PART ONE ARMOR UP! SERMON FOUR
THE WAR IS FOR YOUR MIND SO USE YOUR WEAPONS
SCREEN
Ephesians 6:17 (NIV) Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Our thoughts have far more influence on us than our circumstances or our relationships do.
the focus in Ephesians 6:17 is on our present deliverance from sin.
three tenses of salvation in the New Testament: we have been saved (“justification”)
we are being saved (“sanctification”)
we will be saved (“glorification”)
We can experience deliverance on a daily basis.
The helmet of salvation is the certainty of deliverance from sin and the protection of our minds in battle.
Romans 12:2 “do not [allow yourself to] be conformed to the behaviors and customs of this age but [allow yourself to] be transformed by the renewing of your mind….”
Human thinking is ground zero in this war.
2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (ESV)For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
John 17:17 (ESV) Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Romans 8:6–7 “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God.”
It is imperative that we keep God’s Word in our mind and Satan’s lies out of it.
In the cosmic conflict, the front lines of the war are between your ears.
The helmet of salvation gives us an unquenchable hope.
Ps. 73:25 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth”.
Christians who are not filling their minds with Scripture are like warriors going out to battle without a helmet.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The deceit, the lie of the devil, consists of this: that he wishes to make man believe that he can live without God’s word.
New Testament Greek, “word” is a translation of logos.
“word” rhema—the specific, spoken word (or words) given to us by the Spirit of God to do close, hand-to-hand combat with the lies and deceptions of the enemy.
The rhema is the sword of the Spirit.
The first is that we must be in a vital relationship with the Spirit of God in order for this weapon to be operative.
The second truth is that this is not a weapon we may use any way we want to. It is made alive only by a power beyond ourselves.
Luke 10:17-18 (Phillips NT) Later the seventy came back full of joy. “Lord,” they said, “even evil spirits obey us when we use your name!” 18 “Yes,” returned Jesus, “I was watching and saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning! It is true that I have given you the power to tread on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the enemy’s power – there is nothing at all that can do you any harm. Yet it is not your power over evil spirits which should give such joy, but the fact that your names are written in Heaven.”
Matthew 4:3-4 “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” Jesus answered “It is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word [rhema] that proceeds from the mouth of God”.
You counter lies with truth, and truth wins every time.
Ps. 119:9, 11 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.… Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You”.
Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
1 John 4:4 “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world”.
1 John 5:4–5: “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Luke 10:19 “Behold, I have given you authority … over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.”
Authority trumps power, even all the power of the enemy.
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