You've got some elbow room now. I know you've got a whole thing to open up there, so let's get comfortable. We're not going to rush things, but we've cut the service a little bit shorter in the beginning so that we'll have more time for this. There are just a few things I want to mention before we get into the syllabus, but you can get your syllabus open. First, I would suggest to attend every session. Now, the reason I say that, every session builds one upon another. So, by the time you get to the end, you find out how to implement some of the things that we're learning. So we have to discover what our needs are, realize what our problems are, then we're able to implement them. So one session builds upon another. And they're all important. They all go together. You know, we could sit down in my office and in an hour I could solve all your problems. I'd love to do that. But it usually doesn't happen that way. We spend a lifetime creating our problems and it takes time to resolve them. So if you miss a session, then what you should do is go to the website. We hope to get these video up quickly. They do have to edit them, so they're going to put a video sermon for us on there. So go to the website, watch the video sermon. If you don't have that, you can get a DVD. We'll have a copy of that from the sound booth. Secondly, prepare your heart. Be receptive. Come with the idea that I want to learn something, I need help, and I want help. I want to grow. I want to be a victorious Christian. Take notes. So as you open your syllabus, There are my notes I provided for you, but there'll be other things you'll want to write down, things you don't want to forget, maybe additional scripture, additional thoughts. So feel free to write through your syllabus. It's yours. You know, we don't want them back. You keep it and take that with you. It's your possession. Fill in the blanks. There aren't a lot of blanks. We don't want to keep you so busy filling in the blanks that you miss the point of the seminar. But do fill in the blanks. Follow us so that you can do that. Some of the blanks are going to require time. So, you might fill the obvious blanks with one word. You'll fill in this part of the syllabus. There are going to be some that are thought-provoking. So we're going to ask you questions, and you've got to review your life and think about it. Some of those will take time. So you got to go home during the week, meditate, pray, get alone, and think about it before you fill in some of those blanks. In the event of inclement weather, I mentioned that we will postpone to the following week if it's going to hinder several people from being here. If it's just a few, we wouldn't. But if it hinders several, then we'll postpone it. And then as you go through the seminar, there may be some questions that arise or maybe some problems arise. You might even get mad at me. So as we go through this, if you want to email or contact me or set up an appointment, I'll be happy to meet with you, discuss something further, try and help you further. So feel free to do that. I make myself available during the week to accomplish that. Let's see, are we on here? Just push the button and we're on. What could go wrong? See, we need these lights off right up there, yes. That would help us. I guess there's no way around that. You know, if somebody can invent a way to stop the thing from warming up and just start right in the beginning, that would be a great asset. So you look at the cover, it was designed by Nick Comperone. He did a great job. We're going to refer back to that in a little bit, but first we're going to begin Putting your life in order, living a victorious Christian life, that's really the theme. And the idea, the goal for all of us is Galatians 4.19, till Christ be formed in us. That's our goal. We want Christ to be formed in us. Putting your life in order, part one. Too many believers enjoy the blessing of being born again, but soon they fall away. and they stop living for the Lord. Think about it, how many people do you know, they're Christians, they're saved. They gave every evidence that they were born again. And after a period of time, they just fall to the wayside. They stop going to church, stop reading their Bible, they stop growing. They never experience the blessing of a victorious Christian life. So as we begin this journey into Scripture, and let me add, We're not teaching psychology, we're teaching Scripture. I have a degree in psychology. I could use psychology, but I'll give you one clue about psychology. Psychology has no answers, only observations. The Bible has the answers. I'd rather have the answers. So we go through Scripture together, pray for God to search our hearts and reveal We may not even know it, but ask Him and be sensitive, reveal any unbiblical patterns of living, any traits that we have that are not right. And then as God reveals those to us, we ought to seek to change that behavior so we can glorify God. So we're going to start with some serious questions. Number one, do you know for certain that you're saved? Now, let's not pass over that. Sometimes people will say, oh, I know I'm a Christian. Of course, I'm a Christian. And I've been a Christian all my life or since I was very young. Or don't pass over that lightly. Even throughout this whole seminar, you want to make sure that your salvation is confirmed. Because if you're not saved, then you cannot be a victorious Christian. It is an impossibility. So it is crucial to know that you're saved. Do you know that for certain? Do you have bad habits that dishonor the Lord? Are there some things that plague you in your Christian walk, things you know that you need to change or you'd like to change? Are you addicted to a bad habit? And there are a number of addictions of drugs, illegal and legal. There is alcohol, intoxicating drinks. different kinds of