The Good Fight Series #2
Pastor David T. Elms 6/9/2026
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44:31
Summary
In the second installment of 'The Good Fight,' Pastor T. David Elms explores the Belt of Truth as the essential core of the Armor of God, challenging believers to love the Truth even when it is inconvenient. Using historical and biblical examples, he emphasizes that standing firm in an 'evil day' requires a life anchored in God's unchanging Word rather than the shifting opinions of culture.
Key points
- •Spiritual warfare is not about being 'nicer,' but becoming dangerous to the kingdom of darkness by standing firm in God's power.
- •The Belt (Girdle) of Truth is the first and most foundational piece of armor because it protects the 'core' or 'zone' of a believer's strength and productivity.
- •There is a vital distinction between facts and truth; while facts can be manipulated or taken out of context, Truth is a spiritual reality that must be loved and lived.
- •Living by 'situational ethics' is like navigating a ship by a handheld lantern rather than the fixed stars; believers must let the unchanging Word of God be their compass.
- •The 'Good Fight' requires an altar-centered life where we consistently bring our flaws and failures before God to be washed and reset by His truth.
Scripture
Spiritual Warfare
Truth vs. Lies
Integrity
Discipleship
Life application
Commit to an 'inconvenient truth' this week by choosing a biblical principle (like forgiveness, honesty, or holiness) over a path that is socially or personally easier. Spend time at a physical or personal altar to recalibrate your 'core' strength in God.
Reflection questions
- What are some 'facts' in your life right now that are trying to distract you from God's ultimate Truth?
- Pastor Elms mentioned the 'zone' of core strength. In what ways has your spiritual core been tested or weakened lately?
- Are you navigating your life by 'headlights' (immediate circumstances) or by 'stars' (eternal biblical principles)?
- What does it mean to 'buy the truth and sell it not' in your current stage of life?
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Full transcript
0:00eye. I don't want I don't want him to be
0:00affected negatively. That's no fun. All
0:02right. Are you ready? This is the sixth
0:04chapter of the book of Ephesians, the
0:0710th verse.
0:09It says, "Finally, my brethren, be
0:10strong in the Lord uh and in the power
0:16of his might, not just in his might, in
0:19the power
0:21>> of his might." For uh put on the whole
0:24armor of God, that ye may be able to
0:26stand against the ws, everybody say ws
0:30>> of the devil.
0:32And for we wrestle not against flesh and
0:33blood, but against principalities,
0:35against powers, against rulers of the
0:37darkness of this world, against
0:38spiritual wickedness in high places.
0:40Wherefore take unto you. Everybody say,
0:42"Take."
0:43>> Take.
0:44>> You got to do it. You have to take unto
0:47you.
0:49If you want a drive-thru from
0:51McDonald's, you got to go get it
0:53tonight. I'm not getting it for you. You
0:55got to go take it unto you. Well, the
0:58same thing goes for this. And I don't
1:00know if y'all know McDonald's got that
1:01new hamburger. It's pretty good. If you
1:04hadn't had it a while, swing by. I
1:05forget the name of it. It's the Mc
1:07Everything or something. It's a pretty
1:09good hamburger. It's a pretty good one.
1:11I've tried it. Tried it. This is not a
1:12McDonald's. But you better take it. If
1:15you're going to get it, you got to take
1:16it.
1:18So the Lord said, "Take unto you the
1:21whole armor of God that ye may be able
1:24to withstand to stand with to withstand
1:30in the evil day, having done all to
1:32stand, stand therefore, having your
1:33loins girth about with truth, having the
1:36breastplate of righteousness and your
1:37feet shouted with the preparation of the
1:39gospel of peace. Above all, taking the
1:42shield of faith." Everybody say, "Above
1:44all."
1:44>> Above all. We're not there yet, but
1:46we're going to get to the above all.
1:48Wherefore ye shall be able to quench all
1:52the fiery darts of the wicked. Take the
1:55helmet of salvation, sword of the
1:56spirit, which is the word of God,
1:58praying always with all supplication.
2:00Prayer and supplication. In the spirit,
2:02everybody say, in the spirit,
2:04>> and watching there unto all perseverance
2:07and supplication for all saints in Jesus
2:12name. Everybody say the belt of truth.
2:16>> The belt of truth. You may be seated in
2:18Jesus name.
2:21Hallelujah.
2:24I want to read you this uh uh amount of
2:28scripture that we just read, but I'm
2:30going to read it to you from the Philips
2:32translation.
2:34In conclusion, be strong, not in
2:38yourselves, but in the Lord, in the
2:40power of his boundless resource. Put on
2:44God's complete armor so that you can
2:46successfully resist all the devil's
2:49methods of attack. For our fight is not
2:52against any physical enemy. It is
2:54against organizations and powers that
2:57are spiritual.
2:59We are up against the unseen power that
3:02controls this dark world and spiritual
3:06agents
3:07from the very headquarters of evil.
3:10Therefore, you must wear the whole armor
3:13of God that you may be able to resist
3:16evil in its day of power
3:20and that even when you have fought to a
3:23standstill,
3:25you may still stand your ground.
