them. Thank You, Jesus." What are you going to do with that? We know we can't think those kinds of thoughts, and so we react to that and think, "I can't do that, man, if I don't forgive, I can't be forgiven." Lustful thoughts that so often men are having to contend with, and all of these things that are in their minds. Women I know deal with them too, but not to the degree that men do. There's this stuff called testosterone that makes people crazy. It's real, it's nasty stuff and so you have to deal with it, and God told you how to deal with it. So you have these things, and so you've got to pull that thought down, and put a watch over your eyes and all of that. If you think your man doesn't act that way, you haven't watched him close enough.

So it's what's there. We as Christians say, "I can't do that!" So you pull it down, you pull the thought down. You make the provision to put a watch over and you're guarding yourself in these areas. So now you say, "Okay, now, I know I can't think all those evil thoughts and hatred and maliciousness and manipulation, I can't have all these lustful thoughts and all of these different things...." And we can all say, "Yeah, we're all very aware of that." What about the other thoughts? What about all the thoughts that might even be able to be considered as amoral? Have you given those over to the Lord, or do you still think that's your life? "Hey I know when it gets over into sin man, you know, Jesus is Lord, I can't think that way, I can't hate my brother, I can't get involved in this type of a thought process." But what about in the other areas, where you begin to make preparation for your life goals? Do you remember we made the comment the other day, and we gave the example people wanting to pray and believe God and just trust in the Lord, and what do you do? We made the comment the other day, you get these two job offers, here's this job offer, it's for $250,000 a year, you've got to work about two hours a week. Here's this other one for $18,000 a year and it's a 50-hour a week job and you're going to be making $18,000 or whatever it is. How many of you would pray about it? No, I mean really? I would be willing to say the majority of us would pray about it, because we are people that are taught to do that. I believe that the majority of us would pray about it, with our minds already made up. Because we do think of ourselves a little more highly than we ought to think. We do respond always to thinking that ease for us is God's first thought. It would never enter our mind that He would take us down this other course for an eternal reason of either preparing our hearts, dealing with character, reaching another soul. I look to the hills from whence comes my help. I've counted all things lost that I might win Christ (Philippians 3:8), and preserve you when everybody else forsakes.

You see beloved, when we come to those times in life we've had to make preparation, there has to be a proving of ourselves. The Scripture says it this way, the trying of our faith works patience (James 1:3). So all of the trials we've been through in life, and the Lord just continues to work in us, and the trials aren't overwhelming, and He doesn't try us past that that we're able to stand and makes the way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). Sometimes the way of escape is just enduring. We don't really learn anything, and we're not really changed, so we have to go back through it again some time down the road. The one thing that you've got to understand is this that the Lord chastens those that He loves. He's going to bring you right back around again and put you under the trials and begin to deal with that pressure in your life so we can deal with what's in our hearts. So Paul is making that reference that the Psalmist is here, that He'll stand by you and, "The sun [verse 6] shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night." I don't know if that's speaking of Lunar madness or what, but we do realize that in verses 7 and 8 that God's purpose for us is preservation, it's His will for our lives. So it's going to cause us to have to go into this walk in the Spirit and the rejecting of any trust in the flesh whatsoever.

Let's turn over to Ephesians for just a second and we'll take this as our last point for tonight. As we're talking about the preparation aspect of it, you know, we've talked about prayer, and fasting, and studying to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). We all know that has to do, of course, with the obedience factor also, to realize that we can't be hearers of the Word but doers only. If we love Him, we keep His commandments; all of those principles that we're all so very familiar with. But it's important to understand that in the process of what you and I are going to be facing, one of the first things we have to determine, and we've taught that in our teaching on temptation and out of James, is that we have to understand what is this that I am facing right now, this adversity, this trial, this test, this pressure, this enticement? So we have to make the right call and realize that the Lord does not tempt us with evil. So any temptation to evil, any solicitation, is the enemy, but God does allow us to be tempted, and He's with us in the temptation and makes a way of escape. The Lord will take the enemy's workings and turn them for His own good. So don't quit because you've failed, don't quit because you've been seduced as Adam and Eve. Yes, there's a shame, and yes there's a recoiling from the holiness of God. So you jump in the bush, but the good news for us tonight is this: the Lord will make you a covering, amen, the blood of Jesus. The new robe of righteousness that He has given us to wear. Don't try to cover with a covering that's not of God, let Him seek you out and deal with what's in your life. He loves you just like you are. He died for you while you were yet a sinner and loved you and solicited you. He's not going to forsake you now.

