1 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:10,240 Thank you for listening to the Riverbend Church Podcast. 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,960 Riverbend Church exists to lead all people to know, love, and 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,400 live new life in Jesus Christ. We hope that you enjoy this 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:23,360 message. We are in the middle of a series 5 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,760 called The Unseen World where we've been looking at this whole 6 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,440 issue of spiritual warfare and the spiritual realm. 7 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:32,400 So here's what I want to ask that we do. 8 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:35,320 Before we dive back into the series, I just want to invite 9 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,920 you to pray with me. God, we thank you for being with 10 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:40,360 us. God, we thank you for guiding 11 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:41,760 us. God, we thank you for the truth 12 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,040 of your word. God, we pray that you would just 13 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,120 bring it to life in and through us this morning. 14 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,160 God, that your Holy Spirit would resonate within us. 15 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:55,040 God, the truths that you want us not only to learn, but the 16 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,480 truths that you would have us to apply to our lives. 17 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:02,080 God, as we're about to go through and continue going 18 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:05,680 through some pretty heavy subject matter, God, I pray that 19 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:10,400 you would just wipe away a spirit of fear. 20 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,840 God, that this series is not about fear. 21 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,880 This series is about victory, and it's not based off of 22 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,480 anything that we've can do is based off of everything that you 23 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,400 have already done. God, we thank you for Jesus. 24 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,400 We thank you for the cross. We thank you that when Jesus 25 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,800 said that it is finished from the cross, he was talking about 26 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,160 exactly what we're going to be diving into this morning. 27 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,920 And God, we pray that you would guide us and speak to us and God 28 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,880 challenge us and encourage us in this in Jesus name that we pray, 29 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:44,720 Amen. So in over the past five weeks, 30 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,480 this is week six of our series over the past five weeks, if you 31 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,080 were with us in the first week, we kind of read some headlines 32 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,480 that have been taking place in our country. 33 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:00,120 Over the past five weeks. There have been some absolutely 34 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:04,440 devastating headlines and, and, and events that have taken place 35 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:09,160 not just around our country, not in a different nation, in a, in 36 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,080 a different culture, but right here in our own very own 37 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,760 backyard. From, from a, from a massive 38 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:21,600 drug bust in the metro Atlanta area to two instances of 39 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:27,360 domestic violence that that both resulted in murder right here in 40 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,920 Hall County, to, to the absolutely devastating, 41 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:36,240 devastating loss of a little 4 year old girl right here in our 42 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,480 own very backyard. And listen, whether or not, 43 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,600 whether or not you, you, you know, those are involved or, or 44 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:45,720 you, you knew those were involved. 45 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:50,160 I think that we can all agree that we look at headlines like 46 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,160 that and we look at instances like that. 47 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:55,640 And we're all left asking the same question that we started 48 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:59,720 this series with God, what in the world is going on now? 49 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,560 What in the world is going on? And, and, and if you have any 50 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,480 amount of time and experience and years up underneath your 51 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,240 belt, we're left thinking, it didn't used to be like this. 52 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,760 What in the world is going on? And what we've been unpacking 53 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:19,400 together is we have not only been identifying examples, but 54 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,560 exhibitions of evil in our world. 55 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,800 And not just identifying exhibitions of evil, we've been 56 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,360 putting a source to it and we've been putting a name to it. 57 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:30,720 You see, if you've been with us over the last several weeks, 58 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,400 we've been talking about how the origins of all evil, the 59 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:36,840 everything that we see and everything that we experience 60 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:40,760 and everything that our hearts are broken over, the origins of 61 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,080 that evil, the roots of that evil. 62 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:47,800 It's found in Satan and his demons and, and all the forces 63 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,800 of, of hell. And we talked about over the 64 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,720 last several weeks how their main goal for me and for you and 65 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,400 for all of us, for the people in this room watching this online, 66 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:02,040 for everybody outside of this campus, whether they're in 67 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,000 church or out of church, whether they feel close to God or far 68 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,960 from God, the goal is still the same For Satan, his demons and 69 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,240 all the forces of hell. It is to keep you and I far from 70 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:17,760 the true loving heart of God. You, you see, one of the things 71 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:22,800 that we're going to be looking at this morning is, is how we 72 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:27,600 are to interact how, how we are to live in light of the 73 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:29,920 spiritual war that's going on around us. 74 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,240 If you were with us last week, we talked about how it's not 75 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,880 just about identifying the sources. 76 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:38,640 It's about understanding that there's a spiritual battle 77 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,520 that's raging all around us and this spiritual battle there, 78 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,600 there, there's no neutrality in this spiritual battle. 79 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,440 And if you're new to the series, I would highly encourage you to 80 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:50,960 go back. You can either look through the 81 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,800 Riverbend app or, or our website or the YouTube channel or 82 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,400 wherever you listen to podcasts. I think it'd be very helpful to 83 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,480 spend some time for you to spend some time kind of walking back 84 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,280 through where we've been so far in this series, The Unseen 85 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:09,120 World, but to kind of keep us all on the same page and to keep 86 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,760 us focused on where we've been so far. 87 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,680 We, we've kind of been riding on the rails of this, of this main 88 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,560 truth or what we call this big idea throughout this series. 