First A Rifleman | Rev Brent Coltharp

thank you brother carpenter praise the lord everybody so good to be here tonight and to be here first apostolic church of maryville as i was mentioning it's been my history with the church goes back probably about 25 years preaching some revivals here and i really think healing has come into my ministry tonight been in therapy for many years i was preaching revival here and when brother carpenter started talking about compassion tonight i remember years ago i was preaching a revival and i had this story that i wanted to tell at the end of the message that i thought was just such a heart touching story and it was a my dog how many loves your dog my dog got out and was running from a storm and had a heart attack on the side of the road and yes this church has come a long way he was in full stride when we found him and i was telling that story i was trying to wax as eloquently as i could and all of a sudden in the congregation i heard a few people start to giggle a little bit and what i thought was supposed to be so serious was just uh causing quite a few people to start laughing and i just lost the message right there as an evangelist and to come back and hear this call for compassion tonight i am just so i'm healed tonight to be back here the first apostolic church of america amen of course it's good to have my family here and i love them very much and to have them here with us and then i have i have other family here my nephew uh derek and his family are here very few places do i go i have family here and one church of mississippi is the only places i know that i go have family and so i love love them very much and there are some folks here that go back to aurora illinois and i just want to say how much i love you and i thank you for your years of service at the first apostolic church of aurora and it's so good to see so many of you here and some of you kept me when i was a child and that's hard to believe but it's so good to be with you and this church i absolutely love the carpenters and to be around them are are humble great people of god to have a heart for the kingdom of god and i have such respect for this this family and led by brother and sister carpenter and the work that they're doing this church is blessed with great great leadership and i'm glad you know that and i want to say something i do some things with the the school on on with just the apostolic movement in general we're brothers and sisters in the apostolic movement and in this church your voice goes way outside of maryville because brother carpenter and the minister and the call of god has put on him as he is ministering around the globe that's a testimony of this church and what what a tremendous blessing it is and a show of this church to be able to do so and so thank you for this opportunity to be with you i want to share something the lord put on my heart when i was thinking about this evening but it's always important that we open our hearts and our minds through prayer that the lord can have his way would you join me in prayer one more time lord i thank you for this evening i thank you for your presence tonight i thank you for the work that you've already done lord i pray that as i began to preach your anointed word god that you would be with us tonight your word is a lamp to our feet a light to our path that orders our steps god i pray that you would be with me tonight let us receive and be what you've called us to be in the wonderful name of jesus and everyone said amen god bless you you may be seated i mean i want to set a little foundation what i'm going to talk about tonight so just bear with me for a few moments you know i stand here today and realized that i am a blessed man god has been good to me anybody feel like god has been good to you amen amen sitting in the house of the lord tonight the presence of god that is here realizing the grace and the mercy that he's extended in my life god has been good to me he has been long suffering toward me i am so blessed i have so much to be thankful it is a privilege to praise the lord i had a friend that wrote a song a long time ago said it shouldn't take much time for you to find something to shout about and there's so much truth to that because god has been good to us i think of my family that is here i think of rachel of course james is not here but reagan lincoln grant and i'm so thankful for my family to realize the blessings of the lord my mom my dad my friends i am a blessed man and beyond that i am blessed to be a part of the body of christ to be a part of the church of the living god this is not something that we should take lightly it is a joy to be able to call ourselves a part of the elect of god a part of that number i don't ever want to forget the grace and mercy that was extended to me i had no hope listen if you don't know the lord and you feel like you are without hope let me tell you why there's a good reason why you feel like you're without hope you are because without him we have no hope but because god so loved the world all of us have hope today we were once lost we were once without hope but in due time when we were without strength we didn't have the power jesus christ died for the ungodly he died for me he died for you we do have something to shout about tonight we have something to be thankful for to give praise for to give glory to god for god has been good to us we're brothers and sisters that that we would all be together and loving one another only god can bring that to past we come from all over but god brings us together we start loving one another that's a miracle that's a miracle some people are not easy to love that's a miracle the body of christ it's a wonderful thing romans 12 says this that we being many are one body in christ individually members of one another paul would say to the corinthian church first corinthians 12 verse 12 for as the body is one and has many members but all the members of that one body many being many are one body so also is christ i'm going to