perversions. There are numerous things of which people are addicted to. And I might add, there are people today even addicted to their cell phone. They can't live without it. So think about that. Do you have trouble with anger? Are there things in your life that just set you off and you can't seem to control it? Or maybe it's under control for a while and then you lose it. Is your home a peaceful, quiet haven? I've said this numerous times. The only thing that you can compare your home to is your own home. You don't know what other homes are like. So it's important to know what the Bible teaches so that you don't just assume that the way your home is is normal or standard. There's a great variety of experiences in homes. And you need to know that your home is a biblical home. Someone recently, a former member of our church that moved out of the area, they said to me, you know, we had a home where we were Christians, but we did not have a Christian home. So everybody was saved, but it was not a Christian home. There's a difference. So is your home a peaceful, quiet haven? Are you serving the Lord? Are you doing something for the Lord? Do you just go to church and that's it? Are you actively involved in some way doing something for God? You don't have to be in a ministry to be serving the Lord. There are many, many avenues. In fact, you could have helped assemble all the syllabuses. They were out even today adding more because we didn't think we had enough. There are a lot of things you can do to serve the Lord. Are you a faithful witness of the gospel? Do you talk to people about the Lord? Do you open your mouth and tell people? Do you take those opportunities? Do you pray for people who are lost? Are you a witness of the gospel? Now, obviously, these are serious questions. If we're going to be victorious, there's a right answer to those questions. Do you have secret sins that haunt you? Maybe no one knows but you, and you never told anybody. Do you have bitterness toward God or any person? Throughout my ministry, being preaching now over 40 years, ever so often someone comes up and they say, you know, I have bitterness toward my mother, or it could be their father. There's someone that goes back for a long, long time, and they never got over it. And it's hindered them from living a victorious life. It's plagued them. When you have bitterness toward anyone, you hurt yourself. Do you have bitterness toward God or any person? Have you become lazy in your spiritual life? Just lazy. You're not doing the things you ought to do. You just become lax. Not faithful in Bible reading, not faithful in church, not doing the things that you know as a Christian you should do. Not having a family altar with your family and your children. Do you live selfishly? That might be the motto of our culture. It's every man for himself. Get all the gusto you can get. If it feels good, do it. That's the philosophy of our day. Do you live that way, thinking only of yourself? Important questions. Do you struggle with besetting sins? There's that sin that you think you overcome and it comes back and you keep struggling with it. That problem, you can't seem to get past it. Do you struggle with some things like that? Are you plagued with family or generational iniquities? We'll talk more about this later, and maybe it's Lesson 7 or 8, but there are things that you can watch in families that literally pass down from generation to generation. And you'll see the children living just like their parents, even if they say they never will, they do. and to the next generation. And sometimes you can watch a four or five generations and some of the same besetting sins or habits or problems, they occur one generation after another. Do you believe you can experience victory? Now, if you don't believe it's possible, you got a problem because the Bible does give us that promise. We can live a victorious Christian life. Have you experienced a personal hurt? that's lessen your joy. This happens frequently. It's unfortunate, but someone hurt my feelings. They offended me. They said something, and even though they may not have meant to hurt you, they did, and you took it personal, and then it stopped you from growing. Have you experienced something like that? Well, putting your life in order, we're going to give you a little synopsis of what we're going to cover. And tonight, we're just going to do the introduction. That's the only thing we're going to cover. So part one is the reality of the battle. The reality of the battle. And the first four lessons really deal with, really the first five lessons, but certainly the first four lessons just deal with the reality of the battle. And it's helping us. All I hope to accomplish the first four weeks is to get everybody to realize we all need help and we're in a battle. and to see those areas that we need to deal with. So we're gonna spend a lot of time just understanding where we're at. Number one, the lure of the world. That'll be lesson one. Lesson number two, the lust of the flesh. These are, of course, the primary enemies and primary things that every Christian deals with. Number three, the lies of the devil. My secretary was printing these to put in the booklets, and I sent her everything in a file, a Word file, and she was trying to print it off, and there was one banner that kept, it would appear and then disappear on her screen, and it was the lies of the devil. And she had someone come in and verify it, and then I saw it. It would be there, and then it wouldn't be there. Now, that's interesting, you know, But we'll be covering that, the lies of the devil. Number four, the loss of a man's soul. And that is the effort of Satan to keep people blinded so that they'll never truly be born again. Then there's part two. Right now, what you have in your syllabus is only part one. So as we get farther along, a week or two before, we'll