Well, good evening. Hello, it's good to see everyone here. We're back tonight with our Ask the Pastor series. I decided that what I'd do, we do have some questions that have been accumulating, so what I'm going to do is take every last Wednesday of the month and do a question. I think that'll be beneficial and then the men can fill in the rest of the time with their teaching. Just to give you a heads up, I think they're actually going to stop doing the catechism and they want to do book studies. So I said, yeah, I think that'd be beneficial. They want to try their hand at expository teaching. The catechism doesn't lend itself to that. Catechism's online, you can read all you want about it. I think they're looking at 1 John. I think it will be a beneficial thing for us all. Anyway, our Ask the Pastor question tonight is an interesting question. It concerns the Illuminati. More specifically, the one submitting this question asks, lately I've been hearing a lot about this cult called the Illuminati. So I started to read into it. As I read more and more, I started to realize these people are evil and they're trying to turn people away from God. I just really need to know your take on this. Is it real? Is it tied to what Revelation talks about in the end times? And then they made sure to close this question with, I hope you don't think I'm crazy or something. Thank you. So if you're here tonight, if you're listening to this via sermon audio, you're not crazy. So let's get that established first and foremost. There are a lot of people who hear from time to time these conspiracies, these theories about these secretive groups. And the Illuminati is one of those names that just pops up periodically. We don't hear a lot about it, but it does pop up periodically. And so really I think the first step in understanding what this is, is to understand exactly what the word means. Some of you might have picked it up already, but the Illuminati actually comes from a Latin phrase, and it means to be illuminated. These people see themselves as the illuminated ones, or more commonly, the enlightened ones. During the period of the Enlightenment, there were a lot of people who saw this resurgence in the so-called Illuminati. But the Illuminati itself as a group of people actually came about in May of 1776. There was an Austrian man by the name of Adam Weishaupt. And Adam Weishaupt in Austria created a society along with four of his friends, and they called themselves the Illuminati. Their claim was that they had inside information about a great number of topics. They knew secrets about the government. They knew secrets about religions. They knew secrets about this thing and that thing. It wasn't long before other secret societies began to pop up. They were actually modeled after the Freemasons. If you know anything about Masonry and the Masonic Lodge, the original Illuminati was very closely tied, at least in model form, to the Freemasons. A lot of you have heard of that book that was popular by Dan Brown a few years ago, The Da Vinci Code. It talks about a group called Opus Dei. Opus Dei is this fictitious group among the Catholic Church who were bent on overturning everything we know about Christ and where he actually went after he allegedly died. There's rumors that he actually moved to France and was married to Mary Magdalene and having moved to France he had children and among those children down through the line was Catherine of Medici, one of the ruling families there. Scientists have recently done DNA study on Catherine of Medici's bones and wouldn't you know it, there wasn't a trace of Semitic DNA in her bones. So that kind of dispelled that whole theory and we haven't heard from Dan Brown ever since. But there are a lot of these groups, and the Illuminati, again, is just one of these. The Illuminati itself in Austria actually fizzled out about 1785, because the emperor of Austria said, look, I don't want any secret societies. And you can only imagine why. You can't have an emperor ruling the country, and you've got these guys spreading lies and rumors and innuendo and all these other things about the inner workings of your own government, these so-called enlightened ones. Having said that, even though it died out in 1785, there are still people in the world today who insist that the Illuminati are alive and well. They say that over the periods of time, these certain eras since 1785, different groups have popped up that were part of the original Illuminati, and down through the ages it's been passed down and passed down, and even today there's this group of people called the Illuminati who really are kind of a ragtag bunch of people, but they're the power players in the world. There are some people who even claim that U.S. presidents have been members of the Illuminati. Their goal, of course, is what? World domination. World dominion. They want to usher in this new world order. A lot of the new age stuff is attributed to this group called the Illuminati. A lot of the sinister things going on in our government, from oil prices and price fixing all the way to the assassination of great world leaders and the warp and the woof of of every aspect of the world being governed by a select few people called the Illuminati. There are other subgroups that are kind of attached to the Illuminati. Some of you