Standing Firm
Ephesians 6:10-18
Message #15
We are finally wrapping up our little side series on the Spiritual Battle that started while we were studying verse-by-verse through Daniel. This is our fifteenth and final message, and these fifteen messages have really been something for me.
Though I have taught this scripture before (twice formally and a number of other times in small groups), this series has really been new and fresh for me because God has made the “steps for victory” in the spiritual battle more real to me than ever before. I think it’s due to me being in the spiritual battle during these fifteen weeks (and before). And so, to the extent that my own spiritual battle and this series are connected, I’m grateful we’re finishing.
However, my being in the spiritual battle during these fifteen weeks has definitely caused me (even more than normal) to be focused on the HOW. Why? Because I need it. Thirty-six years of following Jesus, twenty-eight years of teaching the Bible, twenty-three years of pastor/elder leadership, I needed it. I needed to get strong in the battle. If you know me, you know I’m always anxious to get to the “HOW.” As in, “How do I actually allow the life of Jesus Christ to truly change my life?” It’s not about, “Yeah, I believe.” We call that intellectual assent. Yeah, I believe. Congratulations, because the demons believe at that level. So, if you have an intellectual assent that God exists or even that Jesus is the Son of God, congratulations, you’re on equal par with the demons, James says.
I always want to share with you how do you actually have your life transformed by Jesus Christ so that it shows. Now it has been even more intense for me because I’ve been in it personally. But my normal desire to get to the HOW has been greatly magnified during this series because I personally needed to get to the how. So even though I’ve really tried to weave the HOW into the previous fourteen messages, I still wanted to wrap up with a summary overview of how to put all this into action. It’s so important that Christians learn to walk victoriously in the spiritual battle. Why?
Here’s what I have found, I’ve found many more Christians who know the truth than know the HOW. I’ve found so many Christians that know the truth about God, and yet they’re living in absolute defeat and destruction, and the enemy is taking them out. They’re living in sin and destroying their lives, and they know, they know God’s Word and we’re just like, “Well…?” because they don’t know the how. They just don’t know the HOW.
So, here is our M.I.P. (Most Important Point) for this final message:
Don’t just know the truth – know the HOW
Don’t come to church to listen to some spiritual truth. Come to church to learn how to be a disciple of Christ. How to follow Jesus. How to make the life of Christ in you actually transform you. Don’t be satisfied just to “know the truths” of the spiritual battle. Don’t stop learning until you know the HOW! Don’t be satisfied until you’ve pressed in enough and worked enough, and learned enough until you know how to actually walk in the victory of spiritual warfare. HOW do I actually put these truths to work in my life? So, are you ready for an overall summary of the HOW?
Let’s review the beginning of our Ephesians 6 “Spiritual Battle” text with the “HOW” question in our minds.
Ephesians 6:10–13 (NLT)
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (HOW do we do that? HOW do we go about that? Most of the time, we say, “Yeah, I’ve heard that. Do you have anything new?” NO, I don’t have anything new. The Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword. It will divide between bone and marrow and will discern the thoughts and intents of your heart. It’s new enough. The question is “how?”).
11 Put on all of God’s armor (HOW do we DO that?) so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. (That’s the goal, and THAT is WHY we must learn the HOW)
12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (This is a Spiritual Battle, in the Spiritual Realm, Against a Spiritual Enemy – and we have NO natural ability to fight this battle – you cannot do it humanly, physically, logically – we must learn HOW to fight it - spiritually)
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. (Again – That’s the goal – to, after the battle – still be “Standing Firm.” I can tell you by experience that after thirty-six years of following Jesus, what matters is that you follow him to the end. And when the battle is over, you’re still standing firm in the Lord. That’s what matters.)
Honestly, many of us know these truths. The problem is, we don’t know (well enough) HOW. I know that’s the case because you tell me. You say, “Pastor Dave, I know what I should be doing, but I just don’t know HOW…”
Throughout this series, I’ve really tried to focus on the how because I’ve needed to grow in the how myself. We’ve done three specific messages on HOW to “put on” certain articles of the armor, and I’ve tried to give you the how in each of the other messages. But every time I do so, I still come away thinking, “I need to do more on the HOW.”
