Summer 2017 Mexico Trip Report — 2 Corinthians 10

0:00 Morning. Morning. So good to to be with all of you. Looking forward to next week when everybody else is back. Right?

0:09 We have funerals and and, baby births and things. So several of our people are not here. We we did a mission trip from our assembly. Only Devin and I went, and there was a total of 12. And I'm realizing now that it's better to have smaller teams than bigger ones.

0:30 I used to take 24, 20, and it's like, wow, that's really a lot of work. So it's easier to do 10 to 12 or 14 people. So it was a blessed experience. And so what we're going do is Devin's going to do his part, then I'm going to do my part, then we're actually going to get into the word. So Devin, go ahead.

0:49 Okay. So, you know what? Before we go anywhere, actually, it's nine. Let's pray first. Yes.

0:57 That's what we always do in Mexico.

0:59 So

1:01 thank you, Lord, for bringing us all together here to meet his body. I pray your blessing on today's word and please help us to be honored to you lord. Thank you for your son, lord Jesus Christ, who we we remember this morning and the the connection that we have with with god through your son, lord Jesus Christ. Well, we pray and thank you for all these things. In Jesus Christ name, amen.

1:30 Amen. Is it not? Let me see if I can... Maybe that'll work. Okay, so as you can see here, we took a plane from Cleveland to Detroit and then Detroit all the way down to Mexico City.

1:56 That was like four or five hours. I mean, the whole traveling in general took about a day to get there from work, waking up at four in the morning, get there like six or eight at night. And then from Mexico, we took a bus service from Mexico City to the state of Veracruz. There's the state of Veracruz right here. And then we took the bus right there.

2:23 You see the little town called Orizaba. It's not actually that little once you get in into it On the map it looks kind of small. But that area there that I circled, that's the area that was our stomping ground for the nine total days that we were there and then the traveling we did. So there's Ori Saba right there. A lot of people lived in Ori Saba.

2:48 The last time I went, I stayed with someone who lived in Ori Saba and he worked there. And then the main church where the work started is right there in Rio Blanco. Then, so I think first night we stayed in Rio Blanco, right? First night we stayed in Rio Blanco, we went up into the mountains the next day to start. And right here, this is a town called Atlaquilco, where the base was, I guess you could say, in the mountains.

3:18 So it kind of centered all around Atlaquilco. We stayed in either a house near the church or we stayed inside the church. And then I circled all the cities that I could remember that we went to. This is Takilpa, Takila, Zongolica was a big one that we did a lot of ministry in, whether it was evangelism or medical work. And here's the team.

3:50 So there's Ray and I, this is Jacob right here from, let's see, he's a nephew of James right here from Michigan. This is Esther from Dayton Assembly, then here is Doctor. Abe and his son, where is his son, over here, Nikhil, in the hat. They're from Columbus. Doctor.

4:14 Abe is a cardiologist, so he was used greatly in the missions work. And then you got Chris right here, remind me. Jacob. Jacob, Michael, and Gijo. They are all from Atlanta, Georgia, and they came in a little bit later and they actually were the ones that stayed in the church.

5:19 Juan is one of the full time missionaries. I got to hear his testimony of how he came to know the Lord and committed his life to the work there in the mountains. So that was pretty cool. So the first day I went out with the clown team. So right here, this is Abel the clown.

5:43 He's a full time missionary in the mountains there. And this right here, this is Caroline. She was actually saved through when he came to town called Miksla, and we're actually in her town right here in this picture. What he does is we advertise the clown show all around. We go from house to house, and if we have opportunities, we share the gospel.

6:10 And sometimes you can get to towns and they have a PA system and they can announce it over the entire village. And you can get a lot of people to come. So they got all the children to come and there's a lot more people, you know, surrounding watching. So what he does is he gets them to laugh and gets them all to participate and then he'll start sharing the Gospel with them. He uses balloons, things like that.

6:43 And then, I believe to this day, then Esther got up and shared her testimony with everybody. And, so in Mexico, there's two languages that we had to face with Spanish and the native language Nahuatl. So Esther was pretty good in Spanish, so she spoke in Spanish, and then Caroline actually had to translate into Nahuatl. So there's the team, as you can see. Lot of there's three types of missionaries there.

