Spiritual Warfare - Part 3
12 Keys to Growing in Spiritual Authority (A)
Eph. 6:12
You and I are engaged in a multidimensional war that is being intensely, intentionally, intelligently and incessantly waged all around us in the invisible realm. I say multidimensional because it is being fought on more than one dimension at the same time.
It is fought in the social dimension between the believer and the world: John 15:18-27
It is fought in the personal dimension between the believer and the flesh: Galatians 5:16-26
It is fought in the spiritual dimension between believers and evil spiritual powers: Ephesians 6:10-27
We must recognize that all of life’s issues, whether physical, spiritual, emotional mental, financial or relational, are simply outward manifestations of this spiritual battle. And if we fail to engage the issues of life at the spiritual warfare level, the outcome can be no other than defeat. If we are not careful, we will unnecessarily surrender ourselves to become prisoners of war in a war that we have already won.
You see my friend, every problem in life is an opportunity to engage in spiritual warfare and embrace spiritual victory. There is not a single battle in which God’s plan includes your defeat. May I say that again - there is not a single battle in which God’s plan includes your defeat. When you or I experience defeat, we have, each and every time, gone for some plan other than the one God has for us.
Listen carefully if you would - next week I am going to be dealing with one of the most vociferous and yet concealed arenas where that warfare is not only been most intensely fought, but where the Church is picking up some of its heaviest casualties and defeats. The cost financially and personally in this arena is horrendous. Ministers are falling by the thousands every single day. Families are being ripped apart by the thousands every single day. Churches are being destroyed, ministries are collapsing and lives and being wrecked on the subtle but devastating altars of pornography. The demon of lust has gripped the hearts of men and women across America in unprecedented numbers. Because of the way Satan is plundering the Church I want to talk plainly and I want to talk straight. If you are worried about your children, please send them to Sunday School next week. I want to position us as a church in a place that will give our men, our women and our children the best fighting chance in this arena. You mean men in the church are looking at pornography? Yes - last week 53% of men in the churches of America looked at pornography. You mean this is a problem for woman? Yes - 28% of all visitors to pornography sites are women with 13% of all women admitting that they access pornography from their work computers. And children? Yes, the average age of first exposure to pornography in America is 11 years old. It is time we spoke openly and honestly.
Then I want to give a special invitation to all men. Not this Monday but next Monday morning, Monday the 6th or August, the Monday after the sermon dealing with pornography, the Men’s Discipleship ministry is going to focus on winning the war with lust and pornography. We have some tools and some other practical things available for you to help with this problem. Now ladies’ listen up - that Monday evening we are going to have a special Ladies Meeting at our house - this is just for the ladies - and we will talk a little about the internet struggle for ladies - but I also want to focus on how you can help position your husband for effective victory in this area. That’s next Sunday morning, Monday morning and Monday night. If you have any questions please speak with me after the meeting or email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Last week, we saw profoundly that the primary issue at the heart of spiritual warfare is our authority in Christ. I cannot recommend strongly enough that if you were not here last week or did not get it, that you order that CD after this meeting. I believe it will change the way you do warfare from here out.
Well this morning I want to start a message entitled 12 Keys to Growing in Your Authority. If the heart of the issue is authority, and I believe it is, then one of the most fundamental studies we can apply ourselves to is understanding what that authority is, how to use it and how to grow in it. Now I am going to spread this message over two weeks - this morning and then the Sunday morning two weeks from now.
How do you position yourself to walk in, to access, to minister with more authority? How do you clear the things that hinder your functioning in that authority out of your life? Precious believer - did you know that you have enough authority to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, cast out demons and raise the dead. You do not need more authority. What we need is to learn to walk in the authority you have. Come on now - somebody say Amen! Don’t leave me hanging - I’m preaching better than you’re ‘Amening!’
12 Keys to Growing in Your Authority
1. Submit to God
Folks - here is the issue - until you and I surrender our lives to the will of God we will never know true spiritual authority. James 4:7 says that if you submit yourself to God the devil will flee from you.
