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00:00Let's all say one last time if you don't mind, but also a God that's working in your life right now.
00:05We appreciate you being here today. I like to quote that scripture. When you're planted in the
00:10house of the Lord, you will flourish. You could have been doing a lot of things today, but you
00:16said, I'm gonna go to Lakewood. I'm gonna put God first place. Let me tell you, you're gonna flourish
00:20this week in your attitude, in your career, in school. You know, live with that flourishing
00:26mentality because you're connected to God, because you're keeping him first place. And
00:30we're so honored to have you with us. And of course, online listening as well. Here in the
00:34building, if you're visiting, I'd love to meet you after service. If you've got a minute or two,
00:38I'll be back there by the bookstore lobby, but just so glad to have you here. And how about
00:43Ms. Maddie Pruitt-Trout? I mean, can she not preach y'all? What an amazing man, Maddie. You have wisdom
00:52beyond your years, but you know what? God's raising up new, a new generation, powerful people,
00:58ministers, and also entrepreneurs, and doctors, and artists, and all, you know, that's the young
01:05people in this church, the next leaders in our generation. And so, see, Lakewood's 66 years old.
01:11I'm not that old, but Lakewood's 66 years old. But you know what? The next 66 years are gonna look
01:16good, because I know it's your children, and it's your seed. Our seed is mighty in the land,
01:22the scripture says. And so, I love that, Maddie. So good to have you, and got to meet your husband,
01:26Grant, and your beautiful parents. But glad to have all of you here today. We just feel blessed
01:31to have you. Just real quick, y'all. Never been baptized in water. We do two church-wide baptism
01:36October 4th. That's a Saturday. You sign up, we'll tell you when to come. We always baptize a thousand
01:41people. And sometimes you have children that are old enough now to know what it means to be
01:46born again. I'd be honored to baptize them. And if you've ever seen it, you know, you come right
01:51up in the line with them. We just all do it together. So we'd love to have you. First step
01:55of the Lord, the first command of the Lord Jesus was to be baptized in water. That next day on Sunday,
02:00October 5th, we'll be dedicating babies. We do that a couple times a year. I know you have a lot of
02:05newborns, and we'd love to just lay hands and set them aside for the purposes of God. So a lot of good
02:11things happening here at Lakewood. I see Pastor Danilo and Gloriana over here, our Spanish-speaking
02:16pastors. Amazing people. Two o'clock every Sunday, it's all the services, but it's all in Spanish.
02:24And we just celebrated our 23rd year last Sunday of the Spanish-speaking service. So
02:30we appreciate our Spanish-speaking team. But when you see yourself on the screen,
02:36can you give the TV audience a great big Lakewood welcome?
02:38Well, God bless you. It's great to be with you today. And I hope you'll stay connected with us
02:46during the week through our daily podcast or YouTube channel, social media, and you can come
02:52visit us in person. We'd love to have you be a part of one of our services. But I'd like to start with
02:57something funny. And I heard about this mother and one Sunday morning, she went in her son's bedroom,
03:03said, son, wake up. It's time to go to church. Son said, no, mom, I'm not going to church today.
03:08She said, why not? He said, I'll give you two good reasons. Number one, I don't like the people.
03:14And number two, they don't like me. She said, all right, son, I'll give you two better reasons why
03:19you should go. Number one, you're 49 years old. And number two, you're the pastor.
03:27Listen, you guys know I like you and I know you like me. So here we go.
03:31This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can
03:40do. Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert. My heart is
03:47receptive. I will never be the same. I'm about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible,
03:54ever-living seed of the word of God. I'll never be the same. Never, never, never. I'll never be the
04:01same in Jesus' name. God bless you.
04:04Amen. If you'd like to open your Bible, it's Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 12. You're welcome
04:11to. Ephesians 6 verse 12. And we'll put some scriptures on the screen as well. And most of
04:17you know, we have great services all week. Our young people meet on Wednesday and college on
04:21Thursday, Monday night Bible study. But you can check the, check the web and see what all we have
04:26to offer. But again, honored to have you with us today. I want to talk to you today about invisible
04:32enemies. We all have things come against us. People not treating us right or dealing with an
04:39illness. Child is causing heartache. We look in the world and see wrongs, injustice and evil.
