Passion Conference 2018 A Life in Alignment
[Applause]
I cannot even begin to tell you how
excited I am to be here thrilled
finally to be a passion this is my first
time being at passion I I’m the new kid
on the block thank you for making the
new kid feel welcome it is a privilege
to be a part of what God has already
been doing through this movement for
these years these decades that God has
been sowing seed into the lives of of
you I was being a bit nostalgic as I was
here last night listening to Bishop
Louie bringing the word to us but I was
nostalgic because it was about two
decades plus ago that I was in Atlanta
and I was sitting in a conference that
was about the size of just this one
section right here on the floor for a
group that at the time was called the
impact movement and is a little arm of
Campus Crusade for Christ that would
gather together a group of young people
in Atlanta high school and college age
the last years of high school and the
beginning of my college years I would
come to the impact movement in Atlanta
and sit just like you are and someone
that had walked the road a little bit
longer than I had would stand on the
platform and tell me that I was going to
be an arrow that the Lord would shoot
out that the impact that my life could
have if I would just follow Jesus would
be an impact the likes of which I could
never imagine
I came to echo what it is that that
Louie has said y’all don’t even know
what it is that the Lord has in store
for you can’t even imagine I’m trying to
tell you that whatever is in your mind
right now about what God might do with
your life it is too small for what he’s
actually planning to do
too small you cannot fathom what God has
in mind for you the reason why I can say
that with that much boldness it’s
because while there are 30-plus thousand
of us that are gathered together in
these three arenas and then those that
are on the other side of the screen in
their homes 30,000 sounds like a big
number unless you consider the fact that
was seven plus billion people on the
planet the fact that he’d let us be the
ones that are recipients of what he’s
done over these last few weekends really
it’s just or last few days really it’s
just a drop in the bucket 30,000 sounds
like a lot but in the grand scheme of
all the people that could have been here
y’all he chose us that means he intended
for you to know you’re an arrow that
your expectation is that you’re getting
ready to go places the likes of which
you could never imagine
I’ve asked the Lord to put an
exclamation point on our conference
together in this last session to just
feel what it is whatever it is he’s been
doing in your heart that he wants to
continue to do and I’m gonna ask him to
do that in Jesus name would you bow your
heads with me Lord I thank you so much
for this privilege I thank you that you
speak and that we your daughters and
sons have the privilege to hear I thank
you Lord for the great gift that it is
to know that you have allowed us to be
arrows in your hands and we say right
now collectively wherever you send us we
will go whatever mission you send us on
Lord we’re we’re game for it father we
surrender to you and now Lord do what
you always do open up the windows of
heaven and come in here and speak to us
father we’re so glad each other is here
but we didn’t come to see each other we
came to see you and so father speak
somebody say sweet Lord say speak Lord
we are your sons we’re your daughters
and we came to hear a word take this
simple message would you divide it about
35,000 different ways so that every
person
the sound of my voice will know that
today they have been in the presence of
God in Jesus name everybody agreed when
they said amen amen
oh I like y’all y’all talk back to me I
go to that kind of a church where they
talk but you know I go to the kind of
church where if the preaching gets
really good to us we might throw
something at the pastor a shoe a baby
anything might go flying up there y’all
are my people y’all came to have church
so I have three boys it’s a little bit
scary to me that they are nearly and
will be very soon in the next few years
will be about your age three sons the
distinguishing characteristic about my
boys is that they are giants they are
huge voice my 15 year old is 6 foot 2
inches tall he wears a size 14 men’s
shoe my 13 year old is about 6 1 he was
a 13 men’s shoe and they towered over me
I have a 9 year old who’s coming up in
the ranks with his brothers they are
tall boys somebody come help me feed
these people and one of the
distinguishing characteristics about or
what makes their size work for them
rather is that they do love sports so
whatever sport is sort of in season
that’s what we’re playing at the time
my second son for a lot of years he’s in
a basketball now but for a lot of years
baseball was this thing and I enjoyed
that
I enjoyed baseball season I liked going
out there for spring ball I liked spring
ball cuz you go sit in the cool of the
evening while your kid is practicing I
remember all those years of Little
League when he was just coming up and
we’d sit out there and the cool of the
spring evening under the lights of the
bleachers watching him practice and
enjoying just that that whole atmosphere
I like spring ball so much the only
problem with spring ball is that it is
going to become summer ball and I don’t
know what happens where you live
wherever you’re coming from but I can’t
tell you in Dallas Texas which is where
I still live
and where I was born and raised in
Dallas Texas in the summer time it
doesn’t warm up slightly it gets hot
I’m talking about slap your mama hot
that kind of hot the kind of hot where
you feel like the Sun must be mad at you
about something like you did something
to the Sun and the Sun is trying to get
you back all summer long that’s what it
feels like and you’re sitting out there
at a game trying to enjoy your kids game
and it really still is okay when there’s
just one game the problem is that at the
end of every season there’s a tournament
so you got to be out there on a Thursday
at 8 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and noon and
2:00 p.m. and then depending upon how
your kids team did you’re gonna have to
come back on Friday at 8 a.m. and 10
a.m. and then they give you a little
lunch break but you got to come back for
the 2 p.m. game the 4 p.m. game and then
if your kids team had the nerve to do
well you got to come back again on
Saturday for the 8 a.m. game in 10 a.m.
