PRAY!! Overcoming Obstacles to the Gospel

James Neville ran unopposed for mayor of Baxter States, New York, and lost to John Maher, the man he’d taken the office from in 2001. Maher’s supporters launched a stealth write-in campaign, which took Neville totally by surprise. Because he was running unopposed, Neville didn’t campaign for the office; he took his re-election for granted. Neville said, “I got lazy.”

I don’t want to sound paranoid here, but the truth is that we can never drop our guard. We must always be on the alert, because we have a real enemy, an unseen enemy that is constantly prowling and looking for an opportunity to exploit our vulnerabilities and defeat us.

Wilson, Jim L. “Surprised by a Write-In Campaign.” In 300 Illustrations for Preachers, edited by Elliot Ritzema. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015.

We come today to an ending to a series on Discipleship, but this passage serves as a reminder that as Disciples we can never let down our guard, sadly even among the Body of Christ. We must be ready to stand, to resist, to overturn dangerous philosophies, with the Armor of God put on and wielding the sword of the Spirit.

Billy Graham once estimated that as many as 40% of members and regular attenders in the church may not be truly saved.

Maybe you are thinking, that’s way too high of a percentage. But how would we know? How WOULD YOU know?

Do we recognize the Truth in someone? Or is the truth only from a certain perspective?

Do we know enough Scripture to recognize a false teaching or a false teacher if we heard one?

In some ways, those that teach and preach are never beyond that scale of weighty doctrine - constantly under scrutiny…Maybe why some do not want to obediently take on that role.

Walk in the Flesh (Weakly…Meekly)

* Believers live in this world but believers shouldn’t live in this world the SAME WAY as everyone else. We are affected by the same distresses and trials as everyone else.

We know Christ, so we know better —> We ought to LIVE different.

* This is not just a question of immorality - and living morally. This is in many ways securing the Prominence of God in our Lives and in the realms that we LIVE IN.

“The heart of the quarrel concerns Paul’s authority over the Corinthian church; but, as Paul himself insists, he is not simply engaged in a personal defense (12:19).

Barrett has his finger on the pulse of Paul’s argument when he writes: “It is the nature of the apostolic Gospel, and the apostolic authority behind it, that are at stake.”

Garland, David E. 2 Corinthians. Vol. 29. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.

It is the GLORY of God and the Plan of God that is being resisted when this world comes against us. Do Not Underestimate what you are engaged in when you put on the Armor of God! It is WAR!! You are fighting or quaking in a spiritual trench.

We live with the Mind of Christ, bearing the fruit of the Spirit, wearing the armor of God, Wielding the Sword of the Spirit.

*As such, our minds are centered on Christ and the principles found in the Bible. We are doing all we can to impact for the glory of God each and every situation or relationship that we have.

Wage War with Divine Tools,

sarx - flesh - human nature (with its frailties [phys. or mor.] and passions), or (spec.) a human being (as such):—carnal (-ly, + -ly minded), flesh ([-ly]).

We don’t wage war this way… we do not give the enemy any ground, not one soul, not one church, not one!! The word WARFARE in verse 4 means a military career, and ongoing service - Service that involves danger and toil.

4752. στρατεία stratĕia, strat-i´-ah; from 4754; military service, i.e. (fig.) the apostolic career (as one of hardship and danger):—warfare. Fighting as a Christian in the Lord’s Army ain’t for sissy’s.

There will be opposition and sometimes it will be fierce.

Destroy Speculations,

“There are walls of resistance in the minds of people, and these walls (like the walls of Jericho) must be pulled down. What are these “mental walls”?

Reasonings that are opposed to the truth of God’s Word. Pride of intelligence that exalts itself.

Paul was not attacking intelligence, but intellectualism, the high-minded attitude that makes people think they know more than they really do (Rom. 12:16).”

Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996.

KEITH Conversation about Cultural Relativism - No Truth Except YOUR TRUTH. Except what happens when my truth intersects with your truth and even more so - what happens when “truths” oppose. How do we decide what it truly true? ABSOLUTE TRUTH demonstrates it’s own truth.