89 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:23,360 It's something that we want to keep front and center in our 90 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:24,880 minds. And if you're taking notes with 91 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:28,840 us here, it is, it says the unseen world or the spiritual 92 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:31,280 realm. The unseen world is just as real 93 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:35,640 as the one I can see. And it's shaping my life every 94 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,640 day and it's shaping my life every day. 95 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,880 You see, here's the reality is we exist. 96 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,120 There are there are two realms that are existing simultaneously 97 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:47,840 that are going on, that are functioning simultaneously. 98 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,440 There is the world that we can see and touch and experience 99 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:53,880 with our five senses, this physical realm. 100 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:58,960 And then there is this spiritual unseen realm that we cannot see. 101 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:01,360 But just because you can't see it, it doesn't mean that it's 102 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:04,280 there. And our big idea throughout this 103 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:06,880 series is not just to convey information. 104 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,680 It's not just about information. It's about an invitation. 105 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,280 It's not like, hey, that's a good thought, or I'm glad I know 106 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:16,120 that the Bible says that it's OK. 107 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:20,000 So how do we engage? How do we engage? 108 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,960 Like I said before, if you were with us last week, we talked 109 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,680 about we kind of turned the corner last week was kind of 110 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,920 this kind of this hinge that that pivoted us from, from 111 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,040 information more to equipping. And if you weren't here with us 112 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,360 last week, I want to kind of just bring us all up to speed on 113 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:44,600 4 realities, 4 realities of this spiritual war, 4 realities of 114 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,720 this fight. Here's the first one for taking 115 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,840 notes with us is surface battles are only symptoms of a spiritual 116 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:54,480 war. Surface battles are only a 117 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:59,560 symptom of a spiritual war. Those 3 instances and 118 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:04,040 exhibitions of evil that I just spoke about a couple minutes 119 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:09,800 ago, those are pure evil, but the roots are directly 120 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,720 spiritual. You see the instances that we 121 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:15,000 just referred to and that we talked about and we there, 122 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:19,320 there's many, many, many, many more more for us, but we've got 123 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:23,840 to understand that, that all instances and exhibitions of 124 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:26,520 evil have spiritual roots to them. 125 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,800 This is why, and I wrote this at the top of your note sheet, This 126 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,920 is why the apostle Paul writes it like this in Ephesians 612. 127 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:35,680 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the 128 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,000 rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over 129 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,280 this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in 130 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:45,160 the heavenly places. You see, our true enemy, the 131 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:49,280 origins of evil, our true enemy is spiritual in nature. 132 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:51,360 Our true enemy is spiritual in nature. 133 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:56,560 Let me kind of get us to think about our spiritual enemy maybe, 134 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:00,760 maybe in a different way. Think about our spiritual enemy 135 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:04,000 almost like, like the flu, right? 136 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,800 If you've ever had the flu, you know that the flu comes with a 137 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,240 lot of nasty symptoms, right? There's body aches, there's 138 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,440 headaches, there's there's fever, there's nausea. 139 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:19,840 There's just the, the, the will to die when you have flu, the 140 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:21,840 flu. And, and here's what we would 141 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:25,440 say. You would be foolish to ignore 142 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:28,480 those symptoms. So if you're, if your fever gets 143 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,160 high and the body aches are really bad and the nausea's 144 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:34,200 really bad and, and you're, you're, you're just like desire 145 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:36,440 to go on and live another day gets really bad. 146 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,120 What do we do? We put on the pajama pants and 147 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:44,320 then we stumble down like the medicine aisle at Kroger. 148 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:48,400 And then we either get some, we get some, some, some, some 149 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:53,680 Tylenol or some Excedrin or Pepto Bismol or or or or Nyquil. 150 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:57,640 And whether or not Nyquil knocks out the symptoms or not, we just 151 00:08:57,640 --> 00:08:58,840 won't. We don't want to be awake for 152 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,280 the symptoms. So we take Nyquil, right? 153 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:06,320 But when we take that medicine, when we take the Tylenol, the 154 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:11,960 Excedrin, the, the Pepto Bismol, the Nyquil, we, we're not taking 155 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:15,440 that medicine thinking that we're actually curing the flu, 156 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:18,760 right? We're taking the medicine to, to 157 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:24,160 treat the symptoms. You see, we know that in order 158 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:28,080 to knock out the flu, we don't just need to drag ourselves to 159 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,840 the medicine aisle of CVS. We need to drag ourselves to the 160 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,600 doctor, and we need to let him or her prescribe some medication 161 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:37,480 that's actually going to knock out the flu. 162 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,240 Why? Because the flu is the core 163 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:45,040 source of all the symptoms. Same thing in spiritual warfare. 