[0:00] The following message was given at a Sunday celebration at Trinity Grace Church in Athens. For more information about Trinity Grace, please visit us at trinitygraceathens.com.
[0:12] Please open your Bibles with me to Isaiah. Book of Isaiah, it's in the Old Testament.
[0:23] Matthew, Mark, Isaiah. Isaiah. Just kidding. We're going to read a few verses. And I'm going to share a message I've called Lessons from a Heart Attack for you.
[0:41] Before I do that, I get to, this doesn't count, this is what CJ does. And then it doesn't count against my time. Walt's got me on a short lease this morning.
[0:54] Remember, you've heard of that woman, his little boy said, Mom, what's it mean when the pastor takes his watch off and puts it on the podium? Not a thing, son. Not a thing.
[1:08] I want to just tell you how excited I am about Trinity Grace. And I had an opportunity to see some of those who were part of our church for several years.
[1:18] And I drove down this morning from Knoxville, 47 miles, I think. And I remember you did that every Sunday for years.
[1:30] And they were part of our church. But they loved Athens, Tennessee, and they wanted to have a church here. And so, six years ago, we started the church. It's very exciting.
[1:41] Very fulfilling. Very encouraging to our church in Knoxville what you have done. Thanks for all those years that you drove to Knoxville to serve in our church.
[1:55] And thanks for coming down here and building a church for the glory of God. Thank you for doing that. Every one of you, I mean, two times in my pastoral career over 40 years, I've had some old, always with the beard, charismatic, kiss me on the cheek, trying to fulfill that scripture.
[2:18] You know, greet one another with a holy kiss. That was cultural. Don't do that. We shake hands here in the South, okay? That's what we do. We just shake hands. And, but if I was going to kiss somebody, it would be you guys.
[2:33] Because I'm so glad to see and so thankful for what you've done. So, we're going to read here, beginning Isaiah chapter 40. I commend these verses. You may be familiar with them.
[2:45] But I love them with all my heart. And I've spent many hours meditating on these verses. Lift up your eyes on high, verse 26, and see.
[2:56] Who created these? You're supposed to be outside looking at the night sky. Who who, he who brings out their hosts by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might.
[3:15] And because he is strong in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel?
[3:26] Put your name in there. Why do you say, O Bill? My way is hidden from the Lord. And my right is disregarded by my God.
[3:38] Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God. The creator of the ends of the earth.
[3:50] He does not faint or grow weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint.
[4:01] And to him who has no might, he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary. And young men shall fall exhausted.
[4:13] But they who wait for the Lord. That's what you're doing this morning as you listen to God's word being preached. But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.
[4:26] They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. And if you skip over to chapter 41 and look down to verse 10, this is a core promise from Scripture.
[4:41] Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
[4:54] I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
[5:07] Ian Duguid and Matthew Harmon wrote a little book in it. They said, we've probably all heard this statement, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
[5:17] But then the realities of life press in on us relentlessly. So, where is this wonderful plan for my life? What on earth is God up to?
[5:30] That's actually a great question, they write. Over the last year, I could say the realities of life have pressed in on me. I've wondered at times, what on earth is God doing?
[5:45] There were a lot of twists and turns in my story. I was preaching last year at another church we planted in Franklin, Tennessee, just south of Nashville.
[5:59] And it's about three hours from Knoxville. I was, it was a wonderful weekend. I was seeing just like here this morning some friends that had been a part of our church. We had sent out to plant the church and I was enjoying it.
[6:11] And then after, after the meeting and saying goodbye, Sherry and I headed home. And I plugged in my address to Google Maps per usual.
[6:26] And almost immediately, Sherry, it's my wife Sherry by the way, she began to question the route we were on. And I started to defend Sherry.
[6:39] I call it Sherry. I don't know who it is. It's Google Maps, Sherry, telling me where to go. There were, there were storms and there were, there was traffic. Sherry knows all. So it made sense to me we're going a different route.
[6:52] And the scenery was beautiful. But then I, I did begin to wonder at the route we were on. Then we ran into this horrible traffic jam. So there went the theory that she was steering us around traffic.
[7:04] In the end, it took us almost five hours for a three-hour trip. And then I remembered, you know, I went golfing the other day and to a new course. And it took me on a strange route.
[7:16] And all these other trips that I'd been plugging in the address. And I started to wonder. So I took it, I took my phone to our IT guy at our office and asked him about it.
[7:28] And he said, you know, you've kind of had Google Maps set on take the scenic route. So that's a free lesson for you today.
