I. Man Your Battle Stations!
A. Sound the Alarm
B. Text: I Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life… ”
And… Ephesians 6:10-18
C. God has called this church to a time of spiritual warfare!
D. We must prepare for battle.
E. The enemy is on attack! And we must be prepared!
F. The only fight God has called us to is the good fight of faith!
G. Deuteronomy 20:4 “For the LORD your God is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.” (KJV)
H. Even though He will do our fighting, we must be prepared for war!
I. We have to be built up, ready to go!
II. W.O.R.D.
A. There comes a time for preparation. That time is now!
B. He is calling us to fight this good fight of faith with 3 weapons: His Word, Prayer & Fellowship.
C. First, let’s discuss the W.O.R.D.
1. Warring ~ When we stand on the Word of God, we are in a faith battle with the forces of darkness.
2. Ephesians 6 gives us the greatest plan of preparation!
3. This chapter speaks of the Armor of God.
4. This armor is Armor of Light because it will reflect Jesus!
(a) Romans 13:11, 12 “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” Verse 14 goes on to say: “…put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
(b) What will the armor of light do? It will expose that which is camouflaged! It will expose that which is hidden; the works of darkness!
(c) Ephesians 5:11 says, “…have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” Then Paul goes on in verse 13 & 14, “But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says, ‘Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’”
(d) Remember, Peter said, “…you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (I Peter 2:9)
5. So the WORD is there, as our battle plan, to equip us in our warring.
6. Obeying – For what good is it to have the Word, and to not obey it!
(a) As Paul wrote in II Thessalonians 1:8, those who do not obey the Word of God will stand in judgment and the vengeance of God!
7. Reading – We must spend time in His Word! We will never get it in our spirits, in our heart, unless we spend time in it! How can it be of effect in our lives, if we never pick it up? How can we hear it, if we don’t listen? Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God! However, we must also be
8. Obeying – James 1:22 reminds us, to be doers of His Word and not just hearers! If we hear only, we’re deceiving ourselves!
D. This is our plan of action; our call of duty!
III. P.R.A.Y.er
A. Praise – The most important opening to a prayer!
1. Praise is powerful!
B. Repentance – True repentance is a prerequisite to revival! If we want God to fight for us and defeat our foe, we must use the weapon of repentance to assist us in the victory!
C. Adoration – A heart of continual thanksgiving will create opportunities for God to continue working on your behalf.
D. Yielding – We must submit to His Spirit in order for Him to continue leading us to the victor’s crown!
IV. F.E.L.L.O.W.S.H.I.P.
A. True, godly fellowship will always consist of the following characteristics:
Friendship
Encouragement
Love
Longsuffering
Offering (Giving to others)
Working
Serving
Helping
Inviting
Preferring
Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”
He is calling us to Be All That We Can Be & Do All That We Can Do!
