Surviving the Times
Ephesians 6:10-18
Many of us are in a middle of a battle right now. Ephesians 6 Paul deals with the believers as warriors that will transform thinking and life. As we see so much changing around us
- Arm for War
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- Put on the whole Armour of God: Daily Basis, Go out undressed and the devil whips your behind.
- The Devil is full of tricks
- We Don’t wrestle against flesh and blood: it’s not the people. We are facing spiritual entities that cannot be seen with the natural eye
- Our Battle is Four-Fold
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- Principalities: Demons are ranks. Stop wrestling with the lower level demons, and go after the chiefs
- Powers: Tricked and deceived through sorceries
- Rulers of Darkness: Devil loves and is a master of secrets, lies, and deceptions
- Spiritual Hosts of Wickedness in Heavenly Places: Demonic Plots, Plots, and schemes that the devil is orchestrating to knock you off track pull you away from your walk with Christ. He goes after what you love and what you like.
- The Evil Day: The day when the devil unloads and aims all his guns at you and brings temptations, attacks, sickness, storms all at you at one time. Your whole world turned upside down.
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God wants you to stand and not just stand but withstand all the devil can send against you.
Celebrate that when the devil sent everything (lies, false accusations, lost job, got sick, relationships broke, money funny, children turned but yet say devil I’m still standing if that’s your best shot I still can say the God I serve is still better than anything I lost
- Gird Up With The Belt of Truth
Most critical piece because all the other pieces of a soldiers armor attach to this. We have to have a belt on
Key Components of the Belt of truth
Truth Brings:
- Unconcealed Reality: Real thing that’s not hidden (The devil wants to hide reality, live pretending) God wants you to see who you are and what you are in
- Matthew 14:22-32
- You can’t ignore what’s around you God want you to see both Him and situation so you can raise up
- Absence from Deceit: Keep being tricked by the devil deceits
- Declared Absolutes: God has absolute truths, not situational ethics
- Scriptures about Truth
- John 1:14 Jesus is Truth
- John 3:21 Truth Brings Light. Darkness must flee (My whole job is to get you to believe truth)
- John 8:32 Truth MAKES you free. Creates Freedom to live and thrive
- John 8:44 Satan has NO Truth
- John 14:17 The world will not easily receive the truth. We get frustrated because people don’t live the truth. You can see the things of God until you open your eyes to Him. His thoughts are not like your thoughts
- John 16:13 The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. Stop listening to what people say about you and hear what God has to say about you. He will lead you to the revelation of what you need to hear. Things you once couldn’t handle
- John 17:17 The truth sanctifies you. It cleanses you, washes you. Any stronghold is rooted in a place that’s not sanctified in truth. We like to look clean, but you have to get washed. You are more than a conquer, you have a plan and future prepared for your life. If you’re still struggling with the same issue from 5 years ago IS YOU
- 1 Peter 1:22 Obeying the truth purifies your soul. How? Get the truth and obey it. This is how we win. Get this and nothing the devil brings will win
- 7 Principles of Truth
- Design and Purpose: God created you to make an impact. (Everything in our lives shapes permits by Gods Design) if he allowed it something good gonna come out of it
- Psalm 139:13-18a
- Romans 8:28
- Authority: We all have to submit to somebody. When you fight authority your fighting God (children disobeying, wife not submitting, husband not listening
- Hebrews 13:7
- Hebrews 13:17
- 4 Primary Authorities (Submission: Do what is asked of You)
- Family
- Ephesians 5:21-33
- 1 Peter 3:1-6
- Ephesians 6:1-4 (child: obey, adult: honor)
- Employer
- 1 Peter 2:18
- 1 Timothy 6:1-3
- Titus 2:9-10
- Government (as long as its not creating scriptural harm immoral or unscriptural)
- Rom 13:1-7
- 1 Peter 2:13-17
- Church
- Hebrews 13:17
- 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
- 1 Timothy 5:17
- Responsibility
- Romans 14:12
- Matthew 12:36
- We must give an account to God for our words and deeds (we will have to answer for what we do)
- Ownership
- We don’t own anything. Everything belongs to God. Its His will take the stress off
- Psalm 24:1
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
- Suffering
- We will have seasons of suffering (God does not care about your happy)
- 1 Peter 2:18-24
- 1 Peter 5:10
- 1 Peter 4: 12 No suffering, No reining
- Freedom
- God Provides true freedom
- Devil wants you to think you will never be free and delivered
- John 8:36
- Success
- True Success is when we are doing and being what God has called us to do and be
- Psalm 1:2-3
- Joshua 1:8
- Conclusion: Everything in life is attached to the truths. The devil wants to violate it God wants to Manifest it.