Latest / Bayside Davis Podcast / Ephesians 6:10-17 | Spiritual Warfare

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Ephesians 6:10-17 | Spiritual Warfare · Bayside Davis Podcast

0:05
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Baside Davis Podcast.
0:08
SPEAKER_00: You're listening to our current teaching series, Ephesians.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: If you take a general observation on any given day in this world, you will see two realities at play.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: One, there is good in this world.
0:31
SPEAKER_00: And two, there is evil in this world.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: In the last couple weeks, there's been a lot of good in this world.
0:41
SPEAKER_00: Even in our local region, in our local church, 22 people have raised their hands to believe in Jesus in the last two weeks at Bayside Davis.
0:52
SPEAKER_00: We have over 50 people who are right now going through a discipleship program called Rooted as followers of Jesus with only a couple weeks left before they finish out.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: And that is good and redemptive and beautiful.
1:07
SPEAKER_00: Bayside as a whole, all 10 of our churches has baptized almost 2,000 people so far in 2025.
1:15
SPEAKER_00: That is an example of good.
1:20
SPEAKER_00: And about a week from now, Thanksgiving is approaching, and all of us with all the dysfunction in our families, including us, we always think of everybody else being dysfunctional.
1:31
SPEAKER_00: We're dysfunctional too, amen.
1:33
SPEAKER_00: We bring the dysfunction just as everybody else brings their dysfunction.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: That we get to sit with family and friends and eat food and have conversations and laugh and watch movies and play games.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: Like that is a beautiful reality, even with the dysfunction of human beings.
1:55
SPEAKER_00: There's also a lot of examples of evil in our world.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: Like this week, my LA Lakers lost by more than 20 points to the OKC Thunder.
2:03
SPEAKER_00: That is just evil.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: Pray against that.
2:07
SPEAKER_00: But then the next two games they've dominated, so they've redeemed themselves for good.
2:12
SPEAKER_00: On a serious note, I don't know if you guys have been following this, but 3,100 Christians in 2024 were murdered in Nigeria for their faith.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: 7,000 Christians thus far in 2025 have been killed, martyred for their faith in Nigeria.
2:40
SPEAKER_00: That is evil, pure evil at work in the world.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: There's all kinds of, on any given day, there was a drone strike in Sudan that killed 40 people at a funeral.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: There's a terrorist car bombing in Delhi, India that killed 10 people.
2:55
SPEAKER_00: On every given day around the world, there are so many examples of evil.
3:00
SPEAKER_00: But don't forget there's also so many examples of good.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible talks about and juxtaposes two realities that I'm talking about with various metaphors, good and evil, light and darkness, sin and righteousness, angels and demons, God and Satan.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: All of these are juxtaposing the two realities that are always at play in our world.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: And we as Christians sometimes call this when we are walking with Jesus and following Jesus and we're facing these tensions spiritually.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: It's not like physical, it's these spiritual things that are happening around us or in our soul or in our life or in our relationships.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: We sometimes call this spiritual warfare.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: To use a war analogy.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: And the New Testament is replete with references to spiritual warfare.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: Listen to a few verses.
3:58
SPEAKER_00: 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 4.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
4:07
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, we're in a spiritual war.
4:09
SPEAKER_00: You've enlisted us.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: 2 Timothy 4, 7, I have fought the good fight, Paul said.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: He's not literally in the boxing ring or an MMA fighter.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: He is fighting spiritual darkness in this world.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: 2 Corinthians 10, 3 and 4, for though we walk in the flesh, we're humans, we're embodied beings, we do not war according to the flesh.
4:31
SPEAKER_00: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: And maybe some of us in this room today have some strongholds that are holding us back from God and flourishing.
4:42
SPEAKER_00: And today God may pull down those strongholds.
4:47
SPEAKER_00: James chapter 4, verse 7, therefore to submit to God, resist the devil like a good running back, stiff arming the devil, and he will flee from you.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: 1 Peter 5, verse 8, be sober, be vigilant, be awake spiritually, because your adversary, the devil, he's not your friend.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: Walks about like a roaring lion, not like a little kitty cat that you can, you know, pet and purr.
