Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Hey, guys, this is naive. And you've reached the Mosaic Church podcast. So excited that you're part of our listening community and I'd love for you to be even more connected. So check out our website. There's more content there and there's more opportunities for you to get connected in our ministries and events as well. Also, love for you to share this content. If this is blessed you. I know that God wants to use you to bless other people with it, so share this podcast if you will. Lastly, would you consider supporting this ministry? This is made possible by other people's generosity, and I would love for you to pay it forward. Join us to reclaim the message and the movement of Jesus together. So would you consider giving to this ministry? I know that God is able to do immeasurably more through us when we come together. Thank you so much. God bless you and enjoy.
[00:00:54] We're gonna have a lot of fun. Yes. That is crazy. Can you give it up for our creative team or staff? Yeah, for Jethro, who's in the house. Yes. It's so much fun. Hey, if you are a guest here, I'm so sorry, you know, first of all, so sorry. Yeah, yeah, we're actually. We're normal most days, but Sundays, we go crazy. We go crazy. But, hey, I do want to acknowledge something. It's not part of the script in a sense, but I just want to acknowledge the moment that we just moved past the moment in worship.
[00:01:26] I will say, though, there was a point when we were transitioning to BJ coming up and doing the announcements and the welcome. I was like, ah, gosh, you know, the moments like that, I'm like, should we just sit in this moment? Like, should we just forget, you know, me speaking? Let's just do something. God, what are you doing? And what's ironic, though, to me is. And very timely is that this morning I'm going to be talking about spiritual. This is the spiritual world that we don't really realize that exists and that we live in. It's part of God's reality. And I thought, man, I think we kind of tapped into that a little bit. It's not just music, you know, it's just not just goosebumps. It's not just lights and the song and all that. There was something else. So I just want you to know that if you felt something, maybe even as you're watching, you felt something and you're like, oh, man, this is God speaking to you. And he does this not just through our normal senses, you know, with Touch and feel and sight. He does this in supernatural ways as well. Cool. So let me. I just want you to know that. I want you to know that. So we are in week three. We're talking about, obviously, the story of the shepherds that encounter there and what we can learn from that and what God wants to teach us from there. And I will tell you this, though, before I get into that, we are also collecting a Christmas offering. So if you haven't heard, we're doing a Christmas offering. We're raising $25,000 for our nonprofits and for partners and projects for next year. And I'm happy to say we've got half of it in already. So you guys are already giving toward it. Yeah, yeah. Let's give it up. Let's give it up.
[00:03:01] Love for you to all participate, okay? So if you're like me, you know, sometimes I go, you know what? If I can't give this much, I don't wanna give it all. If I can't give this much, I don't wanna give it all. You gotta think, oh, man, this is nothing. The truth is, every dollar counts, okay? The dollar that we can't count is a dollar you don't give. You know what I'm saying? So if it's five bucks, if it's 50 bucks, if it's 500 bucks, it does not matter. Friends, it's beautiful when we come together, you can go, hey, we're all part of this. So I'd Love, for everybody, 100% participation. It doesn't matter. Give 50 cents if you're broke. You know what I'm saying? You're like, I'm just a kid. Okay, okay, 50 cents. You know what? I'm saying something. So you can go, I gave to that. I gave to the Christmas offering. Cool. All right, let's jump in. Let's jump in. So if you've got an app. If you've got the Mosaic app, we're going to be in Luke, chapter two, the later part of it. We're going to jump right into it. But the big idea about this passage of the story of Christmas is this truth. And I'm just gonna give it to you right up front, okay? And this is it that you. You and I like. We. You have a part to play in God's reality. Now, it's nuanced. That phrase is nuanced a little bit. Okay. Number one, it's like you. You. Because you were picked. You were picked for some reason. And then because some of you guys, like, why should I be picked. But you were picked. And then you're. You're playing a certain part. There are certain moments that God sets up and that you need to play a part that you need to step into. And it's a part of. Not your reality or mine. It's not a part of the reality we see. It's God's reality. It's an unseen reality that we play a part in that for some reason. And I don't understand you and I physically here are influence, but also influence things in the unseen world. And the Christmas story is truly about that. So