The Good Fight Series #1
Pastor David T. Elms 5/26/2026
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Summary
Pastor Elms introduces a new series on the armor of God, emphasizing that while the battle belongs to the Lord, believers are called to be prepared, active warriors who fight for the souls of their families and communities. Through the imagery of military readiness and the history of the local church, he calls for a conversion that moves from personal survival to strengthening others.
Key points
- •Spiritual warfare is not meant to replace love, but to protect it; believers must be both worshippers of God and warriors for their neighbors.
- •God fights for us and through us, but never instead of us; He requires our active participation and cooperation in the spiritual struggle.
- •Preparation through prayer, fasting, and gathering in the local church builds the spiritual muscle necessary to survive the trials that come unexpectedly.
- •Conversion by God's definition involves moving beyond self-preservation to a state where a believer actively strengthens and fights for others.
- •Special focus is placed on maintaining biblical distinctions and holiness while standing against the cultural confusion of the current age.
Scripture
Spiritual Warfare
Community and Family
Holiness and Distinction
Preparation
Life application
Commit to building spiritual muscle this week by attending service or fasting a meal, not just for your own needs, but so you have the strength to intercede for someone else in your circle who is struggling.
Reflection questions
- Is your spiritual life currently focused more on personal safety or on becoming a warrior for others?
- What does it mean to you that God fights 'through' you rather than 'instead of' you?
- Pastor Elms mentions 'Door Dash trouble' that arrives unexpectedly; how are you preparing your 'go bag' of spiritual readiness today?
- How can you better support and strengthen your brothers and sisters in the pews around you this week?
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Full transcript
0:00than I am, but that's all right. Get out
0:00of my get I I hate pretty men.
0:01Anyway, what a delight it is to be in
0:03the house of the Lord with each and
0:04every one of you in the presence of the
0:07Lord tonight. It's a joy to be here on
0:10this midweek service in which we come to
0:14uh be with one another and to tag into
0:18God's holy word so that it is able to
0:22sustain us and keep us. It is great to
0:25see Jensen and Elsa in the house of the
0:28Lord.
0:29Jers, not Jensen. Jers and Elsa in the
0:33house of the Lord. Uh they have gone
0:37through two long dark nights and uh
0:41those of you who are uh been a part of
0:43the prayer team, you know that the Lord
0:46has given to them two beautiful babies.
0:50And uh so when they get to heaven,
0:53there's already going to be a couple
0:55strapping young youngsters running
0:57around waiting on them. But none of us
1:01who have children want the children to
1:02go before us. So I want to commend each
1:05and every one of you all who have
1:06prayed, sought God on the behalf of
1:10these two beautiful, beautiful people
1:13that the Lord has knitted our soul to.
1:17And it doesn't matter how far Elsa can
1:19run. And no matter how hard Elsa has
1:22tried to hide, she can't get away from
1:25the love of the Elms family. And that
1:28also means the love of the cathedral at
1:30Pentecost.
1:35And brother Chavis, I love you. I need
1:38to give you a call. But God bless Truth,
1:42whatever church the name of that church
1:44is. But there's no place that can take
1:46the place of the Cathedral of Pentecost
1:48in the hearts of these two people. And
1:51of course, there's no competition. But
1:53we love you both. And we're carrying
1:55you. And it's not just momentary. It is
1:58for the season. Amen. Because there's a
2:01great season that is to come. And you
2:04have known enough of the hard season.
2:07And there's nobody who can walk that
2:08road except those who are uh positioned
2:13to have to walk it. And yet I can
2:15promise you, you don't walk alone. Even
2:19though there's no way we can feel the
2:21depth of the pain, when you weep, we
2:24weep. We we re weep
2:27we weep. And when you rejoice,
2:31we dance. Amen. For we are a dancing
2:34generation.
2:36Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I want to
2:38celebrate Ally who's sitting in the
2:40house of the Lord with us right now. She
2:43was baptized last Sunday in the name of
2:45Jesus Christ and her
2:51if if you have watched her pray, you
2:54know that her prayer has been moving
2:55from here to here. It's sort of obvious.
2:58You can't hide it when the prayer moves
3:00from here to here because there's a
3:03spirit that shows and shines. And when
3:06we baptized her and brought her out of
3:08the water, her hair was down. Her blonde
3:09hair, beautiful locks of goldilocks
3:12hanging right there. But last week, I
3:14was able to meet with them. And I asked
3:16her, I said, "Had you re did you get the
3:18Holy Ghost speaking other tongues?" And
3:19she said, "I got it in the water for the
3:22very first time." And I'm saying,
3:25"Hallelujah.
3:30What a joy it is being full of the Holy
3:32Ghost. And what a week to get it, too,
3:35the week of Pentecost Sunday. In fact,
3:37some 2,000 years ago, the disciples were
3:41still waiting. The Bible told them to
3:42tarry until they be endued with power
3:46from on high, and they were given the
3:48outpouring of the Holy Ghost. I welcome
3:50your attention to the book of Ephesians
3:52tonight as we go to the word of the
3:55Lord. and we began uh a new series.
3:59Sometimes I wonder if I ever close a
4:01series before I start another one. But
4:03uh here is one that I feel uh led and
4:07pressed to get into uh today and
4:11actually the past few weeks. And it's a
4:14different yet common. It's very common,
4:17but it is different. I'm going to talk
4:19about the good fight for the next little
4:21while. The good fight. Ephesians 6, the
4:2510th chapter. Finally, my brethren, be
4:28strong in the Lord and in the power of
4:30his might. Put on the whole armor of God
4:34that ye may be able to stand against the
4:37ws of the devil, the trickery, the
4:40trickeration to break out a big word,
4:43the trickerations of the devil, the ws
4:46of the devil. For we wrestle not against
4:48flesh and blood, but against
4:49principalities, against powers, against
4:52the rulers of the darkness of this
4:53world, against spiritual wickedness in
4:56high places. Wherefore take unto you the
5:00whole armor of God, that ye may be able
5:04to withstand in the evil day, and having
5:08done all to stand. Stand therefore,
5:11having your loins gird about with truth,
5:14and having on the breastplate of
5:16righteousness, and your feet shaw with
5:18the preparation of the gospel of peace,
5:20above all, taking the shield of faith,
5:23wherewith ye shall be able to quench
5:26all. Everybody say all.
