The War Behind Your Struggle
This Is Why He Came • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Praise and Worship:
Offering and Prayer:
Intro: This Is Why he Came
Have you ever noticed how certain struggles in your life feel… strategic? Struggles with the nouns...
It’s not random. It’s repetitive. It shows up right when momentum starts building. Then, it gets more intense the moment you decide to grow, to give, or to forgive. Lately, I see division that feels small but persistent. Remember we talked about oneness? Sometimes we get tired while trying to hold that oneness together. Lately, I see a fatigue that isn't physical—Yall know what um talkin bout… Those nights you’ve slept 8 hours but your soul is still exhausted.
We see people showing up at work, but they aren’t fully engaged. People doing things with family, but not fully present. People coming to church only to check the box but not fully commited to ministry.
It’s not a loud rebellion; it’s more like a slow erosion. You know there a phrase called “Quiet Quitting” where you go to work...but you dont work...And the danger of that erosion is that you don't notice it until the foundation collapses. Often times people go into survival mode and they stop talking, stop engaging. it turns into another phrase called “Mental resignation”.
And there are many other names:
Checked out
Going through the motions
Bare-minimum compliance
Compassion fatigue
Motivation deficit
The Great Detachment
So, what if what you’ve been calling "personality conflict" is actually spiritual conflict? What if what you’ve been calling "burnout" is actually opposition?
Scripture:
8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
Title, Prayer:
The War Behind Your Struggle
Application:
This statement in 1 John 3:8 is more than a theological statement; it is a search-and-destroy mission. We read about Jesus "destroying the works of the devil" and think of great battles.
David and Goliath, Gideons army defeated the Midianites, The fall of Jericho. We think of Samson, and we think of the Israelites as they passed safely through the Red Sea only for Pharoah's army to be drowned.
But for us, the "works of the enemy" can often look like the subtle, strategic internal struggle we are experiencing this week—the division in our homes, the weight of unexplainable fatigue, and the emotional detachment that keeps us from walking through the open door that God has prepared for us.
Remember the Israelites when they got to the promised land after 40 years? Some of the spies came back with some doubts...There are GIANTS over there...they were afraid, they had doubts...But this is why Jesus came. To destroy that doubt, to destroy the fear. To tell us he knows there will be struggle. To explain that He that is in me, is greater than he that is in the world. he knows there is a war behind your struggle.
Jesus didn't just come to provide some philosophy; He didnt come with just some talk tracts. He didnt come and say, do what I say and not what I do. he said in John 14, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He came to dismantle the specific spiritual challenges that are keeping you tired and stuck.
Heb 12:1 NIV Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
NIV - Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.
NLT - let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.
If the enemy’s mission is to steal your momentum, Christ’s mission is to demolish the very things that are stealing it. Before we look at how to fight, we must first recognize that the reason Jesus showed up in history was to handle exactly what is showing up in your life today.
Point One: What It Looks Like
Jesus didn't just come to "be a good teacher." He appeared to destroy. Why? Because there is an active force attempting to "steal, kill, and destroy" your peace, your family, and your purpose.
10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
We often spend all our energy fighting those nouns—spouses, bosses, or neighbors—when the real battle is in the spirit. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world."
If you don't recognize the spiritual battle behind the division and fatigue, you will keep using "flesh and blood" weapons to fight a "spirit and truth" war. You can’t fix a spiritual deficit with a physical solution.
Life Applications:
Check the Pattern: If a problem is repetitive and targets your spiritual growth, stop asking "Why is this happening?" and start asking "Who is behind this?"
Application: Identify one area where there is a “spiritual deficit” in your life (e.g., a recurring argument or a persistent feeling of hopelessness) and ask how does my reaction glorify God?
Stop Fighting People: The person annoying you is often just a pawn in a larger strategy to keep you from being the "Witness" we talked about.
Application: Pray for the person, or situation you’ve been struggling with. It shifts the atmosphere from conflict to authority.
Point Two: Stand on the "Why"
This Is Why He Came: To destroy the works of the devil. Jesus didn't come to "manage" the enemy; He came to dismantle the things he does.
In the previous weeks, we talked about the Table and the Truth. The enemy hates both. He wants to keep you from the Table (Isolation) and keep you from the Truth (Deception). When you feel that spiritual fatigue, it’s often because you are trying to carry the weight of the battle yourself.
But as you mature in Christ, you realize that the victory isn't something you win—it’s something you stand in. You don't have to be a product of the struggle. You have the option to heal and the authority to stand.
11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
Life Applications:
Switch from Defense to Offense: If you are "tired of being tired," it's time to use the Word. If the enemy uses "accurate" lies to tear you down, use the "Truth" of God's Nature to stand up.
Application: Find one scripture that contradicts your current struggle and speak it out loud daily.
Engage the Momentum: The enemy only opposes what threatens him. If you are feeling resistance, it’s a sign that you are moving in the right direction.
Application: Don't let the fatigue make you quit; let it make you lean harder into the "The Witness” who is Christ..
Benediction:
We’ve spent this month asking, “What am I supposed to do now”, "Is this really for me?" and looking at "What is truth?" Today, we realize that the Good News isn't just a comfort; it's a conquest, and seek and destroy mission. Jesus came because you were in a war you couldn't win alone. He came to destroy the works that's holding you in bondage.
Don't let the slow erosion of life steal what Jesus died to give you. Recognize the battle. Stop fighting the people around you. Stand in the authority of the One who came to settle the score.
The war is real, but the Victory has already walked through the door.