5:14
SPEAKER_00: Like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
5:22
SPEAKER_00: If you want to admit this is real, awesome.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: If you don't want to admit this is real, that's okay, but this is real.
5:31
SPEAKER_00: And I think the context is verses 10 through 17, the context goes all the way back to Ephesians chapter 5, verse 18, where he says, Do not be drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: In other words, don't let don't let anything influence your life other than God.
5:47
SPEAKER_00: Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: In other words, if you are walking in the Spirit, if you are living a life filled with the Spirit, you, and I I hate to say this, but you will face spiritual opposition.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes churches were just like, oh, everything's gonna be amazing.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna follow Jesus, and all of your life's gonna fit together overnight, and everything's gonna be perfect.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: But that would be a dishonest reality because if you read the Bible, you see these interplay realities at work that there is hardship and there is goodness, that there's good and evil and light and darkness, and all of these things are a part of following Jesus in a broken, fallen world.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: So I would be dishonest if I said, come to Jesus and everything's gonna be perfect in your life.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: That's just not reality.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: So I want you to lean into this passage with me this morning.
6:45
SPEAKER_00: The first thing that I want to look at is verses 10 through 13.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: If you're a note taker, write this down.
6:49
SPEAKER_00: If not, you might as well start today because there's a really important spiritual truths here.
6:54
SPEAKER_00: Verses 10 through 13, the reality of spiritual warfare.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: The reality of spiritual warfare.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: Verse 10, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: Be strong in the Lord.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes we listen to this and we're like, oh yeah, you know, this means that I wake up in the morning and I'm like, I'm gonna be really strong today.
7:21
SPEAKER_00: I've got this self-dependent spiritual mantra, like, I got this God, I can do this, I'm gonna win all the battles today.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: This is not you waking up in the morning saying, I'm gonna be really strong spiritually today.
7:36
SPEAKER_00: This is you waking up in the morning saying, God, I can't fight these battles without you today.
7:43
SPEAKER_00: This is a present, passive imperative verb.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: You're like, what does all that mean?
7:48
SPEAKER_00: Well, let me explain what it means.
7:51
SPEAKER_00: It means that this is a continual process and that you are not the agent of your strength.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: That's why it's passive.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: That God is the agent of your strength.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: This is not me waking up today being like, I'm so strong spiritually.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: It's me waking up today in the humility of my human weakness and saying, God, I am utterly dependent on you today.
8:16
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna open up my Bible, I'm gonna pray, I'm gonna seek your face, I'm gonna posture my heart towards you because I wanna be continually strengthened by the Lord.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: He is the source of our spiritual strength.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible constantly talks about this, and sometimes we might have the wrong perspective that we're to be strong, but the reality is when the Bible talks about this, the Bible is talking about this in the context that God can give you the strength so you could be strong with the Lord.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: Joshua 1.6, be strong and be of good courage spiritually.
8:51
SPEAKER_00: Joshua 1.7, only be strong and very courageous.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: Joshua 1.9, have I commanded you, be strong and of good courage.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: Do not be afraid nor dismayed.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
9:06
SPEAKER_00: Philippians chapter 4, verse 13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
9:13
SPEAKER_00: He is the source of our spiritual strength.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: And maybe today, maybe today is a day for you to actually admit your spiritual weakness.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: Because it is when you are weak that God is strong.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't need your strength.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't need you to bring all your human strength to him.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't need you to be like, look at me, God, I'm so amazing and strong.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't need your strength.
9:41
SPEAKER_00: He already is strong.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: God needs your weakness to make you strong.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: Come on, somebody.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: Verse 11.
9:51
SPEAKER_00: Verse 11, it gets better.
9:53
SPEAKER_00: Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's scheme.
10:01
SPEAKER_00: In other words, we have an attire to put on.