and noon and 2:00 and man you’re sitting
out there under the Blazing Sun trying
to be happy that your kid is doing well
really you’re wondering if it’s ever
okay to preyde lose so you can go home
I will never confirm nor deny that I
have ever done that but I will tell you
that we were sitting out there at a
tournament so several years ago Sun was
blazing we were so excited for the lunch
break just because that meant we would
be able to go to a restaurant where
there would be air conditioned and ice
water that actually had ice in it
we got refreshed we came back we drove
our SUV up into the parking lot opened
up the back of the SUV so that we could
pull out all the gear that we needed to
go to the next game in the tournament we
were three days into the tournament hot
sweaty they were doing well we were
trying to be excited about it ready for
the next game I was walking behind my
son to get from where we had parked the
car over toward the dugout where the
next game was going to be played and so
I gathered up all the stuff you know the
ice chests that you have and the
umbrella that you might have to go over
your head and you know the water bottles
the the backpacks the the baseballs the
mitts all that stuff and I was following
behind my son my second son Jerry jr. is
a fairly Gregory
personality he’s outgoing he’s excited
for a challenge so I could see that in
his step as I followed behind him I
could see a skip and his step his chin
was up his shoulders were back he was
excited about the next game and I gotta
tell you he’s pretty good in baseball he
has a natural knack for it I remember at
10 years old was the first time he got a
good hit and sent it sailing over the
fence line at 10 years old
and I think it’s partly because of his
size just a lot of power behind his
swing a great as a first baseman so we
were really excited about his success in
baseball and and I watched him as he
kind of hopped and skipped over to the
next game just excited about the next
challenge in the tournament but because
I was following behind him I had my eyes
glued on him and I could see when
something changed I could see that as we
took the short walk from where we parked
the car over to the dugout I could see
that his shoulders started to hunched
over and his head hung down I could see
that that that skip that had been in his
step at changed he was kind of walking
like he was nervous he was wringing his
hands a little bit I saw that he was
looking around his eyes darting and
looking a little bit sketchy I was
trying to figure out what happened to my
boy it was a short walk from where we
packed a car over to the dugout and all
of a sudden his countenance had
completely changed so I started looking
around trying to figure out what was
going on why did he look so insecure and
fearful all of a sudden I realized that
as we were going toward the dugout we
were walking past some kids from another
team they were all laying on the grass
underneath the shade of an oak tree
getting ready for the next game as I
passed them I could see this was the
team we were about to play next kept
walking and I kept getting a look at
these boys and when I looked at them I
realized what my son’s problem was we
had faced this team before we had faced
them earlier in the season and when this
team had played my son’s team earlier in
the season they had annihilated us it
had been a complete embarrassment a
complete upset this team right here
y’all they were serious baseball players
you know the kind of players that had
the serious parents
ain’t nobody got time for all that these
are kind of parents you know when they
gave birth to their son they put a mint
on one hand a baseball in the other
they’ve been waiting for this their
whole lives and these boys weren’t good
they’ve been playing since they were
toddlers I mean really little this was
one of those elite teams they were
amazing and so my boy saw this was the
team he was about to play and the closer
he got to the dugout the more he passed
them and realized that they were the
players I watched his countenance change
in response to that but we had to walk
right by them to get to the dugout as we
walked past there were two players they
were talking to each other one was
whispering to the other I think he
thought he was whispering but we could
hear him he leaned over to the other one
and he said there goes that big kid from
the Red Sox team is he the one that hit
the ball and it went over the fence yeah
he was the one at first base the one
that caught any of the outs that we got
in the game that was him so that’s Gerry
Shire when my boy I heard his name
crossed the lips of the opposing team
members those shoulders that had been
hanging down all of a sudden I watched
him pop back again I watched his chin go
up I watched him get a little swag back
in his step as he headed over toward the
dugout in fact we had to bring him down
a few notches before the game started
it’s amazing really how your countenance
changes when you’re really over here and
understand what the enemy thinks about
you when he sees you coming it doesn’t
mean that the challenge goes away it
means that in the face of it you’re
different your stance is different
because you recognize that when the
enemy sees a door or a son of God coming
his way he’s shaking in his boots not
because of you but because of the Holy
Spirit of God that lives on the inside
of me
can’t to tell somebody the day but even
if you don’t believe what it is that the
Word of God declares to be true about
you you need to know that the enemy does
he knows that every single thing that
God’s Word declares to be true about you
every word that has been declared over
you in these last few days of this
conference even if you’re not convinced
about it the enemy is he knows that you