read really quickly i'm going to jump around so pray for the media team for by one spirit we were all baptized into one body whether jews greeks whether slaves were free and all been made to drink into one spirit for in fact the body is not one member but many if the foot should say because i'm not the hand i'm not of the body is it therefore not the body the ears should say and it continues at the eye the hearing the smelling but now god has set the members each one of them in the body just as he pleased they're all one member where would the body be but now indeed there are many members yet one body i can't say i have no need of you no much rather those members of the body would seem to be weak or necessary those we think to be less honorable so greater honor skipping down god composed the body having agreed to honor that party which likes it that there should be no schism in the body but the members should have the same care for one another and if one member suffers all the members suffer with it if one member is honored all the members rejoice in it paul is emphasizing the importance of the body of christ and he says that god has placed us in the body in our rightful spot just as it pleases him this is not about maybe what we want to do it's about how god designed us and where he places us and where he puts us in the body and he says that there needs to be unity in the body there should be no schism no split no division that takes place in fact the scripture is very clear about the importance of unity in the body in fact when it talks about the sins that the lord hates three of them have to do with the tongue and one is sowing discord among the brethren which is considered an abomination he it's very clear because there's a lot of things that we can do that end up destroying us but division destroys many and so god says to make sure there's good organization and structure i have design the body and i put different members in different roles different places in fact he even talks about the ministry there's apostles prophets evangelists pastors teachers he puts them in the body that they are gifts from god to the body romans says it like this romans 12 34 i say though the grace given to me to everyone who's among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly as god is death to each one to measure faith for as we have many members in one body all members do not have the same function so we being many are one body in christ and individually members of one another having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us let us use them however god designed us what gifts he gave according to his grace we should use them in the body uh if prophesied prophecy let us prophecy and proportion our faith or ministry let us in our ministering he teaches in teaching who exhorts an exhortation he gives with liberality who leads with diligence he who shows mercy with cheerfulness and so he says whatever god has called you and his grace has equipped you you need to do that in the kingdom of god your identity is not in your occupation now this is not my notes but this will help somebody is sometimes we get we our identity becomes in what we do our occupation and then when we can no longer do our occupation we've lost our identity and you go into depression and a lot of other things because you feel like you have no worth your worth is not in your occupation it's not in what you've done your worth is that you were created in the image of god we were created to be part of the kingdom of god and the body of christ and no matter how young you are or no matter how old you are no matter how strong you are or how weak you are there is a role and a place for you in the body that when we all come together it makes a difference in the kingdom of god so whatever you do if your leadership diligence giving liberality helps administration whatever you do do it all to the glory of god in the body so just a little bit more when we get to the message but paul goes on to say to the ephesians so using this metaphor of the church as the body of christ he he encourages them to put on the whole armor of god if you are the body you need armor be strong in the lord the power of his might verse 10 ephesians 6 put on the whole armor of god that you may will be stand against the wiles of the devil for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood against principalities powers rulers of the darkness of this age spiritual host of wickedness and heavenly places therefore take on the harm of god that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having all done all to stand stand there for your ways with truth blessed breastplate of righteousness shot your feet with preparation of the gospel peace the shield of faith to be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one the helmet of salvation the sword of the spirit which is the word of god praying always with prayer and supplication being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all sins he goes on to say not only are we the body of christ but we all need to have the armor that goes that covers the body we all need to be covered and that's not in our own abilities this is with the things of god with righteousness and salvation and faith these are the things that protect us and when you think about it he wants you to know that the devil is seeking whom he may devour and so if you are part of the body both individually and corporately you need to make sure you have the armor of god because if there's a place in the body that is not protected where do you think he's going to aim for we've got to make sure we are armored up the enemy is out to attack if you think we live in a neutral world you've got another thing coming there is an agenda in our world we are not in a neutral world we are among wolves that are around us and so we are in a battle we're in a battle for our souls we're in a battle for our families we're in a battle for morality and righteousness we are at war and god is saying i need my church to stand up