Be Audacious Enough To Confront Your Enemy

Every man needs testosterone the big T of biology. We lose the big T as we age. Belly gets a little bigger, hair starts to fall out, our energy levels decrease all signs of low Testosterone. Today men are reaching critically low rates of T faster than any generation before. Most of this is due to our sedentary life styles. No longer do we hunt for what we eat on a daily basis. No longer do we build our own homes from the trees we cut down ourselves. No longer are we running from wild animals. No, we mostly work desk jobs and eat fast food.

Big companies are making a fortune selling men pills that are promised to raise that T back to the time when you were a farel, and wild young man. Sure, to make you feel 20 years younger, increase your limbedo, give you energy, and strength. Yet, to this day there really is no magic pill to increase your Testosterone.

But we men can gain most of it back through hard work and training. Lifting heavy stuff, training at a fast paced, telling your body you are preparing for battle. Squats, dead-lifts, sprints, box jumps, overhead press and the like. You want that T back, you have to work for it, you have to be disciplined.

Our faith is the same way. When we start out in the faith we have the Big T – Tenacity (The ability to grip something firmly.) but, as we age in our faith we often become soft and we lose that tenacious (Never let go.) attitude. This month and next I want to give you four practical ways to become the godly man (and woman) you were or are becoming and to get that Big T (Tenacity) back.

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Week 2 – Be Adamant Enough To Trust God,

Week 3 – Be Adventurous enough to finish what you started,

Week 4 – Live from victory not for victory.

“Today we are talking about being Audacious enough to confront your enemy.”

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Turn with me to

1 Samuel 17:20–51 NLT

So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel. As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!” David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.” But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!” “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him. “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!” Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine. Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled. David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.

He was Tenacious for God’s honor and glory.

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David as a young man gives us an idea of what we need

David ran towards his enemy rather than wait for the enemy to attack him. David took a bold and audacious approach towards Goliath.

The First Step to being a tenacious man of God you must:

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Be Audacious enough to confront your enemies –

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Two questions

What in the world does Audacious mean?

Audacious – Showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks.

Synonyms – bold, daring, fearless, courageous, valiant, heroic.

Second question - Who are my enemies?

Second question - Who are my enemies?

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OUR ENEMIES ARE THREE FOLD

OUR SINFUL NATURE

OUR INSECURITIES

SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL

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LET’S LOOK AT EACH OF OUR ENEMIES A LITTLE CLOSER.

OUR SINFUL NATURE

Colossians 3:5–11 NLT

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Fear, hatred, slander, un-forgiveness, addictions, sexual immorality.

Rage, lust, a lack of self control -

This is what the Bible call SINFUL MATURE.

God is calling us to be Audacious and take on our sinful nature.

Synonyms – bold, daring, fearless, courageous, valiant, heroic.

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We must take on our sinful nature by living a disciplined life.

Every athlete, hunter and successful business man will tell you the number one thing you need to succeed is discipline.

Every athlete, hunter and successful business man will tell you the number one thing you need to succeed is discipline.

Discipline to put the bottle down

discipline to walk away,

discipline to forgive even when you do not feel like it,

discipline to speak love when you feel angry,

discipline to remove yourself from relationships that lead to sin,

discipline to wake early every morning to accomplish your tasks.

Harry S. Truman said -

In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self-discipline with all of them came first

If you want to win the fight over your sinful nature it will take self-discipline?

Addictions –

One day at a time, daily prayer, confess your sins.

Unforgiveness –

Daily read of scriptures on forgiveness, daily thank God for his forgiveness towards you. And then take the audacious step of telling someone you forgive them.

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The second Giant in our lives we must fight is -

OUR INSECURITIES

To be audacious you must be willing to take bold risks.

Imagine the insecurities of David, small, considered the least in his family, passed over by his dad when the prophet came by. Even Saul told him he could not defeat the Giant because he was only a boy.

Yet those insecurities did not stop David from trusting God to deliver the Giant into his hands.

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We all have insecurities –

My insecurity is rejection. Yet if I allow myself to be ruled by that insecurity I will never accomplish the tasks of a father, husband, pastor, or friend.

A godly man is like a man in battle – yes you are afraid the bullets will hit you but, at some point you put the fear aside and take a bold risk.

You want to beat those insecurities that keep holding you back?

Let me give you 2 steps towards defeating your insecurities.

1. Daily make a discipline to challenge that insecurity.

My fear of rejection made me fearful of talking to people – I chose to daily start a conversation with a stranger. (I do this discipline to this day.)