04:46It's easy to live frustrated and think this person is the problem. I got to straighten them out.
04:52This group is the enemy. They don't believe like me. We end up fighting with people thinking they're
04:58the problem. But the fact is the real enemy is invisible. Paul said in Ephesians, our struggle
05:06is not against flesh and blood, but with spirits without bodies, with the unseen rulers of darkness
05:14behind the trouble behind the turmoil is forces of darkness, influencing the person, causing them to do
05:22wrong. If you just attack the person, the neighbor, the government, the group, you're going to be
05:28frustrated. You're dealing with the symptoms, but the source is where the issue is. You can't fight a
05:35spiritual battle with physical weapons. Muscles don't matter to an invisible enemy. Getting angry,
05:43revenge, trying to make them do right, that's just going to frustrate you. You have to fight this battle
05:48in the unseen realm. The scripture says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God.
05:58Carnal means physical or natural. Those weapons don't affect the unseen. You have to use spiritual
06:05weapons. You have the power of prayer. You have the name of Jesus. You have the word of God. You can
06:12speak his promises over your situation. You have authority to resist the enemy, not fight him. He's
06:20already defeated, but you have to remind him of his defeat. Instead of constantly arguing with your child
06:27trying to make him do right, force him to be disciplined, you may have to do some of that. I'm not
06:33saying don't do the natural, but that alone is not enough. Instead of attacking your child, why don't
06:40you attack the source? Forces of darkness, you will not have my child in the name of Jesus. I command you
06:47to take your hands off of him. That's doing battle where it matters. That's attacking the invisible
06:54enemy. You have power over all the powers of darkness, but you have to use the right weapons.
07:01Sometimes we're attacking the wrong things, attacking people, the boss, my neighbor, these
07:06troublemakers. Their behavior is the symptom. There's something behind the scenes influencing them,
07:14causing them to act out. As long as you're dealing with it only in the natural, you're going to be
07:19frustrated. It's a spiritual battle. Paul said in Ephesians, put on the armor of God so that in the
07:27evil day, you will be able to withstand the attacks of the enemy. We're living in an evil day. There are
07:36forces trying to take your peace, keep you from your dreams, confuse your children. It's never been a time
07:43where there's so much divisiveness and contention, people pushing agendas that are against the things of
07:49God. The trap of the enemy is to get us all fighting each other. Parents fighting children, this group
07:56fighting that group, fighting the coworker, fighting the authorities. Don't be fooled by the invisible
08:03enemy. What you see is simply the fruit of who's working behind the scenes. You can deal with the fruit
08:10all day long, but as long as the root is in place, nothing's going to change. Too often we're trying to fix
08:17the person, straighten them out, defeat their agenda. That's a temporary fix. You have to get to the
08:23source. And the scripture says your spiritual weapons are mighty through God. Something powerful happens
08:31when you pray. When you call out to God in the unseen world, angels go to work. When you declare his
08:39promises, forces of darkness are pushed back. When you speak in the name of Jesus, demons tremble,
08:46chains are broken, miracles set into motion. That's fighting where it matters. And I know we need to do
08:53things in the natural, of course use common sense, but the natural is not enough. That's not where the
08:59real battle is. And the scripture talks about how before you were born, God knew you and planned out
09:08your days. And he's given you a purpose to fulfill, an assignment to accomplish. But the moment you were
09:15born, the enemy targeted you, he assigned forces to try to stop your destiny, keep you from stepping into your
09:22greatness. And I don't say that to make you afraid, but to make you aware. Because sometimes we wonder why these
09:30things come against us, why you feel that nagging discouragement, why people are doing you wrong, why you can't get
09:37a good break. That's the invisible enemy trying to limit your life. The good news is he wouldn't be
09:44targeting you if he didn't know you were a threat. He would leave you alone if you weren't destined to
09:51leave your mark. The reason you have opposition and you feel that pressure is because you're carrying
09:58something valuable. You have such great potential. He knows you will do damage to his kingdom. So he'll work
10:05over time, trying to hinder you. Use people to get you discouraged. Circumstances that aren't fair.
