Protecting Our Spiritual Inheritance

the message this morning is an affirmation to those who have considered strengthening your spiritual vigilance i know i'm speaking to people whose thoughts have tended that way i want to strengthen my spiritual vigilance and to remove any influence that is less than biblical or godly and then add godly spiritual holy influences into your life i don't know exactly who has been thinking and considering what but i just know that the lord spoke that to me in the early preparation of this message that this would be an affirmation to those because you realize that because of your life your behavior your decisions that you are an influence or an example to your family to your children to others in the body of christ and to others outside the church who have been and are aware of your past standards of godliness and what you claim to be as a bible believer living according to god's righteousness and holy value system secondly this message will be a wake-up call to those who have stepped to a slippery slope things like it's not all that important things of god the bible holiness faithfulness and thoughts like well a lot of other people are doing this in fact some are doing a whole lot more wrong or they're even doing less they're not praying they're not obeying they're not attending they're not giving this message is a wake-up call to that mindset and it will also be a conviction to those who have been entertaining or even have been overcome by something very unwholesome naturally and spiritually and especially affecting your spiritual values and have caved to the pressure of oh it doesn't matter that's being too strict or that's not too bad or it won't hurt it's an affirmation it's a wake-up call it's a conviction and all of those are the results of god's goodness one of my daily prayer points and just about every time i pray it i do what i'm doing right now there's a choke every day i pray for the members of this congregation including myself for protection spiritually of our soul the doctrines that we hold dear and the values that we hold dear

first kings chapter 21 and verse 1. and it came to pass after these things that naboth the jezreelite had a vineyard which was in jezreel hard or close by the palace of ahab who was then king of samaria and ahab speaks to nabath and he says to him give me your vineyard so that i can have it for a garden of herbs and here's the reason it just seems to make sense neboth it's near to my house and here's the good part of this bargain i will give you a better vineyard for it or if you desire if it seems good to you i'll give you the worth of it in money but there's just some things you can't buy and nabath said to ahab the lord forbided me i don't think my family before it i don't think my friends would be for it but here's what really matters to me the lord's not for it the lord forbid me that i should give the inheritance of my fathers to you and i want to preach for a little bit here protecting our spiritual inheritance just before you're seated would you mind just speaking a word of prayer the holy ghost is here it's it's leading us all it's leading us all would you just pray i encourage you follow the holy ghost in this prayer lord you're speaking to us today and i thank you i'm honored i'm honored that you speak i'm honored that you would talk to us thank you for it god and you're going to help us today you're going to help us thank you jesus thank you jesus i bless you you may be seated

when it comes to spirituality biblical values holiness spiritual commitments vigilance courage determination loyalty love for the truth are all necessary essential i'm not trying to rev anybody up today or stir anybody up but i just say that again vigilance courage determination loyalty love for truth have always been and especially are today absolutely necessary the importance of those kind of efforts didn't just come from my thinking but they're evidenced in the frequent calls of scripture to protect preserve and defend spiritual and godly values that we know and that we have paul said in first thessalonians prove all things check it out test it out and hold fast to that which is good revelation he said to the church in thyatira but that which you have already in other words what you have now hold fast until i come feels like the lord is saying those same things to us today and in revelation to the end time church that philadelphia church that was endeavoring and attempting and was successfully serving god he said behold i come quickly if he said that then behold i come quickly hold that fast which you have that no man can take that and take that crown from you the message from god then and now is hold fast hold on preserve protect and defend what god has placed in our possession boldly and courageously protect and defend god's words and his values and his priorities be alert and extremely vigilant do not give up one measure of spiritual territory to any enemy it is that important not one square inch fight when and where you must fight protect protect protect and here's why first of all because those things belong to god they're his values they and we belong to him and secondly because they matter and we matter our lives our service to him while we remain here before the rapture of the church the ministries and the usefulness of every person in here it matters to you and others unto god and lastly our eternity matters and how we handle our spiritual values now will determine how we will spend eternity and so i am partnering with god today to inform and equip you without apology for the sake of protecting your spiritual inheritance and ultimately your soul when i refer to an enemy or the enemy today it may be one of three our flesh the devil and this worldly culture social society our system all three of those are enemies to spirituality