Because I really don’t want you to just know about the spiritual battle, I want you to learn how to live victoriously IN the spiritual battle.
But here’s why (I think) every time I teach the HOW it feels like I need to teach it more. The reason is because fully learning the how actually takes a lifetime of following Jesus. But don’t be discouraged; it’s a wonderful journey to learn how to be more victorious in this battle.
So, today I’m going to give you (in some ways, again) the summary HOW for us to continue to stand firm in the battle.
HOW to Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power (verse 10)
HOW to Put on all God’s armor (verse 11)
How to Stand firm against all the strategies of the devil (verse 11)
Here’s my three-step summary of the HOW
1). Get to know Jesus more and love Jesus more
2). Get a new mind
3). Learn to use the sword
That is my summary of
1). How to be strong in the Lord
2). How to put on all of God’s armor and
3). How to stand firm against the enemy
1). KNOW JESUS more – LOVE JESUS more
Know Jesus more. I am talking about Ginosko, an experiential, always-increasing love relationship. An intimate knowledge of Jesus. However much you know him, know him more. When Paul summed up his life in Philippians 3:10-11 (NKJV), he did it in five words, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering, being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Knowing him is the answer, the entire complete, totality of the answer.
Jesus (himself) IS the HOW. This is the most critical step in learning how to stand firm in the spiritual battle. Your victory in the spiritual realm IS IN CHRIST. It is in your identification with Jesus Christ. Eighty-seven times in the New Testament, the phrase “In Christ” is used to convey something God has given us. “In Christ.” It would take many weeks to try to convey all that we receive by being “in Christ.”
Being “in Christ” means: “to be fully identified as one with Christ.” We become in Christ (fully identified with Christ) through faith alone – by us putting our faith in Jesus. However, that initial act of putting our faith in Christ is meant to be the beginning of an ongoing, increasing, personal relationship with him. A relationship where you increasingly KNOW him and a relationship marked by your increasing LOVE for him. Being in Christ is our life being crucified and his life being alive in us.
And so, I say again, the first step to the HOW of spiritual battle victory is: You must grow in your relationship with Jesus, and you must grow in your love for him. Because having a real and growing relationship is what it means to be “Living in Christ.” And only as you are living in Christ will you have victory in the spiritual battle.
In fact, your victory in the spiritual battle, it’s not even your victory – it’s his victory that he gives you through your relationship with him.
Colossians 2:13–15 (NLT)
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.
14 He (Jesus) canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
15 In this way, he (Jesus) disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Your role was: you were dead in your sin. Jesus’ role was to win the victory on your behalf. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ became your victory, and it is only as you are identified with him through faith, and that faith is expressed in a real relationship that you will be able to experience the victory that he won on your behalf in the spiritual battle.
Plus, Jesus Christ (himself) actually IS your spiritual armor
Jesus IS your TRUTH
Jesus IS your RIGHTEOUSNESS
Jesus IS your PEACE
Jesus IS your FAITH
Jesus IS your SALVATION
Jesus IS the WORD OF GOD
So, step one to standing firm in the spiritual battle is to know Jesus more, love Jesus more. Set your life to this end, and I promise you will (more and more) walk in victory in this battle.
So, step one, KNOW JESUS more – LOVE JESUS more.
2). Get a new mind
I believe one of the hardest things I’ve ever tried to do is convince someone their thinking is wrong. Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not saying my thinking is right and theirs is wrong. I’m saying our thinking (collectively) is wrong. If our thinking is coming from our nature, you can be pretty sure that it’s wrong!!! It’s because the nature of our sin nature is wrong thinking (meaning in opposition to God).
Some of you aren’t happy just hearing me say that, which proves that you think your thinking is right, which proves all the more you need a new mind. We have made it so clear in this series that the spiritual battle is for control of your mind. Four of the messages in this series have “Your Mind” in the title.
Your enemy wants to influence your mind. Because if he can influence your mind, he can influence your decisions. And if he can influence your decisions, he can influence your actions. If he can influence your actions long enough, he can destroy your life.
