This sermon emphasizes the need for the church to embrace a radical shift in strategy and approach to spiritual warfare. It highlights the importance of being willing to look like fools for Christ, to surprise the enemy by hitting where their defenses aren't up, and to be fearless and unstoppable in advancing the gospel. The message calls for a willingness to be unconventional, to leverage cultural access points, and to be ready to be the 'hobbler' in this generation, catching the enemy off guard with the power of God's truth and love.

We're outgunned, outmanned in every natural sense. The church of Jesus Christ is weak right now. In the generation in which you are drawing your sword, you are surrounded by a rather ragtag bunch. That's us. You see, we're the church of Jesus Christ. We're not well-coordinated. We don't know exactly why we're here on earth. We don't even know what we're fighting for most of the time. We know it's about Jesus and, you know, he has some purpose in this earth, but we don't even most of us know what that purpose is. We are not groomed and trained in the word of God. We have not been honed and refined to have a very clear mission, a very clear vision on this earth, and as a result, when we get out our sword to fight and we see the mighty throng that surrounds us with the powers of darkness mocking us, drooling, saying, bring it on, we oftentimes have a tendency to set down our sword and run. You see, when you know the battle and you recognize that though the powers of darkness look quite impressive, you have to admit, they look pretty impressive in this day and generation. I mean, if any of you were just to, in the natural realm, just measure the statistical odds of a worldwide revival breaking out in the next week, what do you think it would be? See, none of you are even expecting it. We're not expecting America to turn on its head. We're not expecting the homosexual lobby and the powers of Islam to suddenly just be collapsing around us. We're expecting them to grow stronger. What are your expectations of the church of Jesus Christ? You're expecting that to grow stronger? You're expecting that to grow weaker? Most of us would have to admit, we seem like we're on a downward slide, and so we just don't want to participate in the downward slide. We want to isolate ourselves off to the side and be separatists. We're the ones that aren't downward spiraling, and yet that isn't how the church functions. That's never how it's functioned. We are a ragtag group, and yet though the powers of darkness look very impressive, they are nothing next to the one that we serve. Greater is he that is in us than he that is in this world, and until we see that, until we know that, we're going to be the cowardly church. But when you recognize whose side we are on, who it is that fights for us, faithful is he who has called us who also will do it. And if the church of Jesus Christ begins to function as the church of Jesus Christ, watch out world. The heaven-bred warhorse, the awkwardness of the Salvation Army. When we see people walking around in uniforms that aren't truly military, and they call each other captain, lieutenant, general, it's awkward. We see people jingling, you know, bells. It's like we're sort of typically thinking I'm just glad I'm not one of them. And so what I'm putting my finger on is the fact that the Salvation Army, in the history of Salvation Army, late 1800s, changed the world. They did. However, it's morphed into something for most of us that we only see a humanitarian arm of it. The Salvation Army does good deeds, but it's lost its gospel core. The reason we as Christians do what we do is for the gospel. It's for the sake of Jesus Christ that his glory would be made known. To feed someone, to clothe someone, to give them shelter is wonderful, but if you're not after something deeper than that, you're really not accomplishing anything in this world. And sin will still be sin in that person's life, and they will still die in their sin. You can be fully clothed and well fed and die and go to hell. Our goal is not just to clothe and to feed, even though we will. It's to reach the soul. The original Salvation Army started with that premise. I mean, think about the name of it. Salvation Army. William and Catherine Booth were after souls, and they went to the weakest and the lowest. Last week we had a message called Taking the East End, and it's about the principle of water. When you pour water into any kind of trough, it will always go to the lowest point. And Jesus talked about out of their bellies. Those that believe out of their innermost will flow rivers of living water, which was likening unto the Holy Spirit that will dwell inside of the temple of believers. And when we go into this world, the water that is gushing out of us is going to go to the lowest place, always. And so we as Christians, when we're doing the ministry of Jesus Christ, are always going to be going to that lowest place. So we call that the East End. And so that's what our job is. Our job is the East End. That's where, in the Salvation Army days, they had the West End of London and the East End. The East End was destitute and dying. West End was affluent, had more money than probably anywhere on earth. East End was probably one of the most destitute places on earth, and they were a mile apart. Figure that one out. And that's oftentimes the world we live in. We can have the affluence of even knowing Jesus Christ and being made strong in Jesus Christ, and yet 10 feet away from us could be one of the most destitute souls on earth. Where does the water inside of us go? It goes straight to that person. It goes to the East End, always. So the awkwardness of the Salvation Army, here's what I'm going to say. They may look funny. They may talk funny. They may act funny. But I tell you what, back in the 1880s, they got the job done. I'm willing to look, talk, and act funny in this generation to get the job done. I'm just going on a record of saying that. If we need to be the Salvation Army too, so be it. That means part two. So be it. And I don't care if we need to dress up in red funny outfits to get it done. Whatever it takes is what I'm going to say. Let's do it. Let's be the body of Christ in this generation, knowing full well the Salvation Army would get hit in