7:20 There's there's full time ones that are have that are married and have families. That's a bell of the clown. There's people that are single that have committed their lives. That's Caroline there in the hat. And then there's others that maybe they volunteer for the summer.

7:37 I mean, they're like short term missions, but they still have a heart to serve the Lord. And maybe they just go back to school later in the year. So later that day, after the clown show, we went to a local church and I'm sharing the word here and that's Abel translating. He did a wonderful job, I thank God for this guy because wherever I went with him, he translated for me and helped me understand and really encouraged me in my faith. And I hope I was able to encourage him as

8:16 well. He's coming September 15.

8:19 That's right. So Ray just reminded me he's actually coming to WBF on September 15. So you'll get to meet him and see what a great guy is. He's a really good soccer player too. So, the next day, let's see the next morning, one of the main, one of the main elders, his name is Abdiel, and we had him get up and share testimony of what happened the day before in the city that he was in.

8:51 And I encouraged him to speak in English and Spanish. So he took a little revenge on me and sent me with the team later that day with no translator. So I came, this is Claudia here, she's one of the full time workers. But I learned so quickly the Spanish there. And here I actually got to share my testimony after I wrote it down in Spanish.

9:22 So this is just a home that we had gone to. Very faithful in the Lord, 15 young children. But it was just really encouraging to go there with them as well. Later, I think it was the next day or maybe later that day, we got to go house to house. And right here, is a lady named Mercylona and her son Kevin.

9:46 And this is, let's see, this is Martin, Claudia, Nestor. I got to share the Gospel with her and the cool thing was, she knew English, and so did her son. She actually spent time in The States, she had to come back for various reasons. Her son is cool. He knows English, Spanish, and Nahuatl, which is really neat.

10:12 So I was able to share my testimony and share the Gospel with them. You can also pray for that family because they need salvation and there's other difficulties that they're facing. So what did I learn? I learned that, let me read Mark one sixteen and seventeen, and also, the song that we sang today, which I was gonna actually ask Mr. Eichenauer if we could sing that song, and I forgot, but we sang it anyways.

11:12 They immediately left their nets and followed him. So one thing that I learned is that I have a heart to be a missionary. Wherever it happens to be, that's my heart. It's my heart to share the gospel with those around me. I think even before I was going on my missions trip, the Lord was teaching me that those around me need to hear the gospel and they need to they need to feel loved.

11:41 The verse in trust and obey that really I enjoyed. And it says, then in fellowship suite, we will sit at his feet or we'll walk by his side on the way. What he says we will do, where he sends, we will go. Never fear, only trust and obey. Trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.

12:06 So that's honestly the whole thing I was doing there in Mexico was trusting the Lord and obeying. And he gave me the courage to to share the gospel with many people. The second thing that I learned, that I'll I'll tell you a story about is when it's when you evangelize, it's very important to go together with one another and to pray for one another and ask the Holy Spirit to work. So the one day I went out with, another guy, his name was Suriel, and he translated for me that day. And what we were doing, we were going house to house and as well into the park and we were inviting people to the medical missions, Ray will talk about a little bit later.

12:53 And then following that in the the afternoon, we just went out in the park and share the gospel. And he walked up to this this guy. He likes to share the gospel with with the younger. So this guy was sitting there tending his fruit stand and it was honestly the most divine appointment I think I've ever seen from the Lord because he started sharing the gospel with him and I could... I knew how tired he was already.

13:21 But you could tell the Holy Spirit just took over. He shared the gospel with that guy for probably about fifteen, twenty minutes. They had friends come and relatives, and he shared the gospel in the middle of the park with them for like over an hour, probably closer to two hours. And first he starts on a bench. Next he's on his knees like this.

13:47 Next he's standing up. He's leading them in prayers. The whole time I'm sitting next to him. I'm praying for him. I'm giving him verses that will help him present the gospel.

