WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:23.580 And open your Bibles to Ephesians 6. Ephesians 6 verse 14. And again let me just say that what we're trying to do is to look at this armor of God to in some ways to read scripture through this lens. 00:00:23.579 --> 00:00:34.640 I don't think what I'm doing is really exposition. And so if you're a young preacher or an aspiring preacher probably best not to try this really. 00:00:37.159 --> 00:00:46.619 But what I want to do is really I read William Gwynel a few months ago and I've been so taken with how he helped me I wanted to try and share that with you over these coming weeks. 00:00:46.619 --> 00:01:01.920 And so the fourth piece of armor verse 16 of chapter 4. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. 00:01:02.819 --> 00:01:11.299 And what I'm going to try and do tonight I'm just going to divide that into I'm going to look first of all at these flaming darts of the evil one and then look at the shield of faith. 00:01:11.299 --> 00:01:14.560 And I'm not really sure when one will transition to the other but it will. 00:01:15.659 --> 00:01:23.599 The opening phrase can you see it in verse 16 reminds us that we need the full armor of God if we're going to stand as Christians. 00:01:25.539 --> 00:01:30.920 We need to take all of it to be able to stand the evil day. We need the belt of truth. 00:01:31.900 --> 00:01:34.900 We need the breastplate of righteousness. We need the boots. 00:01:34.900 --> 00:01:38.980 But they are not enough those things. 00:01:39.800 --> 00:01:42.940 Just what we're wearing. In addition to that we need to take other things. 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:47.140 And this first other thing, this first accessory is the shield of faith. 00:01:47.800 --> 00:01:51.320 Because the devil he keeps coming back at people who love the Lord Jesus. 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:55.000 And he comes in lots of different ways and he comes from different directions. 00:01:56.219 --> 00:01:58.900 And so we need the whole armor of God. 00:01:59.460 --> 00:02:01.219 If we're going to stand against him. 00:02:01.219 --> 00:02:05.239 The name that we usually give to the devil is the word Satan. 00:02:07.260 --> 00:02:09.439 And the word Satan means adversary. 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:13.780 The devil is our enemy. He is our adversary. 00:02:14.379 --> 00:02:16.379 And the word Satan is a really interesting word. 00:02:16.460 --> 00:02:20.060 It comes from apparently from a root in the Aramaic language. 00:02:20.379 --> 00:02:22.879 And it means literally one who lies in ambush. 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:25.099 One who lies in ambush. 00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:30.419 That's the picture that Paul is trying to convey in verse 16. 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:33.680 If you ever watch those old westerns. 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:34.900 They're not on so much anymore. 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:36.319 But the old westerns. 00:02:36.439 --> 00:02:38.099 And the Indians come down from the hills. 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:42.139 And the wagons would form themselves into a circle. 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:45.199 And the Indians would come suddenly out of the hills. 00:02:45.300 --> 00:02:48.560 And they'd fire their arrows into that kind of circle of wagons. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:50.919 It's a picture of a kind of ambush. 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:54.280 And the devil lies in wait for us. 00:02:55.240 --> 00:02:59.419 And the devil loves to ambush the Lord's people with fiery darts. 00:02:59.419 --> 00:03:03.919 And the thing about an ambush is there's an element of real surprise in it, isn't it? 00:03:05.979 --> 00:03:08.959 These fiery darts, they seem to come from nowhere. 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:10.019 They just appear. 00:03:11.060 --> 00:03:12.419 Suddenly and unexpectedly. 00:03:13.539 --> 00:03:15.319 And they seem to come from a hidden source. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:21.879 And that is one of the ways, I think, that you and I can tell the difference between sin and Satan. 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:27.639 Between what is your own corrupt nature. 00:03:28.819 --> 00:03:30.740 And what is actually coming at you from hell. 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:32.819 There's that element of surprise. 00:03:33.079 --> 00:03:34.280 The element of the unexpected. 00:03:35.579 --> 00:03:38.879 The suddenness and the ferocity of the attack. 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:43.400 And not only that it comes from the outside. 00:03:43.740 --> 00:03:45.819 And that it doesn't originate from within. 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:51.699 But arrows are shot at you from a source of the hidden. 00:03:53.299 --> 00:03:58.780 When you find your heart and your mind being besieged by thoughts and feelings. 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:01.240 That suddenly come on you like a raging fire. 00:04:01.620 --> 00:04:02.319 Out of control. 00:04:02.740 --> 00:04:04.159 And you don't know where they came from. 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:06.819 Well, you're probably being ambushed. 00:04:06.819 --> 00:04:08.840 Let me try and illustrate it in a couple of ways. 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:12.259 C.H. Spurgeon, the great Victorian preacher. 00:04:12.419 --> 00:04:16.120 He tells about how as a young man in his late teens. 00:04:16.699 --> 00:04:18.879 He put his hand to his mouth. 00:04:19.620 --> 00:04:23.860 To prevent him physically from uttering hideous language. 00:04:24.259 --> 00:04:25.740 Swear words and oaths. 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:30.159 And he says, I never heard those swear words or those oaths in my life. 00:04:31.860 --> 00:04:33.680 And yet, they came to him. 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:35.240 And he had to cover his mouth. 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:38.199 Let me read to you from Pilgrim's Progress. 00:04:39.300 --> 00:04:39.960 John Bunyan. 00:04:40.060 --> 00:04:43.100 Pilgrim's Progress, most of it is autobiographical. 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:49.519 And John Bunyan is talking in this book about his progress as a pilgrim through life. 00:04:50.540 --> 00:04:53.280 And there's a very interesting section in it. 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:55.180 Listen to what he says. 00:04:55.180 --> 00:04:56.920 He says, 00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:00.160 One thing I could not let slip. 00:05:01.220 --> 00:05:04.000 I took notice that poor Christian, that's the main character. 00:05:04.280 --> 00:05:07.939 Poor Christian was so confounded that he did not know his own voice. 00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:10.079 And thus I perceived it. 00:05:10.819 --> 00:05:15.340 Just when he was come over against the mouth of the burning pit, 00:05:15.720 --> 00:05:20.060 one of the wicked ones got behind him and stepped up softly to him 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:24.360 and whisperingly suggested many grievous blasphemies to him, 00:05:25.060 --> 00:05:27.720 which he truly thought had proceeded from his own mind. 00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:32.320 This put Christian more to it than anything that he met with before, 00:05:32.500 --> 00:05:37.800 even to think that he should now blaspheme him that he loved so much before. 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:41.460 Yet if he could have helped it, he would not have done it. 00:05:42.300 --> 00:05:45.980 But he had not the discretion either to stop his ears 00:05:45.980 --> 00:05:50.480 or to know from whence those blasphemies came. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:53.300 That is an ambush. 00:05:53.960 --> 00:05:55.879 Do you see how coming the devil is there? 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:57.700 Can you see what he's up to? 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:05.300 He wants Christian in that book to believe that these horrible, unholy, ungodly thoughts and feelings, 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:06.259 they're his. 00:06:07.400 --> 00:06:09.460 He wants to throw the Christian into confusion. 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:11.920 He wants to fill the Christian with panic. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:13.340 And so the Christian thinks, 00:06:13.460 --> 00:06:16.980 How can I possibly think such thoughts? 00:06:16.980 --> 00:06:22.080 How can I possibly be a Christian and think like that? 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:24.060 You ever said that to yourself? 