[7:39] You can set your Google Maps on avoid highways. And you'll have a beautiful drive. But it will take a while. Have you ever felt like God's wonderful plan for your life is set on take the scenic route?
[7:55] That's what I've felt like. So often he really does accomplish his good purposes for us in ways that are hard for us to understand.
[8:09] I've been praying about all this for months. I've been thinking about this. And I think I've learned some lessons. I haven't figured it all out. But I can see why God took me on this route over the last year.
[8:24] And the main thing I want you to leave with today is an encouragement to live by faith. To hope in the Lord. Don't give in to despair.
[8:38] Your faith and your hope in him will be vindicated. He will be faithful. In the Christian life, we are called to walk by faith.
[8:49] Walk by faith and not by sight, aren't we? He is faithful. He is powerful. Again, Ian Duguid and Matthew Harmon. And yes, God's sovereign providence does sometimes take us into and through storms that utterly shipwreck our hopes and dreams.
[9:10] God certainly doesn't promise an easy life of health and wealth for his followers. Yet it's precisely God's loving providence that is at work in these most painful of seasons.
[9:23] God is not capricious and mean bringing painful circumstances into your life for no reason. He has profound lessons he wants to teach you.
[9:36] And ways in which he will use you to glorify himself. Which cannot be accomplished unless you pass through this storm.
[9:48] I want to make sure that passing through the storm that I've gone through brings glory to God.
[9:59] And I hope it helps you. Here's what happened. Almost a year ago, November 2nd, last year, I was working out in my gym. You probably noticed I work out a lot. I was working out in my gym.
[10:14] Actually, at my age, you're just trying to stay alive, you know. But I was working out in my gym and I felt a tightness in my chest. It was unusual. Didn't really hurt that bad, but it wasn't right.
[10:27] And being the smart guy that I am, I just kept working out for another hour and a half. And later I went home. I was working at my desk and felt fine.
[10:38] So I decided I'd take my dog for a walk. Best dog in the world. Take him for a walk. And the first part of the walk in my neighborhood is up a very steep hill.
[10:48] It's essentially a stress test. And I went a few hundred yards and that tightness returned only very strong. Didn't hurt still, but just very noticeable.
[11:02] And I decided I better get back to the house and turn around and go home. Now, I just, side note, prior to all this, okay, I had fished the horseshoe.
[11:15] I'm a fly fisherman for trout. And I had fished the horseshoe on the Abrams Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It's a very difficult day of fishing. I had been deep in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park.
[11:29] I had hiked with a 50-pound backpack into the backcountry of the Great Smokies. I had been deer hunting in the mountains of West Virginia. And I had a heart attack in my neighborhood a few hundred yards from my house where I could get medical care.
[11:46] My favorite historical pastor is John Flavel. He was a 17th century British pastor. Pastored British sailors. It was said of them that they had a one-inch plank between them and eternity every time they went to work.
[12:02] He wrote my favorite book, Mystery of Providence. He says, the affairs of the saints in this world are certainly conducted by the wisdom and care of special providence.
[12:14] The church is his special care and charge. He rules the world for her good as a head consulting the welfare of the body. You can trust him.
[12:26] Heathens generally deny providence. But these atheistical and foolish conceits fall flat before the undeniable evidence of so great and clear a truth.
[12:39] And I say, I experienced that. Undeniable evidence. It was God's kindness and care. Where I had a heart attack and where it happened in my heart.
[12:53] It didn't damage my heart. It was almost like I got a little warning. Major problem. But I could have easily died as so many people do.
[13:05] They don't realize. They have heart disease. So lesson number one, God is in control. God is active in our lives.
[13:15] He's accomplishing his purposes. When we go on these trips, when we take the scenic route, he is in control. Providence is what we call the truth that God is active.
[13:30] He's alive. He's active in the world. He's active in the world. Ordinary ways. Extraordinary ways. He created the world. And today he sustains the world.
[13:43] John Flavel based his book, The Mystery of Providence, on Psalm 57, verse 2. Where David said, I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purposes for me.
[13:57] Again, Dr. Flavel, here we find the Most High God performing all things for a poor, distressed creature. It is a great support and solace of the saints and all the distresses that befall them here.
[14:14] That there is a wise spirit sitting in all the wheels of motion and governing the most eccentric creatures, their most pernicious designs to blessed and happy issues.
[14:26] And indeed, it were not worthwhile to live in a world devoid of God and providence. Now for some of you, that'll be, oh, that's good. Some of you, that's important.
