daniel
we also see that gabriel shows up again
with more visions for daniel in daniel
chapter nine and it is daniel chapter
nine's visions that have so distraught
daniel that in chapter 10 the man has no
idea what to do except to just fast and
pray and seek the face of god
and so he does and he gets this amazing
encounter
with this amazing angel now this
encounter in chapter 10
if i were to read the entire encounter
that daniel has with this particular
angel
what we would recognize church is that
we would end up reading the entire book
of daniel
because from daniel chapter 10 where he
encounters the angel all the way through
the end of chapter 12 which is the end
of the book this angel incorporates the
whole last chapters of daniel's story
daniel's book right there
this angel is amazing and impressive and
is beyond all count
but we need to see this instead of
reading the entire three or four
chapters three chapters here we're only
going to focus on these 10 verses
daniel encounters this man in linen
this man in linen is never named in the
entire passage of scripture
he is never named
however what we recognize is that there
is a description
about this angel this man as he's
described
and it is a very unique description
in fact this
many theologians are split on who this
individual is
some theologians will say that it is a
high-ranking angel
that it is an angel of of authority and
power that is just a high ranking
one that even michael responds to
others will say that this like the angel
that balaam encountered that this is a
pre-incarnate visitation of christ
and they will argue back and forth on
who this angel is and the identity of
this angel
because it is so unique
and
one of the arguments that people will
say why this is not
jesus
is because where it says in the past the
passage
that he struggled with he was he was
resisted
by the prince of the kingdom of persia
that he was resisted and that is one of
the arguments in verse 13
that many people say that well how can
jesus be resisted how can jesus be
delayed and
that is a great argument and i have
here's my response to that particular
argument
have you ever resisted jesus
have you ever
delayed jesus in your own
because god is a gentleman
and you can resist and you can stop what
god wants to do because god it may be
leaning upon you but if you don't move
you're resisting the holy spirit you're
resisting god when god's trying to ask
you to do something and you're resisting
him
so it is possible to resist jesus is it
ideal absolutely not who wants to resist
god
but we see here this passage
the the identity of this angel
is not so important for us
as it is to understand what this passage
tells us
this passage tells us
really quite simply that there is
stuff happening
beyond our mind's eye
this passage is key
for us to recognize
to see and to grasp that there is stuff
there is a real
spiritual battle
that we do not see and we do not
comprehend just beyond our mind's eye
and it is very real
there's a key a few key words that are
important for our understanding of this
and it is important to see that there is
a level of resistance
that is happening
from a spiritual perspective not not a
physical resistance but there is a
spiritual
resistance
we see also there is a spiritual need
for assistance
we see that the angel said that i was i
was being withheld by the prince of the
kingdom of persia and so michael came to
help me michael came to my aid
so we see that there is a resistance we
see that there is a need for assistance
we also see that there is a great delay
that occurs and if you jump ahead we did
not read this passage but if you jump to
daniel 10 verse 20
we even see in the text where he says
that we must go and i will fight
for you
these are important things to recognize
for our minds in our hearts to recognize
that there is a very real spiritual
battle and this is revealed in this text
for us from that heavenly perspective
this angel shows up and says hey look
when you began to pray i heard you
i heard you
when you words were first heard i was
sent
but here's what's amazing about that the
angel this this visitation was sent when
daniel began his
fast
how many days did he fast he fasted for
21 days
and the bible tells us
that at the beginning of that time he
lifted his words his words were heard
and the angel was sent in that moment
how amazing to recognize that sometimes
we think when we pray
that we give our one words and then we
stop and we go back upon our daily
living
but then the need that we need god to
move upon the miracle that we need god
to do something with is so great and so
big
but we only give them five minutes and
then we're one and
done when there is stuff that is
happening beyond our mind's eye that we
cannot see that we cannot comprehend
and we need god to move and do something
in that moment amen
this angel this visitation reveals this
to us when we see how daniel was so
troubled he needed answers his vision
was so troubling he was so overwhelmed
he needed god to reveal
himself and so god did
this is this is an amazing encounter
when we see what god is doing in it and
then that need to rely upon him
we see all these things
as gods
as god begins moving daniel's
daniel has so many things going on in
his physical circumstances
the encounter came not only to give
clarity to prophetic things
but to remind
us of
a very real spiritual battle
i want to give you the origins of this
spiritual battle
their origins are given to us in the
middle of scriptures
isaiah 14
how you have fallen from heaven or
lucifer's son of the morning
how you are cut down to the ground
you who weaken the nations for you have
said in your heart i will ascend unto
heaven i will exalt my throne above the
stars of god i will sit also on the
mount of the congregation in the
recesses of the north i will ascend of
the heights of the clouds i will be
like the most high
yet you shall be brought down to hell to
the sides of the pit
and then if we were to take that same
passage and now we jump to revelation