10:12Recognize what's happening. Those aren't battles you can fight with natural weapons. That's the unseen
10:18enemy. Instead of trying to fix it all by ordinary means, how about declaring God's favor over your life?
10:26How about speaking victory over your health, over your family, over your future? How about thanking God that
10:32he's opening the right doors, that he's bringing the right people? How about resisting the enemy in the name of
10:38Jesus, saying you have no part in my life. I am God's property. Those are the weapons that make a real
10:46difference. That's how to deal with the root cause. When I was 14 years old, I broke my kneecap
10:54running track. I fell and hit a metal drain cover and had to have surgery. And my parents were out of the
11:01country at the time. And when they returned, my father came in and said, Joel, mother and I have
11:07been praying for you since the time you were conceived. We've always spoken God's promises
11:12that you'll do great things. God will give you wisdom and protect you. But he said, Joel, now you're
11:19old enough to do it on your own. Our prayers won't be enough. You have to stand against the darkness.
11:25You have to declare God's promises. You have to use the name of Jesus to resist the enemy.
11:32From that day, I started doing it. I say every morning, Father, thank you that no weapon formed
11:39against me or my family will ever prosper. Devil and demon forces, I command you to get out of my path.
11:47I cancel every assignment of the enemy in the name of Jesus.
11:50Jesus. The authority in the unseen realm doesn't come from how good of a person you are,
11:57what family you come from, how much education, how popular. The authority comes from the name of
12:04Jesus. That's the name that causes demons to tremble. That's the name the forces of darkness have to
12:11obey. That's the name that took the keys of death and hell. Jesus said, I give you all power over all the
12:19power of the enemy. That's how you deal with his schemes and strategies. It's not necessarily
12:25fighting people, circumstances, fighting physical things. It's standing against these unseen forces.
12:34And yes, it's good to have people pray for you and family members that stand in faith,
12:39parents that declare God's blessing. But nothing is more powerful than for you to resist the enemy,
12:46for you to declare the promises over your life, for you to say every morning, I cancel every assignment
12:54of the enemy today. I serve you notice. I am God's property. You have authority as a believer,
13:01but it doesn't do you any good if you're not using it. And sometimes we're using our strength,
13:08our energy to fight people and they're doing me wrong. They're going against what I believe.
13:13They're dishonest. The truth is they're being influenced by forces of darkness. The real problem
13:20is the invisible enemy, the source that's causing them to be that way. If you just fight with people,
13:27you're going to be frustrated. There was a bullfighter in the ring with this huge bull and
13:33thousands of people in the stands. And every time that bull would come charging,
13:38he would put out his red cape to distract him. The bull would duck his head and attack the cape,
13:45hit it with so much force and throw his horns into it. While he was focused on the red cape,
13:51the bullfighter would stick a sword into him. This happened time and time again. The bull got angrier
13:57and angrier. He was fighting with all of his might. The problem was he was attacking the wrong source.
14:04He thought the cape was the enemy. He didn't realize the man behind that cape was the real
14:11enemy. Here this bull weighed thousands of pounds, had all this incredible power and force. The man
14:17less than 200 pounds. It was no match. There was a man in the stands watching the bullfight for the
14:24first time. He said to his friend, if that bull ever finds out who's really sticking him,
14:30that man is going to be in a whole lot of trouble. Sometimes like the bull, we're getting stuck,
14:38aggravated, annoyed. We think it's the cape, the person, the boss, this sickness I'm dealing with,
14:44this group that's so evil. We don't realize they're not the source. There's an invisible enemy
14:50that's controlling the cape, causing the conflict, division, stirring up prejudice, jealousy, confusion.