13:59 And I'm also encouraging him. So acts three one just says John and Peter and John went together in the temple. So it's really important that when you go and you share the gospel or encourage one another, it's together and you pray for one another. I think that's it, honestly. The next thing is

14:27 The medical.

14:28 Medical missions. Anyways.

14:31 Okay. Thank you, Devin. He can tell you about 20 other stories, but we thought we'd keep it brief. Just to give you an idea, the main church in Rio Blanco has over 500 people, all right? And so they...

14:45 What they want to do is to reach out to the people in the mountains. And so they started with a radio program. And within about a month, people started writing them saying that they were hearing the word of God because the radio program was going into the mountains to the little towns. And several people got saved. So they went up to visit them and they started the first church, what we said was the headquarters at La Wilco.

15:08 Right? So they... That was the very first work. Since then, they have 48, what they call missions that they've started. Can you believe that?

15:16 48. And they have close to 21 full time workers every day going up and reaching and evangelizing. Right? It's just you can go on and on how many are there. It's an impressive work, and that's why we go.

15:29 When we get there, separate into three or four teams. By the way, from Rio Blanco to to Ala Wilco, it's about a 2,500... 2,500 feet up climb. So it takes about an hour and a half to get there. And so it's very high up in the mountain, then we go even higher after that.

16:18 And they'll have like one tarp here, that's for Doctor. Abe. One right here is the next doctor, the next doctor, and then over here is going to be the dentist. So they had a dentist also coming up. So they had the dentist.

16:30 And so that was lined up. And then in the front over here, they would set up chairs. And then they would have people come and they would take their vitals and line them up. And while they were waiting, and then they are waiting in line, they're showing them the Jesus film. Alright?

16:45 So as they're showing them the Jesus film, like, every, like, fifteen minutes, they'll turn off the movie. One of the evangelists, and Devin did it too, would come up, and they would share the gospel and then somebody would translate. Sometimes they would translate three ways. Do you have a three way translation picture? We we might.

17:03 Yeah. He'll show you later. Alright. So here's a couple of things I noted of of what we did every day just to kinda give you an idea. Sometimes we would be outside and terrible conditions.

17:15 The doctors were like, oh my word. In The US, they would not allow us to do this. So we we go to Misla, one of the poorest towns of Mexico. And, basically, they give us a slab, and then there was a house with three empty rooms not finished. So that's where they set up the the the clinic.

17:34 Right? So at the end of the slab, there was like a drop about 20 feet, and right at the bottom of where Doctor. Abe and I were, there was pigs down there, and chickens and things. And so while we were looking at patients, we were like, oh, man, that doesn't smell good. And so so all day long, we're we're smelling, and the pigs are right there and the chickens and and other things, other smells are like, whoo.

17:58 And so, you know, what's wrong with your heart? You know, we're checking them. And so we thought that was interesting. Also, they're waiting there, there's dogs. Where's Scott?

18:08 Scott's my witness. Dogs everywhere. Right? They come in to the building while they're waiting, and there's dogs everywhere. So you're like, get out of the way, you know, goofy dogging.

18:17 So they're everywhere, and then there's this chicken. We're just picking around, right, next to the dog. The dog doesn't even bother looking at it. And and so you can just imagine, alright, you're going to a clinic with dogs and chickens while the people are waiting, and they're hearing the gospel. But so the tarps separate us.

18:39 And here's the thing, sixty percent of diagnosis that came to Doctor. A, the heart doctor, were wrong. We're wrong because the people despise the mountain people. They consider them second class, low, uneducated, and so they treat them like trash. So they're trying to reach them and show them love.

18:58 And these people are just amazed at how they show them love. All right. And so the doctors, when they go down to the city, they treat them bad. They just give them a quick diagnosis. Sixty percent were wrong.

19:09 Some of the people came in to see Doctor. Abe and some of the other doctors, they thought they were going to die. Right? Doctor says your heart's no good and you need surgery. And then he would look at the at the echoes and the scans and he would say, something's not right here.

19:24 And he would check them and they would do the echoes and and the EKGs and all that. And he was like, that was a totally wrong diagnosis. This medicine is going kill you. And he would take them off the medicines and correct everything. They would go home happy.

