Scripture Gives Spiritual Victory

BENEFITS OF SCRIPTURE Sermon Series

“Scripture Gives Spiritual Victory”

KEY PASSAGE: Ephesians 6:17 (NASB)

Thank you, worship team, for that wonderful praise and worship experience and for leading us into God’s holy presence. And so, Father, as we conclude our praise and worship this morning, we are reminded about the early church in the Book of Acts of the Apostles. One thing that stood out about the church was unity. We are told in Acts 4, verse 32, that the company of believers was of one heart and one soul. Unity among God’s people so is critical for revealing the visible manifestation of Your glory. Our prayer this morning is for unity to be demonstrated in this church because the Spirit of God works best where there is unity. Amen. You may have your seat.

Tithe and Offering

We will invite our ushers to come up now so we can collect our tithes and offerings. I want to remind all of us this morning to be faithful and generous to God in our giving so that our church can do God’s work. Giving to God our substance should be a joy and not a job. Let’s give to God with a cheerful heart. I also want to remind you to give through the church giving App. Please follow the instructions on the screen on how to give. Worship band, please lead us in worship as we collect our tithe and offering.

WELCOME

Welcome to our Sunday Worship Service. We are glad to have you with us today. Please find some folks around you, greet them in the Lord, and tell them Jesus loves you. Our first visitors, please stand so we can see you. We also welcome all who join us online. Let's clap for our online viewers.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Remember to grab a copy of the church newsletter after church today. The church newsletter is a source of encouragement and provides information on what is happening at the church. Men’s Breakfast is this Saturday, August 31st, at 10:00 a.m. To all men, please try to attend the Men’s Breakfast this Saturday. Our first night of Worship is on Friday, August 30th, at 6:00 p.m. here at the church. Please join us for an evening of praise and worship and invite others to the service. Wednesday Night Bible Study Connect is at 7:00 p.m. Please join us on Wednesday night to STUDY THE WORD OF GOD. Also, our church corporate weekly prayer meeting is every Saturday at 8:00 a.m. Please talk to Farai and Paula about the new member class if you want to join the church. All the church events and activities are posted on the church App and website.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Let’s pray. Heavenly, I pray that the Word of God we are about to hear gives us spiritual victory. I pray that the Holy Spirit uses this time to renew and strengthen our spirits and bless our gifts to glorify Your name and advance the work of Jesus Christ in this community and worldwide. And may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen.

DECLARATION of FAITH in GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

An old doctor described the Bible as “an armory of heavenly weapons. A laboratory of infallible medicines. A mine of inexhaustible (exhaustless) wealth. It is a guidebook for every road. A chart for every sea. A medicine for every sickness and disease and a balm for every wound. Rob us of our Bible, and our sky has lost its sun.”

First of all, the Bible is sufficient. Let me say that again: the Bible in your hand and on your smart devices is enough. Secondly, it is the source of happiness; Jesus said in Luke 11:28, “Happy are they who hear the word of God and obey it.” Thirdly, it is the power. We are impotent if we don’t use God’s word. The Bible is the source of our power. Fourthly, the Bible is a source of comfort. Lastly, the Bible is a source of victory over the enemy. And with that, we arrive at Ephesians 6:17. The Bible is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, that gives us the weapon against our enemy. That is why I preach the Word of God. That is why we systematically teach the Word of God.

SERMON EXPOSITION

For several weeks, we have been studying the role of Scripture in the life of a believer. This morning, we will conclude that study by saying, “Scripture Gives Spiritual Victory.” We want to examine the last piece on how Scripture Brings Spiritual Victory to a believer. Today, I want to focus primarily, not exclusively, on Ephesians 6, the key chapter in the Bible that deals with the topic of spiritual warfare. Paul says in Ephesians 6:17, “And take up the helmet of salvation,” and in the second half of this verse, he says, “And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” I am sure most of you, if not all, already know that the context of Ephesians Chapter 6 is about spiritual warfare.

In verse 12, Paul says, “For we struggle not against flesh and blood,” that is, other people, “but against rulers, powers and world forces of this darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.” He says that your battle in life is not against people. Your struggle is not against the person sitting next to you. Your battle is not against your neighbor that you may not like. It is against a whole other realm that influences people, the spiritual realm, which he calls here heavenly places. Let me explain the meaning of heavenly places that Paul talked about in verse 12. Heavenly places are the spiritual realm, the invisible unseen realm that influences and causes what occurs in the visible realm where you and I live.

We are at war against a spiritual mafia, and the name of this mafia is Satan. If I were to ask you right now for the physical address of the mafia, no one in this room would know Satan’s address. If I were to ask you for the mafia’s 1800 number, no one would be able to locate the 1800 number for the mafia because Satan operates from the invisible kingdom. Satan is a good-looking businessman in the day but could be a hitman by nighttime.

