What's Your Source | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church

I want us, if we can, to turn to 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10, and we're going to start in verse

1. We're going to read down through verse 6.

And this verse, I'm preaching this verse today

because this verse came as a word from the Lord.

Actually, Kay felt this scripture impressed on

her about 10 or 12 days ago. And released it

into our seniors group. Our seniors meet for

prayer every Wednesday at 1 p .m. And if you'd

like details on that, I'd be happy to give that

to you. And then she released it. I had her release

that same word on our Wednesday night prayer

meeting. And I have felt like it is a scripture

for our church for this time. And it might be

that this morning God wants to just apply it

to your situation and your life right where you

are. And so let's read the word of the Lord,

2 Corinthians 10, 1 through 6. Now I, Paul, myself,

am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness

of Christ. who in presence am lowly among you,

but being absent am bold toward you. But I beg

you that when I am present, I may not be bold

with that confidence by which I intend to be

bold against some who think of us as if we walked

according to the flesh. For though we walk in

the flesh, We do not war according to the flesh,

for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,

but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

casting down arguments and every high thing that

exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing

every thought into captivity to the obedience

of Christ. and being ready to punish all disobedience

when your obedience is fulfilled. Lord, we thank

you for your word. Your word changes us. Your

word, when it takes root in our hearts, produces

the effect in us that you have desired in our

lives from the beginning. God, the people have

come here today to worship you. They haven't

come to hear the voice of a man. God, they've

come to honor your word. And so, Lord, as we

honor your word this morning, I pray that it

will take root in our hearts. In Jesus' mighty

name. Amen. Amen. Now this passage of Scripture,

in context, is about Paul really defending himself

against some people in the Corinthian church

that had come against him. The majority of the

church was with Paul and recognized him as an

apostle. But if you skip down to verse 10, you

see that some in the church were accusing Paul.

In fact, they said in verse 10, you read it,

for his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful,

but his bodily presence is weak and his speech

contemptible. And so they were accusing Paul

of not being the real deal. Of hiding behind

Facebook. But not being genuine in person. He

could write well. But when he's here, he's weak.

And he's not the real deal. Well, really what

they were doing by slandering Paul. was dividing

the church. That's what they were doing. Now,

no leader is perfect, and there are ways to deal

with issues and failures in the church, but slandering

people behind their back is not biblical. And

it only does the work of the enemy and divides.

And so in this context, Paul is saying, That's

where this quote comes from. Among Pentecostal

believers, this is an awesome verse. The weapons

of our warfare are not carnal, but they're mighty

in God. Well, Paul was saying, I have weapons

of spiritual warfare that go way beyond the flesh

and things that are normal in this world, and

we will see the stronghold of this divisive spirit.

torn down in Jesus' name. And the things that

come against the church, Ephesians 6 tells us,

we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against

powers and principalities and rulers of this

dark world. How many of you know that there is

an enemy in Lincoln, Illinois that hates the

church? And that's the church at large preaching

the gospel, but he also hates faith church and

is trying to destroy this church from the inside

out so that it is of no effect in our community.

But Paul was saying, I have weapons of our warfare

that are not carnal, but they are mighty in God.

And because they're mighty in God, I can pull

down the strongholds that are trying to divide

the church. Isn't that good? And so, it is important

that we realize that God has equipped us with

tools to promote unity in the church. Now, Paul

said it was the weapons of our warfare. Everybody

say our. He didn't say this is the weapon of

my warfare. I am the only one in this. No, he

said these are weapons of our warfare. We are

in this together. And so the first thing that

I believe that God wants to highlight is that

I think it's an awesome thing to pray for the

unity of the church. In fact, Jesus, before he

went to the cross, he prayed that. He said, I

pray that they may be one, Father, as we are

one. And the unity on the house is a beautiful

thing. I'm not preaching this today because I

sense any disunity. I'm preaching this today

because I know the wiles and the schemes of the

enemy that he would try to create disunity. Do

you know that the enemy does this in homes? He

does this in marriages. He does this in relationships

and friendships, trying to steal, kill, and destroy.

That's what the devil came. John 10 .10 says

that the thief comes to steal and kill and destroy.

