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Welcome to Preaching That Matters, a place you can find apostolic Pentecostal preaching. A place where all generations can be fed with the word of God. We hope you enjoy.
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Turn to somebody. Say, "It's not about me. It's all about him." Everybody say, "Wow." Wow. Turn to somebody say, "I'm at man's conference. [Music] No pansies here. If you want to sort of make your way back to your I don't even know what I'm doing up here right now. [Music] You can be seated. [Music]
I sort of feel like those two Native Americans that were communicating back and forth with smoke signals. One was on one mountain and one was on the other mountain. They're sort of, you know, waving the flag, the blanket, and the smoke was going up and they're communicating. Well, the United States government was going to test a hydrogen bomb. So, way off in the distance behind one of those Native Americans, a hydrogen bomb exploded. Looked like it came right up out of his campfire. The other Native American, he said, "Man, I wish I'd have thought of that. [Music] I just thought I knew I knew everything I needed to know about Joseph. Can we clap our hands to the Lord and thank God for a word from God? [Music] Praise God. Masterfully presented. And you can, you know, when a preacher just preaches a great thought from the Bible, that's great. But when they've lived what they're preaching, have you ever had somebody recommend a book to you and they get you all fired up about it and you buy the book and you're reading it and you're like, "What? [Music] What was he thinking? Well, there's a reason for that. The reason is a book is only as good as where you are when you're reading it. I've had that happen to me and I just put it on the shelf and 5 years later I'm at a different place and it starts talking to me. And a message is only as good as when the presenter is living at when he presents it. So thank you brother Tuttle for Thank you for a very very costly, expensive, painful message of your life. Amen. That's good. Let's thank the Lord. [Music]
There was a a young man that was talking to his dad one day and he said, "Dad, I really want to make an impact with my life. What advice do you give me?" He said, 'Well, son, if you want to make an impact with your life, the best advice I can give you is every morning sprinkle a little gunpowder on your oatmeal. [Music] He sort of really, son, have I ever steered you wrong? So, what what's he going to do? His his dad gave him that good advice. So for the rest of his life, every morning he sprinkled a little gunpowder on his oatmeal to make an impact. And he lived to the ripe old age of 93. And he died. And when he left this earth, he left behind six children. He left 20 grandchildren. He left 14 great grandchildren. and he left a 20 foot hole in the wall of the crematorium. [Music] You might say he went out with a bang. Is that you out there, Brother Russo? Oh, I'm so happy to see my elder. Let's welcome Brother Russo to man's conference. [Music]
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Praise God. Oh, we can feel that love. That's awesome. You know you're a man if you can ride a mule all over the mountains. That's awesome. [Music] Well, I'm sort of in the afterlow of this message. Not in a real big hurry to get started. I love preaching. God has chosen through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. We will be saved or lost by our response to the word of God. I want to say I'm thankful for every man that had the courage when given the opportunity to come and stand here. Sort of like the the man with the withered hand. Jesus said, "Stretch forth your hand." You know, he didn't stretch forth his good hand. He stretched forth the one that needed healing. And guys, thank you for being so real. Cuz if the truth were known, it's every one of us. It's every one of us. And so we thank the Lord. God has done some great things here today. [Music]
So just remain seated. I'm giving you permission to not stand because we've been standing a long time. Psalm chapter 5. Psalm 5 rather verse 7 Psalm 5:7 David said as for me I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy in fear of you I will worship toward your holy temple lead me oh Lord in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face. Allow me to render a portion of this from the message. Here I am, your invited guest. It's incredible. I enter your house. Here I am, prostrate in your inner sanctum, waiting for directions to get me safely through enemy lines. David was in the house of God on his face seeking God for strategic information and favor and direction because his enemies were many and he needed God to either bind them or to blind them. so that he could navigate and do what God had called him to do. And then Matthew 6:13. Before I read this, Matthew chapter 6:13, Brother Shamansky, I want to compliment you not only on your awesome vision and direction last night, but you have raised up some outstanding sons that are blessing this conference. Are you thankful for these young men? Amen. I've always said that a preacher's greatest line item on his resume is his family. And very impressive. Matthew 6:13, [Music] Jesus teaching us what to pray. Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. So I want to speak to you just for a few moments on this idea behind enemy lines. Behind enemy lines. And basically what we heard today perhaps this message is the same song maybe the second verse. Thank you so much.