And so, one more time:
Romans 12:2 (NLT)
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Seriously, we need a new mind, a new way of thinking. And so, I am going to get super practical here talking about HOW to get a new mind.
How do we change the way we think?
We REPLACE our mind with the mind of Christ and
We REPLACE our thinking with God’s thinking
The Bible is very clear on replacing our natural thinking with God’s truth. But few Christians ever do the work necessary to replace our natural thinking with God’s truth because it takes a lot to renew a mind, to replace wrong thinking with God’s thinking, and to be truly transformed by it.
Now, what we’re going to discuss right now applies to both:
How to get a new mind and
How to learn to use the sword of the Spirit
This is a summary answer to how you can begin to learn to do both.
Joshua 1:8 (ESV)
8 This Book of the Law (God’s Word) shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it . . .
In a nutshell, in a summary, this is HOW we get a new mind.
Have God’s word ALWAYS on your lips
MEDITATE on it day and night
Make sure that you DO all that it says
Do you want your life to be transformed by the renewing of your mind? Then learn to always have God’s Word on your lips. Meditate on it day and night and do all that it says to do, and the end of that verse in Joshua 1, verse 8, says For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. That is how you get a new mind.
So now you want to say, HOW do I learn to do THAT? And that is not easy to communicate in a summary message. But let me try to inspire you to begin learning HOW to get a new mind by God’s Word.
Guys, this is the big area. This is where we know Jesus more and love Jesus more. This is where we get a new mind. This is where we learn to use the sword of the Spirit. As we learn how to always have God’s Word on our lips, meditate on God’s Word day and night, and do all that it says to do. This is the source from which all the “HOW” emanates.
We need to learn how to do this, focused specifically on the area of our life that God needs to transform. So let me again recommend a book I’ve made reference to a number of times in this series: Tony Evans “Victory In Spiritual Warfare.” In the back of this book, Part 4 is called “Victory Over Strongholds,” and there, you will find a weekly plan to get a new mind in specific areas of your life.
Here are the areas of life he focuses on:
Marriage
Chemical Addictions
Sexual Strongholds
Gambling
Food Strongholds
Emotional Strongholds
Money Strongholds
In each of these areas, he gives you six days of applying God’s Word to this specific area, and then you continue to repeat that each week. And as you learn to do this, I would recommend a Word and Prayer Journal, where you write down God’s Word to meditate on it, and to pray it every day (in this specific area). And if you will continue to do that, the supernatural power of the Word of God will give you a new mind.
The other book I would recommend to learn HOW to do this is Beth Moore’s “Praying God’s Word.”
Now there is much more to this than I can get into here, but I promise you if you will set yourself to learning HOW to do this and get a good discipler to help you, learning to daily apply the Word of God in this way will give you a new mind. And again, this approach (that you’ll see in these books) applies to both getting a new mind and learning to use the sword.
So, the summary HOW to standing firm in the battle
1). Know Jesus more – Love Jesus more
2). Get a new mind
And
3). Learn to use the sword
The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
We’ve got to learn how to use the sword of the Spirit and where to use the sword of the Spirit. The truth is most Christians who would consider themselves mature Christians do not have a good handle on how to use the sword of the Spirit or where to use the sword of the Spirit. And if you want to stand firm in the spiritual battle, you’re going to have to change that.
Now, our last two messages were centered around the HOW and the WHERE of using the Word of God. Two messages ago, we looked at HOW we use the sword of the Spirit to actually put on every article of the armor. Every article of the armor is based on and comes from the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And then, in the last message, we looked at the Biblical foundation of WHERE to use the sword of the Spirit (on the battlefield of prayer).
So, today we’re just going to look (briefly) at the practical side of learning the Word of God.
When the time of spiritual battle comes into your life, how are you going to access the Word of God in order to use it immediately on the enemy?
The other night, at about 3 am, we had some kids messing around in front of our house. (It was nothing, I’m sure.) But I was thinking to myself, “Okay, how long will it take me to get to my shotgun and shells and get back out here if necessary…”
Have you thought that way about using the Word of God in the spiritual battle? When the enemy strikes, how long will it take you to get your sword, get the right ammo and get on the battlefield?