verse chapter 12. in revelation 12 verse
7 it says then war broke out in heaven
michael and his angels fought against
the dragon and the dragon and his angels
fought but they did not prevail nor was
there a place for them in heaven any
longer the great dragon was cast out
that ancient serpent called the devil
and satan who deceives the whole world
he was cast down to the earth and his
angels were cast down with him
church this is the origin
of our conflict
this is the origin of the spiritual
battles in which we face and this
conflict takes on so many things
this conflict
reveals itself in the political and the
social and the personal
i want to tell you
importantly for three things because
this this ongoing conflict this we
cannot be ignorant about it we need to
look at the ways this conflict manifests
itself
this conflict manifests itself for us
in three
distinct areas
that i have that i have
found
the area of willfulness
why why willfully why why is this
conflict happening willfully
we see here it says in 2nd thessalonians
10 even him whose coming is in
accordance with the working of satans
with all power and signs and false
wonders that verse is talking about the
antichrist
church there is a conflict for our souls
there is a conflict for the creation of
god and what we need to recognize is
that this conflict is ordained
and that some of the outcomes of this
conflict are ordained
the rise of the antichrist is important
for us to recognize that god is going to
raise up he's going to allow
the enemy to rise up a leader who is
going to assert himself to such a degree
that it will be detrimental to the
church
this is willful see it's important to
understand that willful when i mean
willful in the area of willfulness this
is the areas that lead these are the
things that lead up to the fulfillment
of prophecy
conflict must happen
the battle we are waging has to happen
for the fulfillment of prophetic word
you know what that means
it means that no matter how hard the
church of god prays against the rising
of the antichrist it will happen
it means that no matter how hard we pray
against certain leaders
that are ordained prophetically
it will happen
you cannot change the things that are
leading up to the fulfillment of bible
prophecy
this is willful
battle this is the willful conflict
we cannot be ignorant of this
this is why it calls for wisdom on the
pa on the part of the saints for us to
recognize where we are and what we're
facing amen
so that's important for us to grasp the
second area we need to see is the area
that i called carelessness
careless the area of carelessness it
says in acts 17 these were more noble
than those in thessalonica for they
received the word with all eagerness
daily examining the scriptures to find
out if these things were so what do i
mean by this it means listen we can
impact change but sometimes conflict is
where we being careless or careful
this is this area of conflict how the
conflict arises and the spiritual battle
happens in this arena depends greatly on
on prayerfulness versus prayerlessness
a prayerless church a prayerless
community will be an area where the
enemy will walk over you will hampen
will hearken will will oppress you and
defeat you and you will never accomplish
anything for the work of christ
that prayerfulness to be a people of
prayer to devote ourselves to prayer and
and to move forward and to apply the
word of god allows us to walk in victory
over the enemy
do you see this area now and how it
affects community how it affects these
these little areas these little things
where god wants to move and do things
but because the people are being
careless
the conflict wages in the enemy's favor
does that make sense
so it's important for us to grasp and to
see that right there
the third and final area where we see
this area of manifestation when it comes
to our conflict the spiritual battle is
the area of our own personal lives
our personal choices greatly impact the
level of spiritual warfare that we
experience on a daily basis
your relationships that you face the
atmosphere within your home you have the
ability
to control the atmosphere within your
home
the spiritual conflict and the the way
that the level of spiritual conflict
that is happening within your own
household in your own realm of
responsibility these areas
are impacted upon your personal choices
it says
if we go back one more brother i
appreciate that
the scripture romans 8 7 says for the
carnal mind as hostile towards god for
is not subject to the law of god nor
indeed can it be
this idea that what i choose matters
what i choose to allow in my home will
determine the course of my home
what media do i allow what books do i
allow what music do i allow to be
consumed in my home or in my care these
things matter because it influences the
level of conflict and the direction of
the conflict within my home
i'm not talking about
physical confrontation between husbands
and wives i'm talking this the fighting
behind the scenes behind the veil i'm
talking the spiritual conflict that you
are facing in your home
what your mind goes through and and the
things that you are facing the the
troubles that we deal with it is
influenced by our consuming nature on
what choices i'm going to make amen
so these are important for us to
recognize and to grasp that our
individual choices impact the battle
within our own lives
we need to see here
that until we are finished on this earth
we are a part of the conflict
look at look at first peter chapter 5
verse 8 and 9 it says be sober and
watchful
because your adversary the devil walks
around as a roaring lion
seeking whom he may devour listen
peter is not writing this to a bunch of
people who have no idea what it means to
be a believer he's not writing this to
to the heathens and the pagans he's not
writing this to the atheists and the
agnostics no peter is writing this
letter to the church
to the church he says be sober and
watchful your adversary the devil walks
around like a lion seeking whom he may