the face with rotten tomatoes and moldy fruits and rocks. So be it. Are you ready for the moldy fruits and the rotten tomatoes straight to the nose? If you're the Church of Jesus Christ, that's what you expect. We really are at war. Most of us don't realize it because we live in America. When you're in America, the things you complain about are usually political maneuvers or votes that took place back in Washington or in your state government. And we have things to complain about here in Colorado. I mean, think about some of the laws that have been passed in the last year. And we can talk about the great persecution that has broken out against the Church, and yet we would be massively exaggerating. We as Americans in the natural realm still have not yet faced persecution. In other countries, they are under great duress to forsake the faith of Jesus Christ or die. We have not run into that, and yet as a result, because in the natural realm we've not faced great conflict, we oftentimes don't realize that we're in the midst of a great war. We here in America, right here in this very room, are in the midst of a tremendous battle. It's a battle for souls. It's a battle for the way we think. It's a battle for the way we live. Here in America, the challenge is to get us off our duff. You see, it's very difficult to get the Christian Church to actually function as the Christian Church. We are lethargic. We are dead, for the most part. And as a result, we can hear truth all day long and not live one bit of it. It is of the utmost importance that we recognize the battle that we're in because we are currently not built for battle. We're in a battle. We're in a war, but we're not built for war. And as a result, we're losing. Esther 4, for if thou altogether holds thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. But thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed. And who knows whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? What story is this? This is the story of Esther. So, as I'm not going to go through the whole story of Esther, but King Asa Harris has had a problem with his previous wife, and so he's discarded her. And now he's looking through his kingdom for a fit replacement. And so all the virgins of the kingdom are brought, and they are, you know, given their special treatments for multiple months and prepared, and then they stand before King Asa Harris. And guess who's picked out of all the women of the country but Queen Esther. She becomes the queen, and she's in a unique position at such a time in history where the history, where the life of the Jews is literally at risk. Haman, one of the king's right-hand men, hates the Jews, and he has conspired a way to get the king to sign off on a certain document, a decree that will literally mean the extermination of all the Jews in his kingdom. All of them in one single day are going to be completely annihilated. And this is the time frame in which this statement is made, Mordecai talking to Esther. He's saying, you must do something. What, me? You can't actually stand before a king if you're not invited in this culture, and if you do and you're not invited, he will kill you. And so the statement is, if you don't stand up, deliverance will still come to the Jews, but how do you know that you were not put in such a place for such a time as this? So what am I saying to all of us? It's not an accident that you're here, in this room, in this generation, at this exact time, and you're at your exact age and capacity at this exact hour and minute. And yes, what I'm going to ask of you today may cost you your life, but how do you know you've not been put in this exact position, in this exact time frame, in this exact situation with your academic understanding, with your spiritual understanding, for such a time as this? Deliverance will come. God will get his due and his reward no matter what you do, but how do you know that you are not his chosen vessel for such a time to respond? So we'll call this the for such a time as this principle. God always has a means of salvation, always. He always has a ram caught in the thicket, a shepherd boy delivering bread and cheese at just the right time, a queen positioned just in the perfect spot at just the right moment in history, or a messiah giving himself over into the hands of sinners in the fullness of time. God is salvation. That is his work. He saves, and he is ready to work a marvelous salvation in our day. So remember we talked about the bloated powers of darkness? They're mocking us right now. I don't know if you've ever felt that, but they're mocking the church of Jesus Christ, and they are overconfident. They think they're all that. They've deceived themselves to the point that they actually think that the church has no power. The problem is we agree with them. We don't think the church has power. When do we get back to the word of God and actually believe it? The church of Jesus Christ has everything it needs to accomplish God's ends in this very hour, in this very generation. A habalar. Well that's a funny word. What in the world does that have to do with anything? Sort of an awkward word too. You know that's a military device, a military instrument for war, and it's a very unique one, and you know who wielded it? The Scots. The Scottish. You know who was the one who first brought it into Scotland? William Wallace. You know where we are at right now? We are at the church at Ellerslie. You know what Ellerslie is? It's the birthplace of William Wallace. He's the guy that brought the habalar to military strategy in history. He changed the art of war in his generation. You guys don't know the story, do you? And here you are Ellerslie, and so that's why I'm talking about this. The habalar. This is critical. The habalar. Now this is my symbolic way of describing it. It's a heaven-bred answer to the needs of God's people in any given generation. Often built and designed by God decades, if not centuries, if not millennia, if not eons prior to the time in history when the habalar itself is actually revealed and made fully ready. The habalar is an instrument of war designed by God to wholly shock the enemy and swiftly overcome them. Okay, when was Jesus crucified? Well, we know it was 2,000 years ago. However, when was the habalar built? It was before the