Men’ We’re In Battle
Joshua 1:6-9 Ephesians 6:1-18 November 26, Men’s Day
There is a reason that we live, and we act the way that we do as men. We do what we do because of what we believe about the world and about life. Have you ever believed a lie and acted upon it. I have. In college I was playing strong safety. I was to cover the slot back man to man. The quarterback took the ball and passed it to the wide receiver. I immediately came up to make the tackle, because I believed that was the best course of action for me to take.
Everything was going according to plan until the wide receiver, stopped and began to pass the ball. The ball sailed over my head toward an open receiver who had no one anywhere within 15 yards of him. I had believed a lie that someone deliberately set me up for. I was the leading tackler on the team, and someone knew that my strength could also be my greatest weakness. They laid a trap just for me and I took it.
Chances are I’m not the only person who has been set up by somebody else so that they could take advantage of me. But the price you may have paid , is far greater than the price I was to pay on the field. Some of you were set up by a lie a in business deals and was taken advantage of and landed in bankruptcy. Some of you were taken in by a lie about the street life and what you believed about it and spent time in jail. Some of you were taken in by the lie of what seemed like easy sex and discovered baby mama drama like you would not believe. Some of you were taken in by the lie of the lure of drugs or alcohol and have been beaten by its addicting power robbing you of those you truly love. It’s all because we believed something that was not true.
All of us here either living by the truth or by a good lie. Now no man says, “I’m going to live my life by a bad lie or a good lie.” It just happens, because the man does not know the truth. We like to think that we know the truth and we’re living our lives accordingly. But there was a guy by the name of Jesus who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” What he was saying was, “nobody gets in good with God unless they know me.” Now we are all on our way to meeting God, I don’t care what you believe or what you might think. We are all on our way to meeting God.
I’ve watched enough Mason funerals to see guys who never come to a church try to use fancy religious language to get into a Mason type heaven. They will even throw in the name of Jesus once in a while. But Jesus never said, that was the way to meet God and if that’s all they know about God, they’re believing a lie and a deception.”
Now some of us may want to argue over how many different ways there are to God. Let me ask you this, how many ways are there to win a football game. Some may argue to have a powerful offense. Others may argue for a great defense. Some would say its having a great players on the team. Others would say you need a great coach. You can argue these points over and over again, but the only way to win a football game, is to have more points than the other team when the game is over. It doesn’t matter how many yards you gained, how many yards you allowed, how much time you had the ball or anything else. Bottom line, who was ahead at the end of the game. Having Jesus in your life when you live and when you die, is the equivalent of having the most points at the end of the game.
Whenever you go to a game, if you look around you will find somebody with a sheet of paper writing down what the team playing is doing. What are they doing. They are scouting. They are getting to know this team that’s playing because, they will be playing them next week. Your enemy wants to know all they can about you, so that they can come up with a plan to neutralize your strengths, and to take advantage of your weaknesses.
When we look at where we are as men, particularly as African Americans, we need to do some real evaluating of what’s going on. In December’s Ebony issue, it stated that when it come to HIV/Aids, the hardest hit racial or ethnic group is African Americans, who experience more illness, shorter survival times and more deaths. The article state that nearly half of the more than 1 million Americans estimated to have be living with HIV/AIDS are Black, nearly 70% of the new AIDS cases among women are Black, and Blacks represent more than 56% percent of the new AIDS cases among youth.
Two years ago, more African American children under the age of 13 were living with AIDS than were children of all other races and ethnicities living with AIDS combined. There is an estimate of their being 250,000 people in this country spreading the HIV virus and don’t even know they have it. The primary transmission of the AIDS virus by African American Men was homosexual sex, followed by heterosexual sex, and then by drug use.
In 1926 we made up 21% of the prison population. In 1950 we made up 35% of the prison population. In 2000% we made up 49% of the prison population when we’re just 13% of the population. 1 in 10 of us is sitting in jail. One in 3 black males in the age group 20-29 is either in prison, in jail, on probation, or an parole. This means a record of some kind which is going to make it difficult for many of them to get jobs.
In the African American Community 68% of our children are born without the father and the mother of the child being married. That means the next generation is going to have it every bit as difficult as the present one will. In 2003 45% of African American Students did not graduate on time with a regular high school diploma.
At the same time we have all this going on, we have an entertainment and music industry that spread the message of the thug life as being a way to wealth, the wild sex life as a way to really enjoy one’s self, and violence as a proper way to deal with issues. We’re still calling each other niggers and dogs, and I won’t degrade your ears with the names we’re calling our mothers, our wives, our sisters and our daughters.
Men I want you to know that we are engaged in battle with a ruthless and a relentless enemy. Our kids are being stolen up from us by the pushers, we are being killed in the streets and in our homes, and we are being destroyed by a system that is blind to real justice. The thing is Jesus told us this was going to happen. In John 10:10 (NIV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Who is this thief? Who is this adversary?
We find him in 1 peter 5:8 when it says 1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. You have an intelligent being who is dedicated to your destruction. You’d rather believe the lie that he does not exist as a way to deal with him. He is called the father of all lies.. If he can keep you thinking he’s a red figure with a tail and a pitchfork, he can destroy you before you know it. How can you fight an enemy that you do not believe exists. But think of all the damage an unseen enemy can do. He could put land mines all behind your great plans and you not even be aware of it.