[14:39] You're walking through the scenic route. And this means something to you. And I wanted to encourage you. After my surgery, when I was in cardiac rehab, my cardiac dietician was meeting with Sherry and I.
[14:55] And she goes, you know, I've got all your medical records here. I've got your file. I have three question marks at the top of your file. And I said, why are you here?
[15:09] And my response was, exactly. I got ripped off. That's why I'm here. I was eating right. I was exercising. I was watching my weight.
[15:20] I had annual physicals. Not one doctor had any concern about me. And I said, lady, you tell me why I'm here. But really, I knew why I was there.
[15:35] Jerry Bridges says this. The Lord disciplines the one he loves. God is treating you as sons. He's talking about Hebrews 12.
[15:45] If you are left without discipline, then you're not sons. Nothing could be clearer. The discipline of adversity, including a heart attack and heart surgery, is a mark of being a child of God.
[16:00] Or to say it another way, being a child of God is always accompanied by adversity. Not constant adversity, of course, but as often as the father deems it profitable for us.
[16:13] It's the love of a parent who's deeply concerned about the character of a child and is willing to administer the painful discipline necessary to build that character.
[16:24] So when I went through my heart attack and the surgery, the recovery, everything, I couldn't wait to have this moment. To stand in front of individuals like you and thank the Lord and say, He is faithful.
[16:49] And I honor him and I thank him because he's a good father. I know the Lord better. I don't have time to go through all the things that I think he's done in my life.
[17:01] But it was for good. After I came home from walking my dog, he was complaining like that was a short walk.
[17:13] I didn't want to go to the ER. So when I got home, I just said to Sherry, without telling her why, call the doctor, get me an appointment as soon as you can. I laid down and I felt better.
[17:28] And I spent the rest of the day working hard. Took the dog another walk. The whole route. Had nine grandchildren come for cousin's night.
[17:38] That almost kills me every week anyway. Next afternoon, I went to the doctor. I felt fine.
[17:49] I thought he was going to send me home. I thought he was going to say, you're imagining things. But he had done an EKG. I don't have time to get into that for you.
[18:00] But he had done an EKG in God's providence. Six weeks prior to that, he could compare the two. And the doctors in the room will tell you he knew I'd had a heart attack.
[18:14] He said, I know you're not going to want to hear this, but you got to go to the emergency room. And I did. Now, listen, you need to know, first of all, it was Friday night in Fort Sanders.
[18:26] If you know Knoxville, oh boy, Friday night in the ER. But you need to understand, I hate hospitals, okay?
[18:38] No, you don't understand. We all hate hospitals, but I mean, I really hate hospitals. I'm claustrophobic. I have a bad case of it. And I don't know if you know this or not, but you can't leave hospitals.
[18:52] They're like prisons, really. And you're not allowed out. You're locked in. So I don't like them. I'm just completely out of my comfort zone. And most emergency room experiences aren't pleasant.
[19:03] This one really was the worst in modern history. It was packed Friday night. There were a lot of people, drunks and drug addicts. And I was there three days because they misplaced my file.
[19:19] Praise the Lord. Three days. My room was about the size of a broom closet. I could talk about the ER for hours.
[19:30] But suffice it to say, it was a dungeon. When I was able to see the cardiologist, you know, they're going to take you and do a test. They're going to see exactly what's going on in your heart.
[19:42] He said, listen, it could be number one, you've got some blockage. We'll put a stent in there. Number two, you didn't have a heart attack. Everything's fine. You go home today.
[19:53] Those are both fine with me. But number three, you're going to have serious problems. You have to have heart surgery. And he said something to the effect, that's not you. Nobody thought this was going to happen.
[20:06] They took me to the procedure. I'm telling them about catching big fish. Everybody's happy and laughing. And then the vibe changed when they saw the picture.
[20:18] The next time I saw the cardiologist, he came in with the surgeon. Nobody looked really happy. He drew a picture. You've got these arteries.
[20:29] One's 100% clogged. One's 90% clogged. One's 70% clogged. It's a miracle I'm alive. The surgeon said, this is why we still do heart surgery.
[20:42] In other words, it's a barbaric procedure, but we still do it because of people like you. But I only had minor damage to my heart, so actually I'm doing really well.
[20:56] I'm fully recovered. And because of the way things went down, it is, it is, it was really good. It didn't damage my heart.
[21:07] And bypass surgery, as one guy told me, it's like being born again medically. Do I look born again medically? I feel that way. After they ran the test, I was moved from the ER to the cardiac area.