164 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:49,320 We would be foolish and idiotic to ignore the symptoms of 165 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:54,680 cruelty and abuse and injustice and greed and racism and and and 166 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,720 and and all these just nasty exhibitions and examples of 167 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:00,840 evil. We'd be foolish and idiotic to 168 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,040 ignore them, to stick our head in the sand and ignore them. 169 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:05,600 The Bible never calls us to stick our head in the sand and 170 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,640 ignore those symptoms. But the Bible's just reminding 171 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:12,040 us in Ephesians 612. Listen, the things that we think 172 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:14,120 that we're really warring against, that we're really 173 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,760 against, they really are symptoms of an overall spiritual 174 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,160 war. They're really symptoms of an 175 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:23,000 overall spiritual war. So we can really address the 176 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:26,480 symptoms, but we also need to get to the root cause of the 177 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:29,800 spiritual war. Second reality about this fight 178 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:32,720 is this. There is a God who's for me, and 179 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:34,920 there is an enemy who seeks to destroy me. 180 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:38,480 Maybe you're here with us this morning and you need to be 181 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:44,320 reminded of the fact that there is a God and He is for you. 182 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:52,360 He is for you, there is a God who created you, who made you, 183 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:58,920 who made you uniquely you, and He is for you. 184 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:04,000 He desires good for you and I don't know your back story in 185 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,360 here, whether in the room or online, but you may do to life 186 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:11,720 circumstances, you may start to doubt that there really is a 187 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:16,320 God. Let me assure you, He does exist 188 00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:20,440 and due to maybe some past decisions or some choices that 189 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:23,400 you've made, maybe you're in a position to where you're 190 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,560 doubting that this God could ever love you. 191 00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:28,720 Let me assure you, He most definitely does. 192 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:33,320 He most definitely does. You see, God has done everything 193 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:37,000 to make a way for us to have a relationship with Him. 194 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,480 He, He's given us His word, the Bible. 195 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:44,280 He's given us His Son, Jesus. If you were with us several 196 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:48,200 weeks ago, we talked about how we have all been protected, 197 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:51,840 supernaturally protected by His angels in ways that we will 198 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:55,440 never know. God has also sent people into 199 00:11:55,560 --> 00:12:01,320 each and every one of our lives to draw us to Him, to point us 200 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,760 to Him. I know that there's stories all 201 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:08,640 across this room to where you can go back to a conversation to 202 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:11,400 where there was a man or a woman that sat down with you and 203 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:13,720 you're going through a difficult time, a tough time. 204 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,680 And they were there with you and they, they, they would laugh 205 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:19,080 with you and they would cry with you and they would pray with 206 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:21,480 you. But ultimately what they did in 207 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:24,200 the way that God used them in your life is they pointed you to 208 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:29,160 him and you are where you are right now in no small, small 209 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:33,880 part to God using that person. You see, I, I happen to believe 210 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:37,840 that there's not a single one of us who is here in this place, in 211 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:39,640 this space, in this moment by accident. 212 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:43,160 Why? Because God loves us. 213 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,760 He is for you. But as much as God loves you, 214 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:50,400 there is an enemy, Satan, his demons, and all the forces of 215 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,520 hell that absolutely hate, hate you. 216 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,160 You see, God hates or Satan hates you so much because God 217 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:03,440 loves you so much. And Satan is not Satan and his 218 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:05,200 demons and all the forces of hell. 219 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:11,200 They're not just trying to like, make you squirm a little bit. 220 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:14,160 Satan, his demons, and all the forces of hell. 221 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,800 Their main goal is to rip your life to shreds. 222 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:22,240 Their main goal is to attack you, to attack your family, to 223 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:24,760 attack your kids, to attack your friends. 224 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:30,080 Their main goal is to is is by temptations and unholy and 225 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:34,960 unhealthy thoughts to derail you from the plans that God has for 226 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,440 you. Make no mistake about it, Satan, 227 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,680 demons and the forces of hell. They do not want to sit cross 228 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:42,960 legged and play Patty cake with you. 229 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,920 They want to rip your life to shreds and they want to leave 230 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:53,320 you being just. Another sad statistic brings us 231 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:59,600 to reality #3 in this spiritual fight, the choices that I make 232 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:04,520 in the spiritual war have generational ramifications, have 233 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:09,280 generational ramifications. You and I, we all have decisions 234 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:11,840 and choices that we make every single moment of every single 235 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:17,280 day, and those choices and decisions have generational 236 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:21,560 ramifications. If you're a mom, if you're a 237 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:23,960 dad, if you're a grandparent, if you're, if you're a leader, if 238 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:27,760 you have any type of influence over somebody else's life, 239 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:32,080 listen to me very closely. If you feel that you don't apply 240 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:35,160 to any of those categories, mom, dad, grandparent, leader, 241 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:38,360 influencer over anybody's life, you also need to listen to me 242 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,200 very carefully because you need to be prepared for what God has 243 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:46,480 prepared for you later on. The choices that you and I make 244 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:51,760 as parents, grandparents, leaders, influencers have have 245 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:56,240 an effect that is far reaching than just on ourselves. 246 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,320 Wouldn't it be nice? And I think that this is a lie 247 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,800 that hell itself whispers to us. Hey, if you fall, it's just 248 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:05,320 going to only going to affect you. 249 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,640 What a lie. If you make a bad decision or a 250 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,040 bad choice, it is. Hey, it's your, it's your life. 251 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:15,480 It's only going to affect you. What a sham. 252 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:18,960 Let me let me read you some statistics that I came across. 253 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:28,120 61% of American adults who regularly attend church. 