desire verse 9 resist him firmly in the
faith
un listen until we're off this earth
we are potential victims
for attacks of the enemy
we are potential victims for however he
wants to come in
this adversary wishes to destroy us
listen he wants to destroy the people
he wants to do it emotionally
if he can come at your emotions play
them like a harp string to bring about
even greater destruction he wants to do
it mentally if he can get your mind
fixated on your fears when you won't
move forward
he wants to do it physically he wants to
destroy you physically and he wants to
just ultimately he wants to destroy you
spiritually so that you go
nowhere
and accomplish nothing
the goal of our enemy
is to make sure
that you do nothing for the kingdom of
god
as i was putting this message together
my mind
drifted
and i wanted to put a quote in there but
there were too many and they were too
great and none of the quotes fit
but a great book to read
on the conflict of our souls
is written by c s lewis
the screw tape letters
the screw tape letters is an amazing
book it's a great work of fiction but
you can just tell how inspired it was
and he comes in
and it's about the demon
screw tape who is writing to his lesser
demon nephew
giving him instructions
on how to drag people to hell
not just anybody
but people in the church
listen
and grasp and know this
that as long as we walk this earth
we have the opportunity to be either
victims or victors depending on how we
pull the strings of the battlefield in
the spiritual realm right now
that's important
and we need to recognize this sometimes
we get so caught up in what we're doing
and who we are and we we become ignorant
effect that there's a very real
spiritual battle happening and then we
don't go anything and we wonder why is
my life so difficult why am i so
depressed what is going on in me woe is
me i am so troubled i can't go anywhere
or do anything because we have lost
sight that there's a very real spiritual
battle that is playing out for your
heart right now
and if the enemy can stop you moving
forward he has done his job
we cannot walk ignorantly
we become open to the attacked into
weaknesses
sometimes what we do is we will
ignorantly put these the these these
blames when walking ignorant of a
spiritual battle sometimes what we can
do is we will put the sole blame of what
we're facing upon others instead of
realizing what it really should be
we put the blame of our conflicts
upon people
instead of realizing that there is
something behind the person
who is doing so much more
you know how great it is and how easy it
is to walk and love
and to fulfill fulfill the commandment
of god when god tells us to love our
enemies do you know how easy it is to
love our enemies when we finally realize
that they're not really our enemies
you know how we do that
is by realizing that the individual is
not my enemy it's what's behind that
individual that's my real enemy
so i can love the person that's opposing
me when i realize that it's not really
them it's what's behind them that's
doing the change
look at this in ephesians 6
for our fight is not against flesh and
blood but against principalities against
powers against the rulers of this
darkest world and against spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly places
we have to recognize church
that we're not up against a physical
enemy we're not up against the flesh and
blood
you know what this means
it means that the people in offices that
are
greatly irritating us
are not our actual enemies
can we can we can we sit on that
when the bible tells us to love our
enemies when we have to realize that
those people that
put themselves up as our enemies that is
not the case
our enemy is not flesh and blood our
enemy is of a spiritual nature and it's
that force working behind that
individual that is my real enemy but i
can still walk in love with the person
in front of me because that person is
just being a puppet
and we can love them
and still reach into them
when we have to realize that the real
enemy the real thing that we're up
against is what's behind them
and not what is right in front of us
because again the conflict is of a
spiritual
nature
listen to this we we hear the human
heart
hears from three different sources
we hear from three different sources now
it's not a slide so you'll have to write
this down if you're taking notes we hear
from three sources
first
we hear from
our
own
personal source
our inner thoughts
our voice
what speaks directly to us
the second voice the second source that
we listen to
is of a heavenly source
when the holy spirit speaks to you or
when the word of god speaks to you or
when the lord begins to direct your
steps and you listen to what the lord is
saying to you you listen to that
heavenly source the bible says that the
holy spirit comes
to convict the right the righteous
the unrighteous
to sit there and to deliver the word of
god
to convict the unrighteous of sin
and to move the righteous to be more and
more like our heavenly father
that's we listen to our voice from self
we listen to our voice from heaven but
then there is a third voice we like to
listen to as well and that is one of a
hellish source
the voice of our enemy
who knows us
who knows our
our past
who knows all these things
yeah we're going that way i'm going to
jump ahead on this one that's all right
we live in a place where the enemy knows
our sins our temptations our desires our
strengths and our fears
and it is this enemy that speaks to us
who knows these things
that we are up against
this
spiritual battle
that goes on but it takes such a real
physical heart
i want us to point out to this right
here that just because
we are found in christ
does not mean we are immune from this
fight
i said it earlier i'm gonna say it again
a lot of times we think that because i'm
in christ jesus that i'm no longer a
part of the conflict i'm immune listen
we are not immune from this conflict and
we can figure out how immune we are when
we turn to ephesians 6 11.
