We're going to continue looking at the dangers of listening prayer. And so we'll pray and then hopefully we'll finish this section today. So I appreciate you all being here. I'm always excited about this Bible study. There is a, I have a time for question and answers after the study is over. Should you have any, feel free to ask them. Let's pray. Oh Lord God, this is your holy word. We are your servants. Give us understanding that we might know your testimonies. You have prayed, O Lord, sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth. Use your holy, eternal, and errant written word to set us apart to your service and to your glory. Show us now great and mighty things which we do not know. The sower sows the word. Let not your word go out and return empty. But accomplish that purpose for which you have gathered us together and for which you are sending it out. Protect us from Satan who will snatch your word. Protect us from a wrong reaction to difficulties and discouragements and persecutions, which make our hearts hard and unresponsive to your word. Protect us from the world's cares and the delight of wealth and the passion of other interests which enter in and choke the Word, making it fruitless. Rather, plow up now the hard ground of our hearts, O Lord. Give us good soil that Your sown written Word would send roots downward and then bear fruit upwards. Unsheathe now the sword of your spirit, O LORD. Cut to dividing point of bone and marrow, soul and spirit. Judge now the thoughts and intentions of each heart gathered here. Spread your word before us as a banquet table, O LORD. Grant grace that we might eat of the rich meat and drink of the sweet milk of the great doctrines of your word. Give us the heart of the prophet who cried to you. Thy words were found and I did eat them, and thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. Oh Lord, we live in a dark and a wicked age. Broad is the way and many are on it, which leads to destruction. Make your word a lamp to our feet. Make your word a light to our path. Show us that narrow way that you would have us run. And Lord, as we run in the paths of your commandments, enlarge our hearts, that in loving you, we might be more obedient to your written word. Oh Lord, because of our fealty to you, because of our undying love and devotion to your Son, our resurrected Savior, We pledge to you this day our total submission to your holy, eternal, inerrant written word, and we pledge to you our unquestioning obedience to all of its commands. In the name of our Lord and resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Okay, let's look at the dangers of listening prayer. Ah, Brother Alex, good to see you. Oh, and your children. Well, we're going to look at the dangers of listening prayer. The first danger is it frees the practitioner from the constraints of Holy Scripture. 2 Timothy 13-15 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned, and become convinced of, knowing from whom you learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings, which are able to give you wisdom. A wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. So it frees listening prayer. You do not have to reflect and learn from others and from the word of God. When the discipline of listening prayer, you simply empty your mind and allow God to speak to you. Well, being freed from the constraints of Holy Scripture may feel freeing and powerful, but it is actually very dangerous. Another danger of listening prayer is that it frees the practitioner from the constraints of scriptural authority. Hebrews 13, 17 says, Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable to you. But if you adhere to the discipline of listening prayer, then you simply empty your mind of all thoughts. Whatever you think is God's will becomes God's will. And you don't go to your leaders for counsel, for wisdom. You don't have to submit to them. You simply tell them, God told me to do this. Kind of eliminates discussion, doesn't it? Husband then doesn't have to consider his scriptural responsibility and the constraints of scripture concerning his wife and children. He simply says, God told me to do it. A wife doesn't have to consider the scriptural authority of her husband over her. She simply tells him, God told me to do it. Children don't have to obey their parents and honor them. They simply have to report to their parents that God told them to do it. Pastors, ministry leaders, disciple makers cease to have authority. People just can empty their minds and God will tell them what to do. one of the dangers of listening prayer is that it frees the practitioner from the constraints of scriptural authority. However, this contrasts with the counsel of God, the Holy Spirit, whereby we are to obey our leaders and submit to them whereby we learn that there is safety in many counselors. That God the Holy Spirit directs us to, in Proverbs 24.6, For by wise guidance you will wage your war and in the abundance of counselors there is victory. But the practitioner of listening prayer, he doesn't have to worry about an abundance of counselors. He doesn't have to worry about wise guidance. He doesn't have to worry about submitting to authority. He can just report what God has told him to do. And I know in the ministry, I find that when somebody wants to do something and they don't want counsel, they don't want advice. And they particularly don't want to hear that the Bible is contradicting them. They will just say, well, God