have been forgiven he knows that there
is therefore now no condemnation for
those of us who are in Christ Jesus he
knows that you have been given the
victory he knows that you have been made
competent by the Spirit of God he knows
that there is therefore now no
condemnation for you or for me no shame
no guilt he knows that you have not been
given a spirit of fear but of power and
love and of a sound mind and y’all he
knows that in the end we win
and I’m saying what ashamed it would be
for the enemy to believe more about your
potential than you do what ashamed it
would be for us to go out of here with
all of this inspiration that we have
been given this investment of God’s Word
that he has gathered us together over
the course of these days to worship in
spirit and in truth and to hear his word
declared true over our lives what a
tragedy it would be for us to walk out
of here and still live like we were
before we came through these doors so
what the enemy will do is scatter
challenge in front of your life because
listen you’re going back home to
challenge y’all do know we going back
home in a little while right and don’t
we wish we can wake up to this every
single day don’t we wish that we could
have God’s Word spoken over our lives
with this much authority and power every
single day and be in the presence of
leaders who can lead us into the
presence of God in worship every single
day like this but the reality is we
going back home the challenges of your
university campus the challenges of your
home
relationships your friendships on your
job those challenges will be sprawled
out in front of you when you get home
and let me tell you something what the
enemy hopes is that the sight of them
will cause you to shrink back in so much
fear and insecurity that you’ll never
step up to the plate of being who God
has called you to be listen if you’ve
placed faith in Jesus Christ I hope you
know that the enemy understands he
cannot destroy you
he knows his chances are over of
destroying you so he is going to spend
the rest of his time and the rest of his
energy just trying to discourage you
trying to distract you so that you’ll
shrink back in fear and insecurity and
not step up to the plate and be who God
has called you to be it is at least in
part to this end that the Apostle Paul
gives us a passage of scripture that has
become a lifeline for me in fact I was
talking with Christine yesterday Chris
and I have known each other for a very
long time very close friends and she was
asking me what I was gonna speak on and
I had several thoughts of directions
that I was leaning toward but in the end
we as we were talking the question came
up if there was only one thing you could
say to them if there’s only one message
that you ever have the opportunity to
tell these students these young people
that will be gathered together on this
occasion what would that message be and
there was one thing that immediately
popped into my heart and my mind for you
at the end of this year’s passions
passion conference the words of the
Apostle Paul he writes them in the book
of Ephesians listen let me just tell you
quickly before I read this passage you
got if you’ve not read the book of
Ephesians you don’t have to read the
book of Ephesians yeah listen it’s it’s
like for real
the Apostle Paul y’all know he was a bad
boy he gave us most of what would become
the New Testament letters written to
first century believers that now
disciple us and help us to mature as
believers and as the body of Christ
and scholars say that of all of Paul’s
writing really the cream of the crop the
cherry on top of the cake is Ephesians
because in the book of Ephesians y’all
he just spends the first half of the
book just rehearsing who you are as a
daughter or a son he wants to make sure
you step up to the plate rise to the
occasion of who you’ve been recreated in
Christ to become those of you who place
faith in Jesus Christ last night who
stood to your feet at the end of pastor
Louie’s message and you placed faith in
Jesus listen the old has gone in the
newest car Bob you’re a daughter you
were silent and you have full rights and
privileges that have been granted to you
the Apostle Paul wants you to know what
is the hope of his calling and choosing
you he writes in the 1st and 2nd and 3rd
chapter about the treasure that you have
he wants you to know about the mercy
that has been lavished upon you the
grace that has been given to you he
wants you to know that if you’ve been
rejected by everybody else you’ve been
hand-picked chosen and adopted by the
one true God he wants you to know that
if you’ve dug a pit of sin for yourself
that is so deep you can’t find your way
out of it that the mercy of God is so
great and so grand that it can reach
down into any pit and snatch you up out
of it once and for all
in fact Paul gets so worked up that by
the time he gets to the middle of the
first chapter he bursts out in a prayer
and he says I’m praying that the eyes of
your heart would be open so that you
would just know what is the hope of his
calling and choosing you and after going
over and over and on and on about the
lavishness the richness the grace the
mercy the goodness the adoption that has
been poured out over us the forgiveness
that has been granted to us he’s trying
to figure out how do I close this letter
to make sure they step up to the plate
how do I put an exclamation point on
passion 20-18 to make sure that what God
has given them they don’t hand over to
the enemy as soon as they walk out the
door and the Apostle Paul writes these
words to us in Ephesians chapter 6
beginning in verse 2
he says finally you be strong in the
Lord and in the strength of his might he
says put on the full armor of God so
that you may be able to stand firm