[21:22] The surgery, this was Monday. Surgery was scheduled for Tuesday morning. Monday night was difficult. And that's when the only unhelpful one out of who knows how many, medical professionals, the only unhelpful one came to talk to me.
[21:39] And she was unhelpful. She was telling me about a breathing tube. Remember, I'm claustrophobic, so I'm into breathing.
[21:50] You know, like really into breathing. And, she was explaining to me in a very unhelpful way that I had to be awake when they were going to take this out.
[22:03] And she was making matters worse. I was very anxious. And she was really pressuring me until one of my sons, I have three sons, and the oldest one's an attorney, and he took her out.
[22:15] And when she came back in, she was super nice. But it was too late. I was just very anxious. And I remember thinking, not just this time, but for the next nine days, I can't do this.
[22:38] I can't do this. So lesson number two, I can do things I think I can't do. Here I am. I did it. I'm like Clark W. Griswold in Christmas Vegas.
[22:50] I did it. I wasn't pretty, but we got it done. Even as I think back to the things, and I go through it, I think I can't do those things.
[23:03] I can't do that. I'm just not able to. But Isaiah 40, to whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him, says the Holy One.
[23:16] Lift up your eyes on high and see. Who created these things? He who brings out their hosts by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might.
[23:30] And because he is strong in power, not one is missing. How did I do it? I can do things I think I can't do by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power.
[23:46] Down in verse 27. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord, my right is disregarded by my God. Have you not known?
[23:58] Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn't faint or grow weary.
[24:09] His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, he increases strength. He is the almighty.
[24:20] I am the no mighty. He is the almighty. He gives me his might. I can do things I think I can't do. This is what Paul talked about in Philippians 4.
[24:33] You know, Tim Tebow used to put it under his eyes. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Fear not. Isaiah 41.10, for I am with you.
[24:46] Don't be dismayed. I am your God. I'll strengthen you. I'll help you. I'll uphold you. My righteous right hand, it's a core promise. Now, this week, a young man in our church came.
[25:00] He's got to have a very difficult surgery. He came and met with me for an hour. I preached this sermon to him. Some of you in here are facing difficult things.
[25:14] And it's just kind of the Lord to have you here so that he can say these things to you. You can do things you think you can't do by the grace of God.
[25:28] After surgery, I spent five days in the hospital. Every day, I thought, I can't stay another day. I hated being there.
[25:41] I was at my wit's end. Every day, I would say, I can't do this, but I did it. The last day, the doctor said, sorry, he'd been telling me, maybe we'll let you go on Friday.
[25:58] He didn't let me go on Friday. Then Saturday, he's like, maybe we'll let you go. And he came in and said, looks like we're going to have to keep you another day. And I begged. I resorted to begging. I said, sir, I beg you, I beg you, please let me go home.
[26:13] And he said, well, let me see what I can do. And he came back in. Sherry saw him talking to the, his assistants. And he said, no, no, no, I'm going to tell him.
[26:26] I mean, this was fun for a heart surgeon. He gets to come into this guy, begging him to leave and say, I'm going to let you go home. I had to walk around the hospital to prove I could go home.
[26:40] And every time I'd see him, I, if you know me, I'm loud and it's a quiet place, but I would just be, that's my favorite guy in the hospital.
[26:51] And I told him he was going to get a little gift when I got home. And he did get a little gift, but it was, it was very, very difficult recovery.
[27:02] And I kept thinking I can't do things, but I did things I thought I couldn't do by the grace of God. Third lesson, lesson three, is that the Lord uses means of grace to help us do things we think we can't do.
[27:21] So there's grace, but he uses means to bring that grace into our lives. He's at work, but he uses means.
[27:32] He uses scripture. He uses scripture memory. He uses books, the mystery of providence. He uses sermons. Hopefully this one. He uses songs.
[27:43] He uses doctors. He's active, but he's using these things. And so often he's at work around us, and we don't observe it.
[27:55] But he's, it's him. And so often it's people, isn't it? Sherry, my wife of 44 years, never left my side.
[28:05] I mean, I mean, when they pulled the breathing tube out, she was there.
[28:16] And it got a little sporty. she was there. She was there. No one was supposed to be there, but I think my son's conversation with that nurse had an effect.
[28:28] So she got to be there. Proverbs says, he who finds a wife, finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord. So all you single guys, get married.
[28:42] Get married. Sherry is evidence that God loves me. He's active in my life. My adult children, I have four adult children.