Why is the most powerful army in the world bogged down in Iraq suffering humiliating and painful losses. Because we did not believe the truth about the terrorists. We didn’t believe in the number of them that existed, and we did not believe in the will power they had to keep fighting. We thought once we got Sadaam it would be over. You are in battle whether you believe it and prepare for it or not. Your enemy is more powerful than you think he is because of the weapons at his disposal. God wants to help us out. God wants every man here to be a winner in life. That’s why he gave us these instructions.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. [12] 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. [13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Every soldier that’s going into battle has some kind of armor or gear to put on for protection. The mere uniform itself is a weapon or protection because it keeps other guys who are on your team from shooting you. Let me ask you what is your strategy for making it in life. I run into young fellows all the time, who are blowing off school, and blowing off the church, who tell me the know they’re going to make it in life. They’ve got determination. I want you to know that determination in and of itself is not a strategy.
Suppose you were meeting a team for the championship game, and all week long they coach just talked to you about determination and the will to win. Are you going to be prepared to play the other team, who’s studied your plays, knows your offense, your defense, and what your players can and cannot do. This word that’s translated, take your stand against the devil’s schemes is translated as strategies and tricks in the NLT.
I want you to notice, that you are so important God, that the devil has sat down and come up with a strategy to destroy your life. He’s not a drive by shooter who randomly hits somebody. He’s specifically targeted your life to get you. He has more confidence in your ability than you have in yourself. He knows you were created to be leader. He’s so confident of what you can become, that he’s determined to destroy you before you get it. Or he will give you the role with a messed up understanding of how it is to be used.
I want you to notice also, who your enemy really is. It says our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Your wife is not your problem. Your girlfriend is not your problem. Your kids are not your problem. Your teacher is not your problem. Your father is not your problem. Your mother is not your problem. You may think if you blow them off, and get them out of your way, you’re going to be alright. This verse is saying other people who are made out of flesh and blood are not the ones that are attempting to destroy you.
You see the devil wants to deceive you as to who your enemy really is. The strategy he uses to wipe us out is deception. Remember he is the father of all lies. One of the things that makes the war on terrorism so difficult is the element of deception. A young woman coming at you with a bag. Is she bringing you a lunch or bringing you a bomb.
There was Chinese fellow by the name of Sun Tzus who said all warfare is based on deception. He said “when you’re ready to attack, pretend that you are not. When you’re on the move, pretend to be standing still. When you are near, get the enemy to believe you’re far away. When you are far away, make the enemy think you’re near. Put out baits to attract the enemy. Pretend you’re unprepared and then crush him. Take advantage when the enemy is unprepared. Come by unexpected routes and attack unguarded spots.
This is Satan’s strategy of deception for our lives. We’re use to deception. Football games are built on deception. If they expect a run up the middle, fake it and go around the end. If they expect a pass, run a draw play. If they expect you to go for two yards, throw the bomb. If they expect a sweep around the end, throw the halfback option pass. There is a strategy going on on the field and the sidelines all the time. There is a strategy going on in any battle zone.
You are in a battlezone. Those Aids statistics, prison statistics and education statistics did not just happen by accident. Somebody is trying to wipe out the African American population in this country. But its actually more than somebody. Verse 12, tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Satan is not after you by himself. There is a whole demonic realm bent on destroying us as a people. This spiritual force is united, its determined, strategizing and it it is relentless in its goals.
How are you going to do battle with spiritual forces in the heavenly realm.? We like to think that we as men are in charge of this world. But the Bible specifically states that Satan is the god of this world. He is determined to do exactly what Jesus said he would do which is to steal, kill and destroy. It does not take much to see he’s doing a pretty good job at it in our community.
Where is the battle being raged? It’s not on the street corners, that’s the results. It’s not in the prisons, that’s the result. It’s not in the drugs, that’s the result. The battle is being fought in our minds and our hearts. Satan seeks to deceive us in our way of thinking. The second of the two greatest commandments is to love your neighbor as yourself. I think the reason we abuse our neighbors is that we as men have not learned to love ourselves as men. I’m not talking about being selfish, I talking about loving in such a way that you want absolutely nothing but the best for yourself. When I love myself in the way Jesus was talking about, I’m looking beyond an immediate situation to what is best for me in the long run.
A young man who drops out of school does not truly love himself, because he’s intentionally inflicting pain on his future and his life. A man seducing woman after woman does not love himself. He’s destroying his future and messing up the lives of others. a man selling drugs does not love himself, a man who not a father to his children or a husband to his wife does not love himself. He’s believing the lie that if it feels good or is okay to me, then it’s in my best interest. Satan gets us to believe that loving me is equal to me feeling good.
