The Good Fight Series #6
Pastor David T. Elms 7/14/2026
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58:41
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms explores the 'Helmet of Salvation' from the Armor of God, teaching that biblical hope is a defensive necessity that protects the believer's mind against the despair and noise of the world.
Key points
- •Hope is not a human feeling or a mental aspiration; for the believer, it is a spiritual helmet issued by God to protect the mind from despair, doubt, and spiritual boredom.
- •While the physical skull is a biological wonder designed to protect the 'meat brain,' it cannot deflect spiritual attacks. The helmet of salvation is required to guard the spiritual command center.
- •Transformation of the life begins with the renewing of the mind. Believers must actively 'put on' the hope of salvation every day rather than relying on standard-issue biological defenses.
- •Biblical hope is often forged through a specific process- tribulation works patience, patience works experience, and experience produces a hope that does not disappoint.
- •True security comes from knowing that the authority of our salvation is based on the One who rose from the dead, ensuring that death is not the end but a transition.
Scripture
Spiritual Warfare
Hope
Mental Health
Salvation
Discipline
Life application
Each morning this week, consciously 'put on' your helmet by reciting a promise of God concerning your future, intentionally replacing anxious thoughts with the hope of your eternal inheritance.
Reflection questions
- What 'satanic squatters' or recurring negative thoughts have been trying to take up residence in your mind lately?
- How does the reality of Christ's resurrection change the way you view your current trials?
- In what ways are you trying to 'self-help' your way out of problems instead of relying on the hope of salvation?
- Pastor Elms mentioned spiritual boredom as a danger; how can an eternal perspective revitalize your daily walk?
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Full transcript
0:00Lord's house tonight. Are you ready for
0:00the word of the Lord? Amen.
0:01>> Lord Jesus, speak to us tonight as we
0:04have come to bring our minds and put it
0:07at your feet and let you continue your
0:10faithful and thorough work of making us
0:14soldiers of the cross. We bless your
0:16name and we praise you. Let the words of
0:18my mouth and the meditations of my heart
0:20be acceptable in thy sight in which is
0:24my reasonable service. Oh Lord, I want
0:27to bring it before you in Jesus name I
0:30pray. And everybody said, "Amen."
0:33>> You may be seated in the name of the
0:34Lord as we go into our time together uh
0:38learning of the word of God. Ephesians
0:41the 5th chapter is where we are taking
0:44our series from and it is a very
0:46renowned uh verse of scripture where the
0:50Lord tells us that we're to take the
0:52whole armor of God. Ephesians chapter 6.
0:55Uh finally, my brethren, be strong in
0:57the Lord and in the power of his might.
1:01Put on the whole armor of God that you
1:03may be able to stand uh against the ws
1:08of the devil. For we wrestle not against
1:11flesh and blood, but against
1:13principalities and against powers,
1:16against the rulers of the darkness of
1:19this world, against spiritual wickedness
1:22in high places. Are you aware that you
1:25fight these things? Do you fight them
1:28every day? If you're not aware of it, I
1:30want to make you more aware of it than
1:33you are right now. Do not just think
1:36church is one category of your life and
1:39work business is another category of
1:41your life. These are together. They do
1:46not come in separate silos. We put them
1:50in separate silos, but they are not in
1:53separate silos. They are all together.
1:57And the more you realize that this walk
1:59that you're walking, it is to permeate
2:03the entirety
2:04of your life, the sooner you will be
2:07able to keep your smile quick and
2:11sudden, your rejoicing ever present,
2:15your praise always in your mouth. Uh, I
2:19will praise I will bless the Lord. The
2:22the Psalmist said, "I will bless the
2:23Lord how long?"
2:26>> Oh, you're a Bible reading church. I
2:28will bless the Lord at all times. That
2:32means I I'm not siloed over here. Calm
2:35down, Elms. I'm already getting excited.
2:37Isn't that awesome?
2:39I'm telling you, I see your hungry
2:41hearts. Your eyes just tell me, "Give me
2:43the word." And when I see that, it just
2:46it's like a horse that wants its head.
2:48I'm ready to go. Uh, I will bless the
2:50Lord at all times. His praise shall
2:55>> Oh, continually
2:58be where?
3:00>> Not in my mind.
3:06Oh, that was good preaching, Elms.
3:09Ah, it will continually be in my mouth.
3:13I I I had I had to drive a little bit
3:15yesterday and I so I needed to do my
3:17silent time while I was driving. My wife
3:20was in the car beside me. And so y'all
3:23are so kind to put up with my wife's
3:25stories. I I think about this often. I
3:28think, do I share too much? I hope I
3:30don't. It's just life. But, you know, I
3:33hope it helps you understand your life
3:35is just normal life, too. Uh, but my
3:38wife, she said, "What if my quiet time
3:41wasn't your quiet time?
3:46I thought I would bless her with some
3:47extra quiet time."
3:51So, I decided to put the blessing of the
3:53Lord in my mouth. Thank you, Lord. Thank
3:56you Lord.
3:59It was a subtle little message to my
4:01sweetheart. No, she was wonderful. Uh,
4:04but while I was driving, I just wanted
4:06quiet time. I put in those
4:08noiseancelling headphones and so it was
4:10I had no noise. It's amazing how she can
4:13penetrate that. She forgot about 40
4:16minutes through my quiet time that it
4:19was quiet time. I had to bless the Lord,
4:21oh my soul, and I had so much fun
4:25pulling out a blessing to the Lord.
4:28Do y'all when you get in fusses with the
4:30one that you love, don't be bringing the
4:33scripture out, okay? That's cheating.
4:36That is not fair.
4:39Okay. I will thy praise shall
4:41continually. We wrestle not against
4:44flesh and blood. Wherefore verse 13,
4:49take unto you. Take where?
4:56Not unto your wife,
4:59not unto your child.
5:02take unto you.
5:04Whose duty is it to put it on? It's your
5:08duty. Uh take unto you the whole, all of
5:12it, every piece. And we've taken a week
5:14for each piece, but each piece could
5:17deserve 10 weeks. And I'm not trying to
5:20stretch it out, make it long. I just
5:22want to make it effective. You guys make
5:24it effective. take unto you the whole
5:27armor of God that something might occur
5:32that you might be able
5:36to withstand.