On June the 2nd, 1995, Captain Scott Ogrady was enforcing a NATO nofly zone in Bosnia. And I believe I have a picture of him. Serb forces were firing at American planes daily. And he did not see the Soviet-made anti-aircraft missile that hit him. As his F-16 exploded, O'Grady ejected over enemy terrain. 10 seconds ticked by before he made a safe landing. He hid his parachute and plunged into the forest. Serb forces saw him land and within minutes he heard gunfire and saw soldiers surrounding him. He lay face down in the brush, cupping his camouflage clam camouflage flight gloves over his head and ears. Later he said, "Thank God there were no dogs." He evaded the enemy by sleeping during the day, covering himself in camouflage netting, and moving only between midnight and 4:00 a.m. Armed Serbs were never far away. Equipped with a 121page survival pamphlet, a radio, a first aid kit, distress flares, and a compass, he used the lessons he'd learned during 17 days of survival, evasion, resistance, and escape training. He used a sponge to soak up rainwater and fill a container. He ate grass and bugs. The survival pamphlet included instructions on cooking insects such as big grasshoppers, explaining that they should only be eaten after removing the hard legs. He didn't know exactly where he was, only that he was behind enemy lines. The 29-year-old pilot waited 5 days before he made it before he made radio contact. He'd been taught that downed pilots are often captured after calling for help too soon, giving away their position. An American voice responded and the rescue operation was engaged. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit used a CH53, a big cargo helicopter to carry a total of 43 Marines, riflemen, assault climbers, medics, a communications team with an interpreter along with two Cobra gunships, and two AV8 Harriers. The rescue team flew head-on into the sunrise. When they were close, O'Grady popped a smoke canister that marked his location. The CH53 landed and Marines scrambled down its back ramp to secure the perimeter. Seconds later, O'Grady ran out of the pines, pistol in hand. Enemy fire whizzing all around them as they flew towards friendlier skies, and they made it out without one single injury. Training, skills, and self-control enabled OGrady to survive behind enemy lines. Captain Scott O'Grady survived because he was smart, patient, vigilant, alert. He had the basic knowledge and essentials of survival, and he was equipped with survival skills.
My brothers, I have an announcement to make to you today. I know this may seem shocking, but we are not living in Disney World. We are living in enemy territory. We are behind enemy lines. Some of you that are my age or older will remember this world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven's open door. And I can't feel at home in this world anymore. I do not believe in dominion theology. I do not believe that the Christians have come to take over the world. All right. I want chapter and verse for that. There will be dominion during the millennial, at least if you believe in a literal 1,000 years millennial reign when God will have it the way he wants it on this earth. Praise God. But we're not going to be here. We'll be long gone. Amen. Raptured out of this place. But until we are, we would be well advised to understand that we are in hostile territory as we compete in this arena called this world for the kingdom of God against our adversary who so desperately tries to defeat us. We must remember that we do not enjoy homefield advantage. The spirit in this world is hostile toward the spirit in us. 1 John 4:4 actually addresses this fight, the battle and the competition going on all around us when the apostle said, "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." And that is a shouting verse, but it is a reminder to us that there is a he in this world that is contrary to the he in you. And the he and you is contrary to the he that is in this world. And they never will get along. And they never will defend each other. They will always be at war. They will always be fighting. And at least every once in a while, at least once a day, you should be reminded. Your Holy Ghost inside you ought to remind you that I am behind enemy lines. Therefore, I must be vigilant. I must be alert. I must be on my toes. I must beware of my enemy who is as a roaring lion who goes about seeking whom he may devour. We are not camping in Canaan's happy land. I never met the author of that song, but I would like to. You know, we get a lot of bad theology from songwriters. I'm going to be at the the the I'm going to be at the Oregon Men's Conference next month and my niece Donna, she's going to help with the music. And she asked me if I wanted any had any suggestions for any songs. I I text her back and said, "I don't care what you sing." I but I tell you one song I don't want at a men's conference and that's that song that has that lyric, lay back against me and breathe. I'm not singing that. We get a lot of bad theology. Since when? And I'm a musician and I'm a composer and I'm a an artist, okay? So, I'm not I'm just saying we better stay with the Bible for the theology. Amen. Stay with the word of God. And we are not camping in Canaan's happy land. All right. And that was a great old song and I I'm just