10:04
SPEAKER_00: This is not literal, this is a metaphor, this is a picture.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: And he says, you put on your spiritual attire so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: We need to be equipped for spiritual battles because the devil has methods and strategies.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: I know it is football season, so I like to use these analogies because some of you are football fans and some of you aren't.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: So let me educate you who are not.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: On any given Sunday, there are football games in a league called the NFL, and two teams are playing against each other.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know who your favorite team is, but let's say your favorite team is playing all week long and all season long, there are coaches on offense and defense that are scheming and strategizing and teaching and training the players all week long to win that battle on any given Sunday.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: And we think these are brilliant minds, brilliant strategists.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: Look at all of these different plays and how much the people have to memorize about their plays and schemes and the other teams' plays and schemes.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: Listen, Satan has been doing this for a long time.
11:24
SPEAKER_00: He has strategies and schemes, like a football team has schemes on offense and defense, and he's been doing this a long time.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: Do not be surprised when you face spiritual opposition.
11:39
SPEAKER_00: This is a part of following Jesus.
11:41
SPEAKER_00: Even Jesus was tempted by Satan and faced trials and felt spiritual warfare or opposition in his life.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: Here's what we need to know we need to know that this is real and he is really good at what he does.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: But God is far better.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: There are all kinds of strategies that Satan will use against my life and your life.
12:07
SPEAKER_00: Let me list a few.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: Believing lies about yourself, turning away from God, temptation, thinking something God said not to do will actually satisfy you.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: Pride, unforgiveness, false doctrine, insecurities, shame, past mistakes, fear of rejection, distraction, apathy, sexual immorality, all of these things are schemes and strategies that darkness, that evil spiritual forces that are real are working against you and me.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: And if we're to be honest, we look at a list like that, and that's just illustrative.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: It's not exhaustive, and we're like, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: This is a real part of our life.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: But here's what God says: He says, take your stand against the devil's schemes.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: We might look at that list and the reality and we might be afraid, or we might feel like, you know, Christianity or following Jesus is full of fragility spiritually, but that's not what he's saying here.
13:22
SPEAKER_00: He's saying you have to lean into reality to become the follower of Jesus God wants you to become.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: And he tells us to stand strong, to stand against the enemy of our soul.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: The term pictured here is the idea of holding the position you already have.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: It's not like you and I we wake up in the morning or we come on a Sunday and we're like, oh man, we've got to gain ground spiritually.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: We've got to fight these battles and win our victories.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: No, the term stand here means that we are fighting not for victory, but from victory.
14:06
SPEAKER_00: Jesus has already given us the victory.
14:09
SPEAKER_00: He's equipped us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, Ephesians chapter 1.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: He has already given us the victory, and now we walk from victory, we don't walk for victory.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: We stand from victory, we don't stand for victory.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: This is not in your human strength.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: This is in the power of God to transform your life.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: And God wants to transform your life.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: Every day that you breathe, that you're alive, God wants to transform your life.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: And that's why Jesus came to die on the cross and rose again from the grave.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: Because God is at work transforming human lives.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: Verse 12 and 13.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: We might as well read both of them, or we'll never get finished.
14:58
SPEAKER_00: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, day of spiritual opposition comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything to stand our struggle.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: We think everything is material, everything is objective, everything is tangible realities that we can touch and see and feel and sense.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: Not everything is material in a world that highlights material.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: There is an immaterial realm, God says, that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: That is a term that means human beings.
15:51
SPEAKER_00: We don't sometimes we're wrestling against people, and we need to realize we're actually not wrestling against people.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: We're feeling tension with people, and the tension really isn't with that person.
16:04
SPEAKER_00: There's a spiritual reality at work behind the scenes.
16:08
SPEAKER_00: It's not flesh and blood.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: Our struggle is not with human beings, but with evil spiritual forces.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: And Paul uses four terms for demons here: fallen angels who team up with Satan to oppose God, to oppose God's people, and to oppose God's work on earth.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: Rulers, authorities, powers, and spiritual forces of evil.
16:29
SPEAKER_00: All four of these expressions point to the exact same reality that there is a spiritual opposition at work.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: Remember this when you're wrestling with human beings.
16:45
SPEAKER_00: There's another reality at work that you may not recognize in the moment, that there is an unseen reality.
16:51
SPEAKER_00: There are powers that are dark and evil, and followers of Jesus no longer live in the sphere of darkness and evil.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we're tempted by it, sometimes we fall into it, but we keep getting up and we pursue the light.