14:58Don't be deceived by the cape. We have to get to the source. The enemy is the root cause. He's the
15:06one pulling the cape. Instead of going after people, you need to go after him. You can't defeat him with
15:13carnal weapons, getting angry, offended, trying to pay people back. The weapons of our warfare are not
15:20physical, but they are mighty through God. When you pray in the name of Jesus, things in the unseen
15:28realm shift. You don't have to ask the enemy to leave. You don't say, please go. No, you command him
15:35to leave. Jesus said, get behind me, Satan. You have authority over all those forces that are trying to
15:43hinder your life. You need to tell them on a regular basis to get behind you. You have no right
15:50in my life. Take your hands off my children. Take your hands off my finances. Take your hands off my
15:55future. I belong to the most high. The scripture says when you resist him, he will flee. He doesn't
16:04have a choice. He can't stay when you use your God-given authority. Luke chapter 13, Jesus was teaching
16:12in the synagogue and he noticed a lady that was all bent over and not able to stand. She'd been this
16:18way for 18 years. The scripture says she had a spirit of infirmity, was a physical ailment caused by
16:27a spiritual issue. Jesus didn't pray for her. He didn't anoint her with oil. He simply spoke to the
16:34spirit. He said, woman, you are loosed from your infirmity. Immediately she could stand up, perfectly normal.
16:41I wonder today if some of the illnesses we deal with are not a spirit of infirmity.
16:47We know all sicknesses from the enemy and some are natural, but others like this woman, it's a spirit
16:54of infirmity. You have to be loosed from that spirit. You need to tell the enemy, take your hands off of
17:00my health. You cannot keep me bound. My body is a temple of almighty God. Break that spirit of diabetes,
17:08spirit of heart trouble, spirit of depression. You can treat the physical, and of course that's good,
17:14but if you'll get to the root cause, that invisible enemy, that spirit of infirmity, then you can be
17:20really afraid. We can see how these spirits of infirmities get passed from generation to generation.
17:27And I know it can be genetics and DNA, but I've read studies where attitudes can be passed down,
17:36thinking patterns, not just physical, but emotional and behavioral. That's a spirit. You need to take
17:43authority over every negative spirit in your family line, over every spirit of infirmity, spirit of
17:50poverty, spirit of divorce, spirit of jealousy, anger, addiction. Don't go through life just treating the
17:58symptom, learning to live with it. Get to the root. Deal with the invisible enemy. Those are forces trying
18:05to stop your assignment. Nothing will change until someone rises up and says, in the name of Jesus, we are
18:14loosed from this infirmity. I take authority over these forces of darkness. I command you to go.
18:21The power comes from the name of Jesus. They're not afraid of my name. They're not afraid of pastor,
18:28pope, doctor, influencer. That's all good, but the name that gets their attention is Jesus. That's the
18:36name that causes chains to break, depression to leave, brings healing and wholeness. You may have
18:43struggled for a long time in an area like this woman with depression or sickness, addiction, or maybe
18:50not being able to get ahead. You take one step forward and two steps backwards. That's not just bad
18:56luck. That's a spirit of lack, a spirit of mediocrity. How about always fighting in your family? Can't get
19:03along, strife, division. That's a spirit of turmoil, a spirit of division. I believe today is your
19:11breakthrough day. Like Jesus said to this woman, I declare you are loosed in the name of Jesus.
19:18This is a day of freedom. In the unseen realm right now, chains are breaking. Forces of darkness are
19:25leaving. The enemy is retreating. When we resist, he doesn't have any options. He has to flee.
19:31Now, have a new mindset. Not, I'm going to be free, but I am free. Not, I hope to get well,
19:39Joel. No, I am well. Well, I wish my family could get along. No, we walk in peace, in unity. There is
19:46joy and laughter in my house, the house of the righteous. Second Kings chapter six, the king of
19:53Arium was at war with Israel. And every time he came up with a new battle plan, God would tell the
20:00prophet Elisha, he would tell the Israeli commanders. They always stayed one step ahead of
20:06the enemy. When the king found out, he was furious. He sent a whole army to capture Elisha, thousands of
20:13soldiers. They snuck up at night and surrounded Elisha's house. The next morning when his assistant
20:19went out and saw the soldiers and ready to attack, he was terrified. He ran back in. Elisha, wake up.