foundations of the earth. You see, God has his habalar in place long before he ever brings it out of his war closet and wields it. When was Esther chosen for such a position? Before she was needed. You see, this is God's plan all throughout history. He is breeding a habalar. He is building habalars. Now, I use the word breed because that fits into what a habalar actually is, even though that might sound strange to our ears. So, let's keep going. The four attributes of the habalar. It is audacious, which is sort of like a little dog, you know, yippy dog coming against a big, huge, great dame. You ever seen that? That's called audacity. It's like a little one. You don't quite know what you're getting yourself into here. And that's what audacious is. A habalar is always audacious. It doesn't recognize how small it is, in other words. It's not intimidated by size. It is surprising. A habalar always catches the enemy by surprise. It is lightning fast and it is small and unassuming but delivers a gigantic blow. This is a habalar. And every single military general wants to find the habalar in their generation. The birth of a habalar in Scotland. So, let's go back to 1270, Ellerslie, the birthplace of William Wallace in Scotland. A little baby boy is born. His parents christen him William. He is trained to know right from wrong, to esteem honor, integrity, character, manhood, holiness, heroism, boldness, the work of the cross and the authority of scripture. He is raised to endure hardship, built physically to wield a sword and trained academically to understand government, society and war. This man was built for such a time. That's all you can say about William Wallace. He knew he was just the perfect package for the hour. You could say, well, what was the hour? Scotland was hanging on the ropes. It had no more hope. Edward I had plundered Scotland, destroyed its ranks and its armies and its military forces. Its nobles had bowed to him. It no longer had strength. So, Edward I could pillage Scotland at free will. No one dared stand up against him. And then, the for such a time as this moment arises. William, could it be that for such a time as this you were born? You see, he was born in 1270 so that he would be fully matured and readied at the very time in all of earth's history when this moment would arise. When Edward I in his bloated confidence would come marching into Scotland thinking that he was all that. And meanwhile, in the dark corners of a devastated Ellerslie. Ellerslie was burned to the ground. Wallace's wife and his unborn baby were killed, ruthlessly murdered by the English. And he's hanging out in the craggy rocks and Wallace determines, I have nothing to live for here. I'm going to live to see my country set at liberty. And suddenly, you begin to see a picture of the church in this singular man. You begin to see this man who says, why would I live for the things of this earth? The things of this earth have grown strangely dim to me in the light of a greater purpose. And so, William Wallace strides onto the scene of time and he knows something that very few people in history have ever known. He understands the art of war and he understands something. He knows that there is over in Ireland a certain war horse that was bred. But it wasn't bred as a war horse. It was bred just to simply know how to navigate speedily on the rough terrain of Ireland. And so, that rough terrain bred horse actually is brought over to Scotland and Wallace has for himself a unique instrument of war that had never been seen before. 1296, the Ellerslie estate, Scotland. Edward I with his bloated numbers of strong and well-bred soldiers invades Scotland, fully expecting to stamp out the small Scottish rebellion. A multitude of well-trained English soldiers march into Scotland, an unstoppable force against a bunch of hungry ragtag Scots. And that is when William strides out of the gates of Ellerslie with the hobbler in his possession, which the Scots so desperately need. Hobblers of history. Gideon. Well, it was audacious, all right. Do you imagine how ridiculous the Gideon war machine was? 300 men against, I don't remember what the numbers was, 120,000 or so. I don't remember how extreme it was, but it was extreme. Audacious. Was it surprising? You bet it was surprising. Lightning fast? Oh yes. Small and unassuming but delivering a gigantic blow. God always has his hobbler. He mocks the bloated powers of darkness that think they're all that and he will use the small things in which to do it. David. David is delivering bread and cheese to the army. Yeah, we're talking small here. Audacious when he says, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he would defy the armies of the living God? What are you going to do about it, David? Little shepherd boy David stands up and takes on a giant. I know we know the story, but you recognize this is a hobbler and it was prepared way in advance by God for such a time as this. And David strides onto the scene of time in the most critical moment, sees the giant and says, aren't you guys going to do something about it? David actually had the answer. Every other warrior would have gone against Goliath in its armor and with sword. Strength against strength. You can't defeat Goliath that way. What does David do? Strips off the armor and goes in the strength of the power of God. Well, has anyone ever tried that? Like surprising? Yes. Do you think Goliath was ready for that one? Oh, what is this that you're sending against me? I don't even recognize that a dog. What are you coming at me with sticks? A couple seconds later, his head is cut off. Lightning fast, small and unassuming, but delivering a gigantic blow. Esther audacious. Oh yeah. To stand before King Asu Harris, unbidden, she's risking her life. Yes, it's audacious. Surprising? Uh-huh. Who would have ever thought that the salvation of the Jews would come through a young girl? Who would have ever picked that as the hobbler? No one would have ever dreamed of it. Lightning fast, Haman is hung on the very same gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai the Jew. Boom, he was dead. No one expected it. Small and unassuming, little Esther is, but delivering a gigantic blow. Jesus audacious. Well, how would you like to take on all the powers of darkness single-handed while a