And that's the schemes of the enemy. He wants

to destroy your marriage. He wants to destroy

your household. He wants to destroy the relationship

you have with your children. Jesus came, the

last part of John 10 .10, that we might have

life and life more abundantly. Amen? And so this

morning, we speak life into every marriage that's

represented in this room right now in the name

of Jesus. Hallelujah. In fact, I wasn't planning

on this. This isn't in my notes, but I want to

pray for every marriage represented in this church

right now in Jesus' name. If your spouse is with

you, Just grab them by the hand in Jesus' name.

Father, I just thank you. I thank you for the

blessing on marriages in this room right now.

And we recognize, God, that the enemy has a scheme

and a plan to destroy and break up marriages.

God, I pray in Jesus' name. I pray in Jesus'

name the favor and the blessing of God on marriages

in this house right now. the name of the Lord.

We thank you, Father, for the unity of the Spirit.

We thank you for the unity in husbands and wives

in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Praise the

Lord. Praise the Lord. Somebody give praise to

God right now. He preserves. He unites. He causes

husbands and wives to grow together in Jesus'

name. Cammie told the story of what happened

to our vehicle last week. As I was driving down

the road and a tire came flying at me and I hit

that tire at about, I braked some, I hit it probably

at 60 miles an hour and that tire that was rolling

did not go flat. It catapulted our vehicle up

into the air and then the trailer behind us up

into the air and then after we had gone completely

over the tire, that tire continued to roll down

the road and then into the median. It was a pretty

incredible thing. I'd never experienced anything

like that in my life. I'm thanking God for his

protection, amen? Thanking God for his protection.

But when I had the vehicle examined, because

after that, what happened is there was no shimmy

in it before. It drove smooth and perfect. But

after it hit that tire, when I got it up to about

50 miles an hour, the vehicle just started shaking.

And when I took it to the collision place, the

collision guy told me, in fact, before he even

elevated it, he said, oh, I see why it's shimmying.

It's because the frame has been knocked out of

alignment and the right half is fighting against

the left half. And I thought, wow. And it hit

me as I was preparing for this message. That's

what was happening in the Corinthian church.

The right half was fighting against the left

half. And that can happen in a marriage, in a

home, and in a relationship. It can happen in

a nation. But when God shows up, when the church

shows up with the weapons of our warfare that

God has provided, he puts things back in alignment

so that we can drive down the road and get where

we need to go. He wants to keep the church in

unity. That's a great thing to pray. Add that

to your prayer list every day. God, give great

unity to the church. Doesn't mean we always agree

about everything, but we deal with things well,

and we walk together in love. Amen? And we move

forward in Jesus' name. Secondly, what I want

to say from this passage is the weapons of our

warfare are not carnal. Everybody say carnal.

Now carnal, carnality is not the same thing as

evil. In fact, carnality is not the same thing

as sinful. Carnal simply means of this world.

Okay? So when I'm operating carnally, I am just

using, the tools I have at my disposal on my

own. My own thinking. My own solutions. When

you are not a believer and you don't have access

to God, this is the only mode that you have to

operate in. Carnal. It's of the flesh, not in

the sense of sinful flesh, but just of this world.

Does that make sense? That's what carnality is.

Sourcing. So, I know one thing from all of my

wife's study on food. That sourcing matters.

Where you get things matter. Not all meat is

created equal. Is that right? So there are places

that if I report to her that I ate at, she is

immediately thinking of the source of that food

and what that is potentially doing in my body.

She doesn't like any chemicals injected into

meat. Sourcing matters. Where you get things

from. She liked it that Steak and Shake just

announced that all their meat comes from grass

-fed beef. I like that too. I have permission

now. Sourcing matters. Where you get something

matters. And this whole verse, the weapons of

our warfare are not carnal. It means their source

is not of this world. Their source does not come

from humanity. The source of these weapons is

not your pastor. The source of these weapons

is not how well we understand things in our own

mind. The source of the weapons of our warfare,

we're going to get to what they are in a moment.

