Have you ever faced a "ghost" in your child's room or navigated the emotional terrain of family protection? Join us as we dive into the true meaning of the warrior mentality, where strength transcends physical abilities. We'll explore living a life of integrity, instilling faith in our children, and shielding them from negative influences, all while standing as vigilant guardians of our loved ones' well-being.
Empowering our children with tools for self-protection is a divine mission we must embrace wholeheartedly. From sharing a proud moment when a child cleverly avoided inappropriate YouTube content to emphasizing our God-given duty to advance His kingdom, this message encourages us to harness our spiritual authority.
Made a decision to follow Jesus? We want to know about it! Fill out our connect card here: https://local.churchcenter.com/people/forms/115766
Thank you for your generosity. For information on how to give, visit https://localvineyard.church/give.
Have you ever faced a "ghost" in your child's room or navigated the emotional terrain of family protection? Join us as we dive into the true meaning of the warrior mentality, where strength transcends physical abilities. We'll explore living a life of integrity, instilling faith in our children, and shielding them from negative influences, all while standing as vigilant guardians of our loved ones' well-being.
Empowering our children with tools for self-protection is a divine mission we must embrace wholeheartedly. From sharing a proud moment when a child cleverly avoided inappropriate YouTube content to emphasizing our God-given duty to advance His kingdom, this message encourages us to harness our spiritual authority.
Made a decision to follow Jesus? We want to know about it! Fill out our connect card here: https://local.churchcenter.com/people/forms/115766
Thank you for your generosity. For information on how to give, visit https://localvineyard.church/give.
Well, first I got to say happy Father's Day to my dad, who is watching online so glad you're, my dad Love you. And then I also got to say though in my heart I think I'm a warrior baby, come on. In my heart I feel like, well, I don't know, man, there's something in me that's ready to stand up against injustice, fight for what's right, to defend those I love. And sometimes, as a dad, on this Father's Day, as a dad, it can be hard to discern when you're supposed to defend your kids or let them figure things out on their own. It can be a challenging thing. For example, I got a story. I once gave my daughter, who is five years old at the time, some advice that my wife told me was the worst advice possible I can give a five-year-old. That's what she told me. Okay, I thought it was kind of good in the moment. But so you guys tell me what you think about. All right, you tell me about this advice.
Speaker 1:So my daughter Kingsley she's in kindergarten and at lunch in her lunchbox she has this little picture of me, aaron and her brothers, because she says lunchtime is when she misses us the most. Okay, so that's when she, oh, no, oh, she loves me, Okay. So there's one particular lunch. These two boys at the lunch table were messing with her about the picture, saying oh, you're such a baby. Oh, you got that little picture, you're a baby. And then Kings is like no, I'm not. And so one of the boys grabs the picture and says your mama is ugly, it's messed up. That's what the boy says. Then I guess a couple of her little friends stood up for her and the boys eventually stopped.
Speaker 1:When kingsley picked me up, when I picked kingsley up, she, she picks me up sometimes, but when I, when I picked kingsley up for school, she starts to cry and tell me the story. I'm like, oh no, that's not good. And then I asked I said what did I said what did you say to them when they started talking about your mom? Because I just come from a generation where you don't talk about people's mamas. You can have beef with people, you can have problems with people, but talking about someone's mom is a low blow, you don't do it. So I was just curious. I said what did you say? And she said well, I didn't know what to say when they started talking about it. I said okay, that's okay, I understand that she didn't know what to say. Then I say Kingsley.
Speaker 1:Then Kingsley told me which of the boys that was messing with her. And this one little boy is always in the mix with all these kind of stories. I'm like this little knucklehead man. And so then I told Kingsley, and here comes the advice, and you tell me what you think. I say Kingsley, next time someone talks about your mama, I give you permission to just deck them, just lay them out, lay them out. And then her face got all bright. She said for real. And I was like yes. I was like yes.
Speaker 1:She got home and she ran inside and said she said mom, dad told me, next time the boys talk about you at school, I can deck them. And then Aaron's like who's talking about me at school? And Jacob, why are you giving our kids this advice? Was it the best advice? Best advice? Probably not one of my best parenting moments. I later reneged on it. I told Kingsley no, next time you shouldn't do that, you should just tell an adult. And she felt better.