prisoner, while nailed to two pieces of wood? Yeah, that's an audacious plan. Surprising? Uh-huh. The powers of darkness had no idea what hit them. If they had known what was up, they would have not have crucified the Lord of glory. They would not have done it if they knew what he was up to. It was a hobbler. Lightning fast, just like that, Satan's head was crushed. Satan thought he had him. He thought he had him backed into a corner. I've got the Son of God. He can do nothing about it. And guess whose head was crushed? Small and unassuming, but delivering a gigantic blow. The apostles, uh-huh, audacious, surprising. Lightning fast, the world is turned upside down, and the small band of ragtag apostles has suddenly delivered a gigantic blow, and the course of human history is divided in two, and we have B.C. and A.D. We literally have the gospel of Jesus Christ crescendoing throughout the earth. Whatever happened to the hobbler? Whatever happened to that sort of noise being made by the small and assuming sheep? Well, we haven't heard it for a while on earth, and this is the generation in which you live. You see, I am stirred at such a level to see a change of military strategy and to see the glory of our God made manifest once again in our generation. Scotland in 1296, ransacked, plundered, starving, weak, and very vulnerable. Sounds like us, doesn't it? So Scotland, what is that? 718 years ago is very similar to the way we are, 718 years later. Ransacked, plundered, starving, weak, and very vulnerable. So when England and Edward I invaded Scotland in 1296, it revealed to the armies of Scotland that their historic feudal-styled military tactics, there's a certain form that military tactics had been, had developed, and so that you had your order and your ranks, and you stood in those orders, and you had certain types of warhorses. You always sent out the cavalry first, and the cavalry would go head-to-head with the other cavalry. Then you had the archers behind that. There was a certain order. There was a feudal style of battle that you had and you developed, and so when Edward I came at Scotland, he lined up in military position, ready to take on the cavalry of the Scots, and guess what? Wallace recognized that if I go head-to-head, power-to-power against the English, I lose. It's that simple. So he reinvented battle. So the feudal-styled military tactics, which had always proven effective, were no longer able to sustain them and must be adapted to meet the current challenge. So listen to this line because I'm going to refer to it a couple times in this message. A radical review and revision of their military approach then ensued. William Wallace and Robert the Bruce both engaged the English in a form of quasi-guerrilla warfare, with their chief strategy being, whenever possible, to pick the side of the battle and to make the ground fight for them. This tactic worked, eliminating the advantage of the English size and strength in playing England's slow-moving feudal-style girth against them by hitting them with the habalar. This allowed the Scots to win battles against vastly superior size and strength, simply by wielding the tactic of speed and surprise. The advent of the habalar, which means the coming or the beginnings of the habalar. This is taken as a quote from the strategy and tactics of the Scottish armies. The habalar was used by the Scots as a means of gaining the element of speed and surprise, essential for success, thus allowing them to engage the enemy at times and places of their choosing. So what in the world is the habalar? Meanwhile, in Ireland, so this whole time that Edward is getting bloated in his powers, he is growing up into this arrogant man, ready, and he's lusting and salivating after the land of Scotland to plunder it of all its strength. Meanwhile, over in Ireland, the Irish horse breeders are breeding a horse. They don't know why they're breeding this horse, except for the land of Ireland itself. Little do they know that what they were doing was for such a time as this. The Irish are breeding a special horse, a horse that can prove dexterous on the steep mountain face, as well as move like lightning through the open meadows. A horse that is soon to be discovered in Scotland right around the year 1296. Isn't that an amazing thing to actually recognize that God is orchestrating all of these things? And at the year 1296, suddenly there is a horse that has been bred to handle the most difficult terrain. Any challenge you put under its feet, it seems to be able to stand upright. And it can move like lightning. And Wallace finds out about it. So what exactly is the habalar? It is a form of military attack utilizing special bred war horses. Horses that are smaller but lightning fast. These horses were built to move over the most difficult terrain with the dexterity of a mountain goat, but with the swiftness of the raging rapids. The proper use of the habalar could cause a far larger military operation to falter and fail due to the fact that it couldn't respond quick enough to the lightning quick movements of the soldiers riding on the habalar. So the habalar is literally like a cavalry, but it's called the habalar. You ever heard of a hobby horse? That's where it comes from. It's a smaller horse, extremely fast, and built for war. They didn't know they were building it for war. It's built for war. It's like unafraid. It will go into the darkest place, totally unbashful about it. Courageous, this little horse is. And so all of these soldiers would ride on horseback and they would hit the English from the side. The English were aimed this direction. We can't turn our whole army this way. So meanwhile, they're being picked off on the side. This change of battle strategy completely caught the English off guard. They didn't even know how to respond to it. And as a result, though England was so much more powerful, there was a habalar in place at just the right time in history. The haban. The haban, it comes from the Gaelic oban, meaning swift, sudden, speedy, and instant. That's what the habalar are named after. This is the this is the swift, sudden, speedy, and instant. Now if you remember the message last week, which is taking the east end, the word was mahar in the Hebrew. It's how David went after Goliath. He sprinted. He moved as a habalar