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:30.960 How can I possibly be a Christian and have those feelings stirring within me? 00:06:31.020 --> 00:06:31.980 How can that be the case? 00:06:32.660 --> 00:06:36.439 How can I be a Christian and contemplate things like that? 00:06:37.060 --> 00:06:43.379 How can I possibly be a Christian and have such strong urges taking hold of me? 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:46.300 And half the battle, I think, is to recognise what's going on. 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:55.400 Half of the battle is to recognise what is coming from your own kind of deceit and sinful heart, 00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:58.800 but what is actually being hurled at you from hell. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:02.860 And if you and I are going to be able to stand against the devil, 00:07:03.020 --> 00:07:05.640 then you need to be able to discriminate at this point. 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:08.919 It's a really practical question, isn't it? 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:11.039 When we feel under attack, 00:07:12.719 --> 00:07:13.399 to ask the question, 00:07:13.479 --> 00:07:16.180 does this originate with me? 00:07:17.620 --> 00:07:21.019 Or is this something that's been shot at me from outside? 00:07:21.019 --> 00:07:26.819 So let me remind you that it's not only blasphemy, it says. 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:30.859 And filth that the devil throws at us. 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:32.479 He does throw those things, of course. 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:35.700 But some of the godliest people, 00:07:36.300 --> 00:07:38.640 some of the holiest people of God, 00:07:38.740 --> 00:07:40.080 the most consistent Christians, 00:07:40.200 --> 00:07:41.700 have found their minds 00:07:41.700 --> 00:07:43.200 filled with 00:07:43.200 --> 00:07:46.420 the most filthy and blasphemous thoughts. 00:07:46.500 --> 00:07:47.500 But it's not only that. 00:07:47.500 --> 00:07:51.899 Because sometimes the devil can seem quite innocuous. 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:56.500 And some of the thoughts that the devil throws at us are quite legitimate. 00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:00.240 And so I'm sure you've had the experience 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:02.779 of sitting here on a Sunday morning, 00:08:03.240 --> 00:08:04.920 and you're trying to concentrate on the preaching. 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:07.379 And suddenly, 00:08:07.699 --> 00:08:09.939 some thought comes into your mind. 00:08:10.759 --> 00:08:11.579 It's a thought like this. 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:14.259 Did you lock the back door? 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:18.439 Did you lock the back door? 00:08:20.099 --> 00:08:21.319 Or perhaps it's this. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:23.180 I can't remember if I turned the oven on. 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:27.000 Or did I turn the oven on too high? 00:08:27.139 --> 00:08:28.719 I never have that second thought. 00:08:30.939 --> 00:08:34.059 But you know what it's like to be sitting under the preaching of God's word 00:08:34.059 --> 00:08:35.939 and something innocuous. 00:08:37.059 --> 00:08:38.460 Something that's not wrong. 00:08:39.699 --> 00:08:40.799 Something that's not sinful. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:42.279 Something that is legitimate. 00:08:42.899 --> 00:08:44.019 Consideration comes into your mind. 00:08:45.939 --> 00:08:46.699 And so you know, don't you, 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:48.799 what it's like when you're trying to read the Bible. 00:08:49.059 --> 00:08:49.759 You know, 00:08:50.199 --> 00:08:50.979 if you're a Christian, 00:08:51.099 --> 00:08:51.679 a real Christian, 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:52.919 how difficult it is to concentrate. 00:08:55.459 --> 00:08:56.599 When you try to pray, 00:08:56.719 --> 00:08:58.000 how impossible it is to do. 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:03.319 I never want to tidy my study. 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:05.039 I never want to tidy my study. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:08.399 My study is in an infectious disease zone, really. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:10.699 But the only time that I think of tidying, 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:11.439 my study is, 00:09:11.699 --> 00:09:13.179 is when I set aside time to pray. 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:17.779 You turn on the TV, 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:19.539 and you can concentrate on it, 00:09:19.620 --> 00:09:20.139 no problems. 00:09:21.299 --> 00:09:22.819 You go on the BBC News site, 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:24.039 and that's no problem at all. 00:09:24.059 --> 00:09:25.279 You can read those articles there, 00:09:25.339 --> 00:09:26.699 but as soon as you turn to the word of God, 00:09:26.959 --> 00:09:28.279 as soon as you want to pray, 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:31.779 and those are things, 00:09:31.839 --> 00:09:32.059 aren't there, 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:34.100 that we want to do as Christians. 00:09:34.860 --> 00:09:35.819 There's no joke about that. 00:09:36.059 --> 00:09:37.199 But the devil comes and he says, 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:37.839 well, what about this? 00:09:38.959 --> 00:09:39.519 What about that? 00:09:41.319 --> 00:09:43.360 Oh, there's all those pencils to sharpen this study. 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:46.899 And you and I need to recognise what's happening, 00:09:47.019 --> 00:09:47.240 don't you? 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:49.480 You and I need to recognise that the devil is at work there. 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:52.220 Don't forget this, 00:09:52.300 --> 00:09:55.740 the Puritans used to call the devil God's ape. 00:09:57.740 --> 00:09:58.340 And that means that, 00:09:58.639 --> 00:09:59.000 they were saying, 00:09:59.060 --> 00:10:00.580 the devil tries to imitate God. 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:02.940 He's a very poor imitation of God. 00:10:02.940 --> 00:10:06.180 But it's an act of foolish, 00:10:06.280 --> 00:10:06.800 very often. 00:10:08.060 --> 00:10:10.220 The Bible says that he appears as an angel of light. 00:10:11.660 --> 00:10:13.960 And there are times in the Christian's experience, 00:10:14.180 --> 00:10:17.780 when it is the devil speaking to us, 00:10:17.820 --> 00:10:18.740 or our own hearts. 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:22.500 And I think there are times when it's difficult to tell 00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:23.940 whether it's the devil or God. 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:27.880 Because the devil sounds very much like God sometimes. 00:10:27.980 --> 00:10:29.380 He appears as an angel of light. 00:10:29.500 --> 00:10:31.100 I think you get a really good example of that 00:10:31.100 --> 00:10:31.900 in the book of Job. 00:10:32.940 --> 00:10:35.420 So we read the book of Job, 00:10:35.460 --> 00:10:36.980 and we've read chapters 1 and 2, 00:10:37.040 --> 00:10:37.240 don't we? 00:10:37.260 --> 00:10:38.600 We've read the end from the beginning. 00:10:38.820 --> 00:10:41.060 So we know how the story's going to turn out. 00:10:41.400 --> 00:10:43.720 But Job doesn't know how the story's going to turn out. 00:10:45.180 --> 00:10:48.360 And Job had the most terrifying experience. 00:10:49.180 --> 00:10:49.480 Of course, 00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:51.420 if you turn to the middle of the sheet, 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:52.960 I've just written out the passages we're going to look at, 00:10:53.040 --> 00:10:55.220 so you don't spend your time just wandering, 00:10:55.760 --> 00:10:56.680 trying to look for books in the Bible. 00:10:56.680 --> 00:10:59.220 But if you look at just a few verses from Job 9, 00:10:59.400 --> 00:11:00.180 verse 13. 00:11:00.179 --> 00:11:06.539 And I want you to just take in some of the confusion in Job's mind. 00:11:07.819 --> 00:11:08.539 And he's thinking, 00:11:08.819 --> 00:11:13.019 he's going through this awful, terrible experience, 00:11:13.139 --> 00:11:15.319 and his mind is terribly confused. 00:11:15.859 --> 00:11:18.479 He's convinced that God is against him. 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:20.239 He's convinced that God is judging him. 00:11:20.719 --> 00:11:22.039 That God is accusing him. 00:11:22.039 --> 00:11:25.459 And he says some terrible things against God. 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:27.620 The God whom he has loved, 00:11:27.959 --> 00:11:29.279 and the God whom he has served. 