In our text for today, Paul postulates (claims) that a spiritual mafia, an angelic force against whom you and I wrestle, and this mafia exists at the heart of our conflict. Paul’s concern is that we do not miss this invisible realm, this heavenly place, where our spiritual blessings are located.

SERMON EXPOSITION

Let me tell you what Satan’s goal is if you don’t already know this. Satan’s goal is to rip you off your spiritual blessings. Not only that. His goal also is to keep you from participating and enjoying the provision of God. Satan has ripped a lot of us off. Many Americans spend all their time anticipating tax season, trying to get a refund from the IRS. Satan has been ripping us off for years. But the good news that you need to know is that, in Christ, you are due a refund—and not just a refund, but a full refund. You are due a return on everything Satan has stolen from you. The question is, how do we get our refund back from Satan? Paul gave us the answer. Paul says that he wants us to stand firm. He says to stand firm several times. In verse 11, he says, stand firm. He says it at the end of verse 13: stand firm. He says at the end of verse 14, stand firm. He is saying that when you came to Christ, you came to victory.

You wrestle against principalities and powers, but you do not wrestle from defeat; [Watch this] you wrestle from victory because the Bible is clear that Jesus Christ defeated the evil one on the cross. The real enemy is Satan, who is defeated. If you are here today and you are in a battle (whether it is spiritual, relational, or emotional), Jesus wants you to know He has already declared you a winner because you are in a battle that has been predetermined that you are going to win. I don’t care how tall or big the enemy is or how big the size of the situation is; I want you always to keep this truth in mind: You are not fighting for victory. Christ has won the victory for you, and you are fighting from victory and not for victory. But remember that you are still in the battle.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION

But you must understand and have the right mindset. You see, if a person puts a wooden gun or a toy gun in your back, and you don’t know it is a fake gun. You will feel and function like it is a real gun because you don’t know if it is a wooden or plastic toy gun. So, if you think the gun is real, then it will affect how you think and all of your life, but once you discover that it is not a real gun, it just has the feeling of reality without the force of reality, it will make you put your hands down. It will make you turn around and look that person in the face, and your fear will turn to courage. Your fear will turn to strength. Why?

Because you have gotten the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God. There is something about truth that changes your mind and ability to function. There is something unique about truth that changes the mind of a person. The Bible wants you to know the whole truth that Satan may have something stuck in your back, but it is not the ultimate weapon because the victory has already been achieved. The Bible wants you to know that Jesus has already won the victory.

SERMON EXPOSITION

Paul then goes through the various armor of God in Ephesian chapter 6, which we have been told to put on: truth and righteousness and your feet sharp of the Gospel and faith. Then he comes to verse 17 with the helmet of salvation and crosses over to our focus for today, the sword of the spirit. He says, “What I am talking about is the Word of God.” After listing the weapons, he comes to the only offensive weapon in the group, the only thing you use to attack the enemy back. He calls the Word of God the sword of the spirit. The word for sword in the New Testament comes from the Greek word dagger (die-ger). A dagger (die-ger) was used for precision. This was the weapon Peter used when they came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Bible says that Peter took out his sword and cut off the servant's ear with precision. It is like a doctor using a scalpel (sky-pol) in an operation on a patient. A scalpel (sky-pol) is a medical instrument designed for precision.

Paul closes verse 17 by referring to the sword of the Spirit as the Word of God. There are several words in the New Testament for the Word of God when referring to the Bible. One main word in the Bible is called the Logos, which is the embodiment of the expression of God, but that is not the word that Paul used here in verse 17. The word Paul used is the word called Rhema. What is Rhema? The word Rhema is different from the word Logos. Logos is the Bible in general. The sixty-six (66) books divided between the Old Testament and New Testament make up the amount we call the Bible, or the Logos of God, the Word of God.

But in verse 17, the word used is Rhema. The [word] Rhema refers to specific statements in the Bible, not the Bible in general. Rhema refers to specific declarations from the Bible used as needed at a specific time regarding a specific situation. Watch this: Until the Logos becomes the Rhema, you won’t see the power of God manifesting in your life. Until the Bible, [in general], the big sword can become the sharp dagger (die-ger); you won’t see its power at work.

[As long as] the book is the Bible and you can’t pull out specific utterances and statements and cut with precision, you will be a general Christian with a general Bible, knowing the general truth and getting general results. The word Paul used here was [of] an utterance. This word is also used in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting into the dividing of soul and spirit and joint and marrow.” The sword is the offensive weapon God provides to all believers. Hebrews 4:12 compares the Word of God to a sharp sword because it can pierce the inner man, just as a material sword pierces the body.