5:39That's another big word. Withstand
5:42in the evil day and having done all to
5:47stand. Stand therefore. And this is
5:50where we start getting the the
5:52ingredients of victory. Having your
5:56girdle of truth on, your loins gird
5:57about with truth. Having on the
5:59breastplate of righteousness, which we
6:02talked about putting that on, it's not
6:03comfortable. It was like that
6:04bulletproof vest that I demonstrated.
6:07Uh, you know, it everybody doesn't want
6:09to put it on. You don't want to wear it
6:10all the time, but this is something you
6:12need to put on. You don't wake up with
6:14the breastplate of righteousness on. I
6:16know the righteousness of God is on you
6:18from baptism, but this is a separate
6:20instrument.
6:22This breastplate of righteousness you
6:24have to put on and it's not comfortable.
6:28It doesn't make you fit in in this
6:30present world. It's something you've got
6:33to put on. All these things and tonight
6:34I'm so excited about tonight that you
6:37got to put on. Okay, but let's go
6:39through these things. Breastplate of
6:40righteousness and put and your feet shod
6:43with the preparation of the gospel of
6:45fight.
6:49So glad y'all believe the word. The
6:51preparation of the gospel of battle.
6:54The preparation of the gospel of debate.
6:57I've met some folks who think the better
6:59they can debate, the better they serve
7:00God.
7:02I'm telling you, you need to read the
7:04word. It's not the preparation your feet
7:07shot with the preparation of the gospel
7:09of argument.
7:11Let me make it sound sophisticated.
7:13Argumentation.
7:17No, the preparation of the gospel of
7:19peace. The scripture says, "Follow peace
7:21with all men and holiness without which
7:24no man shall see God." Uh they they some
7:27know that last portion. They don't know
7:29the first portion. Follow peace with all
7:32men. All men. All men.
7:37Sinners.
7:39Isn't that something? All men. Follow
7:41peace with sinners. Follow peace with
7:44people who are in sexual sins. Follow
7:48peace with people who are in profanity.
7:52Follow peace with people who are
7:54deceitful. Follow peace with all men.
7:58Now, I know according to your own
7:59various judgments, you've determined the
8:01ones that you're going to follow peace
8:02with. But if you're going to stand in
8:04the word, you got to find a way to
8:06follow peace with that neighbor that's
8:08contankerous. That neighbor that
8:15You know, he wants me to preach it. I
8:17got to do what the man wants.
8:20We You understand? We all live in this
8:23present world.
8:25Morgan, did your friend come down to
8:27celebrate your birthday? Is that who I'm
8:28seeing back here? Oh my goodness. We
8:32normally don't have a penny march at
8:33this church. We don't normally set aside
8:35time to sing prayer birthday song to one
8:38individual, but because the Alex Emmers
8:40are running this service, apparently
8:42that's what we do. Now,
8:45there are probably five other birthdays
8:47here you forgot about. But anyway, I'll
8:49teach I'll teach them. I'll teach them.
8:54Now, I've got four people offended at me
8:55because you set one out. But that's
8:57okay. That's okay. We used to have penny
9:01marches at the church literally. And the
9:04church I took in um and I went to in
9:06Charlotte had a church, wooden church
9:09made out of burnt match sticks. Some of
9:13y'all remember this far back. Most of
9:15you weren't around when Noah's Ark was
9:16built, but we literally had what was
9:19known as penny marches. And when
9:21somebody had a birthday in the church,
9:24listen to this. Can you believe we
9:26really did this? I can't believe we
9:29built growing churches doing this.
9:33We literally had penny marches and they
9:36would have to come up and put a penny in
9:38for every year.
9:41There were certain individuals in the
9:43church that had too much pride and so
9:46they would sneak quarters in.
9:52Oh Lord, it is 2026.
9:56We don't have that here now, but it's
9:59still we celebrate people.
10:02Amen, Morgan. You're awesome. Having
10:05your uh these these ingredients uh and
10:08so the and and your feet has this
10:13preparation of the gospel peace above
10:14all taking the shield of faith. That was
10:16last week. Where with you shall be able
10:19to withstand the fiery darts of the
10:20wicked and taking what?
10:25salvation. Now, turn in your Bibles with
10:28me to Thessalonians
10:31because Thessalonians, it's a few pages
10:33back. Um, I think it's back. It's that
10:38forward. Oh, I'm sorry. On my B in in my
10:41Bible, it's on page 789. Okay. So, if
10:44you have a Bible like mine, you would be
10:46on page 789. I'm glad I could be
10:48helpful. Uh, and so, uh, here here's
10:54here's the thing. It says in chapter 5
10:57of 1 Thessalonians, the 8th chapter.
11:00Now, now you want to learn about the
11:02helmet of salvation. That's what we're
11:03here for. And this is not a a proper
11:05depiction of the helmet of salvation.
11:08This is a Corinthianstyled
11:10helmet. And the the helmet that is
11:12mentioned in the scripture is a Roman.
11:16That was the picture that Paul was
11:18looking at in his mind's eye. And he was
11:20literally writing this while in prison.
11:23And he had to deal with these these
11:25prison guards every day that had these
11:27helmets. And so, but but this is a good
11:30depiction. And I want you to see it in
11:32your mind's eye as as we go through
11:35this. It says in verse eight, "But let
11:37us
11:39who are of the day,"
11:42are you of the day?
11:45This is a metaphor. When you become a
11:47child of God, you become a child of the
11:50day. The Lord was the light. You're a
11:54child of the light. John the Baptist in
11:56John 1 said, "I was not that light, but
11:59he who came after me is that light." And
12:02so he said, "I must decrease so that he
12:04might increase." That light was Christ.
12:09But when we become filled with Christ,
12:11we become of the day. we who are of the
12:14day. So this is not writing to people
12:16that are not baptized in Jesus name.
12:19This is not write written to sinners who
12:22know how to quote scripture but live
12:24like hell. This is not talking to people
12:27who want to live halfoot in the world
12:29and half foot in the church. This is
12:32clearly a contextualgiven
12:34scripture. We who are of the day be
12:38sober,
12:40putting on the breastplate of faith and
12:44love,
12:46and for a helmet
12:50the hope
12:52of salvation.
12:55For a helmet, the hope of salvation.