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:34.099 And yet it seems to Job that that God has turned against him. 00:11:34.500 --> 00:11:35.839 This is what he says in verse 13. 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:38.580 He says, 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:40.460 God will not turn back his anger. 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:43.340 Beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab. 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:45.240 How then can I answer him, 00:11:45.340 --> 00:11:46.780 choosing my words with him? 00:11:47.080 --> 00:11:48.360 Though I am in the right, 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:49.860 I cannot answer him. 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:53.160 I must appeal for mercy to my accuser. 00:11:54.620 --> 00:11:56.300 If I summoned him, 00:11:56.420 --> 00:11:57.879 and he answered me, 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:01.639 I would not believe that he was listening to my voice, 00:12:01.980 --> 00:12:04.120 for he crushes me with a tempest. 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:08.060 And he multiplies my wounds without cause. 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:10.440 He's saying there, 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:12.000 God is doing this to me. 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:14.519 This God whom I've loved, 00:12:14.620 --> 00:12:16.060 and I've served all my days, 00:12:16.419 --> 00:12:17.480 God is behind the storm. 00:12:17.539 --> 00:12:18.080 Verse 17. 00:12:18.419 --> 00:12:20.259 For he crushes me with a tempest. 00:12:21.659 --> 00:12:24.200 And multiplies my wounds without cause. 00:12:24.940 --> 00:12:26.759 He will not let me get my breath, 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:28.019 but he fills me with bitterness. 00:12:29.340 --> 00:12:30.720 If it is a contest of strength, 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:31.840 behold, he is mighty. 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:33.200 If it's a matter of justice, 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:34.120 well, who can summon him? 00:12:34.900 --> 00:12:36.200 Though I am in the right, 00:12:36.560 --> 00:12:37.820 my own mouth would condemn me. 00:12:39.259 --> 00:12:40.440 Though I am blameless, 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:42.800 he would prove me perverse. 00:12:43.520 --> 00:12:44.460 I am blameless. 00:12:44.580 --> 00:12:45.820 I regard not myself. 00:12:45.940 --> 00:12:47.120 I loathe my life. 00:12:48.660 --> 00:12:49.520 It is all one. 00:12:50.700 --> 00:12:51.560 Therefore, I say, 00:12:51.660 --> 00:12:53.860 he destroys both the blameless and the wicked. 00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:56.960 When disaster brings sudden death, 00:12:57.060 --> 00:12:59.220 he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. 00:12:59.740 --> 00:13:02.060 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. 00:13:02.539 --> 00:13:04.940 He covers the faces of its judge. 00:13:07.340 --> 00:13:08.919 There are terrible things to say against God. 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:13.500 There are terrible things to say about God. 00:13:13.620 --> 00:13:14.560 But look at verse 24. 00:13:14.659 --> 00:13:15.659 There's a glimmer of light. 00:13:15.659 --> 00:13:19.899 He says, 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:20.879 if it is not he, 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:22.939 who then is it? 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:25.360 Verse 24, 00:13:25.459 --> 00:13:26.439 what he's saying there, 00:13:27.219 --> 00:13:29.519 God is behind all this injustice. 00:13:30.740 --> 00:13:31.100 But, 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:32.399 if it's not him, 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:33.019 then who is it? 00:13:33.079 --> 00:13:34.299 There's a little glimmer of light there. 00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:37.579 If it's not God, 00:13:37.699 --> 00:13:38.019 well then, 00:13:38.079 --> 00:13:39.159 who is behind this? 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:43.179 Maybe there's someone else behind it. 00:13:43.740 --> 00:13:44.120 But of course, 00:13:44.219 --> 00:13:44.959 we know there is, 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:45.199 don't we? 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:47.259 We've read chapters 11 and chapter 2. 00:13:47.319 --> 00:13:47.779 We know that. 00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:50.039 He says, 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:50.919 earlier on in the book, 00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:52.779 he speaks about the arrows of the Almighty, 00:13:52.899 --> 00:13:54.339 that they are sticking into him. 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:57.279 And we know that those arrows 00:13:57.279 --> 00:13:59.879 may well have been the fiery darts of the wicked. 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:01.319 If not him, 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:03.839 who then is it? 00:14:03.939 --> 00:14:05.120 Maybe it's someone else. 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:06.720 Maybe there is someone behind all this. 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:09.960 And the point I'm trying to make, 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:10.920 in a really long-winded way, 00:14:10.980 --> 00:14:11.180 I know, 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:11.519 is that, 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:14.000 is that Job thought it was God. 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:16.820 He thought it was God, 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:17.899 but it was the devil. 00:14:20.100 --> 00:14:21.560 He thought it was God, 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.180 and the devil often comes to God's people like that. 00:14:25.560 --> 00:14:27.800 He blitzes our minds with fiery darts. 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:30.580 He rains them down on us, 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:33.080 and all the time we think it's God speaking to us, 00:14:33.080 --> 00:14:34.500 God convincing us, 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:35.960 God accusing us, 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:37.540 God nagging at us, 00:14:37.580 --> 00:14:38.840 but God doesn't nag. 00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:42.300 And God doesn't accuse, 00:14:42.400 --> 00:14:42.720 does he? 00:14:42.800 --> 00:14:43.920 We are justified, 00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:45.040 declared right, 00:14:45.180 --> 00:14:45.940 made righteous. 00:14:46.139 --> 00:14:47.300 God doesn't accuse us. 00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:51.160 Let me give you another illustration. 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:52.780 I was reading, 00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:53.940 I'm a man this week, 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:56.240 we've been in a church, 00:14:56.300 --> 00:14:57.360 not very far from here, 00:14:57.560 --> 00:14:59.900 and his life really had been shattered 00:14:59.900 --> 00:15:01.019 by this sort of thing. 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:03.460 He'd read in some Bible notes, 00:15:04.539 --> 00:15:05.399 that he'd been given, 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:08.620 that all inward prompting, 00:15:09.199 --> 00:15:10.299 and demands, 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:13.120 are to be obeyed without question, 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:13.939 and immediately. 00:15:16.179 --> 00:15:17.679 There's a lot of that about you. 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:20.099 All inward promptings, 00:15:20.219 --> 00:15:20.839 and demands, 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:22.620 they are to be obeyed without question, 00:15:22.839 --> 00:15:23.500 and immediately. 00:15:23.899 --> 00:15:25.339 That's what it said in this Bible reading notes. 00:15:25.439 --> 00:15:26.019 Obey instantly. 00:15:26.659 --> 00:15:27.819 No matter how strange, 00:15:28.500 --> 00:15:29.479 no matter how unusual, 00:15:31.559 --> 00:15:33.579 you have in your mind to go and talk to a man, 00:15:33.579 --> 00:15:34.719 with purple shoes in a pub, 00:15:34.839 --> 00:15:36.439 you follow that prompting, 00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:37.299 and you talk to the man, 00:15:37.339 --> 00:15:38.339 with purple shoes in the pub. 00:15:38.539 --> 00:15:39.299 No matter how crazy, 00:15:39.359 --> 00:15:40.699 that command may seem to be, 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:41.899 you obey it instantly. 