3:29Take your stand then with truth as your
3:31belt, righteousness as your breastplate,
3:35the gospel of peace firmly on your feet,
3:38salvation as your helmet, and in your
3:40hand the sword of the spirit, the word
3:42of God. And above all, be sure to take
3:44faith as your shield. For it can quench
3:47every burning missile the enemy hurls at
3:51you. Pray at all times with every kind
3:54of spiritual prayer. Oh, I love that.
3:58uh every kind. I haven't discovered all
4:00the different kinds of spiritual
4:02prayers.
4:03>> I'm still trying to discover new ones.
4:05>> Uh and keeping alert and persistent as
4:09you pray for all of Christ's men and
4:14women. So, this series, the good fight,
4:16is not about becoming a nicer person.
4:19It's about becoming a more dangerous
4:21person. It's about understanding that
4:24there is a fight to be fought and that
4:26you're ready when the fight comes. While
4:30we will never overemphasize spiritual
4:33warfare, we will also never under
4:36accentuate that there's a fight to be
4:38fought. And it's about it's about
4:41standing in the evil day. I know you may
4:47think you're in the evil day. And maybe
4:49we are in the evil day. I think phones
4:52and social media and uh internet
4:56everywhere determines the fact that
4:58there are temptations that determine we
5:01are in an evil day that's unlike any
5:03other day before. But having said that,
5:07I refuse to be a summer soldier and a
5:11sunshine patriot, whereby it was spoken
5:15about in America's past that there are
5:18those that are willing to fight when the
5:20weather's good. And as long as the sun's
5:23shining, they're patriotic. But whenever
5:26the cold sweeps in from the frozen north
5:29and the darkness comes in from early
5:33sunset, that's when many people lose
5:36their courage. And the Lord doesn't want
5:39us to just stand in the good day. Stand
5:42in the camp meeting day. Stand when the
5:44church has just had revival. Stand when
5:46everybody's going the good way. Stand
5:48when you know you got a table event this
5:50Friday. Stand when you know camp meeting
5:52is coming up. Stand when you know you
5:54got a job. No. Stand in the evil day.
6:00>> Uh, I love history. I think if you don't
6:03learn from history, then you're doomed
6:04to repeat history. Winston Churchill was
6:07a wartime leader of Britain. And he took
6:10to the airwaves and said, "We shall
6:12fight on the beaches. We shall fight on
6:16the landing grounds. We shall fight in
6:18the fields. We shall fight in the
6:20streets. We shall fight in the hills."
6:23And he exentially got to the point where
6:26he said, "We shall never surrender."
6:31Paul said said something more fierce
6:33than that. He said, "Therefore, take up
6:36the whole armor of God that ye may be
6:38able to withstand in the evil day."
6:44And having done all that means you're
6:46exasperated
6:48because you've used all of your options.
6:51All your alter alternatives have been
6:54grabbed and utilized. And having done
6:57all YOU STILL OUT OF OPTIONS STAND,
7:04not run, not hide, not negotiate,
7:08stand.
7:10And uh you understand what the apostle
7:13Paul was writing when you understand
7:15when he's writing this he is chained in
7:18a prison.
7:20It's amazing. And he talked about
7:22fighting the good fight of faith. So we
7:27come to the very first instrument that
7:30is mentioned in this armor of God. And I
7:33must tell you I I I at office devotion
7:36yesterday I kind of got thrown a little
7:38bit. Justin will not tell on me, so I'm
7:41going to tell on myself. I I for a
7:43moment there thought that the first
7:45instrument mentioned was the helmet of
7:46salvation. And I got thrown a little bit
7:49and Pam wouldn't tell on me. That's the
7:51reason she walked out on this section of
7:52the sermon. UH BUT I GOT myself uh
7:56wondering, is this is what what's go
7:58what's going on right here? Is is it
8:01really the helmet of salvation? Because
8:02I know that's a good place to start. But
8:05when I went to confirm where it starts,
8:07it all starts with the belt, the girdle
8:11of truth. And we live in an age of fog.
8:16And a girdle imagery comes from the
8:18Greek word zone.
8:21The Greek word zone. It's the zone of
8:25your life. If you do any strength
8:27training, you will learn that years ago,
8:30they would strengthen your arms and your
8:32legs. And it was all for show. But the
8:36more you become sensitive and
8:38intelligent in your training, you will
8:40learn that the most important part of
8:43all your physical training is your core
8:46strength. You can draw a circle right
8:49here and lines from that point on. And
8:52your most important strength is right
8:54here.
8:56>> This is your core. This is known by
8:59Greek language as the zone.
9:03You want to take someone down, hit them
9:06in the zone.
9:11>> That's the zone. Have your loins gird
9:13about with truth.
9:16>> And so this is a a area of your
9:18strength. It's the place of your power
9:21and it is also the place of your
9:23productivity.
9:27And when you protect
9:29this zone, you're protecting your
9:32legacy.
9:34You're protecting your future.
9:37>> My son Ethan, should I tell this story?
9:41He I shouldn't tell it.
9:45I don't know.
9:48>> Well, Ethan hurt himself one time
9:51>> in the zone
9:53>> and he said, "Dad,
9:55>> I
9:58don't
10:00Okay, never mind.