against the scheme
somebody say schemes against the schemes
of the devil he says we wrestle not we
struggle not against flesh and blood but
against the rulers against the powers
against the world Force’s of this
darkness against the spiritual forces of
wickedness that are in the heavenly
places he says so therefore you might as
well just go ahead and put down all the
weapons of this world that aren’t
working for you anyway and take up some
weapons that actually have some power he
says take up the full armor of God so
that you may be able to resist in the
evil day and having done everything to
stand firm
he says you ought to just stand firm
therefore in these few verses of
Scripture the Apostle Paul begins to
introduce to us a concept that has not
been at least in the context of thus far
in church development at that time had
not been as overtly described as it is
right now in Paul’s letter he brings up
the topic of spiritual warfare
he says you have an enemy he says I want
to make sure that it’s loud and clear
there are other places in the Old
Testament and throughout throughout the
new y’all where we can infer that we
have a spiritual unseen battle going on
but this is the first time that an
author comes right out and says you have
an enemy and he is scheming against you
that when you leave this place and just
go in a while when I leave this place in
just a little while you need to know
that there is an enemy he is against you
he is not for you he plans to do
anything and everything in his power to
stir up challenge in your life enough to
cause you to shrink back and not rise up
and stand firm and the victory that you
have been given in Christ Jesus that’s
why the Apostle Paul says
and firm cuz you have an enemy an enemy
that wants you to think that just
because he is invisible he is also
fictional he wants to be chalked up to
nothing more than a caricature a cartoon
picture a myth a character for a kids
Nursery Rhyme he doesn’t want you to
recognize the influence that he has over
your life possibly to to cause you to
never walk into the full expression of
God’s grace and goodness in your life he
is sinister he is a master illusionist
and he is a deceiver and he hopes to
cleverly disguise himself behind life’s
most pressing problems to where you will
forget he is even there he wants you to
point fingers at him or at her at your
boss at your parent at that particular
professor or your RA in your dorm he
wants you to think it’s that advisor
it’s that financial problem anything
flesh-and-blood because he knows as long
as we’re looking at the flesh-and-blood
we will direct all the wrong weapons at
the wrong culprit will sink her money
will work we’ll think our rationale and
logic will actually work we think that
the Diploma we’re about to to achieve
and receive will think the diploma will
be work worth it we’ll think that the
connections will work anything natural
cannot take care of the supernatural
when your problem is unseen and
spiritual you need weapons that work in
that realm so the Apostle Paul says you
got to know first of all that your enemy
is not the person you were sitting next
to today that your enemy is not your
parent at home your enemy is not that
professor that is difficult to work with
your real enemy is not your boss on your
part-time job your real enemy is unseen
he is hoping y’all that we will forget
he’s there he is the master deceiver so
there’s a little church around the
corner from my house in Dallas I’ve been
taking my kids there since they were
little to Harvest Festival that’s
basically this church’s answer to
Halloween so we will go there for
Harvest Festival and this church has a
good old-fashioned trunk-or-treat does
anybody know what I mean when I say
trunk-or-treat
okay all right so trunk-or-treat for
those of you who are not clear on what
that is that’s what members of the
congregation volunteer they volunteer to
bring their cars into the parking lot on
Harvest Festival night so that they can
open up the trunk of their car so you go
into the parking lot all the trunks are
open and each person has basically
crafted a carnival game or some sort of
fair game out of the trunk of the car so
kids line up one trunk after the other
they play whatever the game is and then
most of the time whether they win or
lose the person that owns that car gives
them a whole bunch of candy and sends
them home we’re always so grateful so we
stand in line one car after the other
waiting on bags the candy and we play
one game after the other a few years ago
the biggest line the longest line that
the carnival wasn’t behind the car it
was behind the bed of a truck it was
really clever a huge truck had been
parked in the parking lot and they put a
stepladder right at the bed of the truck
so that a kid could walk into the bed of
the truck
they had attached a table top which was
about the same size as the bed of the
truck
they had attached it to the side of the
truck cut six holes into it put some
fabric some drapery over it and out from
those holes every few seconds a puppet
would pop through they gave the kid a
huge plastic mallet and the job of the
kid was to run up and down the inside of
the bed of the truck as he tried to hit
the puppets on top of the head it was a
homemade whack-a-mole game as what it
was and it was the longest line me and
Jude at the time he was like four Jude
is my youngest me and Jude are standing
in line were waiting on our turn behind
us there’s another kid he’s with us his
mom he’s probably four or five as well
and y’all he was hysterical because he
was annoyed at this whole situation and
he was making sure she knew it he was
first of all in the way cuz mom I don’t
understand why I gotta stand in this
long line didn’t we come to the carnival