let's jump right in and we'll go into it and I'll show you what I mean by that. So, Luke, we're in. Luke, let's jump into the first passage there. So it says there, that night there were shepherds staying in the fields. Now, I want you to know the fields. When you think of fields, some of you are thinking, you know, lord of the Rings. The fields, the green fields, Irish fields. No. Okay, Middle Eastern fields. I'll tell you what they are. Desert, okay? There is. That's the fields. The fields are just. So I want you to know the picture of fields is a desert and there are tufts of grass. But shepherds who would go and find food and shelter and travel with their flock would go into these fields. It's not lush fields. Just want you to know that. Okay? And then it says here, nearby, guarding their flocks at night, their flocks of sheep. And then what happens? Then suddenly. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them. And the radiance of the Lord, glory surrounded them. So here's what happens. What happens, I want you to know is, first of all, an angel shows up to their scene. So I've got this manger situation over here. It's actually this whole thing is backwards. Let's just turn this around right here. Okay? Joseph again, has fallen. Like we said last week, he fell as well. He's Pentecostal, so he falls every time he gets excited. All right, all right. So here's what happens, right? So we covered this scene last week. But this scene right here, what happens is that we've got these shepherds and then this angel, which is. Oh, my gosh, what is this? This is hilarious when you look at this. They show up and then the glory surrounds them all. It surrounds them all, okay? So I want you to know there's something happens right there. And then it goes on and says they were terrified. Why? Because when the angels show up, you are terrified. Right? But the angels reassured them and says, what? Do not be afraid. That is the classic greeting of an angel. Don't be afraid. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Okay? He says, I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. All people. And that's what we're reporting on, right? This idea of that. And what's the good news? This says the Savior. The Savior? The one. The Messiah that they've been waiting for. The one who rescued them. Yes, the Messiah. The Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, in the city of David. And you will recognize him. So he tells the angels, the angel tells the shepherds. He says, you'll recognize him by this sign. You will find a baby wrapped in sandals, in strips of cloth, lying in a manger. And then what happens here? Suddenly, something happens here. Suddenly, it says the angel was joined by a vast host of what others there were. All of a sudden there was not just so. I mean, there's so many things wrong with this manger scene, but number one is that it was not one. All of a su.
[00:07:39] There was a vast of others. The army of heavens. The armies of heavens, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest heavens and peace on earth to those whom God is pleased. So all of a sudden, if you've ever been. Are you any. Are you guys Marvel fans? Any Marvel fans in the house? Okay. Any sci fi fans in the house? Right. Okay, okay. D.C. people. Okay, one. All right. Guess what? Awesome comic people. All right, I want you to know this. As I was reading this the first time, I thought, oh, my goodness, you know what just happened here, basically?
[00:08:21] What do you call it?
[00:08:24] Yeah, a portal. Yes, that's. Thank you. Yeah, a portal opened up. Like all of a sudden they began to see another world. It's like, you know, all of a sudden, around this reality, another real opened up. Like a multiverse reality showed up and. Because at first they were like, okay, this is just one. And then all of a sudden there were other. There were other. There were other voices. There were other voices. There were others that just kind of showed up, not invited, but they showed up anyways. Okay, they showed up. They showed up. But I want you to know that what happened to the shepherds is that they began or they at that point saw something or experienced a reality that was other than them. Like not a multiverse, but another kind of reality that all of a sudden they saw the armies of heaven showing up. And so then they go and they tell everybody about it. So if you broke this down. What does this part of the Christmas story tell us? Well, first it tells us this, that God chooses you. Like God picks you. Like he picked the shepherds out of all the people he could have picked. He picks shepherds to tell them, to tell everybody else about this. Why did he pick those before the magi knew, before anybody else knew. I mean, besides the family, the current family. You got shepherds. Why shepherds? You know what's interesting about that is number one with shepherds, when you think of shepherds, and they got shepherds over here, right, with the, with these sticks, you know, these staffs. These are pretty hilarious. Now I can't figure out like they've, like this.