give you part two. Then we'll give you part three. So right now, you just have part one. So there's more to come in your syllabus than what you have. Part two is now beginning to understand how to deal with those issues, the world, the flesh, and the devil. So the defense of the believer, overcoming the world, overcoming the flesh, overcoming the devil. So those are important that we build on that, see the need, then we find out how to do it. Part three. is sort of bringing everything to an end so that we're successful. So there's some things that we can do, decisions that bring change. Prayer and fasting. You see, there's only two weapons that we have to fight Satan. It's the word of God and prayer. Those are the only two weapons. You can't fight Satan with the flesh. You can't fight the flesh with the flesh. You can't fight the world with the flesh. So it's not by self-effort. Prayer and fasting. Victory through unity. And we'll talk about having the right kind of friends, the importance of a church, a church family. And then in number three, a fruit-bearing Christian. What it means to bear fruit, real fruit. Not only seeing people saved, but also seeing fruit, spiritual fruit in your life, which also brings forth fruit of souls. And then the conclusion. So that's where we're headed. Number one, we should be at part one now. Everybody with us? The reality of the battle. And here we have a wonderful picture of Elisha. And, you know, do we have the vision like Elisha had? In the introduction, we live in uncertain and changing times. It is a different day in which we live. There's a lot of unique things to our culture that have never existed in the history of the world. We'll talk about some of them later, but think about it. Most of the world never had electricity, never had an automobile, never had the internet, never had a phone, let alone a cell phone. Most of the world never had rapid communication. Much of the world never even had a printing press. Everything was copied by hand. And certainly we never saw the information that we see today. A lot of it we don't need to know. and we're just bombarded with it. So we do live in uncertain and changing times. But many believers never reach that place of spiritual maturity. Somewhere along the line, they fall prey to some of the pitfalls of life. Something happens in their life, the world, the flesh, or the devil, or all of them, or a combination of them, somehow do something to them that stops them in their tracks. and they just don't grow to maturity. Far too many Christians never become mature, never grow in grace. Far too many, far too many fall to the wayside. They come in the front door, maybe into the baptistry and then out the back door. Far too many fall in that category. It's important to be a growing Christian. And if you're a growing Christian, you're learning how to build your life on the word of God. I'm not sure everyone understands how to do that. We understand the phrase, but in a practical way do we understand, here's how you build your life on the Word of God. So this course is intended to help you fight and fight the good fight of faith and be a victorious Christian. That's our goal. That is our purpose. We have an example, the Apostle Paul. Now I want to look at the picture that's on the front of your syllabus. Someone designed this for us, I told him what we wanted, and then I told him again what I wanted, and then he revised it and worked on it, and I think it's terrific, he really accomplished what we wanted. Because look on the outside of the circle. You see Satan, and different names of Satan. He's a liar, he's a deceiver, the accuser of the brethren, our adversary, and on and on. He superintends all the things in the world and the flesh. He can affect our heart. He can affect the world, the circumstances around us, our body, our flesh, our health, all those things. He can be involved in in some way. Then we see the world. The main influence of the world are people, places, things, and philosophies. And being around the wrong people, having the wrong exposure, being in the wrong places, it's like Lot and Sodom. He didn't belong in Sodom. He lost his family. So I'd mentioned some of those things that are there. And then in a little bullet, see right in here, there's a little bubble, and it refers to the flash that comes out from inward. And there we see greed, deceit, anger, pride, envy, all those things come out of the heart. And again, Satan superintends all of these things in our lives. Now, here's what Paul said. He said, first of all, he told Timothy, war a good warfare. So we're to be in a battle. The first time he wrote Timothy, or the first epistle to Timothy, here's Timothy in Ephesus, one of the most idolatrous and wicked cities of the world, and a very prominent city. And he said, I want you to war a good warfare, fight the good fight. He said, you've got to be, you're in a battle, you've got to realize you're in a battle. And then he goes on to tell us that he fought a good fight. Turn with me now to 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 7. 