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Going to ask you to welcome with me the co pastor of Victory Church, an incredible woman of God, Pastor Ashley Daugherty. Thank you so much, Pastor Greg. Victory College, Tulsa, Victory College, all around the world. What an incredible moment. I think it is so cool that we're all doing the same thing at the same time. In fact, I know you guys have already done this, but I'm gonna count to three and I want everybody in this room and those who are tuning in to stand to your feet and just give a big shout of praise. And on the count of three, I want us to to lift up the name of Jesus. Because I think that's pretty cool that at the same time all over the world that we are declaring and lifting up the name of Jesus. So on the count of three, can we lift up the name of Jesus? One, two, three. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Hallelujah. Jesus. Jesus. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord Jesus. Let the demons run Jesus. Let the demonic strongholds be broken. Off of this nation, off of this world Jesus. Off of our families, off of our kids. We speak the name of Jesus. Jesus. I know people outside of these walls didn't hear you and outside of your walls proclaim the name of Jesus. But you know who heard you was every demon in hell heard you declare the name of J all around the world. Heaven knows how we just effectively demolished plans of the enemy because we spoke the name of Jesus. There's not power in the name of Ashley. There's not power in the name of Paul. I did not die on the cross for your sins. I was not buried in the dirt. I did not conquer hell. But I serve a God who did. I serve a God who sent his one and only son. There is power in the mighty name of Jesus. And if you do not think you're worthy of enough to lift up the name of Jesus, you weren't until God sent his one and only son on the cross. If you do not think your lifestyle reflects the worthiness to lift up the name of Jesus, you don't understand the cross. Because when you lift up the name of Jesus, you are actually standing up against the power of shame, the power of condemnation, the power of fear. You are making it about the cross. You're making it about the cross. If you want to do something for Jesus, you want to do something big, don't make it about yourself, make it about Jesus. It's not for my name's sake. It's about Jesus. When we live to please, man. When we live to Stay comfortable. When we live settled for defeat, we are making it about ourselves. I don't want to get to heaven one day and I don't want to wait till heaven to see the power that I have in the name of Jesus. There's a level that my eyes will not be open to until I get to heaven. But God open my eyes to see what I can see. Now we are going to have a limited perspective. If our eyes are on our sight, we have to get our eyes off of ourself. What we look like, what we sound like, who's gonna like us, who's gonna hate us. And we gotta get our eyes on Jesus. That is where the power is. That is where the life is. Jesus not only died on the cross for our sins, but but he died on the cross so that we could have power over the devil. Power over the devil. I am so tired of the devil winning in my own life and also in the lives of people who call themselves Christians. When God sent his one and only son so that we could have power over the devil, then why are so many of us victims of the strategies of the devil? Why? What are strategies of the devil? Insecurities, fear, greed, jealousy, violence, hatred, bitterness. These are all strategies of the devil. It's easy to to shout. I don't want to be a victim of the strategy of the devil. But when you start breaking it down, you're like, ooh, wow. Greed. Oh, wow. Bitterness. That means if I stay bitter, that I'm going to not be effective against the powers of hell. You're right. You're right. A strategy. Paul talked about it today. A strategy of the devil is fear. How many of us have ever been afraid before? Yes, we all have. I don't believe fear is a sin. What I believe is a sin is when we let fear decide how we carry our cross. There are passengers in the car, but we get to determine the driver. There's other passengers. There's other temptations in the car, but we get to decide who has the wheel. We get to decide what we're surrendered to, who we are surrendered to. This is not even my main message. Go ahead and be seated. I just start talking about Jesus. It does line up with what I believe God wants me to speak to and remind you about today. Again, I want to thank the translators also. That's a huge job. What I believe God wants to happen in this next 10 to 20 minutes that we have, that I have with you is I believe that not only now, so he wants to initiate it, but what I believe that he wants to do across the world is that he wants to sharpen us mentally, physically and spiritually to be an effective weapon against the darkness. We can be a weapon, but are we effective? Are we effective? Many of you know this scripture, especially going to Bible college. But in case you forgot it, I'm going to remind you Ephesians 6:12. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. There are things that we see and there are things that we do not see. It's sometimes easy to adjust to be effective on things that we see, but it's not always the most easiest and the most clear to be effective against the things that we do not see. Here in the United States, I have a car. If I want to be more effective in my driving or in our driving. We go to driving school, we adjust, we change. It's easier to be like, hey, here is a problem. And now I'm going to find this solution. I don't know this answer, so I'm going to use the Internet if available, or I'm going to find a book to find a solution. We spend a lot of time finding solutions for the seen world, but there are things that we do not see that are actually even more real than what we actually see. How much time do we spend becoming an effective weapon against the gates of hell? Just because we are a Christian does not mean we are an effective weapon against the gates of hell. It starts with being a Christian. It starts with. With asking Jesus to be your Lord and your personal Savior. But in Romans 12:1 and 2, which is where I want to camp out today, which is where I want to read from today. It is a great passage and a great training tool to remind ourselves of how we can be an effective weapon against the gates of hell. In my amplified translation, which is where I'm going to read it from, it says, therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God to present your bodies, dedicating all of yourselves set apart as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your rational, logical, intelligent act of worship. Verse 2. And do not be conformed to this world any longer with its superficial values and customs, but be transformed and progressively changed as you mature spiritually. How do we do that? By the renewing of our mind and focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes so that you may prove for yourselves what the will of God is. That which is Good and acceptable and perfect in his plan and in his purpose for you. We can be Christians. We could have. We gave our life to Jesus at one point. I love hearing people's salvation testimony of when they first surrendered their heart to God. Pastor Paul might have shared this as he preached, but this last weekend here in Oklahoma, we had a lady who was a Muslim this last week decided to make Jesus her Lord and her personal savior. Then she not only made Jesus her Lord and personal savior, but then she got water baptized. She made it public of an inward decision to follow Christ. That was a moment of surrender. But this is not new news to you in this room and those who are watching. One moment of surrender does not mean a lifetime of surrender. Just like there was one day where we gave our life to Jesus, there has to be multiple days. There has to be an everyday decision to be a living sacrifice to God. How do we be an effective weapon against the spirit of darkness? Number one, we have to be someone who daily chooses to be a living sacrifice. Who daily chooses. Who is cognitively aware that my life is not my own, that I belong to Jesus Christ. Again, many of us have prayed the prayer of salvation to ask Jesus in our hearts. But a lot of life happens. A lot of circumstances take place. A lot of disappointments happen. A lot of situations happen that can easily distract us and move us away from being surrendered and staying consecrated to Jesus Christ. What does it mean to present our bodies? God doesn't just want your work for him. He wants you. He wants you. I know that America and Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Victory Christian Church is not the only place that is guilty of, if we're really honest, that is guilty of doing all kinds of work for God but never fully giving him ourselves. If we're really honest with ourselves, there's spaces and places in our hearts that are not yet fully a living sacrifice. And it's tough because surrender is not easy. We're all called to call on Jesus as our Lord and personal Savior. We're all called to follow Christ. The cross was for everyone. So God's grace, God's supernatural ability is there to help us make that choice. But it's still our choice. We still have to choose to present our bodies as living sacrifices. What does that mean? It means to present all of us. It means every gift that you realize you're gifted in, every skill that you believe that you have, all of the different uniqueness, all of our different personalities. It's meant to be laid at the altar of Jesus as a living sacrifice. Why at the altar of Jesus so that he can burn away every impurity, so that he the Bible says our God is a consuming fire. Fire. If we were in a house fire, if we were surrounded by an actual fire, it has the possibility to burn our bodies and everything around it. But God as the consuming fire, only his fire can burn every impurity and cause us to live more. Some of you may be asking, is there more? Is there more? Could the answer be found in what you're willing to let burn up? The Bible says that what I thought was so important I now consider loss. It's not as important to me for the sake of knowing Christ. In other words, there is more abundant life. There is a life that is more fulfilling as we know Christ. And the more that we surrender and present our bodies and everything, heart, soul and mind, the more that we allow God to touch it all, the more that we're going to find Christ and the more that we are going to live a fulfilled life. We like the word authentic. We like the word genuine. As Christians, the goal is not to just become more authentic, authentic and genuine and true to ourselves, to our own understanding. The goal is to become more authentic and genuine to the way God made you. In other words, there are things about you, the way that God has made you, uniquely, that you have not quite accepted because you might have picked another skill skill set. You might be confused about your identity because you don't understand how it fits in to your different communities. But I have a scripture to remind you of. In Proverbs 3 it says, do not lean on your own understanding. You