12:59There is a chapter in your Bible that is
13:01if you ever went to a a a church that
13:04had a lectionary. These are the
13:06traditional churches that many times
13:08they pro pre-program the sermons. Uh
13:12these are uh churches like the
13:14Episcopalian, the Catholic Church. You
13:16go the the minister really has laid out
13:19for him before the year is even uh uh
13:22presented what scriptures he is to read
13:25throughout the year. And uh according to
13:27what they call the church wisdom, they
13:29have laid out a a rhythm of scriptures
13:32uh that you're supposed to go through
13:33through the year. And to a certain
13:35degree, there is a wisdom to that
13:37because at least they cover major uh
13:40thrusts of scripture, major points in
13:42scripture. And so I'm not downing this
13:45lectionary. I I've known some people
13:47that uh went to what they call spiritled
13:50churches, and that's what we are,
13:51spiritled. But you can be spiritled and
13:53be intellectually ignorant. Okay. So,
13:56don't don't write off some excuse uh
13:58because you're ignorant as if, oh, we're
14:00spiritled. No, I don't accept that. You
14:03don't check in your brain at the door
14:05when you come here. We we've got to get
14:06in the word. We've got to have a
14:08relationship with the word. Uh but in
14:10those lectionary churches, they have
14:13left out and the least reported is the
14:1559th chapter of the book of Isaiah. And
14:18there's a reason. I don't want to say
14:21why they do it, but in that chapter, the
14:24Lord himself puts on armor. And God puts
14:30on a fighting attire. God himself does
14:33it. And the reason why he does it is
14:36because he has surveyed the civilization
14:39that was where his church was. And he
14:42went down and he said, "I saw in the
14:45nation that truth had fallen in the
14:47streets and justice has stood a far off
14:51and there was no intercessor in that
14:55land. Truth was not moving forward.
14:58There was no intercessor. There was no
15:01justice in that place. And he said so he
15:04would bring salvation of his own arm."
15:08And then God depicts himself through the
15:10voice of the prophet as putting on a
15:13breastplate and putting on a helmet and
15:16getting ready to go fight himself. He
15:19put on righteousness as a breastplate
15:21and a helmet of salvation upon his head.
15:25And then it goes on to tell about how
15:27this was a process that he had to do
15:30because there was no intercessor in that
15:33land. the world had created an
15:35environment uh that where where truth
15:39could not live where justice did not
15:42survive and and I'm talking about a
15:44world that we live in right now is very
15:46much like that uh who is going to be an
15:49intercessor in that kind of an
15:52environment. Uh we live in an
15:53environment that wages war on our minds
15:5724 hours a day. It's so hard. And some
16:00of you are realizing how hard it is to
16:03quiet your space for just one hour.
16:07We've got little dings and pings and
16:11noise. In fact, there's a book that
16:12you've heard me quote from many times,
16:15which is one of my favorite books. It's
16:16entitled The Sounds uh the the sounds
16:20that uh the unwanted sounds
16:25that everyone wants. Or I'm misquing the
16:28title of it.
16:29Anyway, it it it's a phenomenal book.
16:32I've quoted it many times. It talks
16:33about the science of sound and it talks
16:36about how sound is permeating us
16:39everywhere around and there are so many
16:40sounds that we don't want that we've
16:42welcomed into our spaces. And to try to
16:45find a place that's quiet is almost
16:48impossible.
16:50I mean, I I'm I'm literally trying to
16:52get prepared for my one hour and I put
16:54my phone I found out that you can put it
16:56to sleep for an hour. I didn't I never
16:58knew that. So, I'm putting my phone to
17:01sleep now. I don't know if it really
17:03works. Does it really work? Okay, all
17:06you technologically advanced people that
17:09I'm honored to serve, you know these
17:11things. I didn't know that the phone
17:12could sleep.
17:16But, but you're trying to find all of
17:19these noises. And if it's not a noise,
17:21it's a vibration.
17:23That is a noise.
17:26Everybody knows your phone's buzzing
17:28over there. Why did you put it on
17:29vibrate? It's louder than that ding.
17:36This is all just us trying to find a
17:38space away from the noise. But in this
17:42noise circumstance, we've got to find a
17:45time to understand what goes into our
17:48head
17:50is so important. And that's the reason
17:53the metaphor that the Lord uses as our
17:58hope of salvation for a helmet.
18:02You put on a hope of salvation. Now
18:06listen,
18:08you were born with an amazing helmet. If
18:11I got off on the details of how your
18:15skull is formed, it would blow your
18:17mind. I researched it and I cut out just
18:19about most of it. But just the sutures
18:22of how your brain is protected, how your
18:26bone was as a child you had a soft spot,
18:30how that was there on purpose to allow
18:33you to be born and yet maintain this
18:36amazing organ called our brain. How the
18:41suturing of those bones when it comes
18:43together is not an even suture. I'm I'm
18:46sharing it with you anyway. The the
18:48brain is protected by the most
18:51unbelievably
18:53sophisticated helmet that has ever been
18:56issued to guard your brain. This
18:58biological citadel that absorbs shocks
19:03that should shatter your brain. It it
19:05absorbs blows that science cannot even
19:08hardly replicate. Yet every miraculous
19:13layer of your that protects your brain
19:16and there are about five of them. There
19:18are the crumple zone, the three maternal
19:21membranes that are starting leathery and
19:24all the way through the private ocean
19:26that guards your skull and your brain
19:30guards the meat of your mind. And all of
19:33this is given to you at birth and you
19:35don't even know how amazing your skull
19:38is. You see a skull and you think it's a
19:41horror flick. But I want to tell you, a
19:43skull is the evidence of the most
19:46amazingly intricate creation that God
19:50has really ever made. Just that
19:53protecting instrument that is there to
19:56guard your, pardon me, it sounds
19:59disrespectful, but I'm going to say it.
20:01Your meat brain.
20:08Doesn't that sound disrespectful?
20:10I don't like calling it my meat my meat
20:13brain. But here here's the thing. That
20:17bone that God put there with all of its
20:20many layers and the intricacies that I'm
20:23not going to take any more time to
20:24describe cannot stop a doubt.
20:30It cannot absorb despair.
20:34It cannot deflect a destructive thought.
20:39It will not stop skepticism or doctrinal
20:43confusion or the most dangerous of them
20:47all, spiritual boredom.