one of the tactics of the enemy is to steal jesus said and he was referring to satan here but perhaps beyond even satan he said a thief comes not but to steal his his sole purpose to steal to kill and to destroy but he said i come that you might have life in other words if you protect and don't let the enemy steal your life will be blessed now and in eternity thievery robbery has been an age-old tactic of the enemies of god's people just think about it the enemy stole land crops vineyards kingdom treasures like the babylonians did when they took them from the temple they stole cities the enemies stole people and took captives like they did at ziklag and many other properties were stolen these enemies the devil our flesh and this worldly culture is after what is most valuable in your life now hear me now the enemy will settle for anything it can get but it's really after what is most valuable those enemies will attempt and have attempted and in some cases have been successful to steal valuable godly values and dedication points from our lives integrity faithfulness modesty morality holiness holiness of thought how we decide how we operate our decisions and choices have all been reached far by these enemies many times this is important to know many times before an enemy attempts to put anything into your life compromise unholiness immorality anything else unfaithfulness you just name it before he tries to put anything into your life the enemy takes something from a life so then it's much easier for the enemy to slip in and place something else there

but there is a response that we have his word and his spirit we are not left defenseless we are not left unable to protect what god has given to us we are not we are not at the mercy of any one of those three enemies god is greater his spirit is greater his blood his death his word hit your faith in god are all greater and he will try there are ways to protect

here's what goes into protecting i could talk a lot about the approaches and the tactics of the enemy but god spoke to me and said i want you to tell my people what goes into protecting how it is they can be protected we can be all aware know there's an enemy but if i don't know what to do about that enemy if i don't know how to lock the door so the thief doesn't get in if i don't know where to put the pr precious and prized valuable possession it doesn't matter how much knowledge i have it will leave me exposed one of the ways to protect is to understand and appreciate our spiritual values and valuables in other words understanding and appreciating what they are and what they are about this is where and why daily prayer and the word of god is important when paul was writing about protecting ourselves in ephesians 6 with the armor in verse 18 he said praying always consistently regularly with all prayer and supplication if god would have meant every other day he would have said every other day if god would have meant whenever you're in my house pray but we understand that he said pray always and i would encourage and instruct you in an instruction of how to be protected this instruction be intentional to make time for prayer be intentional this isn't some other new message it's old but it's not just another message on prayer it's vital it's crucial it's life and death for individuals for all of us in this room be intentional make time for daily prayer and then it's so important that there be a regular and daily intake of the word of god this isn't the only time or the first time that you have cracked the bible or heard a verse or read a verse this week it's so important to be reading and listening and viewing there is so much out there i found a good old apostolic one god preacher i hadn't heard about him until a few weeks ago and man i've been feeding on the word of god just feeding and i know that many of you do the same thing but whether it's in a service like this one the word of god is important i know there's times when folks have to get up and go out i have to do it myself sometimes but the word of god is so important and i'm afraid we have trifled with the spirit and the presence of god in so many ways that perhaps the preaching of the word of god the teaching and just the word of god itself has lost its value in our life this is a handbook of his valuables this is how god feels about it it's how he felt about it when he spoke it it's how he feels about it in 2021 it doesn't matter what the culture says it does not matter what the majority of the church or of the world does this is his handbook you're safe you're protected because you obey and love and fulfill the word of god get and gather daily manna the way to remain physically healthy is to eat consistently and to eat healthy and a whole lot of us are doing a pretty good job of that thankfully and the way to remain spiritually healthy is to eat consistently and nutritiously the word of god i'm not going to preach against what you shouldn't be reading and what you shouldn't be watching right now i'm just going to preach here's how you protect from those things fill your life with the word of god protect your life protect your mind protect your spirit you see the reason some folks are watching some stuff and reading some stuff and they may be reading the word of the lord but not enough of it is because the enemy has taken that tactic i mentioned earlier he has taken something from your life and it's much easier to put something else in there protect your attitude your spirit and your mind by feeding on the word of god whether it's reading it whether it's hearing it whether it's viewing it