17:04
SPEAKER_00: I just want us to be spiritually aware, not spiritually asleep.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: You notice here, he doesn't say put on your pajamas.
17:15
SPEAKER_00: He says, put on the armor of God.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't say it's time to take a nap spiritually.
17:22
SPEAKER_00: He's like, no, it's time to be alert and awake.
17:27
SPEAKER_00: Get out of your jammies spiritually and put on the armor of God and stay awake spiritually because there are unseen realities warring against the way and kingdom of God.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: There are two extreme views here for Christians.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: And just assess if you're one of these two extreme views.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: Extreme view number one, write this down.
17:53
SPEAKER_00: Thinking that nothing is Satan and demons.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: That's an extreme view because it's not a biblical view.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: The second extreme view is to think that everything is Satan and demons.
18:09
SPEAKER_00: That's also an extreme view.
18:11
SPEAKER_00: The Bible talks about three primary sources of temptation, Satan and demons being one of them, but not all of them.
18:18
SPEAKER_00: So I think that we have to become more balanced, that we have to think more central, like a centrist when it comes to this reality, that thinking nothing is Satan and demons is extreme view, thinking everything that is Satan and demons is extreme view.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: Maybe a more balanced perspective is right and good.
18:39
SPEAKER_00: And with those extremities, sometimes people blame Satan instead of take responsibility for themselves.
18:46
SPEAKER_00: That's not healthy.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: We got to take ownership.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: God has given us a will and decision making.
18:52
SPEAKER_00: We've got to take ownership of the choices that we make in life.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we make a bad choice and we have to fully own it.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: We've got to be like, Lord, that was a good choice, but you love me, your grace is with me, you're so merciful and kind to me, and I'm gonna keep getting up and following Jesus.
19:04
SPEAKER_00: And that would be my encouragement for you who feel spiritually discouraged.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you've lost a battle or two.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: Get back up.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: God loves you today, just as much as he loved you on the day that he was crucified on the cross, and the day you believed in Jesus Christ, he loves you the same today.
19:23
SPEAKER_00: So get back up.
19:25
SPEAKER_00: So notice what happens next.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: In verse 13, he basically says, okay, you're about to go into battle spiritually.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: This is your final preparation as a soldier before going into battle.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: Put on the full armor of God.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: Which leads me to verses 14 through 17.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: If you're a note taker, write this down.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: The weapons for spiritual warfare.
19:49
SPEAKER_00: Okay, we know this is a reality, this is real in our life, we see the tensions and we see the evil in our world, and sometimes it's even the subtle things that we need to be aware of.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: I gave you that list, which is really important for you to think through in your everyday life.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: But now, God says, I want you to put on the right attire for the battle.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: Now, you might read through this and you're like, oh, I want to understand all the Roman armor here.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: That's not the point.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: The point is, where was Paul as he's writing this?
20:22
SPEAKER_00: He is on house arrest in Rome awaiting trial from Caesar.
20:31
SPEAKER_00: And every single day, he's sitting there in his house, every single day, there's Roman soldiers around them in their attire every day, and he starts to observe each element that they wear every day, and he flips it to become a spiritual metaphor.
20:48
SPEAKER_00: Paul's just sitting there and he's like, Paul's not sitting there saying, Oh, it's it's fatalism, it's over for me, I'm done, God can't use me anymore.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: He's sitting there and saying, How can I redeem this difficult situation for the Lord?
21:04
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we face things in life where we become so disoriented, and that's okay, and that's totally normal, but there needs to be a point where we're like, no, no, even in the midst of this battle and this hardship, God, how can you redeem this and how can I redeem this for the kingdom of God?
21:23
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's your scars that bring the most healing to this world.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's your failures that give people hope of redemption.
21:33
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's your suffering that offers people the opportunity to see that God is with us and can do great things through us, even in the midst of suffering.
21:43
SPEAKER_00: And so Paul is suffering, and yet he redeems it for the Lord.
21:47
SPEAKER_00: And now he gives us six things to put on in this spiritual battle, as he's noticing the armor of these Roman soldiers.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: Six things.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: And then I will be done.
22:01
SPEAKER_00: Number one, notice what he says, verse 14.