19:38 Right? Now, the exciting thing about it, we saw an average. Isn't great to be able to do that? And so, by the way, I can now do diagnosis for free. Right?

19:51 I can tell you, I can tell you if you have a heart

19:54 problem or you have heartburn.

19:56 All right? Most most of

19:58 the problems were heartburn. All right? I gotta pray.

20:01 I gotta pray my heart. And then he's like, heartburn. Right? What are

20:04 you eating? Hot pepper and coffee. Heartburn. All right?

20:08 Go home. So we give him the medication. Right? So that was the main problem. But I'm going to give you some of the things, Okay?

20:19 There was several people needed surgery. They didn't even know they needed surgery. They come in with pain, and they check them like, oh my word, do you need surgery? You need it now. And there's nowhere to do it.

20:29 So they have hooked up with some doctors in the city where there's surgical tables and not, because they can't do it there, obviously, with chickens outside and pigs, right? I don't think it'd be a good thing to do. So they have a system where they send them down, and they actually did the surgery to two people during that week, or whether that needed emergency. They sent them down, they got it taken care of. And they're like, man, what a blessing to be able to do that, right?

21:14 There was one lady that the doctor, they were like, come here, I wanna show you this. And I'm like, do you have to show me? Come. This lady had warts all over her mouth and they were infected. And I was like, oh my word.

21:26 He goes, yeah, because they don't get the proper diagnosis. They're not treating them right. And so it's like, so they gave him the right medicine. They were going have this lady have surgery and get that fixed and get him the right medication. But the people are suffering physically terribly because of the way they mistreat them.

21:44 And what a joy to have these doctors come with me, and the dentist that came and to be able to offer this to them. But while they're sitting there, they're hearing the gospel. They're hearing the evangelist. They're watching the movie. While we're diagnosing them, often I'm sharing the gospel with them.

22:02 Then one man said, how much do owe you? Said, no, no, no. No. We came because we love the Lord Jesus. Here's what you owe me.

22:09 Sit down right there and hear the gospel. Okay, I will. And so they would sit down and they would hear the gospel. And think about it. Average close to 100 a day, people were hearing the gospel at least four or five times before they left that clinic.

22:25 And several came to the Lord. Several came to the Lord. And so it was an exciting thing. Okay. So then they have a full time doctor now that they brought that's doing the work.

22:39 They they have a clinic they open up at the foot of the mountain. And this clinic then sees people on a regular basis. All these people that are despised and nobody wants to see, they do that, and they also take care of the people from their church. Right? And so they have vision to make it bigger, make it like a mini hospital.

22:57 And so they want me to keep bringing doctors to them so that we could be doing this work. And so you don't have to be a doctor. I'm telling you, know how to diagnose now. I do. I know when somebody is just getting certain pains or really having a heart attack.

23:13 Goes, because I did it every day for nine days straight. Think about it, with a doctor all day long, translating. Right? He goes, here's the questions you ask, and here's how you know the difference. So by the end of the day I'm serious, the last two days, he goes, Okay, what's wrong with him?

23:26 This one has gastritis. Okay, perfect. We're going give him this medication. Yes. Take him and tell him what to do.

23:32 So I did. So then we're checking another patient. What's wrong with this one? This one does have a heart issue. You're right.

23:39 And we're gonna do an echo to see what's wrong. And so there you go. You wanna see me? It's for free. Alright.

23:47 Alright. What? You wanna go to the next pictures? Sure. Let me just go go ahead and move.

23:54 We're going to show you a couple of more pictures. Okay. There there's a people waiting and there's they're preaching the gospel up there. You can see the three preaching. Back up to you.

24:04 Okay. You got you got you you got a Nikhil speaking then these the going to Spanish then going to now what? So, translators to get the gospel out there. Alright? So, you can see the people waiting, all the people in the and the the tarps in the background where the doctors are in the back.

24:21 Okay. Go to the next one. They they also offer free haircuts. Yes. Anything to get them to hear the gospel.