to have fun this ain’t fun standing in
line ain’t fun I have an idea mom how
about this how about I go play all these
other games while you stand in line and
hold our place and then when it’s our
turn I’ll come back and join you in life
but he was not only annoyed about the
line the four-year-old was
so annoyed because mom I don’t even
understand this game why in the world
would I waste all my energy running up
and down the inside of that truck to hit
the puppets on the top of the head if
when I hit them on the head they’re
gonna disappear with them they’re just
gonna come back as soon as I hit them on
the head what’s the point of this game
so everybody in the line is laughing
hysterically because this four-year-old
this five-year-old is talking so much
about all of his frustrations finally he
gets so frustrated that he works himself
into a frenzy to where all I saw out of
my peripheral vision was a four year old
flash running past me as he ran forward
and he grabbed the drapery off of the
tabletop and pulled it clean off
underneath there were three adults with
puppets on each hand that day we all got
a good laugh but we also got a good
lesson there is always something you
can’t see
influencing what you can and if you
spend all of your time your energy your
effort trying to hit at what you see
pumping up in your life you’re gonna be
so frustrated and by the way exhausted
because as soon as you take care of one
thing another one is coming back unless
you do what the Apostle Paul says pull
back the curtain and let the enemy know
we got our eyes on you
and we’re gonna use some weapons that
actually work back there behind the
curtain y’all I wish I had learned this
when I was 18 19 20 21 years old that
that person that physical problem isn’t
really where you need to invest your
energy pull back the curtain use the
weapons that actually have power
the Apostle Paul wants you to know that
the tactics of the enemy are serious
business and so he uses a specific word
to describe them he says schemes
somebody say schemes come on y’all say
schemes I think that the people who know
me would echo this I think but I’m a
pretty easygoing personality it’s just
my nature I’m kind of bent that way I’m
just kind of like it’ll be okay if
somebody offends me or does something
ill
towards me hurts my feelings it’s kind
of easy for me to get over like I don’t
harbor offence as long somebody asks for
forgiveness
you’re forgiven no big deal let’s move
on I’m easy to forgive but if I find out
that somebody has been planning to do me
wrong like you know what in a mistake
you thought about it this was
premeditated you’ve been sitting back
studying me trying to figure out what my
weaknesses are trying to determine where
you can take best advantage you’ve been
watching to see when I come and when I
go you’ve been trying to figure out what
tender issues I have in my heart when
maybe what past abuses I suffered in my
history so that you can push those hot
buttons and make me erupt and anger or
frustration or take advantage of
specific things when I find out that
you’ve been studying me looking into my
presence and into my history so that you
can take full advantage inand I find out
you’ve not just been doing it with me
but you’ve also had your eyes on this
man that the Lord has given me to be
married to for the past 18 19 years now
you’ve been studying him so that you can
figure out how to take advantage of him
how to lead him astray so that he will
not be who you’ve called him to be in
our home as a husband and as a father
and when I find out that not only have
you been scheming against me and my
spouse but you had the nerve to have
your eyes on these three boys that the
Lord has given us to rear into mighty
men of valor and they will be men of
valor or I will spank them when I find
out you enemy have had the nerve to be
watching my kids barely old enough to
know what’s going on you’ve already been
studying them to find out what their
fears and insecurities are what their
weaknesses are so that you can trip them
up so that you can find out how to cause
them to become emotionally or physically
entangled so that they cannot walk the
road of victory that the Lord has for
them when I find out you’ve been
scheming against me and the family and
the people that I love well if it’s
you want it’s a war you go have because
I don’t know about y’all but I’m not
just gonna sit back and let the enemy
run roughshod over me over my family
over the people that I lost over the
destiny that he has for you do you
understand that the enemy is scheming
against you he’s watching you he has a
plan that is specific to you of course
the enemy can oftentimes plan against
entities nations churches communities
but he’s also personally targeted in his
assaults listen to me he knows your
weaknesses he knows how to dangle what
carrot at the right time in the right
way to make sure you are snagged in
particular have you ever wondered or
found curious as that particular carrot
is always dangled in front of you when
you are most tired when you are most
vulnerable when you happen to be most
hungry most alone most weak that
particular carrot the one that wouldn’t
mess with your friend because it’s not
her deal it’s not his deal he’s not
enticed by that but the one that entices
you always shows up at the right time
y’all that’s not coincidence that’s a
scheme the enemy is trying to derail you
he’s trying to make sure that you don’t
walk in a manner worthy pleasing of the
Lord that you come in here but that you
don’t go out of here did not purpose to
live for the glory of God he’s trying to
trip you up not only for his own benefit
but because he does not want you having
access to everything that you are privy
to as a rightful heir to the king of