I was reading about a wife who wasn’t fond of her husband always taking his shotgun with them when they walked their dog (this must be in Texas.) He would always keep it “broken open” and lying over his forearm as they walked. Then one evening, suddenly, the dog she was walking tried to lunge ahead, and she pulled back on the leash to stop him. And in one movement, her husband flipped his shotgun closed and, shooting from the hip – blew the head off a rattlesnake that was just in front of her and her dog.
And guys, that old serpent, the devil, is somewhere ahead on your trail. When he raises his ugly head in your life, are you going to have your weapon ready to blow it off? Because if not, he will strike, and he will do as much damage as he can.
We have got to learn how to instinctively use the weapons of our warfare. We’ve got to be able – in one movement – to “lock and load” and blow the head of the enemy off. We’ve got to learn how to use it from the hip, and we’ve got to learn how to carry it on our spiritual walk.
So just a few brief suggestions about HOW to learn HOW to use the sword of the Spirit.
1). Get good at using our own scripture by topic.
It’s available on both the church website and on the WordByMail Phone App. Use it, practice with it.
Practice praying the scriptures
Practice using the scriptures in the Daily Devotion Journal
Get a discipler to practice together using those scriptures
2). The two resources I already mentioned both have a ton of scripture by topic in them
Tony Evans “Victory In Spiritual Warfare”
Beth Moore “Praying God’s Word”
Both have a ton of scripture written out as prayers and for journaling. Start there, then keep learning. Get a discipleship partner and keep learning so when the serpent shows up on the path, you can blow his head off.
Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
That is exactly what we need when the enemy starts trying to influence our minds and our actions. We must know how to quickly and effectively use the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
I wanted to end this series with some very practical encouragement because I want to inspire you to continue learning how to stand firm in the spiritual battle. Because I hate seeing the enemy take out Christians so easily, and I hate the idea that he could take me out the same way.
We have got to be READY to RESPOND
We have got to be READY to STAND FIRM.
(Pray this)
Ephesians 6:10–18 (NLT)
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.
15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.
16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Though I have taught this scripture before (twice formally and a number of other times in small groups), this series has really been new and fresh for me because God has made the “steps for victory” in the spiritual battle more real to me than ever before. I think it’s due to me being in the spiritual battle during these fifteen weeks (and before). And so, to the extent that my own spiritual battle and this series are connected, I’m grateful we’re finishing.
However, my being in the spiritual battle during these fifteen weeks has definitely caused me (even more than normal) to be focused on the HOW. Why? Because I need it. Thirty-six years of following Jesus, twenty-eight years of teaching the Bible, twenty-three years of pastor/elder leadership, I needed it. I needed to get strong in the battle. If you know me, you know I’m always anxious to get to the “HOW.” As in, “How do I actually allow the life of Jesus Christ to truly change my life?” It’s not about, “Yeah, I believe.” We call that intellectual assent. Yeah, I believe. Congratulations, because the demons believe at that level. So, if you have an intellectual assent that God exists or even that Jesus is the Son of God, congratulations, you’re on equal par with the demons, James says.
I always want to share with you how do you actually have your life transformed by Jesus Christ so that it shows. Now it has been even more intense for me because I’ve been in it personally. But my normal desire to get to the HOW has been greatly magnified during this series because I personally needed to get to the how. So even though I’ve really tried to weave the HOW into the previous fourteen messages, I still wanted to wrap up with a summary overview of how to put all this into action. It’s so important that Christians learn to walk victoriously in the spiritual battle. Why?
Here’s what I have found, I’ve found many more Christians who know the truth than know the HOW. I’ve found so many Christians that know the truth about God, and yet they’re living in absolute defeat and destruction, and the enemy is taking them out. They’re living in sin and destroying their lives, and they know, they know God’s Word and we’re just like, “Well…?” because they don’t know the how. They just don’t know the HOW.