another way to protect is and it's very related to the first one believe and accept when you read the word of the lord believe and accept what he says there's healing in this house i felt it throughout the service and when sister paula came up here desperately because in the middle of this week she has a procedure regarding the colon cancer that has been in her body but the lord says he's the lord that heals all diseases believe and accept hold the view that takes him at his word god said it that settles it sometimes we've added god says it i believe it there's nothing wrong with that but if he even took out that middle part god said it that settles it we're not taking a poll on whether the word of god is true today there ain't no poem there isn't any pull i want to help us all understand it i mean that whoo i feel the protection factor in this house take him at his word don't limit him protect its purity and its integrity that word of god here it is hear me hear me let the word of god say what it means to say don't craft it or change it or fit it to fit your opinion or your preference let the word speak that's why and how we'll be protected believe and accept the word of god god has given somebody a word in fact he did just a while to go through that message and he has in your private time take it even if it doesn't make perfect sense to you accept it and believe it because the enemy is attempting to not just test but take your knowledge and your faith and your reliance upon the word of god it may be a test but it's a test for the taking he wants to take that out of our life and there's been more than one person that has said oh it would never happen to me but those three enemies and maybe others are very very crafty and the only way we can be protected is by the power of the spirit whoa the power of the holy ghost and the power of his word

in any kind of hand-to-hand combat there's a constant back and forth of blows and dodges and blocks and counter attacks that's exactly what's going on it takes place at the level of our thoughts when we are under attack we've got to hold on to truth when you are under any kind of a pressure and attack it may not be church-wise it may not even appear to be spiritual but the enemy is after something in your life hang on to the truth dodge the blow block the punch refuse with a stubbornness and a strength and slash back with what is true this is how jesus handled satan it's how he protected what he was and what he had he didn't get into an argument with him he didn't try to reason his way out he simply stood on truth it is written he answered with scripture jesus is a prime example we can protect ourselves by his word and obeying that word and reading that word and memorizing that word and i'm not saying it'll be easy it won't because satan not only throws thoughts he throws feelings at us this is where your strength is revealed and even increased the test and you standing for that test is going to increase your strength stand on what is true hear me right now this was the last statement i could ever make to this church stand on what is true and don't let go i want to say it again i want to i want to push through the mud and push through the fog stand on what is true and don't let go the traitor inside the castle tries to lower the drawbridge but don't let him lower the drawback bridge for the enemy to come into the castle of your life that's why the writer in proverbs said this guard our heart lock them up not because they're criminal to the core but to defend them like a castle and like the valuable possessions that you do not want to give away don't trade anything for the spiritual and be like naboth how many of you would say you've been handed some great spiritual values you've been handed some great spiritual treasures if if you feel that way i think we all just pause and thank the lord for anything that's been placed into our life by him or by others really come on that's right that's right you at home join us join us oh yes we thank you lord high recount right now and i thank you right now i thank you right now i thank you right now i thank you right now for the great spiritual treasures that you've given us

believe and accept what he says about salvation about how to receive it that's the reason that's the reason we still preach the new birth message it's not about holding to a doctrine of some organization it's about protecting what the word of god has said the new birth of repentance and water baptism in jesus name and if you want to be baptized and haven't ever been baptized in jesus name the name is essential and here's what you can accept this today he'll put his name on you in a new way and he will wash away every unclean thing that has ever been in your life because baptism is for the remission of sins and we accept and believe the word of god so we still baptize and people still get baptized because we are in protection of the wonderful truth of god the enemy will try to steal your belief in god's love for you and you feel like you have done too much but the enemy would like to steal the power of god's forgiveness this is for people who are yet in sin it's even for some of us who have been saved and we have made some errors and made mistakes and sinned the enemy would like to steal first of all the forgiveness factor out of your life the truth about how much god loves you no matter what you do and i'm going to preach that right now you know if somebody somebody could twist that to feel like that's giving license to be able to do what we want to do no it is not it's preaching the word of god he loves us no matter what we do but he only saves us when we repent of our sins water baptized in jesus name and receive the infilling of the holy ghost he wants to give the gift there's a doubt the enemy has stolen and i've talked with people who feel like that they can't change or they can't be restored or they can't be transformed that's not our mindset church better amen please thank you that is not our mindset the holy ghost can change anybody the holy ghost can take away every habit the holy ghost forgives everybody he's a forgiving god and if the enemy has come in to steal the fact that god loves you and can change you i say protect it i'm trying to protect it right now by preaching this message this church is trying to protect it by that response that they just gave the lord will forgive you he will cleanse you and he will take you to heaven with him

