Archive for Spiritual Warfare
Sermon on Surrender
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1 Peter 5:5-10 – Surrender, Send, Strengthen, See
by Timothy L. Jainniney, Roanoke, Virgina
Introduction:
5 “…All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
When I read this passage, I think of Tammy Faye Bakker (Messner’s) Book, “Run To The Roar.” She spoke of a loud, intimidating, roaring lion who ended up being toothless, old and nearly powerless. Yet she also spoke of her living in constant fear.
God has a word of encouragement and instruction for you in these passages.
I. V. 5-6 SURRENDER YOUR WILL TO GOD
A. Assume The Place Of Submission – We live in a day when men are all seeking their own way, but the child of God who wants to please the Lord will learn to allow God to have the place or preeminence in his life, Col. 1:18. “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”
B. Assume The Place Of Servanthood – "Clothed with Humility" literally means to "wear the apron of a slave". True humility before the Lord merely me assuming the place of a slave. This is what Jesus did in the Upper Room, John 13:4-16, washing the feet of the disciples. In other words, I have no will but His will. I have no plan but His plan. I have no desire but His desire. We are called His "bondslaves." Eph. 6:6. "Servants" = "Bondslaves."
C. Accept The Plan Of The Sovereign – If we can learn the way of humility, then the Lord will lift us up in His own way. As long as we seek to promote ourselves, we will never amount to much for the glory of God. However, when we turn loose of our lives and willingly place ourselves under the Lord, He will use us for His glory!
Surrender Your Will To God, then…
II. V. 7 SEND YOUR WORRY TO GOD
A. Casting – "Casting" – This verb refers to the act of "throwing" something. It is in a form that refers to a one time deal. We are told here to "once for all, throw our burdens to Jesus!" When the worries of life press us down, we do not have to bear them alone! Thank God, there is One Who is stronger than we are and Who is willing to carry our load.
B. Completely – Notice how much or our burden we are supposed to give to the Lord. "All your care"! He tells us to give Him everything! We are not so much as to keep even the smallest part of a burden to ourselves. We are told to give it all up to Jesus!
C. Confidently – How can we do this? With the absolute confidence that He cares for us. When we are burdened, it touches the heart of God and He is moved on our behalf. Please notice that this verb is in the "Present Tense, Active Voice and the Indicative Mood." You may wonder what this means for you. Present Tense means ongoing activity. Active Voice means the Lord Himself is involved. Indicative Mood means that it is a fact! Put it all together and we find that Jesus Christ, Himself, is actively involved in caring for us. Why the interest on His part? He has made quiet an investment in us (The Cross) and He will see to the needs that arise in our lives.
Surrender Your Will To God, then…
Send Your Worry To God, then…
III. V. 8-9 STRENGTHEN YOUR WALK WITH GOD
We are told that we need to be "sober and vigilant" KJV, “self-controlled and alert.” NIV. This means that we need to get serious about some things, especially where the devil/enemy/adversary is concerned. Who do you think wants to bring you down? Who do you think is actively interested in seeing you miserable? Who do you think is working against you every day? Yet, as we strengthen our walk with the Lord, we will see the path to victory over the devil!
A. Be Serious About The Devil's Reality – This verse refers to a being that most of the world does believe in this evening. However, just in case there is any confusion in your mind, the devil is real! Jesus believes in him, the Bible believes in him, God believes in him, therefore, he must be real! Here, he is called "Adversary". This word means, "An opponent, an enemy". He is also called "the devil". This name means "slanderer; or false accuser." This is the same one who attacked the character and name of old Job; Job 1:6-12; Job 2:1-7. He is still the same old devil that he always was and he hates you and wants to see you fall. The sooner we come to realize the truth of Satan's reality, the sooner we will see the need to strengthen our walks with God.
B. Be Serious About The Devil's Ferocity – The devil is compares to a "roaring lion" in this verse. Why a lion? Well, there are some similarities between the devil and lions.
1. Lions Are Forceful – They are 14 to 21 times stronger than a man. Satan is far stronger than we are as well! We cannot fight him on OUR own.
2. Lions Are Ferocious – A mature lion can consume 30% of his own body weight at one setting. They are famous as the king of beasts and as the king of the jungle. All those who encounter them treat them with fear and respect. By the way, God's children would do well to learn to respect the devil! We do not need to fear him, but he does have power that is far superior to our own NATURAL abilities. He is a ferocious foe who is never satisfied with his conquests. He feeds on the carcass of the fallen ones and he rises to hunt more.
3. Lions Are Fearful – A mature lion's roar can be heard up to 5 miles away. Lions do most of their roaring at night. The reason they roar in the first place is to create fear in the hearts of those who hear them. This is just what the devil does too! He roars to create fear in the hearts of God's children. Why? Because fear paralyzes faith! If the devil can get you to listen to his roar, he can keep you from hearing God's Word. If he can paralyze your faith, then he can attack your life.