The first thing that Paul says here is that the

source of these weapons does not come from man,

but from God. They are sourced in heaven. And

you as a believer, my friend, you have the opportunity

to get resources that are beyond what you can

see with your eyes. You have the ability to get

resources that are beyond what you can buy at

a store or are tangible with your hands. You

have access to the heavens. Hallelujah. And that's

good news. Every son and daughter, you have access

to sourcing in heaven. Glory to God. Glory to

God. You know what carnality produces? People

think that these are in the Bible. God helps

those who help themselves. Did you know that

that is not a verse in the Bible? That comes

from carnality. That comes from thinking, human

thinking. God helps those who die to self and

look to him and trust him. Amen? Here's one that

Shakespeare wrote that people think is in the

Bible. To thine own self be true. Have you ever

heard that? Have you ever read a form of that

on Facebook? I've just got to discover myself

and be true to myself. And if you love somebody,

you know, and they're going through a decision

process and you tell them, just be true to yourself.

That is not scriptural. It is not in the Bible.

And so that comes from human carnality. That's

where that comes from. Did you know who said

this first? God hates sin but loves the sinner.

Do you know who said that first? Gandhi. That

is a statement that comes from Hinduism. That's

interesting, isn't it? Some of those elements,

how many of you know that God loves sinners?

And God hates sin. But did you know that it's

this kind of phraseology that makes people think

that, well, God's going to forgive me no matter

what I do. It is not the truth. There are people

on judgment day that God is going to assign to

darkness and utter hell. Carnality in the church.

As long as we operate in carnality, all's we

have is the best that man can come up with. But

when we tap into the resources of heaven, then

we rise way above. Why is that? Because God said,

your thoughts are not my thoughts, nor mine yours.

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so

are my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Now

the best ideas of man, do they compare with God?

I want the resources of heaven. I want what God

has for me. Hallelujah. I want to tap into his

thinking. I want to tap into his solutions. I

want to tap into what he has to say. Glory to

God. When we operate in carnality, then we limit

ourselves to our own solutions. We stay safe

in our Christianity. We're predictable. We're

sensible. But we are not following the Holy Spirit.

The weapons of God are not sourced in human reasoning.

They come from heaven. I want to give you, if

I can, find this really quick. I want to give

you something that I experienced through this

vehicle situation. One of my Facebook friends

recently posted this. Like a good neighbor, State

Farm is deceptive, greedy, and truly only cares

about making shareholders money. Well, you can

imagine the comments. But that has not been true

in my case. This was posted two weeks ago. The

accident. And here was my reply. State Farm has

paid me lots of money through the years. A new

roof that got me out of debt. They cleaned up

my yard after a tornado. Two different deer that

they... rewarded me with accidents that I did

not cause, that they have taken care of me. I

have never had any issues with State Farm at

all. I wrote that two weeks ago, and I hit this

tire. And I turned to claim in, and as we were

driving home, I said to Cammie, I really feel

like the Lord's going to take care of us. I really

feel like God's going to take care of us. And

so I filed a claim. And I got the word back.

That because the tire was on the ground and not

in the air, your claim is denied. And so I still

felt the peace of the Lord, but then when I got

the letter from State Farm, it said, we have

determined that you have caused this accident.

That kind of shook me a little bit. And so I

wrote an appeal. And I said, whether you cover

the accident or not, you have accused me of causing

this accident. And I am appealing. And then I

finished the letter. Forgot about it. Last Wednesday,

right before I went to the seniors meeting, I

got a call from a young man at State Farm. And

he said, you've appealed, and I'm the one that

decides whether your appeal goes through or not.

Tell me everything that happened. And I told

him everything that happened exactly like it

did. And he said, I'm going to call you back

in five minutes with my decision. And I said,

well, you better hurry because I got a seniors

meeting that starts in seven minutes. He called

me back and he said, sir, I have found, I have

examined your policy. I have found in your policy

that your vehicle is covered if a missile hits

your vehicle. He said, I don't know if a tire

is a missile or not, but we are going to cover

your vehicle. As if this tire was a missile.

And I want to say praise God for that. I want

to say praise God for that. What does the Word

of God say? Over and over and over again, the

Word of God says, bless and do not curse. Bless.

and do not curse. I had about five verses pulled

up here that teach us to bless and do not curse.

See, when all of this happened, it was later

on, I was praying and I felt the Lord whisper

to me that defense that I gave of State Farm.