22:05
SPEAKER_00: Stand firm then.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: Notice this is the fourth time he's used this word stand.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: Stand, stand, stand.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: Verse 14, stand firm.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: You have the victory, so keep standing in the victory.
22:21
SPEAKER_00: Stand firm then.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: Notice the first element, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: Now, as some of you know in the fashion scene, belts are popular again.
22:33
SPEAKER_00: So are crop t-shirts.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: I got a long torso.
22:37
SPEAKER_00: I tried putting them one on once and I was like, this is not working.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: If I can't lift my hands and praise to Jesus, it's not gonna work.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: So belts are popular, and with Roman soldiers, they were popular as well.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: A wide leather belt about two to three inches thick.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: This is a thick belt.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: Reinforced with metal plates used to cinch the tunic for mobility, secure the breastplate that they wore, hold weapons like the sword, and display rank or legion affiliation so they would know what rank, what legion they were in.
23:09
SPEAKER_00: It also gathered loose clothing to prevent tripping in battle.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: This is a great picture.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: Followers of Jesus, notice, need truth in their lives when they face spiritual opposition.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: Truth helps us to avoid spiritual temptation that could lead us to tripping up spiritually or deception.
23:35
SPEAKER_00: We need to believe the truth of the gospel every time we're facing spiritual battles.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: What did Jesus do for us?
23:40
SPEAKER_00: Don't forget that.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians also talks about speaking truth and love.
23:45
SPEAKER_00: We need to speak life and truth and love around spiritual opposition.
23:51
SPEAKER_00: And we need to protect ourselves from stumbling in life with the truth of God's word and God's character.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: You and I need truth in our life.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: That's why it's so important to read your Bible.
24:04
SPEAKER_00: Get on a practice of reading your Bible every day or at least as consistently as possible.
24:09
SPEAKER_00: That's why also it's so important to be a part of a local church where we gather together every week and we sing songs that are rooted in biblical truth.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: And then we teach from the Bible so that we can learn and grow over a lifetime as a follower of Jesus with the truth of God's word.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: Number two, notice what he says next, verse 14.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: The breastplate of righteousness.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: This was a protective covering for the chest, abdomen, and sometimes the back, made of bronze, iron, scales, chain mail, whatever that is, or leather strips.
24:50
SPEAKER_00: Somebody looked that up on uh AI.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: What is chain mail in ancient Rome?
24:56
SPEAKER_00: It guarded vital organs like the heart and lungs from slashes and stabs, often decorated with unit symbols, so military attire.
25:05
SPEAKER_00: You could see what unit somebody was in.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: Followers of Jesus.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: No, notice the breastplate of righteousness.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: Followers of Jesus need to protect our hearts.
25:18
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs chapter 4, verse 23 says, above all else.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: Meaning this is really important spiritually.
25:27
SPEAKER_00: Guard your heart with all diligence.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: There's a fragility of the human heart.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm not just talking about the biological heart.
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SPEAKER_00: I am talking about the immaterial part of you that feels emotions, that gets hurt, that all of us have a fragility.
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SPEAKER_00: The heart is very influential in the human spirit and soul.
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SPEAKER_00: And God says we need to protect our heart.
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SPEAKER_00: How?
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SPEAKER_00: With the righteousness of Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: The righteousness of Jesus that he imparts to us.
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SPEAKER_00: When you believe in Jesus, here's the beautiful thing: the transaction of the cross.
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SPEAKER_00: Listen closely to this.
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SPEAKER_00: The transaction of the cross is that our sin, all of our wrongdoing, all the times that we've stepped over God's commands, that we've done wrong, that we've done anything contrary to the nature and design of God for our own flourishing.
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SPEAKER_00: Every single one of our sins was imputed to Christ on the cross.
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SPEAKER_00: And when he died and rose again, he then imputes his righteousness to us.
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SPEAKER_00: And you don't have to do anything for it.
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SPEAKER_00: You don't have to do anything.
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SPEAKER_00: You don't have to climb the spiritual ladder.
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SPEAKER_00: You don't have to check off the spiritual checklist.
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SPEAKER_00: Like, you have to do nothing.