254 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:33,360 So 61% of us in this room with us online and probably even 255 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:37,680 higher because we do live in the Bible Belt. 61% of American 256 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:41,080 adults who regularly attend church attended church when they 257 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:43,840 were younger. In other words, it was a mom, it 258 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,440 was a dad, it was a grandparent, it was a family friend, it was a 259 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:49,560 neighbor that brought us to church. 260 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:54,120 If you're if you're new to like Southern Baptist cliches, I'll 261 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,320 throw one out for you just so that you can participate in the 262 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,320 Southern Southern Baptist Cliche game. 263 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,080 You ever heard the, hey, I have a drug problem. 264 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,280 I was drugged to church every week. 265 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:14,160 Stupid anyway, but statistically true. 266 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,960 Still still. So 61% of American adults who 267 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:22,120 regularly attended church attend church, attended church when 268 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:26,560 they were younger whilst check this out while 78% of those who 269 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:31,640 do who were not churchgoers as children are still absent from 270 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:35,080 churches today. So people that are not involved 271 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:39,280 in a local church, who do not know, you know, this hope that 272 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:43,000 we have found in Jesus, this the sense of community that we found 273 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:48,720 as a body of Christ. 78% of the people that do not go to church, 274 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,640 they, they, they, they, they didn't go to church as as 275 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:53,120 children. They weren't quote UN quote, 276 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:55,920 made to go to church. A parent, a grandparent, an 277 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,360 authority figure in their life and influence in their life did 278 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,240 not bother to take them to church. 279 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:05,400 Here's the point. Mom, dad, grandparent, leader, 280 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:09,200 bringing your family to church. It matters. 281 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:12,640 And I'm not just talking about like it matters on Sunday. 282 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:14,880 I'm talking about it matters generationally. 283 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:20,319 About half of all American children will experience their 284 00:17:20,319 --> 00:17:22,800 parents divorce before turning 18. 285 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,839 It's no wonder that children of divorced parents are about 50% 286 00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:30,680 more likely to go on to experience divorce in their own 287 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:35,720 marriage. Children who grow up with the 288 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,640 knowledge of a parent's infidelity are twice as likely 289 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:42,920 to cheat on their spouse. And this doesn't even address 290 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,640 the deep seated trust issues, insecurity, anxiety and 291 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,480 confusion these children will be carrying with them throughout 292 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,480 their adult years. Children of Alcoholics are four 293 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,040 times more likely to become Alcoholics themselves. 294 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,720 Listen, what you and I do with the decisions of choices and 295 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:05,680 temptations that present themselves to us, they matter. 296 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,000 It all matters. Chairs, let me kind of break it 297 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:14,240 down to you like this. I am 100% convinced that Satan, 298 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:19,040 his demons, in all of hell would be perfectly content with every 299 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:21,840 single one of us in this room, every single one of us online. 300 00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:26,120 I would even say every single person in every single church 301 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:28,520 this morning across this country, across the world. 302 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:32,720 Satan, his demons, and all the forces of hell would be 100% 303 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:38,120 content with us giving our lives to Jesus, yet living 304 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:43,000 hypocritically, dying, and going to spend eternity with God in 305 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,200 heaven. And yet, based off of the way 306 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:51,360 that you and I live, our our our children reject God and forever 307 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:55,200 change the spiritual trajectory of our family's generational 308 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:59,480 lines. On down the tracks, you see 309 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:01,680 Satan, his demons, and all of hell. 310 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,960 They're not just about today. They're playing the long game. 311 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:11,000 If you really want to know why so many temptations and so many 312 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:16,480 cultural shifts are taking place in our younger generations, that 313 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:20,040 is exactly why. It's because they're playing the 314 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:23,000 long game. The long game for what? 315 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:29,360 4th reality of this fight is. The fight is for my soul. 316 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,040 The fight is for my soul. It's playing the long game for 317 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,040 our soul. Here's the fact of the matter. 318 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:38,360 Every single one of us, we were created with a temporary body 319 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:42,680 that will age and will one day die. 320 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:46,080 If you're in your 20s, I promise it's true, even though you don't 321 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:47,480 think that it'll ever happen to you. 322 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:51,920 Several years ago I remember telling Julie I was like, hey, 323 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,800 it just hit me. There's another generation of 324 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:58,800 adults younger than us and she goes, there's actually 2. 325 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:07,360 And I was like, thanks for that. We, we, we're all created with a 326 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:11,160 temporary body that will age, it will breakdown, it will one day 327 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,320 die. However, in that temporary body, 328 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:18,480 we're also created with an eternal soul, and that soul is 329 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:22,080 that part of us, that innermost core part of us that makes us 330 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:24,560 us. The soul is that part of us that 331 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:30,600 is Genesis 1 describes for us that God created in his very own 332 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,840 image. That is, that is the part that 333 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:38,880 will live forever. And even though our bodies will 334 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:42,840 will age and, and, and one day die, our soul will live forever 335 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,760 and our soul will live in one of two places, either in heaven 336 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,880 with God or apart from God in a very real place called hell. 337 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:55,640 It is a battle for our soul. It's not just a battle for your 338 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,680 Tuesday, it's a battle for your eternity. 