having a little fun. But in listen in Canaan land there was giants. That doesn't sound happy to me. I like that. Happy socks. Take me to ladies conference. I'm going to tweet that. And I'm giving you full credit for it. I I can't buy those socks, man. None of you guys can't eat. Oh, you got boots on. That's good. My sons, they like them, but I can't wear them. In Canaan land, there was Philistines and pagans who sacrificed their own baby to the false gods. idolatry, wickedness. This doesn't sound like a happy camper place to me. and my brothers, we're living behind enemy lines. Hebrews 11:13 understands this very well when it describes the heroes of the faith as strangers and pilgrims. And one translation uses aliens. Strangers, pilgrims, aliens. Turn to somebody and say, "Hey, brother alien, how's it going? We're aliens." Did you know that Christians are being persecuted all over the world? Did you know that 90,000 Christians were martyed last year? The spirit of Antichrist has been released upon this earth. And everything we believe and hold dear has been impugned, malign, and vilified. And there's a bill in California right now that if it's passed threatens religious freedoms and threatens the the unfettered Bible on an unfettered pulpit guys. How long do we have? I'm I'm for guns and all of that, but I'm going to tell you that that maybe we've got a little window of time where religious liberties will be defended, but there's bills like this that are threatening. It's the tail wagging the dog. But don't say it can't happen. It can happen. And we don't know. And I'm not trying to be dramatic here, but I'm saying that we are not exempt from persecution. All you got to do is take one missionary trip to a third world country somewhere. All you got to do is go somewhere like China, like we've heard about today, and and and go somewhere where people are being threatened and and you have to worship behind closed doors and and you have to sneak out to to get to church. And you can't have any tambourines and any drums or any any loudspeaker system because it's got to be quiet. But it's as unto the Lord. Can I tell you that we are not exempt from persecution? And let me ask you a question. How much of God do you have if you can't come to church? How much of God do you have if you don't have a pastor? How much of God are you going to have? How much of God are you going to serve? How much of the Bible are you going to honor if they padlock our churches? And I'm not trying to be a an alarmist here today and I'm not I'm not what do you call them? What's the guys that you know they're always conspiracy theorist? I'm not into that. I'm not talking about that. But I am saying that we are living in hostile territory. Don't ever get too comfortable and feel too acclimated to this world. The devil is not your friend. The world is not your friend. I want to say something to every young preacher here. The media is not your friend. If channel 5 wants to come and do an expose on your church, don't be popping your buttons and brag it all up and think it's all going to be great. Can I tell you what's going to happen? They're going to cut and splice and twist and make you look like an idiot. You better be wise. Right? They're not our friend. The people who create advertisements and and the people that create things on the internet are not doing it to increase our faith and to bolster our confidence in God. Your flesh is not your friend. Your lustful eye is not your friend. Your lustful pride is not your friend. Good men just like you and I are losing battles every day. And some have lost the war. There's a difference between a battle and a war. It takes many battles to make up a war. And you can lose some battles and still win the war. But you can't lose every battle and still win the war. So I hope that we got some warriors here today. I hope that you're winning a battle every once in a while. Somebody won a battle already here this morning. Hallelujah. This is how we fight, guys. We fight getting honest. We fight getting real. We fight letting letting our hearts be broken in the presence of God. We fight by prayer. We fight by touching God and feeling his presence. I fight the devil with my tears. I fight the devil with my brokenness. I fight the enemy with my humility and submission to God. Captain O. Brady lived to fight another day because he was smart. He understood that he'd crash landed in hostile territory. He wasn't expecting it, but he was prepared for it. He was alert. He was equipped. He followed survival protocols. He didn't lose his cool. And he successfully evaded the enemy. I pray that all the time. Almost every day of my life, I say, "God, blind him and bind them. I can't afford the distractions today, Lord. Just God, I'm going to be out doing your work. I'm going to be out living for you. I can't afford Lord. Somehow just let me raise up the shield of faith today, Lord, and quench the fiery darts of the devil. So, let me ask you a question. How are your survival skills? Do we have any real Grizzly Adams mountain men here today? Let me check your boots. We got anybody here with mud on their shoes today? That's the kind of man I'm talking about. I don't like roughing it. I don't know anything about guns. I'm not against him. I'm for him. And we got the same deal going on in our