5:28all the fiery darts of the wicked and
5:32take the helmet of salvation and the
5:34sword of the spirit which is the word of
5:37God. Praying always with all preparation
5:40prayer with all prayer and supplication
5:42in the spirit. How? In everybody say in
5:47the spirit. That's not in your spirit.
5:50That's in the look in your book Bible.
5:53You're very closely. That's a capital S.
5:56If you've got an authorized edition,
5:58that is a capital S. These things mean
6:01things. Don't let the capitals and the
6:03the small letters confuse you. It's the
6:07capital S. Praying in the spirit. That's
6:09the reason when you pray in tongues,
6:11you're obeying the scripture. Praying in
6:14the spirit. That's not praying with your
6:16spirit. That's emotion. No. Praying in
6:18the spirit. It's praying with the
6:19tongues of another language of a
6:22heavenly language. Praying praying with
6:24all prayer and with supplication in the
6:26spirit and watching there unto with all
6:29perseverance and supplication for all
6:32saints. Uh amen. And the Lord say,
6:35"Bless your word tonight." Or the people
6:37say, "Bless your word tonight, Lord."
6:40Amen. We're talking about the good
6:42fight. Turn to your neighbor and say,
6:43"You're a fighter."
6:45Amen. You may be seated in Jesus name.
6:49You're a fighter. You're a fighter.
6:50You're a fighter.
6:52You're a fighter. You're a fighter.
7:02As a a pastor, I have gone out of my way
7:07to not build this church on spiritual
7:10warfare.
7:12Not that warfare is not utterly
7:15important. In fact, the entirety of this
7:17series is going to be about spiritual
7:20warfare. But we have sought to be
7:24worshippers and lovers of people, not
7:27battlers of hell. We love people first.
7:30I am not more consumed with fighting the
7:33devil than I am learning to love my
7:35neighbors. I know some people that can
7:37fight every demon that walks through the
7:38door, but they can't love their saint
7:41that's just across the pew from them
7:43because they've learned more about
7:45fighting the devil than they have about
7:47learning to walk uh the Bible says
7:50peaceibly with all men. They are so
7:53great at bringing a sword to the devil
7:55that they've forgotten that the Bible
7:57says follow peace with all men and
8:00holiness without which no man shall see
8:03God. In fact, there are those who have
8:06turned holiness into a industry. And so,
8:09they've learned all about holiness and
8:11the externals of holiness, which by the
8:14way, the externals are the minuscule
8:16part of holiness. They are a part of
8:19holiness, but they are not the weightier
8:22is what the Lord said. The weightier
8:24matters is not the externals. It is the
8:27weightier matters of justice and mercy
8:29and peace. And the Lord did not ever say
8:32to abandon the externals. Never. But he
8:36did say that there are weightier matters
8:38that are out there. He did not say to
8:41neglect the washing of the outside of
8:43the cup. He said but wash the inside
8:46first and wash the outside. And so we
8:49are a church that practices models
8:52externals. We will not change. When some
8:55people start uh not modeling the
8:58externals, love them just the same.
9:01>> We're not ever to get in the judge's
9:03seat and all of a sudden kick God out as
9:05if we know how to write a judgment
9:07against those individuals. Let them be
9:09in God's hands. He is real good at
9:12filling the judge's seat. But as for you
9:14and I understand something, he never
9:17abandoned the concept that your
9:20externals would demonstrate that you
9:23walked differently. And so it's not just
9:25externals of being kind and brushing
9:27your teeth and paying your bills and the
9:30externals of loving the unlovable and
9:32being kind to those who are not in your
9:34same culture. Those are externals. But
9:37there are other externals that are like
9:39differential of being addressing like a
9:42man or dressing like a woman. Those two
9:44things will never be abandoned ever by
9:47this church. There will always be a
9:50distinction that is required in this
9:52hour. Hell hates that. That's the reason
9:54for the unisex movement that started
9:57when I was a kid. I know most of you all
9:59don't remember that far back, but I
10:01remember the first time when I went to
10:03the barber shop that they put a sticker
10:05in the front that it said we're a unisex
10:07barber shop and it showed a face uh with
10:10the same hair, a man and a woman. I
10:13remember seeing that as a kid growing to
10:15Jeff who cut my hair when I was a little
10:17boy. And I thought, "Oh Lord, this
10:19world's going a bad place. There's not
10:21just one sex. There are two sexes. But
10:24in this hour of confusion, there are
10:26people that say there's not just two
10:28sexes. There's what, 20? There's 30. I
10:31don't know. Whatever you want to imagine
10:32you are, that's what you are. And there
10:34are some who buy into that mental
10:37gamemanship and playground. But I will
10:40tell you, the Bible said God made man
10:42and woman and he made them special and
10:45he made them distinct. And he wants
10:48women to be women and men to be men. He
10:52wants men to look like men and not look
10:55like women. And he wants women to look
10:58like women and not look like men. But
11:01not just is that a condition of
11:03holiness, but another condition of
11:05holiness is modesty. That means the
11:08opposite of nakedness. I know the world
11:10puts out a definition of nakedness and
11:13they think that nakedness is any way
11:15that they think that they feel exposed.
11:17Well, let me tell you something. I would
11:19rather make a condition based on
11:21scripture that I may not be able to do.
11:24I may not agree with the definition of
11:27scripture, but at least I can point that
11:29that's the condition that I'm measuring
11:32to because my conditions get fickle. My
11:36conditions move. My conditions can be
11:38here one week and there another. All
11:40according to my weight, according to my
11:43tan, according to a lot of things. The
11:45measures of nakedness can change. But I
11:48want to measure by a nakedness not
11:50driven by Vogue magazine. I know y'all
11:53don't even remember those days. Y'all
11:55don't even remember what a magazine was.