[00:10:06] I don't know who this person is. Very non binary because it seems like they've got like a ponytail situation. Is it a dress? Is it a. I don't know what it is. I don't know what's going on. But. And they're white, so that's good. Okay, so. And apparently they were twins. They were twins, yeah.
[00:10:24] But the word shepherd in Hebrew means ra. Ra.
[00:10:30] I'm sorry, Raha. Raha.
[00:10:33] I don't know why, but it means.
[00:10:35] It's the word in the Hebrew word. The word to see in the Hebrew word is ra. So it's spelled exactly the same. This idea to be able to see something and then to be a shepherd. And which is really fascinating. Like, why were the shepherds the first one to see? What was special about the shepherds?
[00:11:00] What was it?
[00:11:02] And who were they? Well, if you ask, like 90% of scholars, they'll tell you the shepherd. Most of the shepherding was not done by middle aged Middle Eastern men. It was done by teen girls.
[00:11:16] It was done by teen girls. Look it up. And if you go and visit, you know, Israel, you'll see these shepherd girls, they're doing most of the work. Like we know women do all of the work.
[00:11:31] So these shepherd, these shepherd girls possibly would have been the first ones to get this revelation, which does make a lot of sense, right, because after Jesus died and then was resurrected, who were the first ones? It was women. Like women can be trusted with information.
[00:11:52] But what's interesting about that is that they also have a particular position in society and that's not elevated. And it seems like God was conveying so much by saying, I'm going to pick you to be the first ones to see this and then I'm going to open up a portal in a sense, as you see what's also going on and you're going to tell the. To tell people and it's going to spread like that. What's interesting about shepherds, too, is that even though they were not a high position, they had integrity. They had integrity. The people trusted shepherds. And the reason is because that was one job that required you nurturing something as well and protecting it. Like a shepherd fed it, took care of their flock, and actually had to protect it as well. In fact, the staff that you guys might see, and if you see pictures, they don't carry really a staff. They carry a stick, sometimes a walking stick. But it's the stick to protect.
[00:12:52] It's not a stick to lead. See, in the Western world, we think of like, okay, you know, shepherds or, you know, flocks or cowboys, and you know how they take their flock and you got dogs, you got horses around them and all that. And Middle Eastern shepherd does not use a stick.
[00:13:15] A Middle Eastern shepherd, he or she uses their voice.
[00:13:20] The sheep respond to the voice and the words of the shepherd.
[00:13:26] Never by a stick. In fact, they've said, like, you could have multiple, multiple flocks of sheep and goat and one, two shepherds could stand and one will command just a whole group, and only the one that belongs to him will respond to him and follow him. That's why Jesus says, my sheep know my what? Know my voice. Jesus says, the way I'm the good shepherd, I don't lead with a stick. You see, religion leads with a stick.
[00:13:58] It beats you every time. It's like I'm looking for you to misbehave and you're going to get smacked for it.
[00:14:05] But God doesn't. He says, I lead with my voice.
[00:14:09] My voice. So God picked. God picked these particular people because, number one, they were credible.
[00:14:18] Number two, it's very interesting that they had this connection of like, being able to see they had integrity and their words mattered. So when they told the story, the story mattered because they're not just making up random stories. Their voice and their words matter because that's what they lead with that. And finally what's interesting, though, is where they were, like the fields you talk about, like, if you read other translations, it talks about that they were in the desert. The desert.
[00:14:54] What's interesting about that whole idea about the desert is again, I love words and meanings of words, but the, like, the Hebrew etymology of the word for. For desert is the word. The same word was connected to the word to speak. Speak where God speaks. And some scholars believe this is that there is this connection to when every time God speaks Something significant to anyone. They're always in the desert. Now, if you look that up yourself, you'll realize Moses in the desert, Abraham in the desert, Jesus in the desert. So I want you to know, number one, God picked you. Why did he pick you? You're like, I don't.
[00:15:38] I don't have a high position. I don't have a lot of influence.