church at uh Brother Tuttle talked about today. Oh Lord, I shudder to think. But I don't rough it. I don't own a gun. And I've never I think I have shot a gun. It had been a long time ago. I'm not a pacifist. I celebrate it. So I hope you understand me. But I don't I don't like roughing it. The roughest I get is a Motel 6 with a black and white TV. You got to put quarters in. I have no survival skills. If you were to drop me off somewhere in the Rocky Mountains with a knife, a book of matches, a jug of water, a tent, a gun, a sleeping bag, I would be dead in six and a half minutes. You think I'm joking? While I have no survival skills, however, while in Alaska many years ago, I did happen to catch a fish. You got a picture of my fish? I'm waiting. That's what I'm talking about. That's a halibit. You know why I caught him? Just for the hell of it. 215 pounds. That fish has not gained a pound in 27 years. Takes a real man to catch a fish like that. And that is me. I know you can't see it very well. In fact, that was a record on that charter, Charlie's charter. That's Brother Parish's forehead. Brother Parish, a superintendent in Alaska in the background there. He'll verify it. That's still a UPC record in Alaska. That's right. The toughest guy I ever met was a guy named Orville Morehead. My father-in-law and my three brothers-in-law, they killed everything that had four legs. My brother-in-law, if you have a lunch with him, you say, "Yeah, and we killed and then we killed and then we killed this and then we killed that and then we killed and then killed." And I don't know nothing about killing animals. Yeah. And then we killed. First time I walked into my in-laws house, there was a string of something hanging down from the mantle of the fireplace. the most hideous thing I'd ever seen. I said to my my my future wife, my fiance Marlene, I said, "What's that?" She says, "Oh, those are turkey beards. I didn't even know turkeys had beards." So, my father-in-law and my three brothers-in-law were like hunters personified. guns everywhere, camouflage, boots, weapons, leather, boats, four-wheelers, all this cool stuff. And they're telling me stories about Orville Morehead, who was their professional guide. You know, Orville was one of these bigger than-l life people. He would noodle sharks. Come on. and he would kill grizzlies just by looking at them. And they're telling me stories and I'm a city slicker, you know? I'm like Orville did that. Oh, you should see him. Oh, he's amazing. So, my father-in-law, six years after I married a sweet baby girl, suddenly and tragically died of a heart attack. So, we're at the funeral and I'm after the funeral, we're at the house and we're having something to eat and I'm at the end of the table and the walls right here and sitting right next to me is Orville Morehead, the toughest man I've ever met in my life. He had on a widebrimmed hat. He had on a plaid shirt, thick red suspenders, striped pants, woodsy boots with the laces wide open. When he was walking, it sounded like a one-man band. And I'm sitting right next to Orville. And I'm in awe. And he's eating. And he's got a fierce beard. This beard is so fierce his chest hair is growing right up into it. I've been known to exaggerate, but that's not an exaggeration. And I He's eating it and I'm I got a plate full of food and I'm starving and I can't get my eyes off this guy. I never seen anything like it. I said, "So, you're Orville Morhead?" He just keeps eating. Doesn't even look at me. doesn't pay any attention to me at all. I said, "Well, hello, Orville. I'm Stan. I'm Marlene's husband." He doesn't turn and look at me. He doesn't offer his hand. He just keeps eating. So, I Okay. Well, Orville, I said, I've heard lots of stories about you. I heard you killed bear with your bare hands. You've been noodling sharks. And I'm going on eating. He just eating. I said, "Orville, I've heard so many stories about you. I'd put you right up there with Jim Buoie and Dan Boon." And he put his fork down. He went, "Yeah, that's about right." And then he turns and he looks at me and he's got tears in his eyes. He said, "Let me tell you something, boy. If your father-in-law Charlie Dyson called me up and said somebody needed to die, he'd be killed by sunrise." And off in the distance, I heard banos. [Applause] And when he said that, I picked up my fork and I'm like, tough guy. You You are going to need survival skills and proper equipment to live an overcoming life. as an apostolic man in 2018. And I'm so proud you've come to Texas Men's Conference Boot Camp to get survival skills. Our great American culture is quickly losing the definition of what it means to be a man. Men in our world are in a major identity crisis. Bruce Jenner is now Caitlyn Jenner. Intelligent men cannot figure out which bathroom to use. Sexual orientation has amazingly become the biggest identifier in our culture. It's insane. Strong, godly, conservative, decent men are being vilified by the media and angry women. Gentlemen, we must not cave in. We must not risk becoming politically correct at the expense of identifying apostolic, biblical, godly manhood. We don't have to be ashamed because we are heterosexual and we are monogamous. We don't have to be ashamed because we walk into a men's bathroom. We don't have to be ashamed. We don't need