Loving me according to Jesus is equal to me making sacrifices for what it in my best interest. A young man will sell drugs, because 4 years of college is too long and a waste of time. So he has a good 2 years making money selling drugs, before going to jail for 5 years for selling drugs. Now 7 years later, he’s changed and struggling to find a decent job because of his record. If he had of taken those same 7 years, and spent 4 of them in college and majored in education, he would be would of the most sought after graduates by schools in desperate need of African American teachers. He’s making $40,000 a year. In three years he has made more than all the money he would have made selling drugs those first two years, with no prison record, and a chance to keep on making that salary for the next forty years with benefits, raises, and no policeman driving by his home.
But Satan and his strategist offer him an immediate reward and in his mind he loses the battle. He loves the opinion and acceptance of other guys going nowhere more than he does himself. We are in battle and unless we are willing to have a change in our hearts and in our minds, the enemy will continue to deceive us time and time again. It’s easy to believe a lie and to then start living that lie, but there is a price to pay for it. We see the price being paid everyday.
Our enemy’s plan is to steal, to kill and to destroy. Jesus on the other hand said, I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. What does that look like for a man. First of all it means you being equipped to being a leader in your life, on your job, and in your home. What does a man look like leading his home? He’s the one who starts his day willing to lay down his life for those in that home. He’s going to show his family what true love is. He’s going to live a lifestyle that they can respect and appreciate. He’s not going to do anything wrong to bring shame on that family. He’s going to have goals for his life to advance himself and take advantage of opportunities that come his way. If he’s married, he’s going to work side by side with his wife in planning their future together, valuing her as his equal partner.
Men all of us have made some mistakes, that we can help other to avoid the pitfalls we have. Let these younger guys know, how bad decisions have later come back to haunt you after your got your life together. Let them know God has a better plan for their lives. Let them know marriage is better than using a woman for your own pleasure. Let them know the importance of taking care of their kids. Let them know, there is a battle going on, and Satan is taking no prisoners. He’s out to kill and destroy. He’s the original terrorist and is willing to use whatever means necessary to keep us from God’s plan for our lives.
You cannot become what God intended for you to be without the presence of Jesus Christ in your life. Every soldier needs a supreme commander who is looking at the whole battlefield, deciding where to place the troops. You need Jesus as your commander. You can’t possibly see all the land mines, the booby traps, and the ambushes the spiritual forces in high places are placing in your lives. But Jesus can. Without him you’re continuing to live a good lie. He alone can equip you for battle.
When Joshua was about to become the great leader God wanted him to be, God told him to be strong and courageous and to be obedient to Him, because He was going to be with Joshua. It’s not enough to be strong and courageous, you’ve got to have God on your side. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” There’s not a battle on earth that you and Jesus cannot win together if you’re willing to give him your all.
Sermon Outline Pastor Rick
Men We’re In Battle 11/26/2006
Joshua 1:6-9 Ephesians 6:1-18
A. Have You Ever Lived By A Lie
1. A Game With A Lie
2. Business, Streets, Sex, Drugs
3. A Good Lie Or The Truth
4. Jesus “I Am The Way, The Truth…
5. Meeting With God
6. The Masons & Heaven
B. How Many Ways To Arrive
1. How Many Ways To Win A Game
2. Offense, Defense, Coach, Players
3. Bottom Line—Points
4. Who’s At The Games
5. Know To Neutralize
6. Study To Overwhelm
C. What’s Happening In The Community
1. HIV/Aids More I, Shorter ST, More D
2. 1 Million Americans ½
3. 70% New AA W 56% New AAY
4. Under 13-The Most Living With It
5. 250,000 On The Attack
6. Homo- Heter-, Drug
7. 26 21%, 50 35%, 2000 49%
8. 1 In 10 Jail 1in 3 System 20-29
9. 68% Birth 45% High School
10. Wrong Message From Music
11. Thug, Sex, Violence
D. The Enemy’s Plan
1. Jesus Exposed It John 10-10
2. Steal, Kill & Destroy
3. Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
4. Know Who Satan Is And Is Not
5. Why Bogged Down In Iraq
6. Failure To Know The Enemy
E. God Wants Men To Be Winners
Ephes. 6:10-13 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. [12] 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. [13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
1. Put On The Equipment-Uniform
2. Determination Not A Strategy
3. Determination For A Game
4. God Values You- Satan Do
5. Satan Strategy Specific
F. Know Who The Enemy Truly Is
1. Wife, Girlfriend, Kids, Boss, Mom
Dad, Teacher
2. Father Of Lies—Deception
3. Sun Tzus “Art Of Warfare”
4. Ready, Moving, Near, Far, Baits
5. Unprepared, Unexpected, Unguarded
6. Deception Name Of The Game
G. You Are In The Battlezone
1. Statistics Not Accidents
2. Horde Of Collective Evil
3. Fighting Spiritual Forces
4. Where’s The Battle Being Raged
H. Jesus Lets Us Know Love Is Missing
1. Satan—Love Is Me Feeling Good
2. Jesus—Love Is Me Sacrificing
3. Men Who Don’t Love Themselves
4. 7 Years Is 7 Years
5. Immediate Reward-Wrong Source
J. What A Man Who Loves Himself Looks Life
1. What He Does At Home
2. What He Does For Others
3. Knowing Who God Is
For some of this material I am indebted to a bible study lesson on "Spiritual Warfare" ,from the Man In The Mirror website