00:15:41.899 --> 00:15:43.919 I said, 00:15:43.959 --> 00:15:45.079 I wanted to be right with God, 00:15:45.199 --> 00:15:46.159 I'd given my life to him, 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:47.139 I wanted to be obedient. 00:15:49.459 --> 00:15:49.799 He says, 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:50.459 these impressions, 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:51.500 these demands, 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:52.500 came upon my soul, 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:53.980 and they nearly drove me out of my mind. 00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:56.840 Because I discovered, 00:15:56.919 --> 00:15:58.240 they were not the voice of God at all, 00:15:58.240 --> 00:15:59.919 but the fiery darts of the wicked one. 00:16:02.500 --> 00:16:04.299 The Bible does not tell you, 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:06.100 the Bible does not tell you, 00:16:06.279 --> 00:16:07.659 to obey instantly, 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:09.079 every prompting. 00:16:09.460 --> 00:16:10.039 It doesn't. 00:16:11.899 --> 00:16:13.019 The Bible tells you, 00:16:13.100 --> 00:16:14.220 to test the spirit. 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:17.419 To see if they are of God. 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:18.379 So when you get, 00:16:18.539 --> 00:16:20.120 some sudden prompting, 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:22.579 to do or to say something, 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:24.740 don't just blurt it out. 00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:27.959 Don't just go and do it. 00:16:29.799 --> 00:16:31.579 You get some inward impulse, 00:16:31.740 --> 00:16:33.079 sudden prompting, 00:16:33.139 --> 00:16:34.199 some sudden conviction, 00:16:34.699 --> 00:16:35.840 to do or to say something, 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:37.819 I think the best advice I can give you, 00:16:37.860 --> 00:16:38.740 is actually sit down, 00:16:38.819 --> 00:16:39.840 and imagine that, 00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:41.879 Christ is sitting opposite you. 00:16:42.899 --> 00:16:44.340 Put those words into his mouth, 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:44.879 do they fit? 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:47.679 Do they belong there? 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:48.340 Can you imagine, 00:16:48.539 --> 00:16:49.959 the Jesus of the Bible, 00:16:50.259 --> 00:16:51.659 speaking like that? 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:54.079 Would it be his tone of voice? 00:16:54.399 --> 00:16:55.199 Would they be the words, 00:16:55.299 --> 00:16:56.259 he would use? 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:57.259 Test the spirits. 00:16:58.980 --> 00:17:01.139 And so when God speaks, 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:03.860 he does not blitz our mind. 00:17:05.859 --> 00:17:06.940 Satan does that. 00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:10.900 God doesn't accuse, 00:17:11.220 --> 00:17:12.240 he doesn't command us, 00:17:12.340 --> 00:17:12.920 harshly. 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:16.160 God is persuasive, 00:17:16.259 --> 00:17:17.080 when he speaks to us, 00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:17.779 through his word. 00:17:19.360 --> 00:17:20.759 The voice of the spirit, 00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:21.880 is a gentle voice, 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:22.940 full of sweet, 00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:23.940 reasonableness. 00:17:23.940 --> 00:17:25.220 It convinces, 00:17:25.880 --> 00:17:26.640 it carries, 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:28.140 our judgment with us. 00:17:28.259 --> 00:17:29.080 It's very important. 00:17:31.259 --> 00:17:32.160 Think of the area, 00:17:32.259 --> 00:17:33.059 of conviction of sin. 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:35.380 There is, 00:17:36.380 --> 00:17:38.700 all the difference, 00:17:38.820 --> 00:17:39.380 in the world, 00:17:39.500 --> 00:17:40.000 between, 00:17:41.080 --> 00:17:42.259 the voice of God, 00:17:42.660 --> 00:17:44.000 and the voice of the devil, 00:17:44.080 --> 00:17:45.360 when it comes to conviction of sin. 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:48.259 Satan does convict of sin. 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:50.819 But he does it, 00:17:50.919 --> 00:17:52.919 in order to drive us to despair. 00:17:55.979 --> 00:17:57.259 And if you ever, 00:17:57.259 --> 00:17:58.539 are feeling your sin, 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:00.299 and you're under conviction of sin, 00:18:00.399 --> 00:18:01.519 and there's nothing, 00:18:01.719 --> 00:18:03.439 nothing but blackness, 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:04.539 and despair, 00:18:04.679 --> 00:18:05.639 that is the devil, 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:06.979 and not God. 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:10.399 Because the kind of sorrow, 00:18:10.979 --> 00:18:12.199 that God produces, 00:18:12.679 --> 00:18:13.500 in a person, 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:15.400 when he is convicting them, 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:16.680 is a godly sorrow, 00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:17.900 which leads to life. 00:18:20.099 --> 00:18:20.819 And when God, 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:21.720 convicts someone, 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:22.559 when he makes them, 00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:23.660 feel their sin, 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:24.400 by his spirit, 00:18:24.460 --> 00:18:25.359 it's not to drive them, 00:18:25.420 --> 00:18:26.140 to despair, 00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:27.400 but to drive them, 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:28.180 to Christ. 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:30.819 And we need to be able, 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:31.480 to discriminate, 00:18:31.660 --> 00:18:32.460 between the voice, 00:18:32.539 --> 00:18:33.380 of the devil, 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:35.259 and the voice of God. 00:18:36.940 --> 00:18:38.079 And these are some of the ways, 00:18:38.220 --> 00:18:39.539 that Satan tries to ambush, 00:18:39.819 --> 00:18:40.980 he's got varied, 00:18:41.099 --> 00:18:42.539 collection of fiery darts, 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:43.480 that he tries out on it. 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:46.160 Any number of, 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:47.319 incendiary devices. 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:50.039 Some are intended, 00:18:50.180 --> 00:18:50.819 to make you doubt, 00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:51.680 and to make you fear. 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:52.740 Some are, 00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:53.880 designed to, 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.839 inflame your lusts, 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:56.519 of the flesh. 00:18:56.819 --> 00:18:57.299 Some are meant, 00:18:57.359 --> 00:18:58.500 to start a church on fire. 00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:00.759 And he has any number, 00:19:01.019 --> 00:19:02.039 of fiery darts, 00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:03.160 that he chooses to fire us. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:05.279 And what makes that, 00:19:05.400 --> 00:19:05.720 so dangerous, 00:19:05.819 --> 00:19:06.539 is because you and I, 00:19:06.619 --> 00:19:07.880 have got combustible hearts. 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:10.559 That's the real problem, 00:19:10.619 --> 00:19:10.779 isn't it? 00:19:10.779 --> 00:19:11.440 That's what makes it, 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:12.500 so dangerous. 00:19:12.500 --> 00:19:13.640 There's something, 00:19:14.059 --> 00:19:14.599 in us, 00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:16.440 in all of us, 00:19:16.579 --> 00:19:17.819 answering to the devil's, 00:19:17.819 --> 00:19:18.480 temptations. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:21.960 That's the difference, 00:19:22.059 --> 00:19:23.039 in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:25.000 Think about that, 00:19:25.079 --> 00:19:25.500 with me for a minute. 00:19:25.619 --> 00:19:26.299 There was nothing, 00:19:26.460 --> 00:19:26.960 in him, 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:27.779 that answers, 00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:27.900 that answers, 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:28.600 to the devil's, 00:19:28.600 --> 00:19:29.319 temptations. 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:31.700 He says it much, 00:19:31.779 --> 00:19:33.000 in John 14. 