09.23.2012 The Secret to Working through Difficulties - The Real Battle

Mission to Mexico – Annette and Alan will be going – Dan Price has been taking teams for years – and their church is paying for everything for Alan and Annette to go ‘scout the land’ on this trip – and they want us to go down with the opportunity of us eventually bringing teams down.
Alan – We will be leaving on October 19 – heading to Mazatlan (?) Mexico – on the western coast – and working with a team from Michigan. There are about 25 members of the team. We will be working with one or more orphanages. One of our concerns is security – Honduras is a violent place right now – and in Mexico, where we are going – has some drug violence – but we are assured of security – and they have taken 100s down and none has felt threatened. We are blessed to have this opportunity. Our goal is to get more people from Grace Summit involved in mission work. That’s the goal.
Mark this calendar – Annette was given the opportunity to speak and turned it down!
Mike Marette: We are finishing Ephesians today and looking at the issue of spiritual warfare – and we can go in many directions – some way over here, and others way over there.
Screwtape Letters –"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight."
Here is my tendency – because some have gone overboard, my tendency would be to ignore it. But we will look at what Scripture says to be balanced. We are in a battle – and how to engage appropriately.
Lord, You are the One who fights the battle for us – and victory is ours. Help us to look with a healthy attitude at the spiritual battle that takes place every day – a battle for our lives and the souls of those who don’t know You. You are engaged in this battle and so are we. May we see the battle – Like Elisha and his servant – may our eyes be opened to that battle – to Your forces and the forces of evil that are out to get us – the lion roaring about seeking to devour. May we recognize it.
Eph. 6: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
There are spiritual forces out there. There is a battle going on. Do you believe it? Ephesians is about transformation – looking at Who God is and what He has done – and understanding how that transforms us – knowing that God is good will transform our lives. 4-6:9 is how we live in a way that is worthy of all that He has done for us and given to us.
Third – transformation that takes place as we understand the spiritual battle. If we are going to undergo spiritual transformation, we must be engaged in the spiritual battle. Are you engaged in it DAILY? Or do you think very little about it.
Before we get all eerie about this –
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
We must learn to make use of the weapons and resources He has given us – it is not something we can do on our own. We need the Spirit of God – we are completely and totally dependent upon God for this battle – we do not have the strength apart from Him to engage in this.
Ultimately in Christ we have victory over the enemy.
1 John 4: 4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Satan is not as strong – he is the defeated one – Christ is the victorious one – and we need to look at how to have that victory practically. Because of what Christ has done on the cross, there is ultimate victory – but in everyday life, there is practical victory over our struggles.
Rev. 12: 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
They were able to overcome evil – they were able to overcome by the blood of the Lamb. The power we have to fight this battle is Lamb Power! Sounds like an oxymoron – but even though Paul describes military terms to describe it – it is not like the Crusades or Jihad or cultural warfare – but it is about the power that comes when one gives up one’s life and lays down his life for the souls of people. Jesus describes authority – the greatest, the leader, the powerful one – is the one who serves.
We have to change our thinking about the power and strength for this battle. If I go into this battle with Lamb Power and act accordingly… I’ll be victorious.
Eph. 6: 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Our battle is not a people battle. There are all kinds of struggles going on in the world today – There is a political struggle in our country – dividing and erupting. Struggles for health care and world poverty – all of these struggles are important – and we should be informed about and work according to our conscience – but these are not the primary battlefield for us – this is not the struggle we are to focus on – we as Christians have a greater struggle – a spiritual struggle – not with flesh and blood – not on the battlefield and not in the debate arena – but a spiritual arena – and that arena is more important than all the other arenas. And Paul is encouraging them to engage in that battle. Too often we disengage from the spiritual battle because we are overly engaged in some human battle. Are you engaged in the spiritual battle? Is that a genuine part of your daily life? I’d like you to be honest about this – to what extent am I engaged in the spiritual battle – and compare it to how you are engaged in the human battle?
How many of you are sick and tired of election commercials? Think about it though – they believe they are engaged in the battle for the soul of America – and they are evangelists – they are warriors for their cause! What if the Church had the same intensity – to give the same effort and same amount of gazillions of dollars for that which really matters – how much would that change things? I think a lot more. The salvation of one soul is more important than the electing of one president. The president’s term only lasts for four years – a soul lasts for eternity. The battle is happening – this is taking place around you all the time – and it is a matter of – are you aware of it? We have all been there. There are times in my life where I am affected by a situation and I wonder how I got to that point. “How did I allow myself to say that?” In your marriage – did you know there is an enemy and it is not your spouse – you have not paid attention to the real enemy.
It is that way in all things – in the church – the same. The enemy would love to destroy relationships in the church – he puts these thoughts in our minds about people and we don’t deal with the real problem and it is a ferocious battle that is raging that we need to confront.