11:57You think it's what is put in a gun. No,
11:59no, no. There are days real magazines
12:01existed. Uh, and let me tell you
12:04something. The my conditions are not
12:06made by Cosmopolitan magazine. I know
12:08you thought that was a city. That's an
12:10old magazine. I'm My conditions aren't
12:12made by Esquire magazine or or what was
12:15the men's magazine? GQ. Oh my lord. Some
12:18of you are still with me. I had some
12:20help in the house. No, no, no. Uh but
12:23but but listen, ladies and gentlemen, I
12:25have not built this church by the grace
12:27of God. In these 34 years, I've been
12:29entrusted to pastor it on the fight the
12:32foundation of just fighting. But having
12:35said that, for the next season, I want
12:38to talk about how often the language of
12:41war is in the scripture. The Bible says
12:43the battle is the Lord's. It's not
12:46yours. And the Bible tells us that we
12:50are to understand that God fights for
12:53us. He is fighting for us, pushing back
12:56the darkness. He is calling in the
12:58victory. And from Genesis to Revelation,
13:02scripture doesn't whisper about the
13:04fight. It roars about the fight. God
13:07himself is called in Exodus 15:3 a man
13:11of war. He trains our hands to battle
13:14and our fingers for war. Psalm 144:1.
13:19David told Goliath, "You come against me
13:22with sword and spear, but I come against
13:25you." In other words, I'm in the fight.
13:27I choose different mechanisms and tools
13:31than you choose, but I am still a
13:34fighter. I come against you in the name
13:38of the Lord of hosts. The prophets told
13:40us the Lord will fight for his people
13:43while they hold their peace. Jehoshaphat
13:47said to the disciples or the followers
13:49of God, "Do not be afraid nor dismayed,
13:53for the battle is not yours, but it's
13:57the Lord's." Paul was chained in prison,
14:01and yet he tells us to fight the good
14:05fight of faith. How are you writing that
14:08in chains? Paul said, "Well, you may
14:11think that I'm not fighting because I'm
14:14chained. But if you think I'm chained
14:16with my hands, you need to think again
14:19because I know how to fight another
14:22way." We do not wrestle against flesh
14:24and blood, but against principalities
14:27and powers and spiritual wickedness in
14:30high places. The language of fighting is
14:33unrelenting in scripture. It speaks of
14:35armies and strongholds, weapons and
14:37victories. He even speaks of defeats and
14:40stands and withstand and doing all to
14:42stand. It talks about advancing. It
14:45talks about being conquerors. And then
14:46it says you are to be more. Somebody's
14:50about to help this preacher on this
14:52Tuesday night. You are more than
14:56conquerors. Jesus does enter the temple
14:59and he turns tables over and he said, "I
15:02did not come to bring PEACE BUT A
15:05SWORD." AND then strange dichotomy,
15:08Peter pulls his sword OUT AND HE SAID,
15:10"PUT THAT SWORD AWAY."
15:14So he WASN'T TELLING us to not be
15:17fighters and battlers and warriors, but
15:21he was wanting us TO UNDERSTAND YOU'RE
15:23CALLED FOR A FIGHT.
15:26>> WHY DO YOU HAVE TO FIGHT? BECAUSE THERE
15:28IS an enemy who comes to steal, to kill.
15:33>> What does he do finally? And Somebody
15:36shout destroy.
15:38>> Destroy.
15:39>> The Bible is clear that in the last days
15:41that they shall be days of peril. This
15:44know also Paul wrote to Timothy that in
15:47the last days perilous times shall come.
15:51Matthew tells his disciples in the
15:52chapter that previews the last days.
15:55Matthew 24, because iniquity shall
15:58abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
16:03What is iniquity? This is iniquity.
16:10All of you have an electrical device.
16:14Every one of you own iniquity.
16:19Don't you dare look at your phone, your
16:22iPad, your computer as if it's not
16:26iniquity.
16:28It is the tree of the knowledge of good
16:31and evil. We thought it was bad when you
16:33had magazines to get to sin, but now
16:36that doesn't exist. Iniquity has
16:40abounded. They are rushing to get the
16:43internet to every part of this world.
16:45And it'll be there in in fact, it's
16:48almost there already. And I I'll tell
16:50you, it's a great blessing. It can be a
16:53blessing, but it also can be the very
16:56spawning and ownership of iniquity in
16:59your soul.
17:00Satan would love for us to withdraw from
17:03the fi fight to take cover and to hide
17:05until Jesus returns and he'll chauffeur
17:08us to safety. But the paradox is this
17:11that he has called every one of us here
17:14to either to set us free and to deliver
17:17us or he has come to call us to the
17:21revelation that it's not just about a
17:23fire insurance policy for you but it's
17:26so that you can become a warrior for
17:29somebody else. God assigned you to the
17:33family that you're in. Oh, I'm about to
17:36really start pastoring right now because
17:39it's easy to pray for those that we
17:42don't know. It's easy to love those that
17:45we don't have to do with. I love them in
17:47that neighborhood down in Kendall. I
17:49love the folks who live up in Margate,
17:52but those who are living next door to me
17:54and Pinberg Pines, I'm not so sure
17:56about.
18:00>> Lord, touch the Hollywood people. Lord
18:03Jesus, touch those western people, but
18:06those FOLKS THAT ARE RIGHT ACROSS THE
18:07STREET FROM ME, I'm not so sure about.
18:10God has assigned your steps. Your steps
18:14are ordered of the Lord. And that worker
18:17that is such a PROBLEM TO YOU, GOD
18:20SITUATED YOU. NOT SO YOU WOULD BE
18:22COCOONED IN SAFETY, BUT SO YOU COULD
18:25understand their trauma, PRAY THROUGH
18:27THEIR TRIAL, UNDERSTAND WHAT PAIN
18:30THEY'RE TALKING FROM, AND BRING A BOMB
18:33FROM ON HIGH TO THEIR TROUBLED, FEVERED
18:36SOUL, AND SET THEM INTO LIBERTY. OH,
18:39that's good preaching, pastor. That's
18:41good preaching. Amen, preacher.
18:46The Lord parts the Red Sea. Yes, he
18:50does. Even though the battle's not
18:52yours, you're called to the battlefield.