00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:35.100 That verse is there, 00:19:35.120 --> 00:19:35.519 on your sheet. 00:19:35.620 --> 00:19:36.500 He's looking forward, 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:37.420 to the devil's, 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:38.039 greatest hour. 00:19:39.840 --> 00:19:40.640 When the devil, 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:42.140 would do his worst. 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:42.700 When the devil, 00:19:42.840 --> 00:19:43.079 would think, 00:19:43.140 --> 00:19:43.860 he's triumphant, 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:45.019 over the son of God. 00:19:45.299 --> 00:19:46.079 And he says, 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:46.500 doesn't he, 00:19:46.660 --> 00:19:47.660 his hour is coming. 00:19:49.259 --> 00:19:49.759 And then, 00:19:49.819 --> 00:19:50.440 in John 14, 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:51.140 verse 30. 00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:51.860 He says, 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:53.160 I will no longer, 00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:54.200 talk much with you, 00:19:54.280 --> 00:19:54.820 for the ruler, 00:19:55.120 --> 00:19:56.240 of this world, 00:19:56.340 --> 00:19:56.759 is coming. 00:19:57.640 --> 00:19:58.380 But he has no claim, 00:19:58.420 --> 00:19:58.720 on me. 00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:01.380 The darkest hour. 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:03.560 The darkest hour, 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:04.160 when the powers, 00:20:04.220 --> 00:20:04.500 of hell, 00:20:04.600 --> 00:20:05.280 will be unleashed, 00:20:05.340 --> 00:20:06.500 against the son of God. 00:20:06.700 --> 00:20:07.180 The ruler, 00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:07.800 of this world, 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:08.300 is coming. 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:09.380 And he's got no claim, 00:20:09.380 --> 00:20:09.620 on me. 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:10.460 There's nothing in me. 00:20:10.460 --> 00:20:14.340 There's nothing in me, 00:20:14.380 --> 00:20:15.720 that his fiery darts, 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:17.460 can latch on to. 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:20.079 Nothing in me, 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:20.660 says Jesus, 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:22.000 that he can set fire to. 00:20:23.140 --> 00:20:23.319 Well, 00:20:23.360 --> 00:20:23.819 that doesn't mean, 00:20:23.860 --> 00:20:24.059 does it, 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:24.660 that the Lord Jesus, 00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:25.400 wasn't tempted. 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:27.360 We know, 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:28.120 that the Lord Jesus, 00:20:28.120 --> 00:20:28.620 was tempted, 00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:29.539 in every point, 00:20:29.620 --> 00:20:30.180 as we are, 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:30.960 yet he was, 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:31.799 without sin. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:33.340 That doesn't mean, 00:20:33.460 --> 00:20:33.960 that the Lord Jesus, 00:20:34.100 --> 00:20:34.680 never felt, 00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:35.740 temptation's power. 00:20:37.100 --> 00:20:37.799 He felt, 00:20:37.880 --> 00:20:38.740 temptation's power, 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:39.779 more than you, 00:20:39.840 --> 00:20:40.200 and I did. 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:40.980 Precisely because, 00:20:41.059 --> 00:20:41.519 the Lord Jesus, 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:42.519 never gave in. 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:45.759 Sin, 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:49.100 desensitivizes us, 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:49.620 doesn't it? 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:51.620 You and I, 00:20:51.700 --> 00:20:52.580 we don't feel, 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:54.400 the full force, 00:20:54.539 --> 00:20:55.500 of Satan's, 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:57.299 terrible suggestions, 00:20:57.580 --> 00:20:58.440 because of our sinfulness. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:01.279 We give in, 00:21:01.900 --> 00:21:02.720 but because he was, 00:21:02.980 --> 00:21:03.660 without sin, 00:21:03.980 --> 00:21:05.000 not only did he face, 00:21:05.100 --> 00:21:06.080 the full force, 00:21:06.259 --> 00:21:07.819 the full range, 00:21:08.140 --> 00:21:09.360 of the devil's temptation. 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:09.459 nature. 00:21:11.019 --> 00:21:11.779 We give in, 00:21:11.859 --> 00:21:13.059 long before it reaches, 00:21:13.179 --> 00:21:13.979 the full force. 00:21:14.319 --> 00:21:15.740 But he resisted, 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:16.179 the devil, 00:21:16.259 --> 00:21:17.479 to the very end. 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:19.539 And there was, 00:21:19.699 --> 00:21:20.779 nothing in him, 00:21:20.879 --> 00:21:21.399 for those, 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:22.299 fiery darts, 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:22.839 of the devil, 00:21:23.199 --> 00:21:23.939 to latch on to. 00:21:24.139 --> 00:21:25.119 Nothing to set fire, 00:21:25.379 --> 00:21:25.559 to. 00:21:27.459 --> 00:21:28.479 His holy, 00:21:29.379 --> 00:21:30.139 sinless nature, 00:21:30.219 --> 00:21:31.079 was fireproof. 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:33.720 His heart, 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:34.579 was saturated, 00:21:34.699 --> 00:21:34.960 wasn't it, 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:35.879 with the word of God. 00:21:37.460 --> 00:21:38.299 Watered by prayer, 00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:39.279 but it's not like that with us. 00:21:41.019 --> 00:21:41.539 You and I, 00:21:41.619 --> 00:21:42.819 have got combustible hearts, 00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:43.839 flammable hearts, 00:21:45.500 --> 00:21:46.839 and a few sparks, 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:47.559 from hell, 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:48.480 set our hearts, 00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:49.519 and minds alight, 00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:51.539 on our lives, 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:52.279 if we're not careful. 00:21:52.379 --> 00:21:53.059 And before you know it, 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:54.279 the fire's out of control, 00:21:54.359 --> 00:21:54.679 isn't it? 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:57.680 James gives us, 00:21:57.840 --> 00:21:58.880 an example of that. 00:21:59.000 --> 00:21:59.779 Just one example, 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:00.480 in chapter 3, 00:22:00.600 --> 00:22:01.660 he speaks about the tongue. 00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:04.680 The tongue isn't, 00:22:04.740 --> 00:22:06.259 it isn't the only area, 00:22:06.380 --> 00:22:07.500 that the devil aims at. 00:22:09.600 --> 00:22:10.320 I think probably, 00:22:10.420 --> 00:22:11.259 in the UK church, 00:22:11.460 --> 00:22:13.400 it's maybe the main area. 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:16.320 The devil frequently, 00:22:16.460 --> 00:22:16.779 kind of, 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:18.140 takes a pot shot, 00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:18.900 at the tongue, 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:19.680 and you get so much, 00:22:19.720 --> 00:22:20.539 success there. 00:22:21.380 --> 00:22:22.240 Because there's nothing, 00:22:22.340 --> 00:22:22.560 is there, 00:22:22.600 --> 00:22:23.720 that does so much damage, 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:24.500 in church life, 00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:25.380 than the tongue. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:27.319 Listen to what he says, 00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:28.000 in James 3, 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:29.019 verses 5 and 6. 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:30.079 So also the tongue, 00:22:30.119 --> 00:22:30.880 is a small member, 00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:31.480 when it's only little, 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:31.859 isn't it? 00:22:32.339 --> 00:22:32.839 Yet it boasts, 00:22:32.900 --> 00:22:33.440 of great things. 