“I Will Prevail!” Spiritual Warfare Series
Ephesians 6:10-18
“I Will Prevail In Truth”
I have found that spiritual warfare is less about naming demons and more about living a life totally drenched in the desire to follow Jesus Christ!
A life that is right with God is what threatens the enemy the most.
So, ARE YOU RIGHT WITH GOD?!
A prevailing person is one who has strength in their struggle to stand for Jesus!
The strength for your struggle to stand for Jesus and draw closer to God has already been supplied! = IN THE LORD = Jesus Christ has already provided you with everything you need!
When you are under attack, know this: You must be doing something right!
You have assignments for you AND against you!
Right thinking produces right acting.
To give us strength in our struggle to stand for Jesus…
Paul tells us to buckle up with the belt of
1. TRUTH and have it buckled around our waist.
Ephesian teaching about truth: 1:13, 4:15, 21, 24, 25, 5:9.
The more truth you have in your life, the closer to God you become!
the enemy becomes so recognizable in his schemes and secret attacks and assignments! Putting on the armor is putting on the “new self” Paul speaks in 4:24. It is imitating Christ as 5:1 states.
So with the belt of truth, we are told to:
1. HEAR the word of Truth
2. TRUST the truth that is in Christ;
3. LIVE truth by practicing honesty and integrity!
4. SPEAK truth in love
5. Get TAUGHT Truth in Jesus
6. Allow the TRUTH to transform our behavior towards God’s will = righteousness and holiness
7. The FRUIT of the Light is in … good, right, and Truth
Questions:
1. Is the command given by Paul here to put on the whole armor of God given to one individual or to the whole church?
--So Paul understood that armament is a corporate connection = it takes all of us to help each other put on this armor!
2. How does a discipled warrior walk into the battle differently than a non-discipled believer?
--Joy comes from discipline and discipline comes from commitments and commitments begin with our choices we make.
It is fun to play sports. It is even more fun to win in them. But at times the church looks more like the “bad news bears” than the sons and daughters of the Lion of Judah!
3. Who is easier for the enemy to defeat, a disciplined warrior or a non-disciplined one?
--Strategies come from study and experience, not from arm-chair Christians! Satan is strategizing against you and putting out assignments against you for your defeat. Paul calls these “schemes”. You know what, you are strategizer too!
We, as a church, must consider strategies and methods for helping our members apply faith to every sphere of life! How are we going to do that?
So what are you going to do? What are your plans? What strategies do you have in place to PUT ON THE BELT OF TRUTH?
So if the Word says we are to:
1. HEAR the word of Truth, are you choosing to listen to things and people who a re speaking truth? Are you filtering out by your choices the input of lies and falsehoods, and choosing communication that is truthful.
**What is your music telling you? TV shows?
**What are your friends telling you? How is your self-talk?
**How can we as a church be more intentional about how we help our family and visitors HEAR the truth their way?
If the Word says we are to:
2. TRUST the truth that is in Christ, how well do you practice using your own will? Are you in a constant state of differing? Do you always allow others to choose for you and go with the flow?
**What decisions have you made in your life the past few months have you specifically stepped out in faith on? What are you doing that you know you could not do if God did not do something?
**What new promises have you learned to rely on in Christ? How is your scripture memory learning been? Do you have any promises/TRUTHS committed to memory so you can live by them?
**How can we as a church family TRUST in God’s truth together as we seek to minister and grow?
If the Word says we are to:
3. LIVE truth by practicing honesty and integrity, (Honesty is not just speaking truthfully, but living truthfully, which is a twin sister to integrity because integrity is who you are when no one else is looking) how are you doing with that?
**Are you living and speaking different words when you are with these people/friends, than when you are with this OTHER set of people/friends?
**Are you consistently the same person no matter where you are and is that person representing the truth of Jesus Christ?
**How can we as church hold each other accountable and help one another move into a place of excellence in honesty and integrity?
If the Word says we are to:
4. SPEAK truth in love, when was the last time you spoke the truth but didn’t consider the love factor? You didn’t take into account how it would make that person feel and just blurted it out? You may have the speaking the truth part down, but it is the “in love part” that you need to upgrade to!
**How are you doing with not exaggerating? Has everything become a hyperbole in your world—always bigger, better, first just so you can brag or try to look good in front of others; or do you speak only the truth and to the extent of that truth—no farther!
**How can we as a church be careful to not say anything we don’t mean and be sure to follow through on the things we say we are going to do?
If the Word says we are to:
5. Get TAUGHT the Truth in Jesus, this is a lot like putting yourself into a position to HEAR the truth, but being taught goes a step further: You have to submit yourself to actually learn the truth from a teacher, a mentor, and then you choose to conform your life around this truth to the point you are an example of the truth and you could teach it to someone else.
**So, who are you submitting to as your teacher? Who have you willingly placed yourself under to be a student and learn from? Are you actually learning, or are you just doing assignments with no thought of actually having your life changed by the truth?
**Have you been filling out the study sheets in the bulletin when provided to follow along and be taught the truth in Jesus?
One of the necessary orders in your plans to BUCKLE the TRUTH BELT has to be a DAILY QUIET TIME! A time when you read the word, listen to the word, let it speak to you, allow it to sink into your heart and meditate on it, use your imagination to see yourself living it out with people the Lord brings into your mind.
Another is a systemized approach to learning who God says you are in this new way of life called “kingdom living”. Because you are in Christ now, you have a new identity! And we will learn more about that in next week’s message about YOUR PREVAILING IDENTITY! It is more than a Bourne identity—or a Bourne Ultimatum! It is a New-Birth Identity and a New-Birth Ultimatum!
You are a THREAT! Now start living like one!
Paul says you and I must be TAUGHT the truth. Where are you getting spiritual truth taught to you on a regular consistent basis? How can we as a church be more intentional about TRUTH TEACHING???
Next week will pick up with a few more pieces of the armor.
