The elephant in the room
Ephesians 6:10–20 (NIV)
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
can we talk about the elephant in the room??
· The economy
o We have taken a very hard turn left
o And I know it’s painful
o And I have to tell you I am truly concerned
o That it is not going to get much better anytime soon
· Inflation
o Again continuous inflation will turn into a recession
o A recession will drive up interest rates and make it harder to make a large purchase
o But for everything there is a season, so this is the season to tight up and lean into Jesus and your church family
o And if you get into a bind ask for help, don’t be proud, just ask
· Ukraine
o This is a conflict we could likely get sucked into
o The images are devastating
o It’s useless, it’s senseless and we need to be in constant prayer for the Ukrainian people
o Pray for our leadership
o Pray for God's intervention
We need to be a church of prayer, but also action
· Pray for each other, pray for our leadership, prayer for our country and our economy, pray for our brothers and sisters around the world in conflict
· But also, be a people of action
o Help where you can
o Cut where you can
o Speak up when you need help
· And remember
o This is not a Putin or Biden or Trump thing
o People are just vehicles of Satan
o And understand this battle is being waged on a different plain
Ephesians 6:11–12 (NIV)
11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
So, we must stand together
Matthew 12:25 (NLT)
25Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart.
· The more Satan can divide us the stronger he gets
· And the best way to divide us right now
o Is our money
o And our politics
This has been coming for a while now, and Satan’s plan has been in play since before the pandemic
· We are being divided on racial fronts
· On Gender fronts
· On political fronts
· And now Money
· And War
· It’s a multifaceted attack on God’s people
o Why do I say that?
o Every one of these issues is a biblical issue
o A moral issue
o A values issue
· And I hear churches worried about how to reach a certain generation, or demographics
o What Logo font to use
o And what media blitz campaign to go with
o What Video wall is the best to attract people
o More lights, more production, more fog, more entertainment
o And we are just as caught up in the world and its lack of biblical truths and values
o And we don’t see the battle raging in front of us
And it is our battle to fight, but we have to know how to fight it
· First it’s putting on God’s armor, and be prepared
o With Truth, and righteousness,
o Standing firm in our faith,
o walking in the Spirit, holding on to the gospel
o staying in God’s word, and in constant prayer
· Understanding our adversary
o Only 3 angels were spoken of in the bible and only one fell
o And he is angry
o He is wicked
o He is smart, cunning, wise,
o The bible says he was perfect
He is a thief, a murderer, and the father of lies. For he spoke the very first lie to Adam and Eve, in the garden, bringing death to all men.
But we know his time is short, for he has been judged and upon Christ’s return, will be thrown into the eternal fire!
And we must follow Jesus’ example
Matthew 22:36–40 (NIV)
36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
38This is the first and greatest commandment.
39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
o We are going to have to put God first
o Stand firm and continue to grow in our faith
o We have to love, not judge
o Be sacrificial
o And be Jesus with Skin on
We have to learn biblical love
1 Corinthians 13:3–8 (ESV)
3If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
7Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8Love never ends.
o This is the hard part
o Loving people and walking with them
o Knowing they don’t believe like you
o Or act like you
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