18:56God parts the Red Sea, but you still
18:58have to walk through it. If you didn't
19:00think it took faith TO WALK THROUGH THAT
19:02RED SEA, you need to go stand at the
19:05edge of the ocean for a minute.
19:07You know, it's a long ways down, and
19:09that means it's the same amount of time
19:11out. You got to trust God all the way
19:13down. And then you got to trust him all
19:15the way back out.
19:17>> You got to believe that wind that
19:19started blowing isn't all of a sudden
19:21going to take a pause.
19:23>> And so we are on the battlefield and it
19:26requires Oh yes, the Holy Ghost hit me.
19:28IT REQUIRES JUST AS MUCH FAITH TO WALK
19:31DOWN into the bottom of that Red Sea.
19:33YOU GOT SOME PHARAOHS IN YOUR workplace
19:36and they're looking at you and they're
19:37threatening you and they're belittling
19:39you and they're disrespecting you. God's
19:42got a RED SEA IN FRONT OF YOU THAT you
19:44said that's going to be the end of me.
19:46And God gives you an opening, JUST A
19:48CRACK OF A WIND from the Holy Ghost,
19:51FROM THAT PERSON THAT'S A PROBLEM IN
19:52YOUR WORKSPACE. AND GOD'S SAYING, "WILL
19:55YOU WALK DOWN INTO THAT RED SEA? I KNOW
19:59I CAN PART IT FOR YOU, BUT WILL YOU
20:01TRUST ME THAT I'M GOING TO HANDLE YOUR
20:03FAMILY STORM? WILL YOU TRUST ME THAT YOU
20:07CAN EXTEND LOVE WHEN YOU KNOW IT'S NOT
20:09COMING BACK?
20:16DAVID DECLARES THE battle is the Lord's.
20:20You come at me with sword and a shield.
20:23But David still has to pick up five
20:25stone. And then David runs toward
20:27Goliath. Jehoshaphat is told that the
20:30battle belongs to God. Yet if you read
20:32the next directive, they were to sing
20:36all the way to the battle. When was the
20:39last time you were headed to an
20:40outnumbered situation and you had a song
20:42on your heart? That's not a song because
20:45it's good. That's a song because it's
20:48required.
20:50Have you learned to sing when it's
20:52required? The Bible said that they will
20:54look at us and they will require a SONG
20:56FROM US. HOW ABOUT IT when you're in
20:58Babylon and they're requiring a song
21:00from you? Can you still sing on the
21:03shores of the RIVER CHIBIAR OR KAR? CAN
21:06YOU STILL sing when you're in the middle
21:08of downtown Babylon and say, "Hey, they
21:11we wanted to hang our harps on the
21:13willows, our tongue. We wanted to cling
21:16to the roof OF OUR MOUTH. THEY REQUIRED
21:18OF US A SONG." BUT THE LORD'S telling us
21:20in this hour, no matter what kind of
21:22situation you are in, when a SONG IS
21:25REQUIRED, YOU BETTER GET A SONG THAT'S
21:28IN YOUR FRONT POCKET. HALLELUJAH. I'M
21:31NOT TALKING ABOUT ONE YOU FEEL LIKE
21:32SINGING. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT ONE YOU
21:34THINK YOU NEED TO SING. I'M TALKING
21:36ABOUT THAT REQUIRED SONG. HE BROUGHT ME
21:39OUT OF THE MIRY CLAY. HE SET MY FEET ON
21:43THE ROCK TO STAY. He put a song in my
21:46soul today. A song of praise.
21:50Hallelujah.
21:51I'll sing of his wonderful mercy to me.
21:55I'LL SING TILL ALL MEN HIS goodness
21:57shall see. I'll sing OF THAT SALVATION
22:00AT HOME AND ABROAD. till many shall hear
22:03the truth and TRUST IN GOD. HE BROUGHT
22:07ME OUT OF THE MIRY CLAY. THAT'S A SONG
22:10THAT YOU PUT IN YOUR FRONT POCKET AND
22:13YOU HAVE IT THERE. Even when you don't
22:15know if you know A RHYTHM OR YOU DON'T
22:17KNOW A NOTE OR YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE
22:20KEY. YOU DON'T REALIZE IF THERE'S
22:22ANYBODY TO PLAY A HEART BEHIND YOU. YOU
22:24DON'T HAVE A GUITAR. YOU DON'T HAVE AN
22:26ORGAN. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE RHYTHM. BUT
22:29YOU CAN PULL IT OUT AND SING BECAUSE THE
22:32SITUATION REQUIRES SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS
22:36THAT EVEN THOUGH I DON'T FEEL LIKE
22:37SINGING, THERE'S A SONG IN MY HEART. IN
22:42MY HEART, THERE RINGS A MELODY, A
22:46BLESSED HARMONY, A MELODY OF LOVE.
22:52WOO!
22:55Jesus wins at Calvary and yet he still
22:58commands his disciples, you got some
23:01binding to do. You've got some loosening
23:04to do. Whatsoever you bind on earth
23:06shall be bound in heaven. Whatsoever you
23:08loose on earth shall be loosed in
23:10heaven. He fights for us. He fights
23:12through us, but never instead of us. He
23:16always chooses his people. He partners.
23:20This warfare we are in is an all about
23:23us war. And when you realize you're
23:25fighting for your own salvation, then
23:27you get the revelation that the war is
23:29all about them. I used to fight for my
23:32salvation. But now I learned I was
23:33fighting for my kids. And now I start
23:36fighting for my kids. I learned it was
23:37about my grandkids. I used to think
23:39learning how to fight was all about me
23:41staying alive. But when you really
23:43become a warrior, you realize this isn't
23:46about me staying alive. Send me into the
23:49thick of it. Go put me in the
23:52paratroopers and drop me behind enemy
23:55lines BECAUSE I'M THAT ONE WHO TRAINED
23:58NOT TO JUST STAY ALIVE FOR ME. I'M
24:00FIGHTING FOR SOMEBODY OTHER THAN ME.