24:28 So while they're sitting there, they're hearing Jesus. Right? So next.

24:34 I'm not a barber. No. No. No. You know what?

24:37 He actually saw one because he actually shaved while he was there this time. Okay.

24:44 So, here we are taking the vitals of the people and checking them out. Okay. Go ahead. And we're translating there for the people what's wrong with you and they're trying to tell us and all that. So...

24:54 And right here where they're doing street evangelism, they do like a drama, and then they present the gospel. Go to the next train. There they are doing it. And there this guy's preaching. There's a translator behind him translating a message.

25:08 And there's he was doing dental work one one day completely. Yeah. So he's with the dentist.

25:12 Right here, this girl, I actually gotta brush her teeth.

25:16 Alright. Okay. There you go. So so there he is all day long doing dental work with the two dentists. Go ahead.

25:24 I asked her, she actually said if math fails, I probably could go to dentistry.

25:36 There was 12 of us, the rest of them. And so we we would separate into three or four teams. It was a medical team and three evangelistic teams every day going out and preaching the word.

25:45 This is like 60 some people or something like that, but people would arrive every day and and go back. So there's many more people than this.

25:54 Yeah. It's an incredible mass of people. Christian could tell you about it as well. I think

25:59 that's it.

26:00 That's it? That's it. Okay. So now you know why why we're so excited to go over there. And it's an assembly by the way.

26:07 It's an assembly. They have four elders who teach in their main church and they rotate the four elders teaching teaching ministry. So it's quite an exciting work. Just while we were there, we saw so many come to Christ and there's such a hunger for the word. Christian, would you agree that that they listen?

26:24 You know, I hear you preach the gospel, people run away. Over there, you say, hey, I have something to say to you, and they and they listen to you. You're almost stunned. Oh, you're gonna hear me? And and then they listen as you preach the word, and it's very, very encouraging.

26:38 So if I do another one, you might wanna join us, and I think you'll be very, very, very blessed. So we're up there also. The the mounds are breathtaking. Just to see the mountains alone, it's worth it. I think we're averaging between seven and nine thousand in elevation where we were at, and the views were just to die for.

26:58 Is that a good expression? There you go. In a church, right? To die for. Okay.

27:03 So I thought what I would do for the last fifteen minutes is look into second Corinthians 10 a little bit. Being that in two weeks, I'm going to actually teach chapter 10, so I thought I'd kind of set the scene up for a couple of weeks from now. We're going to just look at the first five verses, and then we'll be done. Right now, Paul in two Corinthians, Paul is basically, it's a very personal letter, as you know. You've been hearing about it.

27:32 In chapter 10, 11, 12, the last three or four chapters, he actually starts to defend himself against the accusations that were coming against him. And they were really they were really laying into him. And often when you do God's work, you're gonna you're gonna suffer in some way. When you're using being used by god and god is going to use you in a powerful way. If if if the enemy can't get to you where you're preaching the gospel, then when you're inside the church, it's going to send the people in to do damage and that's what he did in this case.

28:10 And so the the men had gone in, and and they started really insulting Paul because they wanted to elevate themselves and get Paul out of the picture as they invaded this church. And just to give you an idea of what they were saying, look at chapter 10 and verse, verse 10, ten ten. For they say, the people who had infiltrated the church and they wanted to slam Paul, and they did, it was something fierce what they did to him. His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible. Well, can you imagine?

28:57 Can you imagine if if if if if for example, Bob Markowitz were to leave, someone comes in, he goes, oh, that Bob guy comes here? The guy's unimpressive. And when he speaks, he's like, oh, brother. Right? It's boring.

29:11 It's like, wow. Just slammed him. And Paul had started that church, and he had struggled so hard to teach and build them up in the Lord. Right? And so these people had come in, the only way they were going to get their foot in the door and get any kind of authority was to slam the leader.

29:30 Right? And that's what they were doing. And, well, boy, I tell that Paul, he put up with with a lot. And so go back to chapter 10 and verse one, and then it says, now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold towards you when absent.