and to make sure that you have the armor on there's a battle taking place in maryville and we need to make sure we're ready for this end time battle you know there there's uh i got to looking at my hats and all my hats are like for recreation and relaxation i mean i've got baseball hats i've got golf hats i've got floppy hat i've got all kind of hats and i like man i need a helmet i i need to go get a military helmet because i think my closet reveals some of our spiritual lives everything is about relaxation and ease and having a good time and you don't go to battle with a baseball hat on you need to get a helmet on and we need to realize this is not a day at the park it is time for the church to stand up and go to battle we don't want hell taking any more territory its first apostolic church saying hey we're not here just to co-exist we're here to take over we're here to expand our territory to make a difference in the world so we are a part of the lord's army and in the military yeah it's important to recognize the importance of every mos military occupational specialty that in the military there's a lot of different roles for different gifts in the military in that body for instance the infantry here's just some of the mos that if you go into the military to understand that we need everybody in their role doing their part so there's infantry i mean there's things like indirect fire infantry heavy anti-armor weapons infantryman bradley fighting vehicle instrument i've got a friend that did that it's pretty cool utilities operations and maintenance engineers combat engineer construction engineer plumber they get toilets get clogged up in the military as well power line distribution specialist interior electrician carpentry and masons they have to build buildings aviation there's aircrafts in the military so they have a structural repair an avionics mechanic unmanned aircraft systems repairer i mean he's a real job attack helicopter repair fighter pilot transport pilot special forces there are radio operators there are satellite communications operators there's analysts there's an intelligence analyst imagery counter intelligence human intelligence cryptologic linguist the military has a band there's the band master the trumpet player the french horn player the piano player and the kids these are all mos in the military food services nutrition care specialists i don't know about him but cooks yes we want them hospitals there's hospitals in the military doctors nurses radiology specialists pharmacy specialist wow you see it's not just the guy on the front line or or or maybe the guy in the airplane there's all kind of different specialists to make our armies be able to fight in world war ii on two different fronts at the same time to be able to support it takes a whole lot of people to make this happen however the military military started realizing that they had a problem because there is a danger in over specialization general kevin burns the army's top training general explains that the army has too many soldiers who have lost touch with their inner warrior he said ask a junior enlisted man who they are and they'll tell you i'm a mechanic not i'm a soldier and general burns says we have to change that culturally in fact the marine corps recognized the danger of over specialization and so as its base assumption and training mantra every marine is first and foremost a rifle man we got to change this culture we can't have a marine saying i'm a mechanic i'm an electrician i'm a food specialist no no no no that that might be something you take on that might be the grace of your gift in the body but before any of that we have to realize first and foremost i'm a rifleman the the army has since adopted that mantra because they said we can't have our military focusing on their specialization to the degree that they don't understand when you go down to the bottom line the core of who we are is we are fighters and we break things and we take territory that's why the military exists so just for a few moments tonight i want to share that when i heard that it impacted me because we're a part of the lord's army and we are different members in the body and i am thankful for every member in the body i am thankful anything i say tonight is not out of thankfulness because i am amazed at people who have gifts that i don't give i stand there and i watch brother erickson with a microphone i'm like i mean the range of his voice i can't fake that it ain't even bad or or the piano or the hammers on the get turned on and so i i do that and i just stand amazed and i am so thankful for people who have giftings like that i'm not in competition with them you know what i'm going to do a whole lot better when they're doing good what they did tonight and we work together i come in and there are people who are working with hospitality and they are so kind and they welcome you in and i'm thankful i want to go to this church these people are nice to me and they bring me in and then you think about your kids that go to a sunday school class or a kid's church and somebody is loving them and put in the word of god you realize tonight i can think i have teachers that taught me sunday school in this building i still remember lessons that they taught to me and the examples they modeled for me so many many many years ago and and they were playing that role and that part you see in the church we have grounds and maintenance i mean i didn't see it this week but somebody cuts the grass somebody cuts the grass somebody repairs things somebody is greeting somebody is ushering somebody's in the nursery there might be somebody in the nursery right now and they're there they're ministering they're doing what they're can they're making a huge difference for the kingdom of god there's there's people back there i mean i i see them up in that that booth thing and then down there they're doing stuff i don't even know anything about it but man i'm glad they know what they're doing audio and video and sound i mean aren't you