Speaker 1:But there's this warrior in me man, like I'm hearing justice. My little girl's getting messed with. I wanted to teach her how to defend herself. Here's the truth, guys. Here's the truth. There's this thing in me that is ready to fight. Ready to fight, ready to defend, ready to stand up against what's wrong. This thing in me. I hate it when I see people getting pushed around and I'm hoping today. I'm hoping today that in some of you, where life has bullied you around, life has pushed you, life has come against you. My hope today is that you will be ready to stand up and fight, that you will be ready to stand up and defend yourself and your family, because God is for you, it's for you. See, I'm hoping there's some of you that are getting sick and tired of being pushed around and I'm guessing that some of you sense that it's time for you to fight back and there's a battle for you to win. And that battle for you to win can be a habit you need to break. It's a relationship that you need to attempt to mend. It can be a debt that you need to eliminate, a discipline you need to start. It can be a temptation that you continue to give into, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can overcome it. You can overcome it.
Speaker 1:Today we're starting this message series called Warrior, not to be confused with Steph Curry. That was some bitterness, because he beat my boy, lebron, so many times. Okay, anyways, but I'm wondering is there any warriors in the house today? Can I get a uh, uh, uh, get a little grunt up in here, warriors? Okay, I'm a warrior with my hood at me so I can play some DMX up in here. Okay, we won't do that. We won't do that.
Speaker 1:Something unique, though, I'm going to do during this series, though At times I'm going to directly talk to the men, I'm going to directly talk to the guys, and then sometimes I'm going to directly talk to the women, because I don't know about you, but some of the fiercest warriors I know are some female warriors. Come on, come on. And so one of the reasons I'm going to specifically talk to men today one, it's Father's Day, and also because there's a lot of confusion in today's culture on what it means to be a man. Is a man supposed to be someone who's powerful or gentle, strong or weak? Even Jesus kind of?
Speaker 1:Throughout church history, they wrongly kind of show who Jesus is. Oftentimes, jesus is portrayed just as meek and mild. Yes, jesus was meek, but meek ain't weak, and so they portray him as a poor Galilean, who was just good with sheep and kids. First of all, you know how difficult it is to work with kids. You can't be weak to be working with no kids. And so, yes, he was full of love and he was full of mercy and he was full of grace. So, yes, he was full of love and he was full of mercy and he was full of grace. Yet, at the very same time and the same body, is the fiercest spiritual warrior we've ever seen.
Speaker 1:Jesus stood up against what was wrong. Jesus stood up against injustices. Jesus stood up where other people hid away. He confronted things. He had a heart of a warrior, of a warrior, and I believe that God has placed a heart of a warrior in each and every one of us. And I want to do. I want to look at the nature of God and I want to look at the person of Jesus, to lay a foundation. And then we're going to look at three callings that each of us, as warriors, must embrace. Okay, let's talk about the nature of God first. He calls himself the shelter. He says that he's our hide-in place, that he's a great fortress, that he is a strong tower, that he is your rock, and he is also called warrior. In fact, in Exodus we see this the Lord is a warrior. The Lord is his name. Even Jesus, who was full of mercy and compassion, could put up a spiritual fight.
Speaker 1:Matthew 10 says this do not suppose I have come to bring peace to earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. And you're saying well, jesus, I thought you were supposed to bring peace, I thought you were peace loving. What Jesus is saying is this when he says he's coming to bring a sword, he's not like. He's not saying, oh, just play nice everybody. Oh, billy, don't hurt your brother. That's not what Jesus is saying. Jesus is saying the peace I want to bring is when I see something wrong, we have to stand up against it. When there is racial division, we got to say, hey, that's not on our watch. When there's problems happening in our world, we got to stand up. The church has to stand up and lead the way. That's what Jesus is saying.
Speaker 1:He was the greatest warrior of all time. When Jesus was obedient to God, the Father gave his life on the cross, defeated death, hell, sin and the grave. He was a great warrior. Jesus was full of mercy, full of compassion and was a great warrior. Men and women, ladies and gentlemen all warriors in the house today. I believe there are three things that a warrior must do, so let's talk about it. The first one is this Every warrior has someone to protect. Every warrior has someone to protect.
Speaker 1:I love the words of Nehemiah. When he was advancing the kingdom and he was fighting the battle, he was rebuilding the walls, and when he was rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem, all these people came up and said you can't do this, you'll never be able to do that, you'll never be able to raise funds for this, you'll never be able. He had insult after insult after insult, and yet listen to the words of Nehemiah when he talked to his people. He says don't be afraid of them. And I just feel like right now, for some of us, you've been afraid of some things. People have insulted you, people have said you can't. People have said you never. And even worse, there's this inner voice in you that says you'll never get rid of that addiction. You'll always be that person. You'll be just like them and just like them, and you'll never get them.