339 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:04,080 And I would argue the states could not be any higher. 340 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:09,440 So with the realities of this spiritual war, there's some of 341 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:13,800 us that we may be sitting here thinking, good grief, I know me 342 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,640 better than anybody knows me. And I have a front row seat to 343 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:20,720 just know how inadequate I really am. 344 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:25,240 Do I have any hope in this when it comes to like the 345 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,680 generational ramifications? That's really, really heavy, 346 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,840 Ben. That's really heavy when when it 347 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:36,920 comes to the stakes for being, for my, for my eternal soul. 348 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:41,840 What hope do I have? I, I think our hope is found in 349 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:47,600 kind of a strange place. Our hope is found in a choice. 350 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:50,160 It's a choice that we have to make. 351 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:54,520 Here's the choice. Do you in this fight, in this 352 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:59,040 spiritual war, do you want to be a warrior or do you want to be 353 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:02,960 prey? Do you want to be a warrior or 354 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,920 do you want to be prey? Let me kind of unpack that 355 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:08,880 question. Here's the first thing that we 356 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,400 need to understand is God did not design any of us for defeat. 357 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:16,920 God did not design any of us for defeat. 358 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,400 You know, everything that we have just walked through, 359 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,760 through the word of God about like over the course of this 360 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:28,200 series, from who God and his angels and, and, and, and heaven 361 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:32,080 to to to Satan and demons and, and, and hell. 362 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:36,920 It's all, it's all correct. It all comes from his. 363 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:41,120 It all comes from his word. But if you're like me, you're, 364 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:44,280 you're sitting there thinking, man, this is so heavy and, and, 365 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:48,360 and what chance do I have? Well, I think it's first of all, 366 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:49,880 it starts off with understanding. 367 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:54,360 God did not set you up. God did not create you for 368 00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:56,040 defeat. I want to get you to do an 369 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,160 exercise with me. If you look at the top of your 370 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,520 note sheet, there's a passage from Ephesians 6. 371 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,480 There's a passage from Ephesians 6 that we're going to be walking 372 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,960 through this morning and then also next Sunday morning. 373 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:12,760 But I want to concentrate on those first 2 verses that are 374 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:16,960 there. Ephesians 612 and Ephesians 613. 375 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,200 Look with me at Ephesians 612 again. 376 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,360 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the 377 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:26,560 rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers, over 378 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:30,360 this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in 379 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:33,040 the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole 380 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:36,120 armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil 381 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:39,960 day, and having done all, to stand firm. 382 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:41,920 You see that at the top of your note sheet. 383 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:43,720 Here's what I want to ask that you do. 384 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:46,960 I want to ask that you take out like a highlight or a pen or a 385 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,120 pencil or or lipstick or whatever. 386 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:51,640 And I want you to. I want you to circle that word. 387 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,520 Therefore, I want you to circle that word. 388 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:59,280 Therefore, our real enemy is not flesh and blood. 389 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:03,640 Our real enemy are the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic 390 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:05,600 powers over this present darkness, spiritual forces of 391 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,600 evil in the heavenly places. That's our real enemy. 392 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:13,520 Therefore means God did not just leave us hanging. 393 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:18,120 Therefore means God is not just sitting from heaven, sitting 394 00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:20,600 back in heaven going, hey, best of luck to you. 395 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:27,200 Therefore, means there is a choice that he has given us. 396 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:31,200 And the choice is, do you want to be a warrior or do you want 397 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:35,080 to be prey? To break it down even further, 398 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:40,360 let me ask you a question. What is your plan against 399 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:45,680 rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present 400 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:48,400 darkness, spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places? 401 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:52,600 What's your plan to combat them? You see, this is a spiritual 402 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:56,520 war, and the spiritual war requires spiritual weapons. 403 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,360 This is not a flesh and blood war, this is a spiritual war. 404 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:06,080 But we have to understand it begins with a choice that every 405 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:09,160 single one of us has to make. Do you want to be a warrior or 406 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:14,240 do you want to be prey? If you want to be a warrior in 407 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,520 this spiritual war, then we need to go a little bit further and 408 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,200 dive into this choice just a little bit more. 409 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:23,560 Again, taking notes with us. Here's the second realization 410 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:25,840 about this decision to be a warrior. 411 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:30,360 My strength is in God's armor, not self-made armor. 412 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:36,000 My strength is in God's armor, not self-made armor. 413 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:40,760 Pull in Ephesians 6. He's going to, we're going to 414 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:44,040 dive into this next week. He's going to outline for us in 415 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:48,320 Ephesians 6, starting in verse 13 and then following. 416 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:54,080 He's going to outline to US six components of spiritual of 417 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:58,880 spiritual defense, 6 components of the full armor of God. 418 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:02,560 Since components of the full armor of God. 419 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:06,880 Again, this is a spiritual war that requires spiritual weapons. 