Equip To be a winner

3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5) casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Introduction: One of the conversations that we are having today is that of the right to bear arms. It is a know fact that here in America we have more guns than there are people. We are fascinated with owning more and more guns and the more destructive they are the better. The ideal behind gun ownership is that of protection, as if the more guns you own the better you are protected. If you are going to own guns you need to be a responsible gun owner and certainly you need to beware of how it functions and its capabilities. A irresponsible gun owner is a danger to himself and to all others. You can own the best of the best but it will be of little or no value if you don’t know how to use it. You can equip an army with the most sophisticated weaponry in the world but if there is no training or no strategy in place it is doomed to failure. In the spiritual realm there is more Word available today than ever before. Most of us have a Bible in the home, one in the car, one on our phones but the key to walking in victory is how much Bible do you have in you? We need to recognize that there is a war going on and we have been equip with the weaponry necessary for victory. A war suggests conflict and making Jesus your choice gets the attention of His sworn enemy. We who have been walking with Him for a time can testify to the fact that there has been conflict. But I encourage you on today to keep on walking because the reward is greater than the challenge. The joy is greater than the trials. It is necessary that we put on the whole armor of God but that is only the first step. We must have a strategy on how to use these weapons to defend and attack, otherwise we are just well dressed Christian. The weapons without strategy is useless and offers no help in driving back the forces of hell that comes against us. My brothers and my sisters. First we are girded with the truth. For the child of God, the loin belt of our spiritual armor is the written Word of God the truth. The lion belt may seem insignificant but it is the most important piece of our armor. Brother when people notice you the may complement you on your suit, your tie, your shirt, your shoes but it’s your belt that holds everything together.( eph 6:14) Satan is a liar (John 8:44), but the believer whose life is controlled by truth will defeat him. The girdle holds the other parts of the armor together, and truth is the integrating force in the life of the victorious Christian. It is the truth that holds everything together and we all know the truth about ourselves. Because we know the truth we can walk in the freedom that it provides. I know my own truth. I was conceived in sin and shaped in iniquity. I fall short of the glory of God more than I would like but just that little bit of knowledge about myself help me understand my need for Jesus. You see I want to do right so that would suggest to me that I know the right thing to do. My problem is getting that right thing out of me. Paul put it this way I’m tore up from the floor up . O WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM! WHO SHALL DELIVER ME FROM THE BODY OF THIS DEATH. I THANK GOD FOR JESUS. Because I understand my need I have been set free from the bondage associated with my sin . “ O death where is your sting, O grave where is your victory.?A man of integrity, with a clear conscience, can face the enemy without fear. When God’s Word has a central place in your life, you will have a sense of righteousness that covers you like a mighty breastplate. When God’s Word is operating in your life, it gives you the sword you need, that rhema word quickened to your heart by the Holy Spirit, that right now word for that right now situation. When God’s Word dominates your thinking, it gives you peace that protects you from the attacks of the adversary and shield your mind like a powerful helmet. As long as the lion belt of truth is central in your life, the rest of your spiritual armor will be effective. The moment we began to ignore God’s Word and cease to apply it daily we start to lose our sense of our righteousness and our peace. Ephesians 6:14a The girdle also held the sword. Unless we practice the truth, we cannot use the Word of truth. Next there is the breastplate of righteousness. ( Ephesians 6:14b)Satan is the accuser, but he cannot accuse the believer who is living a godly life in the power of the Spirit. The life we live either fortifies us against Satan’s attacks or makes it easier for him to defeat us (2 Cor. 6:1–10). When Satan accuses us, it is the righteousness of Christ that assures the believer of his salvation. But our positional righteousness in Christ, without practical righteousness in our daily life, only gives Satan opportunity to attack us. Than we have to have on the right shoes. The Gospel of peace. ( Ephesians 6:15) Because we have the peace with God (Rom. 5:1) that comes from the Gospel, we need not fear the attack of Satan or men. We must be at peace with God and with each other if we are to defeat the devil (James 4:1–7). Next is the shield of faith. ( Ephesians 6:16) The “faith” mentioned here is not saving faith, but rather living faith, a trust in the promises and the power of God. Faith is a defensive weapon which protects us from Satan’s fiery darts. ( Ephesians 6:16) Satan shoots “fiery darts” at our hearts and minds: lies, blasphemous thoughts, hateful thoughts about others, doubts, and burning desires for sin. If we do not by faith quench these darts, they will light a fire within and we will disobey God. We never know when Satan will shoot a dart at us, so we must always walk by faith and use the shield of faith. Ephesians 6:17 The helmet of salvation (v. 17). Satan wants to attack the mind, the way he defeated Eve (Gen. 3; 2 Cor. 11:1–3). The helmet refers to the mind controlled by God. It is too bad that many Christians have the idea that the intellect is not important, when in reality it plays a vital role in Christian growth, service, and victory. When God controls the mind, Satan cannot lead the believer astray. The Christian who studies his Bible and learns the meaning of Bible doctrines is not going to be led astray too easily. THEY ARE EQUIPPED TO BE A WINNER.