told me to do it. That kind of eliminates discussion. Doesn't it? They don't even want me to ask them. What does God's voice sound like? No. And a listening prayer is the ultimate culmination of that mindset. How can your wife be your helpmate if you don't allow her to help you? How can your husband be your spiritual protector if you don't allow him to protect you? How can you submit to your husband as the church submits to Christ and practice listening prayer? I remember I was, um, I had invited a couple to go on a mission trip with us and we were beginning the training for that. And I was meeting with them. The husband was very excited about the going. And the wife said, well, I'm still waiting for a word from God on whether I should go or not. Well, she already had a word from God. I said, I'll give you a word from God. Ephesians 5.22. Bishan, would you read Ephesians 5.22, please? Wives don't, if a husband is called to a ministry. Brother Alex, if you would look at Genesis 3.18. No, I'm sorry, Genesis 2.18. Ephesians 5.22, Brother Bashan. wife, submit to your own husband as to the Lord. Ah, so she already knows God's will, doesn't she? Alex, would you read, Brother Alex, would you read Galatians 2.18, please? Then God said, it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. So the wife is her husband's helper in the ministry. She's to submit to him. So if he feels strongly that this is God's will, she doesn't have to pray about it. The only thing she has to pray about is if he's asking her to do something that's sinful. But listening prayer frees her from the constraints of Genesis 2.18, Ephesians 5.22, 1 Peter 3.1. And so she didn't, she didn't appreciate me sharing that with her. But I felt it was necessary. It assumes that all spirit led decisions are from God, the Holy Spirit. first john four one do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from god for many false prophets have gone into the world now when i ask the people when i ask people what is our first response to a spiritual event they always say you test the spirits but no that's the second response what is the first response it is disbelief Then you test them. Then you know whether to believe them or not. But listening prayer assumes that spirit-led decisions are from God the Holy Spirit. And that is not true. Look at 1st Chronicles 21.1, then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. David was being moved by a spirit but was it God the Holy Spirit? Nor was it. If David, instead of following this spirit, had turned to the law, he could have avoided many difficulties. It is not and was not a sin to number the people, but there is a way it was to be done. First of all, the law commanded that he go to the priest and he offer a sacrifice. and then the law commanded that he listen to the prophets and the counselors on this subject and only after he has offered the appropriate sacrifice and gone about it in a scriptural way in submission to his prophets and counselors could he number the people but David bypassed all of that by assuming that the spirit that was moving him was God, the Holy Spirit. And we cannot assume that. 1 Kings 22, 20-30. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, I will entice him. The Lord said, how? And he said, I will go out and be a, what does this say, deceiving spirit. in the mouth of the prophets then he said you are to entice him and also prevail go and do so now therefore behold the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you we cannot assume that any movement of the Spirit is of God, the Holy Spirit, simply because we like the direction it's going. All spiritual events, all thoughts, all phenomenon, must be tested against the Word of God. Let's see, Tamblyn, would you read Hebrews 4.12 for us, please? Tamblyn, if you would read Hebrews 4.12. How can we be protected against a deceiving spirit? Hebrews 4.12. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12. Is that it? Yes. Please. Okay. For the word of God is living and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. Yeah, and the Word of God protects us, not our own intuition. How can we know if this Spirit that is leading us is God the Holy Spirit? Well, we test it against the written word of God. People say, well, you're putting God in a box. Oh, absolutely not. But God has put us in the book. We are constrained by God, the Holy Spirit's holy, eternal, inerrant written word. and those constraints are for our protection. Listening prayer assumes man's thoughts or God's thoughts. Gaspare, read Isaiah 55, 8 and 9 for us please, if you would. Belongin, I will get you to be looking at Proverbs 14, 12. Bishan, if you want to look at Judges 21-25. So, Isaiah 55, 8 and 9. let's see what was so real good job i was needed uh... as i have to see if i think i'm nine please for my thoughts i'm not your thoughts nor are your ways my ways declares the lord for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways yeah listening prayer assumes that the thoughts that come into our mind are God's thoughts can we assume that Our thoughts are God's thoughts. Can we do that? No. Now let's contrast that with something. Brother Alex, would you read 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17? 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, please. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. Now our thoughts are not God's thoughts, are they? Our ways are not God's ways. But the Word of God is God's thoughts. The written Word of God are God's ways. And that's why he has provided us with that. Now, if I place the demonic writing of the Koran, the demonic writing of the Book of Mormon, the demonic writings of the Jehovah's Witness Watchtower, the demonic writings of the Hindu Book of the Dead, and the holy scriptures on a table you can quickly tell me which is from God and which is from Satan, can't you? But you don't know what God's voice sounds like and just because a voice speaks in your head or a spirit moves in your heart or a thought comes to your head you do not know if that's from God or from Satan unless you test it against the Word of God. So it assumes man's thoughts are God's thoughts, whereas God wants you to assume that God's Word is God's thoughts. God's Word is God's way. So God wants you to assume that His written word are his thoughts and ways. And in that we find safety. There is no safety in following our thoughts and assuming they are God's. Because they aren't. Do you see that? My thoughts are not your thoughts. So, we cannot assume our thoughts are God's thoughts. We can assume our thoughts are not God's thoughts. That's why this book of the law shall not depart out of our mouth, but we shall meditate upon it day and night that we might be careful to do it. That is the written word of God. We don't empty our mind of the word of God, we fill it. Thy word, Psalm 119.11, thy word have I laid up in my heart that I might not sin against God. So, number five, listening prayer assumes that when a way seems right in our thoughts and minds, that it is right. Yet what does Proverbs 14.12 say? Let's see, who had that? There's a way that stands right to Iman, but in the end it leads to death. Yeah, it may seem right. This person in Proverbs 14, 12 is not rebelling. He genuinely thinks it is the right way to go. He sincerely, it just seems right. But, It needs to be tested against the written word of God. We cannot simply proceed because we emptied our mind and an idea came into our mind that seemed right. It might be from God. It might not be from God. That's why we go back up here. We started out with 1st John 4.1. We don't believe every spirit but we test it. So we have this idea. Well, it seems right. Might be from God or it might not be from God. Seems like a good idea but is it a good idea? Let's find out from God's Word if it's a good idea. and one aspect of God's Word directs us to counselors and to spiritual authorities. It's not a good idea if it violates Holy Scripture. I've warned you gentlemen over and over again that in the 21st century church and in Christian organizations of the 21st century, you are all treated like single adults in your decision making. But you are not. You are not single adults. Now the wheel illustration, I use it in discipleship. And when dealing with single men, single career men, And women, the wheel illustration is excellent. We have there in the wheel illustration, the obedient Christian in action. Do you see that? That's great. I have no problem with that. This was a great blessing to me when I was a single career man. It really put me on, it moved me from a hot, cold, start-stop Christian to having a consistent, even walk with God. But if you're married, does it say the obedient Christian? No, it says the obedient husband, the obedient wife, the obedient married couple in action. Because the two become one. If you're married, you don't have the husband has his wheel and it's zipping along and the wife has her wheel and it's zipping along as if you are college roommates or you are single career people who are roommates. If you are married with children, it says the obedient Christian family in action. because you have the consideration of the husband, the wife, and the children. But you have to remember that the modern church and modern Christian organizations, when an area is preached on lordship, when a decision is to be made about missions, about ministry, about lifestyle, about any aspect of the Christian life, they will not say, but you husbands cannot make this decision until you've talked with your wife, because 1 Corinthians 7, 1 through 3 says your body's not your own. And the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 7, that that you have to be concerned about worldly things, how to please your wife. And you wives, before you make a decision on this, you have to talk to your husband. Because if he is a mature Christian, Ephesians 5.22 says you are to submit to him as the church does to Christ. If he is a non-Christian or a carnal Christian, 1 Peter 3.1 and 2 says you are to submit to him as your ministry. And you children, you cannot make an independent decision on this. Ephesians 6, 1 and 2 says that you are to obey and honor your parents. So before you make a decision in this area, I want you to talk to your parents. Do you ever hear that? No, and you will rarely hear that. The obedient Christian in action is an outstanding illustration for independent single Christians. But if you are married, it's the obedient couple, Christian couple, the obedient husband, the obedient wife in action. If you are married, it's the obedient Christian family in action. The two become one. and you no longer have the luxury of having just one wheel. It assumes that what seems right in our thoughts and mind that it is right. But we cannot assume that. Let's look at Judges 21-25. Who had that passage, please? I can't remember who ended up with that. Well, oh