20:53My goodness, this you know why I'm
20:55walking. They tell public speakers that
20:58if you stand in the same place at the
21:00same time, then people get bored with
21:02your background. So if you walk
21:04sometimes it will help them keep their
21:07mind in a focused position. So we got
21:10all these strategies to keep you from
21:14entering boredom. And we know that the
21:17attention uh deficit of this generation
21:20is crazy. Uh because we've got
21:23algorithms that if you don't catch them
21:24in the first six seconds, you don't have
21:26them. And yet my daughter's got a
21:28three-hour class she's got to go
21:30through. I thought it's amazing how we
21:33have all these variable standards. When
21:36you're teaching somebody how to deal in
21:37a medical practitioner role, we'll feed
21:40you a three-hour class and think nothing
21:42of it. If we have you to uh but if you
21:45go to church, you got to catch them in
21:47the first three seconds.
21:51>> No. This is why I love you all so much.
21:54You're already serious just being tuned
21:56in on a Tuesday night. Just the fact
21:59that you're here. I know you all have
22:01things to do. The way you'll hurry out
22:03to your car, the chickens have got to be
22:05fed.
22:12Sophia's I mean, not Sophia.
22:16I get the names of my children all mixed
22:18up. Vienna's got to go take care of
22:21Laney tonight.
22:24There's things that must be done. But
22:26the reason you're here is because you're
22:28saying, "I'm not going to to to do it
22:31anything except get power,
22:34for life,
22:35for liberty,
22:37for the pursuit of happiness." Yeah, I
22:40just grabbed that from our declaration
22:41or whatever that whatever the that that
22:44document is. I just pulled that in. But
22:46that's a grand understanding on a grand
22:49scale that God wants you to have power
22:51in living because you're not just living
22:54for life and time. You're living for
22:57forever. And spiritual boredom is one of
23:00the things that can penetrate through
23:02all these miraculous bones.
23:04Or even maybe another dangerous thing is
23:07the intoxicating praise that puffs
23:10somebody up that makes them think
23:11they're better than what they are
23:13because you had five dreams from God.
23:15Now all of a sudden you're way up here.
23:17It's amazing when some people get
23:19spiritual. I'm so glad they get
23:20spiritual, but I wonder if they can
23:22recover from a 40-day fast. Not the part
23:24that they got from missing food. No. Can
23:28you recover from the pride that's going
23:30to come to you as soon as you've
23:32completed a 40-day fast because some
23:34people as soon as they do one, it's
23:36going to feel every discussion that they
23:38go through that day forward. I'm
23:41completely unimpressed.
23:45It didn't do one thing for my sin.
23:48Besides, it didn't do one thing for your
23:51sin. I'm not demeaning a 40-day fast,
23:53but I'm telling you, but without Jesus
23:55and his grace and his mercy and his
23:59love, my spiritual status holds nothing
24:02in comparison to my need of him. I need
24:08you, Lord. I want a spiritual church. I
24:10want a praying church. I've got to have
24:12a fasting church. And we do have a
24:14church that is pursuing the disciplines
24:17of the Lord. But oh God, help us avoid
24:19the puffed up hottiness that can come
24:22when you start thinking you're
24:24something.
24:26What was that statement? Well, I won't
24:29say it. Brother Hail had a man in his
24:31church who was testifying and anyway,
24:34it's funny, but he said, "You think
24:35you're something and you ain't."
24:38That it's one of our family jokes that
24:40we we bring this story back up. You
24:42think you're something and you ain't.
24:45The truth is is he's the only reason
24:49why we're standing.
24:52Yes, you need to be righteous. I'm
24:53talking about your righteousness.
24:56Yes, you need to have your
24:58righteousness, not his righteousness.
25:00You need your righteousness. You know,
25:03the Bible says your righteousness is a
25:05filthy rack. You got to have it before
25:07you can even be said that. He doesn't
25:10tell us to be not be righteous because
25:13he is righteous. No, we be righteous. We
25:16are to be righteous because he is
25:19righteous. Be ye holy
25:22for
25:24I am holy saith the Lord. He didn't say
25:28don't be holy
25:30because I am holy. He said be ye holy.
25:34Clean out your mind. Clean out your
25:36heart. Clean out your mouth. Clean out
25:38your home. Clean out your radio. Clean
25:40up your YouTube. Clean up your church
25:42bar. Clean it up.
25:46Some people hear those ridiculous
25:48whispers that God has forgotten you. And
25:51the brilliant bone armor which defends
25:53your brain can be completely disregarded
25:56because of one fiery thought from hell.
25:59He aims at your hope. Which is exactly
26:02why God issues a second helmet. And he
26:07said, "Take unto you, put on the helmet
26:11of salvation." This is not your cranium.
26:14This is not your skull. This is
26:16something that you have to put on every
26:20day
26:21for a helmet. The hope of salvation. We
26:24live in a culture of fear and plague,
26:27physical, mental, spiritual attacks
26:30where hope is often reduced to slogans
26:32and entertainment. And the enemy does
26:35not primarily attack your body. Even
26:37though there is disease in this world
26:39that was brought on by sin, he attacks
26:41the command center of our body. And are
26:44you aware you can be made sick because
26:46of your thoughts?
26:48Your thoughts can destroy your health.
26:52He attacks your command center, your
26:54thoughts, your assurance, your will to
26:57keep standing. He erodess away with all
27:00of his negative attacks. That's why God
27:02issues a helmet, a second helmet. Hope
27:06of salvation
27:08is what is the strength of this helmet.
27:11It's not the word helmet. It's the word
27:13that it is your hope of salvation. The
27:18skull is a helmet you were born with.
27:20But hope is the helmet you were born
27:22again with. First birth gives you this
27:26head, this cranium, and there are five
27:28layers to it. And if I broke those
27:30layers down, it would probably be an
27:32unbelievable message on what salvation
27:34and hope looks like. But I want to just
27:37tell you, hope of salvation doesn't
27:40guard your brain. It guards your mind.
27:43Your mind must be guarded because the
27:47power of God is going to hold us with
27:50salvation.