[28:56] They're all Christians. They're all members of my, my church. We're planting another church next spring. Two of them are going on the church plant. I want a bonus.
[29:08] But my three sons, we're in the hospital. I told you about the oldest one, the lawyer. My, my youngest one is actually my counselor.
[29:22] So often, actually Sherry will call him. Your dad needs you. And we were sitting there that night. I was overwhelmed with anxiety. And this one said, dad, why don't you meet, read the mystery of Providence?
[29:41] My favorite book. I have a little 1840 edition. And I brought it with me with my Bible, hoping to take it into surgery. They wouldn't let me, but I had it that night.
[29:52] And he said, dad, why don't you read the mystery of Providence? So, you know, these are my three boys. They don't let me read to them anymore. And I'm excited about that. And I'm excited about that. So, I started reading.
[30:02] And it was just the peace of God. That irrational peace I talked about in the prayer thing this morning. Irrational. And my oldest son, the lawyer, he did all the medications.
[30:15] When we came home, we were like, man, I'm going to die from medication, because we're never going to get this right. But he's perfect for that. He just laid it all out. My other son, one of my sons, he don't talk much.
[30:29] You know, he's very quiet. He's just always there. He's just there. And he'll hear, you need something, want something. And he, I found out I could drink these nectar shakes.
[30:42] Man, I had, I never wanted for a nectar shake. My, my daughter, daughters are special when you have three sides.
[30:56] She loves her dad. She has two beautiful little girls, and she has built them into her dad, so that they love their grandfather.
[31:10] My friends, at one point, on that Monday night before surgery, I was overwhelmed by anxiety, and one of my sons, the counselor's son, said, you should call CJ.
[31:25] Some of you know CJ. He's a good friend of ours. Pastor's a church in Louisville. And he's a good friend of mine. Very gifted pastor. And I knew CJ would want me to call him.
[31:36] I hadn't talked to him. He knew I had a heart attack. I knew he'd be sitting by the phone. And I called him, and sure enough, I mean, like one ring, he answered. Hi! I told him I was having a hard time.
[31:50] And so it began. Several sermons later, I had to say, brother, I gotta go. You know, I have heart surgery right now. I gotta leave.
[32:03] When I left the hospital, they said, will you have support when you get home? I said, lady, never have you had a patient that's gonna have the support that I'm gonna have when I get home.
[32:16] And you will never have another patient. I mean, I will be buried by support. I could talk about doctors and nurses, but I wanna go on because Walt's got me on a short lease here.
[32:30] Lesson four, lesson four was the Lord loves me. The Lord gave himself for me. He's not angry with me.
[32:42] When I go through adversity, it doesn't mean he's left me or he's angry with me. I learned a lesson. He loves me.
[32:54] He gave himself for me. I totally get he loves you. I don't have any trouble with that. But me, I had trouble with.
[33:07] David said in Psalm 8, when I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you've ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him?
[33:24] What is the son of man that you care for him? And yet, you made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
[33:37] I'm like David. I just think of God as big, awesome. I praise him. How can he even think about me?
[33:55] But I learned he does care for me. He thinks about, that came home to me. Me! Me! I was ashamed of myself for lacking faith.
[34:07] For being so anxious and distressed. And we have a pastor on staff who's a biblical counselor, Jeff Hodgson. And I set up an appointment with him, you know, and I just said, I got to talk about all this anxiety.
[34:19] And he led me to the Garden of Gethsemane. And I studied it. I still study it. And I learned, so Jesus, God the Son, became a man.
[34:32] And he was, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was sorrowful to death. He was troubled. He was greatly distressed. He was in agony. The writer of Hebrews, talking about this, says, In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death.
[34:55] And he was heard because of his reverence. In chapter 4, he says, We don't have a high priest who's unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are and yet without sin.
[35:13] And this just said to me, you know, he understands. He understands agony. He understands being overwhelmed. He understands what it's like and he loves me.
[35:25] I just thought, my unbelief and my anxiety is sin. But I was just made aware of his forgiveness.
[35:38] I was speaking at another Sovereign Grace Church up in Franklin, West Virginia, Steve Teeter. I think he's been here. You know him. He's one of my best friends. And I was speaking up there a few weeks ago and on Sunday morning, I was up in, in, in my room in their house preparing to speak and Steve and his wife Linda know I love coffee.
[36:03] Steve doesn't drink coffee, but they always have great coffee. And I made myself a nice, I like bold black coffee to prepare with. And I went down and I got it and made my coffee, came back up to my room to get ready to prepare.