have heard of the Bilderbergers. This is not like the people at Burger King. I mean, they build burgers, but this is a group called the Bilderbergs. And you hear of the Bohemian Grove. Some of you have heard of that. You've heard of the Trilateral Commission. You've heard a lot about their involvement in this thing called the New World Order. Let me give you a definition of the Illuminati as it exists today from a website called Illuminati News. of all things. This guy says the Illuminati, not to be confused with the Bavarian Illuminati, more about that later, is a very secretive group of occult practitioners who have been around for thousands and thousands of years and are using the Jewish Kabbalah as one of their guidelines to oppress the rest of the population. It is not a boys club or a group of adults trying to get some excitement in life. This is something much bigger and much more sinister. It is an extremely well-structured organization consisting of people in very high places. These people are the super wealthy who stand above the law. Many of them don't even appear on the list of the wealthiest people in the world. They are that secret. What is driving them is power, money, and control over life and death of others and themselves. Now, again, the question is, is the Illuminati real? Is this really true? Are there people who have collected themselves together in these secretive groups to overthrow the world as we know it, to usher in the new world order, to teach all of our children about the new age, to worship a false Christ, to set the stage for the Antichrist. Well, my response, and I don't mean to sound insensitive at all, so don't take this the wrong way, but my honest response is who cares? Seriously, who cares? Throughout the history of the world, there have been certain groups of individuals, small and large, who have as their main goal the overturning of everything we know to be true about God, about His Word, about His Son, about what He came to do, about the reality of His death, burial, and resurrection, and about our current standing as Christians. There have been people throughout the ages who have made it their goal to overthrow or to thwart the sovereign plan of God. What makes many of these societies so insidious is, again, they insist that they've got inside information. They've got secrets that you need to know if you'd be more enlightened or more informed. The Gnostics that I mentioned on Sunday were such a group back in the second century. Even before that you had the Proto-Gnostics that Paul and Peter dealt with in the earliest days of the church. These were people who insisted that they knew the truth and they alone knew the truth. And what Paul and Peter were spreading were a bunch of lies, half-truths, misrepresentations, and so on and so forth. So you see Solomon was exactly right when he wrote in Ecclesiastes, there's nothing new under the sun. This is something that's been occurring since mankind has existed. Remember what happened at the Tower of Babel. There were a group of people who decided that they could build a tower that would reach up to the heavens so they could get to God and do what? Usurp his authority. Overthrow him. God made them confused in their languages. The tower ended up falling apart. Man was dispersed to the other ends of the earth. Eventually, though, what happened to every man, woman, and child on earth? Save eight. They were wiped out. Why? Because they got a little too big for their bridges. as we would say in the South. They wanted to usurp the authority of God. They tried everything they could to usurp the authority of God. They would not listen to the word of God. They would not pay God any attention whatsoever. They'd send themselves out of house and home. God says, that's enough. Noah, grab your family. Take two of every kind of animal on the earth. Put it on the ark. I'm shutting it up. And you and you alone will be saved. And we're going to try this again. That's not exactly what happened. It's not as though God's plan failed. But simplistically, we see why it happened. Because there were these groups that were intent on overthrowing God and they still exist today. As I said, the Freemasons, the Knights Templar, the Illuminati, the Skull and Bones Society that President George Bush was a part of in college. I don't know about you, but a bunch of drunk frat boys just doesn't scare me that much. And that's all they are. Now at the end of the day, what are all of these people? If we were to put them under an umbrella, under one heading, what are they? Sinners in need of a Savior. Good. More specifically. They're false teachers. They're false teachers. And we know that false teachers will always be with us. They'll always be with us. Jesus warned His earliest followers of these types. If you have your Bibles, look at Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7, beginning in verse 15. Jesus says this, he says, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire, thus you will recognize them by their fruits. What does that imply? When we're told that we'll recognize them by their fruits? What does that imply about our responsibility and our ability? What we should be good at? Discernment. Hence, you shouldn't eat the fruit. But discerning good fruit from bad fruit. How do you do that? Yeah, exactly. You