27:54>> So when Ephesians 6 says take the
27:56helmet, it's not standard issue. It's
27:59not a common equipment. The commander is
28:02telling you, take his salvation,
28:06his story, and put it on. You can't
28:10manufacture it. No. You know, years ago,
28:13opium, I think I think wasn't it opium
28:16that um Sherlock Holmes and the
28:17fictional works had a problem with? Uh I
28:21like Sherlock
28:23uh Sherlock Holmes pretty good, but he
28:25had an opian issue. Well, it provides
28:28opium for many years and the days gone
28:30by provided a temporary high or an
28:32illusion that would distract someone
28:34from the harsh realities that they were
28:36facing. All drones all words are like
28:38that. But there's a new another word
28:41calledium
28:42which is which is a derivative of false
28:45hope that makes you forget present
28:48realities.
28:50And uh I know when life tables turn,
28:53people change, bridges get burned that
28:56you wish never had gotten burned, and
28:59life has to go on. But the modern
29:02self-help project that makes for the
29:04biggest section in the formerly walked
29:06in Barnes & Noble, which right now, I
29:09don't know if there are bookstores
29:11around anymore, but the self-help
29:13section was one of the fastest growing
29:16sections of every bookstore. And I
29:19preached a message which the title uh
29:21it's I know uh it is meant to be uh uh
29:26to elicit evoking your mind and the
29:30title was self-help is no help at all.
29:35Self-help is no help at all. And the
29:38essence of that message was that the way
29:40you help yourself is by helping someone
29:42else. If you want to be the best dad in
29:45all the world, get about making your
29:47kids the be the best children in all the
29:50world. If you want to be the best
29:52husband in all the world, get about the
29:54business of making your wife the best
29:56woman that she could ever be, hold her
29:58arms up, help her, show up to show out,
30:01be there for her. You want to be the
30:03best whatever in your life, the best
30:06employee, then get about making your
30:08boss look like the best boss the world
30:11has ever had because self-help is no
30:14help at all. But helping others, you'll
30:17find around find out that it comes
30:19around back to you. If you're feeling
30:21bad, I don't need to rep uh replay this
30:24sermon, but I'm telling you, if you're
30:25just out to help yourself, you got to
30:28get over yourself and start helping
30:30those around you. And when you pour
30:33yourself into helping those around you,
30:36before you know it, you're going to have
30:39many, many people saying, "They're
30:41great. They're great. They're great." I
30:43don't care about being a great pastor. I
30:45care about having the best saints in all
30:47the world. That's the way I believe it,
30:50and that's the way I want to live it. If
30:52I give you power to live, then one day
30:55God will tell me the kind of job I did.
30:59I don't need a fan club. I want to be
31:02your fan. You understand what I'm
31:04saying? My hope is built on nothing less
31:08than Jesus, blood, and righteousness.
31:10Biblical hope is not a manufactured
31:13hope. Biblical hope is an inherited
31:17hope. Be not conformed to this world,
31:19but be ye transformed by the renewing
31:24renewing.
31:25Not one time, every day. Renewing of
31:29your mind. You know what sleep is? It's
31:30the resetting of your brain. And if you
31:32don't get good rim sleep, then you are
31:35going to go mad before long or you'll
31:36really start seeing devils. And the
31:39first question I'm going to ask you when
31:41you come to me and tell me I saw a devil
31:43is I'm going to say, "How much have you
31:45been sleeping?"
31:47And you're going to say, "Boy, that's a
31:49carnal pastor. Doesn't he know there's
31:50real devils around?" Absolutely I know.
31:53They're here right now and I'm bored
31:55with them.
31:58Oh, if I created an atmosphere to show
32:00you all of their little idiosyncrasies,
32:03then I could scare you into the altar
32:05tonight. But it would be like feeding
32:07candy to a baby. It doesn't build for a
32:10substantial strong church.
32:13>> You don't build strength on fighting.
32:16You build strength on knowing how to
32:18love.
32:19I'm not in the angel saving business or
32:22the devil chasing business. I'm in the
32:24people loving business. For God so loved
32:27the world that he gave his only begotten
32:30son.
32:33I'll deal with demons when I have to.
32:36Until I have to, I'm going to say,
32:38"Devil, I resist you.
32:44Resist the devil and he will flee free
32:46from you." And so this this faith, it's
32:50it's an this helmet is something you
32:53have to put on. Now, I'm not putting
32:54this thing on.
32:58I don't know what kind of bugs are up in
33:00that thing.
33:02>> Listen, it would make a good picture,
33:04though, wouldn't it? I'm telling you
33:06what, this is a pastor that can put on
33:08some crazy outfits. I I I've had people
33:12comment on my July 4th outfit like
33:14crazy. I mean, people out of state, I
33:17couldn't believe it. People out of
33:19state, I can't help they're so jealous.
33:29and unto the church at Corenth. Right.
33:36>> Oh, you need me to do this again to get
33:39it for the official camera?
33:43>> I mean, come on. Somebody fix my hair.
34:02Let this mind be in you that was also
34:06where
34:09>> in Christ Jesus.
34:13I got to get his mind in me.
34:16There was never panic in Jesus. Oh my
34:19lord. I need to hear this. Elms, listen.
34:22Listen real good. There was never panic
34:25in Jesus.
34:28>> How many times does panic come? Don't
34:29raise your hand. Don't raise your hand.
34:32Panic comes to us all. But if I'm going
34:36to get the mind of Jesus, I'm going to
34:38realize
34:40I don't need to panic. How many times is
34:42it ever recorded that Jesus ran?
34:46Is there ever a place where Jesus runs?
34:49the only place because because in that
34:52day running was what servants did.
34:56So when you got prestigious that's the
34:58reason I can't get Marty to run
34:59anywhere. When you get prestigious
35:02prestigious you walk slow.
35:05The most prestigious person in this
35:07church is Pam Garfinkle.
35:10According to the speed of walking we
35:12know she's got all prestige.
35:17Here here's here's my fun point. My fun
35:19point is this. He talked about the
35:21father of the prodal as soon as he saw
35:23him a long way off. Jesus said it didn't
35:27matter if walking was the standard of of
35:30status. No. When the father saw the son
35:34while he was yet a long way off, he
35:39began to run. And that's what makes me
35:42want to purge my mind because his mercy
35:45comes running. His hope comes running.
35:51His goodness comes running. And when I
35:54understand that's how he thinks, that's
35:58how he is, then I can put on a renewing
36:01of my mind and know that which is that
36:04good and perfect and true will of God.