thankful for people with sound minds we need a lot of people's sound minds all of these things in the body in the body of christ and yet there is a danger of over specialization till our identity becomes caught up in just what we do even at the church that we forget first and foremost every one of us are riflemen you see we can't over specialize to the degree that we can't serve god unless we're in our niche if you can't serve god unless you're on the piano you've got an issue you forgot what you are first and foremost called to do it wasn't to be a piano player he was to be a soldier in the lord's army if you can't serve god unless you're in the choir loft something is wrong you forgot before you could ever sing he called you to be on the front lines to be a rifleman to be a soul winner to make an impact in the kingdom of god as a young minister i had an individual counsel me that i needed to specialize to find a niche he said maybe you could specialize in humanism and and talk about that a lot or prophecy and i i my assumption was due to the number of evangelists on the field at the time he thought i needed to specialize to like gain some competitive advantage or something i think he probably had heard me preach and thought he needs to focus somewhere specialize and we do have gifts but many times people get so caught up in a gift or a role that their identity becomes in that and they can't i can't worship unless i'm doing this then there's something wrong because unless you're not doing any of those things you should be able to come into the house of god and to lift up hands and to lift up your voice and begin to call out on the name of jesus you should be able to praise him from the bottom of your heart from the rising of the sun to the setting of the same the name of the lord is to be praised you should be able to be in an altar be a prayer before church during church after church because this goes above specialization i'm glad god calls us and i'm glad god gives giftings but before i was ever called to preach i was called to be a rifleman i was called to be on the front line i was called to be in the battle so when somebody asks you what do you do don't say well i'm a hospitality member or i'm a nursery worker no no don't get over specialized say first and foremost i am a soldier in the lord's army first and for i can drop this base or this guitar anytime i need to and go pray with somebody and pray them through in an altar because i know first and foremost i'm in a battle and i'm ready to roll up my sleeves and go to war at any time so here's what this means in the military every marine is a rifleman means this that they must qualify with his or her rifle at least once a year regardless of their mos because it starts off you have to be able to handle that gun so i don't care if you're a great cook and they have you in the cook and you're like why do i need that because you're in the army and in the army we fight battles and so every once in a while get away from the kitchen go get you a rifle go qualify make sure you still know how to break it down put it back together oil it load it fire it hit something make sure so sometimes just get out of the kitchen and go re-qualify you see that's what we have to understand in the lord's army i know we do a lot of things i i do message prep i i i prepare to preach and so i study and and things but but that's just a part of what i'm doing preaching whether i'm preaching or not you know what i've got to be in the word of god to feed my soul and my devotion to put in his word in my heart whether i'm preaching that week or not i need to be in prayer talking to god and connecting with him why i need to teach a bible study tell somebody about how good god is i need to pray with somebody i need to be a witness to somebody because regardless if i've ever preached another message or not i am in the lord's army and he's coming back for a church and he's looking for a church that is doing and busy about his work it means that regardless of your job you can still stand a post post such as a convoy escort or guard duty i i know i know we're gifted people in fact i look at this generation and i'm amazed at the talent and the abilities and the giftings of of the generation that's coming up amazed but you're not so talented and so gifted that you can't go on guard duty you're not so talented and gifted that you can skip out on church prayer meetings the greatest basketball in the player world in the play in the planet was michael jordan i got one amen tonight but he retired and came back and when he came back it was a game with the indiana pacers and it went to double overtime and michael jordan was on his back on the sideline they were pouring fluids down his throat and they were stretching out his his hamstrings because he was not in basketball shape and so he was cramping up now listen this is the greatest basketball player in the world but something so simple is keeping hydrated and in shape kept him from being able to go in the game no matter how talented he was no matter how high he could jump no matter how gifted he was and we have to understand none of those things no matter how smart you think you are or how gifted you have you can't do it without the spirit of god you can't do it without the power of god you can't do it about the presence of god it's god that builds his church it's god that gives us strength and power to overcome it's god we can do all things through christ who gives us strength you see i can't get so focused on what i can do and i forget that there are some things i can't do unless he is with me he strengthens me probably a lot of things i'm saying tonight does not apply to a lot of people here that's what preachers say when they don't want to offend anybody but the truth is we're all the same everywhere we go something happens and we're not asked to do something and so we sulk and pout or murmur and complain or tell someone else we would have been a better choice i don't need a confirmation of the spirit this is