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SPEAKER_00: It is a free gift that Jesus would transform our lives through the gospel so that we can live the way that God designed us to live.
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SPEAKER_00: And not only does the righteousness of Christ transform us by giving us his righteousness and the right standing with him spiritually, but it transforms us so that we can live righteously in Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: So we need to protect our hearts with righteousness.
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SPEAKER_00: Are you pursuing God's righteousness in your life?
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SPEAKER_00: Have you believed in the righteousness that Christ provides on the cross freely for you spiritually?
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SPEAKER_00: And are you beginning to walk in that right way of living that He teaches you day by day, growing and learning and changing and repenting and confessing and seeking and continuing day by day to take those steps forward spiritually?
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SPEAKER_00: This is what God says protects our heart.
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SPEAKER_00: Third, notice what he says next.
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SPEAKER_00: Third, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
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SPEAKER_00: In the Roman attire, these were heavy-duty open sandals or half boots with thick leather soles studded with iron hobnails for traction, durability, and grip on various terrains.
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SPEAKER_00: This would protect you from slipping.
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SPEAKER_00: And this is really cool because it's like these shoes gave the soldiers stability.
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SPEAKER_00: It's, you know, maybe we would say like a new modern version would be like the Nike Gospel of Peace shoe.
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SPEAKER_00: I would like that.
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SPEAKER_00: That would be really cool.
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SPEAKER_00: Nike got, because Nike would make them cool and we'd actually wear them.
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SPEAKER_00: And this allowed people to play defense and offense in battle.
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SPEAKER_00: If you throw on your Nikes or whatever you like to wear, I don't know what brands you guys wear.
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SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
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SPEAKER_00: These are from London, England.
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SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't even know what brand I'm wearing.
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SPEAKER_00: Nikes, there you go.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeezys, Nikes, I don't know what you guys wear.
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SPEAKER_00: But you put on your favorite shoe, and it's your gospel shoes, not literally, but spiritually.
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SPEAKER_00: And this allows you to play offense and defense.
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SPEAKER_00: What do you mean, Wesley?
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SPEAKER_00: How does this work out?
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SPEAKER_00: I'm glad you asked.
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SPEAKER_00: Let me answer that question.
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SPEAKER_00: Followers of Jesus need to believe the gospel of peace.
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SPEAKER_00: To reassure our hearts that we have peace with God whenever Satan is accusing us spiritually.
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SPEAKER_00: You need to remind yourself that the minute you believe in the gospel, you were separated from God.
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SPEAKER_00: But the minute you believe in the gospel, you're at peace with God for all of eternity.
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SPEAKER_00: And Satan might be speaking accusatory lies in your heart or in your mind, but those lies, his intent is that those lies would separate you from God.
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SPEAKER_00: But those lies will never separate you from God.
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SPEAKER_00: You are at peace with God for all of eternity.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's like the protective mechanism.
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SPEAKER_00: The offensive mechanism is that we also need to become messengers of the gospel of peace in a world that desperately needs peace with God and peace with one another.
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SPEAKER_00: Do you know the only real tangible thing that will bring peace on this earth is the gospel of Jesus Christ?
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SPEAKER_00: It's that the gospel of Jesus Christ takes humans that were separated from God, living their own life, doing their own thing, didn't acknowledge or worship or care about God, and all of a sudden they have a redemptive encounter with Jesus Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: They put their faith in him, they're at peace with God.
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SPEAKER_00: And now the Bible says, 2 Corinthians, that we are now messengers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: We go tell people around the world and in our world and in our local context that you can be at peace with God no matter what you've done.
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SPEAKER_00: And that when you're at peace with God, God changes your heart so that you can be at peace with other human beings.
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SPEAKER_00: Even people you disliked before, God supernaturally can change your heart and you can love those person, people in a redemptive way.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's the beautiful thing about Christianity.
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SPEAKER_00: Christianity, the message of Christianity is not a message that is shared to divide the world, it's a message that is shared to bring the world together in peace.
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SPEAKER_00: Fourth, fourth, I got a few more.
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SPEAKER_00: Fourth.
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SPEAKER_00: Notice verse 15 or verse 16.