10:02My wife is wise, but it's one of the
10:05greatest, funniest, living things you've
10:07ever heard. So, I'm sorry. I'm not going
10:08to share it with you." But no, it's not
10:12that bad. He's just talking about I got
10:13to protect the grandchildren.
10:15>> I shouldn't have said that. Okay.
10:18It's
10:20okay.
10:22>> He was a little boy. He was very little.
10:25>> And forgive me online. God bless you.
10:29Uh but you know, it it was one of those
10:31moments as a dad. Listen,
10:34I don't know about all the rest of you
10:36dads out there, but I appreciated that.
10:39And I know it's not a subject we talk
10:41about, but you all of sports, if you
10:44know anything about sports, there is
10:46always going to be equipment to protect
10:48your future.
10:50>> In all sports.
10:52Why? Because this is a part of God's
10:57metaphor.
10:58>> And while I may not want to talk about
11:01it, the Lord said, "Have your loins gird
11:04about with truth."
11:07So you got to protect the prize. You got
11:09to protect the purchase. You got to
11:11preserve the truth. And it's all the
11:13metaphor of truth. The zone, your
11:17strength, your core power is the place
11:20that he said that's where truth resides.
11:23That's the metaphor of truth. Truth
11:26isn't decorative. every other piece of
11:29armor in place, it is there to guard the
11:33most powerful future of the kingdom, the
11:36most powerful results of right now. If
11:39if if I can have my core taken out from
11:42me, my strength will be gone.
11:46>> And the first piece of armor is not the
11:48breastplate, it's not the helmet, it's
11:50not the shield, it's not the sword, it
11:52is the belt.
11:55The belt. And in the in the Roman
11:58military, it was a very wide AR piece of
12:01leather that protected them and had
12:03things hanging to protect their thighs.
12:07Leather hel hanging to protect their
12:09thighs because this was the core. And it
12:11was not a short belt. It went up high to
12:14strengthen the lower back and protect
12:16the vital organs. And the Lord said, I
12:19want you to see that in your mind's eye
12:21and say that's the truth component of
12:25the whole armor of God. And before I
12:27tell you about anything else, I want to
12:29start with this girdle of truth, this
12:32belt of truth. And you've got to get it.
12:36>> See, here's the thing. There's a lot of
12:38facts in this world. And many times
12:41people will throw you by telling you
12:43facts that are not important or
12:46pertinent to the question.
12:48>> But because they're facts, they'll throw
12:51you.
12:51>> And so this is the difference between
12:53knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is the
12:55facts. Wisdom is knowing how to take the
12:58facts, fit them in context, and make
13:01them applicable to the moment, and
13:03distill the truth.
13:05>> Because the facts are not always the
13:08truth. Right?
13:09>> It's the difference between a recipe and
13:11a meal.
13:13I appreciate recipes.
13:16>> Recipes are awesome.
13:18>> But let me tell you something. When I
13:19sit down to eat, I may have four recipes
13:22on that plate, but there is a sweet
13:26conusion,
13:27not confusion, a sweet fusion that
13:30happens on that plate. All right.
13:33>> I may take a little roast beef and a
13:35little bit of gravy and throw on there a
13:37little bit of mashed potatoes
13:39>> and I MIGHT TAP DOWN INTO THE MAC AND
13:42cheese and close it off with a little
13:44green beans.
13:47>> That's not the recipe, ladies and
13:49gentlemen.
13:50>> But that is the meal.
13:54>> And I'm telling you in the truth, you
13:57got to know the difference between the
13:59facts and the truth. Don't let people
14:02come throwing facts at you THAT DON'T
14:04FIT THE CONTEXT.
14:10Truth is the meal.
14:12I'M NOT HERE TO EAT A RECIPE. YOU CAN'T
14:14EAT A RECIPE. I APPRECIATE the recipe.
14:17THE RECIPE GUIDES ME. THE RECIPE leads
14:20me. THE RECIPE GESTURES me in CERTAIN
14:23DIRECTIONS, BUT SOMEWHERE I GOT TO TURN
14:25THE RECIPE INTO A MEAL. I GOT TO TURN
14:28INTO SUSTENANCE.
14:33IT'S NOT just knowing the truth, but
14:36loving the truth
14:38>> with a watching guardianship. It's not a
14:41thought experiment. You know, this is
14:43the one thing I love graduate school. I
14:45loved it. And I love to listen to
14:47academics talk. And I'm just weird like
14:49that. Or maybe that's not weird. Maybe
14:51that means I'm very advanced. But my
14:53point is this. My point is this. They're
14:56always putting out thought experiments.
14:59Okay, let's have a thought experiment.
15:02And they'll throw out some scenario. And
15:05what you got to do is realize the
15:07difference between a thought experiment
15:09and real life is worlds apart.
15:13This is a an imaginary scenario that
15:15we're going to put you into. If you ever
15:17took psychology, you know all the
15:19different things. The trains going down
15:21the road. If you goes on, the whole
15:23train's going off the bridge. If you
15:25stop it, it's going to kill a kid. What
15:26are you going to do?
15:28It's all these
15:30these these crazy things, these thoughts
15:34that I don't know anybody that's ever
15:35had to do that, make that decision. But
15:38everybody who went to psychology had to
15:39act like they had to make that decision.