know what the Word of God says. And having taken in the Word of God in copious amounts, you know, having filled yourself with the Word of God, whenever the false presents itself, you know right away, that's false. I've told this story before about how counterfeit money is actually discovered in this country. When the FBI trains their people and they go out and train banks and stuff like this to recognize counterfeit money, they don't show them counterfeit money. There's a million ways you can counterfeit money, to quote Steve in our earlier conversation. There's a million ways to tell a lie. There's only one way to tell the truth. get so familiar with the real deal that you know how it feels, you know how it looks, you know every little wrinkle, every little ink mark, every little security thing on that bill. When you get so familiar with that bill, then a counterfeit dollar or hundred dollar bill is presented to you, you know immediately that's a fake. But they don't train them by giving them stacks of counterfeit bills to look at. Well, in the same way, we don't learn to discern good fruit from bad fruit by studying bad fruit. We learn the difference by saturating ourselves with the Word of God. For those of us who have been saved any length of time, I can tell you right now, it's almost automatic with me right now. I'm not saying I've reached perfection. But it'd take a lot to pull one over on this guy. And it's all glory to God, but I recognize the truth to the extent that whenever I hear error, it's almost like alarm bells start going off in my head. And it can be something very subtle and very simple, but how does that ability get honed and perfected in our lives? We fill ourselves with the Word of God, and that way when we hear something contrary to it, we know immediately that's not true. That's not true. The Apostle Paul also warns of these types of individuals. Look at 1 Timothy 1, verse 6. 1 Timothy 1, beginning in verse 6. Paul refers to these individuals as certain persons who, by swerving from the truths of the gospel, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. In other words, Paul's being very nice here, but Paul's saying there are certain people who will be absolute ignoramuses when it comes to dispensing the truth. They make confident assertions. I mean, Joel Osteen stands in the pulpit and makes confident assertions. The greatest heretics the world's ever known, Charles Finney. Charles Finney made confident assertions about what he believed, but he was dead wrong. on how he interpreted the doctrine of salvation, namely. But Paul's saying there will be those who swerve from the truth and they'll make these confident assertions, but guess what? They don't know what they're talking about. Now again, how is it that you're to know what they're talking about? Whether or not their confident assertions are based in truth, or whether they're not based in truth. You need to fill yourself with the truth. In Acts chapter 20, Acts 20, verses 29-31 in his farewell address to the Ephesian elders. Paul says, I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. So he's saying, for three years I didn't cease, both night and day, to admonish every one of you with tears. Now, how do you suppose Paul admonished them for a three year period? What was Paul known for? For that three year period, he filled them with the gospel. He just pumped them up with the gospel. He filled them to the brim with the gospel. I can only imagine how this might have gone down. I mean, you can imagine poor old Eutychus sitting up in the window, and he falls out, right? He falls out of the window, and they have to go and revive this guy. Because he actually, I think, according to the Greek translation, he actually died. And so they had to revive the guy. Poor guy fell out of the window. Why did he fall out of the window? Because Paul had probably been preaching, according to the timeline of that text, Paul had probably been preaching for 12 hours. That's a man who was intent on getting them to recognize the truth. Peter also warned against false teachers. Look at 2 Peter 2. 2 Peter 2, beginning in verse 1. He's speaking in the past tense initially, but he says, but false prophets also arose among the people, speaking of the old economy, just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them. bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." Aren't these the same people that the Apostle Paul said are those certain people who will arise from among them and stray from the truth and lead others by their convincing words into error? Of course. Nothing new. Peter was experiencing the same problem. Now how do you suppose Peter would have addressed the antidote for this particular problem? He would have said the same thing. What did he say? He said, like newborn babes, long, crave, long for the pure milk of the word. Why? So that by it, you may grow. That's Peter's advice. Same thing as Paul. John, in 1 John 4, 1 through 6, says this. He says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist. which you heard was coming and is now in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them. For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world, therefore they speak from the world and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us. Whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Did