So I'm sure we all know that there are times in which life can be defined as an exercise in futility, where events hit us with no warning, we're left in a position of desperation, and at times have the thought that there is no hope in sight to overcome what lies before us. And certainly I have to believe that all of us have been in this situation at one time or another, probably multiple times in our life, where we are asking the question, where are you, Lord? What has happened in this situation? Well, the Lord hasn't moved from your life. He has promised always to be with us and never to leave us nor forsake us. But we can know for certain at that time that the Lord has brought such a time. to once again, to draw us, to pull us, to conform us into the conformity of his son, Jesus. And why is this so? Because you and I are the ambassadors of Christ to this generation. We are the ones that put on the countenance of Christ. For Christ lives within us. His life is within us. And we simply are not cisterns to hold the life of Christ within us. No, we are conduits to let that life out. Jesus said on the last day of the great feast, he said this, he said, if anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scriptures say, out of his heart or what innermost lies within him will flow living waters. And I've gotta believe that each one of us today desire the life of Christ to flow through us. to grant living waters to those who are in need of Christ. That is our position, my brethren, today as ambassadors in Christ, to be those faithful ones who put on his countenance each day, even though we may be struggling through something very difficult in life. Because as Christians, we understand that the word of God informs us of something where God uses the most difficult times in our lives to bring us in to that conformity to his son. For after all, if we are going to be used of vessels of mercy to draw others to Christ, we must be a reflection of who he is and how he responded to like circumstances that we find ourselves experiencing. Isn't this true today? In Paul's letter to the church in Philippi, he says the following at verse 29 of chapter one. He says to the church, he says, for it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, You should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake. Engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. And this conflict is ongoing, it's generational. Paul's saying this to the church in Philippi. You will suffer the same things that you see me suffering. And this is the same message we should have to that generation, our children, our friends, those that would come after us, those who would be ambassadors in Christ in the next generation. With Christianity does come suffering. and you will suffer, it's not a maybe, it's a promise from God. You will suffer, but suffering is a good thing because it conforms us to Christ, it makes us look like him. And if we do suffer, it's usually a point in our life when God is doing a tremendous work where he is pulling us into a life that looks more like the Savior's. And thus in this passage, Paul informs the church in Philippi that they will suffer persecution, not merely that they may suffer persecution. I bring this to bear because this same conflict that we see in Jesus, Paul, and the church in Philippi could possibly be the same conflict, very similar in its scope that some of us may see in our lives as Christians. We live in a nation where we do have freedoms to worship our God, praise the Lord. We have that today, but we might not have that tomorrow. We might not have that next year. We simply do not know. But no matter where we find ourselves, God has called us to be Christians, to followers of Christ. whether we are persecuted for our faith, whether we are under tremendous suffering and punishment for our faith, whether we are put in prison for our faith, our position is to be Christians and to look like the Savior. And thus, if this is the case and we do experience our freedom slipping away, how should we prepare for such a time? What's your end game going to be in that time if we are to suffer much like Jesus suffered, much like Paul suffered, much like he promised the church in Philippi they would suffer? What is our end game today? I believe the answer to this question is to be ready by moving forward offensively. No, we don't go on the defense because God has given us an offensive structure within his word to step forward in. We don't cower. Christians are not cowards. Christians are the ones who will stand in the public square and proclaim the name of Christ and speak for him when no one else will. But I believe the answer to the question is to be ready no matter what will happen. So some may think by this moving forward offensively statement, well, what are you saying? Do we take up arms and attempt to overthrow the government? Would that be what we should do today? No, no, I'm not implying that. In fact, this is the last thing that I want to imply. What I am implying is that there are weapons that are foundational to the battle that we must utilize at all times, and they are not manufactured by Remington, Winchester, or Cole. But they are found in the word of God. These weapons are in another word, disciplines that we, you and I as Christians, must practice if we are to be successful in the battle. Thus, let's take a look at these foundational, these fundamental disciplines that you and I are not only asked to have, but are commanded in the word of God to discipline ourselves in. We are called to examine the scripture in all situations. Is this not true? We are called to examine the scripture in everything that we do. Why? So we respond as Christians, as followers of Christ. And this is a... all situations, during all events, when making all decisions. We find our greatest help and counsel within the pages of God's word. And of course, there isn't anything that parallels God's word. Take note of this scripture found in Isaiah 40, starting at verse six, Isaiah says the following. He says, a voice says, cry. And I said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and its beautiful appearance is like the flower seen in the field. The grass withers. The flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers. The