Speaker 1:And I want to say prophetically to you today the word of the Lord is don't be afraid of them. And why can we not have fear? Why don't we have to be afraid? Like Nehemiah, he says remember the Lord, remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes. See, I want to talk to some warriors today, and for some of us, it's time to get off of the sofa, it's time for us to let down the Target app and it's time for us to fight for our families. It's time for you to fight for your homes, to fight for purity, to fight for victory, fight for generosity and fight for righteousness, because God has given you someone to protect.
Speaker 1:Let me talk to the fellows for a second. Let me talk to the men for a second. Here you go, men. You don't have to be some big buff gym rat. Don't make me bring out my guns up in here. Don't hurt. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt you today. What are you going to laugh at my arms like that? For I've been doing some push-ups, I've been trying. I am trying to be like Shaunti, okay. So here you go. You don't have to be some big buff gym rat. You can be smaller, quiet by nature, but if someone breaks into your house, you're going to fight to the death, aren't you? You might be generally timid, but someone comes in and hurts your kids, you're going to get out your bed and your whitey tighties and grab a lamppost and use that as a weapon, aren't you? You're going to defend what someone's threatened because you're a warrior. There's a warrior in your heart.
Speaker 1:The other night, aaron and I, we were about to go to bed and our daughter Kingsley starts screaming in her room. She starts screaming in her room and in my head I'm like I know no one's broken into the house because I'm right here, but she's screaming like someone's in her room. So the only conclusion I could come to was there must be a ghost in her room. Was I scared of a little ghost? Yeah, did I call the Ghostbusters? No, you want to know why? Because I'm a warrior baby and so I was scared. But I ran into her room ready to fight Casper, the friendly ghost. Luckily, when I got in there, she was just having a bad dream and I just laid her down and sang Twinkle, twinkle, little Star one more time, and she was good. But I was ready because I'm a warrior. I'm ready to fight. Why are you guys laughing at me? I can fight, but was I afraid A little bit, but luckily it was okay.
Speaker 1:But here you go. Here's the truth. There's something in you that will righteously die to protect someone you love. There's something in you. But I want to say something to all of my warriors in here not just the men to all the warriors Don't just be willing to die for those you love, be willing to live in a way that protects them. Be willing to do the hard things when no one's watching. See, because integrity if you want to have a great influence on your family, in your workplace, integrity leads to influence. Doing the things that's right when no one's watching, that's what leads to influence. And so we want to live in a way to protect them not just physically, as warriors, you protect them emotionally. Here you go.
Speaker 1:One of the greatest tragedies of our day and throughout history is that there are so many women who have been abused by the power of men gone wrong, and there should never be a woman, there should never be a child ever in the presence of a man of God that should feel anything but safe. It should always feel safe, physically and emotionally. Not only will I protect Aaron physically, but I want to protect her heart, meaning that I want her to know that I can live my life with integrity and she doesn't have to worry about me straying into trouble. So we can protect physically, we can protect emotionally, but we also need to protect spiritually. We need to protect our family spiritually, for example, in the Gaines house. That means we are followers of Jesus. So I'm going to unapologetically talk to my kids about Jesus. I'm going to share how Jesus has changed my life and open sea with them so they can know and have a relationship with him.
Speaker 1:For example, unless someone is sick, we are in church every week. We're in church every week. There has never been a Sunday where one of my kids wake up and says are we going to church today? No, no, no, that's not a question. That's not a question. It's not because I'm Pastor Jacob and I have to be here. That's because I'm a follower of Jesus Jacob, and I see the value in it. See, for me, I don't want my kids to miss a week of local kids, because they need strength in the body of Christ to empower them to walk for Jesus.
Speaker 1:Every night, at dinner, each kid. We ask them three questions at dinner. We say what was your high for today, what was your low for today and how did you see God in your day? See, they're little and they don't always understand the question. But the same way we teach our kids ABCs and 1, 2, 3s, we have to teach them that the presence of God is in their life, in the good and in the bad, that God is with them and for them. See our daughter before bed she has a thankfulness journal, aaron and I pray a blessing over her, and then we have her pray to Jesus because we want to teach her that God is more interested, just as interested in hearing her voice as ours. See, and then parents kind of talk to parents for a second. If your kid gets the wrong influence in their lives, they start to hang out with a group of people that's not the best for them. As warriors, as a protective father and mother, it is your role to step in and say no, we're not hanging with that group, we're going a different direction. See, warriors, you have that right. I want to let someone know you have that right. You should always be involved and you owe it to your kids because you have someone to protect Again.