According to Acts 2:37, you and I were cut deep to the heart when the Word of God convicted us of our sins. Peter tried to defend Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane with a sword, but he later learned at Pentecost that the “sword of the Spirit” did a much better job. Moses in the Old Testament also tried to conquer with a physical sword, only to discover that God’s Word alone was more than enough to defeat the enemy in Egypt. The point that I want to make is that a material sword pierces a person’s physical body, but the Word of God pierces the heart.

It says that the word of God is so sharp that when specifically applied to a specific situation [precisely], it can get between the bone and marrow. Do you understand what it means to get between bone and marrow when the marrow is in the bone? Let me help you out on this. You have to be precise in the most intricate and sophisticated way. The Bible is so sharp that it can distinguish between the soul and the spirit. Do you understand that the soul and the spirit are connected [to one another]?

The writer of the Book of Hebrews says that if you ever learn to use this book [called the Bible] as a precision weapon, not just for general use. Yes, you know, I believe the Bible, but let me give you this verse, at this time, for this problem, in this way because I am about to slice you up. I am about to cut through this situation I am experiencing using the Word of God with precision.

He says the Word of God, when it becomes Rhema, used for specific utterances, allows you to experience the power of the spirit. Why are more Christians not seeing the power of God’s word? Because many of us are shooting with blanks. You can have a gun, but if you have blanks in the gun, it won’t do anything to the enemy. Rhema has to do with the specific parts of the Bible you used, not simply generally believing in the Bible as the Word of God. He says the Bible is the sword that the Holy Spirit uses, the Rhema of God, and the specific use of scriptures.

The use of specific truths in specific scenarios lets you see specific power. To know the Bible generally is essential for using it precisely. The reason you want to learn the Bible generally is so that you can use it specifically. The reason why so many Christians are general Christians is they don’t use the Bible specifically when they are faced with hand-to-hand combat.

Let’s look at a portion of Matthew 4, where Jesus applies the Rhema Word of God to a specific situation He was dealing with when tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Christ used the sword of the Spirit and defeated the enemy. In Matthew Chapter 4, Jesus has come from a great victory. God has said, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased in verse 17 of chapter 3. Then, He had come off the mountain; He was in trouble because He was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.

Now watch this: Is Jesus in God’s will? Jesus is perfect in God’s will. And God leads Jesus to meet the Devil. Jesus is the eternal Son of God. He just came off of a grand celebration. God said, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” God says I am pleased with you and then we are told the spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. So, you have the Trinity working together. That is why, for a church to see the power of God at work, the church needs to work in unity. The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness for spiritual warfare with the Devil because you don’t know how good you are until the enemy opposes you.

Jesus had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and was hungry. The devil comes to Jesus; God the Father does not interrupt or stop the Devil from coming to Jesus. If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread. Jesus has a legitimate need because He is hungry. He has been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. Watch This Now: Jesus said, “It Is Written.” Jesus did not discuss hunger or organize Operation Breadbasket with Satan. Jesus said, “It is written that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds of the mouth of God.”

In other words, here is Jesus’ point that you need to know: man does not only live by what he gets to meet his needs. Jesus could turn stone into bread—bagels, croissants, and English muffins. The problem with this request is that Jesus would have created the breadbasket at the request of the enemy of God. In other words, He would have met His need unlawfully.

The verse that Jesus quoted is from Deuteronomy chapter 8. The people of Israel were in the wilderness and extremely hungry. Watch this: Jesus goes to an Old Testament parallel, which is why you need to read the Old Testament. You read the Old Testament to find a situation similar to what you are going through.

In verse five of Matthew chapter 4, the Devil takes Jesus along the holy city. That verse is interesting. The Devil did not ask Jesus, "Will you join me?" It says, "The Devil took Him." Have you ever been in a situation where it looks like the Devil is taking you, jerking you all around, and you seem powerless? Well, guess what? The Devil took Jesus. The Devil took Jesus to a holy city and made Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, and then remember, it is written.”

Now, the Devil is quoting the Bible. The Devil said, well, I read the Bible, and my Bible says He will give His angels charge over you, and on their hands, He will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone. My Bible tells me if you jump, God will catch you. Why was the Devil telling Jesus to jump? Because Jesus came to be king of the Jews. And where is Jesus? He is at the temple. And who is in the temple? The Jews. So, if all the Jews see Jesus jump off the temple, they are going to know and believe that Jesus is the Son of God when all these angels grab His feet and ease Him down to earth. Not only that, but the Jews are also going to see the supernatural Son of God, so you don’t have to go to the cross. You can have success without the cross if you jump. The Devil was offering Jesus success outside of the will of God.