great. Okay. In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right. Yeah. And it assumes that if something seems right in our heart, in our eyes, that it's right. Now, why did everyone do what was right in their own eyes? Because there was no scriptural authority to protect them. But that's not true with the Christian family, isn't there? There is a husband, there is a wife, there is the Word of God. So we just have to remember that. What we have to do is we have to be thinking We have to be thinking in terms of our walk with God and in terms of our ministry of our family. Just because it seems right does not free us from scriptural authority. Another thing it does is it elevates man's speculations to the level of God's revelation. look at Romans 1 21, for even though they knew God they did not honor God or give thanks to him but became futile in their speculations. And that is possible in the Church today. People Women in the church today know what the Word of God says in terms of Ephesians 5.22 and 1 Peter 3.1 Husbands know what the Word of God says in terms of Ephesians 5.25 about loving their wives as Christ loved the church, Ephesians 5, 28, loving their wives as their own body, caring for their financial needs. Pastors know what the word of God says in 1 Peter 3, 1 through 5, that if a man does not care for his own wife, how is he going to care for the church of God, his own children? They know what it says. But rather than submitting to these areas, we're going to speculate. What are some speculations? Well, let's look at something. Mishan, would you look at Ephesians 5.22, please? Brother Alex, you look at 1 Timothy chapter 3, please. Gaspare, you look at Ephesians 5.25 please. Let's see, who hasn't read yet? Emanuel, you look at 1 Timothy 5.8 please. So let's look at some of these passages. Ephesians 5, 22. Why submit to your own husband as to the Lord? Well, we know God and we know that this is God's Word. But rather being thankful that God has given this constraint upon wives, and honoring God by obeying this. We find women having futile speculations. Well, the women in the Church of Ephesus were wild and unruly. Well, this was an ignorant time. Well, women were standing up and disrupting the church. So Paul, you know, he had to, women were not educated. You know, the speculations go on and on, even though none of those speculations can be proven. They are pure fabrics of liberal European and American Bible teachers' imaginations. Ephesians 5.25. Ephesians 5.25. Husbands, love your wives. Jesus Christ loved the church, and gave himself up for her. Well, you know, men, when they read that verse, they know what that means. But let's engage in futile speculations. Well, I know the spiritual care of my wife is my responsibility, but I can delegate that. As long as it gets done, God doesn't care who does it, as long as I see that it gets done. Well, that's a futile speculation. That's not true. God expects you, the husband, to care for the spiritual needs of his wife, to sanctify her by the washing of the water with the word, and in Ephesians 6, 4, to bring your children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. And nowhere does God make provision for you to delegate that to other people. But men speculate on that. Ephesians 5, 28. let's see did someone have a piece of five twenty eight uh... it's not like i mean you know i'm sure i'm going to read that it is that we've got a lot of people of their life out their own body he who loves his wife loves him himself and now first timothy five eight first timothy five eight If anyone does not provide for his relatives and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Well, men, Christian men and pastors, they know that that's God's Word. They know God. They know they should honor God by obeying this passage. They know that they should be thankful that God has given them this responsibility and not become restless. But men, pastors, Christian men, become futile in their speculations. And they think, hey, I know what. I'm going to place my family on the altar. I'm going to give them back to God. I'm going to trust God for their well-being and be single-minded and not think about worldly things. Even though they know that God has said in 1 Corinthians 7 that they are to think about worldly things. first corinthians seven thirty two but i want you to be free from concern one who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the lord how we may please the lord but the one verse thirty three who is married is concerned about the things of the world how we may please his wife they know god the holy spirit instructs husbands in this manner but they want to become but they become futile in their speculations Their foolish heart becomes darkened as they seek to minister and function and live as if they are single and not care for the material needs of their wife. I knew a pastor in Kenya. He had a, he had a nice ministry. His wife was taken care of. His children were being well-educated and clothed. And all of a sudden he decided, you know, that God wanted him to give up everything and go and minister in the slums. And I said, Hey, if you're single, you go right ahead. But you're not free to do that as a married man. You have to be concerned about worldly things, how to please your wife. If you wanted to minister in the slums like a single man, you should have remained single. Met a man at a conference. He was having a great time. He was going to seminary in America. He was