2 Timothy 4.7. There are three principles that's found when Paul is at the end of his life, he's writing back to Timothy again, and he makes this statement. He said, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. All three of those are things that Paul said of himself that he did. He said, this is a picture of my life. This is the reality of how I lived as a Christian. Now, not before, but after being a Christian. Those are the three principles that he indicates he lived by. So we have to realize there's a warfare. Paul said, I've fought a good fight. That's active, that's battling. There's something involved when you're fighting a good fight. So what does that mean? To the average Christian, if you say, how's the fight going? Are you warring in the Lord? Are you fighting a good fight? It would be shocked. What are you talking about? You know, I'm just trying to be happy and, you know, enjoy life. The average Christian, I don't believe, understands that we are in a constant state of war. Paul said that he was. He was in a constant state of war. fighting and battling. And those three things typify his life. So are you fighting the good fight? Well, if you are, you'll have an awareness of the battle on a daily basis. If you're fighting a good fight, you're gonna realize every day when you get up out of bed, you know, I need the Lord's help. I need to live for God, and this is not gonna be easy. I gotta fight a battle today. And if you don't do that, and you get about halfway through the day, you're gonna be wounded. You're gonna have problems. So it's important to realize, have an awareness. And we're not going to answer all what that means right now or get into it, but do you have an awareness? Are you aware there's a battle? If you don't, then this is going to help you. You're going to help understand the battle we face on a daily basis. Secondly, you must recognize your need for God's help. We need God's help every day. Some self-made men will say, oh, God is just a crutch. No, He's not just a crutch. He's everything. We need His help desperately. Without Him, we're nothing. We can do nothing. Do you recognize your need for God's help? Men, sometimes we're a little bit proud. We don't need directions. We can assemble it on our own. But when it comes to spiritual things, we need God's help. And then you must use the weapons provided by God. He gives us weapons to use. Ephesians 6 describes those for us. Do you know how to use those weapons? We have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and we have prayer. Do you really know how to do that? If someone says, you need to live your life on the Word of God, How would you do that? In what way would that translate into your daily life? How would that be a reality? Most people don't know. How do you live your life in the way? I don't know. I read it. I have devotions, you know. I read our daily bread or days of praise, you know. I spend about five minutes every morning. You know, I'm conscious of God through the day. And you don't understand. how to use the weapons that God's given us. We need to know how to use the weapons, the word of God. Remember when the devil came to tempt Christ and he said, it is written, he used the word of God to defeat Satan. But how does that translate to you? Do you just state a scripture and then he's gone? Well, a lot of times people don't understand how to use the word of God. So we need to know how to do that. And then number four, we must have a warfare mentality. Now, if you thought you were going to come tonight, and you're going to get some easy answers, and, you know, you walk away, take a little placebo pill, and everything's better, and we're all happy, well, you're in the wrong place. You know, the Johnson ceremony's next door. But, no, we have to be in a constant state of warfare. As I said this morning, if you're in the Vietnam War, and you're in the Marines, now, the Marines are the fighters. They're trained to do one thing, that's fight. Yeah, you can say amen there if you're a Marine. All right. And one day you wake up and you say, you know, I'm tired of fighting. I'm just going to have a nice walk. I'm going fishing out here in the lake and, you know, I'm tired of fighting. You're not going to last very long, are you? You've got to be aware every day. I remember reading a story of a man, he grew up in North Carolina, so he was kind of used to snakes, but evidently they had a lot of snakes in Vietnam. Is that true? A lot of snakes. And he said at night they'd be in their tent and he would wake up in the morning and they would crawl up next to you because you were warm. And he said every morning he'd wake up and he'd open his eyes and he wouldn't move. And he would just try to sense if there were any snakes around so he could pull them off of him before he got up. You know, if we could just be aware of the attack of Satan, as soon as we wake up, that he's there. Be aware of that. Develop a warfare mentality. Then you must be persistent when the battle's severe. Sometimes things get rough. Satan can throw a loop. It may be a health issue. It could be an accident, so-called accident that occurs. You know, you look at Job. It's hard to believe all the things that could happen. It had to be satanic. When all these things happen, his children, his family, his own life, his health, sometimes it can be severe. We've got to be persistent. When it gets severe, we've got to realize we've got to buckle down and get serious in the battle. When a battle rages, we've got to be at our best. So be persistent. Are you fighting the good fight? And John Gill's commentary says, and I like this, you'll have to go back and read it when you have time to think about it and meditate on it. But it says, Paul relates to Timothy that he had other business to do than to mind the things of this world. His life was a state of warfare. He was a soldier and was not to entangle himself with the things of his life. He had many enemies to engage with, as Satan and his principalities and powers, sin and the lust of the flesh, the world, the men of it, and a great fight of afflictions to endure with them, as also false teachers with whom particularly he was to fight the good fight of faith, so that the truth of the gospel which they resisted might continue with the saints." Boy, that's worth going back and reading again and thinking about. So the second aspect of Paul's life. is, are you fulfilling God's plan for your life? Are you doing what He wants you to do? Number one, are you fighting the battle, fighting the good fight? Secondly, he says, are you finishing the course? If you're finishing the course, it means