to cave into the pressure. This world needs an identifier. This world needs a definition. We don't have to be jerks. We don't have to be rude. We don't have to go around scratching and digging and belching to prove that we're that we can be refined and we can be cultured, but we don't have to cave in to the expectations of this world. At the same time, you may be seated. There's more to being a man than climbing Mount Everest or driving a NASCAR 210 m an hour or dropping a bully with a right hook. Being a man means being a father and a dad. There's a lot of fathers that aren't dads. Being a man means being a husband who serves his wife like Christ served and loved the church. Being a man means being a good brother. It means paying your taxes, but not a nickel more than you should. It means being a Being a man means doing the right thing when people are looking and when nobody's looking. Being a man means biting the bullet and taking a hit even though you're right. You don't always have to stand up. Sometimes you need to just go ahead and defer. Sometime, you know, you can a lion can kill a skunk, but is it worth it? Being a man sometimes means suffering and silence and keeping your mouth shut and but then at the same time when the occasion's right to speak up and to have the wisdom to know the difference. Being a man means knowing how to say I'm sorry. When's the last time you said I'm sorry? Being a man means adhering to your own counsel and knowing when to seek the counsel of others. Being a man means understanding the words duty, honor, and country. Being a man, an apostolic man, means not panicking in an emergency. It means being a hero when no one else is around. It means knowing how to survive and equipping others to survive as well. Brother Tuttle, you're right. Being a man means to be safe. Come on, guys. Let's be safe. Let's be safe with the burdens of our brothers and let's not be sharing at the expense of other people to lift oursel up. Being a man means to be safe for your wife and for other women. Brother Tuttle's right. You may not avoid the first look, but the second look is on you. David prayed that God would help him to navigate through enemy lines. Saul wasn't safe. Abnner wasn't safe. Abselum wasn't safe. Even Joab wasn't safe. Are you a safe man for other men to confide in? Are you a safe man for your wife to come with her stuff and you're just always wanting to bottom line it? Can I tell you something? She doesn't even want an answer from you. She doesn't even want you to fix it. She just wants you to sit down, shut up, and listen. Are you a safe man for your wife to run to? Are you safe for sons and daughters? Are you safe for other women in the church? There are men in custody today who have sat in the pews of the life church and have come to our house of worship. Not very safe men. Dr. James Hughes. I texted him just a few days ago. I said, "What percentage of men have a pornography problem in an apostolic church?" I said, "Not a Catholic church, not a Lutheran church, not a Baptist. I want to know where we're at. I'm going to just tell you, I didn't ask for the backup. He deals with this all the time. He has great information and stuff on it." He said 67% of men in apostolic churches have a problem. He didn't say addiction. He said they have a problem. They're either playing with it, they're tinkering with it, they know where to get it, they got it in their back pocket, they can get it on their phone anywhere. What pastor said today, maybe we need to get some controls. Maybe we need to get some guardians. Maybe we need, if you can't do it, maybe you need to get covenant eyes in your life. Amen. It won't cost you very much. It won't slow your computer down. Get covenant eyes. If you're not winning that battle, then rise up and say, "I need an accountability partner." That's it. That's it. Pastors, listen. We can't put our heads in the sand on this. We can't stick our fingers in our ears and say, "La, just come to the altar and pray through. I don't want to hear it." We've got to deal with this issue. Porn is everywhere. It's easily accessible and it's killing our men. It's destroying our marriages and it's making our children not safe. We got to get real about this issue. I've had several men come to me and I thank God they feel like they can come to me because I know they're going to be safe. I'm not going to preach about them. I'm not going to take their story to the pulpit. Pastor, I got this battle. Let's go drink coffee and talk about it. And every single one of these men, I would say there's about 10 or 11 even in the last couple years. And we've got a ministry. We don't advertise it. We don't announce it on Sundays. We just sort of filter it through the congregation. If we hear something or somebody says something, we we sort of channel them toward this men's ministry that we do sort of off the record, I guess you could say. But men feel safe to come and confess and to be accountable. Can I tell you, you're one accountability partner away from absolute 100% freedom. Every man that's ever come to me and said, "Pastor, I got to get real. I can't handle this myself any many anymore." Every single one of those men has a testimony of freedom and deliverance and liberty. You need to find somebody that's safe and say, "I can't deal with this myself