Sermon Tone Analysis

Are You In The Fight?

1 Timothy 6:6-

Many times we hear about spiritual warfare, but do we really understand it?

When are we partaking of it?

How do we fight?

Do I believe in spirits and spiritual things?

No person can share with you anymore than what they have experienced

These are questions that our busy american lives don’t really allow us time to ponder, or we ourselves may not care to ponder.

Whether we realize it or not, the answer and reaction to these questions, or lack thereof, have affected us to this very day and will affect us following every moment of our lives.

So if but for a short time, allow me to give you some information for consideration this morning, whether a visitor or a Born Again Christian.

From the time we are naturally born, we are in a fight.

We unfortunately are born into the losing side, although many times it may appear to be winning.

Whether you believe it or not, much of what we see has its’ roots in a realm we typically cannot see.

Currently we see a push for “equality”, but at the root of much of this push is the desire for

We can see that we are on the losing side by all the hurt, let downs, disappointments, death, disease, catastrophes, etc. that we experience and see as we grow up.

Where do aliens come from?

Who do mediums talk to?

Where do psychics get

For those of us here who have been Born Again of water and Spirit, we know multiple times over the reality of the realm that lies parallel to us.

But many times we seem reluctant to want to engage it outside of the four walls of our Church’s building.

This is not what Jesus exampled for us, nor His Apostles/Disciples, nor were His instructions to sit idly by.

From the time our Lord was born and was conscious of Who He was, He followed the leading of the Divine Spirit within Him.

Following Passover at the age of 12, a young Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem to discuss the Word of G-d with the religious leaders of that time (-11)

By the testimony of The Holy Scriptures, Jesus’ mother and stepfather were both righteous, living in right standing according the The Law of G-d.

Surely they prayed, fasted, and attended their local Synagogue.

We can see evidence of this in Jesus’ own life for typically we all exhibit the behaviors that we observed, were taught, and encouraged to develop.

At the Age of 30, Jesus began His ministry to The Jewish People ().

From the outset Jesus starts off with prayer and fasting in the wilderness, and in His physically weakest moment, overcame the god of this world by sticking with what The Creator of the world said was the right thing to do.

Jesus effectively began to wage war on the kingdom of satan.

From this time on, Jesus lives the rest of His earthly life, up to the time of His betrayal, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, in The Power of The Spirit of G-d which dwelt in Him.

Everywhere He went He sent waves into the realm we can’t see, He healed, He set straight those who were going astray in the way they were living their lives, He cast out demonic spirits out of those who were possessed.

His Power was the proof of The Truth of His message.

Everywhere He went He sent waves into the realm we can’t see, He healed, He set straight those who were going astray in the way they were living their lives, He cast out demonic spirits out of those who were possessed.

His Power was the proof of The Truth of His message.

He chose 12 disciples, although He has many more, who would be with Him day and night.

They ate with Him, slept next to Him, heard Him when He prayed and taught, watched Him when He worked His miracles and were eventually sent out to do the same.

At the end of His earthly ministry and right before His raising to heaven, He gave some instructions to His disciples who would now be His Apostles, those sent by Him to carry of His mission and be the pillars of what we call The Church.

Matthew 28:

Just as they had been taught, not just in doctrine, but also in discipline, Jesus’ disciples were to now reproduce in others.

They were to make disciples.

Here is what He said about those disciples.

Mark 16:

Those who came to trust in Him through the word of His disciples would exhibit the same signs and miracles as Jesus did.

Living Like Jesus

John 3:

This is where our New Life Begins.

This is where we begin to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, His authority, His Power.

Prior to this, most of us are just bystanders, prisoners, or casualties of a war being fought that we cannot see and don’t even realize that’s going on.

Acts

When we receive The Holy Spirit, we receive the same Spirit that flowed through Jesus and overpowered the demonic and unclean spirits.

Acts 2:38-39

When we are obedient to the instructions of The Apostles, we are BORN into a realm that we previously were just bystanders to.

Now we are active participators.

As Disciples we need to be hitting milestones, just a child, for those who have them or have raised them.

Like Jesus, there are some basic that need to be introduced to us that we need to be worked with on through a mentor, and that we need to individually be working on ourselves.

Jesus was a mentor.

He was the Ultimate Disciple Maker, and we are supposed to be like Him.

After a couple of years, we should have the basic disciplines down, like Jesus did (prayer, fasting, getting into The Word, witnessing to those around us).

These spiritual disciplines give place to Jesus being able to take us collectively and individually further and deeper spiritually.

Maintaining these spiritual disciplines in our lives will ensure that we are growing in out relationship with and to Jesus, and will maintain and grow in our spiritual authority.

Share a story: Jaden and the stove

Spiritual disciplines are necessary to help keep our compromised flesh in submission and to allow our spirit to be strengthened and flourish (fasting coupled with prayer and The Word).

Did you know we can exercise spiritual gifts and still be earthly/carnally minded?

Just read 1 Corinthians!

You can exercise spiritual gifts due to your faith in believing you can and Jesus making it available to you, but you could be lacking in bearing spiritual fruit.

You can exercise spiritual gifts due to your faith in believing you can and Jesus making it available to you, but you could be lacking in bearing spiritual fruit.

Perhaps you’re giving up during your times of testing, or proving.

Perhaps you’re taking the easy way out.

Spiritual Warfare starts with you!

As we are progressing, Jesus will gives us new perspectives about life by His Spirit and give us insight into His Word.

We have to work with Jesus and He works in us.

The adversary will always seek to keep our attention on ourselves.

If we can never get passed our own problems and own desires for our lives , then we won’t really be able to help those around us and fight on their behalf.

Like it or not you and I have ways of thinking that more line up with the way satan thinks than with the way Jesus thinks.

Jesus lived His like to “seek and to save that which is lost” (), as Americans we like to” seek and to save and not lose anything”.

We want the nice house, the nice car, etc.

Clearly Jesus told us not to store up treasure here on the earth ()

When we seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness, He will give to us all the things that are NEEDED.

He will bless us with many things, but our hearts need to remain focused on Him and His mission.

When’s the last time we had a prayer meeting with our children?

Or extended family?

Or with Church Family?

When’s the last time we had a Bible Study with our family about the direction Jesus wants the family to go?

Ephesians

Paul said the goal is to be like Jesus, IN ALL THINGS.

His Character and His Power.

Jesus prayed.

This is something I strive to partake of because it’s quite and I can spend some time with just me and Jesus before I head out the door into the craziness of the world.

I present myself in the best way possible as before my King.

Get ready for the day and give Him my undivided attention as I would want His.

His Disciples watched Him pray and asked Him:

Jesus fasted.

Jesus fasted.

Jesus fasted.

Matthew

John 4:

Jesus knew and taught The Word of God

We grow by The Word of God, especially as new disciples

These are the basic teachings concerning our new lives in Jesus Christ once we have been Born Again.

Eventually we should be on to meatier matters such as bearing spiritual fruit.