RELATIVISM happens when we try to apply what we feel in a given situation as truth. But that breaks down eventually when you push an agenda far enough.

TRUTH is Absolute! It is! If it’s TRUE, it is absolute! What is an example of absolute truth? We would say it is the source of Truth? GOD hopefully, but that is not a guarantee…

Absolute Moral Truth Almost six out of every ten adults (58%) agree that “identifying moral truth is up to each individual; there are no moral absolutes that apply to everyone, all the time.” Just one-third of adults (32%) disagree with that view, and the remaining one out of ten adults say they do not know.

As might be expected, beliefs regarding truth are strongly related to whether a person has a biblical worldview. Nearly nine out of ten adults (85%) who have a biblical worldview reject the idea that moral absolutes do not exist and therefore people must create their own moral standards.

https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AWVI-2020-Release-05-Perceptions-of-Truth.pdf

WOKEism Is Coming for MATHMATICS - https://mercatornet.com/woke-educators-maths-is-a-form-of-white-supremacy/70788/

There is a push for math to be reevaluated now because it is so rigid - some progressives say that Math itself is racist because of the push to show our work, and get the same answer to a problem.

Some school systems are attempting

“to ‘deconstruct’ mathematics,

deny its objectivity,

accuse it of racial bias,

and infuse it with political ideology

have become more and more common — perhaps, even, at your child’s elementary school.”

Students should be encouraged to develop a positive “mathematical identity” and “mathematical agency.” Agency is a good thing if it means giving a high-school senior the confidence to start a lawn-care business or build a robot.

Rehumanizing is another key word, as if math has somehow been stripped of its natural warmth and sympathy.

Rehumanizing insists that teachers “understand the roles of power, privilege, and oppression in the history of mathematics education.” https://wng.org/articles/math-gets-woke-1617298172

Don’t miss the underlying push to deconstruct what has always been TRUTH - it is a cultural application to deconstruct GOD. He Is TRUTH!

More and more, the powerful elite of the world are systematically attempting to dismantle what is Absolute truth so that in the end, no truth can stand, especially THE TRUTH Found in the Bible. This agenda is anti-God. And some might say that it is working, if only six out of every ten adults (58%) agree that “identifying moral truth is up to each individual; there are no moral absolutes that apply to everyone, all the time.”

multi generational, multi-racial, multi-denominational, multi-gendered, and multi-political.

Ready to Punish Disobedience

Gen Z—today’s teenagers and young adults—are the most atheistic generation yet in America, according to George Barna.

Given that, it’s not surprising that a new study found that “moral relativism” (“morally right and wrong changes over time, based on society”) is the belief of a whopping 74% of young adults in the US. A majority (65%) also believe “many religions can lead to eternal life.”

Our very relativistic culture—which is just getting more and more relativistic each year—reminds me of Judges 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

https://answersingenesis.org/culture/moral-relativism-majority-opinion-of-gen-z/ We Must Defend Biblical Authority Answers in Genesis proclaims that there is authority of God's Word from the very first verse.

YET, there is a famine in the land, a famine of the “hearing of the words of the Lord” like Amos proclaimed (Amos 8:11).

We can never water down the teaching of the Word, making it merely an experiential emphasis.

Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no prophetic vision [i.e., no teaching of the Word of God] the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” We must keep the law, We must obey the commands of God and if necessary be ready to defend it and tear down the walls of resistance that the world raises against TRUTH!!

​

HOW?

* With Humility - Paul’s humility and meekness in person was actually one of his greatest weapons. He didn’t return violence with violence, he didn’t heap IRE on top of IRE, he was Preach to the People Tough and then Love the People Tough - His humility helped diffuse situations...

* With Confidence in God to tackle the touch issues.

Paul used spiritual weapons to tear down the opposition—prayer, the Word of God, love, the power of the Spirit at work in his life.

He did not depend on personality, human abilities, or even the authority he had as an apostle. However, he was ready to punish the offenders, if necessary, once the congregation had submitted to the Lord.

* With