you catch that last part? Whoever knows God and listens to the truth, and whoever is not from God doesn't listen to the truth. Right? Whoever is from God listens to the truth. Why? Can we say that about everybody who is born of God? Of course we can. We dare not neglect or negate the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who, when we as believers hear the Word of God and its truth, what does it do? It resonates in our soul. You ever heard a message, you know, from some famous preacher reading Spurgeon, maybe, or listening to John MacArthur or John Piper, and your heart feels like it wants to explode within your chest? You ever been affected that way? That's the Holy Spirit taking that truth and making it real in your life and you're growing. You're growing by leaps and bounds as you hear the truth and you savor it and you long for it like that babe longs for the pure milk of the Word. By the same token, when we hear error, what do we do? Our heart breaks. Our heart shrinks, shrivels up in us. And we turn the radio off. Or we put the book back on the rack. How do we have that ability? Do we have that ability having studied all the errors in the world? No. We have that ability because we're born of the truth. And the truth resonates in us only because the Holy Spirit is sitting inside each one of us who believe. And He's saying, you need to listen to this, this is truth. Or, he says, get out of there. Don't negate or neglect the power of God's Holy Spirit to lead you into truth. In Galatians 1.8, what does Paul say? Back up to verse 6, actually, Galatians 1.6-8, Paul chastises some of the Galatians who had begun to stray from the truth. He says, I'm astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. Now if Paul warns against following anyone who preaches a gospel contrary to what he has preached to them, what does that imply about our responsibility as believers? It implies that we need to understand the truth that Paul spoke. We need to be aware of the true gospel. We must know the gospel preached by Paul and others. Otherwise, when someone comes preaching a different gospel to us, how are we to fend that off? If we're not saturated with the Word of God, we won't be able to fend it off. We'll fall hook, line, and sinker for whatever lies they're putting forth. I don't need to study the Illuminati or anyone else as a means of avoiding falling prey to them. What do I need? I need Christ, and I need an unshakable, unwaverable understanding of truth. That's it. That's it. We just read from Paul's farewell address in Acts 20, 29-31, where Paul does say, yes, when I leave, false teachers are going to come in and they're going to rear their ugly heads and they're going to try to lead you astray. But notice what he says in verse 32. I didn't read it because I wanted to save it for now. He says this in verse 32 as a corrective. He says, and now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace. which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified." And there are some today who would say, wow, Paul, is that all you've got? You're leaving me to the word of His grace? And you think that's sufficient to fight the onslaught of false teaching that is sure to come our way? You said it yourself, Paul. False teachers are going to rise all over the place, and now all you're saying is, I leave to you The Word of Grace. Yes, that's exactly what he's saying. Why? Because that's all you need. That's all you need. I've pointed out repeatedly in Ephesians 4, Paul says that the Lord has given the church, the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the preachers and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to a unity of the faith. and the knowledge of the Son of God. He says He wants us to be mature. That's why God provided all of these things in the church. He wants us to be mature. He wants us to measure up to the fullness of the stature of Christ. Why? Verse 14 of Ephesians 4. Why does He say this? He says, "...so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes." You see how that works? Paul is saying if you would be inoculated from the many dangers that are out there in the world that would seek to turn over what you believe, that would seek to cause you to question your faith, that would seek to rob you of your assurance and your joy at what God has done in your soul, the antidote to that, the way we fend all of that off, is by attending to the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and hiding it in our heart, so that we might not be those children who are tossed back and forth by every wind of doctrine. You know, the world we live in today can be a frightening place, but only if, one, we lose sight of the fact that we're merely sojourners, pilgrims, passing through. This world's not my home. This world's not my home. And since it's not my home, I'm being totally honest with you, I could not care less what's going on out in the world. It doesn't interest me. It doesn't entice me. It's not anything to me. That's how Paul could say what he did about eating meat sacrificed to idols. He says, I can eat it all day long. Why? Because idols aren't real. And he said, I know some of you would be offended by that, and for the sake of the weaker brethren, I won't eat it. But make no mistake about it, I can if