Speaker 1:For example, our daughter started kindergarten this year and we knew she was going to get a lot of different outside voices from kids to teachers, to parent volunteers, to parents of friends and we wanted to make sure we were preparing her. So we actually got her this book called Good Pictures, bad Pictures, junior. It's a really good book, and this book is meant for parents to read with their kid, to give them tools, predominantly if they were ever in a situation where they could be with someone who's a child predator, or even if their friends are viewing pornography on a tablet or whatever something like that to give them tools on how to handle it. See, at first I was kind of nervous to introduce this to my kids, to Kingsley, because I didn't want to expose her to something that she wasn't struggling with. I didn't want to expose her to something that she didn't know anything about. But then I had to get honest with myself. Statistics tell us that kids are being exposed to pornography as early as six years old. Statistics also tell us that porn addiction starts as early as age nine. So I can pretend that it's not happening or I can prepare my kids for what is happening. But you can't do both, and so, instead of pretending, I wanted to prepare. So we read her the book, and it's a very well book. I encourage you to get it. If you got little kids, she got it. It was good. You know, it was good. I was a little nervous. Okay, that was good, that was good. But here you go, check this out.
Speaker 1:A few months later, she was watching YouTube I have a love-hate relationship with YouTube and she was watching YouTube with her friends and luckily she wasn't exposed to anything porn related. But the content on the show made her uncomfortable. And guess what she did? She did the three steps they tell you to do in this book. She covered her eyes, she ran away and she told a trusted adult.
Speaker 1:And I got to say friends, I was so proud of my little warrior, I was so proud of her and thankful that we gave her the tools to protect herself. And I just got to say something you got someone to protect. Don't let anyone else. I mean, there's other people that can protect your kids, but you are responsible for them. You're responsible for how they feel, what they see, and so I want to let someone know today God has given you someone to protect. And 2 Samuel says be strong and let us fight bravely for our people. Come on, man, let's be brave for our people. Those are your people, that God has entrusted you with. Let's fight. Let's fight bravely for them, for the cities of our God. See, god has given you someone to protect.
Speaker 1:Second thing is this God has given you a kingdom to advance. God has given you a kingdom to advance. Luke says this. Jesus is talking to his disciples. When he called the 12 together, he gave them power and authority. Can I let someone know? Today God has given you power and authority. Scripture tells us that. Know, today God has given you power and authority. Scripture tells us that the same spirit come on, the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead, lives in you. The Bible says where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. See, I'm going to tell you this friends, don't believe the lies that you can't and that you won't, and that you would never be able to amount or to make it, because the Spirit of God is upon you and he has given you power and authority. He says I've given you power and authority to drive out all demons. Come on, casper, to cure diseases. And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick warriors. You have a kingdom to advance, we're told.
Speaker 1:In Matthew's gospel, jesus says that we are to seek first the kingdom of God, not our own kingdom, that we are to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and then everything else will be added on to us. We're told that when you pray, this is how you should pray Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. What Jesus is inviting us into is this he's saying that when we pray, we connect to God relationally, we worship his name and we put his agenda first. Jesus said this. He says I give you the keys to the kingdom, and that means that you can pray. Come Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will come. You can act in wisdom, courage and kindness. This is your contribution, because you are called by Jesus, who is the light of the world. You are a heavenly ambassador and God has given you gifts and talents and passions, and he has saved you by his grace. Yet he prepared good works in advance for you.
Speaker 1:See, warriors, you might be the brightest light in your office. You might be the only spiritual light in your sphere of influence and you're advancing the kingdom, I got to say. You may be great at business conquer, take ground, make money and give generously. You might be one of the most generous people serving the needs of our city, giving to ministries, helping single moms. You may have a heart for teenagers. It's time for you to serve with local youth. You may have a playful heart. It's time for you to serve with the third to fifth graders, because they need you.