29:51 I ask that when I am present, may not be bold with confidence, which I propose to be courageous against some who regard us as if we walk according to the flesh. So let me make let me make this in practical words. In other words, they were saying, yeah, Paul, when he's around, he's this wimpy guy, and he is he's afraid to confront and address the issues. But when he's gone, he writes these big old letters that are like, you know, like if he's this big guy, but really, he's scared, and he only writes strong letters when he's away, but when he's present, he won't face the issues. And so so so Paul is saying, first of all, I'm not going to react and just start attacking, right?

30:37 I'm going to act like Christ did. And notice what he says. I urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. I, as as a spiritual leader, wanna have the attitude of Christ. And Christ was called a demon.

30:55 He was called a Samaritan. He was called illegitimate. He was called so many words that would have, made us just explode, and he could have just said, you know what? I'm God. I'm done with you.

31:07 You're gone. And yet god didn't respond according to their folly. And so, Paul is saying, I'm I'm trying to learn from him and and Jesus was so meek and so gentle in face of insult. And so I want to respond like he responded. And so that's why I'm not just being so aggressive.

31:33 And so it's not that I don't have the courage. It's just that I want to act like Christ and not just word for word. As somebody said, if someone comes and says, hey, you're an idiot, you sit right back, you're an idiot too, then what's the difference? We respond the same way. And so the proverb says, don't respond to a fool according to his folly, unless you be like him.

31:59 Right? And so Paul was was saying, it's not that I don't like courage, people. It's that I'm trying to act like Christ and not just act in the flesh and start saying things probably I shouldn't say. So then he says, for though we walk according to the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. See, Paul was not in for a physical fight, mind you.

32:38 Get your audience there. Start putting bets, and let's see who's going to win it. You know, let's duke it up. He said, no, no. See, I'm not walking according to the flesh.

32:45 This is this is more than just people insulting me. Beyond that, there's a spiritual battle going on. And be up behind that that those people who are penetrated to church, what later he calls their agents of Satan. Behind them is Satan trying to destroy the local body. And folks, we have to understand that Satan's job, number one job, with this local body, right, which I've grown very fond of, is to destroy it.

33:18 To destroy it. And how do you destroy a local body? By talking, by insulting one another, by saying things, and often not being able to be backed up with truth. And so I think it's a warning to us to be careful what we say, especially about leadership. If the men are warring and praying and asking God to move and to bless and to edify, and so it's not a physical battle.

33:49 It's a spiritual battle. Verse four, for the weapons of our warfare are not of flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. All right, now, what does this mean that we have divinely powerful instruments to fight a fortress. What is a fortress? All right.

34:12 Now, fortress are the ideology of men. Mind you, the battle is for men's souls. And so we have divine the the divine instruments for this war. Right? Divinely powerful for the destruction of these fortress.

34:28 What is it? It's the word of god. And it's the gospel. It's Jesus Christ himself. That that's the only way we're gonna be able to conquer a fortress.

34:39 You know, back then, when they would see a fortress, they were like, oh, no. With huge walls, how are gonna conquer it? If we get near, they're gonna throw hot wax down and rocks and throw spears down. What kind of strategy do we come up with? But what is the fortress?

34:54 The fortress is men coming up with anything except for obedience to Jesus Christ. Their ideologies, their philosophies. I'm religious. I was raised a certain way. How do you know God exists?

35:12 I believe in evolution and philosophies, and so many ideas today. You believe in God how you want to believe. I believe in God how I want to believe. It doesn't matter as long as you believe in some kind of a God. And all kinds of fortresses where people hide behind because they don't want to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ.

35:32 And so how are we going to defeat this fortress? The only way we're going to do is by continuing to teach the word of God. And so the leadership, the elders of this church are determined to be true to the word, to teach the word of God. That's why we go chapter by chapter. So the word of God itself could bless us and teach us.

35:50 The word of God, my Lord always tells me, teach the word and you'll be okay. Quit saying other stuff because you always ruin it. And so I'm like, okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna teach the word of God. I think I'm finally listening. Teach the word and the word will do its work.