So, here is our M.I.P. (Most Important Point) for this final message:
Don’t just know the truth – know the HOW
Don’t come to church to listen to some spiritual truth. Come to church to learn how to be a disciple of Christ. How to follow Jesus. How to make the life of Christ in you actually transform you. Don’t be satisfied just to “know the truths” of the spiritual battle. Don’t stop learning until you know the HOW! Don’t be satisfied until you’ve pressed in enough and worked enough, and learned enough until you know how to actually walk in the victory of spiritual warfare. HOW do I actually put these truths to work in my life? So, are you ready for an overall summary of the HOW?
Let’s review the beginning of our Ephesians 6 “Spiritual Battle” text with the “HOW” question in our minds.
Ephesians 6:10–13 (NLT)
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (HOW do we do that? HOW do we go about that? Most of the time, we say, “Yeah, I’ve heard that. Do you have anything new?” NO, I don’t have anything new. The Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword. It will divide between bone and marrow and will discern the thoughts and intents of your heart. It’s new enough. The question is “how?”).
11 Put on all of God’s armor (HOW do we DO that?) so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. (That’s the goal, and THAT is WHY we must learn the HOW)
12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (This is a Spiritual Battle, in the Spiritual Realm, Against a Spiritual Enemy – and we have NO natural ability to fight this battle – you cannot do it humanly, physically, logically – we must learn HOW to fight it - spiritually)
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. (Again – That’s the goal – to, after the battle – still be “Standing Firm.” I can tell you by experience that after thirty-six years of following Jesus, what matters is that you follow him to the end. And when the battle is over, you’re still standing firm in the Lord. That’s what matters.)
Honestly, many of us know these truths. The problem is, we don’t know (well enough) HOW. I know that’s the case because you tell me. You say, “Pastor Dave, I know what I should be doing, but I just don’t know HOW…”
Throughout this series, I’ve really tried to focus on the how because I’ve needed to grow in the how myself. We’ve done three specific messages on HOW to “put on” certain articles of the armor, and I’ve tried to give you the how in each of the other messages. But every time I do so, I still come away thinking, “I need to do more on the HOW.”
Because I really don’t want you to just know about the spiritual battle, I want you to learn how to live victoriously IN the spiritual battle.
But here’s why (I think) every time I teach the HOW it feels like I need to teach it more. The reason is because fully learning the how actually takes a lifetime of following Jesus. But don’t be discouraged; it’s a wonderful journey to learn how to be more victorious in this battle.
So, today I’m going to give you (in some ways, again) the summary HOW for us to continue to stand firm in the battle.
HOW to Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power (verse 10)
HOW to Put on all God’s armor (verse 11)
How to Stand firm against all the strategies of the devil (verse 11)
Here’s my three-step summary of the HOW
1). Get to know Jesus more and love Jesus more
2). Get a new mind
3). Learn to use the sword
That is my summary of
1). How to be strong in the Lord
2). How to put on all of God’s armor and
3). How to stand firm against the enemy
1). KNOW JESUS more – LOVE JESUS more
Know Jesus more. I am talking about Ginosko, an experiential, always-increasing love relationship. An intimate knowledge of Jesus. However much you know him, know him more. When Paul summed up his life in Philippians 3:10-11 (NKJV), he did it in five words, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering, being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Knowing him is the answer, the entire complete, totality of the answer.
Jesus (himself) IS the HOW. This is the most critical step in learning how to stand firm in the spiritual battle. Your victory in the spiritual realm IS IN CHRIST. It is in your identification with Jesus Christ. Eighty-seven times in the New Testament, the phrase “In Christ” is used to convey something God has given us. “In Christ.” It would take many weeks to try to convey all that we receive by being “in Christ.”
Being “in Christ” means: “to be fully identified as one with Christ.” We become in Christ (fully identified with Christ) through faith alone – by us putting our faith in Jesus. However, that initial act of putting our faith in Christ is meant to be the beginning of an ongoing, increasing, personal relationship with him. A relationship where you increasingly KNOW him and a relationship marked by your increasing LOVE for him. Being in Christ is our life being crucified and his life being alive in us.