flower fades. But the word of our God will stand forever. Now Isaiah was written almost 3,000 years ago in the 8th century BC. But the statement is made by Isaiah that God's word stands forever or it is never ending. It is a continuum. It never ends. The implication is that not only will it last forever, but it will be applicable for all things for all time. We go back to Isaiah 40 and examine it a little bit closer and we see that anything that we get from man, any counsel we would get from man is fleeting. It only lasts for a moment and then it's gone. You know, like that puff of smoke that we see out of a diesel that comes out of the stack of the diesel and it's there for a second, but then it's gone. This is man, he is fleeting. And that's why it's very important what man puts in as his content within his mind. Right? Because all of man's counsels are fleeting. But the word of God abides forever and it is applicable in every single area of life. We need to understand this. Thus we understand that this book, the Bible, that we hold in our hands, has counsel for even the most minute detail of need or concern that we may experience. So what I am applying by an offensive posture is to use this book, the word of God, as foundation for our offensive. I want to start with Paul's second letter to the church in Corinth. Please turn to 2 Corinthians 10, 2 Corinthians chapter 10, so we can break down what Paul says about the very foundation of power that we utilize to wage war with the enemy. Second Corinthians chapter 10 at verse one, Paul says, I, Paul, myself, entreat you. or I beg you, or I ask very forcefully to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold to you when I am away. I beg of you that when I am present, I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God. and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete. So Paul here lays the very foundation for the weapons that we look to, the weapons that we pull from, the weapons that we utilize in every event that we find ourselves in. And certainly we are in spiritual warfare every day of our lives because the evil one wants to tear down your faith. And if he can tear down your faith and cause you to shame Christ with your life, that's exactly what he wants to do. He wants to make a shame of Christ. Now again, this book is our guide that we use to gain counsel in every situation. that we find ourselves within. Paul is stressing in this passage that even though we find ourselves in these bodies, we do not war according to the dictates of our flesh. For example, someone gets angry at you and says, you are nothing but a guttered goober. Well, we don't turn around and say, well, you're just a guttered goober gobbler. Or in other words, we do not return evil for evil, right? But scripture tells us that a kind word, a gentle word, a meek word from a controlled individual will turn away the strife of the situation. Our command is to return evil with good, for this is the mark of a Christian. the mark of a Christian. Do we bear these marks today? Or specifically, do we bear this mark? You know, one of the fruits of the Spirit is what? Self-control. Do we know how to control ourselves in certain situations where we become angry and we want to lash back? Now our diligent study of the word of God will teach us how to respond in situations such as this when we're angry and we want to strike back with all the vengeance that we can. Because we still have bits and pieces of the natural man that we struggle with. The natural man wants to go on the attack. I've been offended. I will not let that happen. And I'm going to come back at you harder than you came at me, says some. But not so for the Christian, not so for you and I. Maybe for some, but not for us. So let's go over this battle plan. These steps are not necessarily in order, but are very critical if we want to be successful in the battle, if we want to find that peace that passes all understanding when we're under the most fierce struggle in our lives. Is it possible? Yes, it is, because the word of God says it's possible, right? Jesus said he will grant us peace in those most difficult of times. What peace? That peace that passes all understanding, where people will say, how can he be so controlled in a situation like this? He's losing everything that he ever worked for. And once again, that opens the door for the gospel presentation because of Christ. He has given me a way to look circumspectly at my circumstances and walk through them appropriately as the word of God has instructed me to do so. And I know this doesn't always happen, right? You know, sometimes we all fall and we blow it. But we repent and get back to the battle plan that he has given us. Well, one of the steps in our battle plan, as I said, not necessarily in order, but this is something that we do at all times, and that is to pray. Prayer, we start here, and where else to start but with Jesus? In Matthew 6, Jesus says the following. He says, and when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your father knows what you need before you ask him. But pray like this, our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Well, part of God's will that will be done on earth is for you and me to endure suffering. So be careful what you pray for. but on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. Give us this day our daily bread, or Lord, grant us the needs that we have for this day. Are we in a position where that is not good enough today? Because there's many things, there's many trinkets and shiny objects in this world that I desire. That's what I really want. So be careful what you pray. Give us this day our daily bread. Is our daily bread enough for us? Verse 12, and forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors. Ooh, wow, that's a tricky one. You know, do we hold resentment towards any in our lives? Have we not forgiven certain individuals? Be careful what you pray. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses. Think within yourselves today, where do you set in regard to this word from Jesus? Do we have certain things that we haven't forgiven others for? Oh, I just can't do it. You know, the Bible says forgive and forget. What? Really? I would say it's just about impossible to forget, right? We're human, we remember, right? But to not keep an account of an offense that is in the past, right? We've forgiven that person, we have forgiven that person. And so there you have it. Our Lord gives us a pattern on how to pray. Now, when should we pray? The Bible has an answer for that as well. In 1 Thessalonians 5.16, the apostle Paul says this, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ for you. Are you an individual who rejoices? Or do you walk around with that scowl on your face like you're mad at the world? Do you pray without ceasing? Well, I pray when I have time. You know, my life is busy. Well, that's not the command. The command is to pray without ceasing. Do you give thanks in all circumstances, whether good or bad? For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, for you. So Paul is talking here about the condition of the individual. And that individual who is a serious follower of Christ will rejoice always. He will pray without ceasing. He will give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God which brings pleasure to him. And finally, why do we pray? James 5.16 says that the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. So your prayer is effective. We all want to be effective in the things that we do, right? So praying unceasingly, the scripture tells us, is effective as it is working. So our first step in our battle plan, or they're not necessarily in order, is to go on the offensive, to go on the offensive, I'm sorry, is to pray. The pattern of prayer would continue the following. As Jesus taught us, we pray specifically with purpose and content, not with the empty phrases as the Gentiles do, as Jesus speaks about in Matthew 6. Not with empty phrases. Not, okay, we always pray this way, and we always pray with this content in our prayer, so let's pray this again. No, we pray according to the life that dwells within us, the life of Christ. We pray like he prayed. We pray specifically with purpose and intent. Secondly, as we pray, we pray not randomly, but continually as if it is a part of us as much as our need for breath. As we pray, we understand that the prayer of a righteous person has great power, or in other words, it produces results. The second part of our offensive in our battle plan would be the following. We need to know the word of God. As ambassadors for God, we're those who speak for God when opportunity arises, when God presents us with a door, and then the door swings open that we may present the gospel. You know, when people ask us questions like, you seem to be different. You don't seem to, when we get together, you don't talk condescendingly or critically about other individuals. You seem to stay away from that. That is a door for us to swing open and preach the gospel and give Christ all the glory for the work that he has done within us. If we do not have knowledge of God's word, we have no ability to speak for God. Is this not true? When the time presents itself, I would like to use the text in Psalm 1 as a pattern for this discipline. Let's turn to Psalm 1 and go through the text. I want to concentrate on just the first three verses. Psalm 1, verses one to three, starting with verse one. You know, people may hear the word happy and think of it as a very trivial and trite comment. But when we read the first psalm, and in the first verse, the psalmist says, blessed is the man, this is exactly what it means. Oh, how happy is the man. Oh, how joyful is the man. Oh, how content is the man. And all these are involved or included in the blessing that God brings to this man. Contentment, joy, satisfaction. because you and I were created to find our satisfaction in God nowhere else. Nowhere else. I like to tell people when they complain, well, this has happened, that has happened. Oh, I no longer see this person or that person or whatever it may be. My question to them is, is Jesus enough? Is Jesus enough for you? Or do you need Jesus plus this person, that person, the other person, them over there and them over here? Because Jesus will put you in a position where he wants you to learn that he is enough for you. So blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked or the ungodly, nor does he stand in the way of sinners, nor does he sit in the seat of the scoffer, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night. He meditates day and night. Is that something that we do today? If we're going to meditate on the scripture day and night, we need to memorize the scripture. We need to read it. We need to memorize it. We need to meditate on it. We need to contemplate it. We need to put it up here in the file cabinet that God has given us to store things up here, right in the head. But once again, as we see the law of the Lord, the word of God as our delight, we make it our delight, we can't do without the word of God, we have to have it constantly, this man or woman is going to be tremendously blessed because this is what God created you and I for. And then practically, what does he say this individual looks like in verse three? He says, he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. Once again, we wanna prosper in all the things that we do, right? We want to excel at the things that we do. But if we want to prosper in every area of our life, God gives us the recipe right here. He takes no counsel from the wicked. He doesn't stand in the path of sinners. He doesn't sit in the seat of the scoffer. Ah, that, that. I can't think anything good about him to say. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. This is the blessed man who will prosper in every area of his life. Why? Because this is God's promise to us in everything, not something. but in all that he does, he prospers. So we deduce from this passage, those who are wicked, those who perpetuate sin and those who scoff do not receive any blessing from the Lord. To the contrary, the blessed man will delight in the law of God. He will see God's law as a perfect reflection of God's character and desire to follow it. This man will prosper and be blessed in all that he does. But do we believe that today? Think of it this way. At birth, our minds are like empty file cabinets, right? Tabula rosa, an empty slate. But once our senses begin to experience life, we start to take in those things that are interest to us. We look out in the world and we say, look, they're having fun over there. And I like what they're doing over there. And I want to be a part of that. Right? And for the most part, there's nothing wrong with activities or having fun. It's where it leads you. At this point, when we start taking in all this information, the file cabinet begins to fill up, right? The question is, what are we filling our minds or these file cabinets with? As a youth, our minds are like sponges, just taking in everything we see and hear. And then once we reach our teenage years, our senses shift into overdrive. In the last few generations, I must say, We in our American culture have not had much discernment and have invested most of our, let's say our children's time at least into Hollywood, into Disney, into Pixar, Facebook, Google, and other media giants to control what spills into our minds as well as the minds of our children. We are bombarded with entertainment. But not so with a disciplined man. The disciplined man, the disciplined woman sees that as a lie and says, maybe for you, but not for me. Because the children of these generations have been seduced by these media forces that have subtly drawn their minds away from God into useless, please-me entertainment, we find our country and culture in the position that it is today. What kind of information are we filling our minds with? What kind of information are we allowing our children to fill their minds with? Remember, once again, this life, three score, 10 years, 70 years, and out, what are we doing in those 70 years to prepare ourselves for eternity? We sure like to prepare ourselves for fun on earth, right? But earth, our life here is but a vapor. that it is fading away rapidly. Ask me. I feel nothing like I did when I was 18 years old. My body is breaking down. What am I doing for eternity? What am I doing for those around me in regard to eternity? Once again, nothing wrong with having fun. and a little entertainment and activity, I'm not saying that. But if you're gonna have fun, you're gonna have entertainment, make it Christ-based. Whether you eat or whether you drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10, 31. But today the siren has put out her call and has drawn us away from the position of a blessed man that we find in Psalm 1, that individual who meditates on the word day and night. And thus we now find our file cabinets filling up with junk that has nothing to do with God and no way brings honor nor pleasure to him. We can quote lines from our favorite movies, our favorite songs, our favorite sports celebrities, et cetera, but when it comes to the biblical knowledge file, most people have little to no information therein. Christians, Christians that go to church every week. You ask them what God thinks about a certain topic, and they're like, well, I never really thought of that. That can't be you and I. Because the word of God tells us that we need to have an answer to every man for the hope that lies within us. As you and I, we have to have answers for men that is a part of presenting the gospel to them. Well, yeah, you know, I know your favorite media pundit says this, but you want to hear what God says about this topic? and why it's impossible for me to vote for this individual or that individual. I'll tell you why, if you wanna know. So how do we repair the breach or right the ship? The only solution that will remedy this disease is to be intentional with our study of God's word. Consider this text in Romans 12, two. The apostle says the following, he says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Yeah, we're testing there, that by testing. God will put you and I through tests just about every day to test what our condition is in Christ, where we stand in our position in Christ. And sometimes God uses a certain situation to tell me or you that you gotta go back and do some more homework because you're not ready for this situation. You've been tried. And he fell. But this passage, Romans 12, verse two, is packed with information for you and I. Number one, don't follow the patterns of this world and those in the world, but follow the pattern of Christ as revealed to you and me in his word. I would say that You know, and I kind of made up this phrase some time ago, the Chino, the Christian in name only, Chino, that most people that sit in queues are Chino, Chinos. They want to be labeled a Christian, but in their lives, they are nothing like Christ. It's a sad condition that we find ourselves in today because we are called to be different, a holy people separated for the work of God, a peculiar people. It's like God has, has this, you know, you know, I go over to a, to Darren's shop and Thomas has this big, this big tool chest, this big red tool chest. And at any time he has a need to work on, let's say a motor, he can just go over to one of the drawers and pull out the tool that he needs. You and I are those tools in God's tool chest. And we have to be ready for him to pull us out at any time to use us for the situation that we find ourselves in. Why? Because before the foundation of the world, He gave you gifts and he gave you talents to utilize, what for? To bring glory to him. Not to put yourself up on a pedestal and climb a corporate ladder and make a name for yourself. You know, we think about some of our most famous athletes. Let's, you've probably heard the name Michael Jordan. They call him the greatest basketball player that ever lived. But guess what? God created Michael Jordan. If Michael Jordan doesn't have his right leg, he is not, even his right thumb, he is not the greatest basketball player ever. God created him with those abilities, but God created his abilities and your abilities to bring glory to him. Secondly, in this verse, we're called to be transformed. or changed as you read the Word of God and your mind is renewed. An intentional practice of reading and studying God's Word will load your mind with that which is good and honorable to Him. That's baseline, right? Why do we do this? Why do we do this first? Why do we read the Word of God? Why do we pray? Why do we fellowship? Why