Getting Dressed for the Battle
Steve Wagers
Ephesians 6:10-18
In his book ''The Holy Spirit,'' Billy Graham writes about an Eskimo fisherman who came to town every Saturday afternoon. He always brought his two dogs with him. One was white and the other was black. He had taught them to fight on command.
Every Saturday afternoon in the town square the people would gather and these two dogs would fight and the fisherman would take bets. On one Saturday the black dog would win; another Saturday, the white dog would win -- but the fisherman always won! His friend began to ask him how he did it. He said, 'I starve one and feed the other. The one I feed always wins because he is stronger.'
We have two natures within us, both struggling for mastery. Which one will dominate us? It depends on which one we feed.
1. SHOW Up!
A) By BIRTH
[v. 10] ''brethren''
Family matter
God's soldiers are not DRAFTED, they're BORN!
B) For BATTLE
The Christian life is not a PLAYground, it's a BATTLEground
2. SUIT Up!
To have a fight, we must have a foe.
A) An INTERNAL Foe
[Gal. 5: 19-21]
Our flesh is capable of anything.
Without the devil, we would still sin.
We are not sinners because we sin; we SIN BECAUSE WE ARE SINNERS!
We are born with the propensity and capacity for sin. Thus, our biggest enemy is ourselves. God and the devil get blamed for a lot of things they have nothing to do with.
[James 1: 13] ''Drawn away of his own lust and enticed.''
B) An EXTERNAL Foe
[v. 11] ''the rulers of the darkness of this world.''
World: Gr. kosmos
World system or order
This world has always been opposed to truth, to Christ and to Christianity. We fight against the world system every single day.
I.e. Media, politics, religion
C) An INFERNAL Foe
[Vv. 11-12]
Our real enemy is exposed.
Child always crawls through the fence to go next door to play and tear something up. He always blamed it on the devil. Mother said, ''The next ti ...
Steve Wagers
Ephesians 6:10-18
In his book ''The Holy Spirit,'' Billy Graham writes about an Eskimo fisherman who came to town every Saturday afternoon. He always brought his two dogs with him. One was white and the other was black. He had taught them to fight on command.
Every Saturday afternoon in the town square the people would gather and these two dogs would fight and the fisherman would take bets. On one Saturday the black dog would win; another Saturday, the white dog would win -- but the fisherman always won! His friend began to ask him how he did it. He said, 'I starve one and feed the other. The one I feed always wins because he is stronger.'
We have two natures within us, both struggling for mastery. Which one will dominate us? It depends on which one we feed.
1. SHOW Up!
A) By BIRTH
[v. 10] ''brethren''
Family matter
God's soldiers are not DRAFTED, they're BORN!
B) For BATTLE
The Christian life is not a PLAYground, it's a BATTLEground
2. SUIT Up!
To have a fight, we must have a foe.
A) An INTERNAL Foe
[Gal. 5: 19-21]
Our flesh is capable of anything.
Without the devil, we would still sin.
We are not sinners because we sin; we SIN BECAUSE WE ARE SINNERS!
We are born with the propensity and capacity for sin. Thus, our biggest enemy is ourselves. God and the devil get blamed for a lot of things they have nothing to do with.
[James 1: 13] ''Drawn away of his own lust and enticed.''
B) An EXTERNAL Foe
[v. 11] ''the rulers of the darkness of this world.''
World: Gr. kosmos
World system or order
This world has always been opposed to truth, to Christ and to Christianity. We fight against the world system every single day.
I.e. Media, politics, religion
C) An INFERNAL Foe
[Vv. 11-12]
Our real enemy is exposed.
Child always crawls through the fence to go next door to play and tear something up. He always blamed it on the devil. Mother said, ''The next ti ...
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