The Devil said to Jesus, you can avoid pain, You can avoid dying on the cross [crucifixion], You can avoid nails in your hand, and the nails in your feet. Jesus answered and said in verse 7, “It is written: on the other hand. In other words, I will not let you take one verse, skip the rest of the verses, and pick the verse you like. It is easy to choose parts of the Bible you like and ignore [skip] the parts you don’t like.

Finally, in verse 8, the Devil takes Jesus to a very high mountain, shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and says to Jesus, “All these things I will give you if you fall down and worship me.” What the Devil is saying here is that I will give you significance without God. Satan said, when you bow down and worship me, I will give you stuff. I will give you name recognition. I will give you money. I will give you houses. I will give you some stuff if you follow me. All you have to do is hang out with me, Jesus. Jesus says, get out of here, Satan, because you have adopted the mindset of hell, and He says, be gone, Satan, for it is written. You shall worship the Lord, your God, and serve Him only. And the text says Satan left Jesus. Why? Because Satan can handle the word of man, but he can’t handle the Word of God. All Jesus did was quote the Bible. He reached back into the Old Testament and quoted the Bible. Jesus knew that the only thing the Devil was allergic to was the Word of God.

There is a closing point that I want to bring to your attention that is not often mentioned. In verse 11, “Then the Devil left Him, and behold angels came and began to minister to Him.” The question about this verse is, where were all the angels of God when Jesus encountered the Devil? The angels show up after the spiritual battle. It says the angel showed up after the battle and ministered to Jesus because sometimes God leaves you alone with His Word. Watch this: And God wants to know, do you trust My Word, do you believe My Word, and will you use My Word and believe Me?

God says, “I know you are hungry,” but you have to trust My Word. I know it is taking too long, but you must trust my Word. I know Satan is offering you something that looks good out there, but you must trust my Word. And you quote the Word of God in your battle, and it will come to a point where Satan can’t handle it anymore. Three strikes like Jesus, the Devil is out. The Word of God is your source of strength and guidance, empowering you to overcome any temptation and the devices of the enemy.

And when you come forth as pure as gold, I will send My angels, and they will minister to you. Many of us have Bibles and come to church on Sunday, but we don’t use the Word of God precisely for our specific situation. Some of us don’t also even believe in God’s Word. We go to church but don’t use God’s Word. We take the Bible to church and set it up on the coffee table, the bookshelf, or the nightstand for the rest of the week. We don’t read and use the Bible. Angels are God’s deliverymen. They deliver the goods.

FAITH APPEAL, CALL to ACTION and ALTAR CALL

In closing, suppose somebody breaks into your house, and that person is 7 feet tall and weighs 9,000 pounds; that is a beast; that person is a monster. That person is a Goliath. There is nothing you can do to stop this monster or beast. Well, what most of us are going to do is pick up the phone quickly and dial 911. 911 is an emergency number. 911 connects you to a whole system of support. So, even if you don’t get to talk, they will figure out how to find you and locate the address of the emergency. When they get a response, there will be a dispatch to your house. The dispatch will have a police officer who will come equipped to address your specific situation. If they discover the problem is too big for them, they have communication devices and will call for a backup. So, you have a whole fleet of cars in front of your house because you remembered to call 911. The system took over the situation you are dealing with. For us Christians, God wants you to know is that you have a telephone number! When you are in face-to-face combat with an enemy that is too big or too strong to handle, you must pick up 911 and say, “It is written. “ Then, you will be connected to a whole support system, and God will bring you the help you need. Whatever situation you are facing right now, the system is ready to support you, but you must use the Rhema Word, which the spirit of God will take, to make a mark on your enemy. The scripture is powerful when used, and the better you and I know the Word of God, the easier it will be for us to detect Satan’s lies and reject his offers. God bless you.

And if you are here today or watching our service live, maybe you have never accepted Jesus as Your Savior, that He died on the cross just for your sins. I want you to come forward and receive Jesus in your heart. Don’t leave the service without accepting Jesus if you are not saved. Is there anyone who would like to receive Jesus today? If you need prayer, please come forward so we can pray for you.

BENEDICTION

Shall we pray? Dear Father, we have a very real enemy who watches us for weakness and is eager to harm Your church, Your body. The devil is greedy to destroy human lives and lost souls. We ask that You firm us up in the armor of God and cause us to walk in that equipment so that we can handle the enemy’s impact when it comes. Make us constantly pray and boldly reach out to claim souls for You. We are grateful to be Your sheep, Your children. Without Your power, we have no possible hope of victory. But in Christ, we are rich, equipped, and fulfilled. In the name of Christ, we stand firm and thank You in the name of Jesus. Amen. God bless you. We will see you next week at 10:30 a.m.