life and this is people and this is humanity and every church in the world goes through these things because what happens is we start getting focused on us rather than before anything else we're a soldier in the lord's army you remember but when he first called you remember when you came out of that baptism of water you felt like all the weight of the world had been taken off you were filled with the baptism the holy ghost and began to speak with other tongues for the very first time you know what you were saying that night you were saying god i'll do whatever you want me to do god whatever you want me to do there was no role too small too big whatever god had for us we wanted to do that but as time goes on if we are not careful we start over specializing and and we forget about what we are called to do listen if you can't serve if you can't sweep if you can't mop if you can't vacuum if you can't take out the trash if you can't open a door and welcome somebody to the house of god there is something wrong this is not about your gifting this is about your identity are you a soldier or are you something else i don't know about you but i want to be the soldier that god has called me to do hey man sometimes i need to lay aside the utensils in the kitchen and say i know i can cook i'm good at cooking but right now i need to go do car duty right now i need to go support somebody on the front line because i'm first and foremost a soldier don't hear how good you are prayer is not a part of your life something's wrong we can't be a witness to lost people something's wrong something's wrong you shall receive power when the holy ghost has come upon you to be witnesses power i know i know that words dunamis but but you have to realize this is a quite a few hundred years before dynamite is ever invented this is not what the writer had in mind because the power in the church is different than the power in our world any power can blow something up any power in our world it doesn't take a lot to destroy but the power that's in the church can take all the pieces and bring them back together again that's the difference of the power of god and that's what god is wanting to do he says i've given you power that when you're a witness you're you shouldn't be destroying things no that's what's already happening in our world you they don't have a problem blowing things up but taking all the pieces and putting it back together now that is power can i tell you there's really no power out in our world like the power that is in the church if it wasn't for the power of the holy ghost some of you wouldn't even be alive today your marriages would have been busted your families would have been destroyed but you came because somebody was a rifle man somebody was a soldier and they were a witness and they told you about the love of god and everybody played their part but they knew first and foremost this is not about the choir song this is not about the announcements this is not about the preacher this is about there's a loss so that we are all trying to reach for the kingdom of god first and foremost a rifle man see ladies and gentlemen there are some things you can do no matter what your gifting and calling is brother erickson would be out of his mind to put me on the platform to sing thank you rachel knows this literally he would be out of his mind we would all question his sanity somebody asked one time a while ago somebody just wanted to sing hopefully they're not watching this and so why do we have to have those people on the platform with mike's and i want to be very clear it's very simple because they sing better than you do i mean that's it we want to hear something pleasant something that helps us there are some people that have that gifting and so we give them the microphone now we all sing don't leave them to be performers i'm sorry i'm pastor i i can i feel it i need to pull back right now there's people that there are gifted and and and we're not now now thankfully my wife has helped me realize that i'm not gifted in this area and some people just need somebody to let them know that they're not gifted in this area so we put them in those roles and we're out here and aren't we moved by the excellence moved by the excellence that gives glory to god skillfully done it gives glory to god and you know what if you don't have that gift what you should be doing you should be out here worshiping with them praising them saying sing it play it do your best but there are some things that everybody can do everybody can pray paul said thessalonians pray without ceasing everybody can pray you don't have to have a spiritual gift you don't have to be so talented in one area no everybody can pray now here's the problem there are some folks that unless they can do what they want to do they don't do what they can do and there are some folks that if they can't do what they want to they don't do what they can do you see you see we have to do what we can do god is it's his grace that gave us the giftings that we have and what we need to do is accept that and worship comes when you fulfill your unique design so god created me male god creates male and female i do not have a feminine side i've heard people say well get in touch with your feminine side i don't have one i was created male i am a man i'm feeling too comfortable now and you know what gives glory to god when i'm a man because god said this is how i designed you and for you not to fulfill that role is saying i messed up i made a mistake i didn't know what i was doing that does not give glory to god if god created you female you should be a lady because that gives glory to god however god designed us we should be that to the best of our ability and so god gave you a voice to sin you should sing and you should do it to the best of your ability wherever that roll and that door opens you should do it unto the lord if god made you have if you are just a kind generous hospitable charismatic person and they're saying you know what you need to you need to welcome