Now Paul gives the list of armor – what a Roman soldier would look like – in the past when I’ve done this series – We have gone through this – there are two I want to talk about.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,
Belt of truth – the truth of the gospel and the word of God – having it about you – not just knowing and believing but living a life of truth. It is not enough to simply believe the truth, we must live it. If you do believe it, you will live it.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place
Righteousness – right character – acting according to what we believe.
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
The gospel – good news - is something he is speaking about – being ready – like 1 Peter 3:15 – always being ready to give a defense of your faith to anyone who asks – giving a defense or a presentation of what Christ has done for us and for you – that you are ready to go. Gospel work requires speaking and living – our defense – our shoes are tied when we are living and speaking the gospel. Not just one or the other. If you don’t like to speak it – get engaged in the battle and speak it when the opportunity arises.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Believing creates faithfulness in life – I believe it so I live it.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Salvation = hope ; Sword = word of God. There is a need for the Spirit to be engaged. These weapons are put together because we rely on the spirit.
That is the armor – those are our weapons –
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place
If you don’t have your belt on, your pants fall down – that is effectively what he is saying. Truth holds it all together. We must learn to operate in the realm of truth because the enemy operates in the realm of lies. Lying is his primary weapon. Lying and deceiving – telling us things that are not true.
John 8: 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
He is a liar and the father of lies. That is his main attack on you – to lie.
2 Cor. 11: 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ
Paul goes back to the garden – how did the serpent deceive Adam and Eve? He started with the Big Lie about God and His character. The enemy wants you to think that God is not good and that He doesn’t care. If he can get you to believe that – he is winning the battle. “God will not forgive you. God is not happy with you” – it is so subtle and we don’t realize it and you are under attack with lies. All the devil said to Eve – Did God say?... But God knows when you eat, you’ll be like Him – He doesn’t have your best in mind – and the battle was lost – and that is all it takes for us.
There are other lies we need to deal with – things you have been told all your life and they have had a profound effect on your life – and they are used by the enemy. “You’re an idiot” “Who could ever love you?” You could go on and on.
“It should now be obvious that the next step is to identify the destructive lies that drive the much of the emotional turmoil people experience. Seasons of emotional and spiritual upheaval are fueled by unchallenged false beliefs. Like every strategy of the evil one – these false beliefs invariably remain hidden where they grow stronger and more destructive.” – Did you get that? When we are young, we begin burying these things. And do you know what happens? It grows – and becomes stronger and strongs
It starts when we are kids – we hide these things and they become more and more destructive.
“For most people, these distortions developed during childhood as the result of poor teaching or significant wounding. Regardless of the cause, these lies must be brought into the light where they will be exposed and destroyed by Christ. Jesus said that truth will set people free. Transformation takes place whenever an individual exposes lies in the light of Christ’s presence. “
When we bring these things to the cross – you have an addiction – and you have been told this all your life – you have been told these lies – and the lies need to be brought into the presence and light of Christ and the cross.
Let me give you a quick way – we’ll do the last one in the next series – we’ll connect it together.
This is your homework assignment – er, your transformational assignment - wait – call it a vacation – then you will do it! Here it is: 1) identify a lie. There are many – pick one. Identify a lie you have been told – very specific – this is really hard, because it means going back to the pain, opening the wound and exposing it, because all of us have had things said to us that wound us deeply and are things the enemy uses in our souls daily. You need to name that lie and how it got there. This is difficult – then 2) discover the corresponding truth to that lie in God’s word. That will take some time. I struggled with guilt in my life – for various reasons – and I talked to [people and got passages of scriptures – but talk to someone who can give you corresponding scriptures to apply. Then 3) Experience that truth before the Lord – this gets a bit touchy-feely – but that is okay – Tell the Lord your truth – identify and then be honest before God. Take some time – look at the Psalms – they were so unbelievably honest before God – and then allow God to tell you His truth – allow God to speak His truth into your soul. You do this one by learning to remain quiet before God. Do you regularly have a time of silence before God – where He can speak? He speaks into our souls when we are silent – then connect it to an intimate encounter with the Scripture.
For me – there was something that affected me – I knew my parents loved me – and I knew that – but there were some promises that went unfulfilled because they did not have the capacity to fulfill those promises – financial struggles. And that affected me profoundly. I looked at God’s promises and asked if He was really able to fulfill that? My folks promised me when I was 8 or 9 and it went unfulfilled. But that feeling of insecurity was a significant part of my relationship with God – and I had to live that truth before the light of Christ and the cross. Then I had to bring the truth of the Bible into that –
God gave me a couple verses – Jeremiah 32: 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. Isaiah 30:18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! – The Lord waits on high to have compassion on you – God is a God of justice. I would walk along the OldAndGrungy river – And would claim these verses – and I would picture God waiting on high to be compassionate to me – rejoicing over me – and then allowing – seeing it in my mind – until I believed it in my heart. Using the imagination that He gave me – until it so filled my heart that I believed it. So that is your assignment – name the one lie – find the corresponding truth of scripture. Let’s pray…