in ephesians 6 11 put on the whole armor
of god that you may be able to stand
against the schemes of the devil if you
were immune from the battle why would
you need armor
why why give us the hammer of salvation
the breastplate of righteousness the
shield of faith the belt of truth the
sword of the spirit why why give us
these things if you want the whole list
of armorists there it's in chapter six
but if you want to if why list these
important things if we were immune to
the spiritual battle that we're up
against
he lists it because it's important for
us to recognize that we are still in
this world we are still in a world that
is governed by the enemy who wants to
destroy us who wants to fight us who
come at us and we need to make sure that
we are prepared
in all things
and so to prepare us what we see here is
that for the beauty of the follower of
jesus christ we recognize one that we
are full of the holy spirit
you are occupied your heart is occupied
as believers in jesus christ our hearts
are occupied by the holy spirit
this is important and i'm going
somewhere with this when you when when i
get there but you'll see where i'm going
here
your heart is occupied by the holy
spirit
there is a resident in your heart
who occupies you're not a vacant home
okay
we see also
that your heart was bought by the blood
of christ
you were bought with a price
so you are purchased and occupied
you know what you need to grasp and you
need to see these two verses hand in
hand for what i'm about to tell you next
because spiritual warfare is a real
thing
demonic activity is a real thing
demon possession is a real thing but for
the believer of jesus christ whose heart
has been bought by the blood of jesus
and is occupied by the holy spirit
church no believer in jesus christ can
ever be demon-possessed
the only times i've had to sit there and
correct that thinking
that someone's beloved person who who is
a believer who reads the word and yet
i've got someone telling me that oh no
they're demon-possessed well look at
them i'm like well what demon possessed
have i ever heard who enjoys reading and
applying the word of god to their lives
you've got nothing to worry about when
it comes to demon possession because you
are occupied you are the dwelling place
of the holy spirit praise god
that that covering
there was one night i was a young boy
sleeping in my bed
something stirred me up in the middle of
the night
i wake up
and i can't feel my feet and i feel very
weak
i look down at my feet
and the most terrifying vision i've ever
seen
as i look
and i see what can only be described as
a wraith
has got
her
ghostly skeletized hand grasping my
ankle
the wispy
eyeless face
sits there at my feet
and the terror that comes upon me as a
young boy
my brother and i would have my brother
more specifically my brother would have
dreams
that would terrify
his three-year-old mind
and our mother would come into our room
because we would wake up screaming and
she would come into our room and she
would remind us and say no no don't you
you serve jesus
you serve jesus when these things happen
you pray and you ask you say i belong to
jesus
and you say jesus cover me with your
blood
so you know what happens
that night i look i see this thing with
my ankle
i close my eyes and all i can utter is
jesus i belong to you jesus i belong to
you cover me in your blood covering your
blood and i open my eyes and i look and
it's gone
you cannot tell me that spiritual
warfare is not real
you cannot tell me that there's an enemy
who wants to destroy you you cannot tell
me that there's an enemy who wants to
suck the living god life out of you you
cannot tell me that because i have
experienced it i have seen it i have
seen it destroy families i have seen it
destroy lives i have seen
pastors kids
who have grown up in the church who know
the word of truth but instead of
protecting their lives instead of
protecting their hearts and covering by
the blood they instead choose to listen
to a lie and in so doing become victims
instead of victors
it is a real spiritual battle that goes
before us and we need to walk in victory
listen when you are covered by the blood
of jesus you cannot be possessed but
that also does not mean
that you can be oppressed
if the enemy can't get in you he will
surround you
this is why it's important for us and i
mentioned it earlier this is why it's
important for us to recognize that our
enemy knows your past sins
the enemy knows
your deepest temptations
he knows your desires
he knows where you are strong and he
knows where you are weak
he knows what you enjoy
and he knows
what terrifies you
so when we talk about demon oppression
it's important for us to recognize and
to grasp and realize this
that because the enemy knows every
single one of us so succinctly that he
will play you like a harp string
he will play those fears in front of
your mind again and again and again
he will bypass your strengths
he will go after your weaknesses
he will go after your pet sins
he knows where your temptations
are the most
easy to get through the defenses
so he'll come at you that way
you you struggle with a certain
addiction but you won't have victory in
jesus and so you know where to go to
have victory with that temptation but
the enemy also knows where to bypass
those defenses
he knows that when you get off by
yourself when no one is watching how he
can sneak in
and will his little needle into your
side right there when no one is watching
this
demonic oppression
he knows how we can become so
busy that we are too busy for church
that because our week was so busy and
everything else was going on around us
that you know what it is sunday i've had
such a busy week it's okay for me to
sleep in and miss church today
all you who listen online unless you're
sick praise god you need to be in church
but he knows this
if he can keep you out of the house of
god he's accomplishing something
if he can keep you out of the prayer