would. He was swift, sudden, speedy, and instant, and it caught Goliath off guard. It caught the entire Philistine army off guard. It caught technically the Israelites off guard. No one was expecting this. The time for radical review. Here's our quote from earlier. When England and Edward I invaded Scotland in 1296, it revealed to the armies of Scotland that their historic military tactics that had always proved effective were no longer able to sustain them and must be adapted to meet the current challenge. A radical review and revision of their military approach then ensued. So in 1 Chronicles, we have this very interesting statement about the children of Issachar, and of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understand the times to know what Israel ought to do. The heads of them were 200, and all their brethren were at their commandment. I'm building something. I'm saying all this for a very specific reason. It's not just to tell you about Scottish history, which technically means very little to us if it doesn't have some application today, but it's to acquaint you with the fact that at different times in history, there needs to be a radical review of the strategy of which we are approaching the war in which we are in. And if we try and match wits with the power of darkness, if we try and match brawn with the power of darkness, we're very likely going to lose. But in every generation, there is a hobbler. The question is, do we have the men of understanding in this generation to see it and know what we ought to do now, in this hour, to hit that darkness where it hurts? You see, the powers of darkness are used to how we work as Christians. They have their defenses up in certain areas. The English know how the Scots fight. They've fought the Scots for years. They know how the Scots are going to face them in battle. And William Wallace strides on the scene and hits them from the side, hits them where their defenses aren't up. I want you to hold on to that concept. Hits them where their defenses aren't up. The Salvation Army in 1880, it was a hobbler. No one expected it. The church in 1880 was actually almost identical, if you hear the description of it, to the way we are today. Everyone sought out comforts. If there was comfort to be sought out, that's what they sought out. And so if you're a Christian, you live in the West End and you have pity on the East Enders. It's very similar to the way we're set up. And the Salvation Army blows the lid off of everything that had been done up to that point. And all I can say is it came in with a hobbler on the side with some quasi-guerrilla warfare against the powers of darkness. And the powers of darkness had no answer. So that literally hundreds of thousands of people came flooding into the kingdom because of this. The powers of darkness were prepared, but they weren't prepared for this. The Salvation Army in 1880. God showed them their hobbler. It was the use of brass bands. Can you imagine if we started whipping out a brass band today? It's like, okay, Travis, you're on the tuba. What do you call that thing that goes back and forth like this? Trombone. Do we have a trombone guy in here? So it was the use of brass bands, the wielding of the language and insignia of an army. You see, today, if we started using the insignia and the language of the army, it doesn't translate very well. Do you know that in that time period, though, the language of war was extremely effective? And as a result, they were known as the Salvation Army. And they had literally the ranks among themselves. And they had the uniform of the army. And it actually was like a magnet to those that were dying. And they wanted to come into something with order, something that was run properly. And everyone knew the military was run properly. The church that they knew was a heap of junk. Give me something that has order in it. And so actually, what they were doing, though we look at it however many years later and chuckle, was brilliant. And it caught the powers of darkness completely off. They didn't have any clue what was happening to them. The leasing of secular theaters in which to hold their meetings. You don't do that. You know what was playing in that theater last night? William Booth says, this is where they're used to going. I'll meet them right here. Oh, that is against the rules in Christianity. The employment of secular music overlaid with Christian lyrics. All I had to do was ask some of you in here, you're like, oh, I don't know if I feel comfortable with that. This is against the rules, isn't it? This is against the way we do battle. And in that time, it was as well. There was nothing about this that was normal. You know what this flies in the face of everything I'm comfortable with, too? I'm not saying that's we should do. I'm saying this was a hobbler. And it caught everyone off guard, including me. The near instant sending off of the new recruits into active ministry labor. Oh, you're 16? You've been trained for two weeks? Go. And the use of women in their leadership. At this time, there was massive oppression against women. And what the Salvation Army offered was, well, not here. You want to be useful? Come to the Salvation Army. And so, as a result, it just exploded in size. This military maneuver wholly surprised the enemy, who was totally unprepared for this movement of grace. With speed, audacity, suddenness, and boldness, the hobbler of 1880 charged into the fray, devastating the powers of darkness the world over. This spread into 56 countries in a decade. This was a massive movement the world over. Every culture has its access points. So, back in England in 1880, there were access points. Okay? So, we just went through the brass band. Back in those days, everyone had a brass band instrument. So, even in the East End, people love brass band sound. Now, that might be a little different today. I'm not saying this is the way it should be done today. However, back in those days, you'd get a brass band together and go into East London, and people are actually like, huh, I'd like to hear that. You get a brass band together today and go down the streets of Windsor, and everyone yells out, shut up! The military insignia, the construct of the military. Well, the military has fallen into great disfavor in our culture today. So, you