[00:15:42] Yes, you do. God picked you. God picked you. God also picks to you because you have particular skills that no one else has. So when God picks you for a moment to step into, you're like, ah, I can't say. I can't do. I can't do. Because you're here and because you hear and because God shows you something, you have to respond. You are that shepherd for that moment. You step in because God knows you more than you know yourself. He knows your talent and your potential. So when God picks you, you shut up and do it.
[00:16:12] Because you gotta shut those voices that tell you, you are not. What, I'm not enough? I don't have the talent for this. I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do that. I can't do this. I can't do that. If I would have done that, I would have never gotten up on stage and spoke the first time. Because I never. Because the first time I got up on stage when I was a kid, I walked away just frozen. And a teacher had to come get me. And I remember walking out going, I will never be on stage.
[00:16:38] I will never. This is the worst place for me to be is on stage. But God knows more than me and you. He knows you. That's why he picked you. That's what. He picked you. He picked your talent. He picked you for a reason. And lastly, if you find yourself in a desert and you're like, I don't know if God can show me something. If you find yourself in a desert, it seems like the desert is the place where God speaks.
[00:17:06] So if you're in a season of dry desert, like, nothing is happening, man. There's just. It's not lush, it's not. Everything is flowing. No, no, it's like, oh, I can't. There's no. You're in a relational desert. You're in a financial desert, you're in a career desert. You just find yourself. It's the desert in which God's voice is clear. It's the desert. It's in the desert where the portal opens up and you go, oh, there's more. Oh, there's More So, number one, write this down, is he chooses us. He chooses us. But secondly, secondly. Secondly is this. Secondly is this. This. That was one. Let's go to the second one. Okay. The second one is another reality exists when the portal opened up, when all of a sudden they saw this thing.
[00:17:58] I got to remember that. And I forget this, that there is another reality out there. This week I did something that I haven't done in ever, ever in my life. I interviewed for a podcast. Now, I've done that before. Okay, I got interviewed for a podcast, but it was in France. So it was in the French organization that reached out to me and they're like, we would like to interview you for, you know. And I was like, yes, it's beautiful. Okay, that's great. Let's do it. They didn't speak like that. Well, they did. They actually didn't speak like that. But I was like. I said yes to it because why? Why not, right? I was like, french, who doesn't want to speak French? Not that I all of a sudden now speak French, but I was like, I like this. I like French. I just love it. Love it. Ooh, oui, pee. Okay.
[00:18:45] And the interview was an hour and a half long. And they must have said the word beautiful like, I don't know, like maybe two dozen times, you know, And I was like, this is awesome. And it was like 9:30 at night, their time. And so what was interesting about this is that they wanted to know my story. And for those of you who've done research on me and my family and Mosaic, you know, I come from Middle Eastern backgrounds and I grew up Muslim and I have two brothers, two sisters, we have family and all grew up Muslim and came to Christ. And lot story of going through immigration and being an immigrant, being a refugee, just a lot of stuff. And so 10 years ago, I wrote a book called Ex Muslim. And it highlights. I mean, not highlights. It tells the entire story. Not just mine, but everybody. My family's. There's pictures in there as well.
[00:19:38] And so that's why they were like, hey, we found your book in France. And we were like, hey, we want to interview you. And we're like, okay, great. And so what was interesting about this interview was the amount of questions they asked. And then they asked one question that have never been asked.
[00:19:54] Okay. Because in context, the question came from my story of having these really supernatural experiences. So if you don't know, like, I had a face to face, sort of like a Jesus showing up in my room encounter. And then I Had a lot of demonic stuff happen to me. Like, and you're like, what is demonic? Involves demons. Okay? I had, like, very things I cannot really explain. You know what I'm saying? Like, Jethro said, magical beans, you know what I'm saying? Showing up. Like, I had all kinds of things happen. And so that's why I wrote the book. And so in this interview, one of the ladies, she was like, well, let me ask you. Let me ask you. And she's like, why did God pick you?
[00:20:48] And I was like, I don't know.
[00:20:52] I don't know. And then after that question that I couldn't answer, then she started asking me all kinds of questions about my experiences and my. Like, this is the first interview that I just had. This was my statement. This was my answer. I don't know.