420 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,480 Where do we get spiritual weapons from our heavenly Father 421 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:14,440 God? This has nothing to do with our 422 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,680 best intentions. This has nothing to do with our 423 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:20,800 best good deeds. This is a spiritual war. 424 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,960 You see, one of the things that we need to understand is that 425 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:30,200 this is not an issue of of of discipline. 426 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:32,680 This is not an issue of willpower. 427 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:36,960 This is an issue like young David when he was a teenager, 428 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,600 getting ready to take on Goliath. 429 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:43,600 And he goes into the King's chambers, the King's tent, Saul. 430 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:47,320 And Saul says, hey, David, you take on my armor so that you can 431 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:52,200 go fight this giant. And David shirts off that armor 432 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:56,480 and basically tells Saul, Saul, this armor is not going to be 433 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,720 adequate for this battle. I'm facing what you and I count 434 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:04,560 on, whether it's discipline or willpower or operating in our 435 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:07,400 areas of strength or good intentions or good deeds are 436 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:12,320 going to be woefully inadequate. You see, to understand how we 437 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,560 are to engage in the spiritual battle, we have to echo the 438 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,120 words and the sentiment of young David right before taking on 439 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:22,600 Goliath. This battle is the Lord's. 440 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:27,320 This battle is the Lord's. And when we start to understand 441 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:30,320 that the battle is the Lord's, what you and I are facing, 442 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:33,760 whether they are unholy and unhealthy thoughts, whether they 443 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:37,560 are temptations, whether, whether it is being paralyzed, a 444 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:41,320 pursuit of our minds and our thoughts and our hearts trying 445 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,800 to paralyze us by fear. All the tactics that Satan and 446 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,160 his demons in the force of hell try to pull out against us, the 447 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,120 battle is the Lord's. And when we start to understand 448 00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:55,000 that the battle is the Lord's, then we'll start to understand 449 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:57,040 this third component of being a warrior. 450 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,760 Taking up the armor of God is a daily choice, not a one time 451 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,920 decision. Taking up the full armor of God 452 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:09,400 is a daily choice, not a one time decision. 453 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:13,840 How many times have we heard people give their testimony or 454 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:16,040 their story about how they came to Jesus? 455 00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,040 And it starts with something like this. 456 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:21,880 Well, back when I was in student ministry or back when I was in 457 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:25,800 my 20s or back when I was a younger man or a younger woman. 458 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:30,400 And you sit there and go, OK, like #1 praise God that you made 459 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:33,280 a one time decision. But you know, no offense, you're 460 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:37,320 in your 60s now. What's God done in your life 461 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:41,360 over the last decade? One of the things that Paul, the 462 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,120 more you start reading in the New Testament, one of the things 463 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:48,520 that Paul presents is he presents this like metaphor of 464 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:52,360 taking off the old self and putting on the new self. 465 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:55,920 And, and, and he presents this in, in the book of Romans and 466 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:59,680 then in Ephesians 4 and on into Colossians 3. 467 00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:04,760 This almost this dichotomy of take off the old self and put on 468 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:08,160 the new self. The the fact of the matter is, 469 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:12,640 is just because you have given your life to Jesus and you have 470 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:15,440 asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to take control of 471 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,240 your life, that doesn't mean that you don't still struggle 472 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:22,800 with temptations and struggle with what you maybe formerly 473 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,520 struggled with. Let's do kind of a quick 474 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:28,760 informal poll. Raise your hand in here. 475 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:31,440 Raise your hand and you can do it with its own line if you want 476 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:32,840 to. Raise your hand. 477 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,920 If after you've given your life to Jesus, you are never tempted 478 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,600 to sin ever again and all your struggles just went away. 479 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,440 If you raise your hand, I hate to break it to you, you struggle 480 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:49,880 with lying. The same thing. 481 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:53,920 It's, it's a daily decision. It's daily choices, right? 482 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:59,520 The same thing, the same thing is true when it comes to 483 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:04,200 acknowledging putting on the armor of God, this full armor of 484 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,560 God, it is a daily choice, not a one time decision. 485 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:11,160 And here's how that daily choice is made. 486 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,760 It's getting up in the morning and letting go intentionally 487 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:19,680 spending some time with God in prayer, letting go of any 488 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:26,040 illusion of an attitude of hey, I've got this, I've got this. 489 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,400 Let me tell you a quick story. Wasn't wasn't going to share 490 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:35,400 this with y'all. Last couple weeks I joined a 491 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:39,640 gym, which is probably bad publicity for that gym. 492 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:40,800 I'm not going to tell you who it is. 493 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:45,680 It's not working yet. However, that first day, you 494 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,280 know, if you've ever joined a gym, obviously I'm new to it. 495 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:53,040 That first day there, there was a personal trainer and he wants 496 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,360 to he wants to get a baseline. And I was like, I can tell you 497 00:30:55,360 --> 00:31:00,840 the baseline, it ain't good. So, you know, we're he, he's 498 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:04,800 running me through some workout and we, we get to like, you 499 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:07,400 know, towards the end of the sets and he, he's the guy and 500 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:10,760 he's, he's like, stand over me. He's like, you got this, you got 501 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:14,480 this. And I was like, no, I don't you 502 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:17,000 can yell at me. I've got this all the time, but 503 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:21,880 my arms disagree with you, man. You know, here's the thing. 504 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:25,360 How foolish is it for us to get up in the morning and go, hey, 505 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:30,720 this day ahead, I got this. It's much better. 