And you see, we're used to letting things fly

out of our mouth, whatever we want to say. But

that's not blessing. That is cursing. You want

God to do great things through your life? You've

got to use the weapons of our warfare that are

not carnal, but are mighty in God. Your mouth

is one of those weapons. One of the things that

can work against you as a believer is that you're

cursing everything. You're cursing everything

all the time. You're more familiar with everything

that's wrong. What's wrong with this? What's

wrong with that? And really what it is is it's

a complaining, grumbling spirit. But if we will

use our mouth to bless instead of curse, God

will open up doors. It will break down strongholds.

It will move the hand of God in a situation.

Because we bless. Because we do not curse. It

got awful quiet in here. It got really quiet

in here. Because we bless. God has called us

to be a people in the earth. We are the salt

of the earth. But your speech is no different

than the people in your workplace. How are you

going to be the salt of the earth? If you look

the same as the people, if you walk the same,

and if you talk the same, God will not use you

in that. That's carnality. It's carnality. God

is calling you to rise above carnality so that

you can operate in the things of the Spirit.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I feel the presence of

the Lord in this this morning. We live in the

world, but we do not war according to the world.

The weapons of our warfare, they are not carnal,

but they are mighty in God. Hallelujah. God loves

you enough that he's given you access to heavenly

sourcing. These weapons that we wage war with,

they are sourced in heaven, and they have heavenly

results. Jesus told us to pray, Lord, let your

will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Hallelujah.

That's Matthew 6 .10. The weapons of our warfare.

What are these weapons? Well, Paul was referring

specifically to the authority that he has in

God. The authority that he had in his calling

as an apostle. Everybody say the word authority.

Now, there is positional authority that you do

not have. This past week, my wife was elected

as the assistant presbyter of our section. I

passed the baton to her. I was the assistant.

Now she's the assistant. Okay, so that is a position

of authority in the section. It is positional

authority. Paul had positional authority as an

apostle. And so you have been given... If you're

a mom or a dad, you have positional authority

in your family, right? You have positional authority.

If you are a business owner, you have positional

authority, okay? So some of you are thinking

about different roles in your life where God

has given you authority. Paul was defending his

authority as an apostle. But there is also an

authority that comes as a believer that is not

positional authority. It is spiritual kingdom

authority that you have as a child of God. Hallelujah.

You have authority that has been given to you

as a child of the living God. Let me read one

of them to you. Matthew 28, 19. the end of the

age. I want to read Mark's version of that. Let

me look that up in Mark chapter 16 because it

Mark 16 · chapter mention

really highlights our authority that we've been

given in Christ even greater. He says this, Go

into all the world, this is verse 15, and preach

the gospel to every creature. He who believes

and is baptized will be saved, but he who does

not believe will be condemned. And these signs

will follow those who believe. In my name they

will cast out demons. They will speak with new

tongues. They will take up deadly servants. If

they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt

them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they

will recover. Hallelujah. Now this is your authority

that God has given to you as a believer. Amen?

It's a weapon of your warfare. I feel like this

morning that we need to open up our hearts and

receive the authority that God has given to us.

Look at your neighbor and say, you have authority.

Now look at your neighbor and say it one more

time like you really mean it. You have authority.

You have authority. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. When

people come to me and they say, Pastor, I need

healing. And I come to them and say, Oh, I just

want you to know I understand what you're going

through. I just want you to know that, you know,

you're going to get through this. You know what

I'm doing is I'm trying to empathize with them.

And some people might appreciate that, but they

didn't come to me for empathy. They came to me

to find healing in Jesus' name. And so if I only

console and if I only offer empathy and I never

step into authority, I forfeit the weapons of

our warfare. In the name of being a friend and

somebody people like, but I'm not operating in

authority. God has given us authority to operate

in. Oh, this is a good word, friends. Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10. Let's go there. Matthew chapter 10.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

We're talking about the weapons of our warfare.