20:27We're doomed. We don't have a chance. We're surrounded by the enemy. But Elisha understood this principle
20:34that the real battle is taking place in the unseen realm. What we can't see. He told his assistant,
20:42don't worry. There are more for us than there are against us. He was confused. Elisha, what do you
20:48mean? It's just me and you, two of us. I saw thousands of them. Elisha simply prayed, Lord,
20:54open his eyes and let him see. He could see fine with his physical eyes. Elisha was talking about
21:01the unseen realm. He went back out to look again. This time he saw hundreds of thousands of the
21:08heavenly armies and chariots of fire and warring angels all across the mountainside. Yes, we have
21:16invisible enemies, but we also have an invisible army of powerful warriors waiting to be dispatched.
21:24When you call on the name of our God, when you pray in faith, declare his promises, those are the
21:32weapons that will defeat any force trying to stop you. If Elijah would have just relied on the natural,
21:40come on, we're going to go out there and somehow try to defeat him, push him back,
21:43outmaneuver, overcome. We wouldn't be talking about it. You can't fight spiritual battles with
21:50physical weapons. What you're up against may seem bigger, stronger, feels like you're surrounded.
21:56No, God has you in the palm of his hand. He wouldn't have let you get in that difficulty
22:01if he couldn't bring you out. Now, don't use carnal weapons. Don't just fight in your own power.
22:08use the weapons that are mighty through God. Father, I thank you that every force trying to
22:13stop me is broken in the name of Jesus. Lord, I thank you that your angels are fighting my battles,
22:20making ways where I don't see a way. That's how you fight in the invisible, not with worry,
22:27anger, paying them back. That's going to frustrate you. The real problem is not the person,
22:32the illness, the government, the troublemaker. It's the unseen enemy. It's that spirit of infirmity.
22:38It's the forces assigned to hinder you, limit your destiny, bring confusion. You need to tell the
22:46enemy every day, get out of my path, get out of my mind, get out of my children, get off of my business.
22:53I am God's property. He's already defeated. He's already under your feet, but you have to remind him
23:00of his defeat. You have to exercise your authority over him. You can't be passive and just accept
23:07whatever comes your way. I got this problem with my child and my boss is so unfair and I'm dealing
23:13with this anxiety. Satan is a bully. Bullies only respond to force. That's why Jesus said, get behind
23:22me, Satan. He didn't ask him, try to convince him, see if he was willing. He commanded him.
23:31My father told about this bully that was in his school. They were in fourth grade. He lived way
23:36out in the country and there's this real big student, strong, heavyset and looked like a giant
23:43compared to all of them. And he was always picking on people, throwing his weight around, acting so tough.
23:49They were all afraid of him, knew not to mess with him. Well, this new student moved into class.
23:55He was a little bitty guy, small, wiry, hardly anything to him, but he would fight a tiger. He
24:03wasn't afraid of anything. One day out on the playground, he saw the bully with a pen and a
24:08piece of paper writing down names. Intrigued, he asked him what he was doing. The bully said,
24:14I'm making a list of everyone in this class that I can whoop. The little boy started thinking about it
24:22and thinking about it. And the more he thought, the more upset he became. He went back over to
24:28the bully and said, let me see that list. The bully was kind of taken aback and handed it to him.
24:34He went down at name by name and came across his name. He was so fired up. He got right in the
24:41bully's face and said, you have my name on here. You know, you can't whoop me. Why did you put me
24:47down? The bully said, Oh, I'll take your name off. You have to stand up to a bully. Satan goes about
24:57as a roaring lion. Loud in your thoughts, loud through other people, opposition and turmoil,
25:10trying to get you intimidated, angry. Can I tell you, he's all bark and no bite. He has a loud roar,
25:17but no teeth. Like that little boy, you got to rise up and say, take me off your list.
25:23You have the wrong person. I am a child of the most high. You can't defeat me and you're not
25:31going to deceive me. I know you're the source and I command you to go. Recognize his schemes and
25:40strategies. Don't let a bully that has no power over you cause you to live intimidated, afraid.
25:47He may have forces trying to stop you, but greater is he that's in you. This is what's coming.