506 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:33,560 It's much more godly. You really want to be a warrior 507 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:37,200 in this spiritual fight. It's letting go of any illusion 508 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:41,320 that you got this and it's going to God with an attitude of hey, 509 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:44,560 God, you've got this, this day ahead of me. 510 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:47,120 It is too big for me. This thing that we call 511 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:50,360 marriage, that we call parenthood, that we call work 512 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:53,800 and, and, and social dynamics and cultural issues. 513 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:55,840 I don't. I don't have this. 514 00:31:56,440 --> 00:32:00,800 God, you got this. And that needs to happen every 515 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,880 single day. Every single day. 516 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:09,880 Here's the 4th reality behind being a warrior is being a 517 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:13,800 warrior is about refusing to retreat. 518 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:19,880 Being a warrior is about refusing to retreat. 519 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:23,840 He didn't think that that's what was going to go in the blank, 520 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:29,680 did you? Let me show you what Paul says. 521 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:35,840 He says, therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may 522 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:41,360 be with be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all 523 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:46,320 to stand firm. Go back at the top of your notes 524 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:47,800 sheet. I want to get you to underline a 525 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:51,000 couple words. I want you to underline the word 526 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:56,320 withstand, and I want you to underline the words stand firm. 527 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:05,680 The apostle Paul uses the same Greek word there. 528 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:10,400 I put it in your notes. Here's the Greek word and 529 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:16,480 tenesta is to oppose, to resist, to stand firm one's ground, to 530 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:20,400 stand firm one's ground. Did you know that there's 531 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:26,040 there's a lot of Greek words that Paul could have used that 532 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:31,960 would signify to attack, to advance, to take ground, but he 533 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:34,440 didn't use any of those words. The Holy Spirit of God did not 534 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:36,680 inspire Paul to use any of those words. 535 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:41,600 Instead, he inspired Paul to use this word that means to stand 536 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,400 firm one's ground. What does that mean? 537 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,960 Check this out. My goal, your goal in being a 538 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:52,800 warrior is all about holding the ground that Jesus has already 539 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:56,680 won for us. You see, a lot of times when 540 00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:59,560 when we think that being a warrior is about attacking the 541 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:02,200 gates of hell or advancing against the gates of hell or 542 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:05,200 taking ground against the gates of hell, we start to slip into 543 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:08,360 our own strength. And when we start to slip into 544 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:11,280 our own strength and we start to ignore and we start to forget 545 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:15,440 the ground that Jesus has already given us, it's a refusal 546 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,600 to retreat. Let me kind of put some feet on 547 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:22,800 that force this morning. This means that when the enemy 548 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:25,520 whispers, you're not really forgiven. 549 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,040 You had that whisper this week, maybe this morning you're not 550 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:33,760 really forgiven. A warrior responds with I've 551 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:37,239 been made new in Christ. You see, you're not fighting for 552 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:39,639 acceptance. You're standing in the 553 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:44,159 acceptance that Jesus has already secured for you when 554 00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:48,400 temptation comes and you're fighting that same struggle, and 555 00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:52,120 you've given in before and before and before and Tom and 556 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:54,719 Tom again. When temptation comes, a warrior 557 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:59,760 doesn't fight to earn victory. A warrior resists because Jesus 558 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:03,320 has already conquered sin. He's already conquered sin. 559 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:07,800 If you're struggling with a habit and with an addiction and, 560 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:13,200 and just this like this pattern of returning to the same sin, 561 00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:16,320 let me go ahead and tell you, it's not about your willpower. 562 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:20,560 It is about understanding that through the cross of Jesus, he's 563 00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:23,840 already defeated sin. So you're not resisting that 564 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:25,720 temptation in your own willpower. 565 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:30,080 You're claiming the cross of Jesus against that temptation. 566 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:34,200 You're enforcing that freedom that Jesus has already given 567 00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:38,200 you. When anxiety rises, anybody with 568 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:41,120 us this morning, that's facing stress and and anxiety and 569 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:43,760 worry. When anxiety rises, instead of 570 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:49,800 surrendering to fear, a warrior stands in the peace that Jesus 571 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:54,720 has already given them and reminds their heart and their 572 00:35:54,720 --> 00:36:01,280 mind and their soul that I am standing in the peace of God. 573 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:04,880 Not a peace that is defined by my outward circumstances. 574 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:07,600 Not a peace that is defined by my feelings. 575 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:16,280 I'm standing in His peace. When trials come, and I know 576 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:19,160 many of us this morning, over this past week, we've 577 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:21,000 encountered a lot of different trials. 578 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:26,560 A warrior refuses to despair. Why? 579 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:33,040 Because you hold the ground of resurrection hope. 580 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:37,040 And what is resurrection hope? That no suffering is ever wasted 581 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:39,440 and no darkness will ever prevail. 582 00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:44,520 When past failures resurface, Any of you have a bad memory 583 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:46,760 when it comes to the good things, but a really good memory 584 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:50,800 when it comes to the bad things. When past failures resurface, a 585 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:57,560 warrior doesn't bow to guilt. You stand in the finished work 586 00:36:57,560 --> 00:37:00,520 of the cross, and you remind your soul that Jesus has already 587 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:05,720 bore that shame. And when culture, fear in the 588 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:08,400 enemy distorts truth, a warrior doesn't retreat. 589 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:13,680 You hold firm to the truth of Scripture and hold firm to the 590 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:16,160 truth of sound doctrine and the Word of God. 591 00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:21,240 You see, a true warrior is about holding the ground. 