Speaker 1:See, warriors is in you, it's hardwired in you. You've got someone to protect. You've got a kingdom to advance and you've got a cause worth fighting. But here is the problem. Here's where the problem comes in, because if you're not engaged in your cause, you will fight against the wrong things. Some of you, you've been fighting against authority your whole life. Ain't no one going to tell me what to do? I'm in this for myself, and that fight against authority is because you are used and abused and there's a brokenness in you that God wants to heal. Come on, can I get heavy for a little bit? There's something in you that God wants to heal. For some of you, you've been fighting against your spouse. You're fighting against God, some of you. You're fighting against the very people who are trying to help you the most. What happened? What happened? Somewhere along the road? You had a kingdom to advance and you got distracted. You got distracted and the problem is a distracted warrior will always be a destructive warrior. If we're distracted, we're not focused on what God has for us, we'll do things that bring us temporary pleasures but leave us long-lasting problems.
Speaker 1:Come on, let me speak to the men again directly. Gentlemen, do not abandon your post, come, holy Spirit. I feel right now there's some gentlemen in here. You don't want to abandon your post, but the post was abandoned on you. You were left alone, trying to figure it out on your own, and the Holy Spirit is saying to you right now that while you felt alone, his presence was always with you and that with you, generational patterns could end in Jesus' name. Don't abandon your posts, don't abandon your calling, do not surrender that which you were called to do. And to all my warriors, god created in you a heart of a warrior, with someone to protect, a kingdom to advance and, lastly, a battle to win. With a battle to win, psalm 144 says praise. Be to the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. I mean, you got to poke the enemy in the eye. That's how I just read it.
Speaker 1:Warriors, remember, christianity is not a playground, it's a battleground. And we don't fight against flesh and blood, we fight against dark forces, powers and principalities. But there's a fight in you. There's a fight in you, friends. You just got to let it come to life. You got to say I'm called to it. There's more in me than the wrong desires in me, christ in me, stronger than the wrong desires in me. I'm called to this. I'm not going to sell out, I'm not going to sit back, but I'm going to get up and I will engage in the battle.
Speaker 1:And the problem is so often you realize there's someone to protect, there's a kingdom to advance, a battle to win, and you're ready, you're hyped, I'm going to slay the dragon, I'm doing it. But then you remember I still got to pay my bills. My car needs an oil change. I still have that report due at work. I still need to cut my bills. My car needs an oil change. I still have to have a port due at work. I still need to cut my grass. I really need to fix that broken thing in my house.
Speaker 1:Man, I'm not connecting with my teenage kid and you don't feel much like a warrior and so often what you feel in your heart is so much different than what you see in your day today. So how did you, as a warrior, step into your mission? I want to give you two statements, and I hope these are very clear and that they empower you. Hope you understand and I hope that you understand. Here you go.
Speaker 1:Victory isn't always what you conquer later. Victory isn't always what you conquer later. Victory isn't always what you conquer later. Victory is being faithful and obedient. Today. Victory is being faithful and obedient to what God has put before you today. See, it's not the moment of victory when you finally throw the stone and take the giant down.
Speaker 1:See, david, david who killed Goliath. He was victorious when he showed up to the battleground ready to serve his brothers some cheese and crackers. And then he saw the giant and he said this giant defiles the name of my God. This giant thinks it has power over the living God, but not on my watch. See.
Speaker 1:See, david wasn't victorious. It's because he showed up ready to do battle. He was victorious because he was obedient and faithful to what God has called him to do. And if you want to see victory in your life, you got to get obedient and faithful to the daily grind of following Jesus. Because my hope, friends, as everyday people who are learning how to become Jesus followers, that it's in your everyday, your ordinary day, your ordinary routines that you give to God and you begin to see God move in it.
Speaker 1:See, jesus, jesus, his victory wasn't just at the cross, it wasn't just there. He was also victorious when he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and the devil came to him on three different times and tried to take him away from the will of God. Jesus was a warrior when he fought against, when he fought against the temptations. Stone to bread. You're hungry, jesus? Take that stone, make it bread. He says. Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from God.
Speaker 1:Second temptation the enemy tried to take him to the top of the temple and says hey, why don't you just jump? Why don't you just jump? God will surely send his angels to catch you. And Jesus replies to the enemy and says do not put the Lord, your God, to the test. And then this final temptation. I want you to get this. I want you to get this, friends, the final temptations.
Speaker 1:The enemy shows Jesus all the splendors of the kingdom and says if you bow to me, you can be king of the kingdoms. This is what I want you to get. The enemy already knew that he was going to become King Jesus, but what the enemy proposed to Jesus was this that you can become king without cross. If you bow to me right now, I'll make you king without taking the pain of the cross. And I'm going to tell you this, warriors Sometimes we want the easy life, sometimes we want the good life, sometimes we want the mountaintop, but we don't want that valley.