15:41And either they were a good person or a
15:43bad person by what they decided. And all
15:46of this is just scenarios that just uh
15:49I'm not trying to say the thought
15:50experiments aren't good, but you cannot
15:52live your life in a thought experiment.
15:54You got to live in the truth. It's not a
15:57polite agreement. It's not a doctrinal
15:59checklist. You check off and then you
16:01check out. No, the truth is something
16:04that you got to love. The Bible said
16:06because they received not a love for the
16:08truth. The Lord turned them over.
16:11He turned them over. Why? Because they
16:13did not receive a love for the truth.
16:15And the truth is not a one-time
16:17accomplishment. Every day has truth in
16:20it. And you've got to love the truth
16:22even when it's an inconvenient
16:26truth.
16:28>> Truth is, you can't make it to heaven
16:30unless you're born of the water and the
16:32spirit.
16:33>> Now, it's inconvenient when you got to
16:35get baptized and you got to get wet. And
16:37Sister Nepalano is here. I started to
16:40call her Neapolitan again. I'm telling
16:43you all all of it. But her daughter was
16:46wanting to get baptized Friday and I was
16:48wanting to pause it, but I didn't
16:50realize the the logistics of the summer
16:52that she was facing. And so Sunday
16:54rolled back around and she said, "I want
16:56to go ahead and do it." And her mama
16:58watched online and FaceTime. Why? It was
17:01an inconvenient moment. But the truth
17:04was more important than the inconvenient
17:08moment. BECAUSE MAMA CAN'T SAVE THEIR
17:11CHILDREN. MAMA, I love you. I'm glad you
17:14can pray for your kids. I'm glad you can
17:16intercede
17:18for your children. I'm a daddy that is a
17:20man of God interceding for my children.
17:22I promise you this MAN RIGHT HERE WARS
17:25for my children IN THE SPIRIT BUT I
17:27CANNOT save them.
17:30No, I need them to have an ENCOUNTER
17:32WITH THE SHIKINA glory of God. I need
17:36them to go into his presence and have a
17:39move that MAKES THEM TREMBLE ALL THE WAY
17:42TILL LIKE THE PROPHET JEREMIAH SAID IT
17:45WAS LIKE FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES.
17:50We got to love the truth. It's what
17:52separates the wheat from the chaff.
17:55>> It's what separates the soldier from the
17:57spectator.
17:59Love of the truth is what separates the
18:01overcomer from the casualty. This
18:04postmodern era that they have tried to
18:06define that we live in. And I'm not even
18:09a fan of all these titles because
18:11everybody's just living themselves
18:13individually and you can't categorize me
18:15by putting me in some era. But it's what
18:18they do in psychology. Socrates wrote a
18:21book called the ship of state. It was in
18:24his republic book that he wrote many
18:26years ago. And he described in that book
18:29a metaphor, a picture that is so fitting
18:32to our hour right now. He described a
18:35ship whose captain was the only one who
18:37knew how to uh navigate by the stars. He
18:42was the only one who could look in the
18:44dark of night or in the day sun and
18:46realize the trajectory of the ship and
18:50the direction to sail. And Socrates
18:53wrote about this captain who knew how to
18:55steer by the stars the fixed objective
18:58realities of navigation. But the crew
19:02mutinied against him. They knew nothing
19:05of true navigation. They quarrel among
19:08themselves about who should stand at the
19:10helm of the ship. They dismissed the
19:12captain as a useless stargazer. They
19:16just saw him looking up in the night and
19:18didn't point out they knew nothing. And
19:20so they decided that they would steer
19:22the ship by their own opinions, by their
19:24whims, not by any external unchanging
19:28standard. They ignored the compass. They
19:31ignored the stars. They ignored the sky.
19:35And Socrates said they they were
19:37essentially a a a culture of their own
19:41making. And they took a lantern and hung
19:44it on the front of the ship. And because
19:47they now could see what was in front of
19:49them, they thought they were navigating,
19:52driving a ship with headlights.
19:56Yeah. You may know you're not hitting
19:58rocks or you're not hitting land, but
20:00you don't know where you're going.
20:04And this was Socrates way a long time
20:06ago describing a society that steered by
20:10living by context of situational ethics.
20:13>> Wow.
20:14>> Deciding well it's what is our culture
20:16doing? Let's make a decision on this
20:17moment instead of having some bigger
20:19ETHIC THAT COULD GUIDE YOU. THAT wasn't
20:22just something just the momentary
20:25temporary trouble that you're going
20:27through.
20:28>> Well, I'm lonely tonight so I got to go
20:30do something to fix my loneliness. I'm
20:31I'm doing this. And so it's minute by
20:34minute instead of realizing I've got a
20:36bigger purpose in my life. And that's
20:38when you love the truth. You will do
20:40things that are not convenient. When you
20:42love the truth, you'll do things that
20:44may not make sense for a week or a month
20:46or even a year, but you know you've got
20:48a destination and you're going to get to
20:51that destination.
20:54>> He who is a slave to the compass is the
20:57master of the oceans.
21:00Everybody else must sail close to the
21:03shore.
21:05>> You got to know there's a bigger force.
21:09Compass is gripped by a force you cannot
21:12see. A force bigger than the waves and
21:15the winds of the rest must be close to
21:19the shore. Biblical values matter.
