Sermon Central
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Part 4 - The Belt Of Truth Series
Contributed by Pastor Bruce A. Shields on Oct 6, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: Part 4 of this series begins to look at the armor itself, begining with the first part mentioned, the belt of truth.
SPIRITUAL WARFARE
& THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD (SERIES)
4 – The Belt of Truth
Rev. Bruce A. Shields
First Baptist Church of Tawas City Michigan
www.TawasBaptist.org
Scripture Reading – Ephesians 6:14 (NIV)
PRAYER
Satan’s Plan is three fold
1. Deceive
2. Divide
3. Destroy
How does he do this? He does this through “Flaming Arrows”, or evil thoughts. Remember, the mind is the battlefield.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
We have divine weapons of God at our disposal. We have weapons that are capable of DEMOLISHING STRONGHOLDS, weapons that can Demolish ANYTHING that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Weapons that are capable of taking captive every thought, making it obedient to Christ!
Paul understands here that the battlefield is in the mind. Paul understands that if we are to win in this spiritual battle, we must recognize that our weapons are divine (The Armor of God), and that these weapons ARE capable of destroying the strongholds the devil has placed in your life! And these weapons are capable of taking captive the thoughts in your mind which allow these strongholds to be built.
The devil will focus on your desire, weakness and needs to build these strongholds.
I am not getting my share in life.
I need
I want
I deserve
I = PRIDE
Here are a scripture to thwart pride.
“What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds…Oh God, you have punished us less than our sins deserve.”
What we deserve is hell. But Gods grace and salvation through Christ saves us from that. But we need to remember that it was through God’s grace, not of anything we earned and DEFINITELY not of anything we deserve!
I would be very careful praying for God to give me what I deserve.
Do you know who the master of “I” is?
Isaiah 14:13 – speaking of Satan
“You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
Well I say “I am deserving of hell for my sins”
“I am saved through God’s grace”
“I submit myself to you Lord for you are the Most High!”
So how does Satan get these strongholds in our lives? Flaming Arrows! Fire spreads even if the arrow does not kill.
Once Satan has a stronghold, he will use it to keep you from living God’s will in your life.
But they don’t start out as strongholds. He slowly builds them in your life. And they start with a flaming arrow.
Satan sees an area of your life that it open, unprotected and he attacks with a barrage of arrows. (When it rains it pours) in hopes one will hit its mark. All it takes is one to hit and the fire can spread and grow in your life. The arrow hits, that area if not dealt with in a Godly manner grows and the fire spreads. Becomes impulsive & recurring (mostly thoughts) which leads to compulsive & addictive behavior.
Once an arrow hits and the process starts, the devil will feed that fire with why you Should, Could or why it’s OK to do so.
There are two things going on in your life.
What you think is good for you. And what God KNOWS is good for you.
EXAMPLE of attack;
Flaming arrow of Fear (How can I pay all my bills this month?)
The arrow hits, the fire begins to spread;
(Satan steps in with reasons why you should fear)
• You will never be able to pay all those bills (worldly common sense)
• No matter how hard you try things just never work out (Self pity - self centeredness)
• You need more money (change focus from a need God can meet to a need the devil can meet)
• How can you get more coming in (the beginning of greed and the love of money)
• I’m doing everything I’m supposed to as a Christian why is God allowing me to go through this (time to blame God)
• Does God really care (the death blow – doubt Gods love and ability to work in your life)
As soon as the Flaming arrow of Fear hit (How can I pay all my bills this month?) the correct response to the devils attack would have been;