So in the midst of this, back in Ephesians chapter 6, the apostle says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God..." (verses 10 - 11). Every man that has this hope, John says, purifies himself even as He is pure (1 John 3:3). Here's the process, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers..." (verses 11 - 12). So in our preparation beloved, let's put this down and make it very clear in our thinking: we're preparing to war spiritual beings. Now that may seem, "Yeah, I understand that." Flesh and blood isn't our problem, other people aren't our problem. If we're going to war against spiritual foe, we're going to have to fight with what? Spiritual weapons. As we go on into the study, you're going to find out your greatest weapon is not your knowledge of the Word, but your obedience to the Word. You're only as strong as you obey. You can pray, you can fast, you can quote Scripture, but your ability to stand can only be perceived expected to manifest based upon our track record of obedience in the midst of temptations, tests, and trials. Will you let patience have its perfect work that you might be made perfect and entire then wanting nothing, James says. So we're going to wrestle against principalities and powers, it's going to be a spiritual battle. He'll use flesh, he'll use individuals, they'll come and try to flatter you, they'll come and try to intimidate you, they'll come and try to seduce you.

I really felt ill at ease in my spirit and I called Ron yesterday. It made things a little tough on him, but as things continued to be in preparation, and they began to escalate over there and a lot of things have happened since I even shared with you last of just almost overwhelming opportunities to minister. Not almost, it is overwhelming. We couldn't do what we're being asked to do right now with unlimited finances and two dozen warriors. I shared with Ron, I said, "Look, you know, you've got to understand something. All of this, as real as the need appears to be, as good as what they're asking for is, is not what God told us to do." A lot had already been put into the works. I told him, I said, "Share with them that we're not going to do that. I'm not interested in presidential meetings, meeting heads of state. I'm not interested in all of the big name ministries in the country. God told us to go find some faithful men, to train them up to teach others also. Now if in the process of doing what God told us to do, we can teach another group of ministers and edify them, and help them on their job, fine, but that's not what God called us to do. We're not there to be affected by their flattery, their perceived needs. We've been sent on a mission and we've got to be found faithful." It's easy to get caught up in all the flattery. One of the things they had done, they set up a meeting, this one individual set up a meeting and only invited the top 200 ministers in the nation. I asked Ron, "I've got a question: who voted? Who says that they're top? Who says that this guy over here with 12 people isn't one of the top?" I said, "If we're going to do this, find a place big enough for everybody to come, and it's not going to be invitation only, elite, because of such is the kingdom of God." So Ron, he went back and told these guys, here's how it's going to be. Many of them were touched and said, "That's how it should be."

You see, not everything that appears to be of God is good. It's the $250,000 versus the $18,000, but what's God calling you to do? Until there's that willingness to hear and obey, you're prey. That's what we want to do in this study: identify how to prepare ourselves to walk into those areas that are not natural, that are not naturally discerned. How to begin to see those things that appear to be so innocent sliding down the board, and forgetting all of the principles that are being ignored when something like that's done, because we now have made a perception based upon our experience and our maturity. Let God be true and every man a liar.

Father, we thank You for the Word. We just ask that You would continue to illuminate our hearts and cause us to see ourselves as You see us. That we would be faithful, Father, to be doers of this Word and not hearers only. That we would come to that place of realizing that You will stand with us when all others have forsaken us. So surely our allegiance must be to You. We just want to be faithful stewards. We just want to hear "Well done." Prepare our hearts, Father, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord. Sunday, we're going to take a look at some of these men's lives that we were talking about. You might want to go just do a little reading and prepare as we look at the common denominator and see what it is that caused them to fall. Then ask ourselves, "Am I better than they are? What would cause me to think that that could never happen to me?"

Father, we ask that You would give us that understanding, give us the humility to be able to hear, and then You might exalt us that You would be all in all. It's our desire, it's our hearts' desire.

As Janet plays for us and we'll take just a second here before the Lord. What we want to do in this study is see that there is, of course, the general preparation. Yes we need to study. We need to pray. We need to fast. We need to fellowship that we could have iron that sharpens iron. All of these principles that are very necessary; but if in all of that we begin to trivialize what God has blessed us with, if we begin to forget how valuable that birth right is, if we begin to think of ourselves to the degree that minimizes the lordship of Jesus, we're in grave danger. Examine your hearts. Let the Spirit speak to you. And He will stand by you, and He will preserve you, and there is laid up a crown of righteousness for us. How important it is to spend that time in worship and making God big in your life. Beloved, don't let it just be song service here, don't let it just be at this moment, but how often do you worship and make God big in your life? I'm not talking about singing choruses with the tape player as you're going down the road. I'm talking about worshipping the Lord. I'm talking about making Him big, lifting Him up by your decisions, lifting Him up by making Him the focal point of your thought processes. You're not seeking the sale, you're seeking the ministry on this trip that you're on. How can I best represent You? How can I in the midst of all of this turmoil of business and enterprise and the cares of this world, how can I hear Your voice to speak toward the eternal? That's what I want to prepare myself for, that I could speak as the oracles of God, and a word in season that will set a life free. We're not like the rest, Father, not because of who we are, but because of the mission. You will preserve us like You did Paul, not because we're better, but because we've chosen to take the message. If we reject the message, if we put the message behind us, we have no power before us. Now we receive Your wisdom in Jesus' name. Amen.

Before you go, turn to somebody next to you and say, "Prepare yourself." Amen. Go in peace, God's love go with you.

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