21:23Romans 1 is an unbelievable story about
21:26a people who did not love truth. And the
21:28Bible said, "Wherefore God gave them up
21:31to uncleanliness
21:33through the lust of their own heart, to
21:36dishonor their own bodies between
21:40themselves,
21:43who changed the truth of God into a lie,
21:46and worshiped and served the creature
21:48more than the creator who is blessed
21:51forever." Amen. For this cause God gave
21:55them up unto vile affections.
21:59And he went on to say, "And even as they
22:01did not like or did not love, they did
22:03not approve to retain God in their
22:06knowledge, God gave them over to a
22:09reprobate mind to do those things which
22:12are not convenient."
22:15verse I mean 2 Thessalonians 2:10 said
22:18those who perish do so because they
22:20receive not the love of the truth.
22:26I've often said truth is more than just
22:28Acts 238.
22:30>> Truth is Acts 238.
22:33>> But truth permeates how you treat the
22:35ones you love.
22:37>> Truth affects those you treat that you
22:39don't like. Truth affects how you walk
22:42in a city with darkness everywhere.
22:46Truth affects how you drive, how you
22:48think, how you talk. Do you love truth?
22:52>> Because it's that love of truth that's
22:54going to be saved that will save you.
22:56Some love, some heard the truth, some
22:59applauded the truth, but they never
23:02loved the truth. Some danced because the
23:05truth was being saved, but they didn't
23:07love the truth. Some loved it because it
23:09WAS WHAT THE CROWD WAS LOVING for the
23:11moment, but they didn't love the truth
23:13themselves. And I promise you, life's
23:16going to test you.
23:19I'll always remember when my parents
23:21were leaving me at North Carolina State
23:23University and I was at one uh was it
23:26162 Bluefield Lane? I think that was the
23:29address. Do you remember the address?
23:31Was it 162? I know it was Bluefield
23:33Lane. She ought to know it because she
23:35wrote me letters. It was Garner, North
23:38Carolina. That's right. She wrote me
23:39letters back then. That's the way you
23:41talked.
23:43>> Don't be acting like you're better than
23:45me.
23:48Uh
23:50and and and they drove away and I
23:52remember walking back into that thing
23:54and nobody was going to check on me that
23:55night. I could have stayed out all
23:57night. Could have done whatever I wanted
23:59to do. Nobody. It's the first time in my
24:02life. Well, maybe one time mom and dad
24:04went out of town. And I thought I had
24:06the home for the weekend, but I'm I'm
24:07talking about this was the first real
24:09time. The real time. They didn't have
24:12ring cameras back then, y'all.
24:15You kids don't have a clue how
24:16helicopter we are on you. We know all of
24:20your stuff. There was no live 360 247,
24:24whatever. No, no, no.
24:27You just you could just go and do and
24:30then smile and act like you didn't do
24:33God. Back then we were afraid of God.
24:38>> Nowadays they're not even afraid of Ring
24:40camera. They go crawling around the
24:42back.
24:44They leave a window open and crawl up in
24:46that window. I know the tricks. You're
24:48not the first one that ever had hell in
24:50your heart. Listen, we all have hell in
24:53our heart.
24:55>> You learn those tricks and you play
24:57those games. But you know what? At some
24:59point, you come to yourself and you say,
25:02"That's not who I'm going to be.
25:06>> It's not who I'm going to be. I refuse
25:09to embrace that lie."
25:13The enemy hates the truth and he loves a
25:15lie, but we're not wrestling against
25:17flesh and blood. The Bible said he is
25:20the father of all lies. That's right.
25:23>> So when a lie comes to you and some
25:25people I know some saved folks who love
25:28to lie. It's cra I don't know that
25:30they're saved. They think they're saved.
25:32Bob says all liars shall have their part
25:34in the lake of fire. But the Bible said
25:37he comes to us with ws
25:40steady strategic
25:42spiritual wickedness. And he pedals
25:46falsehoods to get us to uh change and
25:50and manipulate and and jive and duck all
25:54dressed up in eloquence and compassion.
25:58And it's chaff that looks like wheat.
26:01It's it's it's wolves that are dressed
26:04like sheep.
26:06>> Jesus said it would be that. I SEND YOU
26:08FORTH AS sheep in the midst of wolves.
26:13We know it's not mother god. Mama
26:16wouldn't ever do that, but father god
26:18will.
26:21You know why would you send us forth as
26:25sheep in the midst of wolves? Because he
26:28knows there's going to be a fight on
26:29your hands and you're going to have to
26:31learn how to stand when it doesn't look
26:34like anybody else is standing with you.
26:37having done ALL
26:39STAND THEREFORE.
26:44HALLELUJAH.
26:46He warns again and again of false
26:48teachers and false applications of
26:51scriptures. It's that big word isog
26:53Jesus that I've taught you about that
26:55isog Jesus means I will take the
26:57scripture and make it mean what I want
26:59it to mean and it will look good doing
27:01that. That's is Jesus. E I S E G S I S I
27:07believe it is. Then there's ex Jesus
27:09which is proper interpretation of
27:11scripture as the Lord intended it to be.
27:15>> And uh you can't take a false
27:18application just because it looks good
27:20when you quote it like that and you've
27:22taken it out of context to fit that
27:24moment to excuse your sin.