God has a plan for your life. There's a course. It's not the same as Paul's, but he has a plan for you. Are you following that plan? Do you know His will and what His will is for your life? Have you ever sought His will and understood His will? That's what He's talking about. finished the course God had for him. He found out what God wanted to do, and he did what God wanted him to do. So he said, I have finished my course. So we should consider, you should consider, are you running the race and how you will finish the course God has revealed to you? Think about that. How are you running the race? What course are you on? And are you fulfilling God's plan for your life? God has a plan for your life, which is found in the Word of God. It says, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delighteth in His way. So God has steps for a good man, and we delight in His way. Have you found God's plan for you as you prayed, read the Bible, sought His will? Do you know that? Are you daily seeking His will? If we're going to finish the course, there's five truths. And I want you to turn to these. I did not put most of the scripture there because I want you to read it. So we're going to read it together. Psalm 1. Psalm 1. Five truths if we're going to finish the course. So God has a plan found in the Bible revealed by the Holy Spirit. And you can know it through the Word of God. Psalm 1 is a a door to the rest of the Psalms, and it kind of paves the way for all of the Psalms. Psalm 1 says, "'Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." See, He has a plan, a path. There's a place where He will situate us by the waters, establish our goings. God has a plan for your life. Now does He say, I want you to work for Aetna? No, He's not going to say that. Does He say, I want you to be a carpenter? I don't know, maybe. But He will establish certain parameters of your life as you yield and surrender to Him. then all the blanks will be filled in about what you do on a daily basis. So God's plan for your life, His course for your life is found in the Bible. Secondly, as God reveals His will to you, you must act immediately by faith. Ecclesiastes, book of Ecclesiastes, and again I'd ask you to turn there so that you have it, have those noted and marked. Ecclesiastes 9.10. And my wife has given me strict orders, give people time to turn. So I'm giving you time to turn and find it. Ecclesiastes 9.10. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest. If you're going to have a family and raise them for God, you better start now because someday it'll be too late. If you're going to build your marriage, then start now. You've got to get serious about what God wants you to do. You can't play games and say, well, someday I aim to do this. You've got to say, today I will do this. As God reveals His will, you have to do it immediately. And then victory cannot be achieved through the flesh. We could read all of Romans 7 and 8, but we'll turn to Romans 7 quickly. Romans chapter 7 and verse 18. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. In my flesh dwelleth no good thing." Nada, nothing. There is nothing there. It is all evil. It is all wicked. So we cannot achieve victory by self-effort, trying harder, by resolution. It has to be done in a biblical way. Disobedience and any matter leads to certain failure. Luke, the Gospel of Luke, quickly, chapter 14, Luke chapter 14, verse 26. By the way, we have people listening on the internet, and if there's somebody listening and you want to get a syllabus, we can email it to you. And we could mail it, I suppose, the whole thing, but we can email it to you if you can print it. So if you're interested, let us know. Just go to the church website and you can email us on the contact information and there we'll know that you want it. We'll email the part one to you. Okay, we're at Luke chapter 14. Luke 14 and verse 26. If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." I mean, think about what he says in those two verses. And you say, well, I don't want to hate my parents. That's not what he's saying. What he's saying is, you have to put God above even your family. And if all you do is worry about your children or your spouse, you're worrying about the wrong thing. Your greatest concern should be your walk with God, because if you put those things above God, it will hinder your walk. And then look at verse 33. So likewise, whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." So discipleship is literally a surrender, a yielding of all we have, all of our relationships, who we are, and giving ourself completely to God. That's a big deal. That's not easy. The flesh does not desire that at all. But if we're going to finish the course, disobedience Putting ourselves first means certain failure. Turning back from your commitment to Christ is a serious, serious offense. Any man that puts his hand to the plow and looks back says, it's not worthy of me, Luke 9, 62. Turning back on our commitment. We've said, I want to live for God. I want to serve God. And then we turn back. That's a serious thing. He saved us. He purchased us with His own blood. And now we're basically spitting in the face of Jesus on the cross saying, I don't care about you. I'm the one that's important. Are you finishing the course? If you are, this would be your prayer. Lord, Thy will be done, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. It should be our prayer. Think of some of the people God used. You wouldn't think God would use Paul when you knew him. He was consenting to the death of Stephen when he was stoned. He held the cloaks of some of the pious hypocritical leaders consenting to his death. He became prominent as a persecutor of Christians in the church. If someone heard Paul is coming, they'd run for their lives. He's not a Christian. He's after the Christians, destroying people. He was on