Speaker 1:But I'm going to tell you this, warriors it's in the valley seasons, it's in the seasons when you want to give up, it's in the seasons of your suffering, it's in the seasons when things didn't go the way you want. It's in the seasons of loss and pain and tragedy. It's in the seasons of the valley that I can get to my mountaintop. And at the mountaintop, though it was not easy, I may say to the enemy get behind me, satan, get away from me. Worship the Lord, my God. Only See, jesus was victorious when he did this. Victory is not what we accomplish sometime later in the future, but it's when we're faithful and obedient today. And can we have some faithful and obedient Christians today In a world that is desperate for a touch of God? Made the church be faithful and obedient to God in the daily routine.
Speaker 1:And so Jesus was victorious when he protected a broken woman from an angry mob that wanted to stone her. He was victorious when he walked into the temple and it was being misused and he overturned the tables and said you don't take my father's house, a place meant for worship, and use it for your own selfish gain. You see, warriors, sometimes you turn a cheek and sometimes you turn a table In the garden. Jesus knelt down and prayed Father, may this cup be removed from me. And every demonic voice from hell said don't go through with it, jesus. But Jesus was victorious when he said yet, not my will, but your will be done God. And he was stripped naked, hanging on a cross, taken abuse, people spit on him, dying slowly. And he was victorious when he did not retaliate. He could have called down legions of angels, but instead he looked up to heaven and said Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. And Jesus was victorious when he said it. Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. And Jesus was victorious when he said it is finished. And every day, in every moment, he was faithful and obedient, not just in the moment where he gave his life, but in the every day, in the ordinary days, he was faithful and obedient.
Speaker 1:So, friends, I asked you this last question what is your battle Like? Seriously, what's your battle? What's the battle that you need to win? What's the battle that you need to win? What's the battle that you're going to fight to win? I want you to name one, not two, not three. Fight to win. I want you to name one, not two, not three, not four. Some of you are like Pastor Jake, I got a laundry list. Just start with one and, with the power of the Holy Spirit, you will win that battle today. What's your heavenly assignment? Someone to protect a kingdom, to advance a battle to win. What's your battle? Name it, defeat it. And I believe the power of God will be with you. And I want to say this last verse and I want to kind of say it, speak it prophetically over you In Joel, chapter 3, it says this Say to the nations far and wide get ready for war.
Speaker 1:Call out your best warriors. Let all your fighting men advance for the attack. Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Train even your weaklings to be warriors. Come quickly, all you, nations everywhere, gather together in the valley. Come on in the valley seasons. Gather together there and now. Oh Lord, call out your warriors. Come on, can we be warriors? Friends, listen to me, let's push back against the forces of darkness. You step in in your fight. Sometimes you turn a cheek, other times you turn a table and sometimes you might even have to throw a punch.
Speaker 1:But you got the power of prayer, you get the power of your testimony and the power of the Spirit of God in you and you look at your enemy and you say take your hands off my family, take your hands off my finances, take your hands off my future. I am a blood-bought child of the Most High God and I will tap into him and I'm going to say friends, the Lord, he fights for us. He has given you a heart of a warrior. God, jesus, holy Spirit, we come to you right now saying we need you, lord, we need more of you. We need your presence and your power, and I say, right now, raise up warriors, lord. Raise up warriors to fight and defend for their families. Raise up warriors with the courage to get counseling and help. Raise up warriors, lord, as you can feel right now.
Speaker 1:Going back to the story of King David, when he wanted to fight Goliath, king Saul wanted to put armor and shields and all this protective gear on him and he said I can't move. In this, I just feel like the Holy Spirit is saying right now, there's some of you. You're wearing armor, you're wearing stuff that you thought was going to help you, but you can't even move. You feel drowned. You're wearing stuff that you thought was going to help you, but you can't even move. You feel drowned, you feel suffocated. And King David says I'm going to take this stuff off, and the same way I defeated the lion and the bear, I'll defeat this giant too, by the power of God with me. So, holy Spirit, we ask for more of you. We ask for more of you. Lord, come Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit, and you may be in here today like Jacob man. That was good. I was a warrior, I get it, but I don't know this Jesus you're talking about.
Speaker 1:If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life, I just want to pray for you. I'm not going to call you out. Have you come up front? Nothing like that. Right where you are. If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life or trust him again with your life, I want to pray for you. It's right where you are, that's you Just say Jesus, forgive me for my sins, make me new Today. I follow you Today. I trust you In Jesus' name. Amen, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today.