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SPEAKER_00: In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
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SPEAKER_00: The shield of faith was a large rectangular or curved wooden shield, layered with leather or metal, weighing about 10 to 20 pounds, so you had to have a little bit of muscle.
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SPEAKER_00: It deflected arrows.
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SPEAKER_00: So in battle, they would set an arrow on fire and shoot it up in the air and hope it would hit somebody or burn down whatever.
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SPEAKER_00: It deflected arrows, blows, and could interlock with others in formation for group defense.
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SPEAKER_00: And so if there was like heavy battle and they were shooting a bunch of arrows or whatever they shot, you would lock, interlock your shield together with all the people in battle and you would be protected.
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SPEAKER_00: What does this mean?
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SPEAKER_00: It means that followers of Jesus, shield of faith, need faith in God.
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SPEAKER_00: You need to trust God when the flaming arrows of the enemy of God's people are shot at you.
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SPEAKER_00: We need faith in God to reject the lies of the enemy.
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SPEAKER_00: Some of you have been battling inside.
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SPEAKER_00: And you're battling between what God has for you and what the enemy is trying to tempt you or lie to you about.
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SPEAKER_00: And you need to put your trust in God to reject the lies of the enemy.
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SPEAKER_00: You need to believe God to reject the lies of the enemy.
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SPEAKER_00: And some scholars believe this is not our faith, but this is God's faithfulness.
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SPEAKER_00: We not only need to be have faith in God to reject the lies of the enemy, we need to, we need the faithfulness of God to sustain us and strengthen us throughout every trial in our life.
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SPEAKER_00: Are you with me?
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SPEAKER_00: Can I speak a word of encouragement and comfort over you?
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SPEAKER_00: No matter what battle you're facing, God is faithful in your life.
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SPEAKER_00: He will see you through.
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SPEAKER_00: No matter what battle you're facing, no matter the challenges, the discouragement, the despair, whatever you came in here feeling, God will be faithful in your life.
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SPEAKER_00: Trust that.
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SPEAKER_00: Lean into that.
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SPEAKER_00: Speak that into your soul today before you leave.
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SPEAKER_00: Two more.
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SPEAKER_00: Number five, he goes on to say, take the helmet of salvation.
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SPEAKER_00: Take the helmet of salvation.
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SPEAKER_00: This was a metal helmet made of brass or iron with guard cheeks.
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SPEAKER_00: Kind of like the baseball players where they don't, you know, if they get hit with a ball, it kind of goes off.
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SPEAKER_00: Some of them don't wear that.
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SPEAKER_00: But like the guarded cheeks, it was an there was a neck protector and sometimes a brow guard.
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SPEAKER_00: It shielded the head, face, and neck from blows, helping preventing disorientation or getting hit in the head, you'd be done, right?
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SPEAKER_00: In combat.
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SPEAKER_00: Can I say that a lot of the battles we face are in our thought life?
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SPEAKER_00: Spiritual battles take place in the mind.
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SPEAKER_00: Have you ever had a random sinful thought that popped into your head unexpectedly?
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SPEAKER_00: And you're like, where did that come from?
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SPEAKER_00: By the way, the temptation is not sin, so you shouldn't condemn yourself.
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SPEAKER_00: This is normal stuff.
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SPEAKER_00: You just don't entertain it.
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SPEAKER_00: Do you ever struggle with spiritual shame and condemnation, ruminating on your past failures?
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SPEAKER_00: Do you ever feel spiritually discouraged in your mind?
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SPEAKER_00: Do you ever think that you're not good enough or worthy of God's love?
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SPEAKER_00: Do you ever feel convinced that you are not a child of God and that you've somehow failed him?
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SPEAKER_00: Do you ever feel like the modern narratives about truth and life are at odds with what you believe about God?
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SPEAKER_00: Do you ever feel like your suffering is too hard and the best plan in your mind is to not let anyone get close to you?
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SPEAKER_00: Rather avoid God and community as much as possible?
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SPEAKER_00: Do you ever feel tempted toward brain rot?
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SPEAKER_00: Like this thing going around 6-7 everywhere?
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SPEAKER_00: It's like, what is that?
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SPEAKER_00: And that life is meaningless?