24:06>> Sometimes I'm praising in this service
24:08for me. But when a church gets to be a
24:11great church is when you walk through
24:13these doors and you realize all your
24:15praise isn't about you getting the
24:17victory. All your praise IS ABOUT
24:20SOMEBODY FIVE ROWS OVER THAT WALKED IN
24:23IN A CHAOS AND A CONFUSION THAT YOU
24:26DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT. BUT BECAUSE
24:28YOU KNOW the battle's worth fighting,
24:34YOU START PRAISING FOR SOMEBODY FIVE
24:37ROWS.
24:39HALLELUJAH. MY SHOUT HASN'T REACHED TO
24:43THEM YET. AND SO I'M GOING TO KEEP ON
24:46SHOUTING. IT'S REACHED THREE ROWS AWAY,
24:50BUT THE PROBLEM'S FIVE ROWS AWAY. SO I'M
24:53GOING TO KEEP ON SHOUTING UNTIL THAT
24:56FIGHT GETS ALL THE WAY TO THEM.
25:05>> This is not a contradiction. This is a
25:08terrible and beautiful tension that
25:10belongs both to the saved and to the
25:12sent. You're not a spectator. You're a
25:15collaborer with God that has already
25:18decided the outcome and yet invites you
25:22to pull the sword. Jesus told Peter, he
25:25said, "Listen, Satan is trying to sift
25:27you like wheat. He's trying to take you
25:28out." He's trying to ruin everything
25:32I've spent the last three and a half
25:33years given to you, say Peter. But guess
25:36what happened? I prayed for you.
25:39Somebody prayed for me.
25:42had me on their mind. Took the time and
25:45prayed for me. I'm so glad they prayed.
25:50I'm so glad they prayed. I'm so glad
25:53they prayed for me.
25:56When does your prayer just be on your
25:58innermost loop? When you can you pray
26:01prayers like a you throw hand grenades
26:04and then when can you start praying
26:06prayers that are like heavy artillery?
26:08It goes to something over the horizon.
26:12This prayer I'm praying right now is a a
26:14piece of artillery somewhere out there
26:17beyond the horizon. I'm sending
26:19something because I know it's a good
26:21fight and it's a battle that's going to
26:23be ahead of us and I know it's already
26:25been behind us. He fights with us. He's
26:29fights through us. He fights for us. But
26:32he never fights instead of us. I pray
26:35Peter that your faith fail you not. So
26:39that when you're converted, when you're
26:40converted, when you're converted, oh
26:42Lord, help the Cathedral of Pentecost,
26:44mature saints to be converted. What's
26:47conversion mean to God? I know what
26:49conversion means to you and me. That
26:51means I'm serving the Lord. But that's
26:53not God's definition. God's definition
26:56of conversion is this, Peter.
27:01When you're converted, YOU WILL
27:03STRENGTHEN YOUR BROTHERS. WHEN YOU'RE
27:07CONVERTED, YOU'RE NOT JUST CONVINCED.
27:10WHEN YOU'RE CONVERTED, YOU'RE FIGHTING
27:12FOR OTHERS. THAT'S THE LORD'S MEASURE OF
27:16CONVERSION. Are you converted right now?
27:19Have you been converted? Or are you just
27:21happy, oh Lord, SET A FIRE IN OUR BONES?
27:24I'm not happy to just save me and mine.
27:27I want to be able to reach beyond my
27:30circumference uh and reach SOME FOLK
27:32THAT ARE FIGHTING AND THEY DON'T EVEN
27:34KNOW WHAT THEY'RE FIGHTING. BUT GOD SAID
27:37HE'LL have deliverance in the name of
27:39the Lord.
27:42>> This is how you're able to stand and say
27:45the Lord will make a way. Just because
27:47we've chosen to have the Lord hide us in
27:49the cliff of the rock doesn't mean Satan
27:52won't pick you out to pick you apart.
27:54He's going to come after you even though
27:56you know where the cliff and the rock
27:57is. It's why preparation is everything.
28:00You don't have to get ready if you are
28:01ready. The ambush will never send the
28:04postcard. The enemy doesn't call ahead.
28:07There's no call from the guard house
28:08saying it's coming your way. He strikes
28:11when you're tired, distracted, divided,
28:13AND SOFT. CONSECRATION IS WHAT WE do
28:16four times this year. But consecration
28:19sometimes commences warfare. And you
28:22know the fighting that we do, worship
28:24and fasting and praying build spiritual
28:27muscle. Cathedral, we can't live this
28:30life as a weak, wimpy Christian. WE GOT
28:33TO FIND SOME TIME TO BUILD some
28:35spiritual muscle. Because the one thing
28:38I can assure you IS IF YOU STAY HERE
28:41LONG ENOUGH FOR SOME REALITY WALK UP to
28:44you, warfare is on its way. Before you
28:47get war time though, GOD'S GOING TO GIVE
28:49YOU SOME QUIET TIME AND HE'S GOING TO
28:52ALLOW YOU TO WORK YOUR SPIRITUAL MUSCLE.
28:54I'M GOING TO NEED SOME FOLK IN THIS
28:56HOUSE WHO UNDERSTAND THAT ONE OF THE
28:59REASONS I COME TO CHURCH, THE HOUSE I
29:02COME TO THIS PLACE EVERY TIME THE DOORS
29:03ARE OPEN IS BECAUSE I NEED TO BUILD UP
29:06MY SPIRITUAL MUSCLES.
29:09I need some FOLK WHO UNDERSTAND MY
29:11PRAISING ISN'T JUST TO GET ME THROUGH TO
29:14THE NEXT SERVICE. I'M NOT JUST DRAGGING
29:17FROM SERVICE TO SERVICE. I'M GETTING IN
29:20CHURCH SO I can learn how to flex.