36:09God hath not given us a spirit of fear,
36:12>> panic, but of power and of love and of a
36:17sound
36:19mind. David said it like this. I had
36:22fainted unless I had believed. I I
36:25almost I almost fainted, but I put on
36:28the helmet, which is what the hope that
36:33someone has my back.
36:36Come on, nudge your neighbor. If they're
36:38not close enough to nudge them, just
36:39look at him. Say, "God has your back.
36:46He's got your back." Now, you can't live
36:49godless and him have your back. Okay?
36:52He's got my back. Now, I get to do
36:53whatever I want. Greasy grace doesn't
36:55work.
36:57This this helmet,
37:00it is a helmet that produces hope. hope
37:05maketh. Here's what the scripture says
37:06in Romans 5. We glory in tribulation
37:08also. Knowing that tribulation workketh
37:12patience and patience,
37:15experience
37:17and experience. This is what every young
37:20generation doesn't want to hear.
37:23No. They want to go from zero to 100
37:24just because we're cute.
37:27No. No. There are processes that you
37:30cannot forgo. This is what only Children
37:33have a hard time learning. Only children
37:36feel like they are the biggest best
37:38thing in all the world. My son told me
37:42when he went and taught in China, see
37:44China has a one child policy. That means
37:47all of them are only children. They get
37:48all the attention of both parents and
37:51all the attention of the parents on both
37:53sides. And what I did not anticipate is
37:56how that only ch child syndrome, it's
38:00almost incurable. Now, good parenting
38:02will teach it and put them in school,
38:04all of a sudden they're not that special
38:06and they'll get some some stuff knocked
38:08off of them and and they'll level out.
38:10But this is the problem. When when
38:12you're a child, they they think that the
38:15whole world revolves around them, which
38:17it almost does, you know, but I'm
38:20watching my kids start adjusting their
38:22kids. Scarlet adjusted Rome the other
38:24day, and my wife didn't think she needed
38:25it.
38:28My wife's defending all of those
38:30grandkids
38:32and I'm sitting back smiling thinking I
38:34don't have to do it anymore.
38:39But you know what it is it is? It's
38:42teaching them you are a part of a long
38:46heritage,
38:48a legacy of warriors who went before you
38:52and paid a road and beat down a trail
38:56and built a foundation. And now your
39:00turn is to take out the trash. Why?
39:03Because you're a part of this thing and
39:06we're a team and God put us together.
39:09And now what you need to do is not think
39:11it's all about you.
39:14I mean, I've seen kids that their
39:16parents get like that they're the
39:18special child.
39:20First thing I want to do is say, "God
39:22bless you. You're in a long line. Just
39:26make sure you don't think you can jump
39:27to the front because you had a dream."
39:30We all been dreaming. Go to the back of
39:33the line and realize where you are. Why?
39:36It isn't that I'm trying to diminish
39:38people. It's that I'm trying to teach
39:40people process. What is this process? We
39:43glory in the trial, in the tribulation,
39:45knowing that tribulation workketh
39:48patience. I know parents want to remove
39:50tribulation from their kids.
39:53This is one of the dangers of having
39:55your kid in a Christian school. You
39:58think I can preserve my kid from
39:59tribulation? Listen, some of the worst
40:01demons in all the world go to a
40:03Christian school.
40:05Some of the weakest Christians in all
40:06the world are the graduates from
40:08apostolic schools. You know why? Because
40:12there's this false premise that
40:14tribulation
40:16doesn't work patience. No, tribulation
40:20works patience. And patience works
40:24experience.
40:27Winter, I'm going to use you just for an
40:28example because this of the hat that's
40:30in my house back in the office said the
40:32pastor's child always gets used. Your
40:35second grade teacher was a major trial
40:38for you. Fourth grade. It was the fourth
40:40where I had the PTA meeting. Yes. Fourth
40:43that. Yeah. Okay. I don't need to say
40:45her name. Say her name. Say her name.
40:48Say her name. I'm telling you, she
40:52picked on my daughter. Okay. she would
40:54hold her after school. And uh so I told
40:57Winter, I I didn't tell her. I went to
40:59have a parent teacher meeting. And I
41:01wanted, you know, I felt all the things
41:02that every parent feels for your kid.
41:04You know, you're picking on my child. Um
41:07what's I mean, I didn't know she was
41:09picking on her, but you know, whatever.
41:11I just So I went and had a meeting with
41:13her and uh How old what do you remember?
41:17How old you were in fourth grade? What
41:19year it was? Think about it real fast.
41:21So here here's the thing.
41:23What what year was it?
41:26You were nine. And so this what 2007
41:28something like that. Anyway, the church
41:30owned a school.
41:32You know, I was in charge of hiring. We
41:35had a How many student How many teachers
41:37we have right now, Sister Susan? 12. How
41:39many employees over at the school?
41:4215 or 16. Okay. So, we had a school. We
41:45have teachers. I I was involved. I
41:48didn't hire him. Susan does that. But I
41:49can fire them. Okay. And so I wanted to
41:53tell this teacher, "God bless you.
41:57It's nice to meet you.
41:59I hire teachers like you."
42:03Uh my daughter and we brought it up. We
42:06talked and I was very gracious. I wasn't
42:08going to turn her against my daughter
42:10because I was an ogre, you know. Uh but
42:13it was a wonderful meeting. But after
42:15that, she didn't really get that much
42:16easier on her. A little bit. Did she Did
42:19she get better after that, baby?
42:21She believed in you. Okay, that's what
42:23she told you. Okay. Yeah. I believe in
42:26you enough to keep you after school.
42:28Okay. But here's what I did. I would go
42:30in Winter's room and and you know, with
42:32all my kids, I loved to lay down with
42:35them as we were going to sleep. We had a
42:36special song set we went through and I
42:39would talk with them at various times.
42:40And I remember telling Winter, I said,
42:41"Baby, listen. Your life's going to have
42:44hard in it. And so instead of changing
42:46this up, we're going to turn this lemon
42:48into lemonade. And we're going to find a
42:50way to work with this moment because
42:54it's more important that you learn how
42:56to walk when trouble's around than if
42:58you learn that your parent can get you
43:00out of trouble
43:02>> because there's coming a trouble I can't
43:04get you out of and if I haven't sh
43:06helped shape you when you were younger
43:09when you're older and I can't get you
43:11out of the trouble now bitterness is
43:12going to show up because you think I
43:14should have been able to get out of this
43:16and you're not going to get out of this
43:17because you weren't prepared to realize
43:20trouble Trouble's going to come.