[36:19] and they had a little table there and, and, and I set that cup of coffee. As soon as I did that table and everything on it just fell right over and that cup landed perfectly upside down.
[36:33] When I picked it up, the cup was totally empty. So this was like one whole cup of black paint just poured out in that bedroom. and I immediately, I've spilled a lot of coffee in my day and so I immediately just got up, I ran downstairs, Steve was up, I ran by him, I was just like, Houston, we have a problem and it's a major problem.
[36:56] I need towels and lots of them. And we both, we got up to my room and that coffee cup had actually landed right on a pair of thick cotton sweatpants that I have that are black.
[37:10] It had landed on those sweatpants and when I picked those sweatpants up, there was not one speck of coffee on that beige carpet.
[37:22] Thick beige carpet. Not a speck. I said, Steve, that's the closest thing to a miracle I've ever seen in my life.
[37:34] I was totally convinced they were going to have a black stain for the rest of our lives and every time they saw me, that's the idiot that ruined my carpet. The point is obvious.
[37:53] That's our sin. It's gone. You think it's there. You think it stains everything. You think it stains your relationship with the Lord. That's what I thought and through this experience, what I have learned learned is that He loved me and He gave Himself for me and all my sins are forgiven.
[38:17] Now, if you've come this morning and you are not a Christian, I want to offer you the gospel. The gospel is the truth, the story, the reality that Christ came, God the Son, came and lived a perfect life.
[38:41] Never one time sinned and yet died on the cross so that everyone that trusts in Him can be forgiven of their sins. That's what Trinity Grace wants to offer you this morning.
[38:54] Now, after the meeting, you can talk to any of the pastors, actually, probably any member in this church we're happy to pray for you. But that's the offer. It's a free offer this morning of forgiveness of sins so that you can have fellowship with God.
[39:11] You can be reconciled to Him. Finally, lesson five, I have an enemy who works in my mind. Ephesians 6, verse 10.
[39:22] You may have read this before. Finally, be strong in the Lord, the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
[39:35] But we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
[39:49] Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm. Martin Lloyd-Jones in a great book, The Christian Warfare, says, there are such things as satanic attacks or onslaughts.
[40:08] There are experiences in the Christian life. Many saints testify to them when the devil comes as a roaring lion. He makes a broadside attack.
[40:21] thinking about British warships, he says, every gun is upon you and would sweep you off your feet with terror and alarm.
[40:32] And unless you know something of what the apostle is writing about here in Ephesians 6, you'll not be able to stand. You'll be swept off your feet by him. All the might of his fury and the vehemence of his bitter antagonism to gobble us up, he turns on you.
[40:49] And when you wake up in the morning, he'll be thundering and roaring at you and he'll follow you through the day and you will say, I've never felt like this before.
[41:00] Am I a Christian at all? What's happening to me? And the devil will be glaring at you and threatening you and you'll be trembling and feeling almost lost.
[41:11] After my surgery, for the first time in my Christian life, over 40 years, I wondered. I remember wondering.
[41:24] It was so dark. Am I a Christian? Never had thought like that. Then I had another phone call with CJ. He was relentless in pursuing me.
[41:36] He was asking how I was doing. He called me. We had another call. And when I told him that I was having thoughts questioning my salvation, he started preaching again.
[41:52] And this time, he was angry. He taught me a lesson. I knew, but I hadn't thought about enough. Satan works in the mind.
[42:04] I learned. He works in the mind. I, Lloyd-Jones in his book, Christian Warfare, talks about how, you know, sometimes you'll have thoughts and they, and you hate those thoughts.
[42:23] Then they're not your thoughts. They're his thoughts. He works in the mind. He has fiery, fiery darts.
[42:35] And so, we can resist him. And the Bible promises when we do, he will flee. We can resist him by thinking God's thoughts that we are given in the word of God.
[42:52] I need to stop. Those are lessons I've learned. Rejoice in hope. Faith and hope will be vindicated.
[43:06] You can trust him. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. That's what I learned from a heart attack. Father, I thank you this morning for all the blessings that we enjoy.
[43:22] Thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for rescuing me. Thank you, Lord, for being at work in the lives of many people in this room who need to live by faith right now.
[43:37] Need to hope in you. And I pray their faith and hope this morning, Lord, would be strengthened. I ask that in Jesus' name. Amen. You've been listening to a message at a Sunday celebration at Trinity Grace Church in Athens.
[43:54] For more information about Trinity Grace, please visit us at trinitygraceathens.com.