people to the house so you need to get out there and welcome people to the house of the lord if god given equipped you do you need to do that to the best of your ability but what we have to realize is no matter what takes place there while we do it to glory god has called all of us to be rightful men and that means we are to pray and everybody can pray and if you can't pray unless you're doing something else you forgot where he brought you from you forgot what he equipped you to be you forgot what god called you to be he called you to be a part of the army and we're at battle we're in a war everybody can praise the lord let everything that has breath it's just saying you don't have to have a special gift to praise god all you have to do is be living because only living things can praise him and you begin to open your mouth and say god you are good god you are great you are the master the creator the designer the sustainer you're the waymaker the bird and bear you're my healer you're my deliverer you don't have to have any special gift you just have to have breath we're all called to be witnesses i can't be a witness if you have the holy ghost you can i'm not saying you have to be a witness like i do or somebody else does but when he you receive the baptism of the holy ghost acts 8 1-8 he gave you power power for purpose you shall be witnesses we are all called to be involved in the great commission to go and make disciples of all nations we are all called to be a part of that we are all called to be in this battle paul warned he says you're not wrestling against flesh and blood but against principalities powers rulers of the darkness of this age spiritual host of wickedness he's saying we are all called to be in the fight we are all called to take on the armor of god we are all called to be a part of this battle wherever you're at what after your giftings are we need you on the front lines we need you going to battle and going to war paul said to timothy fight the good fight of faith lay hold on eternal life which you were also called and paul would say to timothy i have fought the good fight i have finished the race i have kept the faith paul is saying i have been a soldier paul an apostle yeah a rabbi yes a writer yes a lot of things you do but paul understood first and foremost i am a soldier in the lord's army and as soldiers we must remember that god is the one that called us this is what he said you were also called paul to say to me god is the one who called us and he called us to be on the front lines uncle sam didn't call us our first allegiance is to the kingdom of god above everything else we are to take that oath when you came into the church you took that oath god i will do whatever you want me to do notice the military oath i do solemnly affirm that i will support defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic and i will bear the faith and allegiance to the same and i will obey the orders of the president of the united states and the orders of the officers appointed over me according to the regulations of the uniform code of military justice so help me god this is the oath that everyone takes when they go in the military and we took a similar oath when we came in the kingdom of god we're saying god whatever your will is whatever your way is the pastor you put over me that authority over me god i'm just going to serve i'm going to be a part of your army i want to see us be victorious because not only is my life on the line my children's lives are on the line my friends my neighbors my family if we don't do our part people will be lost people will be lost so we buy into the truth paul said that thessalonians the coming of the lawless one the lawless one the kingdom of god is about order it's about authority it's about righteousness coming to the lawless one is according the working of satan with all power signs and lying wonders with all unrighteous deception among those who perished because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved and for this reason god will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lion they will be condemned who did not believe the truth but have pleasure in unrighteousness saying there's this deception that comes when they do not have that love for the truth you see you don't have to be gifted to have a love for the truth you just have to be a part of the army you have to make that oath you have to give god your heart because it's the truth that makes you free and so he says we've got to buy the truth and we don't sell it there are some things that we get a hold of and no matter what we ever do we don't lay them aside the new birth you must be born again of water and of the spirit unless you are baptized in the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved you cannot even enter in the kingdom of god we hold on to the new birth and the kingdom of god and righteousness and holiness why because paul said in second timothy 2 3 you therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of jesus christ no one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier so god love you with all my heart my mind my soul my strength i am in this for the long haul and so i want to be very clear i am thankful for whatever your gift is there's a couple of things that i can do and when i do them things go well when i get out of that things go bad and people tell me that we can do it a whole lot better you just stay right there so whatever you do in the church do it but just a warning tonight don't get so specialized in some part that you forget that above any specialization is your first and foremost a rifle man sometimes you just got to come out and make sure you still have that dance down no matter where you at are in some corner of the building doing the work you need to say you know what i've been in the kitchen but i've just got to get out and i've got to get my praise and my prayer and i i've got to go you just got to because before i ever did that if you stand with me tonight let me take you to camp