27:29>> No. No. It's false loves that pander to
27:32the crowd and pander to the culture and
27:34they invent traditions. They twist
27:37scripture. They they use suspicion. In
27:40fact, they don't have answers. All they
27:42do is have questions. And they think,
27:44well, if I can ask a question about a
27:46verse. What do you think the verse
27:48means? Like this. They think that means
27:50now I have made that verse of none
27:53effect because I've got a real good
27:56question about that verse. And the
27:58things that I say to people that are
28:00taking verses and acting like, "Well,
28:02there's some question and debate on this
28:04verse. There's some debate on that
28:05verse." Well, does that give you
28:07permission to take your pin knife and
28:09cut it out of the Bible just because
28:11there's debate on it? No. You're still
28:13going to answer for that verse. Just
28:15because you had heard that there's
28:17questions about that verse, it doesn't
28:19mean you can act like it doesn't exist.
28:22Because I've heard people take verses
28:24and say, "Well, that means I'm not going
28:25to walk in separation like this,
28:26brothers." Okay, if you're not going to
28:28walk like that, then tell me which way
28:30you're going to walk. No, they don't
28:31want to say that. They just want to act
28:33like, "No, I don't have to WALK LIKE
28:34THAT." TELL ME YOUR new interpretation.
28:39>> Because there's got to be an
28:40interpretation. The Bible says it's an
28:42abomination for a woman to dress like a
28:44man.
28:46>> It's an abomination for a man to dress
28:48like a woman. And that word abomination
28:51in the Hebrew is tawa, which means it
28:53makes God sick. There's a thousand
28:56abominations in the Bible that the Bible
28:58says it's an abomination unto you. It's
29:00an abomination unto you. There's only
29:02about six or seven times in the Bible
29:04that it says this is an abomination unto
29:07God.
29:08>> That's the reason it makes the journey
29:10from the Old Testament to the New
29:11Testament.
29:12>> Some people say, "Well, he nailed all
29:14those statues to his cross." He didn't
29:16nail the abominations that were unto him
29:18to that cross. And so, but I've heard
29:21people say, "Well, it's talking about
29:22it's an abomination for a woman to dress
29:24like a soldier." It doesn't mean like a
29:26man, just like a soldier. So, if you
29:28want to go and face the Lord with that
29:30explanation, then I want to know what
29:32have you changed? Do you not wear army
29:34green?
29:37>> Have you stopped wearing camouflage?
29:41>> What what what is the evidence that you
29:43believe the Bible?
29:45I'm not trying to confuse people and I'm
29:47not trying to act like I'm the expert of
29:49all. I'm just tired of people saying
29:51because they presented a question THEY
29:53CAN WRITE THE Bible off and push it away
29:57>> because it's still there. It's an
29:59inconvenient truth that our culture
30:01doesn't want to swallow. BUT I CAN'T
30:04PUSH IT OUT OF MY BIBLE JUST BECAUSE my
30:06culture wants men dressing like women
30:08and women dressing like men.
30:15I want to preach the Bible. I don't want
30:17to bend scripture to fit my culture.
30:21I want to bend the culture to fit the
30:23scripture.
30:26I'm not here to preach a savior that's
30:28not Lord. This isn't about having a
30:31savior. Do you have a Lord?
30:34I DON'T NEED JUST A SAVIOR. I NEED A
30:36LORD. THE BIBLE SAID HE IS LORD OF ALL.
30:40DIDN'T SAY HE'S SAVIOR of all. HE IS
30:42LORD of all. Every knee shall bow and
30:45every tongue shall confess that Jesus is
30:50>> Lord.
30:53>> If you don't know what those words mean,
30:55they mean different things.
30:58>> Savior acquiesces to your need. Lord,
31:00you act to acquies to his.
31:04>> There's a lot of people that only want a
31:05church that preaches a savior. But they
31:08don't want a church that preaches the
31:09Lord.
31:10>> They don't want to have to praise God
31:12when church starts. They don't want to
31:14feel that pressure from the pull pit.
31:17No, I just need a savior. I'll repeat
31:19after you when we're done, pastor. And
31:21I'm sitting here saying, "Are you going
31:22to praise him like that? Is he Lord?
31:25He's going to be Lord here.
31:27>> I want to put a positive peer pressure
31:29to you so you will crown him Lord of
31:34all."
31:35Many people hear the truth, but they
31:37don't receive it in their heart. Many of
31:39them hear it gladly.
31:42>> The Bible said, "As many as received
31:44him, to them gave he power."
31:46>> Acts 2 talks about, "And then they that
31:48heard him gladly," this is what 243, I
31:50guess, the same were baptized that day.
31:54But you read about John preaching to
31:56Herod. Herod heard John the Baptist
31:59preach. And the Bible said Herod heard
32:01him gladly, but he did not repent.
32:05There's some people that hear it gladly,
32:07but unless you do, like brother Easter
32:10preached the other day. What must
32:14>> I
32:15do? I can't just hear him gladly. I've
32:19got to have responses.
32:22>> The belt of intru, the belt of truth is
32:24integrity. It's the core strength sister
32:27realms come. Truth is based on integrity
32:32means you believe the truth and you hold
32:35it in integrity.