the enemies you know the enemy trafficks in guilt self-condemnation self-accusation he's i wants to get transparent here not not not to dump out anything to me but anybody ever felt self-condemnation 10 of you i'm going to preach online next okay it's not in the notes how many self-condemnation felt it this week we need to tell guilt and accusation where to get off speak that name we were singing about a while ago i left that sin at the cross and that sin and that evil spirit you stay there speak to it because the enemy wants to rob you of a belief and they're sadly to say i hope it doesn't happen but it's very likely that somebody will burn in hell because they failed to believe that the god who loves them really loves them could change them

an enemy he will work on a church and you've already proven it differently but i want to talk to us here right now he'll work on a church to be nonchalant about winning souls he'll work on a church about being judgmental the enemy will judging individuals and what they have done not just as a church but as persons he will get us to be nonchalant about discipling he will cause us to be nonchalant about praying with others to receive the holy ghost pentecost sunday's coming up pray for people to receive the holy ghost before that time and when they come to next week pray with them he he wants us to feel like this our field initiative is just nothing well it don't matter if you go drive through the neighborhood and it don't matter if you pray for your neighborhood and i'm too busy for all of that that's exactly where he wants us the enemy he wants to take those things out and our sensitivity to those things and change and warp our beliefs but we're not going to let him we're going to protect the spiritual values this church has believed in soul winning too long this church has reached for souls through little volkswagen buses sunday school ministry children's ministry youth services youth camps you just name it and we're going to keep reaching

here's another way to protect remain faithful any one of these three enemies will try to steal your faithfulness conscientiousness in other words where you previously felt uncomfortable to miss even one service or any service or any other the disciplines where you previously felt uncomfortable about that he takes that faithfulness conscientiousness away and that's why it's easier to be unfaithful that's why it's easier to come with a litany of reasons well here's why i don't come on wednesdays and here's why i haven't been coming here's this and here's that there's all kind of because the enemy wants to steal that faithfulness conscientiousness here's what it looks like previously all commitments to the church whether it's attendance or giving or involvement were priorities but now there are all of those justifications and reasonings and explanations and god didn't call me to argue with people about those the final word is already here and those reasons defend a lack of faithfulness is what the defense is instead of defending faithfulness we start defending unfaithfulness to god and his ministries and his purpose and his house and the robbery of faithfulness is evident when people engage or attend or participate in other activities and events no matter what day it is of the week but are not attending the house of god the robbery of faithfulness now it's important to know the the problem didn't start with the activity or the event or whatever the excuse is but the enemy stole the faithfulness factor he stole the faithfulness factor and once that was gone then involvement in activities whether they're good or bad began to replace kingdom priorities and many times those lead to other involvements and then sometimes to some that are at best questionable god is helping us today give you this word guard cling to protect and hold fast your faithfulness to god and every aspect of his kingdom i want to say it again guard cling to protect and hold fast your faithfulness to god in every aspect of his kingdom guard it i want to say it again guard cling to protect and hold fast your faithfulness to god in every aspect of his kingdom

we need it and we need a sensitivity to the presence of god and this church has folks we are blessed what's already happened in this service people are hungry for the moving of the spirit freedom of worship i looked across this congregation today and i kept getting blessed and blessed and blessed and blessed it was mainly the spirit of the lord but then it was the spirit of the lord upon you and through you as you worship don't by the way on that point do not let the enemy steal your worship really there is nothing that can stop your worship there's nothing i watched jack pritchard laying on a bed few days before his death an old elder of this church many of you did not know him faithful drove a bus for years was faithful to the house of god but i watched him as that disease ravaged his body and he's laying on that hospital bed that they brought to his in his apartment and there he is with the strength he had lifting that hand as i started praying it wasn't the power of prayer it was the power of love for god you see why we stop singing or praying or worshiping or responding or clapping or whatever it something has been taken out of faith a freedom god give us a sensitivity to your word i determine this and i'll mention it i'm fixing to mention it right here now