[00:21:08] I don't know. I don't know. At one point I was like, they're doing a whole interview of a guy who doesn't know anything, like, what is happening. And because they were asking me questions about, like, demons and angels and this and that spiritual world. And I was like, I don't know. And I.
[00:21:26] After that interview, I was reminded.
[00:21:29] I was reminded, and the timing was just so good because of this talk for this morning. I was reminded. I have gotten so practical with my spirituality, you know what I'm talking about, so logical with my faith. Does this make sense? And there are certain things that I go, I don't need to pray for. I'll just do them because it's more likely to get done.
[00:21:54] I mean, anybody else, you know what I'm saying? So I'm more likely to just go ahead and just do it. Just go ahead and go ahead, go ahead. And I forget this. I forget what I just mentioned that another reality exists when you and I talk with God, in our relationship with God. There's another reality that concerns your career. There's another reality that concerns the things you are praying about, the things you are concerned about. There's another reality that's connected to your anxiety and your fears and your joys and your purpose in life. There's another reality out there that we don't necessarily talk about, but it is true. Another reality exists. In fact, if you have ever read the Bible, the Book of Revelation, the Book of revelation, chapter 12, if you read it, it's a trip. Let me just tell you right there, okay? The whole book is a trip, but that chapter talks about. Or you're like, you can connect it to the story of Christmas, the story of Mary giving Birth to Jesus. But in the book of Revelation, it talks about this. It's called. The chapter is called the Woman and the Dragon.
[00:23:02] And it illustrates that whole idea of like the Mary giving birth or a woman giving birth to a savior and a dragon coming and wanting to destroy it and eat up the baby. I mean, it is like fascinating to me. But the whole book is about a different dimension, A not a multiverse, but in one sense a very different kind of world that does exist. And one particular passage in the Old Testament, in the book of Daniel, because Daniel had a lot of.
[00:23:33] A lot of experiences, he writes this down. This happened to him. So he says there in the Book of Daniel, he says, let's go to it.
[00:23:45] That's it. Make it so. Okay, he says. Then he said, so this is Daniel.
[00:23:52] He was praying and this being shows up. This being shows up and it freaks him out. And it's an angel.
[00:24:03] And then he says this to him. He said, don't be frightened. Which again, you know, it's a classic, right, with the line he says, daniel, your request, your request has been heard in heaven and was answered. It was answered the very first day. You began to what, fast before the Lord and what, pray for understanding. He said, hey, I've showed up. But I just want you to know that when you started praying, when you started praying this, I.
[00:24:36] It was hard. So when you and I pray, God hears, he says, and then he says this, he says, that very day, right? That very day, I was what? I was what? I was sent here to meet you, but for 21 days, and if you ever heard of a fast, the people, you know, churches fast. And we've done this 20 day fast. 21 day fast. That's where they get the 21 day from. So it's that for 21 days, the mighty. The mighty what? The mighty what? Say it again. You can say it. You're like, come on, you can say it. Evil.
[00:25:11] Evil spirit. Who overrules. Who overrules. The kingdom of Persia blocked my way.
[00:25:22] What an amazing excuse for being late. Do you know what I'm saying? Could you try that at work?
[00:25:29] Hey, when you sent that email, I was going to respond. I was. The day, the day you did it, the day you told me I was sent here, it was happening. It was happening. But for two weeks now, for two weeks now, you know, an evil spirit, an evil spirit, A demon over wi fi. Wi fi demon blocked me. Yeah, I was blocked a lot of cookies and a lot of things, and I was just blocked and I couldn't do it. This is. It's so interesting. Why is the. Why is this angelic being explaining that to him?
[00:26:08] Like he wants him to know that.
[00:26:10] Then he says this, then what happens? He says. Then Michael, he says, one of the top officers of the heavenly army. Because the guy that Daniel's talking to is Gabriel, he says, but Michael saved the day. He came to help me. And so that I was able to break through these spirit rulers of Persia.
[00:26:33] What in the world is going on? What.
[00:26:39] Now the question is, do you believe this?