592 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:26,440 Jesus has already won for us. As we kind of take a turn to the 593 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:30,400 personal, I want to walk through some questions for us this 594 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:32,920 morning. Here's the first one. 595 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:37,520 What is your source of strength in the battles that you're 596 00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:42,480 facing right now? The fact of the matter is, no 597 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:46,280 matter how smiley or happy or what good facade we may put on, 598 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:49,120 every single one of us is fighting some type of battle. 599 00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:52,760 Some of us, the people around us, the people closest to us, 600 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:55,520 they know what that battle is. Others of us, we're just not 601 00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:57,440 quite ready to give voice to that battle. 602 00:37:57,880 --> 00:37:59,920 But every single one of us, we're fighting some battle of 603 00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:01,560 some sort. Here's my question to you. 604 00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:03,040 What is that source of strength for you? 605 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:06,480 What's your source of strength in, in, in your battle? 606 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:11,640 And who your source is will determine whether you're a 607 00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:15,400 warrior in the battle or you're just prey in the middle of the 608 00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:18,680 battle. Here's the second question I 609 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:22,160 want to ask you. What battles in your life do you 610 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:26,360 need to turn over to Jesus? What battles in your life do you 611 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:29,640 need to turn over to Jesus? Almost echoing the words and the 612 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:35,600 heart of a young, young kid by the name of David, long before 613 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:39,360 he ever became king, to where he said the battle is the Lord's. 614 00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:43,160 What battle in your life right now? 615 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:47,120 Maybe your heart, maybe your mind, maybe in your family. 616 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:51,560 What battle do you need to turn over to Jesus and go, Jesus, 617 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:54,920 this is your battle. I need to turn control over to 618 00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:58,680 you. And then third question, before 619 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:01,720 we kind of enter into a time of prayer and response, it's a 620 00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:05,880 question we don't often ask, but we should really ask a lot more 621 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:07,800 often. Here's the question. 622 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:12,200 How healthy is your soul? How healthy is your soul? 623 00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:17,680 Listen, if you if you haven't surrendered your life to Jesus, 624 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:23,000 then we want to make sure that you have the opportunity to talk 625 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:26,040 to a pastor about what it means to surrender your life to Jesus. 626 00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:29,640 But many of us in here, we have surrendered our lives to Jesus. 627 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:32,000 But if we were really to get honest with ourselves about 628 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:35,040 ourselves, we find the condition of our soul to be kind of 629 00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:38,880 unhealthy. We're weighted down, we're 630 00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:45,800 cluttered, we're distracted. We're riddled by guilt, shame, 631 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:53,880 fear. Know that God desires better for 632 00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:59,680 you. God desires to build within you 633 00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:04,840 a pure and a clean heart, a contrite heart, a healthy soul. 634 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:10,320 Here's where that starts. Is acknowledging that you have 635 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:13,920 an unhealthy soul, the condition of your soul is unhealthy right 636 00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:17,160 now. And So what do we do if we have 637 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:21,440 an unhealthy soul? We come and we bring our clutter 638 00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:26,320 and we bring our junk to Jesus and we say, Jesus, cleanse me, 639 00:40:27,720 --> 00:40:32,640 cleanse me, purify me, make me whole in just a moment. 640 00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:34,680 We're going to pray and we're going to give the opportunity to 641 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:37,720 respond this morning. Maybe you need to come down, 642 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:39,600 talk with a pastor. Maybe you need to come down and 643 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:42,360 just spend some time praying. Maybe there's some battles going 644 00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:44,200 on in your life to where you need to grab the hand of 645 00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:46,840 somebody that you came with or somebody beside you and say, 646 00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:48,200 hey, would you come down and pray with me? 647 00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:51,400 I need to lead turn this battle over to to Jesus. 648 00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:56,760 Maybe you just need to come down and say just Jesus, would you 649 00:40:56,760 --> 00:40:59,440 cleanse and purify my soul this morning? 650 00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:05,720 Whatever God's calling you to do as a response to His word, to 651 00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:09,520 this message, we pray that no sense of pride or hesitancy 652 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:13,040 would enter into your mind as you would boldly and obediently 653 00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:15,200 come and pray. God, we love you. 654 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:18,560 We thank you for being with us and for guiding us. 655 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:24,280 God, we acknowledge that not only do you love us, but God, 656 00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:29,560 you are for us. God, there's not a single person 657 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:34,880 in here this morning that you do not desire to be their source of 658 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:37,800 hope, our source of hope in our battles. 659 00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:42,200 God, there's not a single one of us in here this morning that the 660 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:45,120 battles that we are facing are too big for you. 661 00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:49,480 God, there's not a single one of us that if we, if we turn those 662 00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:52,840 battles over to you or try to hand you those battles that you 663 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:57,040 would reject that. God, you're actually inviting us 664 00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:01,200 to give you the things that we cannot handle. 665 00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:08,400 God, I pray that you would also help us to do a self diagnostic 666 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:13,080 this morning and really ask ourselves, what is the condition 667 00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:18,800 of my soul? God, I pray that you would have 668 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:24,000 your way in and through us this morning and God that we will be 669 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,400 obedient to your calling. And it's in Jesus name that we 670 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:27,680 pray. Amen. 671 00:42:31,240 --> 00:42:33,720 Thank you for listening to the Riverbend Church Podcast. 672 00:42:34,040 --> 00:42:36,640 Learn more about who we are as a church and how to connect. 673 00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:39,400 You can head over to our website, Riverbend Church dot 674 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:39,640 Life.