have to realize, if we start using terms like war, it sounds politically incorrect. It's a completely different culture in which we live today. And so, our tactics are probably going to look different. However, every culture has its access points. What the Salvation Army did was it literally came in through the access point at that exact time, just like with Edward's forces aiming this way, they hit them where the defenses weren't up. And that's what the Salvation Army did. And so, when I think of just a few quick access points, well, I think I have a list here, don't I? The flash mob. Someone brought that. We were talking amongst ourselves, students and then the practicum students this week, of different access points in our culture. The flash mob. You may not agree with what these people are singing. Could you imagine we have a flash mob of people singing songs about Christ? No one would even know what to do. They wouldn't say, shut up, because they're so intrigued by it. Oh, I'm part of a flash mob. I'm saying, this is something that our culture is actually inclined to listen to, as opposed to a street preacher, whereas they say, shut up. They're not inclined to listen because there's a defense up already. I'm not actually saying that street preaching is wrong by bringing that up. I'm saying there's certain things that if we hit the powers of darkness sideways, we could actually accomplish something that we can't with our old methods. If we actually approach these things without diminishing the gospel, but upholding it to the highest standard, but then hit it where the is not yet ready, who knows what we could accomplish. The innovative. Our generation, just like back in ancient Greece, they loved philosophy, they loved knowledge. Our generation loves things that are unique and new. If it's innovative, it's never been done, our culture is very intrigued by it. The improv. Improvisation is of extreme interest to our generation. Caroling. This is just an illustration I used for the students and the practicum students this week. We have certain laws in our culture. They're unspoken. You actually don't ever talk about them out loud. But in Christmas season, if you go up to a house to Carol, they are obliged to open the door to you. And they're obliged to listen to you sing about Jesus. And they're obliged, because it's very awkward to stand there alone, to invite their whole family to do it. Isn't that interesting? And so I was talking with the students about leveraging this against our culture. In other words, if we get to someone's front doorstep and we're singing, we can get away with a lot. What if it's in June? They might be thinking, are you allowed to do this in June? But by that point in time, the door is already open and we're singing. In other words, our generation is inclined, our culture is inclined according to certain laws, which cause them to be agreeable to things, even though they might not agree with what we're saying to them. But whereas when you stand on a street corner and preach, they're already inclined to tune you out. I'm not saying you shouldn't preach on the street corner, if I need to repeat that again. I'm just saying that if we were to change our modus operandi of battle to literally surprise the enemy and to hit it where it's not expecting it, who knows what could happen in this generation. Trick or treat. Now, I don't trick or treat. However, isn't it funny that a certain day of the year, you can literally go up to someone's house and ask them for things. And they expect you to be there and they will give you something. That is bizarre. So the point is, if we understand the culture in which we live, there are things that we can leverage against the culture which caused them, their defenses aren't up in certain areas. They are not expecting to decline. They are not expecting to say, oh, you Christians, they are not ready for that. They're actually shocked. They're surprised. And as a result, there's a chink in the armor in which we are able to get through with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the, I think it was the story of Prince Caspian, it was the movie of Prince Caspian, there's this scene where they're trying to buy time. The Narnians are under siege. The Telmarines have surrounded them. It doesn't look good. Ragtag bunch against the bloated armies of Edward. The Telmarines are moving in and the Narnians need help. Who do they need? They need Aslan. But they need to buy time somehow to go and send, who was it, Lucy that went out to get, or Susan, I don't remember who it was, but they went out to get Aslan and they need time. And so this is when Prince Caspian has his brilliant idea. He says, look, there's something among the Telmarines that we can use against them. And that is if you challenge them to hand-to-hand combat, their dignity, their nobility demands that they say yes, which will then be just enough time hopefully to get Aslan here. It's interesting because the Telmarines were a godless nation and yet their culture had chinks in it that the Narnians could actually take advantage of to accomplish a victory in the war. So leveraging the culture against itself. The Christ army of 2014, what is our hobby line? Now you think I'm going to answer that, don't you? Well, I'm not going to answer it that simply. If there is an option, don't hit where the defenses are up. Now you look at my very top line. If there is an option, if you have an option between hitting them where their defenses aren't up or hitting them where their defenses are up, which one should you pick? I'd say as long as you're not compromising the gospel, hit them where their defenses aren't up. You follow me on that? In other words, I am not proposing some emergent postmodern remake of the gospel. I'm saying we take the same integrity, the same forcefulness, the same power of the gospel, but we bring it at this culture in a completely new way. A way that they are not expecting. And we begin to function as the church in a way that this world isn't expecting. These guys are serious. That's right. If you live in Windsor, you're going to hear it. You're going to hear the gospel in every possible conceivable fashion because we're on earth for a singular purpose. So either people start moving out of Windsor because they get so tired