Understanding our Weapons (part deux)
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Spirit Wars • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 1:15:16
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· 43 viewsBattle is part of the Christian life. There is a real enemy and you were born into a war. So seasons of struggle are a given. But can you shorten your seasons of struggle? The Bible is filled with good advice toward this end. You do not need to prolong the agony. You can arise and conquer. Learn more in Spirit Wars - Weapons of our Warfare - Part 2
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Spirit Wars
Spirit Wars
Intro
Today we are continuing our series on Spiritual warfare.
I would like to add on the the message from a few weeks back entitled Understanding our weapons.
Ever since peaking that message God had been remininding me of additional ways we can fight against the enemies plans.
3 The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. 4 The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. 5 We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. 6 Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.
pray
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
So as a reminder…we are not referring to physical weapons like guns, knives, tanks or drones
what we want to learn about is the Godly weapons that destroy strongholds aka fortresses
def A stronghold is defined as
"1. a place that has been fortified so as to protect it against attack;
2. a place where a particular cause or belief is strongly defended or upheld."
Strongholds are designed to be a safe place. As believers in Christ, we need to make the Lord our stronghold. He is our safe place and refuge
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
However the enemy creates strong holds as well.
places where he is safe to do what he wants
defensive positions to perpetuate his lies
This passage shows us that spiritual strongholds are arguments, lofty opinions, and thoughts that are raised against the knowledge of God, or, are held in esteem over Him.
Strongholds are rooted in pride because they rely on the self.
They lead to a prideful heart, unhealthy thought patterns, and habitual sins that we just can't seem to overcome.
Anything that we trust in besides the Lord can become a spiritual stronghold.
Now these strongholds that defend the enemy from the knowledge of God can be individual or corporate.
An example of individualistic strong hold could be
The belief that you do not have enough. that you are lacking in something.
this is a very common stronghold even in a prosperous country like Canada
Your perceived reality may even reinforce it.
The consequence of that stronghold can be multi faceted.
It will create doubt as God being Jehovah Jireh the one who provides
…if i’m lacking that means God is not providing....that means......
It can prevent you from doing what God wants you to do, because you beleive you lack the resources to accomplish it
It can create added stress and anxiety
even physical sickness if worry gets ahold
so many things that grow out of the original stronghold of not having enough.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
which of our needs has God promised to supply?
ALL
Jesus addresses this in
26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27 “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
Not only our needs but also our desires.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.
So that’s the fortress of lack that is often an individual stronghold in many believers lives
But what about a corporate stronghold
Well there are many.
but lets address on that’s been brought to the surface as of late.
The genoside of the most defenseless
The stronghold is
My body my choice, Women’s reproductive health
Abortion
This is not a concept derived by any human origin
in fact the stronghold goes back 1000’s of years
21 ‘You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.
31 “You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
God warned the Jewish people not to fall for the enemies strategies
Not to sacrifice their children to the the evil gods, such as molech
Now in the modern erra those who support abortion, dehumanize the baby
call it a fetus, or just a cluster of cells.
making it plausible for a woman to terminate her pregnancy
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
God speaking to Jeremiah the prophet
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Isaiah the prophet tells a similiar truth
1 Listen to Me, O islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
The Lord called Me from the womb;
From the body of My mother He named Me.
Every abortion done out of convenience is a sacrifice to a evil God!
Why did I bring up the abortion issue again?
Well because it is a demoic stronghold that can only be defeated by weapons that are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses
body
So a few weeks back I mentioned 6 weapons
A- prayer
B- Bible
C- Worship
D- Decree & Declare
E- Fasting
F- The name of Jesus
Today I want to expand that list,
2 cor 10:5
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
What is a weapon?
Anything that destroys speculations or lofty things raised against the knowledge of God
The battle is most evident in our minds that’s why we are told to take every thought captive.
So the enemy attempts to build strongholds in our minds.
getting us to beleive things contrary to the will and purpose of God
As long as these strongholds remain, we give the enemy opportunity to reak havoc in our lives
But God has given us the weapons to destroy these strongholds.
An easy rule of thumb is generally do the opposite of what the devil tries to get you to do
Our weapon supply is limitless, but let’s look at a few more
1) Gratitute
1) Gratitute
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
there have been many studies on being a thankful person.
what these studies have found is that gratitude has many benefits
1. Gratitude opens the door to more relationships.
2. Gratitude improves physical health.
3. Gratitude improves psychological health.
4. Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression.
5. Grateful people sleep better.
6. Gratitude improves self-esteem.
7. Gratitude increases mental strength.
1st Step to entering God’s presence
1st Step to entering God’s presence
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
2) Patience\Perseverance
2) Patience\Perseverance
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
We live in a world were people do not value patience
want it now mentality
attacks our joy
ever get upset that the promised 1 day amazon shipping, took 2 days?
31 Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
3) Peace
3) Peace
dealt with this under the armour of God…but I beleive we all need to be reminded
27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
God’s peace does not remove the problem, but rather provides you with the grace to prosper during the difficulty
4) Generosity
4) Generosity
One of the strongholds that generosity overcomes is the lack or not having enough stronghold we mentioned at the beginning of this message
Now i have to say.....Generosity is not giving of your tithes
that already belongs to God
tithing is simple obedience
9 “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!
10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.
If you are expericing lack, one of the areas to check is are you tithing.
If not you are opening your finances up to being controlled by the enemy
vs 9 by not tithing you are cursing yourself, which means you are giving opportunity for the enemy to carry out his plans in your finances
But generosity goes beyond your tithe
tithe is just a starter to test your obediance to God
Jesus teaches us more about generosity in the book of Luke
12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.
13 “But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
14 and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Generosity that earns favors in return is not generosity but favor-buying.
Real generosity is giving when no payback is possible, and this is what is rewarded in eternity.
The life we are offered as a disciple of Jesus Christ is the life of the steward.
As stewards, we are set free by three transformational truths;
1) God owns everything
2) God will always provide for all our needs
3) the greatest blessings come to those who give.
it’s ALL His. Not just the 10% we ‘give to God’s work’,
but also the 90% we choose to use for ourselves.
Our money, our time, our marriages, our children, our jobs, our relationships, our health, our attitudes and our future – it’s all His!
5) Forgiveness
5) Forgiveness
Stephen the 1st martyr
Stephen the 1st martyr
60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.
After Stephen forgave his enemies and murderers including Saul, who stood by watching
the Church began to grow and spread.
Eventually Saul, the great persecutor, became Paul, the great missionary.
forgiveness is a weapon we can use to defeat the enemy.
It is a key that will unlock many doors for us.
forgiveness releases us from a cage of resentment and bitterness that can cause all kinds of destruction in our lives and the lives of others
We need to forgive because We have been forgiven of so many sins
3 Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
if we want to be like Jesus, we need to forgive
34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
to be forgiven by God, we need to forgive others
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
unforgiveness and bitterness, yields ground in your life to satan,
and that can lead to all kinds of sickness—emotional, physical, and spiritual—and hinder you from fulfilling your calling.
Forgive others because God has forgiven you!
Conclusion
Here’s 5 more weapons, but there are many more.
anyway the enemy tries to thrwart God’s plans for your Life. God has provided the weapon for you to tear down the enemies defenses
Lets pray