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SPEAKER_00: So you're gonna just waste your days away and meaningless and watch TikTok videos about 6-7, and then you ask somebody what it means, and they're like, nobody knows?
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SPEAKER_00: We need to remind ourselves.
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SPEAKER_00: We need to remind ourselves in our mind that we are saved children of God.
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SPEAKER_00: We need the ultimate assurance that God has saved us from sin and darkness and will ultimately deliver us from all of that completely one day.
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SPEAKER_00: That salvation is both past, I've been saved.
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SPEAKER_00: Justification, I'm made right with God.
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SPEAKER_00: Present, I'm being saved.
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SPEAKER_00: God is transforming me in sanctification.
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SPEAKER_00: And future, I will be delivered from all sin and sorrow and pain and darkness and evil someday in the kingdom of God, when the king of peace comes back to rule and reign on this earth.
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SPEAKER_00: That is called glorification.
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SPEAKER_00: We need assurance of salvation to protect our minds when those thoughts arrive.
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SPEAKER_00: Either you're quiet because this is a really bad teaching, or you're quiet because you're really processing.
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SPEAKER_00: But are you with me?
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SPEAKER_00: Do you do you agree?
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SPEAKER_00: Amen.
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SPEAKER_00: And if it's that bad, please forgive me.
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SPEAKER_00: Finally, number six.
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SPEAKER_00: Number six.
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SPEAKER_00: And take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
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SPEAKER_00: This was a short, double-edged sword that was used in close-quarter fighting and battles.
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SPEAKER_00: And God says, take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
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SPEAKER_00: Followers of Jesus need to know the word of God to fend off the undermining of God's word, the misquoting of God's word, and stand firm on God's word in light of the temptations and accusations of our enemy, Satan.
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SPEAKER_00: Remember in Genesis chapter 3, the first temptation in human history?
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SPEAKER_00: Satan comes along and he's like, he's like, did God really mean that?
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SPEAKER_00: Did God really say that?
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SPEAKER_00: Do you know what Satan did?
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SPEAKER_00: He did a couple things.
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SPEAKER_00: Number one, he misquoted God's word.
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SPEAKER_00: He will always do that.
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SPEAKER_00: Same thing he did to Jesus in Matthew chapter 4.
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SPEAKER_00: He misquoted God's word.
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SPEAKER_00: Secondly, secondly, he undermined God's character.
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SPEAKER_00: Can you really trust God?
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SPEAKER_00: Is God really saying what's best for you?
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SPEAKER_00: And third, he casts doubt on the veracity and truthfulness of God's word.
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SPEAKER_00: These are the three things that he will always do in our lives.
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SPEAKER_00: And when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, he responded to these temptations by doing what?
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SPEAKER_00: Quoting scripture.
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SPEAKER_00: Every temptation he said, it is written, which encourages me and you that we should read God's word, that we should learn God's word, that we should know God's word, that we should be able to quote God's word even loosely in the face of temptation or opposition.
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SPEAKER_00: But the key wasn't just that he read it and knew it and quoted it.
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SPEAKER_00: The key was he lived it out in the face of temptation.
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SPEAKER_00: He did it.
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SPEAKER_00: He lived out what God said.
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SPEAKER_00: That's where we really believe God.
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SPEAKER_00: When in the moment of temptation, in the moment of trial, that we live out God's word in that moment.
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SPEAKER_00: That's why Psalm 119, verse 11 says, I've hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
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SPEAKER_00: In a culture that is full of so many narratives and narratives that stand in direct contradiction to God and the gospel and the truth of God's word and the story of Scripture.
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SPEAKER_00: We need to be a people that are biblically literate.
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SPEAKER_00: We need churches that teach the scriptures.
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SPEAKER_00: We need to encourage Christians to open their Bibles so that you have the truths and words in the moments and hardships and trials that respond to those moments in a spiritually helpful way.
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SPEAKER_00: I love this.
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SPEAKER_00: I read this this week, and this is closing.
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SPEAKER_00: I promise.
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SPEAKER_00: One writer said, We must not confide in the armor of God, but in the God of this armor.
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SPEAKER_00: Because all of our weapons are only mighty through God.