of us, or they change and give their life to Jesus. We give them an ultimatum. We basically make it clear we're here to stay. We're taking this territory for Jesus Christ. You're an unsaved soul. You need him. We're not entertaining. We're not just trying to get people to smile. We're not just clothing. We're not just providing shelter, though we may do all those things. We're bringing Jesus to bear. We're about a very singular purpose. The tickling Abby strategy. So I'm tickling Abby. My goal is to tickle Abby. She loves to be tickled. She'll say things like, Daddy, tickle me. And then as I start tickling, Daddy, stop. So I come in. My first tactic is to go under the arms. Okay. So I'm like, and I go into the, and what does she do? She starts covering up her arms. Right? So what do I do? I go to the spot where her defenses aren't up, which is right in the sides. And then when she does this thing, then I get her on her feet when she sticks her feet up in the air. It's the tickling Abby strategy. Whatever the culture does, when they roll over, when they do this, you get them where they're not expecting it. I know it may not seem like it, but the enemy is vulnerable right now. The reason I'm saying that is because the enemy is not expecting anything from us. You know, to be honest, we're not expecting anything from us. After church today, do you think we were planning on going into Windsor and turning it upside down? No, we were expecting to go about our day as usual. The point is when we change as the church, we begin to change our priorities, change the way we're living. The world will be just as surprised about it as we are. We're not expecting it either. So what if we pause and we say, this changes. This changes. We're here for a purpose. You see, up to this point, this church has not been an active church because of the way we're set up as a student church. The moment we become a local church, let's become a local church and let's change the world. I mean it. We're not going to do this to just be a church. Oh yeah, everyone needs to go to a church. Let's just be another church. Let's be a church that actually engages the world in such a way where they literally have to start building crosses to crucify us on them again or the world in which we are changes. Only two options. No middle ground. I like it. The enemy is vulnerable right now. The powers of darkness have grown bloated and proud. They're used to winning and they have grown accustomed to victory. But that confidence is their greatest weakness. For God's been breeding a special war horse for such a time as this. The enemy has a big army, but it's a slow army, ill-equipped to handle the onrush of a new military instrument. What is the hobbler of our day? So here's, I'm just throwing something out to be humorous, okay? I'm actually not proposing it even though I could see it years from now this turns out to be the answer. A flash mob of opera singing preachers. Could you imagine that? Everyone's standing up and it's a new line of preaching the gospel as an opera singer. The high level of training for that probably outdoes most of us. I don't know how many opera singers we can recruit to do that that are great preachers at the same time. So I'm not saying, that's supposed to be a joke by the way. In the year 1330, you know that they had to revise battle again. Remember 1296 was the time when Edward came in and the hobbler was invented. This new military instrument that changed the face of military history. But then, what was it? 34 years later, a change had to be made again. Because now the armies had begun to set in place and put defenses up against the hobbler. So now the hobbler didn't have the same effect and so it was reinvented again. The hobbler with a bow and arrow. In the 1330s, the landscape of war again began to change. The hobbler had proven effective for 30 years but now it was again time to review and revise the military approach. In 1335, there was the advent of a new sort of infantryman. It was an archer on the back of a hobbler known as the mounted archer. Isn't that about as cool as it gets? So first of all, you have the hobbler with the swords and they're going in to fight but now it's like, hey, let's take our archers and stick them on the back of the hobbler. Now you got a mobile archer. Isn't that cool? It was an archer on the back of a hobbler known as the mounted archer. This dramatic shift which brought the age-old skill of archery to the backs of warhorses once again changed the face of battle. And it came to pass when the Philistine arose and came and drew nigh to meet David that David hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Here's our word from last week, mahar, to move headlong with haste sprinting springing straightway into danger to move with liquid ferocity as a lion towards his prey. Who expected that? You see, this military instrument known as David was built and crafted before this day and when the day came, the hobbler was ready. What was what was the enemy expecting? 40 days they boasted. All they'd seen is terror in the eyes of all the Israelites. So who's a little cocky and overconfident? Goliath and all the Philistines. And so when does God bring in his hobbler? When the enemy is overconfident, even the troops of Israel are weak but God has an answer. And so in comes this young boy. This young boy is offered armor. He's offered the sword of Saul. He takes them off and says, these are not proven to me. Let me use that which I know works. He does not have any armor and he's going up against a fully armor clad giant whose sword is bigger than he is. It's an amazing thought that David strolls into battle and what does he do? He mahars. He sprints. Goliath is not expecting this. He's expecting someone to move slowly in armor. He's expecting to have someone come out with their sword and swing it. He knows how to fight that. His defenses are up against it. He mocks that. However, what does David come out in? He can move. He can move swiftly. We have ourselves a hobbler. The invention of the hobbler wasn't in Ireland. It was right here. David goes sprinting into battle and completely shocks the enemy. Could you imagine Goliath as David's sprinting at him? He's like, what am I supposed to do? Swing my sword? He's sprinting at me. Takes his little rock out