The issue with submitting to God’s will is letting go of your own will. Some people want to be Christian, they want to walk in victory, but they want to do what they want to do. They have not yet come to the place where they have surrendered their lives - it is still all about them - their victory, their happiness, their success. They still want to be in charge. I always find that baffling. Why would anybody, who does not know the future, and cannot control it, still want to be in charge - especially when the One Who does know the future and is controlling it has their best interest in mind? James speaks about the will of God - and did you know that there are three wrong responses to the will of God? Remember the fellow in the book of James (4:13) who said that he would go to this city and that city and do business here and there and stay for a night or two and make money? Have you ever stopped to analyze what was wrong with his statement as we have it recorded in the book of James? Actually, there is nothing wrong with what he says - any businessman worth his salt has a plan, a good plan and is planning to make a profit. But here’s the problem - it is with what he does not say! There is no regard for the will God. He thought he was the captain of his destiny and the master of his fate. He thought it was his will that was the driving force behind what he was doing. He was living as if God did not have a will for his life.
You see, for some people the problem is ignorance - they do not know God has a will.
For others the problem is arrogance. They believe that God may well have a will for them but instead of looking for God’s will they pursue their own.
For others the problem is disobedience. They know God has a will for their lives, and they know what that will is, but they still choose to do their own thing.
What James says is, "How arrogantly silly. You are but a vapor, a mist, the slightest breeze will blow you away - you are frail and your life on earth is infinitely small like dried grass - and still you presume to know better than God what you should be doing. You do not know the future - and if you did know the future, you could not control it." That’s the argument James is making.
Life is complex. It is full of an infinite number of events, forces, influences and emotions that effectively determine not simply what tomorrow holds, but even the rest of today. Now watch this - when it comes to these events, forces, influences and emotions we do not know what they are and even if we did, we cannot control them. I need a volunteer to come forward this morning - who will come and help me. I have 10 coins here in this bag - and they are numbered like this one with a sticker on them from 1 to 10. Now here is what I want our volunteer to do. I want you to put your hand in the bag and take out the coin that has the ‘1’ on it. If it is the wrong coin - put it back and keep going until you get the coin with the number ’1’ on it.
While he is doing that - who can tell me - there are 10 coins in the bag - what are his chances of pulling out the coin with the number ‘1’ on it. One in ten - exactly. Got it yet?
O.K. that was a practice run - all ten coins back in the bag - you now know how it works - here is what I want you to do. When I say, ‘go’ I want you to reach in the bag - and take out the coin with the ‘1’ on it - and then, once you get it, put it back in the bad - then you must take out the coin with the ‘2’ on it. If you do not get the coin with the ‘2’ on it you must start again and go for ‘1’. Here is the goal - I want you to take all ten coins out of that bag in order - replacing each coin and shaking the bag each time before you take the next one out. While you work on that I want to do some math with the rest of the congregation.
What did we say the chance was of getting the ‘1’ coin out? 1 in 10?
What about getting ‘1’ and ’2’ in the right order replacing each coin after you take it out? 1 in 100.
What about ‘1’, ‘2’ and ‘3’ in the right order? 1 in 1000
What about ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’ and ‘4’? 1 in 10 000
What about ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’ and ‘5’? 1 in 100 000.
All the way until you get to taking each of the 10 coins out in order replacing each one as you take it out - your chances are a staggering 1 in 10 billion.
Now what are we saying folks? Each day is the result of an infinite number of events, forces, influences and emotions that shape the future. If we cannot even get it right with 10 coins - how are we going to get it right with the infinite number of variable each and every day - especially when we do not know what they are and even if we did know, we could not control them? We cannot! So why not submit to the One who does know and is in control of each one of those events, forces, influences and emotions and Who has the very best will or plan for our lives? You will never walk in your authority until you surrender your will to the One whose authority you are trying to walk in!
2. Live out of Christ
Paul understood this - and that is why he walked in the supernatural authority of God. He said, ‘Guys, I cannot do this stuff. But there is One who is not only alive in me but is living through me. These are His hands, His feet, His mouth, His eyes. Each of the members of my body is submitted to Him as instruments of righteousness.’ (Gal. 2:20) Precious believer - if you want authority, let to One to whom the Father gave all authority live through you. Wake up every morning and surrender your mind and your spirit and your body to Him. When you are all angry and mad at your world - sister, that’s not Jesus living through you. When you are all mad and yelling at your kids brothers, that’s not Jesus living through you. When you are out there walking in compromise and defeat, that’s not Jesus living through you.
Table Talk: What is the biggest hindrance to our living out of Christ?