know, a lot of us look at the scripture in Proverbs 3 in relation to direction. But let me propose a different perspective when looking at this. Do not lean on your own understanding and the way God created you. Do not lean on your own logic and the way God made you and the way that God put you exactly where you are supposed to be. But instead, trust him with all of your heart with the way that he uniquely made you, the way that he uniquely gifted you, the way that he caused you to be alive at this time. Acknowledge him in your identity. Acknowledge him in the way that he created you and he will direct your paths. Path. He will direct your thoughts. I think about people who question and wrestle with their identity. Was I supposed to be a girl? Was I supposed to be a man? Was I supposed to be tall? Was I supposed to be short? Was I supposed to be more loud? Was I supposed to be more quiet? Was I supposed to be born here? Was I Supposed to be born there are these supposed to be my kids? I have a heart of compassion because when I see a confused world, I think about people who had a feeling. I think about people who were told something and they're trying to rationally and logically understand. And sometimes to really be a. Or not sometimes all of the time. For us to be a living sacrifice, we have to give up our logic and our understanding and trust in our creator that before you were in your mother's womb, he made you. Before your mother even knew your name, before you were even assigned a name by someone else, God knew your name. He knew that you were male or female. He knew what you were called to do. He knew what places you would go. He knew the family. He knew the location. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Why is this important in being a living sacrifice? Because sometimes we rationalize in our desire to understand. We keep and we hide spaces and places in our heart because we haven't fully accepted the way that God created us. If we want to be an effective weapon against the gates of hell, we have to present ourselves as a living sacrifice. Do you know that when you and I go to heaven, we will no longer have the opportunity to present ourselves as a sacrifice? We will no longer have that choice. Here on this earth, we actually have a choice. Because when we get to heaven, we will not be able to help ourselves to shout, lord, Lord Almighty. Lord Almighty, Holy, Holy are you. But here on this earth, every day, we have to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, bringing ourselves at the altar. Number two. How can we be an effective weapon against the darkness in this world? We have to be someone that resists the being molded by the world. We are all being transformed. We are all being conditioned to think a certain way, to act a certain way, to believe a certain set of beliefs. Every time we watch, every time we listen. You in Victory College, you. You've submitted yourself to an environment to be transformed by the word of God. But after our time together, no matter what time, your class ends on a regular basis. Outside of these incredible environments where it's constantly being preached, we're constantly being reminded of the truth of God's word. How much are we individually taking responsibility to transform our mind with the renewing of God's word? Because the world. Not talking about a location. I'm talking about the forces of darkness that are very present and in our world. They will shape us and they will mold us. Unless we take an offensive approach and we say, I am not going to be like the word of God says, I am not going to be conformed to this world. I'm not going to be conformed by popular culture. It's easy to turn on the television if you have the. The opportunity to do that. It's easy to be in a crowd of people. It's easy to be in a group of people talking about their opinions and their beliefs and then, without realizing it, slip into a way of thinking that is contrary to the word of God. The word of God is our compass. We have to continue to go back to what we set our lives on. We have to continue to go back to the center. And I not only fear this is happening, I know this is happening. And if I'm honest, and if you're honest, too, there are moments in my life that I did not realize how confused I was until I went back to the truth. Because it's the truth. It's the Bible that's alive. It's the sword of the Spirit that divides flesh and divides the spirit. In other words, only the word of God can decide what's truth. We have feelings, we have emotions, we have opinions. But feelings, emotions and your really good opinion and great philosophy doesn't set a world on fire for Jesus. It doesn't. The strategy that you might Google, the strategy that you learn in class, the strategy that you can learn from the greatest philosophers. I want to give credit to good ideas, but the reality is it's the word of God. If those strategies are not centered in the word of God, they will fail in being effective against the gates of hell. I'm talking about being an effective weapon against the spirit of darkness. We have to renew our minds to what the word of God says. And I will be the first to repent in front of all my friends here and the new friends that are watching. God, forgive me for moments in my life where I have searched outside of your word to understand and to navigate life's circumstances. When I have delayed my response to parenting, to pastoring, to leading, to being a good wife, when I have delayed my response getting in the word of God, because isn't that true, we get desperate, we get thirsty for answers, and we go to what's fast and we go to