anymore. I'm losing this battle every day. I'm behind enemy lines and I got to get real about it. As brother Tuttles said, we are targets when we stand out and we distinguish ourselves as being separate from the world. I'm sort of a fan of the now defunct Gary Larson Far Side cartoon strip. And I got I got one up there. It's two deer. They're standing in the woods and they're talking to each other. You see the deer on the left? He's got a bullseye in his chest. The other deer said, "Man, that's a bummer of a birthark." If you are standing for apostolic manhood and biblical values, then you got a target. You are a target, sir. Stop kidding yourself. You are a target. You are a prime target. Did you know that Proverbs 6:26 says, "The adulteress will pray upon a precious life." She not going to pray on a broken down, used up life. She's coming after the precious life. And while I'm on that subject, I fly in a lot of planes. I stay in a lot of hotels. I eat in a lot of restaurants all by myself. Come on. And I don't think I'm the ugliest guy in the world. A lot of you are a lot uglier than I am. And most of you are better looking than I am. I've yet to have a woman hit on me unless I'm stupid. And I wouldn't put that past me either. Airplanes, hotels, restaurants. I've yet to have a woman hit on me. Why? I take showers. I wear cologne. I try to wear as nice clothes as I can. Why don't she hit on me? She don't hit on me because I don't send out a vibe. That's right. That's right. Come on. I heard about a guy that was bragging. In fact, he got himself a new wedding ring. It was all sort of diamond studded and it was a beautiful wedding ring. And and my friend was telling me about this and this guy got an ego as big as this tabernacle and and he and he was flashing his wedding ring around and and so my friend thought, "Well, I better notice it and make him feel good." You know, he got his new expensive wedding ring. He said he said, "Did you get you a new wedding ring?" He said, "Oh, oh, this. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I had to do something." He said, "What do you mean you had to do something?" He said, "Oh, there was seven, eight women a day were hitting on me. He said, "Well, has it helped?" He said, "Yes, it's cut it back to two or three. You can't fix stupid people. Every woman that looks at you is not trying to take you to her bedroom." Okay? Can we check our egos at the door and get real about this? Come on. The reason that a woman doesn't hit on me is I don't send out the vibe. Do you got bib Bible for that? Yes. Jesus said the prince of this world has come and he has nothing in me. Jesus was saying when the devil sends out a vibe, there's nothing in me. It just shuts down. It just goes away. It just gets absorbed. The prince of this world has come and there's nothing in me. There's not a sympathetic vibration that's radiating out. Can I tell you, sir, that you need to develop the spirit and the attitude and the character of Jesus Christ. I'm not talking about the son of God. I'm talking about the son of man. I'm talking about Jesus, the red-blooded man who said, "When the tempress came, there was nothing in me that responded to it." The problem with some of us is we are too alive to the things of this world and we haven't crucified the flesh. Turn to somebody, say, "You got a target on you. We're walking in a world full of landmines. Landmines everywhere. And there's better men than me that didn't make it. I'm not going to betray any confidence, but here last night, somebody came to me and said, "My hero divorced and fell into sin." Don't ever say, "It could never happen to me." Don't ever say it could never happen to me. Even when Saul died, who was David's worst enemy and God perhaps even would have given him permission, it seemed like God was saying, "All right, Saul. David, we've delivered Saul into your hand." David said, "I will not touch the Lord's anointing. I'm going to let God take care of that." Praise God. You got a target on you. And when Saul was killed, David didn't shout. He didn't rejoice. He didn't gloat. He didn't say, "See, I told you he not near the man I am." Take heed. Let him that thinkketh he stands. David said, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen." If it could happen to Saul, it can happen to me. I'm marking this day by the grace of God. It's never going to happen to me. Don't ever gloat when somebody backslides. Don't ever celebrate even when your worst enemy or your competitor somewhere when somebody falls on their face. Don't ever say, "Well, bless God. If he'd love my wife like I love my wife, that would never happen." And can I tell you, you are a fool and you are playing into the hand of the enemy. Let him that thinks he stand take heed lest he fall. Can I tell you that there are three characteristics of moral failure. It doesn't matter who you are today. Any one of these three characteristics results in moral failure. Number one is isolation. I told you it's the same song. Second verse. You better marry the church. Don't date the church. Marry the church. Isolation. Two, feeling like you're accountable to no one. We talked about that. And three, failure to pray. We talk about accountability partners. Can I tell you who your best accountability partner is? It's not your pastor. It's not your best