00:22:34.859 --> 00:22:36.099 How great a forest, 00:22:36.180 --> 00:22:37.019 is set ablaze, 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:38.240 by such a small fire. 00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:40.039 And the tongue, 00:22:40.140 --> 00:22:40.700 is a fire. 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:43.339 A world of unrighteousness, 00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:43.839 the tongue, 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:45.420 is set among our members, 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:47.299 staying in the whole body, 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:48.099 setting on fire, 00:22:48.180 --> 00:22:49.339 the entire course of life, 00:22:50.420 --> 00:22:51.160 and set on fire, 00:22:51.220 --> 00:22:51.660 by hell. 00:22:51.660 --> 00:22:54.580 Until you remember that. 00:22:57.720 --> 00:22:58.600 Next time you're tempted, 00:22:58.720 --> 00:22:59.259 to say something, 00:22:59.400 --> 00:22:59.900 that you know, 00:22:59.980 --> 00:23:00.519 that you shouldn't. 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:03.400 How often, 00:23:03.540 --> 00:23:04.600 I'm tempted to say something, 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:05.580 that I know I shouldn't say. 00:23:07.420 --> 00:23:08.420 And we know it's not helpful, 00:23:08.580 --> 00:23:09.800 we know it's not edifying, 00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:10.980 we know it won't build, 00:23:11.120 --> 00:23:11.759 people up. 00:23:12.600 --> 00:23:13.640 Sometimes we're not even sure, 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:14.240 if it's true. 00:23:16.540 --> 00:23:17.140 I'm frequently, 00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:18.160 we're tempted to say things, 00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:19.120 that we shouldn't say. 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:22.079 Next time you're tempted, 00:23:22.219 --> 00:23:22.679 to say something, 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:23.379 that you shouldn't say. 00:23:23.439 --> 00:23:23.719 Remember, 00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:24.439 remember what James, 00:23:24.479 --> 00:23:25.059 is saying here. 00:23:25.399 --> 00:23:26.479 Remember that that tongue, 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:27.219 of yours, 00:23:28.239 --> 00:23:29.379 could be set on fire, 00:23:29.439 --> 00:23:30.119 by hell itself. 00:23:31.919 --> 00:23:32.579 And the temptation, 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:33.139 is from hell, 00:23:33.159 --> 00:23:33.859 it's very strong, 00:23:33.919 --> 00:23:34.179 isn't it? 00:23:34.379 --> 00:23:35.000 The temptation, 00:23:35.159 --> 00:23:36.000 to slander, 00:23:36.899 --> 00:23:37.759 another brother, 00:23:37.919 --> 00:23:38.599 or sister, 00:23:40.099 --> 00:23:41.639 or to deal with innuendo, 00:23:41.939 --> 00:23:43.219 or to speak half-truths, 00:23:43.219 --> 00:23:43.979 to carry gossip, 00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:45.199 it is from hell. 00:23:45.699 --> 00:23:46.819 And what damage it does. 00:23:46.819 --> 00:23:48.899 Says James, 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:49.679 that's one example, 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:50.460 is that one area, 00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:51.779 that the devil aims at, 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:52.240 in the church, 00:23:52.339 --> 00:23:52.779 the tongue. 00:23:54.899 --> 00:23:55.619 And once again, 00:23:55.879 --> 00:23:57.319 if we're to retain, 00:23:57.399 --> 00:23:58.559 our spiritual sanity, 00:23:58.700 --> 00:23:59.859 we need to discriminate, 00:24:00.099 --> 00:24:01.759 between temptation, 00:24:02.179 --> 00:24:02.639 and sin. 00:24:06.839 --> 00:24:07.359 Temptation, 00:24:07.460 --> 00:24:08.839 is not sin. 00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:14.179 You may have your mind, 00:24:14.619 --> 00:24:17.119 filled with really, 00:24:17.439 --> 00:24:18.039 terrible, 00:24:18.859 --> 00:24:19.659 suggestions, 00:24:19.899 --> 00:24:20.519 from hell. 00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:22.459 You may have all kinds of, 00:24:22.659 --> 00:24:23.199 powerful, 00:24:23.699 --> 00:24:24.259 prompting, 00:24:24.339 --> 00:24:24.839 from the pit, 00:24:24.919 --> 00:24:26.179 but that is not sin. 00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:30.299 And you need to remember that. 00:24:32.699 --> 00:24:33.240 And so the devil, 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:33.779 comes to you, 00:24:33.819 --> 00:24:34.359 and he comes to me, 00:24:34.399 --> 00:24:34.779 and he says, 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:35.959 how can you possibly, 00:24:35.959 --> 00:24:36.679 be a Christian, 00:24:36.980 --> 00:24:37.859 and think like that? 00:24:37.859 --> 00:24:38.959 How can you possibly, 00:24:39.139 --> 00:24:39.519 be a Christian, 00:24:39.659 --> 00:24:40.299 and imagine, 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:41.699 doing something like that? 00:24:42.379 --> 00:24:43.399 But don't listen to him. 00:24:45.219 --> 00:24:45.619 Temptation, 00:24:45.619 --> 00:24:46.799 is not sin. 00:24:49.019 --> 00:24:49.839 Jesus was, 00:24:49.939 --> 00:24:50.719 tempted, 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:53.159 in every way, 00:24:53.259 --> 00:24:53.839 as we are. 00:24:55.459 --> 00:24:56.279 The devil came to him, 00:24:56.339 --> 00:24:56.479 didn't he, 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:57.039 with all those, 00:24:57.119 --> 00:24:58.419 those terrible things. 00:25:02.099 --> 00:25:02.500 Temptation, 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:03.179 is not a sin, 00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:03.919 unless you're going to say, 00:25:03.959 --> 00:25:04.699 Jesus is a sinner. 00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:05.599 You're going to say that. 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:07.879 Now of course, 00:25:07.939 --> 00:25:08.819 giving in to temptation, 00:25:09.039 --> 00:25:09.399 isn't it? 00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:12.339 Allowing, 00:25:12.659 --> 00:25:14.199 the fiery darts, 00:25:14.639 --> 00:25:15.619 to stay there, 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:16.859 is sin. 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:20.279 Allow it to set yourself, 00:25:20.399 --> 00:25:20.719 on fire, 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:20.980 is sin. 00:25:21.019 --> 00:25:21.500 But temptation, 00:25:21.639 --> 00:25:22.699 itself is not sin. 00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:24.659 And we need to recognize, 00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:25.319 this temptation. 00:25:26.939 --> 00:25:27.480 What are we, 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:28.279 what are we to do then? 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:31.079 What are we to do then? 00:25:31.139 --> 00:25:31.779 Well God has given us, 00:25:31.879 --> 00:25:32.779 a shield to take up. 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:35.000 So, 00:25:35.180 --> 00:25:35.639 let's just, 00:25:36.259 --> 00:25:37.139 let me read you the verse, 00:25:37.319 --> 00:25:37.619 again. 00:25:38.660 --> 00:25:39.940 In all circumstances, 00:25:40.119 --> 00:25:41.440 take up the shield of faith, 00:25:41.500 --> 00:25:42.559 with which you can extinguish, 00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:43.759 all the flaming darts, 00:25:43.859 --> 00:25:44.420 the evil one. 00:25:45.019 --> 00:25:45.899 I said to the children, 00:25:45.960 --> 00:25:46.639 it's more like a door, 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:47.240 than a shield. 00:25:49.740 --> 00:25:51.220 Crouched behind this door, 00:25:51.500 --> 00:25:52.819 a shield would be a Roman soldier, 00:25:52.899 --> 00:25:53.700 he'd be fully covered, 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:54.339 it's a, 00:25:55.379 --> 00:25:56.180 all, 00:25:56.500 --> 00:25:57.899 over protection. 00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:00.139 Made of wood, 00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:00.859 lined with metal. 00:26:00.859 --> 00:26:03.439 To extinguish the flame. 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:04.439 So behind this shield, 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:05.639 the Roman soldier was safe. 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:07.519 And the fiery darts, 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:08.279 could not pierce him, 00:26:08.299 --> 00:26:09.079 or set fire to him, 00:26:09.099 --> 00:26:09.939 as long as he was crouched, 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:10.659 behind the shield. 