David, disciplined himself to fight off his insecurities – Killed lions ad bears to protect the sheep.

David disciplined himself to run towards the problem not away from it.

2. Place your faith in God not your insecurities.

2. Place your faith in God not your insecurities.

David put his trust in God to deliver the victory.

1 Samuel 17:37 NLT

The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”

1 Samuel 17:43–45 NLT

“Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled. David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

1 Sam 17:

He was not focused on his size, his youth, or lack of armor. He was focused on the victorious God, who gave him the strength to defeat the lions and bears in the past.

2. He was not focused on his size, his youth, or lack of armor. He was focused on the victorious God, who gave him the strength to defeat the lions and bears in the past.

If you focus on your weaknesses you will fail but, if you focus on God’s strengths you will be victorious.

Be Audacious enough to take on your insecurities.

b. Be Audacious enough to take on your insecurities.

Be Audacious enough to take on your insecurities.

Challenge your insecurities,

Place your faith in God.

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Our Last Giant We are Called to Battle with

SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL (NOT PEOPLE)

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Paul calls these forces rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, and spiritual forces in heavenly places.

What Paul is telling us is there are spiritual forces that are opposed to God who work to influence, nations, leaders, families, and the Church.

The Church of Jesus needs men who are willing to run towards this fight rather than run from it.

The Church needs audacious men who rather than being influenced by this present age are willing to go to battle against these spiritual forces who, influence and provoke evil in men.

Paul said we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Rather, we wrestle against these spiritual forces.

Wrestle is here simply means hand to hand combat.

God is looking for men who are Audacious enough to run into battle and to do hand to hand combat with these forces of evil.

God is calling you men into battle when he calls you to himself.

Are you willing to fight for your family?

Are you willing to fight for your church?

Are you willing to fight for your friend who is addicted to drugs?

Are you willing to fight for the poor who are facing injustice?

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Let me finish off today by giving you 6 steps to hand to hand combat with the enemy.

Control your anger

The enemy feeds of your anger.

When we love others it disarms are true enemy.

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Operate in the full armor of God

Never go into battle without the armor of God

Belt of truth- Truth of God’s words hold everything together.

Breast plate of righteousness – You are the righteousness of God – that knowledge will protect you from the enemies lies when he tells you how sinful and horrible you are.

The enemy will attack your weaknesses – when you realize you are Righteous because of the work of Jesus, you are protected.

Helmet of salvation – knowledge that you are reconciled to God, your sins have been washed away, you are the righteousness of God.

We will talk more about this next week.

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March with others – Lone Rangers only succeed in 1950’s tv shows.

If you try to walk this way of the warrior by yourself you will be eaten up and spit out.

We will all need to rely on one another.

As a man I know you are independent and strong willed but, you still need other men by your side.

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Bold Steps are required even if you think it is silly.

Sometimes God is going to ask you to do something that just fills silly. Get over yourself and do it.

(Example – walk around the building and pray over it)

Anoint your home, lay hands on your kids, speak words of truth over your wife, read scripture aloud in your home, be weird.

(I imagine the Israelite army thought walking around Jericho was weird too, but it worked.)

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Attack – This battle is for the freedom and life of others and yourself.

Be Audacious and attack the enemy.

If your kids were being kid knapped would you attack?

Then stop sitting on your hands and attack the spiritual enemy who is trying to tear your home apart.

If someone was robbing your business you would attack – So attack the spiritual enemy who is out to destroy your business.

Attack the enemy because your family, friends, nations life depends on it.

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Train your mind and your heart daily through Scripture and Prayer

In war (and that is what we are in) you must know how to think, and how to feel.

In wrestling, you must train the same take down hundreds and hundreds of times.

In boxing you must train on that jab every day.

In spiritual warfare you have to train your mind to think like God, to believe what God says, to have faith in God’s words.

You have to train your heart or emotions to believe God no matter what your eyes see. To trust in the process and know victory will happen.

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Conclusion –

It does not matter if you are 13 or 85 God desires for you men to be Tenacious in your faith. When God gives you a directive he wants you to reach out and grab it. God desires for you men to be Audacious and willing to run towards your enemies.

As men of God you must be willing to fight against your

Sin nature

Your insecurities

And spiritual forces

Life, Joy and Beauty depend on it. Your city is depending on you, your family is depending on you, your church is depending on you, your nation is depending on you, the world is depending on you.

God desires for you all to be tenacious and that starts with you being audacious enough to confront your enemy.