And so, I say again, the first step to the HOW of spiritual battle victory is: You must grow in your relationship with Jesus, and you must grow in your love for him. Because having a real and growing relationship is what it means to be “Living in Christ.” And only as you are living in Christ will you have victory in the spiritual battle.
In fact, your victory in the spiritual battle, it’s not even your victory – it’s his victory that he gives you through your relationship with him.
Colossians 2:13–15 (NLT)
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.
14 He (Jesus) canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
15 In this way, he (Jesus) disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Your role was: you were dead in your sin. Jesus’ role was to win the victory on your behalf. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ became your victory, and it is only as you are identified with him through faith, and that faith is expressed in a real relationship that you will be able to experience the victory that he won on your behalf in the spiritual battle.
Plus, Jesus Christ (himself) actually IS your spiritual armor
Jesus IS your TRUTH
Jesus IS your RIGHTEOUSNESS
Jesus IS your PEACE
Jesus IS your FAITH
Jesus IS your SALVATION
Jesus IS the WORD OF GOD
So, step one to standing firm in the spiritual battle is to know Jesus more, love Jesus more. Set your life to this end, and I promise you will (more and more) walk in victory in this battle.
So, step one, KNOW JESUS more – LOVE JESUS more.
2). Get a new mind
I believe one of the hardest things I’ve ever tried to do is convince someone their thinking is wrong. Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not saying my thinking is right and theirs is wrong. I’m saying our thinking (collectively) is wrong. If our thinking is coming from our nature, you can be pretty sure that it’s wrong!!! It’s because the nature of our sin nature is wrong thinking (meaning in opposition to God).
Some of you aren’t happy just hearing me say that, which proves that you think your thinking is right, which proves all the more you need a new mind. We have made it so clear in this series that the spiritual battle is for control of your mind. Four of the messages in this series have “Your Mind” in the title.
Your enemy wants to influence your mind. Because if he can influence your mind, he can influence your decisions. And if he can influence your decisions, he can influence your actions. If he can influence your actions long enough, he can destroy your life.
And so, one more time:
Romans 12:2 (NLT)
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Seriously, we need a new mind, a new way of thinking. And so, I am going to get super practical here talking about HOW to get a new mind.
How do we change the way we think?
We REPLACE our mind with the mind of Christ and
We REPLACE our thinking with God’s thinking
The Bible is very clear on replacing our natural thinking with God’s truth. But few Christians ever do the work necessary to replace our natural thinking with God’s truth because it takes a lot to renew a mind, to replace wrong thinking with God’s thinking, and to be truly transformed by it.
Now, what we’re going to discuss right now applies to both:
How to get a new mind and
How to learn to use the sword of the Spirit
This is a summary answer to how you can begin to learn to do both.
Joshua 1:8 (ESV)
8 This Book of the Law (God’s Word) shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it . . .
In a nutshell, in a summary, this is HOW we get a new mind.
Have God’s word ALWAYS on your lips
MEDITATE on it day and night
Make sure that you DO all that it says
Do you want your life to be transformed by the renewing of your mind? Then learn to always have God’s Word on your lips. Meditate on it day and night and do all that it says to do, and the end of that verse in Joshua 1, verse 8, says For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. That is how you get a new mind.
So now you want to say, HOW do I learn to do THAT? And that is not easy to communicate in a summary message. But let me try to inspire you to begin learning HOW to get a new mind by God’s Word.
Guys, this is the big area. This is where we know Jesus more and love Jesus more. This is where we get a new mind. This is where we learn to use the sword of the Spirit. As we learn how to always have God’s Word on our lips, meditate on God’s Word day and night, and do all that it says to do. This is the source from which all the “HOW” emanates.
We need to learn how to do this, focused specifically on the area of our life that God needs to transform. So let me again recommend a book I’ve made reference to a number of times in this series: Tony Evans “Victory In Spiritual Warfare.” In the back of this book, Part 4 is called “Victory Over Strongholds,” and there, you will find a weekly plan to get a new mind in specific areas of your life.