meeting he is accomplishing something
the enemy wants to keep you from doing
anything for god and he will even make
your life too busy so that you do not
want to go in church anyways because you
just need rest
do you see where the enemy wants to get
in
and whittle his way into you
i praise god that i had a godly mother
that when my sports schedule began
having games on sunday morning my mom
said forget that and little ryan was
taken out of sports
because my mother was not going to have
sports conflict with church
she realized that it was better for me
to grow up in the house of god than to
grow up on the ball field
was that easy no
did my friends get off me on it yes they
did they handed me a new one they really
i mean i had it
but then if you look where we have come
if you look where i have arrived versus
where they have arrived
there is an important thing when we
realize the priority placed upon people
being with the people of god and seeking
the face of god as a priority where
worshipping the father has a priority
and the great spiritual outcomes that
are a direct result
it's important
that god is the priority
because the spiritual conflict is real
and if the enemy can stop you he has
succeeded
whether he uses busyness
whether he uses your weakness
whether he uses your fears and then
sometimes even your strengths if the
enemy has succeeded in keeping you from
accomplishing the will of god he has
succeeded
that's all it takes
that's why church must be a priority i'm
not saying it because i want people in
church i do want people in church but
the priority must be we must realize
we must forever realize that we are
stronger together
when we gather together corporately
house
because there's a spiritual battle and
the people of god must get together
it's a spiritual battle
what's amazing here and this is not my
notes this is all for free
it's amazing to me
when you count the hours of our young
people in schools
and then you count the hours where
they're at home
and then i have known this as a youth
pastor i'm sure pastor jake can relate
as well
it's amazing to me
when parents
trust the ministry of the church
to be the sole
giver of biblical truth to their
children
do you know how many hours your child is
in the church here in the word of god
three hours a week at best
at best
sunday morning
wednesday evening
that's it
you might be able to get close to four
hours if they come to the prayer service
sunday night 6 p.m this is the prayer
plug okay
but when they trust
the youth pastors
to give the word of god and to disciple
their young people
for three hours a week
when they're in the public school system
more than 72 hours a week
and then the rest of the time they're
with their family
and they expect the soul giving of
biblical truth and doctrine to happen
with the church
and then oh can i can i can i go off on
this
my i'm on my soapbox on the floor
soapbox on the floor
that's at best
but then how often is the family at
church
how often is church made a priority
do you see what i'm saying here it's
like okay you got three hours a week to
raise my kid up in the word of the lord
praise god go for it and then half of
those three hours a week they're only
there half the month
do you see what i'm saying
there's a spiritual battle that is
happening for the minds and hearts of
the people of god and we are playing
patty cake by avoiding everything that
the church has to offer
we are avoiding the spirit of god we are
avoiding our prayerfulness we are
avoiding teaching the people about the
lord we're we're we're avoiding prayer
in homes we're avoiding reading the word
of god in homes and we expect to walk in
victory and in power
but you've made the sword of the spirit
into a sort of cardboard and instead of
a strong broad shield of faith you have
developed a a a tin plaster shield for
your home
you've you do you see what i'm saying
here church we realize the real
spiritual battles that we're facing but
yet we have minimized it so much
that we are walking in there
with nothing
because we are not prepared at all
see listen to this
we choose who we listen to
we choose
when we want to walk away
we choose to become a victim of the
spiritual battles that we face
there's that passage in scripture
nothing can separate me from the love of
god
you're absolutely right nothing can
separate you from the love of god
nothing can stop you from eating good
and perfect dish
but if you choose to leave the dish out
of the refrigerator so that the dish
goes bad
will you eat a bad dish
if you leave the milk carton on the
counter for three weeks and you decide
you want a bowl of cereal are you going
to use that milk or you're going to toss
it out
if you use it i've got some really great
doctors for you to talk to
just saying
we know we make choices we have every
good and perfect gift but what we choose
to do
matters
you can take the strongest navy seal
and send them on a mission
he's been fully equipped he's been fully
trained on how to use every bit of his
resources he can walk in victory no
matter where he goes he has been trained
and perfected by his training to be a
good soldier but if he goes down to that
battlefield and decides to sit in the
grass and pluck daisies
who's the victim
he chose
to be the victim
church our spiritual warfare we can
choose to be the victim or we can choose
to be the victor
we can choose by what we choose to
listen to by what we choose to do we can
walk away from the goodness of god and
never look back
do you realize that
this spiritual battle plays because
again the enemy is going to put those
choices before us the enemy will always
put the choice before you listen to this
the decision to go to church on sunday
morning
has to be made by monday night
do you catch that
the decision to go to church on sunday
morning must happen by the previous
monday
you can't sit there and be like okay i
guess i'm going to go to church today no