3. Be Filled With the Spirit
Precious believer - if you want authority in the spiritual warfare we are engaged in, then walk in the Spirit. (Eph. 5:18) He knows how to do this stuff - He’s been to the throne and heard what the Father said. He’s been to the cross and seen what the Savior did. He’s was there at Pentecost and saw what the Church could do with His authority. If you want authority, walk in the Spirit.
Develop a sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit - practice listening to Him. To walk in the Spirit means to live under His control. It means to be living to please Him, to obey Him. It means to be doing what He wants you to do using the power that He makes available. Some people think to be in the Spirit means to be speaking in tongues, or to be slain in the Spirit or to be lost in worship. Those are good things - and I have done all of that - and still do from time to time. But friend - I am not interested in what happens when you go down or when you speak in tongues or when you get into the seventh heaven while you worship - what I want to know is what happens when you go to home after church, when you go to work the next day, when your spouse does something that upsets you, when satan does something to attack you. If there is no difference there, then you may have thought you were in the Spirit but you were not. When you are in the Spirit, it is a life transforming experience.
Table Talk: What does it look like to practically walk in the Spirit?
4. Study the Word
When Jesus was attacked by satan, He used the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and He defeated him. (Matthew 4:7) The devil quoted Scripture at Jesus, but it was out of context, inaccurate application. And Jesus immediately quoted back at Him in context and with correct application. Listen to me precious believer - if you do not know your Bible you will not even notice of it out of context or incorrect application - let alone have the correct context and application to defend yourself with.
The command to study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who rightly divides the Word of God is not God’s command for preachers - that is God’s command to believers - and that is the way of the warriors. You can tell the warriors in our midst - they always have their Bibles with them - they know their Bibles, study their Bibles, love their Bibles, quote their Bibles. Precious believer - reading your Bible is fantastic - but that is not enough. Many people are under the illusion that because they know what it says they understand what it means. Understanding comes by study. If you do not study the Bible, friends, you do not have understanding of what it says - you may have understanding of what someone else says, but you do not have understanding of what your Bible says. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 teaches us that when we study the Word of God we will be made perfect and thoroughly equipped for every good work. If you want to grow in authority, study the Word.
Table Talk: What are you going to put into practice this week so that you will study the Word?
5. Live by Faith
Your victory will rise no higher or last no longer than the quality of your faith. You see my friend, the shield of faith is what we use to extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one (Eph. 6:16) - if you are not a man or a woman of faith - you cannot extinguish those darts. The shield of faith is the only defense you have against those darts. Let me tell you about faith. When revelation and understanding conflict, faith says, I go with revelation. When revelation and reason conflict, faith says, I go with revelation. When revelation and comfort conflict, faith says, I go with revelation. When revelation and understanding convenience, faith says, I go with revelation. It bugs me when I hear a Christian say, "I know what the Bible says but . . ." Well if you know what the Bible says, get on with it - end of discussion. Precious believer - without faith you cannot please God - it does not matter how often you go to church, say your prayers or read your Bible. And if you are not committed to obey God your faith is not in God but in yourself. If you want authority, choose to become a person of faith. Have a ‘No Doubt’ disposition! Always choose God!
Table Talk: What can you do practically to silence your doubts ands live by faith?
6. Fulfill Your Purpose
Carl Yung, the famous psychiatrist wrote, "I don’t know the meaning of life or the purpose of life, but it looks as if something were meant by it." Not to sound un-Christian-like, but can we say, "Duh?"
They tell me that one of the most challenging courses at the University of Denver was a business law class. In one of these classes the professor gave a rather difficult ‘true and false’ test. Well during the exam, the professor noticed another student flipping a coin. The professor approached him. "Son are you guessing on this test?"
"No sir," replied the student. "I’m just checking my answers."
I have spoken with some people and they are doing no better than that when it comes to living on purpose and with purpose. They are building a road to nowhere. The truth is that each one of us has a specific purpose, a calling to do the works that God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:10) You have a specific place on the battle field and a strategic victory that you must win - and anything lese, no matter how good it is or how effectively you do it is less what you should be doing!
Table Talk: One a scale of 1 to 5 (one being pathetic and five being perfect) how well do you know your purpose?
On a scale of 1 to 5 (one being pathetic and five being perfect) how are you pursuing your purpose?
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