what's easy and we go to what's right there. But it takes someone who has decided to be a living sacrifice. It takes someone who has decided to resist being molded by the world to go get their Bible outside of a victory college class and begin to apply the word of God to their daily circumstances. I'm Saying this is simple and this is basic. But if we're really honest, how many times have we done what James talks about in the Bible? Look in the mirror. We see our flaws, we're aware of them, and then we walk away doing nothing with what was just exposed. The Bible is a mirror. When I read my Bible, when I read the truth, I'm reminded myself how far. I'm reminding myself how far or how close I am to my true north. And it's nothing to be in condemnation about, but it is something to have conviction about. Without the cross, I'm staying in condemnation, seeing that I'm constantly missing the mark, that I could never be like Jesus, that I'm constantly missing it. But with the cross, I can read the word of God and tap into the power of the Almighty God. That helps me do the impossible. Do you ever read the Bible and think, wow, that seems impossible? I do. I do. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. If we want to be effective against the darkness in this world, we have to get our eyes off of ourselves. Like I said, what seems impossible to let go, what seems impossible to forgive? What seems impossible to forgive for, to believe for. And we have to put our faith in God. We have to be transformed. You can look at your bank account, you can look at your hand and not see enough. You could. Then your mind begins to be conditioned to what you don't have. That's what I'm talking about. We're being transformed and conformed. Unless we decide to be someone that resists being molded by the world and circumstances. I'm not going to be molded by my bank account. I'm not going to be molded by what I don't have. I'm going to be a steward of it. But my faith is. Is based on what the word of God says I have. That's called renewing your mind to who you are in Christ. And if we don't do that, we're not going to be effective. I'm seeing a lot of people being conformed and molded by the world and not enough people being transformed and renewed by the word of God. God, because it's not always cool. And sometimes there's persecution. And I just want to say the level of persecution that you on the other side of this screen has had to endure just to come to Bible college. It fails in comparison to some of the stories in this room. Do I think that some of us in this room have been persecuted? Or do I think that there are people in this room where you had family and friends that didn't agree with you being here at Bible College. Sure. But there are people that are on the other side of these screens that are literally in fear of their own life that have had to lay down the fear of dying because it's more important for them to live for Christ than to be persecuted by people. And I just don't take that lightly. And I am so thankful for your heart, for Jesus and your commitment and your courage to be renewed by the word of God. In America right now, I don't know the stats across the world, but in America right now, the cell S E L L of the Bible or S A L E. Still working on my grammar here. Whichever one goes of the Bible is growing every day. We had the opportunity yesterday to meet with the founder of a store here in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who sells Bibles. They sell Bibles. There was a man that Paul talked about named Charlie who died proclaiming his faith. Literally. Some of his last words were declaring that Jesus is the son of God. After he died, after he was assassinated, there was an immediate difference in the sale of Bibles. It's amazing to me how easy it can be to buy a Bible here in America, but yet it sits dusty on a shelf. Or we only bring it out as a textbook in a Bible college. Lord, help me love your word. Let it be the delight of my soul. Does anybody else need that more in your life? I'm preaching to myself. I want to love the word of God like my life depends on it. Because if it doesn't, I can be easily conformed and transformed by the world around me. And lastly, how do we be an effective weapon against the spirit of darkness? We've got to be someone. According to Romans 12:2, we've got to be someone that proves it through our own life. We've got to be someone that proves it through our own life. Jesus, God himself saw the power in proving it. He said, I love this world. But I'm not just going to say I love this world. I'm going to send my one and only son to die on the cross. That's proving his love for you and me. It's one thing to say it, it's another thing to prove it with our actions. And that comes from being a living sacrifice. That comes from not being transformed by this world, but by the renewing of our mind as we are renewed and transformed on the inside because the word of God is alive. The proof comes in the evidence of how we live outside of our internal world. People should see the good and acceptable and perfect will of God through our life. In verse two, it says, so that we will prove for ourselves what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect, his plan and his purpose for our lives. There's a quote from a guy named Ralph Emerson. He says, preach the gospel and if necessary, use words. Our life should be a demonstration of the gospel. When you forgive those who have hurt you, you are demonstrating the gospel. When you are helping the poor, when you are helping the needy, you are demonstrating the gospel. When you rise above a poverty mentality