C. Be Serious About The Devil's Susceptibility – The good news about the devil is that he can be defeated by the child of God! The secret to overcoming him and changing his roar into a meow is to "resist" him! This word means to "stand up against" the devil! Be steadfast in your faith, knowing that the Lord has already defeated the devil and that victory for the child of God is found in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't let him have your honor, your family, your life, or anything else he is after. Stand against him and see the victory! You can resist him and you can see him defeated in your life. Learn the truth that if you will resist him, he will flee from you, James 4:7. Learn that true victory comes to those who will walk in faith. Get to the place where you have no doubts as to the truth of 1 John 4:4, overcoming our enemies, every spirit, the spirit of antichrist. To get to that place requires that every child of God grow in the Lord and that we strengthen our walk with Him daily through prayer and the study of His Word!
Surrender Your Will To God, then…
Send Your Worry To God, then…
Strengthen Your Walk With God, and finally…
IV. V. 10 SEE THE WORK OF GOD
One of the greatest incentives to walking in continuous victory is to be able to see the Lord at work all around you! Notice three thoughts:
A. The Grace We Now Enjoy – While we journey through those difficult days, while we fight the devil day by day, while we face those times when we are burdened with worries and cares, always remember that God's grace is sufficient for you, 2 Cor. 12:9, “…My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect (complete) in weakness.” He did not say that He would lift every load. He did not say that He would flatten every hill. He did not say that He would smooth out every rough spot. However, He did say that He would change you in the midst of your difficulty so that you could be successful in your walk with Him. There is grace for every trial, for every step and for everything we face as we go through life!
B. The Grief We Must Endure – Verse 10 makes it plain that there will be difficulties along the road of life from time to time. The word "suffer' bears this out for us. Jesus Himself said it would be so, John 16:33. Even Job knew that there would be difficult times in our lives, Job 14:1. God only had one Son Who did not sin, but He has no sons that do not suffer!
Let us remember that even when life is a veil of tears for us, that we have the Lord's promise of His Presence, Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:20; His Provision, Phil. 4:19; His Power, Matt. 28:18; and His Promotion, John 14:1-3. Therefore, let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith! Why, Because He has already ran the race and He knows the way!
C. The Glory We Will Experience – This verse tells us that when the suffering days are over, there are glory days ahead! Notice what the Lord tells His children here: He will make us perfect, establish us, strengthen us and settle us. When will this happen? Yes, this will be something that will take place in our eternal future, however I believe we can have this NOW!
Conclusion: Ask yourself the following questions and be honest:
Am I surrendering my will to God?
Am I sending my worries to God?
Am I strengthening my walk with God?
Am I seeing the work of God?
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Who is the Ultimate Enemy of Revival? — sermon notes
Posted by: | CommentsThe following is a sermon outline that can be used to call people to a place of personal responsibility regarding revival. Such a sermon may not be the most popular but it will be one of those sermons that God will bless if preached in a spirit of humility.
Who is the Ultimate Enemy of Revival?
by Eddie Lawrence
INTRODUCTION: One of the most well known passages in the whole Word of God concerning revival is 2 Chronicles 7:14. It records for us the condition or restoring God’s favor upon a land and a people when they are in the midst of a spiritual downturn accompanied by famine and drought. In this famous passage also is the revelation of the greatest enemy to revival.
2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (NKJV)
TRANSITION: I will share with you three culprits you might suspect to be the ultimate enemy of revival and then reveal what I believe the Bible teaches the ultimate enemy of revival to be.
1. IT IS NOT SATAN
I suppose a number of people would say that Satan is the ultimate enemy of revival. While he is certainly behind many schemes, snares, deceptions, and slanderous accusations that would thwart revival, I do not think He is the worse enemy of revival.
-Make no mistake he is God’s enemy.
-Make no mistake he is the Church’s enemy.
-Make no mistake he is your enemy.
Yet, I think there is a greater enemy to revival than Satan.
In the passage above there is no mention of addressing Satan in order for revival to come.
2. IT IS NOT THE WORLD
We are warned to not love the world nor the things in the world. The worldly system does run contrary to the ways of God. The world is uninterested in revival or your spiritual growth. The "prince of this world" is behind worldly influence.
All through the Scripture you see the world moving one way and God another way. The worldly system is the enemy of God and His people.
Yet, I think there is a greater enemy to revival than the World.
In the passage above there is no mention of addressing the World in order for revival to come.
3. IT IS NOT SIN
Surprisingly, I do not think sin is the greatest enemy of revival. Sin brings the penalty of death upon humanity. When sin entered the world, the curse entered the world. The enemy and the world work hard to see that sin abounds.
Yet, I think there is a greater enemy to revival than Sin.
2 Chronicles 7:14 does mention a need to address sin and wickedness, but the truth is revival is only hindered when God’s people choose to commit sin.