of his holster and in a matter of seconds, Goliath has a rock in his forehead. Falls over, unconscious. David takes his sword, lops off his head. How do you think the Philistines are feeling about now? Suddenly all their bloated confidence is drained out and who gets strength? The camp of Israel. The camp of Israel is needing a hobbler. They need a military maneuver that will once again reawaken them to the strength and the power of the Almighty. And it came to pass when the camp of Israel met David that David, I made up this word, hobblered. He did that which was least expected, holy and orthodox, and a complete surprise and ran toward the army to meet the Philistines as a lion towards his prey. Well, but we are lambs, not lions. We are little lambs with the faces of lions. It is always shocking and surprising to see a little lamb moving with liquid ferocity straight into the lion's lair with the air of a hunter. If you saw that, wouldn't that take you a little off guard too? What happens when the world sees the church moving that way? It's like, hey guys, we serve the king of kings. Why are we being bashful? Why are we cowardly? They should be the ones begging for mercy. Stop speaking about Jesus is what they should be yelling out. You see, we should be on the offensive, not the defensive. We have the truth that sets men and women free. We are not hostile towards this world. We are in an action and a maneuver of love and humility to take the lowest place and to wash their feet, to be willing to lay down our life that they would live. We are hostile towards the spiritual powers that are puppeteering them. When we go into battle, our battle is not against people. It is against the principalities and powers that are puppeteering them. Our agenda is to love those people and see them set free. And we have the lone tool in the universe with which to do it. It's the power of God unto salvation, known as the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's wield it and let's wield it as our military instrument. If we are willing to look like idiots, dot, dot, dot. What if we were all in this room willing to sign up and say, I'm willing to look like an idiot in my generation? If we were willing to look like idiots, then anything is possible. So bring on the rotten tomatoes. But most of us aren't willing to look like idiots. I think most of you know that I sort of chose the idiot track quite a few years ago, which is why I look so funny and I preach and people are like, that's the guy that makes so much noise. I know it doesn't translate very well. Someone over here was probably guilty of saying it. And yet, did you know that when I allowed God to just speak through me whatever way he'd want, because I used to speak very calmly. I never raised my voice. It was all humor and I would, it was more, I'm more an entertainer than anything else. And God had to get a hold of me and say, Eric, are you willing to look the part of the fool? God, don't do that to me. I do not want to be a John the Baptist with hair all wild and a camel skin loincloth, popping locust and wild honey. I do not want that, God, please. Can't I be hip and Christian? No, you cannot be. You choose which side you want to be on. If you're hip, you're with the world. If you're a fool and an idiot for Christ, you're with him. You have to be willing to forsake the good opinion of this world to gain the good opinion of heaven. Who's in? The sheep brigade, the unstoppable military force of dumb woolly creatures. We are to be super conquering. They are more than conquerors. We are to be bequeathed with all power and authority, seated in Christ Jesus in the heavenly position of power and authority, given power over all the power of the enemy to tread upon their high places, immovable and invincible, able to repel all the fiery darts of the enemy, able to tread on lions, adders, serpents, scorpions, and dragons, able to drink poison and be unharmed. A thousand shall fall at their side, and ten thousand at the right hand, but it shall not come near them. There shall not a hair of their head perish. Jesus gives unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of his hand, and nothing shall by any means hurt them. They're supposed to be fearless. The Lord is their light and their salvation, so whom shall they fear? The Lord is the strength of their life, so of whom shall they be afraid? Though a host should encamp against them, their heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against them, they will remain confident in their God, because God will never leave them or forsake them, and he never lives to make intercession for them. God is their refuge and strength, the very present help in trouble. Therefore they will not fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. And no weapon that is formed against them shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against them in judgment God shall condemn. We are to be unstoppable. The Lord is with them as a mighty, terrible one. The gates of hell shall not prevail against them. Whatsoever they shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever they shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. And there is no restraint to the Lord to say by many or by few, greater is he that is in them that he that is in the world. Since God is for them, who can be against them? What are we doing on the defensive? Let's take this earth by storm. So I do have a proposal for us. I'm not even saying it's a good proposal. Probably every hobbler starts with, why don't we import one of those Irish horses and just try it out? And maybe that's where we're at. However I think the key of this message isn't what we do, it's that we're willing to do it. That we are willing to be part of Gideon's army. That we are willing to stand up against the 12 and a half foot man beast with a sling and a stone. We are willing to pick up our cross and follow him. We are willing to be the fool in this generation. We're willing to pick up our tuba and be thrown, have a rotten tomato thrown square into our nose and say back, thank you, thank you. I heard that tomato juice has great cleansing qualities. We are willing to be the hated and despised to see this world set free. To see that the lamb that was slain will receive the reward of his suffering. All right.