29:25Sometimes you got to push the plate away
29:27and fast a little while. Turn your plate
29:30down and say, "Lord, fill me up with
29:32everything you have for me because I
29:34need some muscle for this fight. I have
29:37to endure." Is there anybody who
29:39understands I need to be strong to
29:41finish this race? Does anybody
29:43understand I need to be delivered FROM
29:46SOME THINGS? LORD, deliver us from those
29:49who are never trying to strengthen their
29:52spiritual muscle. Never engaged. They go
29:54to 24/7. They go to the different gyms
29:57and work out. They go to Planet Fitness
29:59and they they do their push-ups and
30:01situps in the morning. They walk there
30:03two miles three times a week. I NEED
30:06SOME FOLK WHO UNDERSTAND THAT IF I
30:08STRONG IN MY BODY, I ALSO NEED TO BE
30:11STRONG IN MY SPIRIT. CUZ THERE'S SOME
30:14THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME ON
30:16ANY GIVEN DAY THAT I'M NEEDING MORE THAN
30:20PHYSICAL STRENGTH TO WARD OFF. I NEED
30:22THE SPIRIT TO MOVE THROUGH ME.
30:27>> And it shall come to pass in the last
30:29days, sayeth God, I will pour out my
30:31spirit on all flesh. your sons and your
30:34daughters shall.
30:37You know what prophesying is? It's not
30:39mumbling. It's not sneaking around in a
30:42quiet hyphen moment when everybody's got
30:44their coffee half drunk saying, "Oh, the
30:46Lord's been good to me." No. Prophesying
30:49is sticking your chest out and looking
30:52with a clear eye and saying, "I know God
30:55is good. He's rich and increase with
30:58goods. He owns a cattle on a thousand
31:01hillsh. Everything in the book is mine.
31:04I'm standing on the promises of Christ
31:07my King. I'm walking with him. Through
31:10every valley low, over every mountain
31:13high. There's one more river to cross.
31:16One more mountain to climb. ONE MORE
31:18BATTLE THAT I got to go through. Leaving
31:20all my troubles behind. One more BATTLE
31:23WITH THE DEVIL. AND I KNOW HE'LL
31:25UNDERSTAND. I'M GOING THROUGH WITH
31:28JESUS. HALLELUJAH. HOLDING. THAT'S
31:31PROPHESYING. I NEED SOME PROPHETS IN THE
31:34HOUSE. I NEED SOME YOUNG MEN THAT'LL
31:36PROPHESY. GOD IS GREAT AND GREATLY TO BE
31:42PRAISED. GOD IS GREAT IN MY SOUL.
31:50Sister Elms, come. God has chosen to
31:53place us here now. What an honor it is
31:57to be on this battlefield. Y'all, South
31:59Florida's special. I know you hear me
32:01talk about it, but if you've never lived
32:03in another part of the world, you don't
32:05know how special this place is. If
32:07you've never tried to fight the devil uh
32:09in other places, their devil's real
32:11there, too. But there is a special
32:14panorama of hell that is situated at the
32:17buffet line in South Florida. There are
32:20demons and spirits and religions that
32:23abide down here that have yet to visit
32:26places up there. And I also believe that
32:29the coastal cities fight a Leviathan
32:32kind of demon. If you don't know it, try
32:35to go to the middle of America and see
32:37if it's traumatized like the coastlands
32:40are. The coastal cities always carry a
32:43different kind of demonic activity
32:46that's demonstrated when people are drug
32:49laced and walking these streets. What
32:51happens? It's an honor to be in this
32:54battlefield. It's the same time where
32:56God said it would be great peril, but at
32:58the same time of great peril, he said
33:01there's going to be great promise. The
33:03simultaneously there's a great falling
33:06away and there's a great outpouring.
33:09Coincidentally,
33:10love will be waxing cold for some and
33:13others will be strong and doing
33:15exploits. Our church, I don't want it to
33:18be half of this and half of that. I want
33:21you to understand how to rest in the
33:23Lord. I want you to understand that he's
33:26good all the time. I want you to
33:28understand that we're not supposed to be
33:29fighting the devil all the time. I want
33:31you to know we're supposed to be loving
33:33people. We can't save not one demon.
33:36We're not to convert one angel, but he
33:39sent us two people. And so, which of
33:43these circumstances will govern the
33:45cathedral? For the next several weeks,
33:47I'm going to talk about the armor of God
33:51to where we are not paralyzed by peril,
33:54but we are propelled by promise.
33:56Newton's law says for every action there
34:00is an equal and opposite reaction. But
34:04God's law is not Newton's law. For every
34:07action by Satan, there is a powerful
34:11much more grand reaction by God. Newton
34:16says if this happens over here, then
34:18that's got to happen over here. But the
34:21Bible said where sin doth abound, it
34:24doesn't say grace doth abound. It said
34:27grace doth much.
34:30>> WOO! I WISH SOMEBODY HEARD THAT. I WISH
34:33SOMEBODY REALLY BELIEVED THAT GRACE DOES
34:37MUCH MORE ABOUND. I know some are
34:41defeated, BUT THE LORD DIDN'T SAY YOU'RE
34:43going to be a conqueror over the attack
34:45of THE DEVIL. HE SAID HE'S GOING TO MAKE
34:47YOU WHAT?
34:49>> MORE. SHOUT MORE.
34:51>> MORE THAN CONQUERORS.
35:00The Lord shall cause thine enemies to
35:03rise up against thee, to be smitten
35:06before thy face. They shall come out
35:09against thee one way,
35:15but they shall flee before thee
35:19seven ways.
35:21They thought they had a plan coming in.
35:25They thought they had a way to back out.
35:29They thought if they just took the road
35:31out that they came in by that they would
35:35be safe.
35:37But when God shows up and does his work,
35:41Satan is going to be so discombobulated.
35:45They won't even all remember the way out
35:47that they came in. They'll go seven
35:51different ways. And whether that's a
35:53metaphor or whether it's a literal, the
35:57message is just the same. He will be
36:00utterly defeated.
36:02So shall Isaiah 59:19. So shall they
36:05fear the name of the Lord from the west
36:08and his glory from the rising of the
36:10sun. When the enemy shall come in like a
36:13flood, follow me. With the enemy, when
36:15the enemy shall come in like a flood,
36:18the spirit of the Lord shall raise up a
36:20ch standard against him. Now listen
36:22listen the original document shows a
36:26comma after flood
36:28>> but as they have gone back to the
36:30original Hebrew they discovered there
36:34was no punctuation in the days of the
36:36Hebrew like we have nowadays and they
36:39recognized that there was a flaw put in
36:43by the interpreters of English
36:45pronunciation
36:47and they realized that the comma fell in
36:50the wrong spot.