And this is Jesus. And let's read verse 1. And

when he had called his 12 disciples to him, he

gave them power over unclean spirits to cast

them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and

all kinds of disease. And then you skip down

to, he's telling them to go out. In verse 8,

he just simply says, heal the sick, cleanse the

lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely

you have received, freely give. If a church would

awaken with authority, we would no longer need

advertising. You see, advertising is in the carnal

realm. It doesn't mean it's not effective. It

doesn't mean that we can't use it. God called

them to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise

the dead, cast out demons, freely you have received,

freely give. What if the church awakens to its

authority in the earth? What if the church starts

using the weapons of our warfare that are not

carnal but are mighty in God for the tearing

down of strongholds? What if parents start using

their authority in their homes? Not in an abusive

way, but in a real genuine Christian way. When

it comes to what they allow into their house.

Are you just going to keep tolerating that sickness

that just keeps coming and coming and coming

and coming? Are you going to rise up in the authority

that you have, Father? Mother? Jesus has given

us authority, a weapon of our warfare. I'm going

to stop right here. There are lots of other weapons

of our warfare. But I'm going to stop right here

because some of you are in situations where you

need authority to come into your home. You need

authority to come into your body. You need authority.

You need the authority of God to be released

into your situation. Jesus did it with the 12

here. But then we just read Mark 16. He didn't

just do it with the 12. He did it with every

believer. He who believes. How many of you are

ready to operate on a higher plane? Many of you

are ready to tap in to your heavenly resource.

Rise up. Rise up. It wasn't just Paul. It was

every believer. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Heal

the sick. Cleanse the lepers. Raise the dead.

Cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely

give. Now later on, I might revisit this and

talk about more weapons of our warfare. But God

has equipped you, son. God has equipped you,

daughter. He has equipped you from heaven to

be an overcomer. To be an overcomer. So we're

going to stop right there. And I just want to

ask the question this morning. How many of you

in your life, in the lives of your friends, in

the lives of the people that you know, need the

God of victory to move and do something powerful?

Come on. That's what we're believing for this

morning. And Paul's word is that you have weapons

of warfare that are not carnal but mighty in

God. There are some things that God will do,

but he's not going to do them until you operate

in the authority that God has given you. I would

say, There's been lots of times where I have

missed it. Where I have not risen up to the occasion.

And we repent of that in Jesus' name. But God

lifts us up and calls us up to a new place. And

says, come on. Come on. Step in. Step into what

I have for you. Step into what I have for you.

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. If you raised

your hand earlier, I want to ask you to just

stand up where you are. You raised your hand

earlier. You have a situation in your own family,

in your own life. You need the authority of heaven.

Hallelujah. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.

Praise God. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father.

We give you praise, Lord. Just right where you

are, just if you need to close your eyes to help

you, but just begin to talk to the Lord. Begin

to say, God, don't let this verse just stay on

a page, but let it be lived out in my life in

Jesus' name. Have a conversation with the Lord

right now in Jesus' name. Thank you, Father.

Lord, we just ask you that your presence, God,

will minister in Jesus' name. When you came to

Gideon and you said, greetings, mighty warrior,

He didn't feel like a warrior. There's people

in this room that, like Gideon, don't feel like

a warrior. But you are calling them to a higher

place in you. In Jesus' name. Thank you, Father.

Thank you, Father. Glory to God. We look to you

right now. We look to you now, Lord Jesus. Hallelujah.

We embrace the weapon of authority, not in an

arrogant way, but humbly, genuinely, saying,

God, thank you for the authority that you've

given to us. In the name of Jesus, we receive

that assignment and that calling. In just a moment,

we're going to use this weapon of authority and

we're going to speak to this mountain to be moved

in Jesus' name. We're going to speak for this

sickness to be healed in Jesus' name. We're going

to use the weapon of authority in Jesus' name.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you,

Father. Thank you, Father. We give you praise.

We are not helpless and left alone. You've given

us weapons and tools to fight with. In Jesus'

name. God, I pray that Holy Spirit grit will

rise up in people right now. I pray that faith

will rise up in people right now in Jesus' name.

And I want to ask God that as they speak to this

mountain that they're standing up facing, that

speak to this giant like David did. David tapped

into heavenly resources when he spoke to Goliath.

I thank you for that, God. I thank You for that,

God. We tap in right now. And we speak to this

giant with the authority that You've given to

us. In Jesus' name.