[00:26:42] Would we believe this? Because for some of us, you're like, that's. That's, you know, Old Testament Bible stuff, man, I got bills to pay. You know what I'm saying? I got things going on in my life. I just don't know about this. I just. I don't. I don't. I don't believe this. I don't. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not down with this. I just. I don't. I don't get it, and I just don't think it affects me.
[00:27:05] But have you noticed. Have you noticed that sometimes when you're dealing with so much darkness in your life, and it could be because of worry, anxiety, because of something, there is so much darkness.
[00:27:17] Have you ever wondered, like, you're so down and I guess the word is depressed, but you're so just tired and you've taken the meds and you've been through therapy and you're doing all of the good stuff, you know what I'm saying? You're working the process. You're doing the thing, you're putting in the work, and then you're still just hearing thoughts that are so awful.
[00:27:49] Can I just say, maybe you're not thinking those. Maybe you are hearing them.
[00:27:56] You're not thinking them. You're hearing them from an outside force.
[00:28:02] Jesus said, hey. Before he left, he said, I'm going to pray for the disciples. And he says, in particular, I pray. I pray against the evil one in their lives.
[00:28:15] Jesus was very clear that there is a demonic force and it wants to kill, steal, and destroy you. It has a plan for your kids.
[00:28:25] It has a plan for your love life. It has a plan for your marriage, it has plans for your finances.
[00:28:31] And can I tell you, it is not good.
[00:28:34] It is the opposite of what God wants.
[00:28:37] It's the opposite. And so if we don't acknowledge this, if you don't believe that, if we don't believe that, then we will just let go of some things in our life. Because we can't help it. But he's saying, no, no, no, no, no. I need you to know there is a different reality going on now. For some of us you grew up in maybe an environment. You're like, okay, everything has a demon. Everything has a demon. I do not want to go do that. And I get that. I'm not saying you do that. I'm not saying that. You can't actually have a conversation with someone that says, okay. Your problem is you have a demon. Okay? That's a problem. You can't solve that issue. You know what I'm saying? You got to cast everything out.
[00:29:14] No, that's not what I'm saying. What I am saying is. What I am saying is there's something. If you believe in the reality of Jesus, you have to believe in the reality of a different world that's influencing you and your family. And it's something that we need to acknowledge. If anything. The story of this says, hey. All of a sudden, the armies of angels came up. The armies are surrounding them. Why are armies surrounding this whole announcement?
[00:29:47] No idea why. I mean, why not just. Hey, just a couple angels, you know, just hanging out? No, the hosts of armies show up to say, something big has happened, not just in this world, but in another world. I want you to know this birth took a lot. And then. I mean, and there's so many consequences.
[00:30:12] So many consequences. Not in just this reality, but in another as well. Okay, so what does that mean? That means. Number one, it means this. It means.
[00:30:21] It could only mean one thing.
[00:30:24] Third point, this means what?
[00:30:26] This means war. You're like, oh, I get it. I don't like to go to war, but this means war. This means that you and I have to do battle. You have to go back, enlist again, in a sense, because you're drafted. But you have to go back into it and start fighting for the most important things in your life.
[00:30:51] You're not. It's not. It's not just you. It's not just your sin and your stuff and all y'all. No, it's war. You're trying to get out of this addiction. You're trying to get out of this. You're trying to get on the other side of this and get healed. You're trying to get. This means war.
[00:31:09] Like, you gotta put on the face paint and the whole thing, get some camo on so demons can't recognize you. I don't know about that. Okay, I'm just joking there.
[00:31:18] But this means war. What does that mean for you? What does it mean for you?
[00:31:24] So let me read you this really quick, okay? In Ephesians, it lists some things, and I just want you to maybe pick out one or two things that maybe you're not fighting with, you're not fighting with. You're going into battle without the right equipment, without the right tools. And, you know, you start a project with the right tools, with the wrong tools, or not enough tools, it's never going to happen. Maybe you're not fighting with the right tools. You're fighting, you're struggling, but you're not. So here's what he says. Paul says. He says. He says, hey, our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It's not about people. Your boss, your parents, your childhood, that's that, that's there. But your real struggle is against what rulers and against authorities, against what powers of this dark world and against what the spiritual forces of even evil in the heavenly realms. I mean, you can't get any more clear than this.