kings and the Lord of lords it’s a
scheme so if he’s got tactics we need
tactics
the Apostle Paul outlines them for us
I’m just gonna read them to you because
he says in verse 13 you need the full
armor and here’s what they are verse 14
he says make sure that your loins are
girded with truth then he says you need
a breastplate and the breastplate is
called righteousness and then he says in
verse 15 you gotta have something for
your feet if you want any hope of being
able to
move forward successfully so your feet
need to be shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace and then not only
that but he says there are some flaming
missiles of the evil one that he fully
intends to send sailing into your path
you gonna need a shield and the shield
is your faith and then you know there
are lies
there are strongholds that he’s going to
try to erect in your mind you’re gonna
need something to protect your mind he
says you need a helmet and the helmet is
your salvation but not only that he says
that you were going to need a sword
really a dagger of the Spirit it was
about 18 inches long or so the one the
Apostle Paul is referring to you need a
dagger so that when the enemy is all up
in your space you’ve got something close
at hand to make sure that he stays at
bay you need a dagger of the Spirit and
the dagger is called the what the Word
of God but y’all he doesn’t stop it
those six can I just say that there is
one more in 18 verse 18 traditionally
it’s taught as 6 I really believe there
are seven pieces of armor because in
verse 18 he says pray he says pray not
like you know a prayer a day to keep the
devil away not like a prayer over your
meal just because that’s what your momma
did in your grandmama did and that’s
what you’re supposed to do not something
quick and casual fervent prioritised
prayer y’all you can’t have victory if
you don’t pray do you hear what I’m
saying to you
prayer is the key that unlocks the
resources of heaven so that they can be
unleashed on planet Earth prayer is the
key he’s actually giving you to get all
the good stuff down here cuz I don’t
know about you but I don’t want to wait
to get to heaven to experience all that
God has for me any bits of heaven he
plans to give me on earth I want it
right now
prayer accesses the bits of heaven he
intends to give you now
and prayer listen prayer is what pushes
the kingdom of darkness back it’s what
pushes it back that’s why Jesus said my
house shall be called not a house of
good preaching not a house of good
singing not a house of great spotlights
and production not a house of great
cafes I hope you have all of that enjoy
it
but jesus said at the end of the day my
house better be called a house of prayer
because smoke lights and fog machines
and great singing and great preaching
that won’t necessarily push the kingdom
of darkness back but win my people who
are called by my name when they will
humble themselves and when they’ll pray
he says that I will hear from heaven I’m
gonna heal the land the enemy will have
to bend the knee at the name of Jesus in
prayer so pray there’s one other piece
of armor I couldn’t get by without
talking to you about it for a few
moments y’all still awake everybody gain
[Applause]
its in verse 14 he says put on a
breastplate called what righteousness
Jerry and I live in a fairly rural part
of Dallas Fort Worth we like it that way
close enough to the city we can get
there quick but it’s quiet and lazy we
live on a little two-lane sleepy Road
somebody’s got some horses over there
there’s some cows over there and one of
my closest friends lives across the
street that’s why we like it because
she’s got a pond in the front of her
property so I’ll get the boys and the
two fishing poles I bought on sale at
the local Walmart I have a tackle box
too that I got on sale there cuz you
know we need things we need extra hooks
cuz the boys always lose the hooks extra
bobber thingies you know cuz we need
extras of those I also have gloves in
the tackle box because y’all know I
don’t mind going fishing but I ain’t
gonna actually touch no fish
so we walked across the street with
whatever hot dog meat we’ve got left
from the week cuz you know we’re
professional fishermen so our hot dog
meat is our bait we walk across the
street we stand in this little cove
underneath some trees and we fished just
right there most of the time just little
sun perch stuff like that we can catch
quick in an hour we can catch like ten
or twelve fish just a little quick easy
little fishing trip every now and then
though I’m feeling adventurous what that
means is is that we will get into my
friend’s little rowboat they bought on
Craigslist it’s metal it’s not a big
deal it’s just a little it’s seaworthy
it can hold us up that’s all we need
I’ll swim we’ll go out into the middle
and we’ll fish from there every now and
then but I always think twice before I
do it and here’s the reason because in
order to get in it we first have to turn
it over they leave it upside down as
they should to drain water while
nobody’s using it so I got to turn it
over to get in it and what I do know for
sure is that when I turn this thing over
something is either gonna hop out from
underneath it someone’s gonna waddle out
from underneath it or worst of all oh
something’s gonna slither out from
underneath that boat because the
environment under there is moist and
damp and perfect for critters do you
know what I’ve noticed every single time
we turn it over something comes out and
never once have I had to write a golden
sealed invitation and send it into the
brush nearby to invite the critters to
come and join us at one o’clock today
you’re welcome
never once have I had to invite them
because the environment created by the
upside-down boat is invitation enough