I want to. Why? Because I don't care what's going on in the world around me. I am focused on Christ and Him crucified, and that's what I preach, that's what I teach, that's what I hide in my heart, that's what I believe. End of story. So again, the world can be a frightening place if we lose sight of the fact that we're not just temporary residents, or that we are temporary residents. We're just passing through. It can also be a frightening place if we don't make it our subtle priority to fill ourselves with the Word of God. Conspiracies involving plots to overthrow the plan and purpose of God may flourish. They always have. Secret societies may abound. The Illuminati may live right next door to you. But there's coming a day, and we all must believe this as well. There's coming a day, and it might be today. I pray that it is. upon which every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And whose knee will bow and whose tongue will confess that? The emerging church preacher? The head of the Illuminati? The leader of the New World Order? New Age proponents? All of them will bow the knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The only New World Order that should cause any of us to get excited is the one that will be ushered in by the Lord Himself. It's prophesied in Isaiah 65. In Isaiah 65, we're told that God says, I'll rebuild the heavens and the earth. And in Revelation 21.1, we see it fulfilled. This present heaven and earth will pass away, and a new heaven and earth will take its place, in which righteousness will reign, in which God Himself will be reigning. Jesus Christ will reign with an iron rod, and sin will be no more. Is that not a glorious thought? New world order? What does that even mean? Does that mean that someone out there or some group of people is even capable of thwarting the plan of God and installing a new world order without Him knowing? We need to remember that as the elect of God, chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world, even though everything around us might be falling apart, even if the Antichrist himself buys that house next door to this church, There's not anyone or anything that can take away your salvation. And there's no way possible that you or I will be deceived to the point of falling away. John 17, Jesus in His high priestly prayer. Praise this to the Father, beginning in verse six. And I want you to listen to what he prays. Beginning in verse six, he says, I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Got that? out of the world they've been given to Christ. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your Word. Now they know that everything You have given Me is from You. For I have given them Your words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from You, and they have believed that You sent Me. I am praying for them. I'm not praying for the world, but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. And I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost, except the Son of Destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world. just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth." Do we not realize that God's answer to the prayers of His Son, God of very God Himself, who was perfect, in every way, perfectly in accord with the Father? Do we not know that His response to those prayers is always yes and amen? Could it be otherwise? Do we really think that God listened to those prayers of Christ and said, Son, I hear you, but I'm afraid I can't do that. We know that's not true because we've read John 6. John 6 says what? All whom the Father has given Me will come to Me, and those who come to Me I will never cast out. Ever. Romans 8. The whole chapter. Says what? It culminates in verses 38 and 39 by saying that there is nothing in the entire created realm that will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing. Not the Illuminati, not the Masons, not the New World Order, not the New Age Movement, nothing. One must ask too, was God absent while the devil and his minions did all of these things? Is God absent when these secret societies form and plot to overthrow Him and overthrow His plan? Is God missing somehow? Is God taken aback by this? Is He taken by surprise? Does He wring His hands and say, Oh no, what are we going to do now? No! As a matter of fact, if you really understand the sovereignty of God as it's portrayed in Scripture, who is in charge of all this? God! So in a very real way, God is orchestrating the activities of the Illuminati. Isn't that funny? They think they're here to overthrow the sovereign plan of God. But all they're here for is to build up wrath unto themselves so that God will fetch for Himself the ultimate in glory when they all bow the knee. That's why they're here. So what is the believer's response to all this? Well, it's simple. Know the Word of God and you'll know the God of His Word. That's first and foremost. Know the Word of God and you will know the God of His Word. As Paul said to the Colossians, I mentioned it a moment ago, Paul said to the Colossians, he said, let the Word of Christ dwell in you. How? Richly. What does that mean, richly? The word actually means extravagantly. And it really was used to speak of a sponge that, you know when you dip a sponge in the water and you squeeze it and you let go and you