4. IT IS NOT LOST PEOPLE
The passage above speaks of God’s people but not lost people. Revival means to live again. It speaks of renewal and a refreshing life flow. Lost people are dead in sin. They do not need revived. They need "vived."
The enemy may work through them to stand against revival and the things of God.
Yet, I do not believe they are not the ultimate enemy of revival.
Who is the ultimate enemy of revival?
5. IT IS OUR OWN FLESHLY SELF
2 Chronicles 7:14 calls for God’s people to turn from "their wicked ways". You see God will forgive and cleanse us from sin. Sin, however, arises out of our on fallen nature. Now I know we sin because we have a sinful nature and we have a sinful nature because of sin. But in Christ, we now have a new nature. The old selfish, sinful nature, is to be reckoned as dead.
When Satan came to Jesus, the Bible says he found nothing in him. That is, there was no landing pad for sin in the life of Jesus. Revival is about God’s people operating under the favor and blessing of God as they live out of the new life in Christ. The Chronicles passage in this study is an example for us. It shows God’s people can choose to repent and bring renewed blessings upon themselves and their land.
Have you ever thought about this:
-Satan will not be in heaven in eternity, He will in the lake of fire.
-Sin will not be in heaven for the lamb will have cleansed it all away.
-The wicked will not be in Heaven
-God’s people will be in Heaven. Their new resurrected glorified bodies will be in Heaven. Their spirit will be housed in their glorified bodies in Heaven. But their fallen fleshly nature will not be in Heaven. Neither will it be in Hell. It simply will not be. It is dead and no more.
To defeat the ultimate enemy of revival, we simply must see our sin nature crucified with Christ and live his life in the here and now. When he is truly living enthroned in our lives, then sin, Satan, and the world cannot keep us from experiencing revival. Dear friend, when he is truly enthroned and we are honoring him, and allowing him to live through us…..that is REVIVAL.
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Confidence in A Crisis — sermon notes
Posted by: | Comments(The following sermon notes are contributed by Pastor David O. Cofield. Thanks Pastor David for the great work. You can check out his blog at www.energizingword.org)
Confidence in a Crisis
Daniel 6
This is the most familiar of all of Daniel’s stories. Lion’s den. A new
government under Darius had taken over and just like the old regime,
he makes an image of himself for all to pray toward. But Daniel won’t
do it and his consequence is being thrown into the lions den.
There are many lions we all face: bitterness, anger, relational,
parenting, financial, disease, aging. We live in a dog-eat-dog (lion-eat-lion)
world.
May be we get to the point that we think the crisis will be over, but I
remind you Daniel is at least in his late 80’s here.
How can we face it with confidence?
I. Confidence is seen with a thankful attitude.
Verse 3– Daniel had a good spirit or attitude. This is not “Spirit,” but
spirit. He had a good attitude about him.
Verse 10—Daniel was giving thanks and the Bible says, “he knelt.”
Ephesians 5:20 “Giving thanks always for all things to God the
Father…”
Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer
and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known
to God;”
When you face a crisis, open your mouth and thank God. There is
power in the spoken Word over your own live.
Life is not fair adding to the fact that the devil hates God and His
followers.
II. Confidence is strengthened with a consistent walk.
This is the first time we learn about Daniel’s daily walk with God and
we are very impressed, but not shocked.
The King noted in verse 20—”the God you continually serve.” Does
our friends, family note that we walk “to a different drum beat?”
Psalm 55: 17 “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry
aloud, and He shall hear my voice.”
Why did he do this? Praying toward Jerusalem is in obedience to II
Chron. 6:36-39.
He knew the Word of God.
His walk produced purity.—verse 4
His walk produced power. – we’ll see this in a moment
His walk produced protection. – verse 23
III. Confidence is solidified with complete trust in God.
The lions would be purposely starved to be used as executioners. And
note in verse 17 that over the cave a stone was rolled, the king’s signet
was attached so that nothing could be changed. Remember another
time that a stone was rolled over a cave, the king’s secured the place so
nothing could be changed.
This is a foreshadowing of the resurrection in the OT.
Daniel faced the lions knowing well the Lion of Judah.
God sent an angel to his defense. If one angel can slay 185,000
Assyrians, surely one angel can take care of a group of lions.
Doesn’t mean protection that you won’t ever go through trials.
Daniel missed the fiery furnace, but not the den of lions.
Isaiah was sawn in half, Paul’s head was severed and Peter was
crucified upside down.
But Daniel had “no injury -wound.” The word means “to ruin…to hurt,
injure.”
Psalm 55:18 (NIV) “He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged
against me…”
We may be engaged in the battle, but we don’t have to be wounded by
the battle.
Notice the reason why no “wound” was found. Verse 23 – “because he
believed in his God.”
II Timothy 4: 17—Paul was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. He
had been left alone humanly, but God was with him and delivered him.
Ernest Wadsworth—”Pray for a faith that will not shrink when washed
in the waters of affliction.”
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