HOW DO WE FIGHT? (9 OF 9)
Scripture: Ephesians 6:18-20
This content is part of a series.
How Do We Fight? (9 of 9)
Series: Ephesians
Brian Fletcher
Ephesians 6:18-20
Keep Alert
With perseverance
Always praying
Introduction:
In the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, Screwtape (the devil) tells Wormwood (a subordinate evil spirit) ''not to hope too much from a war.'' He was referring to the agonies of WWII. He explains that war will not destroy the faith of real believers and will, thanks to God's high-handed ways, produce a good deal of unwanted seriousness about life, death, and the issues of eternity. ''How disastrous for us,'' the devil complains, ''is the continual remembrance of death which war enforces. One of our best weapons, CONTENTED WORLDLINESS, is rendered useless. In wartime not even a human can believe that he is going to live forever.''
As I mentioned last week, the devil wants to lull us into thinking that we are in a time of peace. That there is no war, no battle and that we just need to go about our personal business not worrying or caring about the so called ''dark forces.''
Whereas, God is shaking us and saying, ''Wake up you sleeper, it's time to fight the good fight.''
In this passage we are encouraged to fight by Keeping Alert, Persevering and Praying
All three of these go together, so let's start with the first Keeping Alert…
We Fight by Keeping Alert
Peter warns us in:
ESV 1 Peter 5:8 ''Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.''
What will it take for you to realize that there is a serious war raging daily for your soul?
Don't settle for CONTENTED WORLDLINESS. Our culture has made it so easy to find contentment in the little things around us. We even have a saying, ''It's the little things in life that make you happy.'' So we surround our lives with stuff that we believe will make us happy. The deceitfulness of this philosophy is that sometimes the little things do make us happy, temporarily. But then the happiness goes away ...
Series: Ephesians
Brian Fletcher
Ephesians 6:18-20
Keep Alert
With perseverance
Always praying
Introduction:
In the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, Screwtape (the devil) tells Wormwood (a subordinate evil spirit) ''not to hope too much from a war.'' He was referring to the agonies of WWII. He explains that war will not destroy the faith of real believers and will, thanks to God's high-handed ways, produce a good deal of unwanted seriousness about life, death, and the issues of eternity. ''How disastrous for us,'' the devil complains, ''is the continual remembrance of death which war enforces. One of our best weapons, CONTENTED WORLDLINESS, is rendered useless. In wartime not even a human can believe that he is going to live forever.''
As I mentioned last week, the devil wants to lull us into thinking that we are in a time of peace. That there is no war, no battle and that we just need to go about our personal business not worrying or caring about the so called ''dark forces.''
Whereas, God is shaking us and saying, ''Wake up you sleeper, it's time to fight the good fight.''
In this passage we are encouraged to fight by Keeping Alert, Persevering and Praying
All three of these go together, so let's start with the first Keeping Alert…
We Fight by Keeping Alert
Peter warns us in:
ESV 1 Peter 5:8 ''Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.''
What will it take for you to realize that there is a serious war raging daily for your soul?
Don't settle for CONTENTED WORLDLINESS. Our culture has made it so easy to find contentment in the little things around us. We even have a saying, ''It's the little things in life that make you happy.'' So we surround our lives with stuff that we believe will make us happy. The deceitfulness of this philosophy is that sometimes the little things do make us happy, temporarily. But then the happiness goes away ...
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