friend. It's not even your wife. Your best accountability partner is the one you're supposed to be talking to every morning and then all day long. It's Jesus Christ. He's the best account of it. How can you be fooling around on a Saturday night knowing that you're going to the house of God on a Sunday morning? That is spiritual suicide. To think you can play games with God and your spirituality and your vitality on a Saturday night and then bust up into the house of God as big as Dallas and worship like there's nothing going on. My friend, you have seared your conscience with a hot iron. The best accountability partner you'll ever have is Jesus Christ. I've got to get up tomorrow morning and I'm going to talk to Jesus. I'm putting away this foolishness. I'm getting up tomorrow morning and I'm going to meet with my best friend Jesus. You know, the one that suffered, the one that bled, the one that laid down his life. I got to get real with Jesus tomorrow. So, I can't play games tonight. What is this? It's survival skills. We're behind enemy lies. Is it just me or are there any other sick men here today that like to read epitaps on tombstones? I saw one literally. It said, "I told you I was sick." One said, "I made some good deals and some bad ones, but I really went in the hole on this one." One epitap said, "Died from failing to forward the last social media message to 10 people." One said, "Beneath this stone lies a merry lass who reached for the brake and hit the gas." One epitap said, "Here lies an atheist all dressed up and no place to go." Here's one. Here lies my wife. I bid her goodbye. She rests here in peace and now so do I. There's a subliminal message there. What about Bible epitaps? Abnner died like a fool. Judas hung himself and went to his own place. The rich young ruler walked away sourfully. A grippa was almost persuaded. What about Enoch's epitap? He walked with God and he was not for God took him. What kind of a world did Enoch live in? Bible uses descriptive terms to describe Enoch's culture like violence, wickedness, evil. My brothers, there's nothing new under the sun. Enoch was an ancient spiritual captain, Scott O'Grady. What survival gear did Enoch have access to to help him navigate behind enemy lines? And I'm wrapping up this message, gentlemen. But listen, did Enoch have a Bible? Huh? No. Did Enoch have well-developed doctrine and theology? No. Did Enoch have the advantage of water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ? Did Enoch have the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Did he have the power of the blood, power of the name? Did he have a pastor? Did he have a congregation? Did he have three church services a week? Did he have many evangelists preaching revival come by? Did he even have a lot of other brothers? Did he have a men's conference? No. When you read Paul's description of the whole armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6, Enoch was equipped with only one of those pieces. He was fighting without a helmet of salvation, without the breastplate of righteousness of Jesus Christ, without his loins gird about with the whole truth that we know today. He was fighting without his feet shaw with the preparation of the gospel of peace of Acts 2:38. He was fighting without the sword of the spirit. But he was not totally defenseless because Paul said above all taking the shield of faith. All he had was the shield of faith. All he had was his faith. He didn't have a prayer meeting with 500 other brothers. He didn't have a men's conference. He didn't have a pastor. He didn't have a Bible. He didn't have the blood, the name, the spirit. He didn't have it. He lived in a world full of violence and anger and and evil. How did he do it? He did it with a shield of faith. Jesus told Simon, "Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired you to sift you as wheat." That means to make sport of you, to play games with you, to make light of you. Sort of like a seal bouncing a beach ball on its nose. Satan desires you to sift you as wheat. And then Jesus said, "But I have prayed for you that your faith would fail not. And when you are converted, strengthen the brethren." Jesus, you know, wasn't pretending like Simon was above failure and above falling. In fact, he warned him and he said,"Simon, Satan's after you. He's got you got a bullseye on your chest because I'm giving you the keys to the kingdom and you're going to preach the first gospel message that human ears will ever hear. And so, if Satan can take you down, maybe he can shut down the whole day of Pentecost." But he said, "I have prayed for you that your faith would fail not." Listen, when you stumble and fall, that doesn't mean your faith quit operating. When you make a mistake and when you commit a sin, it doesn't mean that your faith wasn't there. It means that you didn't raise it up. It means that you weren't using it. It means that you weren't lifting it up. Can I tell you, my brother? Amen. You've got at least the weapon that Enoch had, and that is the shield of faith. [Applause] And I love what Jesus did. I love Let's all stand. I love how Jesus handled Simon. He said, "Simon, and when you're converted, you're going to fall, but you're going to get back up again." Yeah. And when you are converted, he pictured a future for him. He