This sermon emphasizes the need for Christians to cultivate discipline, self-control, and a mindset focused on spiritual warfare and holiness. It challenges the modern American comfort and instant gratification culture, urging believers to prioritize renewing their minds, meditating on God's truth, and being prepared for spiritual battles and persecution by being rooted in Christ.

I mean, I've been made aware of something all the more just recently. Many of you know, I mean, I think I had this viral meningitis for a month, just coming out of it these last few days, where I'm actually starting to feel better. It causes swelling of the brain. That hurt my head. Now, you guys know I suffer migraines, but I've not had that kind of... And this hurt my head in a way that no migraine ever has. There were three straight days where I probably should have gone to the emergency room. I got to the place where I thought, Ruby, I think you're going to have to take me. James came and prayed for me, and actually that night it did take a turn. He wanted me to be here the next day. God didn't answer that. But it did take a turn at that point. But after I came out of it, I told Ruby, I don't know if I'm going to die well. I mean, those three days I did not feel very patient. And I recognized something. I'm one of you. You say, what's that? I don't mean just Christian. I mean a 21st century American. You say, what does that mean? That means we're used to softness. Our towels are soft. And our cars are air-conditioned. You say, mine's not. Yeah, but you have a car. People in other places are walking. And probably if it's not working, you've had thoughts about getting it fixed. Our homes are air-conditioned. Our food is there. We can pop it right in the microwave. Instant, the right temperature. We have instant, clean water. Now, it's like the cell phones and computers. Instant Facebook. Instant chat. Instant email. Instant, everything is instant. We want it now. We're very entertained people. We're very soft people. Let's just call it what it is. Brethren, when you compare us, John was just telling us in the elders' meeting about these guys over in Iraq. He said, we can learn some things from them. He said, they don't know the doctrine we know, but we can learn. What can we learn? We can learn about suffering persecution. Oh yeah, when the things start happening that Jeff was mentioning in the Sunday school, it's going to test us. The thing is, there's some spiritual conditioning that we really need. And if we're going to fight sin, we tend to be spiritual lightweights. When things get difficult, we try these little things, a little new program. Oh, I got this book. We try the little deal over here. Oh, we just discovered this new preacher. But see, we want results immediately. We want things to happen right now. Now, now, now, now. And we don't want to think too long about anything. Give me that. Give me that. Look, Facebook. Oh, they're doing this and they're doing that. We're going to do this. Back and forth. Brethren, I don't know about the discipline of our generation to really be able to sit down and just meditate on the fact that we're dead to sin. Long enough for it to do us any good. Why? Because we put so much stuff in our brain to cause us to forget what's essential so quickly. Brethren, you know what? We're not Americans. We're not 21st Americans first. We're Christians first. And what God commands us to do is you need to do whatever is necessary in your life to be able to fill your head with this reality and have your mind renewed and get the garbage out. Get discipline. You know what? It's not a sin not to have a cell phone or a computer. If you can't govern that thing, if you can't rule over it, if you can't master it, if you can't obey God because of it, get rid of it. Some of you can't turn your ringer off. It's amazing to me. I must offend lots of people these days because of this text thing. Sometimes I won't get back for a day or two or five on a text. Why? Because I don't carry my phone everywhere and even when I have it, I do not count it the highest priority to respond to a text. Why? Because your mind might be involved in thinking about the fact that I am one with Christ and in Him I can beat this sin. Bing! Oh, what's that? And some of you don't have any self-control. And you know what? What happens? You're a shallow Christian. You do not have the militancy and the discipline to fight for holiness the way it needs to be fought for. Brethren, this is serious. This is dead serious and dead real about fighting this battle. I'll tell you, when that persecution comes that was described to us, you know who the first ones are going to be falling away? Those of you that had absolutely no control over these things. Your minds weren't renewed. You didn't think right. You didn't believe right. And now all of a sudden you're full of terror and you're going to deny Christ. Because you're not gripped by the truth. Because you haven't taken a long enough time in your life to let it sink down and permeate your being. God commands you to consider yourself to be what you are and what He has made you. Brethren, part of the reason this is such a fight is because we've got to fight to think right. That alone is the fight. That means we've got to be disciplined enough with our brains, with our heads, with our minds, with our meditating, with our pondering, that we're actually taking enough time undisturbed, undistracted. Brethren, I'll tell you, the people who are going to excel in this battle and excel in holiness are the people that have self-control here. They can set aside big amounts of time and say, I'm going to dwell on the glories of what it means to be one with Christ. United to Christ. In Him. We have an American softness. Many of you may have heard Andy Hamilton when he said... He spoke to Elizabeth Elliot. They had dinner with her before she died. And she said, back in the 50's, of course, her and her husband, they went down to South America. But before she got married, my understanding is she inquired of Amy Carmichael. Back in the early 50's, Amy Carmichael was still alive. She inquired, I believe, as to the possibility of working with Amy Carmichael's ministry in India. She told the Hamiltons, sight unseen. Americans were being turned down by Amy Carmichael's ministry because they were considered, back then, being too soft. Somebody like Elizabeth Elliot. Not even given a chance. Why? Because Americans as a whole were counted too soft in the 50's. Oh yeah, come forward 60 years with all our devices and gadgets and softnesses. You know, they're figuring out how to make towels and blankets softer and sheets softer and pillows softer and clothes softer. And you know what? We buy them. And you know what that does? It very subtly makes us into something that I don't think we want to become. And it's often been talked about. Before Hudson Taylor went to China, Andy talks about him sleeping on boards. Eating certain kinds of food. Not the kind of food everybody else. Living in conditions not everybody else is living in. There's a place for beating our bodies into submission. Why? Because that makes us warriors. That gives you a disposition to be warlike. We've got to beat our bodies into submission. American softness.