[00:32:23] He's like, hey, I'm just telling you every day of your life, it's not just politics, it's not just people, it's not just policies. All those things are true. That is a real world. This is this reality. You've got stuff to do in this reality, but there is another reality that exists. And in this other reality, I'm just telling you, you're not fighting against people. You're not fighting against flesh and blood. They're playing by those rules.
[00:32:49] You're fighting against spiritual darkness.
[00:32:53] And friends, I gotta tell you, I gotta remind myself this message. If you don't get this message, I'm just gonna listen to myself again. You know what I'm saying? I'm gonna watch this message again to remind me that, Man Naim, it's really about spiritual darkness. You gotta fight against that. And then he says this, he says, therefore. He says, therefore, put on the full armor of God. And you've heard this before, put on the whole armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. And after you have done everything to what?
[00:33:24] Stand?
[00:33:26] And some of us are barely standing. So then he goes into description. He says, stand firm then with the belt of truth. See, first of all, just imagine he says, belt of truth. I think it's really important here to understand the belt. This idea of, like, you have to have truth to guide you. The first thing that you have to know is, as you're wrestling through your life with your kids or whatever, what is true, what is really True. Not what you just feel. Feelings are real, but they're not necessarily true. Not really true. I feel a lot of things for a lot of things. Okay. No, they're real, but they're not true. So what is true about this situation that you're in? What is the real, raw truth about it? B. He says, wear that as a belt. It'll hold everything up. Do that. So are you missing truth as you're fighting? And then he says, and with the breastplate of righteousness in place.
[00:34:19] Okay, let's talk about that. What is the breastplate of righteousness? See, righteousness in one sense is being right with God, but also it means to be. To have integrity, to be fully aligned. And he says. He says, are you authentic? Are you leading a life that's authentic?
[00:34:43] Righteousness doesn't mean that you do everything right. That's a religious religion, takes that. It turns it. Righteousness means you are right with God. God knows. And you are honest with God, and you're honest with people, and you're honest with yourself. And you're like, this is who I am. He says, that saves you. Have you met insecure people?
[00:35:04] Have you ever been super insecure? You know what I do when I'm highly insecure? I cover stuff up.
[00:35:10] I come across in the room and I'm like, hey, hey, I'm awesome, because I'm not authentic. He says, you want to live a life, fight fully aligned? Aligned. And then he says, and your feet filled with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Let's stop right there. What does that mean? He says, and then he said, be ready to engage. Be ready. Be open. Be willing. Be ready. Ready, ready. Not sitting around. No, no. Be ready to move. Be ready to move. I don't know about you, I went through a physical war. And one thing, throughout the whole war, the whole war, we were there through the occupation, liberation, the whole thing with bombs and just all kinds of crazy stories. It's in the book.
[00:36:01] One thing we always had to do, you get up in the morning, you have be ready to move.
[00:36:09] You gotta be ready to move. And I can't tell you how many times we have to be ready to be moved in the middle of the night because it was a bomb threat. Like, you gotta be ready to move. And I wonder if we're ready. We're ready to move. Maybe that's missing in your life. Okay, let me keep on going. It says, in addition to all of this, in addition, take up the shield of faith. Are you missing the shield of Faith. And he says, which can extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil One. Now, shield of faith, maybe that's why you're getting hit a whole lot. But I want you to know something.
[00:36:43] A shield is not meant just to protect yourself as you're retreating.
[00:36:51] A shield is used to advance.
[00:36:56] A shield of faith is used to advance. A shield is best used when you're moving forward while you are striking your enemy and you're being protected as you move forward. It's not as you retreat.
[00:37:14] When you retreat your backs, you're running the other way. But when you're advancing, he says, I want you to understand, your faith moves you forward. It advances you. It does not retreat you. And for some of us, we're just standing there just huddled up and just covering my faith. My faith, my faith. That's not faith, friends. Faith moves us.