32:37You know the truth. You love the truth.
32:39You tell the truth. You live the truth.
32:41You adjust yourself back to the truth.
32:45YOU ASK GOD TO WASH YOU AND PUT YOU BACK
32:47ON THE TRUTH WAY. You want to love and
32:50know the truth
32:52>> even if it cost you. Even if it costs
32:54sacrifice. Even if you have to change
32:56the way you talk. Even if you have to
32:58change what you drink, even if you have
33:00to change the way you dress, even if you
33:02have to change who your friends are,
33:04even if you have to change what you
33:06listen to in your car, even if you have
33:08TO CHANGE WHAT YOU HAVE ON YOUR YOUTUBE
33:10FAVORITES, YOU CHANGE IT BECAUSE YOU
33:13WANT TRUTH IN YOUR LIFE.
33:15>> AMEN. AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.
33:20>> The Bible heroes the Lord trusted the
33:23most were not the most talented ones.
33:25Right?
33:26>> They weren't the most polished ones.
33:28They were the ones that he could trust
33:30when no one was watching. Was David
33:33sinner? Yes, he was. Was he a bad
33:34sinner? One of the worst ever.
33:37But when no one was watching and it came
33:41down time to really face who you are, he
33:44said, "Purge me, oh God."
33:50>> Flawed, yeah. Fearful, yes. Falter at
33:53times, yes. But in the final analysis,
33:56they found their way to an altar day
33:59after day. That's the reason I've got to
34:02have an altar going. Church, listen,
34:04this church, if you getting com
34:06comfortable not coming to this altar,
34:08I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to
34:10you. I'm preaching to the sound booth.
34:13I'm preaching to all you in the sound
34:15booth. If you don't come to this altar,
34:17you need to get to the altar. I'm
34:19preaching to all you that feel
34:20comfortable on that back row. I'm
34:22looking at you right now. If you don't
34:24come to this altar, you need to get the
34:26altar in your spirit again. What is it?
34:29IT'S JUST AN ADMISSION THAT I DON'T HAVE
34:32IT LIKE THAT. SOMETIMES I JUST need to
34:34get back at his feet.
34:38DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE. WE'RE AN ALTARGO
34:41GOING CHURCH. I don't care if it's not
34:43popular in Christendom. I'M NOT TRYING
34:46TO BE POPULAR IN CHRISTENDOM. THE ONLY
34:48SIZE THIS CHURCH IS IS HOW MANY FLIES
34:50WHEN THE TRUMPET SOUNDS.
34:53>> I don't care if your church once runs
34:5520,000. HOW MANY ARE GOING TO FLY WHEN
34:58THE TRUMPET SOUNDS?
35:00>> THAT'S THE SIZE OF YOUR CHURCH.
35:03Oh Lord, let us have him in our spirit
35:07because lies are people who twist truth
35:10to make them feel good. I'm going to
35:13tell you a study a a story right now.
35:16It's a true story. Malcolm Mugaridge
35:19died in 1990.
35:22He lived from early in America in the
35:24early 1900s.
35:26He was a huge socialist.
35:30He back in the day before communism was
35:34fought against in World War II, there
35:35was a huge attack of communism among the
35:39academics, among the elites of America.
35:42It's reviving again right now. Okay? But
35:45I'm going to tell you some history.
35:47Malcolm Mugaridge
35:50uh wrote a book entitled The Chronicles
35:55of Wasted Time. He went as a young man
35:59who knew that socialist and socialism
36:03was the best way to run a country. He
36:07went as a correspondent to Russia during
36:101932 and 33. And while he was there,
36:15Stalin was in charge in Russia. And
36:18Stalin was creating a new experiment.
36:22Socialism,
36:24communism, the greatest way to run a
36:27country. And Malcolm Mugaridge
36:30would go and he watched with truth in
36:33his heart, even though he wanted this
36:36experiment to be the right one because
36:38it sounded so good. Take from the rich
36:41and give to the poor. Let us all work
36:43the same fields.
36:46It's a lie. It's not scriptural. It's
36:49not even the Bible. Even though people
36:51said they sold all they had, it's not
36:53communism.
36:54They use that verse so much out of out
36:57of out of context.
36:59And so here Stalin created a famine in
37:02Ukraine. Y'all may not know about it.
37:04That's the reason I'm here to tell you
37:06about it.
37:08He staged villages though for the
37:10western media, the academics to fly over
37:14to Russia and see how wonderful
37:16socialism was doing.
37:18These were known as pimpkin villages
37:23and the people lived there did have
37:25plenty of food and they had wonderful
37:27houses but they were staged and so when
37:31the media walked through everything
37:33looked a good looked fantastic
37:36and yet it wasn't really what was
37:39happening in the real world and Malcolm
37:42Mugaridge wrote that book the chronicle
37:45of wasted time he smug smuggled they say
37:49a mountain of lies.
37:51He said that all of these western press
37:55agents, the academics were smuggling a
37:58mountain of lies. Lies of revolution,
38:01lies of politics, lies of press.