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:13.159 And so the apostle Paul, 00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:13.639 says to you, 00:26:13.679 --> 00:26:14.379 what are you to do when, 00:26:15.579 --> 00:26:16.799 when the devil ambushes you, 00:26:16.899 --> 00:26:17.259 this week. 00:26:18.459 --> 00:26:19.119 When the devil, 00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:20.079 comes down from the hills, 00:26:20.219 --> 00:26:21.079 and fires darts, 00:26:21.179 --> 00:26:21.939 to rain over you, 00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:22.740 well you take up, 00:26:22.839 --> 00:26:23.459 the shield of faith, 00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:24.439 and you crouch behind it. 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:26.079 What does he mean, 00:26:26.139 --> 00:26:27.279 to take up the shield of faith? 00:26:27.419 --> 00:26:27.619 Well, 00:26:27.919 --> 00:26:28.599 it means this, 00:26:28.679 --> 00:26:28.919 doesn't it? 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:29.960 It means this shelter behind, 00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:31.220 the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:33.060 And it's finished work. 00:26:34.380 --> 00:26:35.300 That's what it means. 00:26:36.800 --> 00:26:38.660 It means to put your trust in him, 00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:39.019 over, 00:26:39.300 --> 00:26:39.820 and over, 00:26:40.820 --> 00:26:41.860 and over again. 00:26:43.360 --> 00:26:45.180 It means to look away, 00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:45.840 to him. 00:26:46.900 --> 00:26:47.980 That's your salvation, 00:26:48.140 --> 00:26:49.100 that is your defence. 00:26:50.660 --> 00:26:51.620 That when the enemy, 00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:52.820 hurls those, 00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:54.519 incendiary bombs at you, 00:26:55.019 --> 00:26:56.340 and whatever he uses, 00:26:56.339 --> 00:26:58.279 whatever he throws at you, 00:26:58.639 --> 00:26:59.799 you are to catch them, 00:26:59.899 --> 00:27:01.059 you are to extinguish them, 00:27:01.879 --> 00:27:03.059 with a bold, 00:27:03.419 --> 00:27:04.220 affirmation, 00:27:04.399 --> 00:27:06.039 of your confidence in Christ. 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:09.199 You take up the shield of faith, 00:27:09.259 --> 00:27:10.299 and you look to him, 00:27:11.539 --> 00:27:12.480 and if you look to him, 00:27:12.539 --> 00:27:13.240 none of these things, 00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:14.139 will be able to find, 00:27:14.339 --> 00:27:15.179 a lodging place, 00:27:15.559 --> 00:27:16.379 in your lives. 00:27:18.059 --> 00:27:18.399 Look, 00:27:18.740 --> 00:27:19.039 to him, 00:27:19.059 --> 00:27:19.899 away from yourself. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:21.000 That is what faith is. 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:22.079 Faith never, 00:27:22.259 --> 00:27:23.559 turns in upon itself. 00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:27.019 Let's be absolutely clear on this. 00:27:27.019 --> 00:27:28.159 I've been told twice this week, 00:27:28.259 --> 00:27:30.919 I have a sort of faith. 00:27:32.700 --> 00:27:33.480 What is that? 00:27:35.220 --> 00:27:36.579 We don't believe in faith, 00:27:36.679 --> 00:27:36.899 do we? 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:40.839 We believe in Jesus Christ. 00:27:41.399 --> 00:27:42.139 And faith, 00:27:42.399 --> 00:27:44.200 never turns in on itself. 00:27:44.379 --> 00:27:45.700 Faith always looks, 00:27:45.819 --> 00:27:46.659 to its object. 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:49.519 Faith always looks, 00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:50.379 away from itself, 00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:50.960 to its object. 00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:51.379 That is, 00:27:51.879 --> 00:27:53.059 how it dawned in your life. 00:27:53.059 --> 00:27:54.259 That is how you became a Christian. 00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:56.399 It was when you saw Christ, 00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:56.799 wasn't it? 00:27:58.220 --> 00:27:58.940 It was when God, 00:27:59.019 --> 00:27:59.599 by his spirit, 00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:00.899 shone into your dark heart, 00:28:00.980 --> 00:28:02.059 and you saw his glory, 00:28:02.179 --> 00:28:03.159 in the face of Jesus Christ. 00:28:03.379 --> 00:28:04.700 That is where your faith came from, 00:28:04.839 --> 00:28:06.419 and that is when you first believed. 00:28:07.399 --> 00:28:08.419 And the secret of faith, 00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:09.240 as we saw this morning, 00:28:09.299 --> 00:28:10.399 is that clear view, 00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:11.099 of the Lord Jesus, 00:28:12.139 --> 00:28:13.000 and what he's done for you, 00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:13.599 on the cross. 00:28:14.859 --> 00:28:15.119 And so, 00:28:15.179 --> 00:28:16.259 to take up the shield of faith, 00:28:16.299 --> 00:28:17.759 is not to try and work up, 00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:18.740 your self-faith. 00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:21.000 To take up the shield of faith, 00:28:21.059 --> 00:28:22.119 is to remind yourself, 00:28:22.119 --> 00:28:23.000 day by day, 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:23.839 hour by hour, 00:28:23.939 --> 00:28:25.319 that you have a great saviour, 00:28:25.359 --> 00:28:26.579 who's done great things for you. 00:28:27.959 --> 00:28:29.939 To take up the shield of faith, 00:28:30.019 --> 00:28:31.839 is to look away from your feelings, 00:28:32.179 --> 00:28:32.779 to him. 00:28:33.099 --> 00:28:33.359 And so, 00:28:33.419 --> 00:28:34.819 if your eyes are fixed on him, 00:28:34.879 --> 00:28:36.000 you are invincible. 00:28:37.379 --> 00:28:38.519 And you will be able to take, 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:40.000 whatever the devil throws up, 00:28:40.059 --> 00:28:40.459 at you. 00:28:41.339 --> 00:28:42.879 But you take your eyes off him, 00:28:42.939 --> 00:28:43.839 like Peter did, 00:28:43.919 --> 00:28:44.879 walking on the water, 00:28:44.959 --> 00:28:46.039 and you start to sink. 00:28:46.119 --> 00:28:46.919 That's the shield. 00:28:46.920 --> 00:28:49.120 That's our protection, 00:28:49.120 --> 00:28:50.080 against the evil one. 00:28:50.380 --> 00:28:51.720 Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:28:51.800 --> 00:28:52.279 It's not, 00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:54.620 dry and arid, 00:28:54.840 --> 00:28:55.920 intellectual assent, 00:28:56.019 --> 00:28:57.200 to bare propositions. 00:28:57.340 --> 00:28:57.800 It's not like, 00:28:57.860 --> 00:28:58.660 ticking a box. 00:28:59.860 --> 00:29:00.400 What is faith? 00:29:00.460 --> 00:29:01.220 It is saturated, 00:29:01.640 --> 00:29:02.340 in the word. 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:03.539 It is watered, 00:29:03.580 --> 00:29:04.279 by the spirit. 00:29:04.420 --> 00:29:05.160 It is trust, 00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:05.880 in a living, 00:29:06.140 --> 00:29:06.800 real person. 00:29:09.060 --> 00:29:10.080 And when these fiery darts, 00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:10.740 meet that, 00:29:10.860 --> 00:29:11.320 when they meet, 00:29:11.380 --> 00:29:12.220 a real faith, 00:29:12.320 --> 00:29:13.440 trusting in a real, 00:29:13.500 --> 00:29:14.380 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:29:14.380 --> 00:29:15.220 they fizzle out. 00:29:16.340 --> 00:29:17.500 They splutter and die, 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:19.600 whenever they come against that. 00:29:22.580 --> 00:29:23.800 When Satan attacks you, 00:29:23.860 --> 00:29:24.500 and you face, 00:29:24.540 --> 00:29:25.400 one of his onslaughts, 00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:26.100 when you feel, 00:29:26.100 --> 00:29:27.400 that barrage, 00:29:27.480 --> 00:29:28.480 of his lies, 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:29.920 you are to flee to Christ. 00:29:31.640 --> 00:29:32.480 And you are to lay hold, 00:29:32.600 --> 00:29:33.320 on him and his promises, 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:33.800 and his power. 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:34.320 So Genesis, 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:35.680 Proverbs 30, 00:29:35.760 --> 00:29:36.320 verse 5. 00:29:38.140 --> 00:29:39.420 Every word of God, 00:29:39.520 --> 00:29:40.140 proves true, 00:29:40.260 --> 00:29:41.360 and he is a shield, 00:29:41.500 --> 00:29:42.660 to those who take refuge, 00:29:42.660 --> 00:29:43.180 in him. 00:29:44.380 --> 00:29:44.980 God himself, 00:29:45.080 --> 00:29:45.640 is the shield. 00:29:47.240 --> 00:29:48.340 That's how he revealed himself, 00:29:48.420 --> 00:29:48.860 to Abraham, 00:29:48.980 --> 00:29:49.640 when we read it, 00:29:49.660 --> 00:29:50.760 at that crucial moment. 