said, "Strengthen the brethren." Guys, I just want to say this right here. You that are still raising children, when your kid messes up, discipline them out of love. But don't don't just bring, you know, all your AK-47s and your M16s and blow that kid up. Be like Jesus. I wished it wouldn't have happened, Simon, but since it did, I prayed for you. I prayed for you and it's not over for you. When God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden with judgment and a flaming sword, never come back, he sent them out with a promise. Genesis 3:15. Oh yeah. The seed of the woman is going to bruise the head of that serpent. When God closed the book of Malachi and there was no voice for 400 years, he gave them hope with a prophecy of John the Baptist who would be the forerunner, who would be like a voice cried in the wilderness. When God brings judgment, he always gives hope. You can live 40 days without food, 4 days without water, 4 minutes without oxygen, but you can't live 4 seconds without hope. We got to be dispensers of hope. Satan hath desired you to sift you his wheat, but I prayed for you that your faith would fail not. And when you are strengthened, he said, when you are restored, he said, strengthen the brethren. You're going to be profitable for the ministry. You're going to be profitable to edify the people of God. Guys, we're behind enemy lines. It's time to get some survival skills. Can I tell you the greatest survival skill you'll ever have? Just get up and fight. [Music] [Applause] Did you know that? Can I throw one more verse at you? Listen to this. 2 Samuel 18:8. Look at this. For the battle there was scattered over the face of the whole countryside, and the woods, look, the woods devoured more soldiers that day than the sword devoured. The Living Bible said the battle raged all across the countryside and more men disappeared in the forest than were killed. I can understand dying at the hand of the enemy. I don't understand running tucktail into the woods and die. Can I tell you that your chances of survival and thriving in the kingdom of God are much better when you stand up and fight even if you only got a pocketk knife. If all you got is your false teeth, praise God. If all you got is a cane or a wheelchair, whatever you got, stand up and be accounted and fight. It's the best survival skill you've ever got. Amen. Don't run away in the woods somewhere. Don't perish in a woods without a fight. I may go down, but I'm not going down without a fight. [Music] Hallelujah. Come on. Come on, guys. We got to fight for everything we've got. We need to fight for revival in our churches. Hell hates what we're doing. You need to pray for your pastor like you never have before. If he can take your preacher out, he can take the whole church out. I've got a disciple named Mario and I've been working with him for two years. And he told me when I first started discipling, he said, "I'm so sick of church. I'm sick of fake. I'm sick of hypocrisy. I'm sick of fake preachers." He said, "Mr. Stan, if you ever let me down, I will never go back to another church. I got something to fight for." I said, "Mario, by the grace of God, I will never let you down. So when you come to the house of God and you get in the prayer room and you lift your hands in the worship service, what are you doing? This is the way we fight. This is survival skills. Amen. We're getting a hold of God and we're taking it out and we're taking our culture with us and we're taking our environment with us and we're taking apostolic denied dynamics with us. Oh, hallelujah. [Music] Does anybody feel like fighting today? The Bible said David and Eleazar stood back to back in a barley field and they defended Israel and Eleazar fought so long and so fierce that they had to pry his hand away from the sword. saying, "Well, it's just a field of lentils." Why are they why are they defending the barley field? They're defending the barley field because if they don't tomorrow, they're coming for the potatoes. And we don't defend the potatoes. They're coming for the soybeans. And we don't defend the soybeans. They're coming for the corn. I don't care where you stand, but you better stand. And you better say, you know what? I'm not taking it one more day. I've got my wife and kids to fight for. I'm not giving up an inch in my house. [Applause] [Music] Praise God. Lift your hand, warrior. Lift your hands, warriors. The Bible says to shout with a voice of triumph. Shout with a voice of triumph. Come on, let's bring some confusion on the enemy right now. Shout with a voice of triumph. That's battle language. That's fighting language. What do you got? Huh? Do it. Come on, guys. Let's fight right now. Somebody pray for your kids right now. Somebody pray over your family right now. Somebody pray for your pastor right now. Somebody pray for revival in your church right now. If it's been a while since somebody got baptized, you need to go get in that baptistry and say, "In the name of the Lord, somebody going to get baptized in here this Sunday. I got joy in my soul. God is in control on my trail, but I'm singing all is well. He's attacking every day, but I'm watching while I pray. No matter the attack, I won't turn back. This means Lord. Come on, guys. How's your survival skill? Somebody need to work on your survival skill. [Music]