38:06And so he sent back, Malcolm sent back
38:09to his paper truth. He smuggled them
38:11where the Stalinists and the Russians
38:14couldn't read it. But when it they GOT
38:15BACK TO HIS PAPER, because it wasn't
38:17what the insiders liked in America, they
38:21softened all of his words and they took
38:24the rough edge off of what Malcolm
38:26wrote.
38:28And all this time, the New York Times
38:30had, I'm not talking about today's New
38:32York Times, I'm talking about the New
38:33York Times of 1932 and 33 had a writer
38:37named Walter Duranti.
38:41And Walter Duranti was one of the
38:44socialists that believed it all. And he
38:47wrote about how awesome the Pmpkin
38:50villages were. And he won a Puliter
38:53Prize
38:56while
38:57Malcolm Mugaridge
39:00was ignored and written off as a cook.
39:05The New York Times won that Puliter
39:07Prize denying that there was a famine in
39:10Ukraine.
39:12The universities wanted to believe the
39:14Soviet experiment was working. And
39:16between three and five million in Soviet
39:21Ukraine died. It was one of the first
39:24times that food was used as a weapon.
39:28The soldiers would go through the houses
39:29and there was this five uh five fruit or
39:33five branch rule that if they found you
39:35have harboring any food, they would take
39:38it from you
39:39because they used the food of the bread
39:42basket of the Ukraine to raise the money
39:45and they sold all the grain abroad and
39:48left none for their local people and
39:51they used that money to fund the Soviet
39:55Empire.
39:56And in that book he finally wrote that
39:59was at the end of the day finally looked
40:01at as a truth chronicle of wasted time.
40:05He concluded that truth had died while
40:09justice paraded around in a false face.
40:14He said that lies were dressed up in
40:17sophistication.
40:19He wrote a novel entitled Winter in
40:21Moscow in 1934.
40:25And he said, "People do not believe the
40:28lies because they have to. People
40:31believe lies because they want to."
40:37>> He said, "In the beginning was the lie,
40:42and the lie was made news and dwelt
40:45among us.
40:49and it walked with gracelessness
40:52and falsehood.
40:57We live in a generation that has lies.
41:00We've all been victimized by lies.
41:03Lies of both
41:06political parties. Don't think I'm
41:09making a political statement right now.
41:11I'm preaching on the truth.
41:14>> The truth. Sometimes it takes time for
41:16truth to come out.
41:19But the Bible says we can do nothing
41:21against the truth but for the truth. 2
41:25Corinthians 13:8.
41:28Love the truth
41:31and SELL IT NOT.
41:34>> BUY IT. IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S GOING TO
41:36COST YOU SOMETHING.
41:38>> Don't just LOVE IT, BUT BUY IT.
41:42BUY THE TRUTH AND sell it not. I want to
41:45believe what the Lord said.
41:48Listen, I'm gonna hold up these two
41:50things. This iPad is going to represent
41:52modern day headlines, okay? It's going
41:55to represent the the Trump articles and
41:58the Harris articles, the Biden articles
42:01and the Bush articles. It's going to
42:02represent the Dantis articles and the
42:05who's the governor and the Mike Walls
42:08the Walls articles. I think I've named
42:10all of every sight.
42:14What's that? Tim Walls. Okay, thank you.
42:17She knows them better than I do.
42:22Here's the Bible.
42:25The Lord doesn't want you to throw this
42:27away.
42:30You're not to be in the world and not
42:32know anything about the world.
42:36You got to learn.
42:38Read the headlines. Don't wake up and
42:40say, "Well, I'm so holy. I don't even
42:42know what's going on." I mean, I sort of
42:44do that a little bit because I don't
42:47know what's on Facebook. I mean, they
42:48put together I want to commend our
42:50church uh team made an amazing what's it
42:54a real that's called a real on Instagram
42:56of Brother Mike Easter preaching. How
42:59many saw the real on Instagram of
43:00Brother Easter preaching? If you haven't
43:02done that, go on Instagram, look at
43:05Cathedral LL.
43:07>> Yes. And look at that deal. They
43:10captured 10 amazing moments of brother
43:13Easter preaching and it was so
43:15creatively put together. He had to fly
43:18out. So I picked him up at 5:30 this
43:20morning and at 5:45 we're driving down
43:23595 and I'm letting him see it on my
43:25phone and he is laughing and loving it
43:29and just enjoying that thing so much and
43:32he he had to get on it and see it
43:33himself. It was a great thing. Don't do
43:38not act like you don't know what's
43:40happening in this world. But when it's
43:43time to decide what's going to be the
43:44lantern,
43:46what's going to be the light,
43:49what's going to dictate what we do in
43:51our home,
43:53what's going to determine how I treat my
43:55kids. No matter how they treat me, THEY
43:58CAN'T DECIDE how I treat them. This word
44:01decides how I treat them.
44:03>> Amen. Politics can't decide how I treat
44:06them. This word decides how I treat
44:08them.
44:09>> It doesn't matter what kind of t-shirt
44:11they have on that calls me all kind of
44:13names. THAT DOESN'T GET TO DECIDE HOW I
44:15TREAT PEOPLE.
44:17>> Your triggers are NOT GOING TO DETERMINE
44:20MY RESPONSES.
44:22I'm going to love the truth AND THE
44:25TRUTH SHALL SET you
44:28free.
44:30standing all over this building. I WISH