we've already made that choice why
because your choices matter
it matters in the spiritual battle that
god is putting before us
like i said god has given us his great
power in his great power he has given us
everything we need for victory
everything we need for victory listen to
daniel's own words in daniel 10 verse 16
and 19. i want to point this out to you
listen to this in 16-19
it says here
then one in the likeness of the sons of
man touched my lips i opened my mouth
and spoke and said to him who stood
before me
o my lord because of the vision sorrows
have come upon me and i have retained no
strength
i am i have got no i've got nothing
i've got no
strength
now listen to this i want you to
understand the power of god in this
i retain no
strength
how can the servant of my lord talk with
you my lord and as for me there remains
no strength in me now nor is there any
breath left in me i've got nothing
you want me to do this great thing i've
got nothing
i am tired i am weak i am depressed
my family's out to get me
i am overwhelmed
the job demands so much
i've got nothing now listen that's the
passive in paraphrase
nor is there any breath in me then again
the one having the appearance of a man
came
and touched me
and he strengthened me
he said oh man greatly beloved do not
fear peace be unto you be strong and
courageous
when he spoke to me i was strengthened
and said let my lord speak for you have
strengthened me
listen to this church we need to
recognize
daniel was first and foremost he was
greatly esteemed he was greatly beloved
why because in his humility and his
relationship with god
and that relationship with god and his
great strength he needed something he
needed a resource he had nothing left
and you realize what happened in that
moment
he touched me and i was full of strength
sometimes we need the realization here
that we need god to touch us no matter
what our weaknesses
no matter what battle i'm facing no
matter what i'm going through no matter
what situations tomorrow's bring i've
got no strength i'm overwhelmed
you're in the middle of a spiritual
battle you can sit there and you can
face your next fight in weakness or you
can lift your voice to god lay your
request upon the lord and let him answer
and let him fill you with new strength
this is the beauty
of what it means for the believer to
walk in victory
this is a real spiritual battle
you don't have to do it in your own
strength
you don't have to do it in your own
ability you do not have to do it in your
own mind rather you can choose to trust
and lean upon god and have him fight the
battle for you
come on now
this is good
see here's the thing
in james 4 7
it says that we need to resist the enemy
and he will flee from you
if you're not resisting the enemy if
you're not resisting his voice
if you're not resisting his influence
then he's gonna be able to walk all over
you
but if you resist him
if you resist his lies if you resist his
temptations if you resist his voice and
you lean upon god he must flee
do we do we get that
and yet
so many
will go home
and pick up their pet temptations
pick up those pet
sins
how are we resisting him when we pick up
those same pets again
and again
is he going to flee
or is he going to be like oh they left
the door open again
he won't flee from you if you're
continuing taking hold of the same thing
again and again and again you have to
resist it
you need to push
back
praise god amen
he will flee if you resist him i
struggle with this pastor okay have you
resisted
well i got this going on have you
resisted
this is the hard part when it comes to
spiritual battles because sometimes
resistance means getting rid of the
thing that causes temptation
this means
getting rid of favorite books why well
if i read that book there's an open door
temptation in there
this means
getting rid of a certain kind of phone
because that phone just has pet
temptations in it
this means cancelling certain cable
connections
because of the temptations that fill it
in the hard line this may even mean
disconnecting from certain relationships
because that relationship is a doorway
to further sin
you may have a struggle with addiction
to drugs and you've got a great
relationship
who's your dealer
and god says i want you to break that
relationship that drugs is destroying
your home it's destroying your family
you've got these drugs going on you need
to get out of it
you know what that means if you're going
to resist it means you might have to cut
that off
block the number
lose the phone
do you see what i'm saying here
resistance is hard that's a reason it's
called resistance
but you've got to push back and when you
begin pushing back the enemy has to flee
this is important for the church
praise god resist it
luke 10 19 listen to the words that
jesus told his followers
in luke 10 19 it says this it says look
i give you authority to trample on
serpents and scorpions and over all the
power of the enemy and nothing shall by
any means hurt you do you realize
where your authority comes from
your authority to resist your authority
to to overcome every tool of the enemy
you don't sit there like i said earlier
you don't do it in your own strength
rather it is an authority that is given
to you by
jesus
isn't that beautiful
i have given you this
i have given this for you first john 4 4
it says this it says there you are of
god little children and have overcome
them because he who is in you is greater
than he who is in the world
this verse tells us two things one we
need to recognize that there is someone
in the world to overcome
don't become ignorant of that
don't go through life thinking the world
is your friend
the popular opinion of mankind is
actually going to lead to the
destruction of mankind
there's an enemy in the world that has
got to be defeated
and the key to that defeating happens by
the one who is in you
when we take a step back and we realize
that he who is in us is greater than he
was in the world