25:53Then what's come against you. Paul told us to put on the armor of God so we can withstand the attacks
26:01in the evil day. He talks about the helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, the belt
26:06of truth, the shoes of peace, the sword of the spirit. Then he said, above all, take the shield of
26:12faith so you can quench the fiery darts of the enemy. All the armor is incredibly important, but he said,
26:21make sure you have the shield of faith because you're going to have some fiery darts coming at
26:26you. Back in those days, they would take arrows and they called them darts and they would put
26:32kerosene on the tips and light it. When they shot the arrow, it could not only harm the person or the
26:39property, but it would start a fire, do a lot more damage than normal. The enemy uses the same strategies
26:46today. We all have fiery darts being shot at us. When you're making a difference, honoring God with
26:53your life, people will start talking, stirring up trouble. Your child's not treated right at school.
27:00Come down with an illness. You lost the contract. Because we see only in the physical, we're not
27:06always aware someone is shooting fiery darts at us. There's a source to this trouble that's not visible.
27:12It's an unseen enemy trying to light fires, get us upset and fighting this co-worker, attacking this
27:20group, living with a spirit of infirmity. We can't stop the fiery darts from coming, but we do have a
27:28solution, the shield of faith. Father, thank you that by your stripes, I am healed, that this sickness
27:35cannot stay in our family for we are loosed from this infirmity. Lord, thank you that what's meant for harm,
27:41you're turning to my advantage. I'm not going to, I'm going to stay in peace. I'm going to be still
27:46and know that you are God. Faith is a shield, trusting that God is in control, declaring his
27:54promises. That's going to block the fiery darts, thwart the plans of the enemy, should upset you,
28:02pull your family apart, get you frustrated, but you know the enemy's schemes. You got your shield up.
28:08You're not fighting with people. You're dealing with the source of the problem. That's how you stand
28:13strong in the evil day. That's how you're not moved by the trouble. You're using your spiritual
28:19weapons that are mighty through God. This is so important because we're in a time where it's easy
28:26to start attacking people. The enemy is doing everything to bring divisiveness. He knows when
28:33there's unity, there's a blessing, but people are not the real problem. It's the invisible enemy
28:40that's influencing them. Think about Judas. He was one of the disciples. Jesus chose him to be among the
28:4712. He had good qualities. He was strong, smart, a leader. How could he betray Jesus? How could he get
28:55so off course and do something so wrong? Luke 22 says, Satan entered into Judas? Wasn't that Judas was
29:04this evil, terrible person? The enemy came and deceived him. There are people in all of our lives
29:11that have opened the door to the enemy. They believed his lies and given him access and we see
29:18them as off and evil and messed up. How can they believe that? Yes, we need to stand for truth,
29:25stand for righteousness, but we also need to stand against forces of darkness that have blinded their
29:31minds. It's the enemy controlling, manipulating, deceiving, but you and I as believers have authority
29:40in the name of Jesus. Let's not fight battles attacking people. Let's attack the enemy. Let's command
29:47forces of darkness to go. Let's use that shield of faith to stop the fiery darts. Remember the reason
29:54you're being attacked is because you carry the purpose of God. You have his hand of favor and
30:00blessing on your life. The enemy doesn't like us hearing this. He'd love for us to waste time fighting
30:06one another, living angry, but we're aware of his schemes. We know what our weapons are, the power of
30:12prayer, the word of God, the name of Jesus. Now rise up and take your authority as a believer.
30:19If you'll do this, I believe, declare, every force trying to stop you is being broken right now in the
30:25name of Jesus. Breakthroughs are coming. Freedom is coming. Healing the fullness of your destiny
30:32in Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?
30:40Let's pray together. If you have five minutes, let's just seal it in prayer. Lord, thank you for
30:44what we've heard today. I know it falls on great ground. Faithful people here at Lakewood and so
30:49many watching and listening. And Lord, I thank you today. We're going to put this word into action.
30:55Lord, we're going to trust you. We're going to use our spiritual weapons. Lord, we're not going to let
30:59people upset us in circumstances, but Lord, we're going to get to that root. We're going to trust you
31:06through prayer, through speaking God's word, through using the name of Jesus. And Lord, I thank you in
31:12that unseen realm, like I just declared, forces of darkness have been broken even today. Lord, we're
31:17going to walk in peace and be a bright light as we go out this week. Lord, protect your people.