36:08 It's powerful. It'll destroy fortresses. It'll bring salvation, and we don't need to be discouraged. We need to keep praying and teaching God's word, and we will see people get saved. And so the fortress is people's ideology that can be destroyed with philosophies.

36:40 Yes. Well, you're dumb. Well, okay. Label me that if you want. But god has given me wisdom to understand that I needed to be saved.

36:50 That he's the answer to the world's problems. That he's the one that can save me, give me peace in my life, that can give me new life and transform me. And so your your speculations, your your your science, your investigations, you're denying the word of god, all of that stuff, all those speculations and those lofty things, those pride, arrogance, rejection of God. And notice what all of that is about. It's against the knowledge of God.

37:24 And so what does Hebrews say? Hebrews chapter 11, that God demands faith, and you have to believe that the immaterial, the invisible God created everything material. That, yes, that's the only logical way to explain it, and that's what the Bible appeals to us, that we need to believe that reality that there is an invisible God who's real, who's a person who created everything around us, all material, and we're going to give account to him. And he's the answer to life's mysteries. Right?

38:00 It says in Colossians, In him lie the the secrets to all wisdom and knowledge. It's found in the person of Jesus Christ. And so if you're the enemy, what are you gonna do? You're gonna try to destroy the leadership. Secondly, you're gonna you're gonna try to mock God by lofty arguments.

38:20 How can you be so naive as to believe the word of God? How can you believe that there's really a God? Prove it. Show me there's a God. Well, you know our answer, right?

38:29 Prove to me there's not one. And so we're walking, but but we're not... It's not a physical battle. It's a spiritual battle for for for the souls of people. And you don't fight that duking it out.

38:47 You fight that through prayer, through the word of god, to preaching the gospel, to preaching truth, and being firm in our convictions of what we believe. Only that can destroy a fortress. Only that can counter the speculations, those lofty, arrogant arguments against God. Only that. And then notice then that it says, and we're taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

39:15 In other words, what we're saying to a person is every thought that you have that doesn't agree with Jesus Christ, it's a false thought, period. Period. Like I said this morning, the Lord's Supper, my grandmother and grandfather were idolaters. They had statues in every corner of their house. They had candles everywhere.

39:36 We'd walk in, and you would almost feel the presence of demons. They're everywhere. And we would tell my grandmother, you have to believe in the invisible God. He's not going to be physical. She says, no, I have to see him with my eyes.

39:53 And I see this idol before me. And to me, that's God because I can see him. See, that's a fortress grandmother. And the only way to understand that that's a false god is by believing the gospel. I'm not sure if she ever actually ever did trust the Lord when she died.

40:13 She heard the gospel about a thousand times through my parents or us, but I'm not convinced. I leave that in God's hands. But she couldn't get past the fact that she had to see an idol. And for other people, it's other things. The only truth is Jesus Christ.

40:34 That's what that means. We're taking every thought captive to obedience of Christ means, Jesus, you are the only truth. My thought has to be that there's only one god and one savior, Jesus Christ. I take my thoughts captive to that truth. There's no other truth.

40:56 There's no other way. The Bible doesn't give any other way. And so we're taking every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. And so we bow to him, we worship him, we exalt him, we preach him, and we are willing to die for him. Amen?

41:12 Because we have been captured by Jesus, And that's what we preach. And that's what we believe. And that's our conviction. And that's what we live for. May God give us grace.

41:36 We're in a battle for to to to break down fortresses, mindsets, religion, culture, things that are fighting you, Lord. We're in a battle for lofty thoughts and arrogant men who deny you. We're in a battle against science and against philosophies and religions that are just putting up their walls and attacking Christianity. But Lord, give us the courage to continue to use the Bible and the gospel and to preach Jesus Christ. For he is the only one that can bring down those arguments and can destroy those fortresses in which they are lost.

42:21 Help us, Lord, to take every thought captive to Jesus, to preach him and him alone. We commend ourselves to you, for the rest of this day, and we thank you for so great a salvation that is ours. Bless us if we go home now, we pray, and bless our fellowship. In Jesus' name, amen.