Here are the areas of life he focuses on:
Marriage
Chemical Addictions
Sexual Strongholds
Gambling
Food Strongholds
Emotional Strongholds
Money Strongholds
In each of these areas, he gives you six days of applying God’s Word to this specific area, and then you continue to repeat that each week. And as you learn to do this, I would recommend a Word and Prayer Journal, where you write down God’s Word to meditate on it, and to pray it every day (in this specific area). And if you will continue to do that, the supernatural power of the Word of God will give you a new mind.
The other book I would recommend to learn HOW to do this is Beth Moore’s “Praying God’s Word.”
Now there is much more to this than I can get into here, but I promise you if you will set yourself to learning HOW to do this and get a good discipler to help you, learning to daily apply the Word of God in this way will give you a new mind. And again, this approach (that you’ll see in these books) applies to both getting a new mind and learning to use the sword.
So, the summary HOW to standing firm in the battle
1). Know Jesus more – Love Jesus more
2). Get a new mind
And
3). Learn to use the sword
The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
We’ve got to learn how to use the sword of the Spirit and where to use the sword of the Spirit. The truth is most Christians who would consider themselves mature Christians do not have a good handle on how to use the sword of the Spirit or where to use the sword of the Spirit. And if you want to stand firm in the spiritual battle, you’re going to have to change that.
Now, our last two messages were centered around the HOW and the WHERE of using the Word of God. Two messages ago, we looked at HOW we use the sword of the Spirit to actually put on every article of the armor. Every article of the armor is based on and comes from the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And then, in the last message, we looked at the Biblical foundation of WHERE to use the sword of the Spirit (on the battlefield of prayer).
So, today we’re just going to look (briefly) at the practical side of learning the Word of God.
When the time of spiritual battle comes into your life, how are you going to access the Word of God in order to use it immediately on the enemy?
The other night, at about 3 am, we had some kids messing around in front of our house. (It was nothing, I’m sure.) But I was thinking to myself, “Okay, how long will it take me to get to my shotgun and shells and get back out here if necessary…”
Have you thought that way about using the Word of God in the spiritual battle? When the enemy strikes, how long will it take you to get your sword, get the right ammo and get on the battlefield?
I was reading about a wife who wasn’t fond of her husband always taking his shotgun with them when they walked their dog (this must be in Texas.) He would always keep it “broken open” and lying over his forearm as they walked. Then one evening, suddenly, the dog she was walking tried to lunge ahead, and she pulled back on the leash to stop him. And in one movement, her husband flipped his shotgun closed and, shooting from the hip – blew the head off a rattlesnake that was just in front of her and her dog.
And guys, that old serpent, the devil, is somewhere ahead on your trail. When he raises his ugly head in your life, are you going to have your weapon ready to blow it off? Because if not, he will strike, and he will do as much damage as he can.
We have got to learn how to instinctively use the weapons of our warfare. We’ve got to be able – in one movement – to “lock and load” and blow the head of the enemy off. We’ve got to learn how to use it from the hip, and we’ve got to learn how to carry it on our spiritual walk.
So just a few brief suggestions about HOW to learn HOW to use the sword of the Spirit.
1). Get good at using our own scripture by topic.
It’s available on both the church website and on the WordByMail Phone App. Use it, practice with it.
Practice praying the scriptures
Practice using the scriptures in the Daily Devotion Journal
Get a discipler to practice together using those scriptures
2). The two resources I already mentioned both have a ton of scripture by topic in them
Tony Evans “Victory In Spiritual Warfare”
Beth Moore “Praying God’s Word”
Both have a ton of scripture written out as prayers and for journaling. Start there, then keep learning. Get a discipleship partner and keep learning so when the serpent shows up on the path, you can blow his head off.
Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
That is exactly what we need when the enemy starts trying to influence our minds and our actions. We must know how to quickly and effectively use the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
I wanted to end this series with some very practical encouragement because I want to inspire you to continue learning how to stand firm in the spiritual battle. Because I hate seeing the enemy take out Christians so easily, and I hate the idea that he could take me out the same way.
We have got to be READY to RESPOND
We have got to be READY to STAND FIRM.
(Pray this)
Ephesians 6:10–18 (NLT)
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.
15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.
16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.