you know what that tells me no matter
what situations you're facing god is
bigger
no wonder no matter what's happening in
your home god is bigger
no matter what's happening in the
workplace god is bigger
now we need to connect bigger with
stronger god is stronger with what is
happening than what's going on in your
own
god is stronger than what is going on in
your job place of work god is stronger
than what is happening in the government
right now god is stronger
he the one who is in you is greater than
he who is in the world
and we need to hold on to that
especially when we realize that we are
in the very midst of a spiritual
conflict
amen
we are in a spiritual conflict
it's gonna manifest in our homes it's
gonna manifest in every workplace and we
need to trust in god
listen to this our struggles will take
the proper size when we place them next
to christ
do you realize that
take your struggle
and put it next to christ
and see
what he's
doing yes we live in a fallen world
we live in a fallen world and because we
live in a fallen world we will bear the
scars and the dirt of spiritual warfare
all the time
do you know
that
we bear the scars of it
we bear the scars of living in a fallen
world what do i mean by that
for many soldiers that have seen the
battlefield even though they do not have
a scar on their body they have a scar in
their mind
when they're afraid or not afraid
uncomfortable mom might be better
they don't want to
open up
and share what they have seen because it
traumatizes them so
listen to this as believers in jesus
christ we live in a sin fallen world and
so our lives bear the scars
of a fallen world
split homes
workplace difficulties
kids in in in terrible situations
all these things we bear these things
because we live in a fallen world
but we need to recognize that he who is
in us is greater than he is in the world
and ultimately
i want to remind us we need to remind
ourselves of this
is that he fights these battles for us
he fights these battles god fights these
battles for us
deuteronomy 3 22
the israelites are beginning going
getting ready to take the the the
promised land
and moses reminds the people
in deuteronomy 3
the words he says he says this he says
i
will fight the battle for you
in daniel 10 verse 20
daniel 10 verse 20 this is what the word
says it goes on and he says this he says
then he said do you understand why i
have come to you but now i shall return
to fight against the prince of persia
and when i have gone forth then truly
the prince of greece will come
i will fight
i will go forward in that
and then in matthew verse 10 excuse me
chapter 10 verse 19
the lord repeats
the same thing
i go and do this for you
you know he tells the disciples don't
worry
about what to say
when they take you before the
magistrates when they take you before
the rulers and they question you do not
worry about what you're going to say
for in those moments the holy spirit
will speak through you and give you the
words to say
church do we realize
that christ came
to give us strength and victory
to be overcomers
not that we go and we fight these things
in our own strength
but that we enlist ourselves underneath
his banner
and by putting ourselves underneath his
banner
something greater happens
the lord
fights
for us
at the end of the book
in revelation when christ appears at the
last trumpet blast when all is said and
done and christ appears
the bible tells us that when he comes to
set his foot on the mount of olives that
there is a great earthquake and the
mountain splits in two but do you
realize that when christ comes and puts
his foot on the mountain that he is not
alone
the bible tells in revelation that when
christ comes and puts his foot on the
mountain at the end of the age he puts
his foot down it says that behind him in
the skies is the entire hosts of heaven
that a grand army that has never before
been seen by any man living or dead is
going to follow christ in that day and
he's going to show himself up but you
guess what they're all there for battle
but no one touches their weapon do you
want to know why church
is because christ opens his mouth and
when he opens his mouth all the enemies
of israel in the church are defeated
when christ speaks the word
[Applause]
the host didn't fight
the people don't fight
christ fights the battle for you
we need to remind ourselves of that
we
are still living in a battlefield
yes we know the end
we know how it all plays out you wanna
know why we know how it all plays out
because god dwells in eternity and he's
a fit to show us the end of the story
why because we now have a greater hope
that can ever be found we know how it
plays out
but that does not deny the fact that we
are still in the midst of a battlefield
there is still a war going on for the
hearts of man
our homes are still being fought for
are our lives are still being fought for
your children are still being fought for
your grandchildren are still being
fought for
my kids
are still being fought for
my parents are still being fought for my
grandparents are still being fought for
they're being fought for in the homes
they're being fought for in the church
they're being fought for in the
workplace
because our enemy is real
and we need to be a people who do
something about it
and god has given us every tool we need
to walk in victory
and we need to remind ourselves
why do we need to remind ourselves to
walk in victory why does this angel come
to daniel in this passage in daniel 10
why does the angel come the angel comes
to remind daniel that there is still a
spiritual war going on and that daniel
should not give up and to make sure
daniel doesn't give up what does the
angel do he fills them with strength
again
you may have been going through a week
right now where you just feel weak
you might be so overwhelmed
you you might
be looking at life and thinking what am
i doing
people online
apply this to yourself as well