righteousness is right side up living
that invites the sunlight of God’s favor
and blessing upon your life
unrighteousness is upside down behavior
that is out of alignment with the truth
of God that you’ve been sitting
underneath for the last few days it’s
behavior that is out of alignment with
the truth of God to where you have to
invite the enemy and come and make
himself at home in your life you just
keep living upside down and the
environment created by upside down
behavior is invitation enough listen to
me
you can pray against the enemy till
you’re blue in the face but if you and I
leave passion and we do not walk in
holiness we do not live in a lifestyle
that is in alignment with the truth of
God we will have wasted our breath in
prayer Pal says somebody’s got to live
right it’s flat-out straight-up holiness
it’s a word that our grandmothers and
our grandfathers back in the good old
days when you went to church and you sat
on a wooden Pew it’s before some
churches became so pretty
seeker-sensitive
I remember y’all I wouldn’t listen I’m
off the track listen I went to a church
and they said we are a priest
seeker-sensitive Church and so we
actually want to sort of in a way they
said dull down the actual literal name
of Jesus just so we can get people in
first then we will we will be more
direct later on I said oh you have
invited the wrong person because there
used to be a day in time where it was
just black and white where there were
fewer gray areas and tolerance yes come
as you are but don’t stay as you are
holiness
brothers and sisters I implore you by
the mercies of God to walk in a manner
worthy of this calling by which you have
been called then every bit of truth that
you have received this weekend to align
your lifestyle to it to not determine
that you will still dip your heels into
the ground and live immorally or speak
immorally or do the things habits and
lifestyles and choices and relationships
that you know are outside of alignment
with the truth of God turn the boat
right-side up so that you can invite the
favor of God on your life the Apostle
Paul says righteousness is your
breastplate the roman army in the first
century they had many pieces of armor as
you know but the breastplate would have
been one of the most critical the reason
why was because it obviously protected
the most vital organ they had their
heart the heart is the lifeline for your
physical well-being all of the blood
flow the vitality the energy that you
need to function in every level of your
life comes from the vitality of your
physical heart what the physical heart
is to the physical life your spiritual
heart is to your spiritual life all of
the vitality the energy that you need to
be who God has created you to be to have
fervency in your prayer life to follow
him with passion and with fire to read
the Bible and and not just be ink on a
page but you hear his voice speaking to
you to have clear reception between you
and the Holy Spirit you need a vital
spiritual heart that’s why if I were
your enemy more than all else I’d be
after your heart because one shot to the
spiritual heart will wipe you out your
spiritual heart is comprised of four
things your mind the way you think your
emotions the way you feel your ambitions
what you purpose to do and your
conscience your conscience is not the
voice of God but your conscience is like
this wiring that helps this microphone
amplify my voice the the conscience is
the microphone that the Holy Spirit uses
to help you hear the voice of God so if
I were your enemy
be after your heart because if I could
get to your heart that would mean I
would have automatic access to your mind
now I could tinker with your thinking
I’d have automatic access to your
emotions I can mess with the way you
feel and make sure they’re out of
alignment with the truth of God I can
mess with your ambitions to where what
you want to do is totally out of
alignment with what God wants you to do
and more than all else
I don’t want to make it sure I have a
shot to your heart so that I can
short-circuit the wires between you and
the Holy Spirit now you can’t even hear
God speak to you cuz you didn’t have a
breastplate on the Apostle Paul says
holiness is your breastplate holiness
blocks you from a full frontal attack of
the enemy holiness keeps the enemy had
made to wear when he comes looking
around for some people that he can
infiltrate some upside down environments
that he can fester him he can’t find
that with me or with you because we’ve
chosen right-side up living aligning
ourselves with the truth of God
breastplates in place securing us
against the schemes of the enemy
holiness is your breastplate I came to
tell you to live right I came to tell
you not to just have heard all of this
to go home and live in accordance with
it be ye not by your power not by your
might but by the Spirit of God there is
no relationship you’re in that if it is
out of alignment with the truth of God
that the Holy Spirit Himself won’t help
you to sever so that you can walk in
holiness
there is no lifestyle you are living
that is – I bet you’re too wound up in
that you can’t break free from no matter
how you feel in this moment you can walk
in holiness there is no way you have
been speaking no addiction that you have
no habit that you have been festering in
your life that you have been harboring
in your life that the holy spirit won’t
empower you to break free from so that
you can walk underneath the banner the
favor of holiness and your life be ye
holy y’all listen listen back in our
grandmama and our grandparents days
great-grandparents they wanted to honor
God more than they wanted to impress
people see the problem with Instagram
and Twitter and social media if there’s
a problem y’all the problem is we want