there is no sense in preaching against cell phones and tablets and facebook even cell phones and tablets and facebook when the service is going on because the issue is not the issue it's not the phone or the computer or the tablet that gets your attention something has been taken out so then it's easy reverence for the presence of god belief in the spirit of god a holiness and a sacredness what i'm saying may not be more important than what you're scrolling through on that news feed but what god's saying is nobody can take your worship no sickness can take your worship nobody that stuck their tongue at it you can now they shouldn't have done it they need to be speaking in tongues instead of sticking out their tongue i'll get them for you no just kidding there's nothing there's no hurt that can steal my worship can it test it can it get in some hand-to-hand combat with me oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah there's nothing i'm not saying there won't be any tests i'm not saying there won't be any wrestle paul said you're wrestling against these things but here's something to remember there's still a god that's worthy today that's what what's that's what's behind that hand clap right there and those lifted hands and those voices that are speaking out you see it's more than pentecostal protocol it's out of a love for god that got in our heart and the spirit of god got in us and we're protecting it protect the goodness of god in your life protect come on come on somebody you need to protect your dance that you gave to the lord you need to protect your voice you need to crank up the volume somebody's saying oh pastor's after the volume again no the enemy just stole your thinking that's why you think that god is worthy

oh there's healing in this praise right now there's healing in this prayer there's the deliverance this praise has got its hand on some chains right now come on if you need the holy ghost you want to just lift your hands and start speaking with other tongues that's the spirit come on somebody believe that with me we used to believe that somebody can get the holy ghost in the pew somebody can get healed right now god can heal you emotionally he can heal you physically somebody at home you can get healed you know what this is this is the fight back right now we're not stopping we've had to worship in a different format we've had to do some things that were needed to be done but there's still a dependence and a yielding to the spirit we can't lose that in our life and in our church services there's got to be a freedom of the gifts there's got to be the freedom now we couldn't do it before now it's opened up we could have prayed for sister paula from up here to back there same paragon but when we're able to we need to lay hands on the sick they shall recover they shall recover worship pray be yielded be willing don't be sensitive and don't be ashamed here's what the shame is to be in a pentecostal service or anybody that has been created by god and for them to feel like they can openly express a praise to god shame on us for being ashamed for somebody near us to hear us praying or worshiping or saying praise the lord are a man the devil wants to steal that from the apostolic church but we're not going to let him let your voice out when you feel his presence give him praise when you don't feel his presence somebody just needs to clap your way on past the devil he's a liar he's a fifa i rebuke you i rebuke flesh right now somebody just needs to put their hand on the nap of the neck of your flesh i had i don't know if dad ever did this to me but i had my mom she grabbed my tin said you look at me boy i'm glad i looked i was glad then and i'm really glad now because what him and her

how can i give away come up here with me dad how can i give away this inheritance god forbid whoa some of you got mamas and some of you got daddies that are in heaven today i just want to believe i don't have doctrine or scripture for this i don't know if they're looking on or not god forbid when i stop worshiping when i stop attending i've got a picture in the back of the day they dedicated me to the lord walter gwen and s.w chambers and some other ministers there i might as well just trample that that don't mean a thing to me the lord forbid with the help of god dad i'm not gonna give up oh the reason i'm still worshiping is because that still happened in his life somebody ought to let it go right now speak it out don't you be ashamed to speak in other tongues either that's the spirit of a holy god that's something he put in you just stay close stay close

please i'm going to tell you what much is given much is required this isn't in the notes but i'm going to say this those of us have been brought up in church we don't we don't have any preferential treatment from god but i do tell you this we've got a lot to answer for and we've got a lot to protect and we need to appreciate it and i'm thankful for multiple generations when i look around this room multiple generations of people that have served the lord don't give up hold fast hold fast and i know my next battle with the enemy is not going to come with all of all of my cheering section with me i wish i could haul y'all with me everywhere i go i was up in michigan thursday night preaching that district conference and i was kind of wishing for apc nothing bad was happening but you know just is what it is but the lord stepped in elder robert henson came to me after service a great man he said brother willaford there was something different on you tonight god's going to be with you so the next battle i fight is not going to be with my brothers and sisters participating like you have participated today and praying like you have prayed today but here's what i know i can make it and i'll just say this it wouldn't hurt for me to get a word of encouragement especially in the midst of that battle or any time from somebody to say i love you i'm praying for you