Finally my brothers and sisters the sword of the spirit. ( Ephesians 6:17b) A material sword pierces the body, but the Word of God pierces the heart. The more you use a physical sword, the duller it becomes; but using God’s Word only makes it sharper in our lives. A physical sword requires the hand of a soldier, but the sword of the Spirit has its own power, for it is “living and powerful” (Heb. 4:12). The Spirit wrote the Word, and the Spirit wields the Word as we take it by faith and use it. A physical sword wounds to hurt and kill, while the sword of the Spirit wounds to heal and give life. But when we use the sword against Satan, we are out to deal him a blow that will cripple him and keep him from hindering God’s work, BECAUSE WE ARE EQUIPPED TO BE A WINNER . ( Ephesians 6:17b)Satan tries to use the Word of God to confuse us, so it is important that we know every word that God has given us. (Ephesians 6:17b)The better you know the Word of God, the easier it will be for you to detect Satan’s lies and reject his offers. Spiritual warfare does not occur accidentally to us. It is something that is planned out. The devil plans a line of attack, decides which methods he will use and chooses his approach he wants to use to attack us. Sometimes he attacks our marriages, sometimes through our children. Sometimes it through our families and friends and God’s knows his favorite target is the Church. He wants to create confusion and conflict. He want to divide us. I can say today that 100% of the church hurt that occurred in the body he is the puppet master behind it. Sometimes it on our jobs and he always at work attacking our minds. Every time we fall short of God’s glory he always there too remind us that we are not good enough. Well the devil is a lair and the father of liars and a liar from the beginning. Jesus did not come because we were so good. He came because we were no good. Don’t you believe the lie he is trying too get you to believe about yourself. IF YOU START WITH JESUS, STICK WITH JESUS, YOU WILL END UP WITH JESUS.TELL YOUR NEIGHBOR I’AM IN IT TO WIN IT. 37) Yet in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38) For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things present nor things to come, 39) nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. You do know that the devil is a created thing. TELL SOMEBODY THAT I AM PERSUADED!!! I’AM EQUIPPED TO BE A WINNER . You have to understand that the devil strategy is to separate you from Jesus. His desires is to rob us of our blessings derived by our relationship with Jesus. How do we counter the strategy of the devil? It begins by submitting. The devil is not the only one with a strategy. The Holy Spirit is a strategist that gives us a strategy that is superior to any scheme of the devil.We are of God and have overcome because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. We can only experience His greatness through submission. He wants to provide us with a divinely inspired strategy that nullifies the designs of the enemy. Sometimes His strategy may not make sense to the natural mind but we must remember that the battle is not a natural battle but spiritual. Things like loving folks that don’t love you, praying for folks that don’t pray for you and doing good to folks that means no good toward you. How many of us know that “ A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.” His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways not our ways. He operates on a higher level. He sees what we cannot see and knows what we do not know and we can be confident that His Spirit inspired strategy will always work. Our fight is spiritual. Our weapons are spiritual. Our strategy must be spiritual. We cannot look to our flesh to fight a spiritual battle. Looking to our flesh leads to stress. Stress lead to high blood pressure. High blood pressure lead to heart disease. Heart disease lead to heart attack. The devil’s objective is to steal, kill and destroy. We can not rely on the flesh, we must trust in the Divine. “ The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. We must use prayer our line to God, His Word to protect and lead us, His love that define us and His Spirit that empowers us. Our personality cannot defeat the enemy. Neither can our human abilities or our position do it. Your victory lies in your submission. 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. WE ARE EQUIPPED TO BE WINNERS !!

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