from the Congo, the Republic of Congo. He was dressed nice. He was well fed, living the high life. He showed me a picture of his family. They were living in a very impoverished area. No shoes, tattered clothes, tin roof, mud house with no windows. Now there's no shame in that if you are poor. But there is shame for a man to be living like he is while his wife and children are living like they are. And I said, why aren't they with you? And he said, I just can't afford to bring them. I said, why do you have enough faith to live like this, but not enough faith to care for your wife and children? So I rebuked him. I told him to go home. He didn't, but he should have. But see, he had become futile in his speculations. He had decided that... coming to America and living in an expensive dormitory and going to conferences and being flown around to speaking churches by Christian businessmen and living the high life that God was blessing him in a special way. And he had forgotten all about his wife and children and he had become futile in his speculations rather than obedient to Holy Scripture. feudal and his speculation first step at the chapter three who has that place uh... that's me okay brother alex if you will read verse two for us please an overseer then must be above reproach the husband of one wife temperate prudent respectable hospitable able to teach That's clear, isn't it? But you find people say, well, they begin speculating. Well, David had more than one wife. God used him. And then they'll say, yeah, most people in the Old Testament were polygamists and were bad husbands and fathers. That's not true, but they speculate like that. You show me a man, an elder or a deacon or a pastor who does not want to practice the ministry of hospitality, and I'll show you someone who has trouble in his home. Our home has always been open for the ministry of hospitality, but that's because my wife loves me and is a gracious hostess. It's because my children are obedient. and her joy to be around and that's because I'm up to a hundred and ten percent of budget so my wife and children do not go wanting when we bless other people okay brother Alex now read verse four please he must be one who manages his own household well keeping his children under control with all dignity yeah there's a dignity in this man's home his children are under control. Being a controlling father is a vice in the 21st century, but it's a virtue in holy scriptures. Verse 5, Alex. And if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God? Yeah, and pastors know this passage. They know that if their wife and their children are not being led by them spiritually, they know that that disqualifies them from the ministry. They know that they can only be the husband of one wife. They cannot neither be polygamous, nor can they practice serial adultery, marrying, divorcing, marrying, divorcing. They know that. But they began to speculate. I was at a conference and the speaker was speaking on 1 Timothy 3 about the qualifications of a pastor and he began to say, now remember, this list in 1 Timothy chapter 3, no one can do all of these things. This is a big picture list. I immediately turned to Eleanor and said, trouble in the family. Because when they eliminate things from 1 Timothy chapter 3, it's never sobriety, is it? Well, sure, he's a drunk, but we're not gonna hold him to everything, do they? It's not thievery. It's not false doctrine. It's always the family. So they just speculate, don't they? It's the same with Proverbs. When a man is going to teach on Proverbs, and he says, now remember Proverbs are truisms. They are not to be taken literally. I turn to Eleanor and I say, trouble in the family. Because he's not talking about murder, is he? He's not talking about running with riotous drunkards, is he? He's not talking about idolatry, is he? He's not talking about thievery, is he? Because all of those things are forbidden in the book of Proverbs and are taken literally. He's talking about the rod of reproof. He's talking about the standard of the pastor's wife in Proverbs 31. He's just talking about the family. So they feel free to engage in futile speculations. Don't do it. You men know God, you want to honor him, give thanks to him, you'll obey me. We don't have to speculate, do we? God's word is clear. Listening prayer elevates man's speculation to the level of God's revelation. It frees us to speculate about things rather than to submit. Have you ever heard any of those speculations that I've just shared with you? Yeah, I'm sure you have. One of the things listening prayer does is it results in zeal without knowledge. Let's see, Immanuel I don't think I've picked on you yet. Do I see a manual here? We may have lost him. Okay, let's see. Tamblyn, read Romans 10, verse 2, please. Romans 10, verse 2. Romans 10, verse 2. For I testify about them, that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. And I see that in the mystical movement of Christianity, Pentecostals, Charismatics, Evangelical mystics, people who practice listening prayer. It's a genuine zeal for God. But that zeal is not channeled by knowledge. Now, having a heart for God is very important. Knowledge can puff up. 1 Corinthians 8.1 is very clear about that. But it doesn't have to puff up. If coupled with zeal, a heart for God, it can offer guidance and wisdom and direction. But those who practice listening prayer, they have a real zeal. They want to know God's will, but they want to take the