bastian iraq 15 insurgents dressed in u.s army uniforms armed with automatic rifles rocket-propelled grenade launchers and suicide vests breached the base's perimeter fence at 10 o'clock that night the insurgents were well organized in three teams they began to attack fixed and rotary winged aircraft parked on the flight line aircraft hangars and other buildings on camp bastion colonel rebel a harrier pilot gave his life fighting the insurgents a top marine aviator aviator but before all else he was a rifleman just like all marines lightfoot said this every marine is a rifleman marines of every occupational specialty in the squadron including ah-1w and uh-1y aircraft mechanics drop the wrenches and grab the rifles to defend the compound against a well-armed enemy though the coordinated use of ground and aerial delivered fires and dangerous close proximity to friendly foes all enemy surgeons were killed or captured why because people that were working on airplanes people that were in the kitchen started hearing hey we're under attack and when we're under attack i'll drop this wrench and i'll pick up that m16 i i might be in the kitchen but i can drop some of these utensils and grab my rifle i might be a clerk doing paperwork but we are under attack and so we can't wait for the infantry to get here we're first and foremost riflemen and so we all grab our rifles and we don't start talking about what our rank is or we don't start talking about what our specialty is or i'm an aviator or i'm a mechanic no no no we are under attack and when you're under attack the only thing that matters is the enemy is trying to flood in get your rifle and fight i hope this comes across in the spirit that i wanted it to tonight everything you're doing is amazing but there is an enemy that wants to destroy every marriage in this building he wants to destroy your children and your grandchildren he wants to destroy your community he wants to destroy the city our country and this world and it is time now that whatever else you do you make sure that rifles right beside you and when you hear the flood you pick it up and you might find yourself on the front line and right next to you might be the worship leader and right next to you might be a sunday school teacher and right over there might be a hospitality member but right now we're in the middle of a battle and so the only thing that matters is we're going to drive them out we're going to win this battle we're going to protect our families we're going to save our marriages we are going to overcome you know what this altar call is for tonight this is not for specialists anybody can come to this altar tonight you don't have to be some class or some mos you just have to say hey i know what i signed up for i know the calling of god and i want to be on the front lines i want to be fighting this battle i want to see us overcome it's time for us to send the devil back to hell where he came from it's time for us to have revival it's time for us to see those who are wounded set free the delivered set free the captives set free it's time for us to see those who are bound and afflicted why because we are god's body we are his army we're up for the battle we've got our rifles but i feel a spirit of fighting coming in this building tonight i feel a spirit of by somebody signed back up tonight somebody's re-enlisting tonight somebody's ready to go to war oh that's it let's call out to him god is in control i gotta say to know my trail but i'm singing all his will he's attacking every day but he can't have my praise no matter the attack i won't turn back you know this means this he's attacking every day but i'm watching while i pray no matter the attack this speech i don't even know how this is going to work i just feel to do this i want you to link up with somebody that's in a different ministry than you are we talk about unity in the body of christ no excuse if you're a sunday school teacher find a choir member but i know there's people who do everything hospitality remember if you're all young find somebody old if you're old find somebody young we got to link up and realize well there might be some differences what unites us is greater than anything that divides come on somebody the devil's taken when he starts here we got our battle cry we got our war cry we're connecting on here oh can't have my family you can't have my family you can't help oh you can't have my family peace one more thing that i've done i don't know i started feeling some liberty when we united together when we have a respect for one another and appreciation from one another and say yeah i love you and i appreciate you and we're in this together we're fighting this together but i wonder if there's some that just still feel you'd be honest enough to say you know what i i've been a little bound haven't had the freedom that i need to have really haven't been operating like i need to have i don't know maybe you pulled out of even being involved in ministry or something i'm not here to get in anybody's business but i'm just telling you what i feel tonight and what you need to do what i feel like the lord is saying you need to connect with someone else isolation will destroy you withdrawing and pulling back will destroy you you will get strange and weird we were we are created as the body and anybody that isolates them it's not long till they're weird i mean they're like the unabomber or something else well that's not what we were created to do you could take the most hardened criminal and you can humble them when you put them in isolation and so if there's somebody here tonight that i'm feeling i think the lord wants to do a work in your life i want you to link up with somebody connect with somebody that you know has a little bit of freedom in their lives you'll know you'll make that god's gonna do a work right now if you you'll just step out if you'll put yourself out there and say that you can come up this front i'll hook up with you but we need to do this tonight come on find somebody right now