43:22>> And when you get in the word, the word
43:24prepares us, saying trouble's going to
43:27come. Tribulation workketh patience.
43:30Patient works experience. And experience
43:34brings this crazy offspring.
43:38Experience brings hope.
43:43What?
43:45Experience brings hope. Well, only good
43:48experience brings hope. It doesn't say
43:50that. It says you're good and you're
43:53heavy and your bad experience brings
43:56hope. And when you get that kind of
43:58hope, hope maketh not ashamed. That's
44:02King Jamesian
44:04Shakespearean kind of language that just
44:07says when you find hope, then you
44:09realize that with God, you've always got
44:12somebody who has your back.
44:16I want to know he's got our back.
44:22In this world, people groan. Even
44:24creation groans for the revelation of
44:26the sons of God. And it hasn't happened
44:29yet. But hope means salvation is on the
44:33way. There's all kinds of distinctions
44:36that that brings reality back to us.
44:39Hope in scripture is both a verb and a
44:42noun. It's a noun in in one manner and a
44:46verb in another. Uh so when you feel
44:49like you have no hope but you have God,
44:52then you will feel discouraged.
44:54Even though you have God, you will feel
44:58discouraged.
45:00You say, "I've got the Holy Ghost. Why
45:01am I feeling this?" You will still feel
45:04discouraged. Uh if you don't have God
45:07and you have no hope, then you will have
45:10despair. Not just discouragement, but
45:14despair. And it takes people to do all
45:16kinds of ridiculous things. Despair
45:19breaks them down. When you have God and
45:21hope comes, you're going to feel
45:25delighted, but your greatest reward is
45:28still not yet realized. When you don't
45:31have God and you feel hope, then you
45:34have hope, but it's temporary hope.
45:39So whether I'm fighting discouragement
45:44or if I'm feeling delighted, what
45:47matters to me is that I have hope beyond
45:50where I'm at right now.
45:53>> Hope better than where I'm living right
45:56now. If I have a full calendar and I'm a
45:59sinner, but I've got a house full of
46:00toys and I have all kinds of hope
46:03because I'm making a bunch of money, I
46:05might have hope, but it's going to
46:07perish.
46:09But if I don't have any of the toys, but
46:11I have God, his hope, my my my hope is a
46:15living
46:17bird
46:18that I get to hold on to that doesn't
46:21expire. It doesn't have an expiration
46:24date on it. It's not hope that runs out
46:26when I die.
46:29>> I was just watching today interview with
46:33one of my favorite artists, Rick Bato.
46:35He plays guitars, but he interviews uh
46:37uh great musicians. And he just released
46:39an interview with Billy Joel. Billy Joel
46:42is one of the greatest songwriters
46:43you've ever ever heard. And if you
46:45haven't heard it, you're more saved than
46:47I am. But Billy Joel wrote some amazing
46:50songs. He's a phenomenal gifted man that
46:54I use him with LXM. Y'all remember the
46:56song that he wrote for his daughter. Uh
46:59but in that he's talking about what
47:01makes the soul come alive and how one
47:04note make the difference between just
47:07common and special. Uh just earthly and
47:12heavenly. One diminish, one note can
47:18take the ab the normal and make it sing
47:22to the soul to the mind not the brain.
47:27And to know what makes the mind come
47:30alive and be more than a brain is not a
47:34measurement of intelligence. It's the
47:36ability to emote and to feel. And I know
47:39I'm getting ethereal right now. Please
47:41uh put up with me just for a moment
47:43longer. But you are human beings that
47:46you know the difference between a song
47:49and a durge. A funeral song that means
47:52death has come upon me and a song that
47:55says even though death has come, I'm
47:58still going to be doing all right. My
48:01funeral's going to happen one day if the
48:03Lord terries. But I promise you, my
48:05funeral for my kids will be a day of joy
48:08and not grief because they have watched
48:11me live day after day after day. My hope
48:14is built on a helmet. A helmet. Not
48:17North Carolina State University. Not
48:20certifications, not accomplishments, not
48:22elections I've been elected to, not
48:25people groups that I've won over, not
48:27all these places I've been, not the
48:29trips I've taken, not the pictures I've
48:31got, not the vacations I took them on.
48:34No, a helmet that is the hope of
48:37salvation. The greatest helmet of all.
48:40The hope that one day there's coming a
48:43day. I don't know if it's tonight or if
48:44it's 20 days from now or if it's 20,000
48:47years from now, but I shall be like him
48:51for I shall see him as he is. Ah, Job
48:55said, "Musicians come and those skin
48:58worms destroy my body yet." And he
49:02didn't have the Holy Ghost. Job didn't
49:04have the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was
49:06not given because Jesus had not yet been
49:08glorified. But he said, "Those skin
49:11worms destroy my body." He had hope in
49:14salvation. Yet in my flesh I shall see
49:20God. What is it? It's putting on the
49:22hope of salvation. What is spiritual
49:25boredom? When you forget that tonight
49:28you could die. Now I know that sounds
49:30morbid.
49:32Okay, so let me change it. My wife tells
49:35me I go from zero to 100 real fast. And
49:38so I'm trying to be better. But tonight
49:40could be my last day on the earth. It
49:43really could be. I hope it isn't.
49:45Lindsey Graham died suddenly. Who ever
49:50thought that he would die? I didn't. I
49:53mean, but it's that way for everybody,
49:56you know, brother and sister Olsen.
49:58Sister Olsen just passed away and uh
50:02Brother Olsen buried her and we went to
50:03the funeral and sister Olsen, I remember
50:05her being worried about all of her
50:06sisters. She was worried about the
50:09health of all of her sisters. She was
50:11like the leader of her sisters. And she
50:13was the first one to die and I sat at
50:16her funeral and looked over there at all
50:18of her sisters. And I knew because we
50:20talked about the different various
50:21concerns she had for each sister. And I
50:24sat over there and I said, "Who would
50:26ever thought they're attending your
50:28funeral?"