[00:37:38] Yikes. It moves us forward. So he says, hey, you want to get. This is war. You have to move with the shield of faith. Doing things, risking things, going moving forward, saying, I'm going to do this. My faith is going to hold me, it's going to protect me. And then he says this, and take the helmet of salvation. The helmet of salvation. That's huge. That's huge. Your relationship with God is the big. It has to consume your mind. Your mind. You have to be fully convinced in the power of God and his love for you. Because if you don't, your mind is going to play tricks on you. And the enemy would love to come and tell you stuff that's not true. Blind you, blind your eyes, blind your senses. Because it's all connected to your head. They're all connected to your head. He says, if you don't have God's salvation, God's opinion about you.
[00:38:40] Because if God's opinion about you does not shape everything, you're going to get hit. You're just going to get hit all the time. And then he says, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And I would say it's twofold. One is definitely the Scriptures, definitely the Scriptures. But then I want you to know the sword of the Spirit. When he talks about, he says this, he says, and then he ends it. He says, and pray and pray and pray in the Spirit on all occasions. All kinds of requests and prayers, prayers and requests. What he's saying there is this sword of the Spirit is the word of God that you get from him. Your communication with him is a sword.
[00:39:28] Your Prayers is a sword, your prayers.
[00:39:35] When you pray, you use your sword.
[00:39:40] When you pray, you use your sword.
[00:39:42] Now, I keep saying that because to me, just this week, it's been so humbling to kind of go, man, because I've thought of situations and there are certain situations I've just stopped praying about, stop praying about. Because I don't see anything happen. I don't see anything happen. And some things I go, I don't even know if it matters. Does it even matter? Does it even matter?
[00:40:06] Does it even matter?
[00:40:08] And I find myself going, naim, because you stop praying. You just stop praying.
[00:40:14] You know, there are some sometimes, like even as parents, you know, Minash and I think about this all the time. We're like, oh my gosh, have we done everything we can for our kids? Because I mean, they're older now that, you know, it's not about this, you know, you know, it's not. We're in a different stage now. They're adults.
[00:40:36] They're adults. Have we said everything we've said? Wanting to say, I think we have. If not, good luck, it's done, they're grown.
[00:40:48] But one thing I was convicted of, I was reminded of is that I don't know if I cover my kids in prayer enough.
[00:40:56] I pray for them, but what am I praying against?
[00:41:01] What am I praying against?
[00:41:04] Have your prayers always been about four, God, I just pray for this, I pray for that, I pray for this. But have you been praying against.
[00:41:11] I think spiritual warfare, especially in prayer, is you pray against the power of the enemy in people's life, the words. You pray against some things. So let me pray. I want to pray against some things in your life, but think about this passage. Go to the app and this passage is right there. Go through it. God, what am I doing, guys? This is war. We live in a different reality, we influence a different reality, and we're picked to do it. So let's stand together. Can we do that and pray for us?
[00:41:43] Lord God, Lord God, we thank you.
[00:41:48] We thank you, God, that you, you know us and you remind us, God, that your life is a sign to us, God, that we, we live in a different world. Not just in this world, but in. We exist in two different realities right now, which is mind boggling to us.
[00:42:11] God, I pray that you give us eyes to see and God, the willingness to fight. Knowing God, you are the God who fights for us.
[00:42:22] God reminds us that in this spiritual warfare, heaven fights for us, you fight for us. But we've got to do our part. We got to do our part God I pray as your word says God your scriptures say God that no weapon formed against us will prosper. I pray that over each and every person here this word that was said was written by or penned by Isaiah. I pray that over us God that no weapon formed against us will prosper and that every tongue, every word that rises up in judgment and condemnation against us God we will condemn that because that's our heritage. We get to do that. So God I pray that we condemn every lie, every curse, every negative thing that's spoken to us and we believe that God no weapon, no weapon that's made for us will ever prosper. I pray God we pick up all the things we need to go the full armor of God and fight knowing God you fight for us in Jesus name.
[00:43:45] Thanks for listening to this message from Mosaic church in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more audio and video content visit us at MosaicChurch TV.
