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Our Enemy, not government, but Satan.
Our outlook, dreary.
Our resources, capable and sufficient.
Identifying The Battle Ground
Identifying The Battle Ground
Where It’s Not
Where It’s Not
Some Mystical Experience
It’s In The Inner Man
It’s In The Inner Man
Satan attacks us in the realm of our thinking.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
The mind and the heart are where we do spiritual battle. It’s a battle over truth and doctrine.
Clarify: we haven’t won the battle with Satan merely when we affirm a right doctrinal statement but rather when we correct our thinking with the truth! Bring them captive! (A good doctrinal statement is like taking inventory of your ammunition, it means nothing if you don’t use it.)
Satan’s Goal
Satan’s Goal
Always to pervert the truth. “Hath God said?” “God knows that if you eat...” He spreads lies and false truths because he knows that’s the way to affect your attitudes and behaviors.
Satan is against God, and he wants to pervert you to be against God too. He wants you to act, think, speak, and behave in ways that are contrary to God and what he has revealed is right. He perverts your life and dishonors God through you. You become his vehicle to dishonor God!
If Satan has you in your mind, he has you! (The prominence of mental health institutions demonstrate this. For many people, Satan has affected the way they think, and as a result, completely debilitated them from any productive living. You will know Satan is attacking, not by feeling his presence, but by examining the thoughts going on in your mind!
A life long, tricky battle! Who knows all the ways that they are thinking wrongly. We need God’s resources!
Our Goal
Our Goal
To Stand, to resist Satan’s lies with the truth. To cleanse our minds and to think rightly so that I may act and live rightly! We desire to honor God and live in obedience to his Word! That’s why God has given us what we need to stand, to resist, and to wage war! It’s a war for truth!
The Importance of Truth
The Importance of Truth
Truth like a belt
Truth like a belt
Illustration
The essential nature of belts in wearing cloaks. It was always on you, a permanent part as compared to the other elements.
In fighting or any strenuous activity, you would gird your cloak inside your belt, and it freed you for activity. You could not fight without doing so.
Imagine trying to hold your ground while your enemy is attacking you head on and your belt comes loose, your pants fall down, and you immediately have to focus your attention to gathering up what has now become cumbersome to you. If you are going to resist Satan, you must have the belt of truth.
Essential To God’s Character
Essential To God’s Character
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus waged war against Satan with the truth, and he has provided that resource for you and I.
Satan’s Schemes
Satan’s Schemes
Satan Comes with lie’s and half truths to trip us up and cause us to fall.
Satan bring’s to mind a sensitivity to personal guilt.
“When Satan Tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see him there, who made an end to all my Sin. Because the sinless savior died, my sinful soul is counted free for God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me.”
b. He draws us to overlook at our circumstances to lead us to fear.
God has abonded you, he doesn’t care for you. His way is not what’s best for you.
2. Satan spreads false doctrine
3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
We Need To Be sound in the faith, if we are going to resist the attempts at Satan to lie to us.
Promo Summer Foundations Lessons
Not new truths, but understand the old truths better!
The Need For Preparedness
The Need For Preparedness
Girded- fold up, tuck in everything that is a hinderance, not allowing your besetting sins to entangle you.
Stinking thinking is common for all Christians, so it’s the job of every Christian.
Prepare Beforehand
Prepare Beforehand
Example:
Myself in preaching. The temptation to doubt what God is doing, to focus on the wrong elements of preaching, the easiness to slide into wrong motivations and thinking.
Train myself, prepare to focus on higher goals, and remind of the truth.
The Significance of The Church
The Significance of The Church
We need brothers to come along and say: Your cloak is hanging, might need to gird that up. Let’s get ready.