50:31You don't know, folks.
50:35that if you'll put on every day, every
50:38day,
50:40I've been redeemed
50:43by blood divine.
50:46Oh glory glory.
50:49Christ is mine. My all to him.
50:53I resign.
50:56I have I have been redeemed.
51:02Redeemed how I love to proclaim.
51:05Redeemed by the blood of the lamb.
51:09Redeemed through his infinite mercy. His
51:13child and forever I am redeemed.
51:18Redeemed.
51:20Redeemed by the blood of the lamb.
51:23Redeemed.
51:29Redeemed.
51:34his child and forever I am.
51:38Where does all that come from? A helmet,
51:42which is the hope of salvation.
51:46The hope, put it on. When you put that
51:49hope on every day, then you realize, I
51:52might not make it to work today because
51:54my car is going to have to drive itself.
51:56If the Lord comes, I'm out of here.
51:59We've got to keep that hope on and put
52:01it on every day. Every day. Every day.
52:04Every day.
52:08Your mind is a war zone.
52:11And when you don't occupy your mind,
52:14there is no demilitariz
52:17demilitarization.
52:19That was a big one.
52:23All of you folks online could say it
52:25perfectly, can't you? Demilitarization.
52:29Thank you, darling. Speech pathologist.
52:34Demilitarization.
52:36Say that fast.
52:40Here's my point. You can't say, "Well,
52:43I'm just not going to worry about it."
52:45No. Your mind will be occupied by
52:47satanic squatters.
52:51And if you don't know about squatters,
52:53ask all of our real estate people in
52:55this church. They are a huge issue. And
52:59you will have satanic squatters that if
53:01you don't put on a helmet, you know, the
53:04helmet's not made for the couch.
53:08Well, I got a helmet. Look at it.
53:11God didn't give you a helmet to show off
53:13while sitting on the couch. He
53:15anticipated that you would go onto the
53:17battlefield. And he said, "Every day
53:19when you get on the battlefield, before
53:22you go, you better put on a helmet
53:25of salvation."
53:27Shall we stand together right now?
53:32I want the Lord to know that I've got
53:35salvation on my mind. That I've got the
53:38hope of salvation on my mind.
53:43that I know
53:47I can make it. I've always been enamored
53:51by these people
53:53that jump off cruise ships.
53:56I've been on one or two cruise ships
54:00and uh
54:02every time I get to the edge and I
54:03think,
54:06"What if I just jumped over?"
54:09I know y'all are a lot smarter than me.
54:11You don't think those thoughts.
54:13What if I just jumped over? You know,
54:16most of the people that jump over drown.
54:19I don't care how they good they can
54:20swim.
54:22And you think this boat's not going that
54:24fast.
54:26They now have these marker buoys that
54:28you can throw out. As soon as someone's
54:29on board, they try to throw it out
54:31because at least maybe they can find.
54:36And I'm sure they're putting drone buoys
54:38on these ships now that as soon as
54:39someone jumps over, the drone will go
54:42because they can't get the ship turned
54:44around too that fast.
54:47They drown.
54:49And I am terrified by the idea of
54:53drowning.
54:55The perfect storm is an amazing book.
54:57You've only seen the movie. You don't
54:59know anything about it. And I haven't
55:00seen the movie, okay? But I read the
55:02book. And when you read the book, The
55:04Perfect Storm, there is this most
55:06unbelievable description of what it
55:09feels like to drown,
55:12it will absolutely grip your brain. You
55:16get cold sweats dreaming about drowning.
55:21And I think, but I need a savior.
55:25I need to be saved.
55:28I need a savior,
55:31not a new poem, not an imagination. What
55:35authority is your salvation hope built
55:37on? My hope is built on one who said,
55:42"I'm going to die."
55:44The whole group that followed him knew
55:48it. They heard it. He did die.
55:52And then he rose three days later.
55:57That's authority that no one on this
56:00earth has. No one has that authority.
56:04I'm not talking about Miami Children's
56:06Hospital. I'm not talking about the
56:08University of M Miami Medical Center.
56:10I'm not talking about the Sylvester
56:12Cancer Center. I'm not talking about
56:13Cleveland Clinic. I'm not talking about
56:15any of these supposedly advanced
56:19prestigious hospitals that they carry
56:22dead bodies out of every day. No, I'm
56:25talking about the one who said you have
56:28a chance to live. And I hope you all
56:30live to 129 or maybe more.
56:34But we're all going to die. And if I'm
56:37still around, I'm going to preach your
56:38funeral.
56:40And when I preach your funeral, I'm
56:41going to stand at the head of your
56:42casket as is the custom. And when they
56:45come to take you, I will walk in front
56:47of the casket all the way out. And when
56:49we get to the grave site, guess what I'm
56:51going to do? I'm going to stand right
56:52where the head is. I'll ask the funeral
56:53director. You want to know what I'm
56:54asking them? I'll go say, "Where's the
56:56head?" I'll get by the head. And where
56:59the head's situated, that's where I'll
57:01speak from. And you might I I have this
57:04habit of kind of tapping the casket. I
57:06don't know why I do it. I think after I
57:08do it, why did you do that? You might
57:09have woke him up.
57:14I'm being very I know this feels
57:16callous. I'm not being callous, folks.
57:19I will walk with you and we will watch
57:22your casket go down and we'll talk toss
57:25the roses on. Some of us may take a
57:28shovel and push some dirt. Depends on
57:30your tradition. And it doesn't matter
57:32what. That's going to be what this world
57:36says. Many of them. Many of them say,
57:39"Well, that's it."
57:42Ladies and gentlemen,
57:46I'm going to see my daddy again.
57:50I can't wait to hug my daddy. I'm about
57:52to get emotional. I'm going to stop. I'm
57:54not going to play on emotions.
58:05God's people will reign forever more.
58:10Put on that helmet.
58:13Why don't we come down to this altar and
58:14just talk to the Lord just for a few
58:15moments as we solidify this word into
58:18our hearts. Let the seed go down into
58:21the soil.
58:23You know where God spoke to you tonight.
58:28Let it go down into the soil of your
58:30soul.
58:32Ah Jesus,
58:34Jesus, I need you. Jesus, I've got to
58:37have you. Jesus, fill my heart.