this we want to be impressive and if I’m
worried for our generation it is that we
are impressive but we don’t have
breastplates on it is that we have the
applause of people and our selfies are
perfectly lit and we have a whole bunch
of friends and a whole bunch of
Instagram likes and people are following
us and the enemy is thrilled because we
have sacrificed holiness on the altar of
impressing people you gotta live for the
applause of heaven you got to decide I
will not be politically correct before I
will choose to be holy I will not be
impressive before I will choose to be
holy I may not be the the person that
everybody wants to be around I may not
be the most impressive but what I will
be is holy because of time is coming
y’all where we are gonna see our Savior
face to face and when we see him he will
not ask us how many Instagram followers
we had he will not ask us how many
friends liked our post he will not want
to see the selfies that we took when we
see him face to face he’s gonna ask us
did we do business with His Son Jesus
Christ
and then and then we’re gonna give an
account and I don’t know about y’all but
I’m looking for I want a well done I
want Jesus to look at me and say you did
the thing girl not because they bought
the books they bought the Bible study
they saw the movie no you did the thing
because you honored me whether it was an
audience of one or an audience of 30,000
you honor to me I came to tell you
brothers and sisters walk with integrity
be in the dark who you are in the light
everything that your God has entrusted
to you over these last few days the
enemy does not mind he doesn’t like but
he doesn’t mind that you heard him he
didn’t mind you came here what he Minds
is if you leave here and live by what
you are
crazy father
if you’re here if you’re in this room
stay standing if you’re in this room or
one of the other arenas that are at home
and you know you were living in a way
that is out of alignment with the truth
of God your breastplate is not in place
you are open to full frontal attack by
the enemy because you haven’t girded
yourself with holy living and maybe
you’re in a situation where you’ve been
trying to live right but by your own
strength and power you just can’t seem
to pull it off and you need the Holy
Spirit to do what he does to set you
free to empower you to rise up in
victory to step up to the plate and hit
a homerun for the kingdom of God if
you’re tired of being shackled you’re
tired of being breastplate less and you
want to get that thing in place once and
for all so you can walk out of here and
have some victory in Jesus name if you
need victory and you need freedom even
while you’re standing or wherever you
are listen just raise your hand because
we’re gonna pray right now that the
chains will be broken we’re gonna walk
out of here free there’s gonna be
breastplates in place
pray for some accountability in your
life gonna pray that you would walk
Galatians 5:1 says it is for freedom
that you’ve been set free therefore
stand firm and don’t be subject again to
any yoke of slavery so Lord right now in
the matchless name of Jesus Christ I
pray over every hand that is raised
every heart that is raised to you and I
pray right now in Jesus name that if
there is any assignment that the enemy
has against these young brothers and
these young sisters I pray that that
assignment would be canceled in Jesus
name I pray that by your blood that has
been shed on Calvary you would loosen
thee the assaults the attack of the
enemy on their lives father and then I’m
playing you would get some breastplates
refit it over the lives of your people
Lord I’m praying if there’s any
relationship that is holding my brothers
and sisters back from living holy you
would loosen their the balance of the
relationship on their life Lord I’m
praying that you would taste take the
taste for the drug or the alcohol out of
somebody’s mouth in Jesus name I’m
playing Lord that the habit would not be
a habit that they have a taste for any
longer father I’m playing that you would
replace their will with your will Lord
I’m praying that you would change our
want to so that I want to wants to do
what you want it to do change I want to
father put your desires in our heart
lord help us to walk in victory Lord I
pray you would not let these people who
have their hands raised in specific God
I’m asking you would not let them walk
in on holiness I’m
and let your spirit soak on victim so
challenge them that they cannot sleep
well at night if they are out of
alignment with you Father I’m asking
Lord that they can’t eat well in the day
I’m asking that the relationships would
be on dis Eve or that things just won’t
be right until they are in alignment
with you get the breastplate on Lord
send the Hound of heaven after them
father so that we have no choice but to
walk in alignment with your word Lord
that I’m praying that when the enemy
comes looking for some folks to mess
with he won’t see anybody that came to
passion 2018 because we got breastplates
on we are fortified by the Spirit of God
to walk in holiness and strength and
power in Jesus name
y’all remember y’all remember in the
Lion King Simba’s messing with the
hyenas and he’s like rare and they’re
like seriously he does it again Wow
and they’re like you gotta be kiddin he
does it again and they’re like no you’ll
never take us down you’re too weak
you’re too small you’re too puny by
yourself he tries it one more time he
lets out his best roar but it sounds
like something big and giant and it
echoes off of the mountains nearby and
the enemy enemies go running away not
because he was the roar but because his
daddy
[Applause]
the roar of the father is behind you
walk in victory in Jesus name Amen
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]