36:51It was supposed to be not when the enemy
36:54shall come in like a flood, the spirit
36:57of the Lord shall stand up against him.
36:59They said the comma is supposed to
37:01happen after the come when the enemy
37:04shall come in.
37:08Comma
37:09like a flood the spirit OF THE LORD NOT
37:12BARELY COVERING THE FEET, NOT JUST
37:14BARELY COVERING THE HIP. LIKE A FLOOD.
37:18THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS GOING TO DRIVE
37:20THEM OUT BEFORE YOU. THE ENEMY IS NOT
37:23THE SIZE OF A FLOOD. THE LORD'S RESPONSE
37:27IS THE SIDE OF A FLOOD. NOAH PREACHED
37:31ABOUT A FLOOD. GOD DELIVERED A FLOOD,
37:35BUT SATAN HAS A FLOOD STILL COMING
37:38AGAINST HIM.
37:44>> Shall we stand?
37:48You guys know I'm enamored with special
37:50operations of the American military.
37:54My uncle was a Navy Seal. I'm so proud
37:57of the time he spent in hindsight. His
38:01his life was more or less kind of
38:03broken. Even though he was a friend to
38:06me, the way it impacted his children and
38:10even his life until cancer took him, he
38:12was affected by tremendous PTSD.
38:16And back then it was really not
38:17diagnosed. But I can do it right now. I
38:20can diagnose it seeing how his children
38:23have ended up being and and then even
38:26his wife, my aunt who's still alive. He
38:29was very very harshly affected from his
38:33time in the SEALs during Vietnam. He was
38:36the SEALs in Vietnam. And uh and yet
38:41those men live in a perpetual state of
38:45readiness.
38:46Many times in days that it's not
38:48necessary. They get wet and cold and
38:51exhausted.
38:52Why? So they can stay lethal. You don't
38:56have to worry about giving them 10 days
38:58to get ready. Not with these special
39:02elite people. All you got to do is say
39:04go. And they've already got in their
39:06living room, in their house, in their
39:08truck, what is called go bags. Those
39:12bags are everything they will need. And
39:15it's ready in their they'll blindfold
39:17themselves. They're close their eyes
39:19every day. They're cleaning their
39:21weapons and they're getting acquainted
39:22where they can do things without anybody
39:24knowing why. They're perpetually ready
39:27because they know that peace is
39:30maintained by those who stay dangerous.
39:33The Delta Force operators rehearse the
39:36same room clearing drills 10,000 times
39:40so that when the real door blows open at
39:430300,
39:44muscle memory takes over and their lives
39:47are saved because they were ready.
39:49Folks, I have told you about all of the
39:54AI. I've I've I've told you don't be
39:56afraid of it. I've hoped this church
39:59leans into learning about it. I hope you
40:02learn it. lean into learning about
40:04clawed code. I hope you are spending
40:06your hobby time trying to figure out how
40:09agentic artificial intelligence can
40:12empower your ability to get things
40:14accomplished. I hope you're leaning all
40:17the way into it because if you know your
40:19Bible, the mark of the beast is not
40:22something named the beast. It's when it
40:24requires you to worship. Okay? So lean
40:28into everything until it requires you to
40:31worship. And then when it requires you
40:33to worship, say, "Aha, now I know."
40:37Until then, press on, dear soldier. We
40:41are to occupy until he comes. Not huddle
40:45in some cubby like quivering quail. No,
40:48we're to occupy. MARCH AS SOLDIERS WITH
40:51A helmet of salvation, a shield of
40:54faith, breastplate of righteousness, a
40:56belt of truth, shoes of peace, a sword
40:59of the spirit, AND GO FORTH PRAYING
41:02ALWAYS.
41:04Warfare is coming. I'm talking about
41:07Door Dash trouble. You're not going to
41:09have to give it your address. The devil
41:12knows your front porch and he's about to
41:13send your phone a picture that he was
41:16there and he just delivered you a box of
41:19troubles.
41:21I'm talking about Door Dash trouble. I'm
41:24talking about things that some
41:25frustrations you can't shake. But
41:27because you're a worshipper, because you
41:29were ready to fight, because you knew
41:32how to fast, ah, these things you can't
41:34do in a hurry. YOU GOT TO JUST KEEP THEM
41:36SHARP. YOU'RE GOING to have the capacity
41:39to stand there and take a licking and
41:41keep on ticking. CAN I FIND SOMEBODY WHO
41:43CAN TESTIFY THAT BECAUSE I sit in this
41:46sanctuary, I GET STRENGTH BECAUSE I'VE
41:49GOT BROTHERS AND SISTERS near me. I get
41:52some strength. Some days I'm strength
41:54for them. Some days they're strength for
41:56me. Listen, Lord. Oh, I I I like
42:00YouTube. I spend more time on YouTube
42:03for education than any other thing.
42:05Okay? I will go and watch podcast. I'll
42:08listen to podcast. But don't ever
42:11substitute church
42:13>> with a podcast.
42:16>> I know there are better preachers than
42:18me. Don't substitute YOUR PASTOR FOR A
42:22BETTER PREACHER.
42:24>> I know there are men who know more
42:26Hebrew and Greek than me. THEY'RE
42:28IMPRESSIVE. BUT DON'T SUBSTITUTE YOUR
42:31PASTOR FOR a superstar who knows a lot
42:34of Hebrew and a lot of Greek.
42:37I'm not trying to put myself on a
42:39pedestal, but the Lord who knows all the
42:42future knows there's coming a day when
42:46all of this chaos of the digital world
42:49is going to be melted down. And we're
42:52going to be so crazy. We're going to
42:54need relationships. We're going to need
42:56to be able to walk in and hug somebody.
42:58We're going to need somebody that'll
43:00weep with us. Somebody that'll grab our
43:02hand and dance with us. There's some
43:05little kids that you need you to walk by
43:07and tussle their hair and you let them
43:10run. One of the great joys of my pastor.
