I don’t know if you’ve been following the survivor series or not, but let me tell you, I’m not happy with the way it’s going right now.
They voted off Roger. Now Roger was the oldest one of the group, but he was one of the hardest workers, he really seemed to care about others, and was just an all around nice guy. The one they should have voted off was Keith. Keith is trying to make people think he’s needed because he can cook, but it seems like he’s cooking more of the rice than he should, which means they could run out of food again before the end of their stay.
But no, they voted off Roger.
I’m not too happy about that but it’s good to see that you survived another week. Isn’t God good!
I hope you’ve made you’re mind to be a survivor, even more than that an overcomer. In this series I’ve asked the question “are you a survivor?”
The fact I asked the question means there’s something out there that’s trying to keep you from making it.
Have you ever felt like there’s something that’s constantly working against you? The truth is, there is, if you’re a child of God this morning, and it’s not God.
I was thinking about a couple of people in the bible who had to take on an enemy that tried to keep them from surviving.
I thought of Samson who fought the Philistines, they wanted to destroy him, and he killed 1000 men with the jawbone of a donkey.
I thought about David who faced many enemies. While he was tending sheep he had to face and overcome a bear and a lion, but it didn’t stop there. David said I killed a bear and a lion and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them because he’s defied they armies of the Lord.
It would be great if we could always see what we’re fighting. But our real enemy is not seen in the natural, though we feel the effects of his attacks in the natural.
But the Word declares in Ephesians 6:12
Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
How can you fight against an enemy that you can’t see? You’ve got to have the right tools and that’s what I want to share with you this morning, tools for survival.
No matter what you’re doing, you need to have the right tools to be successful. If you’re planting a garden, you’ve got to have the right tools.
If you’re playing baseball, you’ve got to have the right tools; and if we’re going to survive the attacks of the enemy, and even put him on the defensive, we must understand what the tools are that we need.
First of all, our weapons are not weak
2 Corinthians 10:4 “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)”
Let me share with you this morning, the enemy is never intimidated with puny methods to stop him.
I remember when Cindy and I were evangelizing we were in the mountains of North Carolina, next door to the house that we were staying in was a little farm that had a rooster.
Now that pastor and his wife slept on the other side of the parsonage so this rooster never bothered them, but Cindy and I were right next to this crazy chicken.
I got to the point where I was tired of hearing him crow every morning so one morning I got out of bed, went out on the porch and I was determined I was going to intimidate that rooster, so I said “shew, shew”. That rooster didn’t care how much I shewed him away, he wasn’t going. Cindy was in bed laughing at me, the rooster was moving, and I didn’t intimidate any one.
Some of you are trying to fight the devil with your own fleshly methods. He’s not intimidated by natural means, he doesn’t care how loud you yell, and how often.
So many times we’re trying to use our carnal weapons to stop the enemy.
We try to use human reasoning, human desire, manipulation, we even try to use deception on the great deceiver, then we try to use natural control.
It takes more than our trying to intimidate the enemy on our own to keep us from becoming a victim, it’s going to take God’s weapons.
Let’s look at the Believer’s Arsenal of Spiritual Weapons
God’s given of weapons of warfare to use against the enemy. He has an arsenal of things that the enemy can’t stand against, because God’s weapons are mighty, they never fail, they bring about the destruction of Satan’s strongholds.
I want us to first look at the two pillars that support our arsenal. The first pillar is Faith and obedience.
Faith and obedience are son intertwined that one is incomplete without the other.
You first of all must have faith that the weapons God provides for you will work.
You need to have faith in the name of Jesus. You need to have faith in the power of Jesus. You need to have faith that the same power dwells in you and empowers you that empowered Jesus.
A matter of fact, Jesus said that we would do greater works. Listen to what John 14:12 says “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
Listen to what Jesus said about faith…
Mark 11:22-24 “22 …Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
How do you exercise your faith? One of the ways to exercise your faith is by speaking for the Word and declaring aloud the victory Christ gives.
When the Holy Spirit quickens a verse of scripture for a given situation, speak it forth as a word of faith, casting down every imagination that is contrary to the Word of God.
What quenches all fear, doubt and unbelief? FAITH, FAITH, FAITH, BELIEVING, BELIEVING, BELIEVING.
We not only need to have faith, but we must operate in obedience and commitment.
You can claim all the faith you want, but if you don’t have a level of obedience and commitment, you can’t even stop a sneeze let alone any devils.
The devil knows he has you when he sees inconsistency in your life.
In our weight watchers meeting this week, by the way I’ve lost 19.8 pounds, and Cindy’s lost 21, this lady had a problem with here husband always trying to get her to eat with him, but what we found out, she would tell him just one piece of pizza, and then she would end up eating 3 or 4. She was saying one thing, but doing another.
You’ll never operate in victory as long as you’re saying one thing and doing another. To be a survivor and an overcomer in God’s kingdom, you’ve got to operate in faith, obedience, and commitment.
You’ll never be of any use to the kingdom of God without commitment. You may have the best intentions for our church, but unless you’re willing to make a commitment to it, and do what ever you can to help make this a great church, you’re just part of the problem instead of being a part of the solution.
If we want to develop into the church God wants us to be then it’s going to take a commitment from the Pastor, to the Worship leader, to the musicians, to the Sunday School teacher, to the children’s workers, to the adults, to the children.
Without faith, obedience to God’s word and commitment, we’re not going anywhere as a church and without those things in your life, you’re not going anywhere as a Believer.
You might as well paint a big old red and white target on your chest and tell the enemy, you’re open season, because you’ll never be able to stop his effectiveness against your life until you have the right foundation and support.
The second pillar you need is the Pillar of communication and power.
This pillar is made up of prayer and intercession. With out the right supports in place, you’re spiritual house is in danger of falling.
Last year while we worked on the parsonage, the overhang over the front porch looked like it was going to come down. The wrought iron pillars were no longer supporting the overhang and it was putting tremendous stress on the structure.
Once we fixed the support, the structure was once again solid. But here’s the important part, it took both pillars to properly support the overhang. One was only working before, and the overhang was leaning and sagging.
You can’t just have one side of your spiritual house in order, you need to work on making sure everything is in order.
To go along with faith and obedience, you need to have prayer and intercession.
To make sure you have the best spiritual support you must sure up your spiritual life with prayer and intercession.
I don’t have time to go into the difference between prayer and intercession, but let me say this quickly.
Prayer is basically time you spend in communication with God for yourself, and intercession is time you spend in communication with God for others.
As you develop your prayer life, ask God to give you a listening ear, because He desires to speak His plans, His thoughts, His desires into your heart.
Conclusion:
Before the rest of the arsenal will work, you must have the right supports in place. How’s your faith level, how’s your obedience level, where are you on your commitment.
Can God in trust you with His plans and desires?
Are your words supported by your actions and commitment.
God is looking for committed people right here. God wants to build a church that will reach families, young and old. But He wants you to have the right foundation, the right pillars of faith and obedience, prayer and intercession.
Is there any area that you’re falling short in? God wants to add to your life today.