shortcut. Rather than Ezra 7.10, but Ezra disciplined himself to study the law of his Lord, to obey it and to teach its statutes and ordinances in all of Israel, they simply want to listen. Ezra 7.10. But Ezra disciplined himself to study the law of his Lord and to do it and to practice and to teach its statutes and ordinances in all of Israel. There's a process there and it's time consuming. Studying, obeying, and then teaching. That's time consuming, isn't it? Doesn't just happen overnight. But listening prayer is not time consuming. But because of that, zeal without knowledge is very dangerous. We don't worry about that for the Ezras of this world because they have combined zeal with knowledge. Listening prayer results in pride. Bishan, would you read Galatians 6.3 please? In Galatians 6 it says, For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Yeah, we are nothing, God's Word is everything. So the man who practices listening prayer, he is something. And God's Word is secondary, if anything. That's why Pentecostals, Charismatics, Mystics, those who practice listening prayer, talk about people. Oh, they just, it's that cold doctrine. I always want to say, what cold doctrine are you talking about? The doctrine of the Holy Trinity, the doctrine of the blood of Christ, the doctrine of the inerrancy of the word of God, the doctrine of the substitutionary death of Christ. the doctrine of the second coming of Christ what doctrines are these cold doctrines you're talking about but the reason they say that it's cold doctrine is because they are proud and they want to have their own visions their own revelations their own thoughts and that's sin and I know pastors who have become proud and will say to people, I have a word of knowledge, a word of wisdom, a word of prophecy for you. And these men do not quote Holy Scripture. It's just thoughts that have come into their head. And I know women who have become proud. And when their husbands try to lead them spiritually, they don't feel they have to follow their husbands spiritually. They have their own word from God. I thank God that I never had to fight that battle with Eleanor. But if you gentlemen are not ready to fight that battle to protect your wives from the deception of pastors and spiritual leaders who want to attach your wife to their little spiritual harem or to deceiving spirits who want to tell your wife that she doesn't have to obey you. then you are ready for marriage in the first place if you cannot rescue your wife from that and lead her spiritually. What did Satan say to Eve, Gaspare? What did Satan say? Let's turn to Genesis. Genesis chapter 3. Okay? And let's look at that. Genesis 3 verse 1. Genesis 3 verse 1. Okay, verse 1. Now, the serpents was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, did God really say? Yeah. That's what Satan says. Has God said? Really? Has God really said these things? No. Listen. Listen. Allow the Spirit to speak to you. Don't put God in a box. clear your mind and wait. He'll tell you. That's very prideful, isn't it? Listening prayer opens the heart and the mind to spiritual deception. Revelation 12.9, And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old, who is called the devil and Satan. Who deceives the whole world? Does this verse say he tries to deceive? He attempts to deceive? No! He's very successful. He is the deceiver. And he, Romans 13, 14, and he deceives those who dwell on the earth, and he will deceive you, he will deceive your wife, he will deceive your children. And your only protection is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. that is the weapon of choice of God the Holy Spirit in fighting the deceptions of Satan. What is the weapon of choice of God the Holy Spirit in defending and fighting Satan's deceptions. Well, let's look at Ephesians 6, shall we? Let's go back to, let's see, oh, there's Immanuel. Immanuel, welcome back. Read Ephesians 6. Ephesians 6, verse, I believe it's verse 17. Review, review, review. Yeah, that's right. Ephesians 6, 17. Yeah, Emmanuel, I often brag on the men in this study because even though the internet is unstable, you guys persevere. And I honor you for that. Okay, Emmanuel, Ephesians 6, 17. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Yeah. What is the weapon of choice of God, the Holy Spirit? It is God's word. It is the sword of the Spirit. the Word of God. Satan would want you to use anything but that. Anything but that. When God, the Holy Spirit, goes out to war against Satan and his deceptions, he takes up the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. What do you take up? Many people take up the very things that Satan uses to deceive them. That's not going to fight Satan, is it? We will, Satan is not trying to deceive the world. Satan is deceiving the world. And if we want to protect our wives, protect our children, protect ourselves, protect our ministry from the deceptions of Satan, we will need to handle accurately the written word of God. That's very important. Well, we're going to this is our hour is up here. We're going to stop here. You can reflect on this. It will be two weeks. So I believe that will be what the 23rd when we'll be back. And we will look at the impact of listening to prayer to the husband, the wife, and the children. And then we will look at the alternatives to listening prayer, which is what God's will is for us. May God add his blessing to his holy word. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.