43:12It happened this Sunday. Nata, little
43:16boy. I'm telling you what, Brilan and
43:19the other little boy.
43:22>> Noah and Brilen. Noah's the little one.
43:25Brillan's the older one. I sat down
43:28right there where Sister Morgan's
43:30sitting. They were running around and I
43:33said, "Brillin, come to your pastor."
43:36And that boy ran so hard to me, I felt
43:39like I was a baseball back stop. I was
43:42worried that I could hold up. He ran and
43:46literally dove.
43:58>> You know how much honor that was? He
44:00could not have honored me more. There's
44:04nothing he could have said that honored
44:07me more than the moment about two steps
44:11too far away,
44:13he jumped.
44:18And in those
44:21two minute,
44:25those seconds
44:27that went by so slow while he was
44:36I was saying, "You're this boy's
44:39pastor."
44:41I caught him. No, I looked up and he
44:45thought, "If my big brother can do that,
44:49I can do that, too." I didn't think I
44:52could catch two at the same time. Here
44:55he comes running. My brain starts
44:58turning, saying, "You better move
45:00Brillan fast." I only had time to move
45:04Brillan to this side. Noah came straight
45:07at me and I had to comport him midair to
45:12land on my left leg.
45:17Now, if you don't know, I spent all of
45:19Monday in the emergency room.
45:30Don't worry about me. We figured it out.
45:33Those C scans, I thought they were cat
45:36scans.
45:37>> CT.
45:38>> They're CT scans.
45:48>> Don't say the same thing to her in the
45:51room. We got to give her some ability to
45:53see these scans
45:55>> because that's what my wife says they
45:56are. Okay,
46:05let me tell you something. When I was
46:07praying this afternoon,
46:12I looked at these pictures.
46:15That top one over there is my dad
46:17standing beside me. Look at me trying to
46:20be cool like him. See how his hands are
46:23right like this? Notice how I don't have
46:25my hands taller than my dad's right
46:27there. No, I'm just trying to be like my
46:30daddy in that picture. It was 1993.
46:36Dad, actually it was before that. That
46:38may have been our initiation service.
46:42And then there I am sitting on the
46:43drums. Look, back then I was a better
46:46drummer than you heard tonight, but in
46:49my head I'm better now than I was then.
46:53Uh, then you see Brother Hail with his
46:56hand up over on the left. That's still
46:58in the old church, I believe. Then see
47:01me and my wife. That was one of our
47:03first Christmas pictures that we made
47:04for our church in the middle there. I
47:08got all my kids on our lap. Winter's
47:10holding Ethan. I want you I dare you. I
47:13double dog dare you to try it now.
47:15Double dog dare you to try it now. And a
47:19E I mean Austin's so sweet. He's the
47:21center of it all. And then look at
47:24Sister Bonia all attituded up. You can
47:27tell that Rome got her sweetness from
47:30her father because Scarlet is sitting
47:33there all sassy knowing she had it like
47:36that.
47:38Then in that bottom picture, I don't
47:41know how that was our
47:44that couldn't was that our fiveyear
47:45anniversary. That was in 1997. In March
47:49of 1997,
47:51I took this church in '92 and it had
47:53gone through three pastors. So I told
47:57the church when I took it, we're not
47:58going to have a anniversary every year
48:02like I'm going to be leaving after two
48:03years. We're not even going to celebrate
48:05me being here until five years because I
48:08want to let you know I'm not here to
48:09run. Okay? That's that's the way I
48:12taught it. And we have not had an
48:13anniversary except every five years even
48:15since we missed one year. But that was
48:18our first fiveyear anniversary. My
48:20brother-in-law and sister in that
48:21picture, my mom and dad, my nieces and
48:23nephews, my in-laws,
48:25that was a victory.
48:28Now, I could go through every picture
48:30and tell you that because when I was
48:31praying today, I thought, "Every picture
48:33makes me want to fight."
48:37Every picture makes me want to fight.
48:40No, not fight people,
48:44>> right?
48:46>> Not fight Davy City Hall.
48:50No, fighting the Holy Ghost. See that
48:54Maggie Joah come back there? Look at her
48:57all happy, smiling, clapping her hands.
49:00The same woman you see up there. She's
49:03the same woman you'll meet walking these
49:05halls.
49:07Look at Sister Lisa Wilson right there.
49:09Both hands up high in the air, smiling
49:13because her God has her. That same Lisa
49:17sitting right over here right now. Are
49:20you a backslider against that back wall?
49:23No. No. No. No. She's sitting by her
49:25son.
49:26I want to fight when I see that. See
49:28sister Haiti back there all wrapped up
49:31with another soul weeping in the
49:33presence of God. Look at brother Eric.
49:35That picture was taken. I I don't know
49:38if his wife had been taken yet or not,
49:40BUT I WANT TO FIGHT when I see that. See
49:43sister April there? She told the Lord,
49:46"I want a daughter just like Scarlet."
49:48She was one of our best babysitters for
49:50Scarlet. And look at this. Sister
49:52Lauren, where you at, Lauren? She's by
49:55she's teaching right now. Well, she's
49:57doing exactly what Scarlet would do
49:59because Sister April got the answer from
50:02God. She got a daughter exactly like my
50:07daughter. Now, who knows? We'll we'll
50:10we'll let them be separate creatures.
50:12BUT I WANT TO FIGHT for that. And every
50:14picture, see Faith right there holding
50:17up that as a graduate of LXM. YOU KNOW
50:19WHY I'M GOING TO FIGHT? I'M GOING TO
50:21FIGHT THAT my shout doesn't just save my
50:24own INNERMOST LOOP. I'M SHOUTING THAT MY
50:27SHOUT CAN SAVE THAT PART and that part
50:31and that part. We're going to close by
50:33opening this altar. I went longer than I
50:36told Zach I would. Let's walk up to this
50:38altar and let's commission our hearts
50:40and let's consecrate our hearts. Let's
50:43take a constitution that we're going to
50:46learn to be warriors today. We're going
50:49to learn to fight. Come on, lift your