his way to Damascus in Syria, just north of Israel. And while he was on that road, before he got to Damascus, God met him in a blinding light. There, God worked in his heart and life, and there was a change. That change was salvation. And Paul became not only a Christian, but one of the most ardent church planners, missionaries, preachers that has ever lived, and the author of many of our books of the New Testament. Who would ever believe God would use him? Now, you know what I'm getting at. Who would ever think God could use you? Well, He uses some of the most unlikely people. Amos, a herdman, said, I'm not a prophet or a son of a prophet. said, in fact, I'm the poorest of all the people and I'm the least in my own family. Who would ever think that God would use Amos? And yet Amos preached to the northern kingdom at their height of prominence when Jeroboam II was the ruler. And no one could ever believe they would be taken away captive and destroyed by the Assyrians They just couldn't conceive of it because they were at their height. But God called Amos, said, prepare to meet thy God. God used him as a prophet in a mighty way. Gideon, the poor and the least of his father's house. Sorry, I confused Amos, that statement. But Gideon, the least of the tribes and the poorest of his own house. Who would think God could use Gideon? God found him. Where was he? He was threshing wheat behind the winepress. Why? He was hiding. Hardly you would think a man of valor. But God found him and he said, O thou mighty man of valor. He's looking for him. Where is he? No, no, you Gideon. God got a hold of Gideon. Now they fight the Midianites and they have their, they pared down their army to 300 men. Said, if you don't wanna fight, go away. If they lap the water in the wrong way, get rid of them. And they got down to 300 men. That didn't make any sense at all. But God worked in Gideon's life and he said, all right, we're gonna do it. They got the men, they had a trumpet and a lamp. They gathered around in the night, all the Midianites. And notice what he said. He said, the sword of the Lord. Now he knew it was God. He knew what was gonna happen was because of God. But he added this little tidbit, and of Gideon. He got excited about serving God. He said, the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. And they broke their lamps and they yelled the sword of the Lord and of Gideon and the Midianites destroyed themselves. What a great victory. Whoever would have thought God could use him? Rahab specifically says it was the harlot. How could God use someone like that? And you'll find her name in the lineage of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And more if you'll study it. Surprising who God would use. See, God has a plan for everybody's life. I remember just recently meeting with a professor, some of you met him, Lionel Porter, and came and taught here a few times. And he's up in years and still active to a degree, but limited. And while I was in Chattanooga, Tennessee, I went to visit him just to let him know how much I appreciated the influence that he had on my life. And he made a statement I'll never forget. We complimented him, we thanked him for his influence. And he made this statement, and I've never seen him at all show emotion, but he showed some emotion. And he said, you know what you may have done, I'd really appreciate. He said, when I look back at my life, knowing the way I was when God found me, and I think that God could use me, it's an amazing thing. A very humble man, but he said the truth. That God could use any of us is an amazing thing. but he will. John Bunyan was one of those people. You go back to England, they established the Anglican Church as the official church. And if you did not attend that church, or if you had any other assembly, it would be considered unlawful, or to meet with any persons carrying on independently preaching the gospel, that was against the law. And he was incarcerated. put in prison more than once. While he was in prison, he wrote The Pilgrim's Progress and other works, became actually prominent and well-known later in his life. But you see, he paid a price. He understood the battle. He described the battle in Pilgrim's Progress as he faced some of those issues. Are you keeping the faith? The Bible says in chapter 10, verse 38, the just shall live by faith. Hebrews 10, 38. And it says, believers are called to a life of obedience to the Savior. We're to live in good fidelity. That's what that verse says. Not purloining, but in good fidelity. It means high five for some of us old people. You have a high five set, it means fine tune. So we're called to a life of fine tuning. Christians are commanded to be steadfast. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. For as much as you know, your labor is not in vain in the Lord. We're to be steadfast. We're stewards of the gospel to keep it and preach it. Stewards are to be faithful. We must resist every temptation to quit or compromise. So what does it mean? Paul said, I have fought a good fight, I finished the course, and then I've kept the faith. Well, he just kept obeying the Word of God, living the way God taught him to live, and continued doing it. Now, there are a lot of examples of keeping the faith in Scripture, and they show how they live for God even in the most harsh of circumstances, even under persecution. In fact, the greatest trophies of grace are those that face the severest trials. So they were faithful. Now, the first part of Hebrews 11 describes people whom we know fairly well. But I want you to turn to Hebrews 11, and I want you to notice those that are not mentioned by name. Hebrews 11 and verse 33. Hebrews 11 and verse 33. who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead, raised to life again." Notice now, and others. Names aren't even mentioned, but they're