31:23Watch after them. Let their children excel in school. I speak your blessings over everyone
31:30under the sound of my voice. And with our heads bowed in prayer, just a quick question.
31:35If your heart stopped beating in the next few minutes, are you at peace with God?
31:41Do you know where you'd spend eternity if you died a little while from now? If not, I would love to pray
31:48with you. I'm not here to condemn anybody. I'm here to help you find a new beginning. I know this
31:55comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In just a moment, if you're not at peace
32:02with the Lord, or maybe you are a Christian, but you've grown cold toward God, you know you need to
32:08rededicate, recommit your life to Christ. If that's you, in just a moment, I'm going to ask you to take a
32:14step of faith and stand right where you are and we'll pray together. I can't think of a better time
32:22to get on the road to victory than right now. God is not mad at you. Your sins have already been
32:29forgiven. All you have to do is accept the free gift of Christ's salvation. Will you do it today?
32:36The enemy in your thoughts, he'll whisper, no, not today. Do it next week. Do it another time.
32:41Listen, the Bible says, today is the day of salvation. Don't put it off. Well, Joe, it's
32:48embarrassing to stand in front of everyone. Listen to what Jesus said. If you won't be ashamed of me
32:54before people, I won't be ashamed of you before my father in heaven. I'm going to give you a great
33:01opportunity to show God that you're not ashamed of him. If you're not at peace with the Lord,
33:06or you need to rededicate your life, you need a fresh new start. If that's you, I'm going to ask
33:13you to be bold. Take that step of faith and stand right where you are. And we'll pray together. Would
33:17you do that? Come on, Lakewood. Let's give them a hand as they stand all over the building.
33:22Come on, don't put it off.
33:30I feel like there ought to be others. Your heart's beating fast. Anybody else?
33:34Come on, Lakewood. Let's clap for men. Still standing up top, watching, listening. Anybody else?
33:43Well, God bless you. And please remain standing if you don't mind. But I want to first tell you how
33:48much we love you. How proud we are of you. I know that took courage to stand. And I know God is never
33:54going to be ashamed of you because you took this step of faith today. The scripture says that whoever
33:59calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Let me help you to call. Do you mind all praying this?
34:06Even if you're sitting, if you would, please. Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart.
34:14I make you my Lord and Savior. Amen. Or remain standing. One more moment. I want to tell you again
34:21how much we love you. We're going to be praying for you. I also want to give you a personal invitation
34:26and a challenge to come back and be with us on a regular basis. We ask new believers to give us the
34:33next year of your life. Make a commitment just like you go to work. For the next year, you're going to be
34:38here every time you possibly can. I'll make a promise before that year is over, your life will
34:44never be the same for the better. We're going to help you grow and become who God's created you to be.
34:50And I know you're busy. You work hard. It's probably a day off. But I can promise you this. There is a
34:56blessing on your life when you get into a community of faith. You put God first place. Your new week will
35:02go better. Not only that, I hope you'll get involved. Join some of our teams, ushers, greeters, choir.
35:07There's so many ways. I want you to meet some great friends here at Lakewood that'll keep you
35:13strong and encouraged. We need you. We love you. We're going to be looking for you right after
35:17service over here. There's a room, a booth. You can find out more or in your seat back pocket. You
35:22can do it digitally. I'm going to be in the lobby. You got a moment to stop by. I'd love to meet you
35:26whenever you can. I'm always out there. Know this, the moment you stood up, God washed away all your
35:32sins, your mistakes, your failures. You are starting with a fresh, clean slate.
35:38Write it down in your Bible. September 21, 2025, a new day of victory in your life. In Jesus' name,
35:46amen. Amen, mom. Hey, let's all stand together if you would, please. Thanks so much for coming out
35:52today. How many of you going home better off than you were before? Amen. Don't forget, Maddie will be
36:00right back over there if you want to say hi to her. I'll be that other way. But let me speak a blessing.
36:05Until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord show you his favor and have
36:10mercy on you. And may the Lord watch over you and give you his peace. God bless you. We love you very
36:16much. Have an amazing week. See you.
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