a lady who's one of the ministers seated on the second row i want to tell you how god's with us and helps us the same on the second row of that service handed me this she said i want you to read it i didn't get to read it until i think it was the next day brother williford i'm going to ask you if you would just to be very sensitive the holy ghost god is is doing something he's getting ready to do something more brother wilfred i wanted you to know while you were being introduced tonight a large angel this one possibly 15 to 18 foot tall appeared in the center aisle there was a center aisle like we have here he was in a white gleaming suit arms held straight up and he remained there the whole time you were speaking bits of white light she says in her note like fireflies that size flew towards you and occasionally would enter your head at those times you responded emotionally or with worship or with some very deeply inspired words much true anointing flowed tonight it brought hope to some in extreme brokenness and that brokenness has caused them to doubt and suffer while they were hiding their fear but they have been given an equipping tonight i thought i was going to read that just because of the angelic appearance but the last part of that is being duplicated in this service right now hope is being brought to some extreme brokenness that has caused doubt and suffering while the fear has been hidden but there is an equipping to protect oh there's an equipping and i speak with the word of the lord and by the authority of the spirit of god against any enemy that is coming across the drawbridge of the castle of your life i'm going to back him off i'm going to back him off with prayer and we're going to ask the saints of god to agree with me here i'm going to back him off with prayer but it's up to you to pull up the drawbridge i'm going to be different i'm going to do different i'm going to change my thinking i'm going to repent i'm going to i'm going to ask forgiveness i'm going to give forgiveness i'm going to do whatever i'm going to ask you to remain as long as you can i'm going to ask us all to pray but that's not an exit strategy

now before we respond and i'm going to open this altar in just a few moments i want everybody in this room in honor that the presence of god just start praying right now however you want to pray whatever you want to pray whatever that's right use your faith use your faith that's right yes yes the name of jesus he said just speak that name that name whether it's in conversation or in prayer just speak that name just make that name i'm gonna all i'm gonna open this altar or you're pew you can use your pews or the chairs wherever you want to be it's wide open today if you want to make a re-commitment recommitment is a strengthening and a protection you may have said yes before but it's time to say yes again somebody at home go ahead and get by that chair or that couch go to that place your place of prayer we need to protect the callings of god and the giftings of god that are on our life the anointings of god if you ever felt a calling to serve in any capacity whether it's worship or music or teaching or preaching it is needed in this hour protected protected don't let her feelings don't let misjudgment don't let people's thoughts keep you yes yes now let's turn this whole place oh place into an altar and a place of prayer yes yes yes yes and that's right use your faith and use your voice don't let the enemy steal a burden don't let the enemy steal a cry oh yes that's right that's right singers sing it with anointing right now this is more than protocol ultrasound if you need the holy ghost if you've already repented open your life to receive the wonderful baptism of the spirit of god thank you jesus thank you jesus jesus we need you protect it protect protected whatever it is protected but protect my sensitivity protect my conscientiousness rebuke excuses fight against justification you can fast you can't pray you can't attend you can't give yes you can serve is thank you jesus put a determination of vigilance loyalty shove oh foreign be me foreign uh with me don't oh me be saved us is

why don't you reach over and pray with somebody right now that's right we're coming to conclusion here but there's a spirit of unity here there's a spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood right yes thank you for your family we thank you jesus you're able god you're able bless my brothers and sisters bless my brothers and sisters oh god foreign yesterday let me thank you for your sensitivity

and not only in services but i want to say thank you for your sensitivity god is doing so many things among his people so and i'm talking specifically apc people the gifts of the spirit and the lord speaking to them when i say gifts i'm i'm not just talking about messages in tongues but word of knowledge and word of wisdom it is it is happening and the hour we live in more than ever before calls for spiritual equipping and protecting and i thank god for this church we don't we don't ever have to worry about taking too much time to polish our halos we don't have any we're just people there's people saved by the mercy and the grace of god but we're trying and we're battling and we're protecting and i just go on record as saying thank god thank god for this church thank him for what he's done for us today

i am i just want to tell you whatever god has been speaking to you in previous or today or in your prayer time let it unfold let it unfold let it unfold thankful for every guest whether you are online or those we have several here today thank you for coming we mean this we need this