then pull it out of the water and it's just dripping? That's the word used there. Paul said to the Colossians, let your lives be reflective of the fact that you have the Word of Christ dwelling in you and it's just pouring out all over you. Number two, know with a certainty you're standing in grace. You'll never be lost. Ever. Isn't that a promise that we can take to the bank? Aren't we blood-bought and spirit-sealed? Do we think so little of the Holy Spirit's ability to seal us until the day of redemption? that we somehow turn it back on ourselves and say, well, I'll be saved if I fill in the blank. No, God says we're saved on the basis of His grace and His grace alone. And finally, adopt a Psalm 23 attitude. What is that? What is that? What's a Psalm 23 attitude? The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Right? What else? Yea, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death itself, I will fear not, for you are with me. And you know what? If you have the Psalm 23 attitude, there's nothing in the world that can scare you. There's nothing in the world that can frighten you. There's nothing in the world that can make you blue. There's nothing in the world that can discourage you. We are overcomers. We're more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. We need to live like it. We're children of the King. Now having said all this, let me just add that there is nothing wrong with warning one another. When you see something dangerous, I mean, it would be foolish to see someone standing in the middle of I-10 out there and not warn them that a truck's coming and is about ready to hit them. Sure, they'll go to heaven, but they won't enjoy the experience that gets them there, right? And again, believers can't be lost, but they can spend time being useless. And so for no other reason, we do want to warn people of the dangers to come. But never let your warning cause others to doubt their standing in grace. If you're going to warn somebody, warn them of the dangers of becoming useless in the Kingdom and cause of Christ. Don't ever cross the line and warn people and get them afraid that they might not be saved. That's dangerous. Besides that, that's something you can't do anyway. Again, at the risk of sounding childish, Illuminati, Shaluminati. It's a good question though, because we hear these things all the time. If you have a question like this, don't be afraid to ask these questions, because this is good stuff. This is where we get to talk about the realities in the world today, how we respond to them, and how we are to conduct ourselves as children of the king, and we're to hold our heads high, We're to armor ourselves with the full armor of God. Read Ephesians 6 over and over and arm yourself, equip yourself, put on the full armor of God. And what will that do? It will make you impervious to any attacks the devil might throw at you. Now what is the armor of God? What does it consist of? The helmet of salvation. What's that? But the assurance that I'm saved. Go ahead, whack me in the head and see if I'm not saved. Not literally. But Satan, take your best shot. Right here. I'm saved. What else? The breastplate of righteousness. What's the breastplate do? It guards the heart. And what's important about the heart? The heart is the seat of the emotions. The heart is who you are. Right? The heart is who you are, and what better way to describe that than something that protects your heart. What protects your heart? Knowing that you have Christ's righteousness imputed to you. Man, if I can stand knowing I am standing in Christ's righteousness, I can literally stand before God the Father Himself and not be afraid. Right? Isn't that what salvation is all about? What's the belt? the belt of truth. What does that do for you? Well it takes all of these extraneous issues in life, just like one would cinch up their dress, their outer garment. It was like men wore these flowing dresses and when they'd go into battle they would take the thing from behind, they'd pull it up between their legs and they'd stuff it down into their belt. Well that's what the belt of truth does for us. It prevents us from being taken in by all of the extraneous stuff in the world. If we cinch up our belt of truth and we have truth as our buckler and our shield, then we'll be impervious to the devil's attacks. What about the shield of faith? What does Paul say about the shield of faith? Carry the shield of faith, because it will quench the fiery darts of the evil one. I mean, picture this in your head. What about the feet? The feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel. And these were shoes that had cleats on the bottom. And what were the cleats for? When a man went into battle, he had to be reasonably assured that when he pushed with his shield and lashed out with his sword of the Spirit, When he lashed out with all this weaponry, he had to be assured that he wouldn't slip. The enemy would try to push him. He needed to dig in, much like a football player with his cleats, and not be movable. That's what it does for us. It makes us immovable. If those things aren't enough to inoculate us against the wiles of the devil, I don't know what is. I don't know what is. Having said that, are there any questions? Concerns? Disagreements? Arguments? Platitudes? Bloviations? Nothing? Rosie?