do we do all these things? To please God, right? There's secondary things that we do those, secondary reasons that we do those things for, right? But foundationally, we do everything to bring glory to him. When faced with challenges to your faith and decisions to be made, you will have an instant resource to pull from that will guide you in your time of need. That is if you've put the information right here in your mind. If you haven't, Well, that only means, or I haven't, that only means I have been irresponsible with what God has given me. We see the greatest example of this practice as our Lord did battle with Satan in Matthew four. Starting with verse one, we read the following. So then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, if you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down for it is written, he will command his angels concerning you. And on their hands, they will bear you up unless you strike your foot against the stone. Jesus said to him again, it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, all these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, be gone Satan for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. then the devil left him and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. So for every, for every attempt to knock Christ down, Christ had an answer with, it is written. And this is a position that we need to find ourselves in today. When someone comes to us to criticize, condemn, or to speak against the Word of God and our Christianity, it is written, thus says the Lord. Do we find ourselves in that position today as our Savior instantly, instantly spoke the Word of God to correct the lies of the devil? We notice in this passage that Jesus always had an answer for the lies that Satan would propose to him, and his answers always came from the word of God. Thus, we have been given a pattern by Jesus himself to follow. We, like Jesus, must know the word of God that we may be equipped to use it in our time of need. At the beginning of our study, we spoke about the need we have to be prepared for suffering. We have covered two of the disciplines that we need to be prepared for such time as this. Number one, the first discipline would be an intentional practice of prayer. Number two, the second discipline would be an intentional practice of reading, studying, and knowing the word of God. I want to finish the study with a third critical discipline that we need for preparing for a time of suffering in one's life. This third discipline would be an intentional practice of fellowship with the intent to encourage one another as we meet together. We all understand how important this third discipline is. None of us are islands that can travel through life with no support from others. Simply put, we need each other. Consider this word from the author of the book of Hebrews 10. Starting with verse 23, the author says the following. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. You know, if you've got a Christian, if you've got a Christian brother or, you know, even your husband or your wife or someone else that's coming to you and wants to talk smack about another person, that's out of bounds. That's out of bounds. How do we function in a situation like that? Well, in verse 24, he says that we need to stir up one another to love and good works. We need to encourage one another to speak in such a way that is uplifting and encouraging to one another. He goes on to say in verse 25, not neglecting to meet together as is a habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day nearing. So we come together intentionally today on the Lord's day to practice this, to encourage one another in the common faith that God has given us. And if one of us has a struggle or a difficulty we're going through, how do we best minister to that individual? These are things that you and I need to practice, need to do as we come together. We pray before we come together. Oh God, if someone has a need, please use me to help them in that need. This is how the body of Christ functions. Many members, one body, many gifts throughout the body that God utilizes to build up the body of Christ. But notice how the author says, to consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, we must ask ourselves the question, can I be so intentional to consider the needs of my sister or brother before I meet with them? Now, Lord, I'm going to meet with my brother John, let's call him. And I know he's had some difficulty in this area or that area. God, what can I do to encourage him? Do we pray with such intention like that before we get together? I know, and sometimes we'll forget, right? We'll forget, but there should be a pattern that we keep up, Lord. Lord, help me put aside myself and the difficulties I'm experienced with today because I know John has some real difficulties and I want to be able to be used by you to help him, to walk beside him, to lift him up in his time of discouragement. So can we be so intentional? We need to be so intentional. This is how the body of Christ works. If so, can I also think of ways I can encourage my brother or sister once I speak or see or speak to them? If we can do these two things, I think we will foster and experience a church full of encouraged people. This should be our intent as members of the body of Christ. And I will finish with this verse in Romans 15, five and six. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Please pray with me. Father, we thank you. We thank you for the body of Christ, Lord. I think we must always, all of us ask the question, where would we be without the body of Christ? Where would we be without the helpful assistance that the body of Christ brings? Where would I be without my brother or sister who helps me in such a way that no one else has ever helped me in? Oh God, Father, we just pray that we can be a group like this. a church that comes together with the intent to encourage one another in this beautiful faith that you have given us. And we pray this for all churches, Lord, around this world, that there would be revival as a result of our disciplines in these three areas, prayer, reading and studying your word and fellowship. And Father, we thank you for this time. In Jesus' name.