00:29:51.260 --> 00:29:52.340 And Abraham was being told, 00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:53.580 you're going to be a great nation, 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:54.980 and Abraham is childless. 00:29:55.380 --> 00:29:56.400 And the devil is seeking, 00:29:56.480 --> 00:29:57.840 to undermine his faith. 00:29:58.500 --> 00:29:59.680 And God comes to Abraham, 00:30:00.500 --> 00:30:00.960 and says, 00:30:01.060 --> 00:30:01.880 fear not Abraham, 00:30:02.060 --> 00:30:03.720 I am your shield, 00:30:03.860 --> 00:30:05.040 and your exceeding great reward. 00:30:06.760 --> 00:30:07.640 I know it looks bleak, 00:30:07.640 --> 00:30:08.880 I know it looks as if, 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:10.400 that promise will never be, 00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:11.500 fulfilled. 00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:13.940 But Abraham, 00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:14.720 shelter behind me, 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:15.380 and I am your shield. 00:30:15.460 --> 00:30:16.240 Trust in me. 00:30:18.380 --> 00:30:19.180 Psalm 84. 00:30:20.920 --> 00:30:21.880 O Lord God of hosts, 00:30:21.980 --> 00:30:22.599 hear my prayer, 00:30:22.700 --> 00:30:23.119 and give ear, 00:30:23.259 --> 00:30:23.940 O God of Jacob, 00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:25.440 behold our shield, 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:26.480 O God, 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:27.440 look on the face, 00:30:27.480 --> 00:30:28.099 of your anointed. 00:30:29.140 --> 00:30:30.039 For a day in your court, 00:30:30.099 --> 00:30:31.359 it's better than a thousand elsewhere. 00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:32.599 I'd rather be a doorkeeper, 00:30:32.660 --> 00:30:33.500 in the house of my God, 00:30:33.539 --> 00:30:34.420 than dwell in the tents, 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:34.859 of the wicked. 00:30:34.859 --> 00:30:37.240 For the Lord God is a sun, 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:37.819 and a shield. 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:40.259 And the Lord bestows favour, 00:30:40.379 --> 00:30:40.599 and honour, 00:30:40.679 --> 00:30:41.339 no good thing, 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:41.959 does he withhold, 00:30:42.059 --> 00:30:43.399 from those who walk uprightly. 00:30:47.479 --> 00:30:48.299 The name of the Lord, 00:30:48.339 --> 00:30:49.219 is a strong tower, 00:30:49.339 --> 00:30:50.459 and the righteous run to it. 00:31:00.779 --> 00:31:01.459 That's what it means. 00:31:01.460 --> 00:31:05.440 To take the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:31:05.539 --> 00:31:06.460 and to take God, 00:31:06.519 --> 00:31:07.360 as your shield. 00:31:09.700 --> 00:31:11.200 Other refuge of my none, 00:31:12.900 --> 00:31:14.440 hangs my helpless soul, 00:31:14.660 --> 00:31:14.900 on thee. 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:15.400 Leave, 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:15.720 ah, 00:31:15.779 --> 00:31:16.720 leave me not alone, 00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:17.759 still support, 00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:18.559 and comfort me. 00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:20.579 All my trust, 00:31:20.660 --> 00:31:21.240 on thee is stayed, 00:31:21.299 --> 00:31:22.140 all my help, 00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:23.140 from thee I bring. 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:23.559 Cover, 00:31:24.759 --> 00:31:25.880 my defenceless head, 00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:27.160 with the shadow of thy wing. 00:31:27.220 --> 00:31:28.100 It's another way of saying, 00:31:28.200 --> 00:31:29.240 take up the shield of faith. 00:31:29.240 --> 00:31:31.539 One final thing, 00:31:31.579 --> 00:31:32.539 I've gone on way too long, 00:31:32.620 --> 00:31:32.839 really, 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:33.279 I'm sorry, 00:31:33.940 --> 00:31:35.620 I'm skipping lots of things, 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:36.519 let me just finish with this, 00:31:36.620 --> 00:31:36.700 alright. 00:31:39.339 --> 00:31:40.960 And it's the corporate aspect of this, 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:41.539 we talked about it, 00:31:41.559 --> 00:31:41.980 with the children, 00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:42.539 last week, 00:31:42.640 --> 00:31:43.740 but you need to see it, 00:31:43.779 --> 00:31:44.940 you are not a lone ranger, 00:31:45.160 --> 00:31:45.359 alright? 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:48.539 All these exhortations, 00:31:48.680 --> 00:31:49.359 are plural. 00:31:50.900 --> 00:31:51.660 And so when he says, 00:31:51.740 --> 00:31:52.720 take up the shield of faith, 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:54.220 he's speaking to us, 00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:55.460 the people of God, 00:31:55.740 --> 00:31:56.620 to the church. 00:31:56.619 --> 00:31:58.419 The New Testament, 00:31:58.539 --> 00:32:00.500 has absolutely no concept, 00:32:00.619 --> 00:32:01.259 of a Christian, 00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:01.919 who is, 00:32:02.779 --> 00:32:04.059 outside of the local church, 00:32:04.179 --> 00:32:05.579 no such being exists. 00:32:07.679 --> 00:32:08.579 And so he's not saying, 00:32:08.699 --> 00:32:09.779 go around like St. George, 00:32:09.899 --> 00:32:10.779 trying to slay the dragon, 00:32:10.979 --> 00:32:11.119 or, 00:32:11.439 --> 00:32:11.839 you're not like, 00:32:11.899 --> 00:32:12.939 Knights of the Round Table, 00:32:13.179 --> 00:32:14.159 and Sir Galahad, 00:32:14.259 --> 00:32:15.119 or Lancelot. 00:32:17.779 --> 00:32:18.059 You're not, 00:32:18.119 --> 00:32:18.739 this is not a picture, 00:32:18.819 --> 00:32:19.699 of some superhero, 00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:20.979 going out to fight the devil. 00:32:21.299 --> 00:32:21.539 No, 00:32:21.619 --> 00:32:22.179 this is a picture, 00:32:22.219 --> 00:32:22.759 of an army. 00:32:24.039 --> 00:32:24.679 A trained, 00:32:24.779 --> 00:32:25.679 disciplined army, 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:26.580 standing together, 00:32:26.660 --> 00:32:27.519 against the foe. 00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:29.740 I feel really strongly, 00:32:29.820 --> 00:32:30.080 about this. 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:30.840 We've lost, 00:32:30.940 --> 00:32:31.560 lots of this, 00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:32.779 in the body of Christ. 00:32:34.220 --> 00:32:35.380 As people come and go, 00:32:35.460 --> 00:32:36.259 as they please, 00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:37.220 I know it's difficult, 00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:38.259 they're here one week, 00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:39.380 we don't see them the next week, 00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:40.160 they're sometimes, 00:32:40.259 --> 00:32:40.820 at the prayer meeting, 00:32:40.920 --> 00:32:41.640 sometimes not. 00:32:43.640 --> 00:32:44.560 But God's provision, 00:32:44.700 --> 00:32:45.420 for us as a church, 00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:45.980 is Paul is saying, 00:32:46.039 --> 00:32:46.860 you stand together, 00:32:46.980 --> 00:32:48.060 you take the shield of faith, 00:32:48.060 --> 00:32:49.160 you stand together. 00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:53.060 Do you remember, 00:32:53.299 --> 00:32:54.120 when there's riots, 00:32:54.119 --> 00:32:56.239 the police stand there, 00:32:56.259 --> 00:32:56.439 don't they, 00:32:56.479 --> 00:32:56.759 with those, 00:32:57.759 --> 00:32:58.899 perspex shields, 00:32:59.659 --> 00:33:01.579 and they walk forward, 00:33:01.659 --> 00:33:01.939 together, 00:33:02.019 --> 00:33:02.459 all as one. 00:33:03.379 --> 00:33:04.479 Stones come down, 00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:05.459 and the petrol bombs, 00:33:05.659 --> 00:33:06.599 run down on them, 00:33:06.639 --> 00:33:07.339 and they advance, 00:33:07.419 --> 00:33:08.879 as one solid wall, 00:33:09.899 --> 00:33:11.339 and they push back. 00:33:12.979 --> 00:33:13.779 And that's Paul's vision, 00:33:13.859 --> 00:33:14.299 for the church. 00:33:15.799 --> 00:33:16.439 But as believers, 00:33:16.579 --> 00:33:17.579 we stand together, 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:18.899 we link our shields, 00:33:19.399 --> 00:33:20.019 we strengthen, 00:33:20.019 --> 00:33:21.000 one another's faith, 00:33:21.459 --> 00:33:22.699 we close our ranks. 00:33:22.700 --> 00:33:25.120 And we look to Christ, 00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:25.900 by faith in him. 00:33:27.340 --> 00:33:27.880 Let's sing. 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:28.600 Let's sing.