there. and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, just like John Bunyan did, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Verse 36, and others, there it is again. No names, but they were there throughout history in Bible times. and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wondered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, or beat upon, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens, caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise." Well, you think about those people, just the way it's described in Hebrews 11, and you think, what kind of a Christian am I? I mean, how strong am I? What have I faced? What have I dealt with? I mean, I had to deal with an insurance adjuster on the phone. That's pretty severe. That's a problem. Hardly the same as their problems, though, is it? Not quite the same. William Tyndale was an Anglican bishop, well-trained, schooled, intelligent man, but influenced by the separatists of that day and even the Baptists, I'm confident, began a journey that led him to translate the Bible, the New Testament, the Old Testament Pentateuch, and eventually, before he died, even more of the Old Testament. And he translated it into the common language. And what it says of him, basically what he's saying is, as long as I'm alive, I'm going to give the Bible in the common language of the people so that they can understand it and read it and be delivered." Because the average person could not read or they did not have a copy of Scripture, they depended on their priest to tell them what it said. And They were so angry with him because he was opening the eyes of so many people, they sought his death. And eventually, they strangled him to death and burned his body at the stake. There's one who was a great man of faith. Now, let's ask you, how can your life best be described? We have a little chart there, and there's no blanks to fill in, but you need to think mentally as you go through it. Are you a defeated Christian? Are you lukewarm or victorious? You've got to fit in one of those three categories. A defeated Christian is not faithfully praying or reading the Bible. A lukewarm Christian merely is going through the motions. A victorious Christian, faithfully studying and obeying God's word. A defeated Christian is not changing constantly for the better. A lukewarm Christian has lost your love for the souls. A victorious Christian is a growing Christian. Defeated Christian is not becoming more like Christ. A lukewarm Christian, not totally committed to Christ, maybe half-heartedly, but a victorious Christian, totally surrendered to Christ. A defeated Christian, sin continues to destroy your fellowship with God. A lukewarm Christian, your life is one of moderation. Not too much on fire for God and not too much in the world, right in the middle. A victorious Christian, controlled completely by the Holy Spirit. A defeated Christian, disobeying God's revealed will. A lukewarm Christian, satisfied being a nominal Christian. But a victorious Christian, faithfully committed to your church and, of course, to the Lord. So you have to go back during the week and reflect on that and ask yourself those questions. Where are you? Because in the reality of the battle, if you're not honest with yourself and recognize where you are, you can't get help. It's impossible. We have to understand where we are. So how can your life best be described? It's just like a dress rehearsal for a play. We should periodically review our life. And then whenever something's not quite right and we see that we're not doing what we should, it reveals our weaknesses, it gives us the opportunity to change. So that in the final presentation, like Paul came to the end of his life, we can say, I've fought a good fight. I've finished the course. I kept the faith. So we have opportunity to change things. It's never too late to change. It's never too late to seek the face of God. So that's where we are. We want to seek His face. Pondering the end of your life can revolutionize your present life. Psalm 90, if you'd turn there with me, it describes the days of man are three score and ten. That's 70 years. Go ahead and turn to it though and read it. Now, I've written to the side of that in my Bible. Every time I have a birthday, Here's how many days I got left. I'm down to 11. Soon it'll be 10. Now, maybe I'll live longer than 70. Maybe I'll live less than 70. But by reason of good health or whatever, good fortune, maybe 10 more, maybe 80. Perhaps even in our day, maybe even to 90, maybe. But they're numbered. There's a certain number of days. So how much time do we have left? We have to think about it. And then we have to realize then that there is a certain amount of time the days are fleeting. Then when you stand before the Lord someday, and those days are over, you finally are with the Lord, and you stand before Him, what's He gonna say? Is He gonna say, well done, thou good and faithful servant? You know, like in Matthew 25, and it describes that servant that faces the Lord, will he say, well done? Sometimes I wonder, you know, I ponder that. We should think about that. What will we hear from our Savior? Five questions that demand an answer. Now, these are there because There are scriptural questions that are asked in Scripture, throughout Scripture. So turn with me now, Matthew 22, 12. Matthew 22, 12. And he saith unto him, Friend, How cameest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?" And he was speechless. Someday we'll stand before the Lord. Matthew 7 describes, there will be people that say, Lord, Lord, did we not do many wonderful works in thy name? Cast out demons and on and on. He'll say, depart from me you that work iniquity. I never knew you. Where do we stand? Have we truly been adorned with the wedding garment of salvation? Hebrews 2, 3. This verse has to do with Christians. Turn with me quickly. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 3. And be ready to turn to the next one. Hebrews 2.3, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? We'll just read the first part of that verse. How shall we escape as Christians if we neglect the salvation God's given us? We don't take advantage of God working in our lives. I mean, how are we gonna escape? We'll stand before God without excuse. 1 John 2.28, will you be ashamed at his coming? Are we ready to meet the Lord? What if He came back tonight? Would your life be a testimony to God or are there things about your life that you'd be ashamed if He came back right now? That's an important question. Romans 12, 1 and 2, and everybody turn with me there, that's a foundational passage and we'll read it a few times going through this course. Romans 12, 1 and 2, "'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be it transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you might prove what is a good and acceptable and perfect will of God.'" That's a key verse for Christians to be victorious. You see, by surrendering and by yielding, by letting go, we actually are given greater power and strength as a Christian. When we take control, we're lifted up with pride, I can do it, I can handle it, that's where we're in trouble. In Luke 9, 62, have you look back, you put your hands to the plow, And you look back, you don't plow straight furrow. I grew up on a farm. I know something about it. I had my grandfather point out to me, look, Jimmy, what you just did. He said, oh, I didn't notice that. He said, pick out that tree over there. And he said, now you keep your eyes on that tree, and you just hold it straight till you get to the end. And then he said, now you look back and see what you've done. I said, wow, that works. Straight furrow. Don't look back. We need to have a purpose. Two examples I think are great, great examples. Joshua said, as for me and my house, we'll serve the Lord. He purposed in his heart. That was a priority of his life. He said, we are going to serve the Lord. I remember hearing the testimony of Pastor Eric Tharp, his dad, when he got saved. He taught at Midwestern Baptist College for several years and he got saved a little bit later in life. And so he got saved and he came home and he sat his boys down. And he said, boys, he said, I want to explain something to you. He said, I've just become a Christian and I'm saved. And he said, son, we're going to have a Christian home. Do you understand that? We are going to live for God in our home. Do you realize what I just said? Every one of his boys today is serving the Lord in the ministry. He purposed in his heart, just like Joshua. And the Bible says in Daniel 1.8 that Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's meat or his drink or his wine. He'd already made that determination. You know, Lot never purposed anything. He just said, I'm going to go into Sodom and that'll make a lot of money. I mean, he was influenced by the world. But Daniel purposed in his heart, and he said, I'm not going to do it, and if it costs my life. And if you look at his three buddies that were taken away into captivity as teenagers, they wouldn't bow to the king's idol. And he said, if you don't, we'll put you in a fiery furnace. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego evidently were a good testimony. They said, God will take care of us, and if He doesn't, it doesn't matter, we're going to be with Him. They threw him into the furnace, and the king looked in, and he said, they're alive, and it doesn't even look like the fire has touched them. And there's another liken of the Son of God, the one they'd been preaching to about. He had a purpose. What have you purposed in your heart? Have you determined you're gonna be a victorious Christian? Have you said, I am going to live the Christian life? I am determined. we have to purpose in our own hearts that we'll do it. Now, we're done for tonight, but let me just say, next week, here's kind of where we're headed, and that is the three influences found in Matthew 13. And we see Satan catches away the word of God, the seed when it's sown, the flesh will not allow the seed to take root, and then the world chokes the seed so it cannot become fruitful. The world, the flesh, and the devil are the influences trying to destroy our testimony. But as we go back, let me just ask, are you living the right purpose? Just like Joshua and Daniel, have you purposed in your heart? What is your purpose in life now? What are you living for? Now, I want us to bow our heads. and while our heads are bowed, just think for a moment. Now, if we purpose in our heart, number one, we'll make every effort to continue to come and hear the word of God at these special meetings and the workshop. You don't just come once and say, oh, that was nice and interesting. No, you don't get it all. We're just scratching the surface. We're just in the beginning of it. This was the introduction. So you've got a purpose in your heart that you really want to grow. If you want to grow, you avail yourself to the things that help you grow. And maybe tonight you just need to start by confirming that. Maybe come to the altar and just pray and say, Lord, I want to confirm. I am serious. I want a purpose in my heart to live for God. In a moment, we're going to sing an invitational hymn. And as we sing, I can't remember what it is. What is it, Bobby? nothing between, and the moment we're going to sing that, and when we sing, maybe you just want to come to the altar, maybe even at your pew you'll just utter a prayer to the Lord and say, Lord, I want to be a victorious Christian. I want Christ formed in me. I want to grow in grace. Maybe you need somebody to pray with you. Maybe there's more things you need to deal with. We'll have personal workers at the front who will be happy to help you.