and you steward what you have in your hands, whether little or much, you are demonstrating the gospel. When you are standing up against fear in your life, you are demonstrating the gospel. When you refuse to compare yourselves to one another, you are demonstrating the gospel. How will we be effective against the darkness in this world if we don't demonstrate the gospel? We demonstrated the gospel by lifting up the name of Jesus together. But what would it look like on a personal level for you to demonstrate the gospel? For you to personally proclaim Jesus in your workplace, in your family, in your town? Mother Teresa says, if you want to change the world, go home, start at home. Many of us who want to change the world, we are set on fire to make a difference in the world as we should. But let's not neglect our day to day responsibilities. Let's not minimize the people that God brings across our path day to day. How can we reach the world if we don't show up for the one? If we don't show up for the one? I remember so vividly being a youth leader with our teenagers at our youth group. And I remember leading a group of students and I remember the devil trying to convince me of a lie that what I am doing doesn't matter because it's not a lot of people. There was about five or six of us. On a good day it would be ten. I began to pray the prayer, God, I see five or six. But show me what you see. Show me, God, what you see and I begin to weep and I begin to become convicted. If we don't have genuine passion and love for the people in front of us, how will we have genuine passion for the world? How will we have genuine passion for the people that God has called us to reach outside of right now? And God gave me a vision for the five to 10 teenagers that I was weakly discipling. And he would show me the families that they would reach and he would show me the friends that they would reach. How do we change the world, we change the world. One soul at a time, one soul at a time. And I want to tell you, as you're a living sacrifice, as you decide to be someone who's daily consecrated, say, God today, send me God today. Use me God today, help me be obedient to the student, to my peer that's next to me. And then as we continue to be someone who's not resist to be molded by the world, and when they choose to be people that are conduits demonstrating the gospel of Jesus, we wake up. We're saying, I'm gonna prove that Jesus is real. I'm gonna prove that faith is real. I'm gonna prove that peace, that the peace of God is possible. I'm gonna resist that I have to be like everyone else, that it's okay to be different, it's okay to be set apart, it's okay to be counterculture. Because I'm not living for myself. I'm living for an audience of one. I'm telling you, if you live with that perspective, there's a spirit of competition that rises up on the inside of you. You may not consider yourself competitive, you might not consider yourself athletic, but we should have a competitive spirit that rises up on the inside of us. That I will win the world for Jesus, that I will win against the gates of hell. And it's gonna start with any enemy from the darkness that tries to pollute my own heart. Because out of my heart flows the issues of life. Why do I keep going back and forth between a global and a world impact and a personal impact? Because that's the rhythms of our lives we should have. Our hearts should be consumed with the world and what God wants to do all around the world. But we can't live so much wanting to impact the world that we neglect the stewardship of our own souls and our own victories. So wherever you are at, whether it is little or big, be effective. Be effective against the darkness. If you have skill, if you have talent, stop comparing. Get good at it, become better at it. Not just become better so people can tell you how awesome you are, but lay your gifts and your uniqueness at the feet of Jesus so that people can see Jesus. It's not about Psalms 115 says, it's not about my name. Not for my name's sake, but for his name's sake. For his name's sake. I'm looking at faces in this room and I'm thinking about the faces that are watching on the other side of the screen or the device of what you're watching from. And I'm thinking about the army of believers that the Holy Spirit is raising up to be an effective weapon against the darkness and to populate heaven. Do not despise small beginnings. Do not think that you are by yourself just because a few are around you. There is an army of believers. We are sharpening our axe. We are sharpening ourselves spiritually, mentally and physically so we can win against the devil. Amen. Amen. I'm going to pray for you. Lord, I thank you for the Holy Spirit. You are hovering over every single one of us and you are convicting us of areas in our lives that we have been complacent, areas in our lives that we have compared, that have paralyzed us and kept us from moving forward. You're convicting us so there can be transformation. God, you are awakening us to our uniqueness, the way that we are made, in the image of God, our age, our. Our gifts, our giftings. You are bringing purpose to them. You have placed us in our jobs and our families and our communities for such a time as this. Wherever we go, God, help us be effective for your kingdom. Help us be effective soldiers. God, that we don't just create wounds and demonic activities, but we demolish and we destroy the demonic activity that tries to come against ourselves and our families and our communities and our nations. In Jesus, mighty name, Amen. Amen. I'm going to ask Pastor Greg to come up here and give us our next steps.