you might have gone through the gauntlet
this week
gauntlet in home
gauntlet and personal choices
gauntlet in the workplace
and you might be thinking to yourself i
just need strength
sometimes we get so caught up in this we
don't even realize
why we feel
so beat up
why do we feel beat up today
i did nothing wrong
why do i feel beat up i i don't know
what i did i did not have a crazy day
why do why am i depressed this moment
why am i feeling so defeated this moment
why is my home just pulling on my mind
so greatly
and we just feel like you've gone
through the gauntlet it's the only way i
can explain it
the lord wants to remind you this
morning that there is still a very real
spiritual battle
that we do not need to be ignorant of it
it's very real
and that god wants to give you
reminds you to walk in victory
if i can have my brother on a guitar up
here
we're going to conclude this service
we need to be reminded
one of the things about christmas season
that my mind always goes to
in the christmas season my mind always
goes in this direction
we get to view the beautiful birth of
christ
we see mary
go through the trial of giving birth
and you know what's amazing about that
is that the enemy knows
full well
what's coming
and so in my
geeky mind
i picture
the behind the scenes
of the birth of christ
the antagonizing emotions of our enemy
realizing that the final nail in his
coffin is coming
and he can't do anything to stop it
because do you realize church
the victory that we walk in as believers
and followers of jesus christ
was bought by the blood of jesus
he sent his son
so that we could have that ultimate
victory in him isn't that beautiful
and he gave us every christmas
christmas and easter those are the two
days of the year we need to remind
ourselves what victory do i have in
jesus
no matter what my life is going through
no matter what spiritual battle i'm
facing right now
i have got victory
because of jesus
let's all stand to our feet this morning
hallelujah
[Music]
heavenly father we come before you right
now
lord as we rise and we just come and we
lay things down before you
[Music]
i praise you
and give you the glory
for you are holy
you are righteous and you are just
we give you the glory that you have
given us the victory
i give you glory that you have given us
every tool we need to walk by your power
and your might
lord let us choose
to pick up the gifts that you've given
us
let us choose
every day to pick up the sword of the
spirit which is the word of god
and let us fight with it for the lives
of our loved ones
lord that
we would not be so easily overcome
but that we would walk by the power of
the most high
hallelujah hallelujah
if you're here this morning
the word resonating in your heart
and you would claim the same things that
daniel said i
i am weak
i've got no strength
if that is you and you want strength
this morning
i invite you right now to come to these
altars
i want to pray with you personally
i want to pray with you
that in this place
the lord will give you new strength
that the lord will refresh you and equip
you if that's you this morning let's
come to these altars they're open
unless you have a time of prayer unless
you seek the face of god again if you
just want strength whatever you're
facing whatever you need you want to
re-strengthen you
let's just come to these altars
and let's just give god the glory and
let's just worship him for a moment this
morning
[Music]
do
[Music]
all who are thirsty
[Music]
all who are we
come to the fountain
dip your heart
in the
stream of
let the pain and the sorrow
[Music]
be washed away
in the waves of his mercy
as deep cries out
to
deep
when we sing
jesus
[Music]
come
lord jesus
comes
[Music]
all who are thirsty
all who are we
[Music]
come to the fountain
dip your heart in the stream
life
let the pain and the sorrow
be washed away
in the waves of his mercy
[Music]
as deep cries
[Music]
lord jesus
[Music]
come
come lord
[Music]
holy
spirit
[Music]
all who are thirsty
all
who are thirsty
[Music]
come to the fountain
[Music]
dip your heart in the
stream of life
let the pain and the sorrow
be washed away
in the waves of his mercy
[Music]
we sing
come
lord jesus
christ
[Music]
so
[Music]
uh
[Music]
holy spirit we just ask that you would
just come
that you would fill us anew
lord i ask that you would just refresh
your people
refresh us with your strength refresh us
with your word refresh us with your
power lord that we would not walk
through this day ignorant of the things
that we are facing but to recognize
lord that there is a real fight for the
hearts and souls of your people
and so lord we want to trust in you
lord i ask right now that you would
renew the strength of your people that
you would renew
the the the strength and the rest
that you would go before your people
and lord that you would do a mighty
mighty work
in that place father we thank you that
you give us rest
we thank you that the promise to enter
your rest still stands as the scriptures
declare
and father that we can lean upon you
we don't need to go through it in our
own strength our own might our own power
but by your spirit
and we praise you for that hallelujah
hallelujah
how many of you are glad and excited to
be in the house of the lord this morning
hallelujah praise the lord praise god
he goes before you he fights the fight
for you and you can lean on him and
trust in him
and he will go before you hallelujah
praise the lord amen brother rod keep
closest in prayer sir
father we just thank you lord that
you have met us here this morning
we thank you for your strength lord god
the joy of the lord is our strength
father go with us as we go forth this
week
lord
be with us in making our choices be with
us in
in making our decisions lord god give us
strength in this this
time lord god that we need you so much
holy spirit come lord i just pray in the
name of jesus that you would go forth
and with your favor upon your people in
jesus name amen